Friday Fab Five 07 • Everyday Lifehacks from Barb

This week just flew by — why does it seem like Summer always goes so fast? We tested more recipes this week for our upcoming classes at Orson Gygi (don’t worry, we will post them after we teach). I have loved my time creating in the kitchen. I am in a really a fun space where everything I see I think, “Can I mac that”? And then I try to. I had a huge fail this week thinking I could make a balsamic glaze mac. I’ll come back to it at some point, but let’s say that my sinuses are good and cleaned out. lol. Let’s get to the FFF. (Friday Fab Five)

1. Color

DID YOU SEE ALL THE COLOR WE BOUGHT THIS WEEK! We placed a huge order of AmeriColor from Orson Gygi and we will be pumping out that Color Look Book in no time flat! I made colors such as Cyprus, Watermelon, Egg Yellow and so many more! Did you also see the color series we did using Peacock? It’s gorgeous, and I mean it. HERE is the website to Orson Gygi. We priced it out; if you use our discount code “sweetmacshop” the price per bottle is cheaper than anywhere else. Tell me which colors you snag, because I’ll experiment with those first.

2. In The Fridge

You are probably thinking I typed this heading wrong, but I promise I didn’t. I thought it would be fun to tell you a few of my favorite every day condiments that we love. The perfect salad dressing, our favorite ranch, etc.

Everyone has a favorite ranch — you know its true — and we are no exception. Now the bad part to this is that my favorite ranch can only be found in Utah. It’s called Coyote Ranch and it’s amazing. Our next favorite thing in the condiment section of our fridge is a Sambal Oelek Chili Paste. We use this when we make spicy food, which is at least twice a week. (Did you hear about the Siracha Shortage, by the way?? Crazy.) Have you tried sun-dried tomatoes? It’s my favorite part of lunch everyday I mix a little mayo, pesto and sun dried tomatoes and spread that onto sourdough bread. Top with sliced chicken, lettuce, pickled red onions and tomatoes and it’s a meal!

What’s your favorite in the fridge? I want to know.

3. In the Kitchen

I thought it would be fun to give you one of our family favorite recipes. I know, I know, I usually link to all the yumminess, but I thought you would love a tried and true favorite of mine for the 4th of July. Like clockwork, we always make homemade Root Beer and Homemade Ice Cream.

Homemade Rootbeer

1 tsp Root Beer Extract
1 cup sugar
1 liter water
1-2 lbs. Dry Ice (MUST HAVE THIS) I find mine at the grocery store when checking out; they usually have to get it for you. Depending on the size of the dry ice piece, I might double or triple the batch.

Mix together the sugar, water in a large pot (that will accommodate your dry ice). If your sugar won’t dissolve, you can heat the mixture, stirring until there are no more sugar granules. Add extract. In a well-ventilated area, and using gloves or tongs, slip the dry ice into the liquid, stirring until it is almost melted, keeping the ice from sticking to the bottom or to the sides. If using the larger amount of dry ice, the root beer will foam and bubble while serving.

Homemade Ice Cream

2 packages dry pudding mix (You can change the flavor by using different flavors. I use vanilla)
1 cup sugar
2 pints of whipping cream
2 cans evaporated milk
1 can sweetened condensed milk
whole milk
ice cubes, or ice in the bag from the grocery store
Ice cream salt (rock salt)

Mix everything but the whole milk together in a bowl. Add the mixture to the [extremely clean] canister of your ice cream maker. Fill to the marked fill line with the whole milk. Place canister into ice cream maker. (We have the super old fashioned kind.) Alternate a layer of cubed ice with a hearty sprinkling of rock salt (how this even works is beyond me, but it does). When the motor stops turning (in about 20-30 min) Voila! You have ice cream! Scoop away the ice from the top and lift out the canister. At this point, while it is still soft, we sometimes we add Oreos or pistachio pudding with chopped almonds — the sky is literally the limit. Serve directly from the canister for soft ice cream, or put the lid back on and keep it in the freezer to let it harden up a bit.

4. Tablescapes for any home

Somedays I forget about my old life. I forget about the spaces I would change, the decor I would place and the plans I would draw, so if it’s ok with you, I thought I would give you some fun ways to dress up your kitchen table for the holiday. I work with textures in design (and in macs: hello, crumble) so we will start with fabric and soft touches. A table runner is one of my favorite kitchen linens to date. This homestead farm runner is the perfect foundation. Next, add these giant mason jars, Some festive colored hydrangeas (country blue, white or red) and wood star confetti and your table will be ready for holiday entertaining. If you need help with plates, straws, and all the other details, grab them here.

5. What’s on the Blog

This week we dropped the 4th of July post, giving you all the color recipes and techniques to make festive macarons for your BBQ and holiday table. We will also start releasing our crumbles, new and old. Do you love the new blog and having all the recipes all in one space? It’s been fun to share more new recipes than ever before.