What if I. . .

What if I. . .

This is the page of my curiosities, musing and experiments.  A page of those things that make me pause and wonder.  Being human, we are all much more alike than we think, so I thought you might enjoy the "experiments" I regularly engage in. Here goes:

A Wednesday, April 2016  - What if I. . . flavored the quart sized, whole, plain yogurt I purchased at Aldi's with 2-3 drops of lemon essential oil?

Outcome: Each family member that tasted it was pleased. I added two tablespoons of honey for sweetness, 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract, and 2 drop of lemon essential oil. (I use doTERRA essential oils)  I felt it tasted like the small cartons of commercial yogurt I used to buy 5 for 1.00 on sale. :) :) :) (3 smiley faces, I'm quite pleased.  Believe I'll experiment with lime essential oil on the next quart.

A Friday, April 2016 - What if I. . . flavored the quart sized, whole, plain yogurt I purchased at Aldi's with 2-3 drops of lime essential oil?
Outcome: Using the same ingredients as above and changing the essential oil but it wasn't as successful.  So if I were to attempt this again with lime essential oil (I use doTERRA essential oils), I would increase the honey by a teaspoon or two. (;) not as pleased)

A Thursday, May 2016 What if I. . . used a huge bundle of mint in place of a floral center piece?  You see I hadn't any flowers blooming in the yard so I headed to the garden. The only thing mature in the garden was mint (which is very bland tasting, very disappointing) and onions.  I cut a huge handful of mint.
Outcome: It has been a week and the irises are open in the yard and the mint still looks fresh. Completely amazing! I now have an arrangement of mint and irises.  Quite pretty, actually. :):):)

A Wednesday, May 2016 What if I. . . wore a broach as a hair pin.
Outcome: It worked and I thought it was pretty cute. I think I've found a way to use all those really cute pins my grandmothers left me. I found it a bit more challenging managing the latch in the broach over the clasp in the barrette. :):):)

A Thursday, May 2016 What if I. . . used the crevice tool on my vacuum to clean the ceiling fan blades.  Perhaps it is a mid-western thing but my ceiling fan blades get dusty along the edges.  I've tried various methods of cleaning these dirty blades, including: taking the blades off the ceiling fan motor and washing each blade in the sink, spraying a dust rag with dusting spray and wiping the blades by hand and using the tapestry attachment on my canister vacuum. I have been unhappy with the outcome of each of these methods.  So . . . I tried the crevice tool. On my canister vacuum the crevice tool has a notch just about the same width as the edge of the ceiling fan blade. I stood in one place under the fan and ran the notch of the crevice attachment along each blade.  Outcome: The dust woolly worm (a distant relative of the dust bunny) was removed easily and without further mess. When I finished with one blade a spun the fan to the next blade.  The entire clean up took about 2 minutes. It took me longer to climb up and down on the chair. :);):);)

A Friday, May 2016 What if I . . . brewed herbal tea in seltzer water?  My sons enjoy drinking soda but I don't enjoy the excess "corn syrup and acids" in soda (pop).  I gently open a 2 liter of seltzer water and stuff in two herbal tea bags. I return the bottle to the refrigerator and wait about 3-4 hours.  After removing the tea bags, I add 1/3 c. of natural sugar using a small funnel. Seltzer water is very reactive, so I keep the lid close in case the fizz attempts to spill from the bottle.  (Thus far, I've made hibiscus and cranberry-apple sparkling waters.) Outcome:  My sons prefer the cranberry/apple to the hibiscus.  Better yet they prefer the sparkling herbal teas to soda.  A bottle of seltzer water is less than $1.00 and the two herbal tea bags and the sugar might add $0.50 to the cost.  A financial and culinary success. Not to mention, the win for good nutrition. :):):):)

A Thursday, June 2016 What if I . . . used broccoli leaves and stems in my Impossible Broccoli Pie instead of florets?  Outcome:  It was tasty.  Broccoli stems and leaves do not have the strong flavor of broccoli.  The flavor is much more subtle. The recipe turned out much greener because the leaves covered more surface area.  To use the leaves of a broccoli plant in this way, I cut the stem from the leaf.  I finely chopped the stems.  Then I stacked several leaves and rolled these to chiffonade.  When I use fresh broccoli florets in this recipe I must cook them a bit first. Using the stems and leaves, saved time and an extra dirty pot. :):):):) 

A Wednesday, June 2016 What if I . . .grilled nectarines as a dessert?  The recipe I read was 1 fresh pineapple, 1 stick butter, 1T brown sugar (think the recipe read 1/2 c brown sugar,), 2 drops lime EO.  Currently, pineapple isn't in season but nectarines are so . . . Outcome: Amazing! ;):):):):) A dollop of freshly whipped cream and presto, one fabulous dessert.

A Sunday, August 2016.  What if I. . .  used sparkling herbal tea from "a Friday in May - What if I?" and used it to make a peach mock-tail from the Aperitif post.  I made peach sparkling herbal tea and added a peach sauce to the bottom of each champagne flute.  Outcome:  Excellent.  Yummy. :):):):) The mock-tail  was very impressive when paired with a peach and goat cheese canape. 

A Friday, August 2016 What if I . . . have two palm-sized portions of steak, two whole baked potatoes and 1/2 cup of cooked broccoli?  These were the left overs after serving lunch on Friday afternoon.  (Looking over my shoulder for a camera and the staff of the TV show "Chopped).  I attempted a creation I named 'Beef-Broccoli Scalloped Potatoes'.  Outcome:  Amazing.  :):):):) Here is how I did it.  I preheated the oven to 350 degrees. All the leftovers had been stored in a skillet. I first removed everything from the skillet but the pan juices.  I diced a small onion while the pan juices heated then added the diced onion. I cubed the baked potatoes, adding them to the pot.  Next was 1 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper.  Stir. The onions were translucent and potatoes had absorbed pan juices. I stirred in 2 T of butter.   I diced the leftover steak and added it to the skillet and stirred to combine.  I gathered flour, milk, and shredded cheddar cheese to make the sauce.  I sprinkled 1/4 c. of flour over mixture in skillet and stirred.  This was a gummy mess, but it is part of the process.   I added just enough milk to nearly cover the contents of the skillet and stirred slowly and gently, scraping the bottom of the pan to loosen any stuck yummy bits. About 2 minutes of stirring and the sauce was thickening.  I added two heaping handfuls of shredded cheddar.  Stirred that into melt.  I chopped the leftover broccoli and added it last.  I didn't want to obliterate it. I turned off the heat under the pan. I returned the milk and cheese to the refrigerator and retrieved bread crumbs and dried parsley from the pantry.  I sprinkled the skillet with bread crumbs, followed by a lighter sprinkle of parsley and then dotted the top with little pea sized pieces of butter.  I baked the beef-broccoli in the oven until it was bubbly all around the edges.  

A Thursday, August 2016 What if I . . . added arrow root powder the the flour/bread crumb breading before frying my fish? According to the arrow root powder container it make fried foods crispier.  Outcome: It did.  I was truly impressed. ;):):):)