Chicken Stock..ready for soup season!

I had been keeping a couple chicken carcasses in the freezer the last few weeks - any time I do anything with chicken, I'll wrap and save the bones until I've got enough to make a batch of chicken stock. I supplement the bones with chicken hind quarters I buy from the deli counter at the grocery store. After the meat has cooked through, I'll strip it from the bones, keeping the meat and returning the bones to the pot to finish simmering. All-in-all, it's about a three or four hour process, but it's so incredibly worth it.
In the pot I've got my chickens, three heads of garlic chopped cross-wise, three yellow onions chopped into quarters, a handful of carrots and celery stalks, a couple bunches of parsley and thyme from the garden, whole black peppercorns, and kosher salt to bring out the flavor.
I brown my ingredients before covering them with water - it adds a little more flavor to the stock and lends a deep brown color. Homemade for sure! :)

Because I use a large pot designed for canning/jarring to make my stock, I end up with SEVERAL quarts for the freezer. The last time or two I've made it, though, I've taken the added step of simmering the stock after pouring it off of the other ingredients but before packing it up for the freezer. It seems to concentrate the flavor that much more...plus, it ensures I'll actually have room for all of it ;)
And not a minute too soon! After I finished this, I gathered up the leaves from the yard and burned them in my vegetable garden. I had used up everything in it for this year, so was ready to clear and prep it for a new season next year. And wouldn't you know it, only a few hours after the fire died out, we had our first snow of the season!

So happy :)

This is what we were starting from: the original beadboard barrel vaulted ceiling over the front door.
This was uncovered when we removed the steel siding and aluminum trim. I had seen it in old pictures of the house and wanted to put it back in place - luckily, it was still there! Dad attempted to remove the chipping paint, but this was more of a job than anyone wanted. So we installed new, freshly primed and painted beadboard in its place!

The underside of the overhang (and the wood face with the arch cut out) was wrapped in the same PVC I used for the trim everywhere else. This will be resistant to rot and will hopefully last a really long time!

After using a plumb bob to find where the center of the pillar would be, we got to drilling the hole for the lag bolt that would secure the base to the step. We actually just expanded the holes from the previous bolt holding the iron posts in place, which was much easier than drilling an entirely new hole in this solid old mortar.

One down. And the roof didn't even fall in! ;)

After bolting and gluing a piece of pressure treated (and primed) lumber to the step, we wrapped it in PVC and made this base to support the new pillar. We used a spade bit to drill a hole down into the base to receive a wooden dowel. There's a corresponding hole in the top plate as well. 

Voila! Snapped into place and fit perfectly on the first try!
We glued the dowels and pre-drilled and counter sunk four screws into the top and bottom of each pillar.
You could hang a (tiny) hammock from these babies!

On pillar (and day) number two, I started out solo when Dad was called into work.
Since we had already done all of the hard work in trying to figure out how best to do this job, the second pillar went much quicker!

My grandpa came over after we had lunch and helped me trim a half-inch off the bottom of the second pillar.
I failed to account for the the slope in the step from side to side to help with water runoff...so one of the bases is a tad higher than the other if you look closely.
No matter, though...we trimmed the pillar, installed the dowels into either end, and snapped this one into place all the same!

I couldn't stop looking at these yesterday - I was so happy with how everything turned out!

Mom and I filled the screw holes, sanded away any excess, and caulked all the joints or seams all around the ceiling, arch, and top and bottom of each column. After a coat of paint, this is going to look even better than it already does.
HUGE thanks to everyone who helped! This was the last big construction project around the house and it was such a weight off my shoulders to actually have these popped into place and finished that I was all of the sudden really inspired to throw down grass seed and start focusing on this ratty looking lawn of mine! ;)

6 AM

Since I never really see the outside (or inside) of my house at 6am, I've never really seen it in this light.
From this angle, it almost looks like things are coming together! ;) 

Blooms on my new hydrangea on the front corner. 'Limelight'

Moonflower getting ready to close back up for the day.

My succulents hanging out, looking pretty. :)
At the bottom of the picture, you can just see the little sprigs that were grown from cuttings and recently transplanted into this large metal bowl. So far, so good!

Easter weekend

Finally getting around to installing the drawer organizers from our trip to Texas...another IKEA find!

The second drawer is a little lighter on the organization, but everything still has a place.

The highlight of Easter was looking through piles of old family photo albums and laughing at everyone's hairstyles :)

Fancy pants windows with fancy pants trim

Dad came over Saturday morning and we started working on trimming out the windows in the solarium. We've got a couple more adjustments to make, but otherwise, we're ready for paint!

Holding down the fort

See those columns on my front stoop?

Ta-da! We found new old columns in the East Village, downtown Des Moines!

The rings around the columns needed a little work - here I had already chisled out some of the damaged area..

..and filled it in with a new piece.

The new piece fit pretty well, but still needed a little fine sanding to match the surrounding area.

Pretty good fit, wouldn't you say?

Fancy pants! Good find, Dad - and thanks again for all the help!

Dueling pies

Last night was pie night at the homestead. I’ve been eating out a lot lately because there’s not food in the house because I haven’t been there to MAKE anything. More to come on that in the next post.

Last night, I decided to do something about my lack of sustenance. I had some homemade pizza sausage in the freezer along with a leftover dough ball that would be just enough for a single serving pizza. I laid both out on the counter yesterday afternoon to thaw so they’d be ready to go by the time I was. Along with a little sauce and some mozzarella cheese (also both kind of leftover from a previous pizza..stashed in the freezer), I had myself a nice little pie in no time at all.

The last couple times I’ve made a pizza, I’ve been baking them according to something I read in an old cookbook: apparently the “pizza-maker’s secret” is to bake your pizza with the meat uncooked. I was skeptical at first because I’d never done that, nor had anyone in my family..and we’re pizza makers. So, I figured I’d chunk off fairly small pieces to insure they baked through in the short time they’d be in the oven. I have to say, both times I’ve done it I have really enjoyed it. It gives the pizza just the right amount of grease and the meat is so tender and moist that I don’t think I’ll be going back!

I have to say, it was not my intention to make it this dark. That said, it's got great flavor and looks like it came from a gourmet pizzeria in New York City..one of those with a big 700F brick oven :)

Also last night, I peeled, chopped, and seasoned a small bucket of apples from mom and dad’s neighbors’ apple tree. They have more than they know what to do with, so everyone around has apple buckets sitting around waiting to be used!

Apple has always been my favorite pie, but it’s hard to make a good one..at least I think it is. Whenever I make one, I make sure to use something sort of acidic in the apples to give it a little extra flavor. Fresh lemon or orange juice, or even vinegar works really well and it gives the pie a little extra something..another flavor sensation on another part of your tongue. Really good stuff!

The party continues..

YAY! It's still here!

Getting a start on it..

..a little more..

Remember the window from our inside demolition shots?

Here's an exterior shot - still has the trim! I love these little discoveries...makes you think about what used to be :)



Manic cleaning/organizing on a Thursday night

In addition to laundry, cleaning the house, doing the dishes, and organizing the kitchen, I cut out these squishy shelf liners for all the drawers and shelves in the kitchen. I also loaded the kitchen cabinets with food, dishes, and other kitchen stuff. Very fancy!

The last two weeks, I've walked around piles of laundry, let the dishes pile up in the sink, and swept crumbs off the counters onto the floor. Last night, I caught up on everything in a burst of energy right before CRASHING to sleep. Looking pretty good around the house, if I do say..

More trim, more paint, more better :)

Kind of a low-key night on the homestead.

I walked through the farmer’s market, bought some eggs, and picked up my farm box after work and went home to see what I was getting into this week. Looks like a good mix – and things I’ve had before! Sometimes the familiar can be good, too J

Lovin' my farmer's market brown eggs!

Contents of my farm box: green onions, mixed lettuce, herbs, misc. tomatoes, chard, little yellow things I have to research, purple peppers. Healthy, healthy!

 My only real project last night was taking the door down between the laundry room and the garage and painting everything. It has been cool enough (FINALLY!) the last two or three days that I felt comfortable enough opening the house to the elements.

Pretty easy process..I unscrewed the hinges from the jamb and set the door up in the garage for painting. I would alternate between painting the jamb and painting the door, giving each time to dry between coats while I worked on the other. Pretty efficient, I’d say!

Garage door all painted up!
My wire rack is looking a bit crowded these days. Another coat of paint on the inside of the kitchen cabinets and I'll clear this out a little better.

I also took a minute to snap a picture of the work we did the night before. In addition to the quarter round from the previous post, we hung the ‘headers,’ as we’re calling them over the doors to the garage and the driveway. It looks so much more finished now! A little caulk, a little paint, and it will look crisp and clean..and, most importantly, DONE!

Trim: in place.

All painted..and glowing :)

Two-fer Tuesday

Just a quick picture update to keep you up to speed on the progress. We’re really humming along, and it’s looking better and better all the time!

Test-fitting pieces of the range hood.

Now we're getting somewhere...

Dad finished it up this morning! Ready for paint! :)

The living room before..



..and after paint!





I imagine it will look better when I'm not using painters canvas for curtains, but you get the idea :)