Stuff Steph Does

Marshmallow Follow Up

February 29, 2012

I’ve got the marshmallows made, now I should just whip up some graham crackers to go with them…

add some chocolate and…bacon…?

ohmygosh yes, those are Bacon S’mores. Made with homemade marshmallows and homemade graham crackers. Man Made DIY posted this yesterday and talk about perfect timing!

The post on tastespotting has a slew of homemade graham cracker and marshmallow recipes, I haven’t gone through all of them yet but I’ll definitely use them as a research tool for my next batch of tasty mallows!

Here’s some good lookin’ grahams:

via bravetart

via the artful blogger

via piece of cake

and one more tasty, baconless s’more treat for good measure.

via sweetened with honey

eat stuff

Homemade Marshmallows (recipe)

February 28, 2012

There’s a really good bakery in my neighborhood. Like, really good bakery. They call themselves a “dessert boutique,” and fair enough, I haven’t tasted anything from there that isn’t awesome. A couple weeks ago I tried their marshmallows. I had never had anything but a Jet Puffed marshmallow and couldn’t believe how amazing a marshmallow could be. It was a melt-in-your-mouth-sugary-goodness piece of heaven.

I must make these.

I had never thought about how marshmallows were made, I always assumed they were super processed and required loads of machinery to produce the little puff of sugar. I was wrong, they are surprisingly easy!

homemade marshmallows
{source recipe}

about 1 C confectioner’s sugar, divided
3 1/2 packets unflavored gelatin
1 C cold water, divided
2 C sugar
1/2 C light corn syrup
1/4 tsp salt
2 large egg whites (reconstituted powdered egg whites work, too)
2 teaspoons Vanilla

You will also need:

stand or handheld mixer
candy thermometer
13x9x2 baking pan
mixing bowls/spoons
pizza cutter

Grease a metal 13x9x2 inch pan and cover in confectioner’s sugar.

In a large bowl sprinkle the gelatin over 1/2 C cold water. (if you have a stand mixer, do this in that bowl. I did this all with a hand held mixer and it worked just fine) Let it sit to soften.

In a saucepan combine remaining 1/2 C water, sugar, corn syrup and salt. Stir with a wooden spoon over low heat until sugar is dissolved. Turn up to medium heat. Without stirring, heat mixture to 240º (about 10-12 mins)

Pour mixture over gelatin and mix on high speed until mixture becomes white, fluffy and triples in volume. (this takes about 10 mins with a handheld mixer)

In another bowl beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Combine with the marshmallow fluff and add vanilla. (The recipe I used called for a whole tablespoon of vanilla. I think it ended up being too much, it wasn’t bad, the vanilla taste was pretty strong, so I’m just guessing when I say 2 tsp. vanilla.)

Pour the goopy mallow mixture into the pan. This can be messy because the mixture is really sticky. Sift some powdered sugar over the top, and chill for at least 3 hours or even overnight.

After chilling, run a greased knife around the edges to loosen the marshmallows and flip onto a cutting board. I used a pizza cutter sprayed with nonstick spray to cut them. Toss the marshmallows in powdered sugar to completely cover them.

Store in an air tight container. They last for up to a week, but they’re so good, there’s no way they’ll last that long!

These little boutique goodies wouldn’t be complete without the proper packaging. So I made some cute labels and packaged them up all nice.

I’m totally pumped to make more of these now. I think it would be fun to play with other flavors: mint, almond, coconut? These were good, but not as good as my “inspiration mallows.” Those were more melty, and these were more puffy, if that makes any sense. Oh well, I guess I just have to try again!

monday musings

music monday

February 27, 2012

Music Monday again. Is it me, or are the weeks moving super fast lately? March is this week, which means spring will be arriving soon!

The song today is “Shempi” by Ratatat. This song is really for Brandon; he’s super into Ratatat’s LP3 album, which is by no means new. It’s been out since 2008, but he’s been listening to it nonstop this week, so that’s what I got on the brain.

Have a great day, and stay tuned, I’ve got some fun stuff coming up this week!

make stuff

DIY: T-Shirt Scarf

February 25, 2012

Want a fun weekend project to work on? Make this t-shirt scarf! It’s super easy and it’s made out of an old t-shirt so it’s eco-chic as well! Here’s what you’ll need:

a large, old t shirt (I used a men’s XL that I got at a thrift store)
sharp scissors
ruler (optional) super straight cuts aren’t necessary for this project

Enjoy your weekend with your fun new scarf!

stuff steph loves

Make it a garden!

February 23, 2012

The high today, a late February Winter day in Columbus, Ohio, is 53. 53!! And this is old news by now–I think it’s been below freezing maybe 15 days this season? (I’m sure the real number is out there, don’t go claiming only 2 weeks of freezing weather in Ohio on my word)

During a normal season, it’s not until the Spring weather starts appearing that I begin to think about gardens. Since its been Spring for a month already, I’ve got sprouts and dirt on the brain a bit earlier this year. This is probably good since I usually start my attempt at gardening too late. I’m going to be on the ball this year!

We live in a rental house, and I don’t feel like I can just start digging up the yard for a garden. Two summers ago I bought 4 pots of various sizes for growing stuff. I quickly realized that’s not much room for growing anything substantial, but I didn’t want to invest in a slew of terra cotta pots; they’re heavy, clunky, and while 2 or 3 are cheap, it does add up.

I’ve been having visions of making a vertical garden out of tin cans and decided to google some more ideas which consequently turned into an expansive pinning session on Pinterest. Let’s just say I’m not the first one to come up with idea of reusing materials for gardening…

(all images are linked to their source)

tin can gardens

Welp, here’s my idea…looks good, right?! I love the idea of painting the cans. Makes them look so bright and cheery!

beverage container turned garden

Just cut off the tops of 2 liters to make hanging planters.

Gallon milk jugs are big enough to plant tomatoes.

Hanging a bunch of 20oz soda bottles makes a great vertical garden installation!

Use empty wine bottles, or other glass bottles, to outline your planters.

from (or off of) the house

Using gutters is a great way to grow lettuce. I’m thinking about going to Columbus’s Habitat for Humanity ReStore to pick up some gutters for this. I bet they’ll have a ton of other things to use too…bathtubs? toilets? heh heh. Hey, it’s been done before!

You ~~better be~~ already use reusable bags to carry your groceries home, why not use them to grow the food from the beginning?!

The industrial side of gardens

Brightly colored tires for tree planters? why the heck not?!

I discovered the vertical garden from wood pallets last year and thought they were amazing. The above pic from Design Sponge has a DIY on how to make your own!

Apartment Therapy has one, too:

And another from Stacy K Floral:

Like the tin cans, I love that these are painted so bright and fun. There’s something about gardens that are just whimsical. I’m not that fond of cutesy characters inside, but when it comes to the garden, bring on the trolls, gnomes, and other colorful, magical whimsies!

(I also just noticed that the blog post for those pallets was posted on my birthday! Another reason I must like it so much 🙂 )

Take the garden with you

I saw these on Inhabitat the other day and immediately fell in love. First because it’s 3d printed, which is pretty cool. The form for my fox project I told you about was 3d printed. And second, because it’s a garden for your bike! Love it!