Some days I need to make art, but I don't want to make jewelry nor do I have a lot of time.   On days like that I will do something small and fast that has a large impact.    Back in February I had one of those days.   I was in the kitchen looking around for something to do (it was clean for a change) and my eyes fell on my old and boring white toaster.   I have wanted a cool colored toaster for about forever, but they cost money and I'm cheep.   On this day my brain said "you don't have to leave it that way.  Your an artist fix it".   So I pulled out my paint pins and this is what happened.

This was a really easy and quick project.   Below are the instructions to fancify your own toaster.

Project time:  10-30 minutes

What you need: Toaster, Paint Pins (Oil Based), Vinegar, Soap, Water, Cleaning cloth or sponge.

If your toaster is already clean and you know what you want to draw already this will be a short project.   If your toaster is dirty and you have to think about what to draw it can take much longer.   Like a lot of art projects the prep-work is what takes the most time.

1)  Clean the outside of your toaster thoroughly this is were the water, soap and cleaning cloth come into play.   Make sure   when cleaning to not get water inside your toaster.   Also if you get the plug wet make sure it's completely dry before you plug it into the socket. 

2)  Once it's clean wipe it down with Vinegar 1-3 times.   You can use white wine vinegar or apple cyder vinegar it dose not matter.   Since I don't like the smell of vinegar I'll do a last wipe down with a damp cloth (water).

3)  Dry your toaster completely.   Paper towels or a linen dish cloth work really well, but so dose just letting it air dry for a few hours, what ever you like best.

4)  Using oil based paint pins draw your design.   I like to sketch I ideas first on a scrap piece of paper.

5)  Let it dry over night and your done.

   Customer Question YEA!

Q.  Neat DIY! What does the vinegar step do?

A.  It's to prime the surface.   It cleans off  oils and stuff that soap and water do not get, as well as the residue soap/cleansers leaves behind.    In other words it makes it so the paint will stick better.

Super Quick and easy meals. That's what I'm all about.

                 

I love to cook, but I'm like crazy busy so my Honey-Bunny is usually the one making our meals.  Which works out great for me since he is a fabulous cook.  However most of his meals are heavy on the meat and light on the vegetables.  So when I cook it is often times vegetarian or nearly vegetarian.

I generally will come up with my own recipes because I want a thing, but am to lazy or maybe to creative to follow a recipe.   I think their great for ideas,  but I get board with following exactly what someone else came up with.

Below is my recipe for Home-Made Ramen or an Asian Broth Bowl depending on how picky you want to be on definitions.  BE WARNED I don't make recipes for beginners.  You need to have your fundamentals down for this to be of use to you.  You will also notice that I will give you an ingredients list,  but not quantity's for how much of each thing you need.  The reason is this is a soup recipe, everything is to taste.   If you like lots of ginger then add a bunch if you don't like cilantro leave it out.  If you really like mushrooms then add them.  The best part about this sort of dish is that you can make it any way you like.

Cook/Prep Time: 20-50 minuets → it depends on how organized you are.   I tend to take about 40 minutes since I like to clean up as I go.

Servings: 1 – 8 → All depends on how much you make and how large a serving you want.

Ingredients List...
Garlic
Ginger
Sesame Oil
Broth or Bouillon & Water → I use Better than Bouillon. Yum
Tajin → It's a seasoning. You can use any Asian seasoning you like
Soy Sauce
Onion
Sweet Potato
Carrots
Peppers → I used a mix of sweet peppers and red bell pepper
Basil
Cilantro
Lemon/Lime
Noodles → Asian noodles are best (there's a bunch of different kinds you don't have to stick to Ramen), but if you don't have any on hand spaghetti or linguine work fine.


The Noodles: Cook noodles according to instructions.  When they are done put them in a colander and rinse them in cold water.  Go ahead and use your hands to make sure nothing is sticking and the noodles are cold.  Shake the colander vigorously then put the noodles aside on a plate or you can divide them up into the bowls now.  “Why do this?” you might ask.  Well that's a good question and there are several reasons for this.  You don't want the starch from the noodles to get into your broth otherwise you could just cook it all at once.  Also you don't want the noodles to be over cooked that just leads to tears.  The noodles will be added to the bowl and the finished broth will be pored over top and if you leave all the starch from the cooking process on them your noodles will become a big lump which is just not appealing.  At this point in time I just give the pot a quick cleaning an use it to cook the broth.  If you are like my Honey-Bunny and think that's what the dishwasher is for (fair point) then you can use a second pot and do this step while the broth is cooking.  It dose go faster that way.

The Broth: Dice up the Garlic and Ginger and put it into the pan with some Sesame Oil give it a minute or 2 to allow the flavors to bloom then add the onion.  Give it an additional minute or 2 then add the Broth or Water.  I have a whole house water filter so I use hot water to speed this proses along.  While the water is coming up to boil it's to time chop everything else. Add the Sweet Potato next since it's dense and will need longer to cook.  I recommend cutting it no more than 1 centimeter thick.  Then add the Carrots, I use baby carrots so I just toss them in after a quick rinse, no cutting necessary. Finally toss in the Peppers.

      

The water should be at a boil by the time you put the peppers in.  Once everything is in it's time to add the Soy Sauce, Tajin, and the Bouillon if you are using it instead of broth.   I use half Fish Base and half Vegetarian Base Better Than Bouillon, but you can use anything you like.   Let the broth boil till everything is cooked this will take between 10 and 20 minutes depending on how thickly you cut your vegetables.  I like large chunks so it usually takes around 20 minutes for me.   You'll know when it's ready when the onions are translucent and you can cut the carrots and sweet potatoes with the side of your spoon.

       

Finishing the Broth: Once everything is cooked take the broth off the heat and add the Lemon or Lime, both work fine; I usually use 2 small limes, but a large lemon, lime or lemon juice will work, and the chopped Cilantro. Let it sit while you prepare the bowls

     

Bowl of Soup: If you have not already put a portion of noodles into a bowl (use less that you think you need there is a lot of other things in the broth) and tare up some basil and toss that in as well.

     

Ladle the broth on top of the noodles. Serve and Eat, YUM.

     

The leftovers can be put into the fridge for another meal.  I put my noodles in a separate sealed container, but if you are going to take it to work then just wait till the broth is cool before adding the noodles.

Last note.  I know I have forgotten to mention something and it's driving me crazy.  If it comes to me then I'll fix the post later, if it dose not and you know what it is please add your own comment.