DIY Life

What a concept! It's summertime and we've already got the sun's heat beating down outside, while the air conditioner struggles to keep up inside. Why make it worse by using the stove and oven? Kill two birds with one stone, by using the sun's heat to do the cooking outside!

This tip for a solar stove comes to us just in time from Craftster's "ladybuggins" -- it'll be almost 100 degrees here, and I'm hankerin' for some chili! Here's what you'll need:

• A cooking pot with a lid
• An auto windshield sun reflector
• A few clothes pins and...
• Plenty of sunshine!
  

First, curl the reflector around into a funnel shape and secure it with the clothes pins. Set it on the ground with the open funnel pointing upwards. Place the pot with the food in it down in the center, and the radiant energy will focus into the center of the parabola to cook the contents. Bon appetit!

We love making homemade pizza at my house. We do it up right: homemade crust in the bread machine (easy!), gourmet toppings, and if weather permits, we cook it on the grill.

For three of us, though, we make two huge pizzas, which means a lot of leftovers. We haven't yet found the ideal way to reheat it, although about 350 degrees in a toaster oven until the cheese begins to bubble is pretty close. My only complaint is that there's sometimes still a cold spot, even when the crust is beginning to overcook.

What to do? The Chicago Pizza Club has some answers on the best way to reheat pizza.

Remodeling a kitchen, there are a lot of things to consider: appliance choices, layout, storage solutions, and finishing touches. When we renovated our kitchen, flow was a priority for us. We love to cook, and the previous arrangement of the kitchen was awkward and inefficient.

If you want to take the flow of your kitchen to the next level, why not consider applying some Feng Shui principles to your remodel? SheKnows has some tips on how to design your kitchen, feng shui style.

• Plan the stove to be facing the door, as you should never have your back to the door while cooking. You can do this by creating a cooking island or by using a reflective surface.
• Avoid red, pink, or purple in your decor, as these colors can cause you to argue with your cooking partner. Instead, whites, blues, and light greens are calming choices.
• Use full-spectrum bulbs to simulate natural light.
• The traditional triangular model for kitchens fits into Feng Shui: refrigerator, stove, and sink, all about six to eight feet apart.
• Fire elements (stove, microwave) should be separated from water elements (sink, refrigerator) by wood.

The article at SheKnows has more details describing how to create Feng Shui harmony in your kitchen. A Zen kitchen sounds appealing, doesn't it?

If your pans and other cast iron cookware are well cared for, they will last a lifetime. Curing or seasoning is the process by which you fill the pores of the pan creating a smooth, non-stick surface. this should be done to the entire pan, even the lids.

Basically, you clean the pan thoroughly and cover it in shortening. Place it on a cooking sheet and put it in the oven at 350 degrees for 20 min. Take the pan out and drain the excess oil, then put it back in upside down, this time for a couple of hours. Make sure you read these full instructions and important tips for curing cast iron.

Even if your pans come "pre-seasoned" make sure you read the instructions for any specific cleaning details, and keep in mind that they will need to be re-seasoned regularly to keep them from sticking. Repeat seasons won't take as long, but it is one of the many important things to do when caring for cast iron cookware. Here are a few other useful tips:

• Don't wash cast iron in the dishwasher
• Scrub any rust spots with steel wool and mild soap
  
• Boiling water in your pan will wash away the seasoning

If you've invested in quality cookware, it will only work for you as well as you care for it. Take the time to season or cure it, then maintain it well.

I am so excited that spring finally came yesterday. I spent most of the day outside picking up aluminum cans that were blown all over the yard, and my daughter, husband and I played in the dirt, soaking up the sun of a glorious 70 degree Sunday. I should have cleaned the grill, and cooked outside.

Now is the time to save money on the electric bill and start cooking outdoors. Even cooking with a grill can cost a ton of money, especially if you do it on a weekly basis. Ecobites has a wonderful alternative for us, featuring an article with instructions showing us how to make a solar cooker.

The solar cooker was made out of recycled plywood and recycled aluminum; items that were readily accessible, could soak up solar rays, and give a high enough temperature to safely cook food. Almost anything would work though, like the cardboard oven shown in the picture. Happy cooking!

I would not recommend gluing aluminum foil to a cooking surface. The chances of the glue leaking through to the food and contaminating it are too great. Try to find some other shiny reflective surface to cook with, or just don't glue the aluminum foil to the surface. To avoid injury to your eyes, wear sunglasses, and do not look right at the cooking surface. As always, safety is the number one priority for a DIY project.

It was love at first sight: a humbly-sized Christmas tree hung with dried orange slices. This encounter took place on Saturday night, when I attended my town's annual winter festival. The tree had been entered in a Christmas tree decorating competition for local school children. The "orange tree" sure got my vote. What a pretty sight it made with all the Christmas lights reflecting brightly off the glistening citrus slices!

Later, I resolved to try it out for myself. If you want to have a go, you will need the following:

• three or four large oranges
• a sharp carving knife
• glitter and/or ground cinnamon (optional)
• fishing line or ribbon
  
• a needle or a pointy-tipped knife
  

Step 1) Slice the oranges crosswise in quarter-inch slices. Discard the ends.

Dried apples and cinnamon give that cider smell that is so closely associated with the Christmas season. I wanted to add a little spice to the house and try a new craft so I decided to make a dried apple wreath. This was not as easy as I had anticipated. The main reason being that I seriously lacked common sense when reading the directions! The first dried apple recipe that I found suggested baking them at 350 degrees for an hour. I should have been able to predict the outcome, but I didn't realize how dumb that was until my smoke alarm went off! I did eventually find some better instructions (that's what Moms are for) and was able to perfect the dried apple slices, and that's the one I'll share with you here.

How to dry apple slices

1. Core small red apples
2. Slice them 1/4 inch thick
3. Soak the slices in lemon juice
4. Pat them dry with paper towel
5. Brush the apple with cinnamon or other spice (optional)
6. Put them in the over at 150 degrees
7. Flip them every 2 hours
8. They should be ready in 6-8 hours, just keep checking on them

The galleries show how to make the dried apples. I included a couple of disaster shots so you can have a little laugh at my expense! Once you have your dried apple slices, you're ready to get creative. the second gallery shows how to make a wreath and the third, a quick and easy centerpiece. I'll tell you about both of these after the break.

Sadly, the traditional homemaking craft of baking does not come naturally to me. If I can get the goods out of the oven without setting fire to anything, I'm pretty happy. As for my last homemade cake, the rounded top and slightly too-soft frosting both contributed to an unenviable "cow pattie" look. Oops.

With a little practice, even lost causes like myself can learn to frost a cake like a pro, according to the site SheKnows.

Are you wondering what to do with the rest of those vinyl records that you didn't use to make dinnerware? While I thought this was an outstanding idea, I don't think that I could possibly use the literally hundreds of records that my husband has in his possession and won't bear to part with.

You can make a cool looking table lamp with those unwanted records and be the envy of your friends with step by step instructions from Instructables. The author walks you through from start to finish on how to put the record in the oven over a glass, drilling the holes, soldering and taping, and the final assembly of this awesome lamp.

Honestly, while I think a vinyl lamp is a fabulous idea, I would be scared to leave it around my child and my cats. There is no lamp shade, and the glare of the blue bulb would be too much for my sensitive eyes to bear. I would also be afraid to let it burn for a long period of time, and would be afraid that the heat of the bulb would melt the vinyl record.

What do you think of this table lamp idea?

Do you remember Shrinky Dinks? They were very popular when I was a kids. In fact you weren't cool if you had never played with these things. You know, the plastic beads that you assembled into a shape, then melted together to make it stick?

The problem I always had with them was that I wanted to make my own designs. I didn't want He-man or Barbie. I wanted ... well I don't remember but I wanted to make my own.

If only I had known Chrisjob from Curbly. He shows you how to to make you own shrinky plastic thingys. In his step by step tutorial we learn how to make them and have fun at the same time.

This is a great project to do with kids. Notice I said with kids, that is because you will be using a hot oven to shrink the plastic. If you have an oven with a window it's even better because your kids can watch the fun transition to shrinksville.

How many times do you find yourself eating food off the kitchen table, while staring in confusion at the bin of dusty, vinyl records sitting in the corner, and thinking to yourself, "I wonder if I could sell all these old LPs and buy some nice bowls and plates?" Well, think again, pal, because those old records won't fetch more than a quarter at your local pawn shop. But don't give up hope yet! Why not turn your old record collection into your new funky dinnerware collection?! With a little spare time and oven heat, you could be eating salad out of a Bread (the band) bowl in no time!

Bend some bowls
This video gives a great step-by-step tutorial on how to turn your records into bowls. It's really quite simple: preheat your oven, flip an oven-safe bowl upside down on a cookie sheet, place your vinyl record on top of the upside down bowl, allow it to slowly bend itself over the bowl, pull the record out of the oven, form it inside the bowl, allow it to cool, and voila, you've got yourself a perfectly functioning bowl (with a small hole in the bottom).

Ply some plates
If it's plates you're after, try a slightly modified version of this ReadyMade tutorial. Instead of shaping your LP into a bowl after you pull it out of the oven, just raise the edges enough to form a simple plate. After allowing the record to cool against a flat surface, you'll have yourself a fully-functional plate (with a small hole in the bottom).

With both the bowl and the plate, you'll want to be wary about what you put on or in them. If you stick something really hot on one of your new plates, you'll run the risk of warping it, and overly saucy items might make the label peel off, which could end up being devoured with whatever else you're eating. For the time being, you might want to use these items as strictly decoration pieces.

On June 29th Thermador announced the recall of several models of built in ovens. These ovens cause the cabinets next to them to overheat causing a fire hazard when the self-cleaning feature is used.

Thermador has received several reports of overheating, one of which resulted in fire. The insulation in the oven normally keeps the heat contained during the super heating that occurs during self-cleaning cycles. However, in the models effected by the recall there are gaps in the insulation. Not good.

Effected models include both single ovens and combination ovens:

• C271B
• C301B
• SEC271B
• SEC301B
• SEM272B
• SEM302B
• SEMW272B
• SEMW302B

The date codes on these models are FD8403 and FD8701. Consumers may contact BSH Home Appliances at (800) 701-5230 between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m. ET Monday through Friday or visit Thermador's website for more information.

[via U.S. Consumer Product and Safety Commission]