Just like Ree.

Kinda.




I'm a big fan of Ree Drummond- The Pioneer Woman. She's a blogger, author, photographer and Food Network host with a love for the Lord.

Her blog is the funniest thing on the internet. Besides the Corgi Flop.



You should really check her blog out.



But really.

You won't stop laughing.

You'll be sitting in a quiet place and suddenly burst out laughing uncontrollably.

            (photo by Ree Drummond)

......Or maybe that's just me. Check her out though, it's time well spent.

http://thepioneerwoman.com/


Anywho, on to today's quest.
In an effort to entertain myself, I was reading through Ree's blog and happened upon a side-bar called "Perfect Iced Coffee" with a very tempting picture.

Those are three wonderful words.  I just had to click. Once I clicked and read, I was hooked. I had to try it.  Ree lamented about an iced coffee problem similar to mine- by the time I get my coffee iced, it's no longer coffee. It's just.... awkwardly creamy/brown water.


I thought I'd try her recipe and report back to you all.

What you'll need:
-a pound of coffee (in my case, half a pound of coffee. You'll see later)
-a large pitcher
-a strainer
-some paper towels
-copious amounts of time to wait before you consume said iced coffee

Step 1: Realize that you're not in Syracuse so you don't have your Shelbylicious apron.
Realize that you have another really cool apron at home and put it on. Change is good, right?

Gather your materials.

Step 2: Buy the coffee that Ree used in her blog. It was really cheap.

Step 3: Realize that the can is in Spanish. No comprende!

Step 4: Realize the other side is in English. Ah-ha!

Step 5: Combine half a pound (8 oz.) of coffee and 1 gallon of cold water.

Step 6: Attempt filling the pitcher from the cold water tap on your refrigerator. But don't do it. There aren't enough hours in the day....

Step 7: Ahh, much better. Fill and mix, fill and mix.
Make sure all of the coffee grounds get moistened.

It makes this oh-so-delicious looking brown-ish slurry-thing. Ick.

Except for don't eat it. Really.

Step 8: Now put the cover on the pitcher and walk away.

Walk away.

Just walk away. You don't need to put it in the refrigerator, you don't need to stir it. I know, it's hard. Just make sure all of the grounds have gotten wet and walk away. It'll still be there in the morning, unless you have a pesky Leprechaun that steals your iced coffee in the night.



....8 hours later....

Phew! It's still there!

Step 9: Assemble what you'll need for the straining phase of the operation- and find an assistant!
Get another container (another pitcher would be preferred) and place the strainer over the top. Ree recommended using two cheesecloths for fine straining, but all I had were paper towels. Three of them layered worked pretty well!


Cheesecloth has always been quite a mystery to me. Where do you buy it? Is it re-usable? Is it like a towel, but thinner?

Anywho. Step Step 10: Ask your handy-dandy assistant to slowly pour the sludgy-coffee mixture into the strainer.

Lookin' good!

Mmm! Sludgy!

While she was doing this, I got out some Mason jars to drink our coffee from, to really finish off our Pioneer Woman Parody.

haha. Alliteration.


Wait. Is that alliteration? I'm not quite sure. I always had a lesson during English.
Anywho...

Step 11: Once it's all strained out, put it in the final container of your choice- I kept the concentrate in this container while I washed the first pitcher out.

Yay! There you have it, folks. Iced coffee concentrate. Store it in the fridge once it's done. Here's how we made it into drinkable iced coffee (it's TOO strong in this state!):

Step 12: Fill your glass with ice and then half full (not half empty! haha!) with the concentrate.

Step 13: Add your favorite type of dairy/non-dairy stuff. Add a lot of it. A lot. This stuff is really strong.

We tried Silk, Almond Silk and Fate Free Half and Half.

We were surprised. You know which kind of "cream" tasted the best? Almond Silk! It's in the McDonald's glass. You can use more of the Almond Silk, too, without fearing your coffee turning completely white.

And 2 Splendas. 1 won't do.

So... there you go! Ree Drummond-style iced coffee concentrate!

Just like Ree!

...Kinda.


Lots of love,
Shelbylicious

A Moveable Feast.

Correction: A Moveable Persian Feast.

I'm reaching into the Shelbylicious picture files for this one.... I've been gone for a couple of weeks. I'm sorry. Two words= Finals week.



Then I had to clean and move out of the apartment.
But that's more than two words.

I digress.







So... the week before finals week, Mrs. Y (T's Ma) came over to the Sassy Pineapple to cook my roommates, friends and I some Persian food.

Mrs. Y's Persian food is legendary in my mind. I had it the first time I went to Buffalo to stay with her and the rest of T's family.




I'm a big fan of Buffalo. And Mrs. Y.
The whole family, really.

This is their dog, Hershey. She's really good at 'stay.'

And she has a pretty watermelon bandana. I love this dog!




















T's little brother really likes her, too. A boy and his dog! There's no better bond!



Anywho...
Not only does Mrs. Y make really good Persian food, she arranges pretty flowers!

But today is about Persian food.

Lubia Polo, to be more specific.

What is it? Well, to my non-Persian mind, Lubia Polo is kinda like Spanish rice....
Except for without the tomato-ey taste.



And there's chicken in it.


And green beans.


And it gets all warm and delicious.....and crusty on the bottom.



Now that I've peaked your interest, I'll tell you how to make this delicious dish of Persian-y goodness.

i.) Don your snazzy apron with your name on it.

1.) Attain some lubia polo mix from T's grandpa. 

This contains the secret, yellow-y/red-ish sauce and vegetables used as the base.

2.) Add some butter, water, and salt. Put the pot on the stove let the butter melt for awhile.

3.) Next, be sure to re-have the discussion with your roommate and boyfriend's mom about how you STILL can't make rice successfully. 

Even after going through a WHOLE BAG of Basmati rice.

If she's anything like T's mom, she'll smile sweetly at you and tell you it's going to be okay.

A.) Wipe your tears, and proceed onward with the rice portion of the dish.... Letting Mrs. Y do that part, for quality control purposes, of course.

F.) Let Mrs. Y explain to you the next part of the plan:

7.) Measure out the rice, rinse it, and let it soak for awhile. 

12.) Add the green beans into the increasingly-happy mixture.

C.) Add the drained rice to the party. 

CC.) Breathe. You just added the rice to the pot. It's going to be okay. Mrs. Y is here. 

3.) Let it get all happy and cook down....

U.) then cover it (with a paper towel for moral support!) and let it go!

That's right.

Walk away.

Don't stir it. Don't open the lid "just to peek."

I know, it's hard! You can do it!

The result is a scrumptious dish (on the left) that has crunchy rice on the bottom. That's the best part! They call it Tadeec. 

It's.... everything you could ever want in a rice dish. 

And more. 

I'm in love.

Going to scour my cupboards for some Persian food,

SL

Shelbylicious

A Budding Horticulturist?

The crocuses were out last week.



I went on a run with T. After deciding to turn the run into a walk, we got to enjoy the beautiful gardens of those who own their homes in the University area.



Well... I decided to admire the beautiful gardens around us.

Oh my gosh, T! Look at those pretty flowers! And those! And those!

I'm still not sure how much T really likes flowers. He's more of a tree guy.

(Spruce!)

But he's a great man. He humors me. And lets me run around with him to look at all of the pretty flowers...

And steal his camera to take pictures of pretty flowers...

And pretty tall grasses....

(Sedum!)

And fights away vicious bumblebees with his lightsaber...

And lets me tell him "Did you know you can plant one of these and it'll grow a new pineapple?" every time we eat a pineapple, acting surprised by this information EVERY time.

But I digress. Back to my story!

T was sweet and on our walk back picked some of the flowers I was ogling. I immediately came home and put them in the only container small enough to be suitable...

A fun little terra cotta pot! These flowers just make my heart sing!

This week continued to be the week of flowers.

Some twine Pinterest-ed up my pig vase and made these "reject" tulips (sold for cheaper because their blooms were more open than the others) from the store a lot more fun!

This little bud vase makes a great holder for all of those little flowers that you find outside on walks. 

Flowers can certainly brighten your day. Anyone's day, for that matter! They don't have to be expensive, either. That goes for potted plants as well. I can remember my mom telling me "that's what your grandma does. She buys the 'reject' plants at the store for like 80% off, gives them a little bit of TLC and they come right back to life." 

I decided that would be a good motto to embrace. 

So... embrace the beauty that's around you!

To me, flowers serve as a powerful symbol of how awesome our God is. 

Perhaps that's why I'm so fascinated with them. 

He foreknew each plant, each bud, each blossom.

He caused all of the fun, sciency things behind flowers to work together for us to glorify Him by saying, "wow, Lord! You're so cool! Thanks for making these!"

Most significantly, though: he knows what in the heck these are, because I sure don't! 

The Lord is good.

Enjoy the flowers and the sunshine!

Love,

SL

Containers, Containers Everywhere...

I'm a very container-oriented person this year.

Just look at my desk!

I also realize that's an odd statement for a person to make.

But it's true! Every time I finish a cool glass food jar of some sort, I ask myself, "Self, is there anything you can do with this?"

Pinterest answered my questions. Love you, Pinterest. Bless your little pin-filled heart. 

I wanted to use my FAVORITE little Olive Tapanade jars for something. So I decided to use them to store tea bags, using this as my inspiration:

source

They are relatively simple to do! My advice: Use SPRAY chalkboard paint for small items, but buy this  magical substance for EVERYTHING else! I simply adore it! It allows you to make a chalkboard in any color you could ever imagine. And while I haven't had the occasion arise in which I needed to create a lime green polka-dotted chalkboard, you never know.

I also created these fun jars with writing on them to hold items for my desk.

 It was really inexpensive because I used paint I already had. Total cost= $1. And that's only because I decided to modify the original instructions. Which were ridiculous.

Is there actually a person on the planet (besides the original pinner) who has a glue gun that is capable of putting out such a perfect stream of glue? And do you know how impossible it is to write things with an awkwardly-shaped hot glue gun?

Take it from me. After a first attempt ended in disaster, I went to Wally and bought some puffy paint in white. 

It's worth the $1 to save yourself the aggravation. 

I put "graphis" (Latin for "pencil") on an old green olive jar to use for pencils.

Next I put "stylos" (French for "pens") on an old Smuckers jelly jar.

This one is my favorite. I like how "clean" and fresh the white looks. 

Other container ideas:

tin cans are very "in" right now and make a cool catch-all for your extra utensils. 

But make sure you actually put your stuff in them. 

I can't find either of those pairs of scissors anymore.

This pesto jar from my aunt makes a wonderful paperclip holder.

Also, if you're not into the potential torture and heartbreak that comes with attempting the puffy paint writing, you can do what I did here and simply spray paint the plain jar. This one had pretty writing on it. I think that all Classico items have this jar.

And those little tiny flower pots...

 You know, those little tiny flower pots that boast "Grow Your Own Strawberries" or "Grow Your Own Forget-Me-Nots" that don't actually work?

They make excellent paperclip and Q-tip holders. 

I hope this has inspired you to take a second look at the things that you normally throw out or recycle! Re-purposing these things has saved me a great deal of cash in office supplies.

And when all else fails....

...Put some acorns in a jar and call yourself an ESFr.

Have a great day, all!

Shelbylicious

SL

Thrifty Wall Art #1: Nature is Free

I have a thing for peacock feathers. 

Also, my roommates say that I'm a wannabe ESFr.

In this case, I'm not sure which is more prevalent.

Such wonderful colors!


I needed SOMETHING to fill in this huge space on my wall in my new bedroom at school. I was also on a tight budget, being a college student and all.



T was wonderful and got me some peacock feathers from the Zoo, and the wheels started spinning. This was the end result:

I used a beautiful picture that my friend painted for me for my Birthday, framed it and placed it center-stage. A few dollars got me a pretty frame at Hobby Lobby!

I used some of the leftover ribbon from my Reed Letter project and tied some of the feathers together. 

About a week later a friend showed me how you could braid willow branches. While we were at the park, I got some willow branches and made a big long "swag" of them. I hung them on my wall and let them dry. The leaves curled and are beautiful!

Lastly I dried a rose that T gave me and tied everything together next to the painting.

I made sure to stab myself on the rose a couple times before I managed to get it tied.

Those things have prickers, ya know... 

Why do I like this so much?

-It was nearly free to make.

-It has some sentimental value.

-It took advantage of things I already had.

-It's nature, so it's "disposable" if I don't have room to pack it up at the end of the year. That's a really tough thing about being a student. You have to pick up and move at the end of the year. Doing crafts like these allow me to make it seem "home-y" while not weighing you down with 4 extra boxes of decorations.

Hope you took some nuggets away from that!


Also, I hope that everyone had a wonderful Easter. I leave you with a picture that my friend Meghan (@mcokeefe1) sent me over the weekend. Apparently this is how Massachusetts does Easter.

What an awesome bunny. I've done Santa Bread, but never bunny bread. He is simply adorable! Looks like I'm going to Massachusetts someday. Apparently it is a hotbed of delicious carbohydrates. Yum!




He is RISEN!

Blessings,
Shelbylicious
(SL)