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Friday, January 10, 2020

Hey Girl + Pot Roast Tips

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I listen to a podcast called True Crime Sweden. I love the host, Pernilla. She has a quiet, soothing voice and she really cares about the people whose stories she tells. She concludes each podcast with a fun fact about Sweden, and I've learned a ton of fun cultural nuggets through these little snippets.

When she signs off, she always says "adjö" - which is goodbye in Swedish. It's so cute the way she says it - it sounds like "hey door" or the meme-worthy - "hey girl". So I thought about her when I put together today's card.
This uses the Hey Girl dies, which is a cute, stand-alone word die set. I decided to pair it up with the Endless Birthday stamp set (a builder set - you know how those tickle me) that goes with the dies I used in yesterday's video.
First, I smooshed Picked Raspberry, Peacock Feathers and Mustard Seed Distress Oxide Ink onto my craft mat, spritzed it and dragged my cardstock through it. After I dried it, I stamped the candles in Nocturne, and stamped the flames in Gina K Pigment White.
I cut the Hey from no-shed graphite glitter paper, and stamped the Happy Birthday from this set, and cut it with these dies for a little banner. I love how big the letters are - the perfect size for that candle image, and kind of grounding it.

Endless Birthday Infinity Dies
[ C&9 ]
Endless Birthday Stamps
[ C&9 ]
Hey Girl Dies
[ C&9 ]
Tiny Tagalongs
[ C&9 ]
January Full Release Bundle
[ C&9 ]
VersaFine Clair Ink Pad, Nocturne -...
[ ELH | SSS ]
Gina K Designs WHITE PIGMENT Color...
[ SSS ]
Ranger Distress Oxide Ink Pad, Picked...
[ ELH | SSS ]
Ranger Distress Oxide Ink Pad,...
[ ELH | SSS ]
Ranger Distress Oxide Ink Pad,...
[ ELH ]
Neutrals Glitter Paper Pack - Concord...
[ C&9 ]
Heavy Base Weight Card Stock- White
[ GNK ]
Crafter's Companion GEMINI...
[ SSS ]
Scor-Pal MINI SCOR-BUDDY Scoring...
[ SSS ]
MISTI Stamping Tool
[ MSP | HA | SSS | ELH | MFT | UNT ]
Lawn Fawn STAMP SHAMMY Cleaner LF1045
[ SSS | ELH | CST | ART ]
Rotatrim Professional Series Cutter -...
[ BLIC ]
LightView 2in1 LED Magnifier for...
[ BRG ]
Sakura CLASSIC WHITE Fine Line 05...
[ SSS ]
Art Anthology BIG CRAFT MAT 24x36 311473
[ SSS ]
Teflon Bone Folder - Ellen Hutson LLC
[ ELH | SSS ]
Tombow MONO MULTI Liquid Glue Two...
[ SSS ]
Essentials by Ellen Storage...
[ ELH ]
Die Storage - Clear Storage Pockets...
[ CHC ]
XL Stamp Storage Pockets
[ ELH ]
Mermaid tidy towel case and glue...
[ ETS ]
Airtable: Organize your stamps & dies
[ ART ]


I have another podcast recommendation for you today, and this one is a little different. There are only two hosts I follow with multiple podcasts - the Renaissance man - Josh Hallmark, who has a music podcast, a sweet podcast about small town America, a hilarious comedy podcast and the straight up most terrifying true crime podcast I've ever listened to. He has quite the range.

The second host is Scott Fuller. Since I grew up without a television, I listened to the radio constantly. I knew every Paul Harvey episode by heart, and listened to every countdown. It's definitely why I prefer audio content to video content. So the first time I heard Scott Fuller's voice on the Frozen Truth podcast, I was instantly at home. He has a radio background, and you'll know why when you hear him. His voice and delivery were made for audible stories. But there's also something else in his podcasts. It's hard for me to describe, but the closest I can come is - familiarity. Not only does his tone feel familiar, like he's someone you know well, but he also feels like someone who knew the victims in his stories well. He has a very conversational style that I love, and a quiet voice. Frozen Truth was absolutely the best coverage of the Jody Huisentruit case, I thought. And he also covered Amy Wroe Bechtel and Ayla Reynolds on that podcast. But his new one is stories from his old home - Wyoming and they are fantastic. So give this one a listen if you're a true crime follower - Dead & Gone in Wyoming. And you can always find all my favorite podcasts here.
If you're NOT a true crime follower - how about a cooking tip? For years, I have fought with the lowly pot roast. I just never could get that yummy, falling apart roast I longed for. I am fantastic at melt in your mouth prime rib, beef stew and chili, but the roasts fought back. So I did what any scientist's daughter would do, and I started changing and documenting variables in my cooking process. I moved the temperatures up and down - I had started at 270, and it just didn't work. I adjusted the times. I adjusted the seasoning and whether or not it was on a rack. And about $1000 in high quality beef later, I finally arrived at the perfect-every-time pot roast. So I thought I'd share.
First - get a nice chuck roast from your local butcher. I like them to be no smaller than three pounds, which is also what I use for chili and stew, but the most important thing is to take note of the weight to two decimal points. Coat the roast on all sides with Diamond Crystal Salt. Trust me - it will not be too salty. Place the roast into a large dish with a tight fitting lid. Pour in enough water to just cover the bottom of the dish. Take the exact weight of the roast and multiply by 60. This is how many minutes you'll cook the roast at 325 degrees. It will be perfectly seasoned and falling apart.
Since I've started doing this, they've been perfect every time. That does not mean that you might not get some ornery roast sometime that will be tough, but I'm batting a thousand so far.

Loveyameanithaveagoodweekendbye.

5 comments:

  1. The Lydia Trio of Colors has not failed you on this card! Your background is stunning, combined with the great C9 stamps. Also, Frozen Truth and True Crime Sweden are going on my list.

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  2. Growing up in Kodiak, AK, I too grew up without a TV. I also loved Paul Harvey. I make a wonderful pot roast out of chuck. I coat witha flour mixed with salt and pepper. I brown well over a medium high heat, till a nice dark brown crust forms on both sides of the roast. I place on a bed of about three sliced onions, about an inch to a inch and a half. Add water till it touches the bottom over the roast, close a tight lid or cover the roaster tightly with foil and bake in a 325 oven till the roast reaches a temperature of 185 - 190. Approx 3 -5 hrs, depending on the weight of the roast.

    I love to smush distress inks and pre- make backgrounds for upcoming cards of all types. I use a lot of bright colors during the winter months. (maybe it's an Alaska thing to battle the dark months).. Come spring, I turn to more "detailed - type" cards using stamps and markers and colored pencils. Fall, more muted tones, more watercolor.

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  3. Your card: gorgeous. Your information about the crime podcasts, fascinating. One my husband thoroughly enjoyed here in Canada: Someone Knows Something. Will add your recommendations to our list; thank you!
    ~carol

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  4. I'm going to get my Distress Oxides out and do some smooshing, that background is gorgeous!!! I have never listened to a Podcast and don't know how it works, but I am going to look into it because I have memorized every episode of Forensic Files (and they are all REALLY old cases).

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  5. I also grew up with a lot of radio, and imagined that the full orchestra was in the studio playing whatever music was on the show just for me. Paul Harvey was always a favorite here, too.

    Did you use Kosher or iodized (finely ground) salt for your roast?

    ReplyDelete

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