Kitchen remodel

Hey everybody!
This week Ben and I have been busting our butts trying to get the kitchen completed. We "pennied" our kitchen countertops and have repainted our kitchen cabinets with a Rustoleum kit. It is looking really good so far! We have laid out all the pennies and poured the epoxy resin over the top and all that is left to do is paint the top coat on the cabinets. I am ready for this project to be over, and it's gonna look great! I'll include some pics of our progress. 

So first we sprayed 3M adhesive to lightly stick the pennies to the countertop and laid them out neatly.

Still laying them out... We used probably $70 worth of pennies and our kitchen is not very big. Although the next cheapest alternative would have run us upwards of $500.

Then we got to painting on the cabinets. We had to use deglosser/degreaser on them first, then a white basecoat before the glazing step.

Next we purchased some epoxy resin from Home Depot. We put a wooden cap on the edges of the countertops that were .5 inches higher than the countertop itself so the epoxy would be held in. Then we poured the glassy goop all over the countertop. I was very nervous!

It being a self leveling mixture, we just had to wait. Here it still looks a little lumpy still but it is glossy and shiny. We only got a little on the floor...

Here we have our cabinets almost complete. The glaze has been applied and the doors are almost dry so all we have to do is add the top coat and let them dry :)

 

I will be back to show you the finished product by Sunday. I will be so glad to have my kitchen back! My house has been a wreck and I haven't been able to cook. I'll be glad when I can move on to the next project.

Black bean burger bites

Hey everybody!

Today I made recipe #3 in the Harmony Health series of videos. They are corresponding to the dishes that I will be catering at the seminar next week. I am very excited about it! I catered their seminar last month and got a lot of positive feedback.

So, without further adieu, how to make black bean burgers!

Ingredients:

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 russet potato, peeled and diced

1/2 onion, diced

1 clove garlic, diced

1 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp herbs

1 tbsp corn meal, plus more for dusting

1 tsp cayenne

1 tsp salt

Add potatoes, onion, and garlic to a pan and saute till soft.

Remove from heat and let cool. Mash together all herbs and seasonings and once the potato mixture has cooled use a food processor to combine. Roll the mixture into desired size and coat in corn meal. Fry in a hot pan with some oil.

Enjoy!

Sweet Potatoes Bravas

Today, for my third recipe in the Harmony Health series, I made patatas bravas. Typically they are made with new potatoes but I made them with sweet potatoes and they are delicious! They are a little spicy and a little sweet. Here's how ya do it:

2 sweet potatoes, peeled and diced

1/2 purple onion finely diced

2 garlic cloves diced

1/2 cup veggie stock

3 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp coconut sugar or substitute

2 tbsp tomato paste

1/2 tsp cayenne

1/2 tsp cumin

2 tsp smoked paprika

salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
optional: Parboil potatoes for 7-10 min.

Saute all ingredients except veggie stock and cook for 5-6 min until softening up. 

Add veggie stock and bring to a boil.

Put whole pan into the oven for 20 min.

When that is done, cover with foil and let it cool.

It's Delicious!

Enjoy!

Roasted bell peppers and mushrooms stuffed with herbed goat cheese

So, today I made my second dish in the series of my Harmony Health event. I will be catering it next week and today we made roasted bell peppers and mushrooms and we stuffed them with herbed goat cheese.

Ingredients:

1-2 roasted bell peppers

1 cup mushrooms cleaned and stemmed

4 oz. goat cheese
2 oz. ricotta cheese

cayenne pepper

fresh parsley 
optional: green onion

Put everything in the food processor except the mushroom and bell pepper and combine. Just stuff and have fun!

Enjoy!

How to make easy bruschetta!

So, today I did a video on garlic tomato bruschetta. It is the first recipe in the list of recipes I will be making at the next Harmony Health seminar. I will be catering it again this month and I want to have all the videos up so I can market with the clients! Wish me luck!

Garlic Tomato Bruschetta:

1 cup cherry tomatoes

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon herbs (I used thyme)

1 head of garlic

Serve with crusty bread or crackers.

Chop all ingredients and bake for 12 min on 400.

Super fast and easy! A great party dish in 20 min.

Today's goal

Hey everybody!

Today I am working on my menu for the Harmony Health Seminar next weekend. 

I catered the last seminar and it went amazingly well. Most of the attendees had a dietary restriction of either gluten free, lactose intolerant, vegan or vegetarian or a combination of several. So, needless to say, it was a challenge. 

I had only two vegan options so I am working on a more opportunistic menu this time. 

The challenging part is: I will be trying to get a corresponding video up for all of my dishes before this weekend so I can market my youtube channel to the attendees. It should be an excellent opportunity to have many of my clients join my channel subscription list.  

I am super excited! If you have any input on possible meal ideas, drop me a line. 

Talk to you soon :)

Got a new video camera!

Ben, being wonderful like he is, bought me a new HD video camera! I got it in the mail on Saturday! It is a tiny one with a flip out screen and has a suction cup on the back to stick to the windows in the kitchen. I am looking forward to making a few videos with it. I will start tonight! Stay tuned for better videos!