Marin Homestead

Brown Sugar Caramel Sauce

Tammy — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 21:40:46 +0000

This is a really easy sauce to make and it goes with pies, on sundays, and much more. It is a sweeter caramel sauce than I normally make. Usually I make a fleur de sel caramel but that is a little more difficult to make than this one which is pretty much, throw all the ingredients except of vanilla in a small pot and cook.

Brown Sugar Caramel Sauce

3/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup heavy whipping cream
4 TB butter
1/8 tsp (I prefer fleur de sel or sea salt)
1 TB vanilla extract

Mix brown sugar, heavy cream, butter and salt in a small saucepan over medium-low heat.

Let mixture cooking, whisking gently for 9-10 minutes until the mixture thickens. Add vanilla extra and cook for 1 more minute. Mixture will thicken more. Turn off heat and cool caramel mixture. Serve when cool or you can store in refrigerator for a few days until ready to use.

Perfect Pie Crust Pictorial

Tammy — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 21:32:56 +0000

This pie crust is so superior to what you can get in the stores. It is really simple to make and you can freeze it for later use.

Perfect Pie Crust

1-1/2 cup Crisco (vegetable Shortening)
3 cups All-purpose Flour
1 whole egg lightly beaten
5 Tablespoons Cold Water
1 Tablespoon White Vinegar
1 teaspoon Salt

Directions:

Combine the flour and salt in a large bowl. Add in the shortening.

Using a pastry cutter, gradually work the butter and shortening into the flour until the mixture resembles tiny pebbles or really coarse, wet sand. This step should take a few minutes.

Add lightly beaten egg to the mixture, Then add cold water and vinegar. Stir the mixture until just combined.

Remove half of the mixture and put it on saran wrap. Put another piece of saran wrap pver it and gently flatten pie dough to make a disc about 1 inch thick.

Do the same with the remaining half of the pie dough.

Chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour or you can put in a zip loc back and put in the freezer until you are ready to use.

Flat Apple Pie with Perfect Pie Crust & Caramel Sauce (modified from Pioneer Woman’s recipe)

Tammy — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 21:24:33 +0000

I watched a few episodes of Pioneer Woman on Foodtv. I actually really like her show and seeing snippets of her family. Some of the other females on the show can be a little annoying (my husband can’t stand Ida or Paula…says they give him the heebie-jeebies but I do not mind them that much). Giada is much more annoying to me, with her over pronunciation of everything…”broo-skett-aaaaahhhhhhhh“……gahhh….

I secretly (well, I guess not that secretly since I talk about it all the time) long to have a bigger property where I can have goats, more chickens, and definitely a bigger garden (hence the blog name).

So back to the show…I was sick and stuck in bed ALL MONDAY! This does not happen to me. I am rarely sick and when I am I still have to get up in the morning and take care of the kids, but last Monday I was just too sick and my husband had to stay home from work.

So I watched all the episodes of Pioneer Woman that was on OnDemand. Her recipes are pretty simple and did not seem like they would have the flavor complexity that I like in my cooking but one recipe that really stuck with me was her Flat Apple Pie. I have been cooking for awhile now and I can tell when a recipe is going to be good…and this was one of them. It didn’t hurt that it was served with Caramel Sauce. You can tell from reading this blog and following me on facebook that I LOVE caramel sauce….and we usually have some in the fridge.

So here is my version of the Pioneer Woman’s Flat Apple Pie with Perfect Pie Crust and Caramel Sauce. I modified it with what I had on had and added some cinnamon and nutmeg to the apple mixture and also put a cinnamon sugar on the top part of the crust.

ps. Ree, see how I gave a shout out about your recipe…it would be nice if you reciprocated with other bloggers.

Tammy’s Version of Flat Apple Pie with Perfect Pie Crust and Caramel Sauce

Serves 8-10

Ingredients

Apple mixutre:

5 Apples, peeled and sliced
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packged brown sugar
2 TB all purpose flour
1 TB cinnamon
1 pinch grated nutmeg
1/2 lemon
1/2 tsp sea salt

6 TB butter
1 recipe of Perfect Pie Crust (click link for recipe & pictorial-I like to make this the night before)
Brown Sugar Caramel Sauce

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Put peeled and sliced apples in a large bowl. Squeeze the juice of 1/2 lemon over it, making sure not to get any seeds in the mixture. Add granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, sea salt, and flour to the apples and mix.

3. Lightly flour your clean working surface. With a rolling pin, beging rolling out the pie crusts into large circles (you can use store bought pie crusts if you prefer). Roll the dough from the center outward. Be gentle and avoid back and forth rolling. When the dough is about halfway rolled out, flour the top and flip it over to finish rolling.

4. Loosen the dough with a spatula or pastry scraper and gently move each one to a rimmed baking sheet.

5. Put half of the apple mixture over one pie crust and bring the edges up over the apple mixture. Repair any holes or tears in the dough (i do this by taking a section that has too much dough and using it as a bandaid over the hole).

6. Do the same with the remaining apples.

7. Dot the apple mixture with chunks of butter.

8. Mix 1 TB sugar with 1 tsp cinnamon and sprinkle around the crust.

9. Bake for about 50-55 minutes. While the pies are baking, make the Brown Sugar Caramel Sauce

Here are the 2 pies straight out of the oven with the Brown Sugar Caramel Sauce.

Close up of one of the beauties!

Serve with a drizzle of Caramel Sauce, whip cream or ice cream…ENJOY!

Easy No-Knead Bread Pictorial

Tammy — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 21:01:25 +0000

I love making this bread because not only is it really easy to make, it does not take any fancy appliances, AND it costs less than $1 to make 2-3 loaves. It’s also great because you can make the dough and bake 1/2 of it one day and the other 1/2 the next day so you can have fresh baked bread with dinner every night if you would like.

I modified this recipe from a few recipes I tried and just used a large disposable Tupperware to make the dough in. I make this bread almost every week!

Tammy’s Easy No-Knead Bread

Ingredients:

2 TB honey
3 cups warm water
1 TB instant yeast
6 cups flour
1 TB sea salt

Directions:

1. Mix Warm water, honey and yeast in plastic tupper ware. Let yeast mixture sit for 5 mins until mixture gets a little foamy. I do this before I add the flour to make sure the yeast is “alive”.

This is what the yeast should look like.

2. Add Flour and salt and mix together. It does not even have to be that evenly mixed.

3. Cover with the lid (but do not seal shut…just put on top) and allow to rise at room temperature for 1-2 hours.

What the dough will look like after 1-2 hours at room temperature.

4. Put dough loosely covered with lid in the refrigerator overnight or up to 2 days.

5. Shape & preheat: Preheat oven to 450.

The dough will be wet & sticky. With a wet spatula or knife, cut off a piece the size of a large grapefruit and dump the dough on a floured surface. Use your hands (you can wet them so the dough does not stick) to shape the dough into the shape you want.

Generously flour the surface you would like the dough to rise on (you can use a clean kitchen towel or parchment paper). Set dough seam side down on top of towel. Loosely cover the dough with another kitchen towel and let it rise at room temperature for another 40 minutes.

6. Bake: When your dough has doubled in size, take a sharp knife or razer and slash the top of the bread. I like to bake my break on a pizza stone for a crispier crust. Bake 30-40 minutes depending on the loaf size.

7. Store the remaining dough the the refrigerator to bake the next day

How to install seismic anchor bolts in an Eichler

Steve — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 22:37:16 +0000

If you ever open up your walls like we did, one of the things to consider is adding/upgrading seismic anchor bolts – these basically serve to secure your home to the slab that it sits on in case the ground moves laterally during an earthquake.

I ended up installing 5/8″ anchor bolts roughly every other bay throughout all exterior walls. I left the existing ones in place and just upgraded their washers with 2″ square ones because I’ve heard that the original, smaller washers, can pull through the mud sill (2×4) when under heavy stress. Be sure to spray a lot of WD-40 on the existing bolts and let it sit for a week before attempting to remove the nuts. They were like new after one week – that stuff is amazing. Pics from left to right are: new bolt, old after upgrade, old before upgrade (original).

Here are the steps I took:

1. Drill a 5/8″ hole through the mud sill and into the foundation with a hammer drill and masonry drill bit to a measured depth by putting tape on the drill bit at the depth you want to achieve. You want the bolt to hit the bottom of the hole and still have enough thread for the washer and nut.

2. I used wedge anchors from home depot that you just hammer into the hole and when it hits the bottom of the hole the base expands and locks it into place. Note: be sure to put the washer and nut on before you start hammering since you might mess up the threads making it difficult to thread the nut on after hammering..

3. Tighten nut.

Some people prefer the type of anchor bolt that you epoxy into place, but I went the simpler route.

I was lucky enough to get to borrow our plumbers’ giant bosch hammer drill which made this pretty easy. Be sure you aren’t going to drill through any original plumbing. We abandoned ours so I didn’t have to worry about this.

I found a website that has a lot of useful information about this here: http://earthquakesafety.com

How to build recessed light cans in your Eichler ceiling

Steve — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 21:37:28 +0000

Since we were re-roofing, we figured it was a good time to add these UL, water/IC-rated recessed light cans over our shower and bathtub.

Steps I took:
1. Cut a hole in the ceiling slightly larger than the light can using a sawsall.
2. Build a simple 2×4 frame to mount the can to – mimicking a stud bay.
3. Drill a hole and run wire to the can.
4. Mount the can to the frame.
5. Secure the frame to the roof deck.
6. Cover with plywood.
7. On the inside, I used bondo to fill the T&G grooves in the ceiling around the can where the light cover goes – to seal and protect from moisture (not pictured).

The whole box is now buried under the new foam roof, so if it ever goes kaput – I’ll have to either dig it out from above, or cut it out from below. If I had to do it again, I’d probably make the enclosure taller and add a weather proof access lid to it for future maintenance..

I’m interested to hear how other people have done this differently?

*Always consult a licensed professional when dealing with electrical systems.

How to build a recessed vent fan in your Eichler bathroom

Steve — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 05:23:53 +0000

The building inspector required us to add vent fans in our bathroom ceilings (thank god) so I decided to make them recessed instead of having a box hanging down from the ceiling as I’ve seen in other Eichlers.

Steps I took:
1. Cut a hole in the ceiling slightly larger than the fan casing using a sawsall.
2. Build a simple 2×4 frame to mount the fan to – mimicking a stud bay.
3. Drill a hole in the 2×4, and run wire to the fan.
4. Mount the fan to the frame.
5. Secure the frame to the roof deck.
6. Attach ventilation ducting.
7. Cover with plywood that has hole cut in for ducting.
7. Add a roof jack over vertical duct to provide support and protection.

The whole box is now buried under the new foam roof, so if it ever goes kaput – I’ll have to either dig it out from above, or cut it out from below..

I’m interested to hear how other people have done this differently?

*Always consult a licensed professional when dealing with electrical systems.

How to run a gas line to an Eichler kitchen island

Steve — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 21:06:53 +0000

We wanted to install a gas range in our new island cabinet that was custom built to the same size and location of the original Eichler island.

Be aware that this approach assumes that you have already abandoned the radiant heat system in your slab. We cut a trench through the slab that severed the radiant heat pipes. This also assumes that any existing flooring will be replaced.

1. Determine shortest path from existing gas supply and draw a line on the floor where you’ll need to create your trench. For us it was the corner of the garage where our hot water heater is located. We tied into the existing gas line there.

2. Cut a trench in the concrete slab using a concrete saw of some sort. We used a skill saw w/ a concrete blade and squirted water on the blade w/ a plastic bottle that had a pinhole in the lid. This is neccesary to lubricate the blade and it prevents any dust. I does tend to splash a lot of cement mud around though, so tarp off anything you want to keep clean. (I attached a pic of this technique being done for a different project.)

3. Use a slege hammer to break up the concrete after it has been cut and remove it.

4. Dig the trench about 18″ deep. In California, code requires 12″ between the gas line and electrical if they are sharing a trench.

We found that the gravel under the slab goes down deeper than we dug, so we never hit dirt. The original conduit that carried the electrical and phone lines to the island were completely corroded to the point of non existence. Chances are that most Eichlers w/ the original wiring in this location are in similar shape.

We ran the gas line at the bottom of the trench in an air-tight plastic PVC chase pipe that vents to the exterior of the building to prevent buildup in case of a gas leak.

The gas line itself is a flexible pipe that can be pulled out of the chase if it needs to be replaced. It has shut off valves on both ends where it enters and exits the chase. Our plumber took care of all the gas line stuff – I recommend this being done by a licensed professional.

The electric line was run in a flexible plastic pipe that is UL rated for direct contact with concrete. This was laid close to the top of the trench to obtain our 12″ separation from the gas line per code.

The exact locations where the gas and electric lines should emerge under the new island took a lot of thought and planning and we ended up having to break some of the new concrete and move them in the end, so be sure you put some thought into this before you fill in the trench and pour your concrete.

In our case, the location of the hood vent was what determined the final location of the island. We have a beam that runs directly through where the hood vent pipe would go if we spaced the island 45″ from the sink-side cabinets so we ended up running the vent pipe directly beside it and ended up w/ something like 44″ between the cabinets and island.

5. Once your gas and electric lines are laid in the trench, fill it back in w/ the gravel and drill holes in the cut edges of the slab and fit rebar into them and secure it w/ cement epoxy.

Using rebar will ensure that the new cement won’t crack and fall down into the trench if the gravel underneath it settles over time.

6. Once the rebar is in place, mix up some concrete in a wheelbarrow, pour it in, and trowel smooth.

**Note: always consult with a licensed contractor and check with your local building inspector when doing gas and electrical work – these are hands down the most dangerous systems in your home.

Warm Brussels Sprout Salad with Bacon & Eggs

Tammy — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 04:13:31 +0000

This is one of my favorite salads and it has all of my favorite things in it: Bacon, carmelized onions, eggs, and brussel sprouts…YUMMY!

INGREDIENTS:

The Dressing

2 large shallots, diced
4 small garlic cloves minced
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

The Salad

80 Brussels sprouts (about 5 pounds)
1 large red onion
2 tablespoons butter
4 large eggs
2 cups 1/4-inch cubes of artisan bread flavored with herbs, crusts removed
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound bacon, cut in 1/2-inch dice
Salt and pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS:

To make the dressing: Combine the shallots, garlic, thyme and vinegar in a bowl. Set aside for at least 30 minutes. Whisk in the olive oil. To prepare the sprouts: Cut each Brussels sprout in half. Place cut-side up on a work surface and make a V-shaped cut to remove the core and any stem nubbin. The leaves will fall off and separate. Rinse sprouts and set aside.

Cut the onion, stem to root, into 1/4-inch thick slices. Melt the butter in a skillet. Add the onion and saute over medium heat, stirring frequently, until golden and sweet, about 10 minutes. Set aside.

Place the eggs, still in their shells, in a small saucepan; cover with cold tap water. Bring to a boil, remove from heat and let sit for 9 to 11 minutes. The yolks should be firm, but slightly undercooked. Peel the eggs and cut each into 8 chunks. Set aside. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Toss the bread cubes with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and place in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake until golden brown, stirring occasionally. This should take 10 to 15 minutes.

Cook the bacon in a saute pan over moderate heat until golden and crisp, about 7 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towels to drain.

Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large saute pan until nearly smoking. Add the Brussels sprout leaves and toss until wilted, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add the reserved onion and bacon. Cook, tossing, until hot. Add the vinaigrette and toss to distribute evenly. Add the croutons and eggs, toss gently to mix.

Serve immediately.

Serves 8.

Easy Brioche

Tammy — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 03:53:57 +0000

Ingredients:

1/3 cup warm milk
2 tablespoon instant dry yeast
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
4 tablespoons granulated sugar
3/4 cups cold unsalted butter, cut in pieces
4 Extra Large eggs, cold from the refrigerator (or 5 large eggs)

Directions:

1. Dissolve yeast in the milk.

2. With the food processor dough blade (for my food processor it is the plastic one). Place 1 cup of the flour, salt, sugar, and butter into the food processor. Pulse a few times until it looks crumbly.

3. Add the yeast and milk mixture and pulse processor quickly.

4. With the processor running, use the feed tube to add the remaining flour and eggs, one at a time. The dough will be very sticky. Turn the power off and let the dough rise in the bowl of the processor for about an hour. Once it has doubled in size, pulse the processor once to knead it back down again.

5. Butter two 9 x 5 loaf pans and split the brioche dough between the 2 loaf pans. Cover with Saran wrap and let rise for 2 more hours.

6. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and bake loaves for 15-20 minutes. When done remove from oven and let cool for a few minutes before eating.