Magic Salad

Here’s a recipe I invented years ago that has become my potluck staple. The first time I served this to a group of friends, one called it “Janet’s Magic Salad” and the name stuck.

I took this to the end-of-year luncheon at the preschool, and the women drew up a list of names and email addresses with the title “We Want Your Salad Recipe.” Seriously. Raves all around. Every time. Make each component separately; most can be done a day ahead and then you can toss all the ingredients together five minutes before you are ready to go. Serve it without the chicken to use as a side dish.

Janet's Magic Salad

Dressing:
1 cup (packed) fresh basil leaves
1 cup mayonnaise
1 shallot, halved (or little chopped onion and a couple cloves garlic)
1/4 cup buttermilk (you can add a little more to get the consistency you want)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup shelled pumpkin seeds

1 10-ounce package plain couscous, cooked according to package instructions (about 5 cups)
1 large head romaine lettuce
1 diced red bell pepper
2 grilled chicken breast halves, diced
2 cups fresh corn kernels

Blend basil leaves, mayonnaise, and shallot in processor until smooth. Gradually blend in buttermilk and lemon juice. Season dressing to taste with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.) Toss all ingredients together.

Confessions of an Emergency Cleaner

My husband calls me an Emergency Cleaner. When I hang up the phone and immediately start throwing things in closets and stuffing the dishes into the oven, his eyes roll. A friend once summed up the difference between men and women like this: “When the doorbell rings unexpectedly, a woman immediately thinks about the cleanliness of her house. A man wonders who is on the other side of the door.”

Once a friend’s home security alarm went off while she was out, and the police department came and searched her home for intruders. When she found out, her first reaction was, “Thank goodness the house was clean.” Ever since then, I clean using this method: Imagine someone walking through your house and assess the level of grossness they will experience.

Priority number one: Areas where waste is produced (by man or beast). This includes bathrooms, litter boxes, and piles on the back lawn. Do these first.

Priority number two: Anything rotten or heading in that direction. This includes the frig, sink, and kitchen in general. Laundry may fall into this category.

Priority number three: Floors. You can have papers and toys thrown everywhere, but if your guest looks down at a spotless floor, she’ll never think you’re a real slob.

Priority number four: Clutter, aka “Am I the ONLY one around here that picks anything up?” I had to really stop and think about the amount of complaining I do in this department when my 6-year-old was learning about Abraham Lincoln in school and defined a slave as “when your mom has to pick things up because you’re too lazy to do it yourself.”

Priority number five: Dust and general grime such as marks on the wall and fingerprints on doors. Get real. That’s what kids on summer vacation are for. Flopping on the couch for 10 minutes is way more important to your well-being than this. Don’t bother. Your friends couldn’t care less.

Shameless Plug: Custom Sepia

Every once in a while a company comes along that I really love, and today it's my own. A few years ago I was in charge of the silent auction project at my childrens' elementary school and had to come up with an item that had sentimental value but was functional as well. Since I'm not a "handprints on an apron" type of gal, I wanted something totally unique yet functional. I found a technique that allowed me to transfer the kids' artwork directly to a platter. The kids went to the playground and drew any tree they saw. I placed them all around the platter and fired it. The finished product looked phenomenal and the parents went crazy for it. A few months later I bought myself a kiln and 2000 plates, and Custom Sepia was born.

What to buy Mom or Grandma for their birthday, Mother's Day, or Christmas? Have each family member recount a special memory or favorite inside family joke and make her a set of plates. Totally food safe, but please handwash.

Here are a few examples of customer orders--a special recipe, a housewarming gift for a new couple, and a guest book signature platter that guests can sign. These look great displayed in the dining room after the wedding.

Did Junior write an adorable letter to Dad? Draw a picture of you as tall as a mountain? Was your husband dumb enough to put in writing that he'd always keep your car washed? Immortalize it forever on a plate. For more products, http://www.customsepia.com/ or http://www.customsepia.etsy.com/.

Quality Time

Vacation time used to mean taking an exciting trip to a faraway land, but for the past couple of years it's been more about paying the mortgage and buying groceries. Holing up with the kids for a week (or two, or even all summer) is a great opportunity to bond, but how many games of Crazy Eights can you play without going a little crazy yourself?

Last summer I really wanted a new kitchen table but the aforementioned mortgage and groceries once again took priority. I thought about tiling over it but came across lots of decoupage ideas on the Internet and decided to try a combination of the two: paper mosaic.

It took many, many hours of all 3 kids and me working but was a great opportunity to just sit and chat. It's also fun to see their work style--Sean (age 12) saw it as a math project and fitted the pieces together like a puzzle. Elise (age 10) was more concerned about making sure no matching colors touched. Max (age 6) just stuck pieces on randomly but it didn't matter and I didn't have to teach him the "right way." We had a fun time doing this project but we were all glad when it was done, and the compliments we received on it continue to this day.

Paper Mosaic Table

First, prepare your table. We filled in the dents with wood filler and then painted the whole top black.

Purchase lots of card stock in your desired color scheme. It doesn't have to be too thick, and we got most of ours from Michaels with a 40% off coupon. Cut it randomly into smallish or large-ish (you will be happy about the large-ish pieces the longer you work on the project) shapes.

Brush some Elmer's glue (diluted with a little water) on to the table and start laying your pieces down. Make sure they stay flat so they don't curl up later and cause an uneven surface.
Once your table is done and dry, coat it with polyurethane (I used several coats of semi-gloss) to create a durable finish.

Note: The only thing that bummed me out slightly about this project was that the polyurethane soaked into the paper a little and created some dark spots on the paper. Not sure how to avoid that but would love suggestions if you can think of a solution.

In Like a Lion

Despite coming in like a lamb, March turned lionish yesterday. Went for my usual beach walk and it was windy and fuh-REEZING. Fifty degrees may not be cold for most of you but we San Diegans pay good money for the privilege of being whiny babies.

I came home wanting to make corn chowder. Got the onions, peppers and celery sauteeing and then thought maybe potato cheese would be good. When I opened the frig to get the cheese, I noticed the package of the most awesome sausages that I bought from this local company.

The result:

Changed My Mind Chowder

4 Tablespoons butter

4 Tablespoons flour

1 cup diced onion

1/2 cup chopped celery

1 medium potato, chopped

1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper

1 lb. spicy Italian sausages

4 cups chicken broth

2 cups milk or half and half

1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

Cook sausages in a little olive oil in a heavy pot or dutch oven. Remove and slice them, then set aside. Melt butter in pot and add onion, celery, potato and bell pepper. Cook til soft, then sprinkle flour over and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add broth and sausage. Simmer for 15-20 minutes, then add milk. Cook til almost boiling, then add cheese and stir until melted.

Be Green When You Clean

On my continuing quest to reduce the amount of chemicals that enter my family's home and bodies, I embarked on an Internet hunt for a good homemade spray cleaner recipe. The one I settled on was this one, by Sophie Uliano from her book, Gorgeously Green: 8 Simple Steps to an Earth-Friendly Life.

It works great, and smells good too. You'll later come home to an "I cleaned" smell, which feels nearly as good as seeing vacuum lines on your carpet.

I'm considering giving spray bottles of this stuff to neighbors with jingle bells around it instead of cookies this Christmas.

Gorgeously Green All-Purpose Spray

32-oz. plastics spray bottle
2 cups water
1/2 cup distilled white vinegar
1 teaspoon pure castile soap (I use Dr. Bronner's peppermint, found in my local natural foods grocery store)
3/4 cup hydrogen peroxide
20 drops tea tree oil
20 drops lavender or lemongrass essential oil

Mix together all ingredients in your spray bottle. Add 10 drops of citronella oil as an insect repellent when ants may be a problem.

Spray can be used on acrylic, ceramic tile, wood, marble, and granite.

Internet Friends

“You should start a blog.” I’ve been hearing it for a while now, and as a freelance writer by trade who needs to promote my home-based ceramics business, it makes perfect sense. But what do I blog about? I enjoy cooking but am not a gourmet chef. I consider myself reasonably creative but am by no means a fine artist. I like to read but am far from “literary.”

To put it simply, I’m probably a lot like you. So here’s what I ended up with—I’m going to blog about the stuff I do, and try, and read, and experience, and I’ll share the results.

My friend’s mom Susan once got mad during an episode of thirtysomething. In the middle of Susan’s episode recap and diatribe against Elliot (he really was being such a jerk to Nancy), she suddenly stopped and said, “But then I realized, Nancy’s just my television friend.”

If you'd like to be indignant when I’m mad at my husband, I would love to have you on my side. I’m Janet. Please consider me your Internet friend.