Living with the Webers - Sharing our recipes and artistic ideas

Power LED lights via USB

Christoph — Tue, 01 Jan 2019 23:51:28 +0000

Material:

Wall receptacle with high power USB - I used TopGreener TU2154A supplying 4A total, 2.4A max per connector
10ft USB cable
electrical tape
Sugru
electrical multimeter (optional)

I was really tired of the rat's nest of extension cord, wall warts and multiple cables feeding the three 30ft LED strings in our living room. Then a couple of weeks before Christmas it hit me: LEDs consume 5V DC, USB supplies 5V DC, newer wall receptacles with USB can supply enough current. Put them all together and this just might work.

Trade out this mess. You know you want to!

The ugly Sugru encasing of the new wire junction. Functional and very durable. If it were exposed I'd have worked much harder, shaping and smoothing it into a nice sleek lump.

USB powering my LED lights. I also got an AC outlet back in the bargain, and a second USB port to fast charge a phone.

Eclectic Bedside Table

Christoph — Sun, 03 Jan 2016 23:12:47 +0000

Pia inherited a small antique file cabinet piece from a friend and immediately knew she wanted it to be a bedside table. Just the right size, and two small drawers with a sliding divider inside, make it the perfect fit next to her bed. But how to attach legs without having to make extensive changes to the old piece? Turns out the bottom of the cabinet is inset about 3/8" from the bottom of the sides. Inspiration struck: We can loosely rest the cabinet on a 3/8" plywood platform.

Homemade Pasta

si1ver2 — Thu, 10 Dec 2015 20:27:16 +0000

Homemade pasta recipe.

Serves:

100g flour
1 egg

Pour flour into food processor. Pulse. Add egg and blend until solid.
Roll out dough with pasta machine.

Note: 1lb dry pasta = 1.5lbs fresh pasta
Make multiple batches to create desired amount.

Vegan Fall Barley Salad

Pia — Fri, 03 Oct 2014 01:14:26 +0000

This is an easy recipe to prepare. It is yummy and healthy. Enjoy!

Serves:

1 cup barley,
6 brussel sprouts
1 big carrot, grated
1 persian cucumber, cubed
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1 small onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 persimmon, cubed
1 pomegranate, seeded
1/2 cup chopped herbs ( cilantro, parsley, mint )
1/2 cup walnuts

Dressing: 1/2 lemon juice
2-3 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1-2 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses

1. Cook barley in 2 cups vegan broth until tender. Drain.

2. Sautee brussel sprouts in a bit of olive oil for 3-5 minutes.

3. Mix all the ingredients including in a big enough bowl.

Shredded BBQ Chicken Burgers

si1ver2 — Wed, 02 Jul 2014 18:49:01 +0000

Homemade burger buns topped with BBQ shredded chicken.

Serves:

Buns:

1 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup butter
4 1/2 cup flour
0.25 ounces yeast, 2 teaspoons
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg

Filling:

chicken to fill buns
salt
BBQ sauce
onions
additional optional toppings

Buns:
1. Mix the milk, water, and butter in a pan and heat until slightly warm.

2. In a bowl mix 2 cups of flour, yeast, sugar, and salt. Add the warmed ingredients from above and add the egg and mix all together. Stir in the rest of the flour 1/2 a cup at a time, making sure it is all mixed in before adding the next portion. Knead the dough.

3. Divide the dough into 12 pieces and shape into smooth balls. Place on a baking sheet and let rise for 30-35 minutes.

4. Bake for 10-12 minutes at 400° F (200° C) until golden brown.

Filling:
1. Fill a pot with water and add a couple pinches of salt (like making spaghetti) heat until boiling and add chicken. Boil for 20+ minutes or until chicken is through.

2. In the meantime you can fry up some diced onions and place them in a bowl. When the chicken is finished shred it with two forks and add it to the bowl. Add the BBQ sauce to the chicken. If you want to keep the food warm for longer you can heat up the BBQ sauce first. Optionally you can also add garlic, a teaspoon of cider vinegar, and some extra spices to the BBQ sauce to pep it up. Mix it all up, cut the buns in half, and add a good portion to each.

3. From here you can add additional fillings to the burgers. Onions, thin carrot strips, coleslaw salad, spinach, salad leaves, green onions or anything else you can imagine.

Banana Bread or Muffins

Sarah — Tue, 28 Jan 2014 01:35:37 +0000

Delicious and moist banana bread or muffins that are perfect for breakfast. Makes one loaf or a dozen muffins. This is also a great base recipe for other muffins. Just leave out or replace the bananas with other fruit. Some variations are listed at the end of the recipe.

3 ripe bananas (with brown spots is extra good!)
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup milk or soy milk
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup sugar (recommended to use less if the bananas are very ripe)
1 3/4 cups flour (I like it best with spelt flour, but a mix of whole wheat and white is good too)
1 tsp vinegar (I use apple cider vinegar)
Chocolate chips, chopped nuts, or other desired additions (optional)

Preheat oven to 350F.

Mash the bananas in a large mixing bowl. It sometimes is useful to add all or part of the liquid ingredients to get the bananas fully mashed up.

Mix all ingredients together except for the vinegar. Once everything is well combined, add the vinegar and just briefly mix. The batter should bubble up from the vinegar reacting with the baking soda.

Pour batter into muffin tins or loaf pan. Bake. The muffins take about 15-20 minutes and the loaf about 40-50 minutes. Remove from your oven when a toothpick comes out clean.

Some variations I like:
Blueberry: Replace bananas with 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries.

Apple Spice: Replace bananas with 2 grated apples. Add 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon and 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice.

Pumpkin Spice: Replace bananas with 1 cup pumpkin purée (can also use butternut squash). Add 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon and 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice.

Carrot, Raisin and Nut: Replace bananas with 1 cup grated carrot. Add 1/3 to 1/2 cup of both raisins and chopped walnuts.

Zucchini and Nut: Replace bananas with 1 cup grated zucchini. Add 1/3 to 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts.

Almond Poppy Seed: Leave out bananas. Add approx 1 tsp almond extract (to taste) and 1/4 cup poppy seeds.

Recommended With

Chai

Chai Latte

Cheese Crackers

si1ver2 — Sun, 08 Dec 2013 23:58:53 +0000

Quick and cheesy crackers. Dairy free.

Serves:

1 cup flour
3/4 tsp salt
4 tbsp oil
4 tbsp nutritional yeast
water

Place all ingredients in food processor. Blend and add water until it forms a dough.
Kneed out dough and use cookie cutters to form crackers. Make sure they are thin enough otherwise they don't become crispy enough.
Bake at 350F for 15-20 minutes. Until browned slightly on top and crunchy.