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New Use For An Old Thing: Silverware Organizer

I'm pretty proud of my kitchen drawers.

They're the one storage area in the house that's actually the size we need it to be, and - against all odds - I've managed to keep them relatively organized...mostly because every inch of them is filled with things that divide and conquer all the mess, like teacups, salt bowls, baby food jars, and silverware organizers. I have a silverware organizer in both drawers, actually - even the one that doesn't hold silverware - because they're just so handy for arranging smallish items like serving utensils, bibs, pens, and tape dispensers.

But the uses for silverware organizers (like the pretty one pictured above) don't end in the kitchen! No no. Want to see?!

SIDESSALADS

Baby Bok Choy with Garlic Scapes

What are these crazy-looking things?!

They're very pretty and twisty, but I honestly had no idea what to make of them when I spotted them  at our local farmer's market last Saturday. It turns out that garlic scapes are a late spring/early-summer thing - they're the part of the garlic that grows above ground, and that gets harvested so that the bulb below can mature more fully.

What do they taste like? Garlic. Except lighter and fresher and milder, so you can use lots of them.

How to use them? Apparently pretty much any way you'd use the regular stuff, but the subtle flavor means they're extremely versatile: people pickle them, make them into pesto, blend them with white beans to make crostini, add them to soups and pastas, and even eat the younger (milder) ones raw.

DIY Projects

New Uses For An Old Thing: Cake Plate

Cake plates are one of those things that are just so fun to collect: I’ve found them at thrift stores and flea markets, and even dyed a clear cake plate red to make my own Depression Glass as part of a JITH episode. But, as we know, I’m also fairly terrible at cake-baking…and so that raises the question: what to do with all those pretty plates?

This cake plate (discovered a couple of weeks ago at T.J.Maxx) was too cute not to play with.

Garden Decor: A simple white cake plate topped with mismatched candles makes an unusual - and atmospheric - addition to your backyard.

ENTREES

Green Chile Cheese Enchiladas

When I was a little girl I read all the time, and I mean that literally: I read while eating, on the bus to and from school every day, and even while walking down the street (some minor collisions were involved). One summer, I read the entirety of The Mists Of Avalon while seated on the back of my mom's Yamaha on a ride to Canada and back; I can't even imagine what the people who passed us on the highway thought (probably that my parents shouldn't let me read on the back of a motorcycle).

Anyway, I was a big reader. And some of my all-time favorite books during my formative years were - of course - the Judy Blume books (Starring Sally J. Freedman As Herself remains my personal favorite). It's always fun to revisit the stories that shaped our childhoods, and in just a few days Tiger Eyes - the story of a young girl attempting to cope with the murder of her father - will be released on film.

In celebration of the release Lawrence Blume, the director of the film and Judy's son (and my friend), sent me this recipe straight from the Blume kitchen to try out for myself.


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