Bangin' buys #3 - Pot Edition

It's been quite some time since I've posted a Bangin' Buys.  I did notice though that I started this "series" (if you can even call it it that.😏 I think I would need to be more consistent to call it that for real) last Spring so it seems it just comes most naturally to me this time of year....I dunno.....

This time the post has a theme and you know I LOVE me a good theme!  These buys are all pot related.  No, not the Mary Jane.  Herb, Ganja, Reefer.  Nope, none of that stuff.  I mean the thing you put your plants in.  

I guess you COULD grow your pot out of these pots....maybe.  I mean I don't know how it all works or what kind of vessel it reqires.  I think it takes a lot of light and most people grow it in their showers and get crazy paranoid about their electric bills being high from all the lights so they turn off basically everything else and you sweat do death living in AZ so the pot plants can thrive. Or so I hear......

(Really, it's what I hear.  I've never smoked pot in my life.  I'm a square like that)

Moving right along.....

99C Only

The good ole 99 will always have a big piece of my heart.  You can just get the greatest stuff! Check these out.



Let's start with the basics; a terracotta pot.  What I like about these is that they are a different shape from the classic ones.  Granted, if you are looking for the classic ones they carry those too, I just featured this one because I liked that it was less flared in shape and had a rounder, thinner top edge.  And being so plain and porous they can easily be spray painted and completely customized to your style. 

Next up, these cute square patterned pots.  Back in Bangin' Buys #1 I posted smiliar-ish ones.  These are slightly different patterns and all square and most are navy. Last year some were round and all were black.  I like that they put out new ones each year.  I'm curious if they will continue next Spring (stay tuned!)

These hanging pots are super cute and come in both black and white

I love all these concrete patterned pots! And since the pattern is part of the pot mold itself, you could totally paint them and still maintain the patterned details

These small llama and bulldog planters are the CUTEST!

Looking for  a basic black pot? Gotcha covered!  I love the simplicity and that is is completely straight up and down

 

Target

I had to include these when I ran across them in the dollar section at Target because they look like mini versions of the ones above from 99.  

Walmart

Look, look! This cat planter made me audibly squeal and then a loud "oh, it's HAPPENING" could probably be heard from aisles away.  I had to have it.  Here it is in my living room

Again with the concrete pots....so cute! And one is punny too

I like the geometric patterns and kines of these white pots

And you can't go wrong with these AMAZING plant stand!! The light pattern is so dreamy. Droooool!

At Home

Last but not least....for the people who love a wiener. (settle down ladies). I saw this and instantly thought of my friend Ashley who is a wiener mom.  Just imagine how cute this would be with small succulents planted all along its back. CUH-UTE!

The Encyclopedic Cookbook Recipe Series- American Kedgeree

It's time for Recipe #2 of  The Encyclopedic Cookbook Recipe Series!  If you don't know what that is, I'll give you a quick rundown. 

A book caught my eye in the thrift store. It was from 1966.  I love things from the 60s.  My house was built in 66'. It seemed like fate.  I decided to cook one recipe from the book every month of 2019. The food back then can be weird.

Hopefully that was fast enough while still getting all the deets relayed.

So I tried to ease y'all in the first month with a simple soup recipe.  Granted simple also meant bland AF, but simple nonetheless. Really though, as I have flipped through the book I have been hard pressed to find any recipe that doesn't make me go either 😲 or 😕

Food back in the 60s was a little sketchy.  

The style? Cute! 

Home décor? Mostly cool.  

The music? Awesome! 

The food?  Weird.

I had been eyeing a few recipes as potentials but I gotta be honest, I ended up going with this one because the end of February really creeped up on me (this month just really does that to ya doesn’t it?) and I had everything I needed to make this recipe without a trip to the store...score!!

So I present to you, “American Kedgeree”  A combination of kidney beans, potatoes, curry powder, and hard boiled eggs.  If that doesn't make your mouth water I don't know what will!😜

Upon a little research, I found that Kedgeree is a British dish that traditionally consists of flaked fish, rice, curry powder, and hard boiled eggs and is usually eaten for breakfast.   This "American" version subs beans for fish, potatoes for rice, and the whites of the egg are chopped and mixed through while the yolk is finely sieved over the top.

So I got to work making the dish following the series rules of sticking to the recipe.  The recipe gave the option of adding 1/2-1 cup of cream or sour cream, so I added 3/4 c. of sour cream. I'm surprised this part was "optional" because it seemed necessary to me to bring everything together in it's sauciness.  I feel it would have been dry and hard to get the flavors to meld together without it.

  The verdict?  Surprisingly good!  I certainly wouldn't be requesting it for my last meal on death row (I also don't have plans to make it to death row) but it was tastier than I imagined the combination to be.  Versus the soup from last month that was a bit (or alot) bland, this dish actually had some decent flavor!

Join me next month as I dive deeper into the weird culinary scene of 1966

The Encyclopedic Cookbook Recipe Series- Crab & Tomato Bisque

If you follow my Instastories you might know the backstory of this book. For those that don’t, I’ll explain.

One day, I was cruising the thrift store as I often do, and a book caught my eye.  All I saw was the spine but the color and style just instantly drew me in. 

 I pulled it off the shelf and chuckled that it was a cookbook “The Culinary Institute of America Encyclopedic Cookbook” to be exact.  Even crazier was that when I opened it I saw that it was from 1966…..1966 you guys!

So, what’s so significant about 1966?  Well, first of all I’m obsessed with all things mid century to begin with.  I love the style, the history, the pop culture...all of it!  But 1966 has specific significance because that is the year our house was built.  I had told The Boy I wanted a collection of periodicals and books from that year to fill our coffee table and built ins as a nod to the history of the house.  So of course this meant Goodwill got my money REAL fast!

I was showing the book to The Boy and as we admired it’s great condition and the odd recipes in it (Calf’s Brain Fritters anyone?) when he came up with a great idea.  Why didn’t I do a Julie & Julia style series where once a month I cook and blogged one recipe from the book for the whole year of 2019.

The Encyclopedic Cookbook Recipe Series was born!

The rules:

1.Cook one recipe a month

2.Must follow the recipe to the T. No adjusting allowed!

That’s it!

First recipe up…Crab & Tomato Bisque.

So here’s the thing.  I was already taken aback by the simplicity of the recipes as a whole.  They have so few ingredients and it sort of blows my mind!  Like this soup contained no garlic at all…. say whaaaaaat?? But I followed the rules and it was….meh 

Not bad per say, but bland.  And I was really surprised at how PINK it was. Like that is not a filter...it's really that pink. The ratio of dairy to tomato is different than what I would have done that it looks like your slurping down a big bowl of Pink Squirrel 

I look forward to sharing 11 more vintage recipes with you.  The weird and the good (I hope! lol)

Creamy Clam Chowder- That Tastes Like More Than Just Thick Milk

So I have this pet peeve with most clam chowders.  I feel like the vast majority of them lack clamminess (the flavor, not the sweatiness. That would be gross) or really any flavor at all.  Most honestly just taste like thickened milk.   If I wanted thickened milk I would just……never mind.  I hate milk so I would never EVER want thickened milk so that argument is dumb.  But if I’m going to eat clam chowder it sure as hell better taste like a clam!

To achieve what is (to me) the perfect clam chowder, the key is to decrease the dairy to only a cup of milk and upping the clam flavor by using mostly clam juice in its place.  So how do you get a rich tasting soup without cream and just a single cup of milk?  Bacon!  And lots of it.  I use a whole pound (I chuckle at recipes that call for 3 slices…..I could never stop at that!) The bacon adds richness and flavor without overpowering the clams because of the clam juice. 

One of my sisters is a self-proclaimed clam chowder hater and even she likes my recipe.  Give it a go yo!

Creamy Clam Chowder (That tastes like more than just thick milk!)

5 stalks celery, small diced (about 2 cups)

1 medium onion, small diced

4 large russet potatoes (about 2 ½ lbs.) peeled and medium diced

1 lb. bacon, cubed

4- 8oz bottles clam juice

3- 6.5oz cans chopped clams

2 cloves of garlic, minced

¾ c. flour

2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

¾ tsp. dried thyme

1 cup milk (plus a little more in case you want it thinner)

4 tsp. Kosher salt

Black pepper

Few dashes hot sauce (optional)

Over medium low heat, render the bacon until crisp.  Remove with slotted spoon and let drain on paper towels, leaving the fat in the pan.  Add the onion and celery and sweat until soft and translucent.  Stir in the minced garlic.  Stir in flour to form a roux and let cook about 30 seconds, not allowing the roux to brown.  Slowly pour in all the clam juice, a cup of milk, and the 3 cans of clams whisking to incorporate it smoothly into the roux and vegetable mixture.  Add in the cubed potatoes and let it cook over medium low heat, letting it come up to a boil slowly as to let the potatoes cook all the way through and the liquid thicken.  Stir often as to avoid sticking at the bottom of the pan.  Stir in the thyme, Worcestershire sauce, salt, black pepper, and crisped bacon (reserving some if you like to garnish each serving).  Add a few dashes of hot sauce as desired (I like a little bit in mine)

* If the chowder become too thick you can add more milks as needed to reach the desired consistency