When Your DIY Doesn't DO

 Not wanting to drive (it's a distance from where I live) to the craft store for more Air Dry Clay, I opted to try one of the DIYs I've seen on YouTube. I tried making a small batch. 

RECIPE

4 oz. School Glue

4 oz. or 1/4 c.  Cornstarch

1 TBS. vinegar or lemon juice

1 TBS. oil (of any type)

1. Mix the glue and cornstarch together until it is pancake batter consistency.

2. Add the vinegar  and oil. Mix.

Place the mixture in the microwave for 30 seconds.  

3. Remove and mix the contents. (It was beginning to thicken)  

4. Return to microwave for 30 seconds. 

5. Remove product. Allow to cool for a few seconds .

6. Turn product onto a piece of plastic wrap and knead.

As you can see it was clumpy and nonpliable. 👎👎👎👎👎😖😖😖😣😣😣Reminded me of chunks of cauliflower. 

This is its final resting place.

I may be  "DONE IN" but I'm not "DEFEATED."

I will find my mistake and try again .  Can you say "REMATCH?"💪 

That's it ***

Oven Roasted Okra

 

I’m not a fan of boiled okra but, I do like fried okra. I’ve been oven roasting lots of vegetables lately and most give me the taste of charred or grilled .    It’s supposed to be healthier depending on how much oil or other fat used in the recipe. I’ve done carrots, broccoli, onions, squash, eggplant and cabbage. Some turned out great and others were a waste of time.

Air fryers have become popular as devices used to alleviate some of the calories and fats from many fried foods. At this time an air fryer is not in my future. I also, don’t want to relinquish kitchen counter real estate for the fryer.

Oven Roasted Okra (America’s Test Kitchen) 

 

Ingredients

1 pound fresh okra rinsed and dried

2 tsps. of oil

½ tsp. Salt

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 425 degrees

1.      Remove okra caps. Split okra pods lengthwise.(for crispiness)

2     Place in a bowl. Add oil and salt. Toss thoroughly.

3.     Place pods seed side down on a baking sheet.

4.    Cover with foil and place in oven for 7 minutes*.

5.     After 7 minutes remove foil and place okra back in

     oven for another 7-10* minutes.

6.    Remove okra from oven.  Allow to cool on a cooling rack. You’ll notice that the okra has shrunk and that the flat side is a golden brown.

 ENJOY  your okra on its own or with a dipping sauce of your choice. Use as an appetizer or a side dish.

Blogger Note: * If using a shiny baking sheet, change cook times to 10 minutes each way. If using a browned baking sheet (what I used) cook for 7 minutes. Ovens may vary so check your okra halfway and make adjustments as necessary.

 

Blogger’s Opinions:  

v Washing and cutting were the most time consuming parts of the recipe.  

v I found the okra to be tasty but needing a little more seasoning. In the future I’ll be adding onion and garlic powder, salt, pepper, smoked paprika and a little more oil.

v There are other roasted okra recipes online that I may try in the future .

That's it***

 

Wacky Cake/Depression Era Cake aka Crazy Cake

 

Right now eggs are $5.++ a dozen because of bird flu.  For bakers and breakfast businesses that's a problem. 

I happened to come across a recipe that was popular during the Depression Era for a cake that uses no eggs or milk.  Here is the recipe:

Wacky Cake

Wacky cake is made without milk or eggs and is a moist, dark, and delicious chocolate cake. A brainchild of the Depression era when ingenious cooks developed a cake that could be made without expensive and scarce ingredients. Frost with your favorite icing.

Submitted by Mary Knipe

Prep Time:

 

10 mins

Cook Time:

 

30 mins

Total Time:

 

40 mins

Servings:

 

10

Yield:

 

1 (8x8-inch) cake

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

• 1 cup white sugar

• 4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• ½ teaspoon salt

• 6 tablespoons vegetable oil

• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1 cup water

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2. Sift flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt together in an 8x8-inch ungreased cake pan. Make 3 depressions in flour mixture; pour oil into one well, vinegar into second, and vanilla into third well. Pour water over all, then stir with a fork until well blended.

3. Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 30 to 40 minutes. (allrecipes)

4. 
   

   

   1

   
   

No mixing bowl needed. All ingredients can be mixed in the pan.

Here are some websites to view

Southern Living Wacky Cake

Italian Chef Wacky Cake. Eight Variations

Quaint Cooking

Sweet Little Bluebird -Vanilla Crazy Cake

That's it ***

The Return of the 2 Ingredient Cake REMIX (literally)

 

6 pictures & one 29 second video

Back in March 2021 I did a post on the 2 ingredient cake. I used Fanta soda pop and white cake mix. I'm back again and this time I'm using Faygo strawberry soda and Duncan Hines strawberry cake mix. Actually 2 ingredient cake is a misnomer. There are the three eggs🥚🥚🥚  and the oil🧴  also necessary. Let's give all of the ingredients their props.

In place of water I used soda pop.

Soda pop being poured into the mix

Before

AFTER

How did it taste?  Add some frozen strawberries and whipped topping and  o-o-o-weee😁😁😊😋

It was delicious.  I cut the rest into squares, wrapped and put in the freezer.

That's it. 🍓🍓🍓

Fried Green Tomatoes

 I planted ONE tomato plant in a pot some time ago and below you'll see the results.

Since I don't have a lot of space, any gardening I do is in a pot or something resembling a pot. 

The tomatoes weren't turning red fast enough for my liking so I decided to do fried green tomatoes. I haven't always been successful with these in that the crust won't adhere to the tomato. I consulted  my favorite choice of knowledge, YouTube to search out a recipe that might work. I found Smoking & Grilling With AB

It's been said that reheating  the tomatoes will only make them soggy. The tomatoes I had left over, I reheated inside a regular oven on 350 degrees for about 8-10 minutes. They were fine for my taste.

That's it***