Mini Greenhouse From Strawberry Container

1.)  Coffee filter on the bottom of the strawberry box.

2.)  Soil.

3.)  Seeds.

4.) South facing window sill.

5.)  Wait and watch them grow :)

How Owning a Potato Ricer Will Make You Cool

Have you ever wanted to be really cool without having to try hard at all?  Everyday, you say? Well, have I got a suggestion for you!  I can sense your little ear hairs quivering in anticipation for this little gem.  Your wait is over.  Two words.  Potato ricer!

You seem a little let down.  Let me try this another way.  Homemade egg noodles (& perfect mashed potatoes)!  How's that?  Not sexy enough?  Okay.  You won't be able to resist this. Ahem. Spaetzle!  Ha!  I knew that would get you.

Did you say, "gesundheit?"  I didn't sneeze, you silly thing, you.  Spaetzle is that lovely little German egg noodle that goes oh so well with any sort of saucy thing e.g. pot roast, sauerbraten, goulash, etc.

Now, back to the cool without trying hard, thing...  Spaetzle is so easy to make yet still maintains its shroud of mystery and difficulty to outsiders looking in.  However, the truth is much different. It's all glamour and no work. Here it goes.

Spaetzle:

Ingredients:

1 1/2 C flour
1/2 ts baking powder
1 ts salt
grated nutmeg
2 eggs
1/2 buttermilk (milk, water, cream, chicken stock, whatever-- cook's choice!)
big pot of boiling water

Directions:

Whisk dry ingredients together in large mixing bowl.

Whisk eggs and buttermilk in a medium bowl.

Add wet to dry and stir vigorously until dough gets stretchy and elastic-y (there's a glute/gluten joke in there somewhere). About 2 minutes.

Add 1/2 of mixture to potato ricer (you won't be as glamourous, but you can also use a colander to press the dough through-- use the back of a wooden soon, or something like that.) and extrude dough into boiling water.

*Side note-- It looks like an upside down grownup version of the play dough haircutting shop 1/2 of us had when we were kids.  I hope that didn't gross you out.*

Boil for 2-3 minutes the remove from water.  Repeat with remaining batter.  You're all finished unless you are an overachiever (I don't judge).  If so, saute cooked spaetzle in a skillet/saute pan with butter or bacon grease for a few minutes.

Season to taste & eat!