Toaster Central

I just love vintage toasters, the designs are so streamlined and stylish. The models above have all been lovingly restored by Toaster Central. Be sure to check out their site for info on repair, value, and to drool over their amazing selection. Toaster Central has a number of other small vintage appliances and offers a repair service as well.

And because I can't get enough here are a few deco models and a neat single slice popup toaster, all in working condition from various sellers on Etsy.

More Recipe Cards

Yipee! More 3x5 recipe cards are available on the downloads page. I have two western themed designs up, a herd of cattle and a fun campfire cookin' cowboy. These images were scanned in from out of print vintage cookbooks (which I avidly collect), cleaned up, tweaked, and edited by yours truly. Hopefully more designs to come, enjoy them!

Homemade Mexican Chorizo

I love Mexican chorizo but most store brands aren't too appealing... why does it have to turn to mush when its cooked? and those little bits of chewy-ness? Ick. It was high time I made my own since the good quality stuff can be hard to find.

Bottom line was I wanted great chorizo flavor but with better meat- no cereals or fillers. Making your own lets you control the quality and flavor to your liking, which is just what I was after. I've found that lean ground pork works great with a bit of lard for consistency. Spice it up, let the flavors meld together and you have top-quality chorizo, ready to use in any of your favorite recipes.

Homemade Mexican Chorizo
(printable recipe)

1 lb. lean ground pork
1/4 c shortening or lard
3 tbsp. chili powder
1 tbsp. paprika
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp. each cinnamon & cloves
1/8 tsp. each ginger, nutmeg, and coriander seed
1/2 tsp. each oregano, comino & thyme
1/2 c red wine vinegar
3 bay leaves, crumbled

Combine the pork and lard until evenly blended. Add the spices and vinegar and mix well. At this point you can stuff into casings or simply cover the mixture and refrigerate at least 24 hours or up to several days (stir occasionally) to allow the flavors to meld. Any unused portions can be frozen for later use.


I like to divide the batch and freeze smaller portions, these are perfect to thaw for delicious breakfast tacos the next morning. Simply cook the chorizo over medium heat, remove any excess grease and add several eggs and scramble the whole thing together. You could also add sauteed onions and peppers, and of course top with cheese and salsa. So good, and one of my favorite breakfasts!

Red Pozole

The first time I tried red Pozole I was working at a job I didn't particularly like. My co-workers were great but I wasn't happy with the way management treated us and how the place was run. Anyways, on this particular day it had iced over outside and was sleeting. Hank drove me the 10 minutes to work and I relieved the person working the overnight shift. The rest of my co-workers filed in, some late, but all miserable from the weather. After a particularly grueling morning, I was starving. I hadn't brought much to eat, just a few snacks I snuck in my purse. A friend of mine called me into the nearby kitchenette. I crept away from my desk to see what the commotion was, and as luck would have it another co-worker had brought some pozole for all of us. It was a welcome treat to everyone who was working that day. I heated up a small bowl and sipped and slurped to my heart's content.

Recently I devised my own version of red pozole. It's a lot like what I remember with plenty of hominy and tender bits of pork all in a deliciously flavored broth. It's the perfect warming dish on a cold day.


Red Pozole
(printable recipe)

2 lbs. boneless pork ribs, diced
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 29oz. can hominy
1 dried guajillo chile
1 dried ancho chile
2 tbsp. chili powder
1 tbsp. garlic salt
1 tsp. oregano (Mexican oregano, if available)

Simmer the pork, onion, garlic, and 4 c water over medium heat for 1 hour. Add the hominy with its liquid and simmer for another hour.
Soak the chiles in enough boiling water to cover them for 30 minutes. Remove from the liquid and remove the stems and seeds. Puree the chiles with 1/4 c of the soaking liquid. Add the chile puree, spices and another 4 c water. Simmer 20 - 30 minutes.
Serve with corn tortillas, lime wedges, and a little cilantro.

Kitchen Tour

It's Saturday. I have a fridge full of leftovers and no desire or need to cook. So I'm taking this weekend after Thanksgiving to give my kitchen a good scrubbing and tackle a little organizing project.

I thought it might be fun to take a look back at some photos I took during the summer. My kitchen was clean and bright, the counters were clear, the dishes were done... Ah, memories.

At the very least it's a good incentive to get to work and prepare for all the Christmas cooking I have planned. But that's just what I'm telling myself - really I'm just procrastinating and putting off cleaning for just a few more minutes.


Here's my stove- a 1950's Tappan Deluxe. It is immediately to the left when you walk in the kitchen. The rack I purchased for extra storage (and I was tired of digging my pans out of a low cabinet). I've got all my cast iron on hooks for easy access and large pots above and a bit of bulk storage below.


To the right of the wire rack is a few cabinets and an alcove (where the stove used to be) where we keep our deep freeze. This clock sits on the wall above the freezer. Look at how much the wall color changed in the photos! Weird.

To the right of the deep freeze is this counter and corner sink. I think all kitchen sinks should be beneath a window don't you?
I've since cluttered this space with another plant and few of my cookbooks..it might be time to move those.

To the right of the sink is another small counter with our dishwasher below.
Confession: I never use it.
It's full of tupperware and seasonal stuff (popsicle molds, gingerbread pans, empty canning jars) I'm thinking about removing it and putting open shelving there...not sure yet.


Along this same wall, on the right side of the kitchen is this little dining space. It's where I take 80% of my photos (thank goodness for natural lighting)!

But we've always struggled with this area- it's an awkward size and just isn't quite right for this table.


We have since found this little vintage red dinette. A much better fit! (but a really crummy photo).


Here's the tree that sits outside the window. I love it- anyone know what kind of tree this is?

This island / divider juts out and closes off our little dining area. I keep all my small appliances (and microwave!) in the cabinets below.

Here's our Kelvinator fridge. It's a relic - I debate about whether or not to make Hank paint it. A part of me would love to see it redone but another part of me loves it in it's found state- rust, wear marks and all. I pray to the appliance gods every day to keep it running (thank you!) and to defrost the freezer for me- they never do.

That's about it, folks. I've procrastinated long enough I think...off to clean and organize!

the Hungry Texan on Mid2Mod

Thanks for the write up Dana! Read the article here.

Smoked Turkey

I know I said before that all I had to make for Thanksgiving was a side or two and a pie, but Hank and I got a wild hair last week and decided we needed to smoke a turkey. It was the right thing to do, and since everyone who had previously volunteered to make it seemed to be backing out it was a good thing we did.

Now, if you must know I've never made a turkey before- so the recipe below was purely experimental. I mean we had plenty of ideas (and questions)... should we flavor it up BBQ-style? cajun? how do we keep it moist? truss who? etc. etc.

In the end we just went after it and used our best judgement. I went for more of a fall flavors kind of approach. It was really fun- we haven't sliced into the turkey yet but it smells absolutely amazing.


Smoked Turkey
(printable recipe)

butter-rub
1 stick butter, softened
equal parts (about 2 tbsp. each) fresh thyme, parsley, rosemary, sage, minced
dash pepper, cayenne, paprika

injection
2 c apple cider
1 stick cinnamon
4 cloves
salt & pepper
dash cayenne, paprika

aromatics
2 c celery, chopped
2 c onion, chopped
2 c carrots, chopped
6 small apples (1 used 3 granny smith and 3 fuji), diced
3 small pears
fresh sprigs of rosemary, thyme, sage

Thaw the turkey in the refrigerator overnight (if using a fresh turkey, brine in salted water overnight) thoroughly pat dry. To make the rub combine the butter, herbs, and spices. Mix well until smooth and spreadable. Rub underneath the skin (as much as you can) and over the entire bird.

Combine the celery, onion, carrots, apples, and pears and stuff the turkey. Add the fresh herbs to the cavity as well. Place any extra aromatics on the bottom of the roasting pan and put the turkey on top. Truss the turkey (I simply tied the legs together and cut through the skin on either side to insert each wing).

To make the injection bring the cider and spices to a low boil. Simmer 5-10 minutes until fragrant. Inject each breast and leg with the hot injection mixture.

Smoke the turkey at 200 degrees in a water smoker. We used a equal parts apple cider and water for the liquid in the smoker, and used mesquite and cherry wood chips - next time we'll try apple wood. The turkey is done when you reach 165 degrees in the thickest part of the breast. Check the turkey every hour to make sure the skin is not getting too dark - we covered ours with foil when it had good color and continued to smoke it until it was cooked through.

Using a turkey baster remove some of the excess liquid / drippings from the pan. Carefully remove the turkey from the smoker and allow to rest for 1 hour before carving.