This post on sandwich art is cute. Not only is there above Mondrian-inspired sandwich, there are others by Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, and Georgia O’Keeffe:

Funny! And a lot easier to make than the Mondrian Cake.

The New York Times said I should make ketchup, so I decided to try it. The recipe was simple:

In a food processor, combine ⅓ cup water, 3 small tomatoes, 2 tablespoons vinegar, 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, 1/3 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon maple syrup and 1 tablespoon cornstarch. Purée.

I ended up changing that, adding 1 Tbs. salt and omitting the cloves. I ended up with the above concoction, which doesn’t look very much like ketchup, does it?

Yeah… it doesn’t really taste like it either. It was more like a tomato relish, pleasant enough on a hamburger, but not a very good substitute if you are expecting to use this instead of ketchup.

On the plus side, when I pureed the ketchup, I got about 16 ounces of flavored fresh tomato juice, which would make a pretty nice Maple Bacon Bloody Mary.

Maybe another recipe using tomato paste would work better.

As for the cost of making your own ketchup this way: The tomatoes cost $1. Along with all the other ingredients, the homemade ketchup probably costs under $2 for about 1 cup of “ketchup.” However, a bottle of ketchup on sale at my local store costs $.88. So unless you use homegrown (i.e. free) tomatoes, you would be better off buying ketchup here.

What about you? Have you ever made your own ketchup?

Check out this amazing Glass Gem Corn from Seed Trust. According to the site:

Seedsman Greg Schoen got the seed from Carl Barnes, a part-Cherokee man, now in his 80’s, in Oklahoma. He was Greg’s “corn-teacher”. Greg was in the process of moving last year and wanted someone else to store and protect some of his seeds. He left samples of several corn varieties, including glass gem. I grew out a small handful this past summer just to see. The rest, as they say is history. I got so excited, I posted a picture on Facebook. We have never seen anything like this. Unfortunately, we did not grow out enough to sell.

Two more pictures:

Does not look real, does it? Let’s hope there are seeds available for sale soon.

I’m not a fan of rhubarb, but this Rhubarb Custard Tart looks delicious.

According to this infographic mapping the satiety of food, the best snack you can have to feel full is an orange.

Interesting tip from 20 Things You Can Use Twice Before Tossing: “Butter Wrappers: Once you’ve removed a block of butter from its wrapping, place the wrapping in a plastic container or bag and refrigerate. Use it to grease baking pans.”

Yes! Owl Bookends.

A good organizing idea: Use a Tic Tac container to store bobby pins.

And finally, make your own hand sanitizer instead of buying the alcohol-heavy stuff.

Have a great weekend!

Banana Split with Yogurt and Jam.

Egg Cups with Spinach and Red Onions.

Pancake Love.

Blackberry Scones.

Mascarpone French Toast With Warm Blackberry Syrup. (Using homemade mascarpone?)

Baked Eggs In Avocado.

Or for a lighter option, try Baked Eggs In Bell Pepper Rings.

Happy Mother’s Day!

I feel dumb. I’ve been looking for a scooper that Mr. Savvy can use for scooping grain when brewing beer, when all this time I could have just used the top of a large bottle. Real Simple suggests a bleach bottle, but a one-gallon milk jug would also work.

In addition to these four ways to store plastic bags, you can also use a coffee can to store plastic bags.

Finally, apparently you can use the top of a water bottle to seal a plastic bag. Cut the top off the bottle, fold the plastic over it, and screw on the lid for an air-tight seal and easy pouring. (I’m not sure it works with thicker plastic, however.)

I came upon these cloud cushions from Elsy & Vine and liked them so much, I started looking up cloud pillows. It turns out here are a lot of them out there, like these from Molin Design:

And this one from Little Odd Forest:

Now I want to experiment with making my own cloud pillows…

I don’t know if you’ve heard, but warm temperatures have caused maple syrup production to drop, which may mean we’ll all be paying more for maple-y goodness at the breakfast table this year.

When I heard that, I thought immediately of a homemade “maple” syrup recipe in The Tightwad Gazette by Amy Dacyczyn. So I doctored the recipe a bit and gave it a try. I have to say, it came out pretty good. It tastes exactly like the pancake syrup you buy in the store, maybe even better than some, and it was easy to make, too.

Best of all, homemade pancake syrup is cheaper than the store stuff. A typical bottle of syrup costs $3-$4, and this recipe costs about $1.60 to make, half the price of the store-bought syrup. Plus, there’s no corn syrup in it.

One thing to note: I added 1 tablespoon of vodka to the mix to prolong the life of the syrup. If you do this, keep in mind there will be a trace amount of alcohol in the pancake syrup that you may not feel comfortable serving at the breakfast table. It’s up to you.

Pancake Syrup
(Makes about 3 cups)

Ingredients:

3 c granulated sugar
1 1/2 c water
3 Tbs molasses
1 tsp vanilla
1 Tbs butter
1 tsp maple extract
1 Tbs vodka (optional)

Directions:

In a large pot, bring all ingredients to a boil. Stir about 2 minutes until the sugar dissolves and mixture turns the color of pancake syrup. Turn off the burner and let cool. (The pancake syrup will thicken as it cools.) Add in the optional vodka and transfer to a bottle. Enjoy!

ETA: For more reading, check out What is maple extract?

I love the idea of these Fruit Balloon Streamers from Oh Happy Day. Such a simple idea–just blow up different shaped balloons, combine with some paper leaves, attach to a string, and voilà, a colorful, creative party decoration.

Lovely art installation made of plastic bottle bottoms.

Banana Cream Pie Milkshake.

If personal income rose but people are spending less, does this mean Americans are saving more?

The 10 Best Cities for Cheapskates.

Derby Day Cocktails: Mint Julep and More.

Grilled Zucchini Pizza Slices. Yes: