What's on the Corner

 

         I have been noticing that when people come to the Corner all they see are date and no titles or what stories are here.  So.... I've decided to try and make a Table of Contents.  All these great stories only listed by dates.  I have not been writing as much, but I'm in the process of building a Green House.  That will bring many new stories as I learn about it.  Here is a list of the stories from that start of the Corner to the latest post.

 

 

What is on the Corner

 

 

Welcome  7/18/11

 

That went well  7/18/11

 

Bad Brushes? or Bad Eyes?  7/19/11

 

Fried Green Tomatoes & Cornbread  7/21/11

 

Art for Art Sake  7/22/11

 

Canning Salsa 7/26/11

 

Chili Beans  7/30/11

 

Cool Stuff  8/4/11

 

Banana Nut Bread  8/5/11

 

JUMBO shrimp 8/6/11

 

GULLAH, Root Doctors, and the Sea Islands  8/7/11

 

Sculptured Canvas  8/9/11

 

The Box  8/11/11

 

Go Green with Me  8/14/11

 

Freebird an RV Adventure  8/18/11

 

Fall, Cooler Weather, and Folk Art  8/21/11

 

"The Plague Doctor" the birth of a painting  9/5/11

 

The Secret of the South  9/6/11

 

Chow-Chow is a Condiment  9/22/11

 

Impossible Cheeseburger Pie  9/24/11

 

The Ultimate Triple Chocolate Chunk Cookies  9/26/11

 

Some of the Best Recipes in Grandma's Box 9/29/11

 

Taking Applications  10/17/11

 

The Money Masters and Who Shot Jr?  10/24/11

 

Southern Slow-Cooking Bar-B-Q Ribs  10/30/11

 

Occupy the Kitchen, taking stock in food  11/5/11

 

Walking the Walking Stick  11/10/11

 

Chocolate Pound Cake Occupy That  11/14/11

 

Egg Rolls  11/14/11

 

Frogg Leggs  11/16/11

 

Pecan Pie and Sweet Potato Souffle  11/16/11

 

Thanksgiving is an American Holiday  11/17/11

 

Fried Pork Chops-n- Rice and Gravy  11/19/11

 

Canadian War Cake  11/23/11

 

First Bread  11/26/11

 

Moving on from First Bread  12/11/11

 

Challah  1/11/12

 

Bread Baking 101  1/31/12

 

The Caramel Slam Brownie  2/8/12

 

Sourdough  2/13/12

 

Bird Houses by Chuck  4/12/12

 

Pie  5/11/12

 

Sweetgrass Baskets  6/6/12

 

Favorite Yeast Bread w/ Pinto Beams  6/10/12

 

Spring Air Ride  8/7/12

Spring Air Ride

Spring Air Ride

            The kids grow up so fast, and the decking of our old porch has been laying around the yard, so.....Spring Air Ride.  This is a great story of recycled wood.  Looking at the kids swing in the back yard, I got to thinking about when I was a kid, and the porch swings.  Seems like everyone had a porch swing.  One thing is for sure their swings were not made out of a porch.



           As you can see in the background, that is the other half of the porch.  I have finished taking it apart to make my next project.  Thinking of making a breakfast table out of it.  As you can see, this was a real job.  We are going to keep to the subject here if I can,  the making of "Swing Air Ride".  To start with, I have never made a swing, and looked up "porch swings" on the web. 

           I decided that I would need 3 pair of these, and using the 2X6's from the porch, I got to work.  Now,  This wood we are using has a porch since 1995.  This wood has done all the drying, twisting, cracking, and warping it is going to, and may I add, getting hard.  Being an artist, in drawing the curves I add a little for the legs and a little less for the back.  Back to being hard, I went threw a couple blades and broke a jig-saw ( it was kind-a old ).  

 

          As you can see with the chisel and hammer, I'm making a custom fit post for an arm rest.  In the back instead of bolts and nuts, I drove re bar in.  They wanted $30.oo for them and I have not even got started.  OK, where was I?  I clamped the 3 bottoms together, and I clamped the 3 tops together, and sanded them.  For this part I did use the end grinder.  That way all the bottoms, and tops are the same.  If you follow my post here at Charles Kenneth's Corner you know I don't like to use power tools that much.  

  

   

           As you can see here,  we are moving along nicely.  The two ends need to have the back support to the outside, and the bottom to the inside to mount the armrest supports.  Here we will buy the hardware.  When I first looked on the web the prices were around $150.oo.  Right; I have that just in hardware.



           The springs are not in the photo. I bought them first thing, they were $10.oo.  With that said,  we  cut the slats.  I measured from ring to ring on the swing to the two outside swings hooks.  So with the slats cut I nail one to the top, one to the middle, and one to the bottom.  Not driving them in all the way.  This is just to hold it in place.



           None of these boards (slats) are screwed in yet.  I'm figuring out where I want my front armrest post.  Also, I'm figuring out how many more slats need cutting, and where to to put the back post.  Alright let's get this thing put together.



           Looking Good!  If I do say myself.  As you can see I have taken each slat, and sanded all four sides down to clean wood.  All four corners have been rounded, as well as the ends.  Doesn't look like 18 year old wood that has been out side the whole time, does it?   The screws I bought are made for outside use, and glued Dow's cover them.  I did not want to make the armrest until I hung it.  This swing will be heavy.  Glad I bought the springs.  I will tell you I could have saved on the chain I bought.  I forgot to include the spring when I measured and bought to long of chain.  Better that to short I guess.



 

           Trying to figure out how to make this sit.  Slightly tilted back but not to much and how high to have it set.  I took a string to measure just how much chain to go buy,  and forgot about the spring.  O well.  All finished, it looks great!  I sit in it about every day. 





           As you can see this beautiful swing was made from our old porch.  The springs give it such smooth ride, and for us older people.  It gives a little push when you go to get up.  I love it!  It is one of the best projects I've done so far.  By the way I have a new Facebook page "Folk Art by Chuck".  Hope you will come by and like the page.  Other great news is you can buy my Folk Art at Bookquest used books, on main street in Fountain Inn SC. 

           Once again thank-you for coming to Charles Kenneth's Corner.  Share it with your friends, and until next time your friend.







Favorite Yeast Bread w/ Pinto beans



           Most every Sunday, we have bacon for breakfast.  We cook a whole slab, and make sandwiches or what ever later in the day.  I have taken the bacon and put it in bread with fresh onions, and black olives.  It is so good that I have made it three different times.  So today's blog is pinto beans and this wonderful bread.

           To start with put the yeast in the bowl.  I now use three teaspoons of yeast instead of the two and a quarter teaspoons it calls for per loaf.  I have also changed the flour to four and a half cups instead of three and a half, to get that nice round top.

           Another change I have made in my bread baking is the mixer.  I use the wooden spoons I make to mix and I believe it taste better.  After sifting my flour we are ready.  I a mixing cup I put two tablespoons of sugar, one tablespoon of butter, one tablespoon of honey ( do not measure just add), then a quarter cup of milk and microwave for one minute.  When it comes out add a cup of water, then check the temperature.  We want one hundred degrees.  Let that set for a minute while chopping 8 to 10 black olives, half an onion, and crumble about six or seven strips of bacon.  Lightly flour these before adding to the bowl for mixing, so they don't stick together.  Add one teaspoon salt, and stir in one hundred degree liquid to three cups flour, and other ingredients.  After mixing well about a minute or so add another cup flour, then add the other half a cup or so kneanding.

             If using Bread Machine Yeast like I do just let bread sit on counter for ten minutes.  If using Rapid Rise place in oiled bowl and cover for one hour, until rise double.  Took me awhile to understand the differents in these two yeast.

            Next step is bunch down and roll flat with bread roller.  Form a rectangle brush with olive oil soaked in chopped garlic. (yum good stuff, good on pizza, french bread, or just plain toast.)  Roll dough and place in bread pan make you slice marks in the top.  Place in a warm spot to rise for one hour.  While this rises, put half a bag of pinto beans in a pot of salted water and turn on medium.

This will simmer while the bread rises.

While we are waiting let's admire one of my spoons.

Here we have added the rest of our left-over bacon and diced onion.

            Our bread should be ready.  Preheat oven to 375 and when oven is ready, put in your bread and turn the oven down to 350.  After fifteen minutes take bread out brush with olive oil, garlic mixture, and return to oven.  Place aluminum foil on top of bread to prevent burning.  Total bake time about thiryfive minutes.

My reward the first slice.

For the bread

3 tsp yeast

4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp butter

2 tlb sugar

1 tlb honey

crumbled bacon

chopped black olives

chopped fresh onion

For the beans

1/2 bag of beans

salted water

chopped onions

bacon or ham



Sweetgrass Baskets



          I lived in the Low Country of South Carolina and I vacation at the beaches.  Never forget the cast net or the fishing poles.  Whether you fish or you just go to relax, you can't miss the Sweet grass Ladies.  I have done several painting of the ladies who weave these beautiful baskets, and they sale right off.  Maybe I should do a couple of them.  What I did do, is made these baskets myself.

          As always, out side working in the yard.  I spotted the little red wagon full of the leaves from the Iris flowers.  Mom had cut them back as always, and was taking them to the back to burn.  I can't tell you how many time I have burned these leave, but this time I set them to the side.  I'm going to try to weave a basket.

  

           The hard part was getting it started, and with this first one the center shows that I'm just learning.  Keep in mind I have never done this before.  I have stood and watched the Sweet grass Ladies in awe, many times.  "Amazing" is all my Mother keeps saying.  I'm a little surprised myself. 

           Going into the house checking the size, with plates and such in the kitchen.  Trying to decide where to start bringing up the side.



Well, that went well.........now I'll have to put on handles.

How high up the side to go? 



Taking in the moment to look at my handy work.  Looking perty good if I do say so myself.  All my Mother keeps saying is "Amazing"

           I asked her why do you keep saying that?  She said;  "You just amaze me with the stuff you keep coming up with."  With that said here is a look at the finished basket.

 

           There it is!  My first basket and still have a lot of material to do another one.  I'm not sure about this material, it might just dry up and crumble. 

 

            This is basket number two.  It is made much tighter, and heavier.  I also started this one much better.  Basket II is made much better.  Still not sure how they will hold up.  I've decided to polyurethane them. 



           The request now is make it fit this dish. 

           Not enough material for handles, but considering until now, I have been burning these leaves.  I hope you have enjoyed seeing my baskets.  I'm sure I'll never be burning Iris leaves again.



          As I put the final touches on this last basket, I want to thank-you for coming to the Corner and seeing "Amazing" things I come up with. Tell your friends about Charles Kenneth's Corner.  Leave me comments, but only if they are nice.

           I'll leave you with a taste of other things at the Corner.





Pie



           If you follow my blog then you know I just recently started making bread.  I have become quite good at it now.  I make a wonderful olive loaf, raisin with or without cinnamon, and pizza's without the recipes.  I haven't eaten store bought bread since, and none have been failures.  So I saw a pie crust on U-tube, and decided it looked so good I had to try to make it.  I have looked and looked, but I have not found that video again.  I found one recipe using butter, that sounds like lot of butter.  It said flaky pie crust, so that is the one I tried.  Here goes first pie crust.

 

          You know me if things can go wrong they will.  First of all, I spotted fruit filling in the cubboard, a good sign until I had to decide between cherry and blueberry.  Daphne doesn't like cherry.  You know they flavor medicine with grape and cherry to get kids to take their meds. then they stop eating jellies, and jams, or any thing else made with cherry or grape. 

           Sifting the flour, I have everything I need, except wax paper. I think real hard before I continue.  I have a roll of brown paper in my room for art, I'll just just that.  Keep in mind this is my first pie crust ever.  I must say watching videos on you tube does help.  To start with I cut thin slices of butter, not margarine, butter.  A cup of butter, just looking at it sounds like a lot.  I go back to the computer and watch a few more recipes.  Some are 1/2 butter, and 1/2 shorting, but I stick with the recipe I have the first time.

 

            I bought this to make biscuits.  I guess you can do it with a fork, and in the videos they just use their hands.  I put the butter in the freezer while getting everything ready, about 5 minutes will do it I guess.  Here is the recipe to follow, and yes it did turn out flaky.

1 egg

1 tsp salt

1 cup butter

3 cups flour

1/3 cup water

sugar (optional)

  I put in 1 tlb

fruit filler

1 tsp vinegar

9" pie pan

           I beat the egg with a fork with the water and vinegar.  Then I set it in the freezer with the butter.  Using a large bowl I sifted the flour and salt.  The with the fancy pastry cutter, cut the butter into the flour until it was mixed very well.  Now add the egg mixture.  I ended up having to add 1 tlb of water to get it mixed enough to knead.  Note only knead a little before rolling out flat.  Break the dough in half, rolling each out on wax paper flat, and putting in the refrigerator for 20 minutes. 

           After the 20 minutes are up, take one of the pie crust out and place pie pan upside down, cutting out a circle.  The other crust place inside the pie pan and fill with the filling of choice.  Place the cut out circle in the center, folding the edges over and pinching it all the way around.  OOH I forgot, make fork holes in the bottom pie crust before adding filling.  Also, make fork holes in top before baking. 

 

           Now, myself and the recipe did not tell me to do it but it turned out great.  After about 3 or 4 minutes I took it out sprinkled sugar over the top and baked until the top browned.



           That my friends is my first pie.  Not bad!

           Well as always thank-you for reading my blog, and do share with your friends.  If this is your first time at Charles Kenneth's Corner, do read the older stories.  Everything from my art work, to great southern recipes.  Every story is different, as of this one their 42 stories.  Please enjoy, share, and leave a comment.

Bird Houses by Chuck



           Birdhouses;  my yard is full of them, and they are fun to watch.  Some birds come back to the same bird house year after year.  I made a couple last year from ceder cut down in the back woods.  I made them into log homes.  Just like my walking sticks I made one with no power tools, you can see it in this photo with the ceder roof.  I put it together with a glue gun.  Guess that has power.  Then I took some blocks of ceder and mill them into square logs.  This bird house I put up in my woods.  With in a few days a bird moved in.



           Birdhouses like this are time consuming, from milling the wood to putting them together.  So this year I bought a band saw, hopefully cut down on some of the time to cut wood.  Right off the bat, I started breaking saw blades.  Now working in a small shop in the shed I have started making more, and more birdhouses.

  

           The birds don't have to have a fancy bird house, they make homes in my shed.



           The first birdhouse I made was another log home.  They are still time consuming.  Then, with the new saw, I started breaking blades at $7.50 a piece.  Part of the breaking of the blades comes from having to learn to setting up the saw.  After breaking 3 blades, I still have not set it right.  Well, the blades are made in China. 

 

           Speaking of China,  breaking the $100.00 problem with the things I make.  Everything in America comes from China today.  We also know the Chinese are used as slave labor, yet we keep buying Chinese products.  You know it is actually hard not to buy Chinese, because just about everything is made in China. 

           In this birdhouse the logs are put together by drilling a hole and putting nails down threw the logs so as not to split the wood.  No glue is needed this way, and the logs just look stacked.  With my next birdhouse the wood from a pecan tree had worm holes threw it.  When making the birdhouse I decided to put it mounted on a pole.  I was worried that this airy home had to many holes for a bird, but a Carolina Chickadee moved in the next day.  Wow, that was fast.  Then the following day a Bluebird tried to move in and move the Chickadee out.  That was the best day ever watching these two birds fighting over one of my birdhouses.

 

           This next birdhouse is occupied every year by the same type of bird and most likely the same family.  They move in every spring and stay all summer having 3 or 4 sets of off spring before winter.

 

           They're 10 birdhouses in the woods and around the back yard, yet they have several nest inside the shed.  They're 2 in the other end, where we keep the garden tools.  So if you live in a subdivision, or even in town, you need to get some birdhouses.  All the trees in the back of our house and neighborhood, and the birds still fill up my birdhouses.  Also we have 3 birdbaths, 3 bird feeders, and 2 humming bird feeders







           With this birdhouse; for the first time I hinged the back so the roof will raise up to clean it out.  Also breaking the $100.00 barrier, this simple birdhouse I put at $65.00.  Then for my next birdhouse I added more details till I was back above the $100.00's.  Calling this next one the bait shop, I hit the too cute mark.  

  

           Now,I had to look up what other people are charging for birdhouses, and found them from $20.00 up to $289.00, and even higher.  With this bird house move the barrel and the top front swings down to get inside.  This bird house I decided to put at $115.00.  Not that the ones I seen on other sites at $189.00 and up are any better.  As a matter of fact the difference in prices on that site from $50.00 and up did not compare to mine.  I do feel as a Folk Artist the time I put in the different piece justifies my prices.  They are all one of a kind.

 

           The Chelsea Hotel inspired the next birdhouse that I made it like the one in my yard that has had many family's in it over the past 15 years or so.  It has no door and the birds clean it their selves.  My brother calls it the Dr. Seuss house, that was not even on my mind when I distorted its shape.  Creating this shape involved cutting wood strips very, very thin so they could bend.  Then covering it with painted on cloth, sort of like the method you do papier mache.  Keeping in mind that shipping will have to be added I have put the hotel at $135.00.  With the two coats of red and excellent paint job on the trim, I have never picked put any thing in a gift shop painted this well.

 

 

           This shows you just how well done my bird houses are made.  The next birdhouse just like the bait shop is just too cute.  The Church I still need to add the vents to the top part, but I can almost hear the bell ringing with out them.





           Keeping this at the same price as the bait store $115.00.  I hope the ideas keep coming because the next is a hardware store with a sign for Weber Wagons 1845, Coca-cola, Dry Goods and more.  This one is setting my goals even higher as I keep working on the just too cute factor.

 

           With B.W. Burdett & Bros on the top banner and a coca cola sign above the door, this bird property will bring $129.99.  With me being a house painter for 30 years or so, they all are caulked and painted to keep the little families warm and dry.  I'm thinking about a general store, a grocery store, maybe a fire department, or even a barn.  I have not made any patterns for these so each one is a one of a kind.  No two windows on the Church are the same as a matter of fact. 





           That rustic split-log bird house with a ceder roof is $109.00 and the wire in the middle is wrapped around the ridge pole.  If you decide not to hang it just cut it with wire cutters.  As I make more and start shipping more I'll better be able to guess the shipping cost.  The weight is different on everyone.  I wish a gift store or Folk Art store might be interested.  In the past Art Gallery's doubled my price and made good money off my paintings.  By trying to keep my prices in the $100 zone, room is left for someone to do just that.

           You can find me on facebook or message me here in the comments.  I look forward to talking with you and your ideas.  As always share Charles Kenneth's Corner with your friends.