Some Things About Alaska and a Delicious Burnt Cream Recipe

I am falling in love with Alaska. It is beautiful and the weather is gorgeous and there is so much to do outside with the kids!

There are a few things I wanted to share. First they bottle the milk here in square jugs like this one.

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I know that they sell these in other states but they don't back home. They stack better and can ship them more cheaply (which is important here).

Also, it is becoming more and more difficult to convince my kids it is bedtime when it looks like this...

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at 9:30 at night...

I have even hung black out curtains but it is still a little hard for them to understand.

Now on to the recipe. 

My hubby is not a dessert person. Though, I am slowly converting him with a bite here and a taste there.

BUT

he LOVES creme brulee or as we lovingly call it around here Burnt Cream (it sounds more manly ;)  I was always afraid of making it. It seemed like it was such an advanced and difficult thing but once I tried it I realized it really isn't that hard.

You can do it. I promise!

So here is my

Burnt Vanilla Cream (Vanilla Creme Brulee) Recipe

4 C Heavy Cream
2 Tbs Vanilla
1/2 C Sugar (plus a little extra for tops)
6 egg yolks


Preheat the oven to 325 degrees

In a large saucepan over medium heat bring the heavy cream just to a boil. Cover and set aside to sit for 15-20 minutes.

While your cream sits whisk the egg yolks and sugar together until well blended and the color begins to lighten. Slowly add the cream to the egg mixture while whisking. Whisk in the vanilla.

Divide between 6 small ramekins or 4 large ramekins. Place them in a roasting pan and fill the pan with hot water until it reaches about half way up the sides of the ramekins.Bake 40-45 minutes. You want them to be set but it still needs to jiggle a little in the middle. Remove from the roasting pan and place the ramekins in the fridge for at least 3 hours but up to 3 days (this is a great make ahead dessert!)

Remove them from the fridge at least 1/2 an hour before you want to eat them. Sprinkle them with a small amount of sugar and use a small propane torch to create a crusty top. Move the torch continually. It will take a little time to burn/melt it all. Let your dessert sit a few minutes and then dig in!

I topped this one with fresh mango but you can use any fresh fruit if you want.

Pulls, Sinks and Faucets...Oh My!

Because of my lack of internet this last week I got a lot of sewing done from my to do list. Remember you can follow me on Pinterest and see some of my to-dos. I will share some pictures of my projects in a day or two. Ms V's closet is expanding!  

Like my lighting dilemma, it is pretty much impossible to DIY a sink, cabinet pulls or a faucet and all of those things are EX-PEN-SIVE!

I love bin pulls but when I  looked at places like Home Depot they were priced between $4-$5 each. Now, I have a small kitchen and with that price it was still going to cost around $100 just for cabinet hardware.

I started looking online to see if I could find a better deal. I came across a great little Ebay shop that you can find here that was selling the cup pulls for $1.79 each and my handles were around $1.30. Also, because I bought more than 25 knobs and pulls I got free shipping. So I paid around $50 for everything (including 7 pulls for a future furniture build). I felt that even though I couldn't DIY something cheap I still got a great deal and I love them!

Next I really wanted to replace my kitchen sink. We had an old stainless steel sink. I know that stainless steel can be done beautifully but my sink was not an example of that.

Again. after looking around a new kitchen sink was going to be paying at least $100. So I started looking online at a local classified website. We ended up finding a brand new acrylic white sink for only $40. Now that is saving some dough.

We also wanted a new faucet. I went online to ebay, again, and found a faucet for $20 because it was missing the side spray (it usually retailed at $120.) I then bought a side spray for $15. So my brand new sink and faucet set me back only $75!

I think there are some really great deals out there and you can definitely redo your kitchen or any room in your house on the cheap if you are willing to use your creativity, do your research and maybe even be a little patient .

On a completely unrelated note, does anyone watch Bachelorette? What is up with mask guy and why is Bentley such a jerk?

I really couldn't get over mask guy swimming with the mask on! All I could think of was the hilarious tan lines he will soon be rocking if he doesn't take it off!

Any favorites yet?

I have mine.