Sunday, December 30, 2012

My House Update.....


If you follow me regularly then you know that my house has been going through some issues. It all started with a little leak that turned into a much bigger situation.  Although we are still living in a rental.... and the basement is slightly creepy, I am trying hard to look at the bright side. We are almost ready to start rebuilding and I can hardly wait! At least I get to show tricks and techniques to rebuild and decorate on a budget.

Right?

In the meantime I need to go through all my boxes and filter through all those old pieces that were transferred to the rental property. I really don't want to have to shlep them back to the studio!! There are just too many pieces! So I decided to have an End of the Year Clearance Sale! The perfect way to end this fantastic year with my fans. Let's get rid of those pieces just hanging around the studio and retire some collections.


Check out not2shabbey.com for clearance items and don't forget to use your 35% off code CRZYDLZ. Sale ends 1/1/13.

Happy Shopping!
Abbey

Saturday, December 8, 2012

Hanukkah Latkes


As you can imagine, I’m a kind of out of the box type of person. I am always looking at normal everyday items and thinking about how or what I could do with them differently.

You will often find me in my studio and not in my kitchen. Cookie cutters and chocolate molds are just not in my vocabulary. However, upcycling is.

Upcycling is a new term being used in the art world and one of my new favorite things to do. According to Wikepedia it’s the process of converting waste materials or useless products into new materials or products of better quality or for better environmental value.

So in my craft crazy mind I concocted some great Chanukah projects using items that are in your regular everyday kitchens, just using them a little……differently. Each night I will feature 1. Here's the first!! 

Chanukah Shaped Latkes
A dreidle latke?? Oh yah! Yummo!! Who wouldn’t love a menorah latke??
Here’s a how you make these super simple delicacies.

First you gotta make the batter.  
Simple Latke Recipe:
5lb bag of potatoes
1 large onion
4 eggs
½ cup of flour
1 Tablespoon of salt
¼ TSP Black pepper

You want to keep your potatoes in ice cold water after you peel them. If not they will turn brown. Once you finish blending all the potatoes and mixing in the ingredients you want to drain all the extra water out.

Then you are going to add oil to your frying pan – about half way up so your pan is half full with oil.  You can make sure your oil is ready by adding a little batter into the oil and seeing if it sizzles.

Put your cookie cutters into the pan and scoop the batter into each of the cookie cutters.

You know that they are ready to flip when they no longer stick to the bottom. If you can move the latke then you know that they are ready to flip.

When they are brown on both sides they are ready to take out of the pan. Let it cool for a few minutes. Those cookie cutters are HOT! Take your knife and cut along the edge of each of the latkes to help separate them. Then just push them through. They should easily come out.

They are so delicious and yummy. The thickness of the potato is what makes these so delightful!







Till next time!
Abbey