Things to do while wearing an apron...

Put an octopus on it.

2012-02-10T21:14:00.000-05:00

I have had an ikea Leksvik dresser (no longer available as far as I can tell) for 6 or 7 years now. It has served me well, and survived multiple moves, having yet to fall apart. The only major scratch on it came from when my boyfriend (at the time) helped me initially assemble it (which was disastrous.) It has nice deep drawers (actually even big enough to store my sewing machine in one), and is actually sort of nice looking. There is really nothing wrong with it.

But it needed something.

So I put an octopus on it.

Ah, much better.

Octopus decal purchased from this Etsy shop.

This Time Last Year- February

2012-02-09T09:07:00.000-05:00

Only one month until my 2 year blogiversary! I am getting excited. I think I might buy myself some flowers for the occasion. Mmm, or chocolates. Or maybe make myself some chocolates.

Last February was a pretty productive month for me on this blog- I revealed my newly painted blue kitchen, made some brie and puff pastry hors d'oeuvres, fried up some sweet potato chips, made some decadent lemon buttermilk pudding cake, and continued redecorating my painted kitchen with a paper craft project, an etsy find, and some well placed vintage cookbooks.

Curious to read some of those older posts?

You can find them here:

Painted Kitchen Reveal
Sweet Potato Chips
Lemon Buttermilk Pudding Cake
DIY Paper Bunting Project

And those are just some highlights from the month. If your interested in seeing more of my past projects, you can read the archives on the bar to the right, Select February 2010 to see more of what I was up to one year ago.

Tom Kha Gai

2012-02-08T09:55:00.001-05:00

Thai food is one of my favorite cuisines. When I go out for Thai food the part of the menu I get most excited about is the soup section. This probably isn't surprising to any of you who have been reading my blog for any length of time...I seem to be a bit obsessed with soup. I once joked that I should officially change my food blog into a soup blog. In fact, a quick search shows me that the word "soup" was mentioned in 17 of my 45 cooking related posts. 17 is the same number of posts in which I mention the word "flour" in the baking section, and actually several more mentions than the word "project" in my home and DIY themed posts, which I often feel ridiculous for overusing. What can I say, I am a lover of soup.

Should I officially convert this into a soup blog, guys? Do you all love soup like I do? Think of all the possibilities...I have never even posted a chilled soup, such as cold cherry soup or gazpacho! And I have never posted a chicken matzo ball soup recipe (what kind of nice jewish girl am I?) But anyway, back to Thai food, alright?

I can never decide if I prefer Tom Yum Goong, with its spicy-sour broth and decadent shrimp, or Tom Kha Gai with its lively coconut milk, cilantro and lime combination. I have made Tom Kha Gai at home several times, and have yet to attempt Tom Yum...maybe soon! I think I would rather not choose a favorite. I will just settle to like them both equally.

If you, like me, dig Tom Kha, and its aromatic coconuty broth, I think you'll be happy to know that making it at home is really quite easy. I had success finding most of the ingredients I needed by going to a big asian supermarket near my house, Super 88 (psst...click that link to read an old post I wrote about Super 88 and omelets...it also includes a funny Japanese commercial), but in my search for recipes I also discovered a lot of helpful substitutions which may come in handy if you don't live around the corner from a mammoth Asian specialty grocery store.

Here are some of the ingredients I used:

fresh cilantro, scallions, lemongrass, thai peppers, galangal, coconut milk and lime

I also used: chicken broth, chicken breast, sliced white mushrooms, fish sauce, a bit of brown sugar, and some thai curry paste. They didn't make it into the picture.

If you are worried you won't find thai specialty ingredients, I urge you to be optimistic! Check your local grocery store in the international section. My local Stop&Shop carries thai curry paste (which can be used in place of the thai peppers), coconut milk, fish sauce, and a whole slew of other basic thai ingredients. I have found lemongrass at whole foods in the past, and occasionally thai peppers, too. In the past I have had trouble finding galangal (though I got lucky this time) an aromatic root similar to ginger, but more floral. I have substituted ginger in its place on two occasions, and though it may not be the most authentic, it still came out delicious. So never fear, substitutions can be made.

I have unfortunately never been successful in finding Kefer lime leaves, so I end up leaving them out, and including a little bit more lime juice than the recipes I have found call for. Believe me, it still turns out delicious.

Because when I make soup I don't usually stick to a recipe but rather a guideline, here is the basic process I followed. Taste as you go, and alter things as needed...don't be afraid to experiment a bit!

Ingredients:

2 cans of coconut milk

thinly sliced chicken breast

juice of 1 or 2 limes (at least 3 TBS)

fresh cilantro

lemon grass, (just the bottoms, bruised)

galangal, roughly chopped

thai chili peppers

chicken broth

scallions

white mushrooms, sliced

fish sauce (roughly 2 tablespoons)

Process:

Start with the aromatics- Chop up some galangal (I used about an inch by inch piece, chopped roughly) and put it in the bottom of your soup pot over medium heat with a bit of oil. Add a few pieces of lemongrass, bruised to bring out the flavor, and chop a couple of thai peppers, removing most of the seeds and ribs, or throwing them in whole, depending on the level of spiciness you desire. Add a little bit of chopped cilantro, too.

Cook until fragrant, adding the chicken broth, one can of coconut milk and fish sauce at this time. Give the liquid some time to simmer, and then strain the broth to remove the aromatics.

Next add the remaining coconut milk and mushrooms.

In a saute pan, lightly cook the chicken in thin strips, then add to the soup.

Remove the soup from the heat, add the lime juice, taste and add brown sugar, more chili peppers or curry paste if desired.

Serve hot, garnished with plenty of sliced scallions and chopped fresh cilantro, and some thai peppers for color and extra spice.

Have you made Thai food at home before? Have you experimented with cooking a new cuisine lately, or tried to figure out what to substitute for ingredients that are hard to come by in your region? Are you obsessed with soup? What is your favorite thing to order at a Thai restaurant? Let me know in the comments, maybe I will try to make your favorite dish next!

Egyptian Lentil Soup

2012-02-04T08:36:00.001-05:00

Lentil soup will heal you. It will make you whole. And fix all your problems. And find you lasting love. And lower your cholesterol. Ok, only the last statement has been scientifically tested, to my knowledge. Well, and to be even more fair, I should mention that I made this soup a couple of weeks ago, and it has yet to find me lasting love. But it totally fixed all my other problems. And it was delicious.

I went to the grocery store hoping to find brown lentils to make a lentil soup recipe by Martha Stewart, to tack on to the end of "Martha Stewart week" (a theme I may have to revisit...I didn't even do any paper crafts, or creatively set a dinner table!) Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately!) the grocery store was out of both brown and green lentils, and only had red. Now anyone who is worth their salt in lentil-knowledge (does this sentence make anyone else chuckle a bit...I did while writing it, but that's probably just me) knows that brown and green lentils each keep their shape much more while cooking, while red lentils tend to be...fall apart-ish or mushy. So a soup like the one I had picked, which intended the lentils to hold up, would not be a great choice for substituting red lentils. That being said, even though mushy, red lentils are particularly delicious- just think of your favorite lentil heavy Indian dish.

So I got home intending to find a recipe for a soup using red lentils, and most of the other ingredients I had brought home with me. This is best part, guys. I got home to find my most recent Food & Wine Magazine open on the kitchen table. I hadn't read it yet, so one of my roommates must have been looking at it there. The page it was open to? Egyptian Red Lentil Soup. Seriously. It was a sign from somewhere. And besides the ingredients I had already picked out, the only other things it called for were things I had on hand, like lemon and plain yogurt, and certain spices. Meant to be.

So I made this soup. And I ate it. And it healed me.

Egyptian Lentil Soup
From Food & Wine Magazine February 2012

Special Equipment: A large soup pot (I used my beloved Mario Batali dutch oven, which is currently on sale, FYI), an immersion blender (though if you only have a standing blender you could blend this in batches*)

Ingredients

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 medium onion, chopped
2 carrots, finely chopped
3 celery ribs, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
Salt to taste
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ancho chile powder
1 pound tomatoes, seeded and diced (I used a can of diced tomatoes. It worked out great)
2 cups red lentils (14 ounces)

Plain yogurt, lemon wedges and warm pita, for serving

1. Start your cooking process by preparing a mirepoix- heat the butter in the bottom of your pan, add the chopped onions and cook for a few minutes, then add chopped carrots and celery, and lastly garlic. Cook until both onions and celery become translucent and somewhat soft. About 5 minutes.

2. Add the spices to the pot, and heat until fragrant

3. Add the tomatoes to the pan

4. Add the lentils and the water

5. Simmer for 30 minutes or more, until the lentils become very soft.
6. Removing from heat, use your immersion blender* to blend the soup until smooth

7. Serve with a dollop of plain yogurt and a squeeze of lemon

This Time Last Year

2012-01-21T08:19:00.002-05:00

I started this blog in 2010. I am actually only a couple months from my second blogiversary. Recently I have been looking back and noticing what posts I was working on at the same time, last year.

So here is a round up of my 3 favorite posts from last January, and what I was up to then. In the future I plan from time to time to recap some favorite posts from the same month, 1 year ago, and perhaps even two years ago after my second blogiversary rolls around.

This time last year I...

...Posted a recipe for Balsamic Glazed Brussels Sprouts. I'll have to make that again soon- the glaze was sweet and tangy and I always forget how much I love Brussels sprouts! This was early in my food blogging history, and I was much more concerned at the time about recipe ownership. Now I usually use recipes I find in cookbooks, credit the original author, and note any changes I made. Back then I made up of my recipes, which made for a more interesting process, but also a more risky one. I would have to make a recipe at least three times to work out the kinks before I could post it. It was fun and taught me a lot about cooking, actually, but turned out to be too time intensive for me in the long run.

...Started my Foyer Table Update- turning a drawer-less yellow dresser I found on the street into the table that now holds my printer, record player and records, as you can see here. I also learned while writing that post that my foyer was capable of becoming a workshop.Who knew?

...Made Seedy Snowday Cookies, using only ingredients I had on hand, while snowed in! Today it's snowing, too. I have been transfixed looking out my window all morning, it's been so long since it snowed. Who else finds the lack of snow so far this winter (not counting the freak October storm... Guys, October= fall, not winter) totally confusing? Actually, that post is one of my favorite I have written to date.

I think it's fun to revisit old posts and remind myself of the recipes I made and projects I was involved in, one year ago. I had totally forgotten that Brussels Sprouts recipe, and now I want to remake it. And actually, I could go for one of those seed-y cookies, too. I can't wait until I have multiple years of archives to look back on, it makes me wish I had started blogging sooner!

Rereading the posts also reminds me of other things going on in my life in that moment in time. Walking down memory lane after only a year is sort of funny, but thinking back to the details of last winter, remembering what I was up to, all of the minutiae of my life at that time- what was on my mind, where I spent time and with whom, the movies I saw, the dinners I made- it actually seems like a fairly long time ago. Funny, huh? So, what were all of you up to this time last year?

Small Goals

2012-01-14T16:24:00.003-05:00

I started a 30 before 30 list of goals recently. I love making lists of goals, so this seemed like a fun idea, plus having 5 years left before hitting that mark meant I knew I could make some lofty goals that may take a while to achieve, like completing a bachelors degree (which will likely happen in about 3 more years, when I am 28, due to my non-traditional late start and part time schedule.) Also on the list? Learning to drive. I'm from an urban area and never needed to learn. In fact I still don't have any need for the skill, but it seems like it could come in handy down the line.

Some of the goals were less significant. I wanted a few easier things that I could achieve and feel happy about. Well, I can now cross two of "easy" goals off the list.

One item was "wear bangs." Having been scarred like many girls after having "bad bangs" in the sixth grade (let's just say my hair was a combination of oily and frizzy at the time due to puberty, and the pieces I had cut for bangs never would cooperate or look the way I wanted.) That combined with the effort of growing them out, and all those months of having to keep them back in plastic barrettes... I want to prove to myself that bangs aren't this cute thing I see other girls with, but can't have myself. I'm not in the 6th grade anymore, my hair is a lot easier to manage now, and on top of that... I know how to put in a tiny bit of effort to style it.

What do you think? No 6th grade flashbacks happening here!

Another goal I achieved was "own a record player" I bought an inexpensive portable one to start, and so far it's serving me well! I also love how having the record player on my dresser-turned foyer table area defines the space a bit more. I have several amazing records on loan from my mother's collection.

There are so many more goals on my list, from moving to a new state (technically I have only ever lived in Massachusetts, though I have lived in the Boston area and all the way to the west in the Bershires, two areas that are pretty different.) to riding in a hot air balloon, to learning to change my tubes and other minor fixes on my bike by myself. Good thing I have plenty of time.

Do any of you have a goal list you are working on? What goals are you excited to get started on? Any easy ones you can cross off quickly, like my small change with my hair, or buying something you've always wanted? Any that you find really daunting? For me the most daunting goal on my list has to be learning to drive. Growing up in Boston it's probably not a surprise that I have a bit of fear about this- people drive like lunatics around here!

Blueberry Sour Cream Cake

2012-01-12T13:59:00.001-05:00

To continue my week of Martha Stewart recipes, I made this blueberry sour cream cake. The slight hint of sour, a dash of lemon zest, and a dense moist texture make this summer-y blueberry cake totally comforting, even in the middle of January. Frozen blueberries can be substituted for fresh so long as they are thawed and drained before use.

The recipe was actually for a pound cake, but I made it in a scalloped ceramic pie pan, just for a pretty result. Scallops= pretty. The shape, not the seafood. Though I am a fan of that kind of scallop, too.

Pound cake is fascinating to me. Is it weird to be fascinated by a type of cake? I think it's the lack of leaveners and odd proportion of butter and eggs that really gets me. Traditionally made with a pound of flour, plenty of butter and sugar, and no baking soda or powder, it's no wonder the result is rich, but admittedly it can sometimes turn out too dense. I found the texture of this cake to be pleasant though, instead of super heavy.

The original recipe did not call for lemon zest, but rather for lemon whipped cream on top. Sounds delicious, but I decided to skip the cream for now, as it is recently post-new years, and I am at least pretending to be healthy. Apparently in my mind cake= healthy, but once you add whipped cream...forget about it.

Blueberry Sour Cream Cake

Adapted from Martha Stewart

Note: the original recipe was doubled, I decided to make only one cake, hence some odd numbers like 4 and a half eggs. To see the original recipe click the link above. Be prepared though, it calls for 3 sticks of butter and 9 eggs!

1/2 lb + 1 Tablespoon Flour

1/2 Tablespoon coarse salt

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter (+ some to butter pan) softened

1/4 cup sour cream

1 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

4.5 large eggs, room temperature (yeah, sorry about that half egg thing...)

1 cup blueberries fresh, or frozen (thawed and drained)

zest of one lemon

1 Tablespoon powdered sugar

Directions:

Oven temp: 325

1. Cream together the sugar, butter and sour cream with a hand mixer or standing mixer.

2. Add eggs and vanilla slowly to butter mixture and continue to blend

3. Add the lemon zest to the butter/sugar/egg mixture

4. Combine the flour and salt in a separate bowl

5. Fold together the flour mixture and the wet ingredients until smooth

6. Fold in the blueberries

7. Butter your baking dish and pour in the batter

8. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean, up to 65 minutes.

9. Let cool, then sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Mushroom Tart

2012-01-11T08:53:00.001-05:00

One of the first places I look for food inspiration is Martha Stewart's website. She is so good at everything you sort of want to hate her, right? And she has built an empire. But then you try a couple of her recipes and see how easy and delicious they are. A few martha stewart recipes I have posted on this blog so far include Bacon Jam (which was such a hit this New Years!), Roasted Roots and Tubers Pizza, and Spiced mixed nuts. I spent some time browsing her website now that I am back in action blogging recipes, and I decided to do a week of Martha. It just had to be done. And to kick it off right, I made this beautiful and simple Mushroom Tart.

The process is simple, the result rewarding. A sheet of puff pastry, baby spinach, goat cheese, a clove of garlic, and a variety of types of mushrooms (I used cremini and shataki.) If you can saute vegetables in pan, you can probably make this delicious appetizer.

Mushroom Tart
Recipe inspired by MarthaStewart.com, however my steps and choice of ingredients differ a bit
Ingredients:
1 sheet of puff pastry
1 TBS olive oil
1 lb of mushrooms of your choice, sliced
a handful of baby spinach
1 clove of garlic, minced
soft goat cheese
1 TBS melted butter

1. Heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat
2. Add minced garlic, allow it to cook a couple of minutes until just golden
3. Add the mushrooms to the pan, and cook until they are tender
4. Fold in the spinach
5. Lay out your puff pastry (the instructions on the box may suggest to allow it to sit for 10 minutes to defrost) on a buttered baking sheet
6. Top with your mushroom mixture, salt, pepper and sprinkle with goat cheese
7. Using a pastry brush, apply the melted butter to any exposed edges of puff pastry
8. Bake at 400 for 15 minutes, or until edges are golden and crisp

Notes:

This tart would be delicious with any variety of wild mushrooms. I droll imagining it with Hen-of-the-woods. My choice of and shataki is easy to find at grocery stores and relatively inexpensive. I used primarily the cremini (also called baby bella), and suplimented with a couple of shataki mushrooms sliced thin (tough stems removed)

The secret for perfectly browned puff pastry (which is luckily the sort of item even serious chefs buy premade from the grocery store...hence the ease of this recipe) is to brush any exposed parts with either melted butter or egg wash to aid in browning. You can choose to do this step at the end, removing the tart from the oven a few minutes before the end of the cook time, buttering it and returning it, if you are worried about the edges burning, or include it as a step before placing the item in the oven.

If you are making this ahead of time a few additional minutes to heat up in the oven (preferably on a pizza stone) will bring back any crispness it may have lost from sitting out. I made this early in the day (to accommodate bright sunlit pictures) but served it at night. A quick heat-up was all it needed.

All in a year

2012-01-04T10:30:00.001-05:00

While reading a year recap of the design changes posted by Michelle over at Decor and the Dog I started to think about how much has changed in my own home this year. It's a lot!

Earlier this year I painted my kitchen. I went from hating the boring look of the space:

To loving it's cheerful, colorful make-over:

In my living room I went from making excuses ("it's all stuff that came from my last apartment mixed in with my roommate's old stuff." "there are so many of us living here that having enough seating takes priority over design"):

To having a space that I love the look of and the functionality. Ultimately a lot of stuff stayed the same, but new throw pillows, chairs, curtains and wall art made a big impact:

I've also made big changes in my bedroom this year.

2 years ago I loved the combination of chocolate brown and light blue, and I put my room together using those colors. I loved it at first, but soon the dark colors and repetitive color palate was driving me crazy!

In the end I rearranged the furniture, built a new headboard, replaced the desk, and gave the room a dose of color with a painted stencil and some bright paint in the new "desk nook" :

And I made some updates in my foyer/entryway.

(I need a better picture of this now that I have a better camera!)

So that does seem like a lot of changes, doesn't it? A few more improvements I am planning to make in the upcoming year include replacing some photos on this site with better quality pictures taken with my new camera, and posted more recipes since it's been awhile. I also have a few small projects I am planning on taking on, and we will see what else the new year brings!

Outside of the blog I have a lot of new and exciting things on my plate for 2012, I have started a 30 before 30 list with some lofty goals (good thing i have 5 years to accomplish them.) How was everyone's new years? Anybody make any resolutions they are excited to work towards? In what ways have your homes changed this year? What other significant changes have you seen in 2011? What are you looking forward to see change in 2012?

Wall stencil photos (finally)

2011-12-26T13:18:00.000-05:00

While at my parents' home for the holidays I used my mother's camera to upload the contents of my memory card, allowing me to finally post these pictures taken of the wall stenciling project I did in October before my camera broke.

Because it has actually been more than 2 months, a few things in the room have changed (I just can't help it!) mostly the only changes worth noting though are few bedding changes. I will post updated pictures soon, and thanks to an amazing Christmas/Chanukah/Solstice gift, the pictures may be much better quality (I got a DSLR!!!)

I had intended for a subtle ombre effect by adding a bit of white to the paint progressively as I worked up the wall. But I think it may have been a little too subtle. You can see the effect fairly well in the last picture, plus you can see the beautiful capiz shell mobile/chime that was a gift from my cousin last year. :)

There you have it, finally. Happy holidays, everyone!

Little TV

2011-12-26T12:14:00.001-05:00

My apartment is going back in time. We are leaving our days of having a giant flatscreen HDTV behind and switching down for this old 20" CRT. (This change came from the moving out of the roommate who owned the flatscreen.) Perhaps I should feel sad to downgrade, but I couldn't be happier. Having a smaller TV on a smaller stand to me makes the whole room seem so much bigger. Plus, none of us watch much TV anyway. This goes hand in hand with our recent decision to reduce to basic cable to save lots of money on a service we hardly use anyway.

The TV stand looks so cheery in it's new bright sky blue paint. I picked that table up at a thrift store for $9. The TV was free. And, I have a pretty dorky project in the works- A TV Cozy! More on that soon. For now, check out how different this corner of the room looks, below.

Sadly I couldn't take a picture right before we took out the TV (my camera was broken!) so this picture has some outdated decor in it, but is the only one I could find. The second picture has our up to date decor, but doesn't quite show the TV area.
.

BEFORE:

And now:

and yes, I was watching The Blues Brothers on VHS when I took this.

I know most people would prefer a big flat sceen TV. But for me, a TV that takes up less space and makes less of a statement is better. Our living room feels bigger than before, and easily lends itself to conversation and socializing more than just watching television.

Holdiay baking

2011-12-25T13:59:00.001-05:00

This year I revisited several favorite recipes I have posted here in the past. There are still many occasions for dinner parties or hosting guests, so if you're looking for a little something to bring your host, or some appetizers or desserts for your own event, maybe you'll be inspired by the favorites I made this year!

1. Perfect for an unusual appetizer (served with crackers), or a host gift... Bacon jam

2. Perfect divided into small cellophane bags as gifts for friends, or served with wine and cheese...Spiced mixed nuts

3. Perfect for the dessert table, or made in smaller loafs as gifts...Chocolate chip pumpkin bread

And, with New Years still coming up, I have big plans. I am hoping to make my own crackers for our cheese plate, and make fondue and signature drink for the evening. You'll be hearing from me soon.

Spreadsheetmania

2011-12-21T16:37:00.000-05:00

*So I still don't have a working camera, hence never posted those reveal pictures mentioned last month...I'm hoping to borrow a camera over Christmas. I'm sure you've all forgotten by now anyway!

I made a joke to a friend the other day, after becoming obsessively involved with making a spreadsheet to use for household costs, utilities and rent payments for myself and my roommates, that maybe spreadsheets should be my new hobby. I even joked that perhaps I should start a blog about them.

Well, I didn't go quite that far (though I wonder if the url AdventuresInSpreadsheeting is taken? Things To Do While Making a Spreadsheet?) I did decide though that my beloved, and can I say it, beautiful, work of spreadsheet-ness was worth at least a quick post. I mean, just look:

Pretty colors, right? And it's got all the functions 5 flatmates could need. It's based on the spreadsheet created by my soon to depart roommate, but I gave it an updated format, and included important contact info, more room to write the details of your purchases, and some nice colors. It was a great excuse to finally learn all the excel formulas and how to make them work.

Now I want to make spreadsheets for other things, too.

In case you're wondering, the function of this spreadsheet is to allow roommates who pay a house bill (such as the electric bill) or buy something for the house (such as TP) to be evenly and easily reimbursed. Since our landlord doesn't care the amount of each of our checks, so long as it adds up to the total rent, we deduct money owed to each other and adjust the amount of each person's rent check. This way we don't have to pay the rent and then pay each of the roommates who bought something one fifth of what they paid (yes, there are 5 of us.) The spreadsheet also allows any roommate to transfer money to one other roommate for purchases instead of splitting a cost across all 5 roommates if desired. This also is an original function of the spreadsheet this was replacing. It comes in handy if your roommate buys you a few groceries while they're at the store, and you don't have any cash on you. We use it on Google Docs so that each roommate and access and update it from their own computers, or from wherever they are able to get online.

If you live with roommates, and would like to give this template I created a shot, or just if you are are curious, you can view it here. I've wiped out the personal information such as our rent rate and address, so this is just blank to let you get a sense of how it works. If you live with multiple roommates and wish to use my spreadsheet, just email me and I will email you a blank template you can start with. I will even adjust it to work for 3, 4, or 5 roommates if you wish!

Reveal?

2011-11-21T06:56:00.000-05:00

Are you wondering if I am ever going to show the final reveal from my stenciling project I gave a sneak peak of nearly a month ago? Sorry it's taking so long!

Here's my excuse (ready?):

It's not that it's not finished. In fact, by the time I posted that progress picture, it was secretly entirely finished. It's not that I don't love the final result. Seriously, I love it. It's... I can't find my camera.

Anti-climatic right?

Well, I have figured out where my camera is. On a trip with family it somehow ended up going home in my sister's bag instead of mine. Should be easy to get it back, right? She only lives 3 miles from me.

Well, due to our busy schedules, it's starting to seem like I won't see my camera until my next family trip, for Thanksgiving. So I will definitely be posting those reveal pictures as soon as I get home from Thanksgiving.

Meaning they will be revealed only about 5 weeks after the project was done. Oops.

And I haven't posted anything else in this time mostly because I know you guys dig photos. I've made some stuff. A couple dinners, mostly. But I'll have to recreate them later so I can take photos when I have my camera back.

Here are a few other things I have done recently, to keep this entire post from being an apology"

Had fake-flu- it was just as unpleasant as real flu, but my temperature was lower instead of higher than it is supposed to be.
Finally read Hunger Games (in one day...couldn't put it down) after a friend in class lent me her copy.
Watched the full series of Being Human (the UK version) on netflix streaming.
Wrote a paper for class while in a flu-y fog. I am not sure that thing is even coherent. I guess I'll find out when I hand it in today.
Took two sick days from work...more sick days than I have taken in a row in recent memory. Luckily this came after a talk with HR about how I really am supposed to use my PTO days- I hadn't been taking any time off for so long I needed the reminder.
Lost 4 lbs in 3 days. Yes, the flu is one way to loose weight, but I don't suggest it. I also am pretty sure I will gain all that back instantly now that I can eat again.

Anyway, what have all of you been up to? I really can't wait to show you the completed stenciling project...I love the result so.

In progress

2011-10-23T22:00:00.000-04:00

Here is an in progress shot of a recently completed project I'll be sharing soon. Thought you guys would like a sneak peek!

A post about bikes on my blog about- what again?

2011-10-22T18:47:00.001-04:00

So I have read very many posts from other bloggers giving tips to find a loyal readership and be successful. And one of the first things they always say is to find your niche and more or less stick to it. I have done a lot of thinking, and while I love getting new readers, I decided that sticking to a niche just isn't what it's about for me.

Some of you have been reading this blog since it started more than a year ago, when it was strictly a place for me to share recipes, and motivate myself to try making new things. After about 6 months, I decided I just had to share about my decorating adventure when I covered my refrigerator with contact paper. Yes, I did that. It wasn't a post about cooking, I realized, but at least it related to the kitchen where I cook!

Soon after I found myself posting about repainting the kitchen, and painting my new mis-matched purple chairs. After that it became open season for DIY/interior decorating posts of all sorts as well as recipes and cooking posts.

At this point I have blogged about everything from my cleaning compulsion, to bird watching, to my finds on Etsy. And I realized something. I don't blog to make money (you'll notice no ads on this blog, ever, and if you see a link to a product in the text, it's just because I think you guys might enjoy that link, not because I will make any money off you clicking on it.) I blog because it makes me happy, helps me express myself, and helps me motivate myself to do the things I love. And I don't just blog about cooking, I blog about many of my interests.

I never mean to disapoint a reader of course, and I would love to meet more cool and interesting people who like the things I blog about, but it just doesn't feel right to limit myself to one subject when collecting a certain number of readers, or making money has never and will never be my goal.

So, in short, if you read my blog: 1. I love you and 2. Read which ever part makes you happy, leave me feedback if you like something, and feel free to skip those posts that don't relate to an interest you share with me!

Now, without further adieu, a bit of a post on a subject VERY unrelated to both cooking and interior design, but something I like a lot- my bike.

I've mentioned two bikes on this blog so far, my vintage English 3-speed (let's call him Phil) who showed up here.

He really is a beauty. Just look at him. He has a sweet internal gear hub, original stamped Phillips plaque, and the most uncomfortable bike seat ever made (I kid you not).

Isn't he a looker? Maybe it is just my love of vintage that draws me to him.

But I have a new love- who is sleeker, faster, brighter and very importantly LIGHTER than good old Phil.

She doesn't have a name yet, but if she did, it would have to be something girly and fun. Maybe Lucy or Posey or something like that.

Similarly to Phil she has a steel lugged frame, but being about 15 years younger and at least 12 pounds lighter, she makes for a very different sort of bike ride. And I am falling in love all over again with the streets of Boston as I she guides me from place to place. She is fast and reliable, and her bright colors make me so happy the moment I see her, locked up at a bike rack patiently waiting for my return.

Pedey likes her too.

Do any of you bike? Do you do so for transportation? Fitness? To save the world?

Or, if you don't bike- what's your favorite way to get from place to place?

Display shelves for the crafting/study area

2011-10-22T18:16:00.001-04:00

Some people have the luxury of a separate room to call their office, craft space, or sewing room. I don't. I have read lots of debates in the home decor blogosphere about office spaces in the bedroom. I understand the point of view that a bedroom should be relaxing and tranquil, a place to get away from the work and projects of the day. That is a very nice idea. But for some of us, it just isn't feasible to keep our sleeping quarters totally separate from our at-home workspace.

Because I live in a shared apartment with roommates, the only space that can truly be "mine" is in my bedroom. I am lucky, though, to have a fairly large room of my own to work with. I wanted to create a space that would fit in with the feel of my room, but still be very functional. I decided I wanted to build shelves above my desk both for display and to store craft supplies.

I recently rearranged my room, and my desk ended up in the little nook created by a former doorway. I have been so inspired by the closets turned to offices (or cloffices) I have seen on the web in the last few years, and I wish I had a closet to use for that purpose. Since I don't (I don't have a closet at all in fact!) I thought the moulding of this doorway frame could at least give the illusion of a "nook" in which to make my office/craft space.

To start I did some measurements, and bought some lumber. Then I felt a little overwhelmed, so I got some help.

My boyfriend Ben drew out this plan and remeasured everything for me. He's better at this sort of thing, and drafting seems to make him happy, where as it seems to make me an anxious wreck.

I know you dig that teal nail polish I got going on.

Then I let him do the dirty work of cutting down the lumber to size, too:

And then I let him mount the shelves, make sure they were level, and install the vertical supports. Yep, I pretty much just made him do everything. Oops. Well, besides the painting. I did all the painting. Oh, actually, he did paint on the primer... But anyways.

One thing I actually can take credit for in this project, is the paint color. I am far too proud of myself, really, because if anyone asks me what color I choose, I get to say "it's custom." I have a lot of near empty or half full cans of painting hanging out in my hardware closet (what, you don't have a whole closet devoted to hardware supplies, tools and paint?) and so instead of having to pay for more paint to get the right color, I recalled the color wheel from my art class days. I had a pale blue, an electric green, a charcoal gray and a deep turquoise among other colors, and I got to mixing.

Here you can see a bit of color testing, including some combinations I made myself. I ended up going with the slightly darker pale turquoise tone, which you can see on the far right. It was just a bit more muted than the brighter blue, and I didn't think I'd like it, but once it was on the wall I knew it was the one.

And the building began. We (can I say we?) used simple L brackets to attach the cut 1x4s to the wall, made sure everything was level, and then added vertical supports from remaining pieces of lumber.

Next came priming and painting the wood shelves, caulking any gaps, and touching up the background color.

I have yet to feel really satisfied with the styling of these shelves, I want to take some time and collect some quirky items that make me happy to live on these shelves, along with my jars of art supplies. Here's the styling as it exists now...Surely I will make an update later when I decide exactly what I want up here.

Do you have a work or craft space in your home? In your bedroom? Have you undertaken any minor or major building projects recently? How do you feel about drafting and measuring-- boring or rewarding and pleasurable?

Roasted Roots & Tubers Pizza

2011-10-22T16:48:00.003-04:00

One of my favorite family recipes is a side dish my mother always made called roots & tubers. She cut small potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, parsnips and onions (am I forgetting anything, Mom?) and roasted them in a pyrex dish with olive oil until they were a perfect combination of soft on the inside, crisp on the outside, and sweet.

I was reminded of that side dish when I saw this pizza recipe from Martha Stewart, and decided I had to give it a try. Roasted root vegetables and herbs with ricotta on pizza? An odd combination maybe, but it sounded totally delicious. And was also reminiscent of the ricotta and butternut squash crostini I had recently made, and I even had ricotta left over from that. Perfect.

I made this my own by changing some ingredients as I saw fit and adding a drizzle of balsamic reduction at the very end before serving. I love the way the rich sweet flavor of reduced balsamic plays against the earthy fall flavors of the root vegetables and also seems to bring out the contrast of the light smooth flavor of the ricotta.

I was intending to make a pizza dough from scratch, but this ended up being a last minute meal made straight after getting home from work. Luckily, I am a fan of the pizza dough sold by Whole Foods, and I was able to stop in and pick some up near my work.

Pizza is always a simple meal to assemble, and giving a recipe for a pizza sometimes feels redundant. It's like telling people how to make a sandwich, right?

But, as this is how I like to do it, I will include the groceries you will need and the cook times to recreate the pizza as I made it.

Roasted Roots & Tubers Pizza
Inspired by this Martha Stewart recipe

INGREDIENTS:

your choice of fall vegetables, consider including: fingerling potatoes, little red potatoes, sweet potatoes and/or butternut squash, carrots, parsnips, red onion. (You can also include other vegetables that suit your fancy, look for ones that are hearty and can roast for a long time, so you can prepare all of the vegetables at once in one dish.)

a homemade or store-bought pizza dough
a small container of ricotta cheese (I had some left over from my crostini, so I used that. It had some lemon zest and juice mixed in, and I found I liked the brightness this added)

A variety of fresh herbs to keep things interesting(I used fresh rosemary and thyme which I cooked with vegetables, and then added the sage leaves to the top of the pizza before baking )

olive oil, salt & fresh ground pepper
one cup of balsamic vinegar to reduce

STEPS:

To prepare the Roast Roots & Tubers topping:

1.Chop the vegetables into small similarly sized pieces. I look for small carrots, potatoes and parsnips, as the skin is usually thinner and you can scrub them and then roast them with the skin on instead of having to peel them. If the skin seems thick or you think I am crazy for doing it this way, by all means, peel away!

2.Add the chopped veg to an oven proof dish or baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and add a small sprig each of thyme and rosemary- no need to remove from the stem or chop, the flavor will cook right into the oil and roots over the course of the roast.

3.Place in a hot oven (about 450 degrees) and roast, tossing as needed to brown all sides of vegetables for about 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool. remove herb sprigs.

For the Pizza:

1. Stretch dough onto a baking sheet (or preheated pizza stone, I love using mine!) with a bit of olive oil.

2. Spread on the ricotta as thick as desired.

3. Add the cooked vegetables and and sage leaves, nestling ingredients into the spread ricotta.

4. Bake in a preheated oven (475) 20-25 minutes (until crust is golden)

MEANWHILE... reduce your balsamic vinegar by pouring it into a small sauce pan over medium high heat. Pay attention and stir often so the bottom doesn't burn. You can add some sugar to speed up the process and add extra sweetness, especially if the balsamic you are starting with is of poor quality. after the balsamic has reduced, keep it slightly warm until you can drizzle it over your pizza.

A tip- Wash the pan you reduced the balsamic in asap...that stuff can become sticky as it sits!

Butternut Squash, Ricotta & Sage Crostini

2011-10-10T10:10:00.002-04:00

A few nights ago I put together the quickest, easiest meal and appetizer for my weekly dinner (and Fringe-watching ) with my friend Sophie. I got home less than half an hour before she arrived, and the meal (compromised of this tasty crostini to start and a hearty doctored can of pre-made tomato soup) was ready to be served by the time she rang the doorbell.
I have been living in my apartment for two years and I still jump about 2 feet in the air every time our doorbell rings. That sound is terrifying. So, needless to say, when she rang the bell at 5:30, and I was standing above a plate of crostini, carefully placing fried sage leaves on top of each, I jumped in alarm and dropped a few of the aromatic crisp fried leaves. Bummer.

I have long felt confused about sage. Most other common herbs I have a good sense of when to add here or there, what flavors they will compliment, and what quality they will bring out in a dish. Thyme? Basil? Bay leaves? Parsley? Rosemary? Yep. I can (for the most part) taste a dish I am cooking and think "this would be enhanced with ." But sage? Well, honestly, I didn't even quite know what it tasted like. I have really only had it paired with brown butter and butternut squash ravioli. I think I'd like to look into other recipes that use sage, get to know this herb a little better.

This recipe also paired the flavor of sage with butternut squash. But the crispy fried sage leaves were the statement making part of this combination. The ricotta was smooth and subtle, enhanced only with a little bit of lemon juice and zest, the bread that made up the toasted base of this crostini with toasted with just a bit of olive oil, and the butternut squash was cooked up with olive oil, salt and pepper. So the crisp sage leaves spoke for themselves, not overshadowed by other flavors, but instead bringing interest to combination of subtle sweet squash and creamy ricotta.

I saved time on this meal and was able to prepare it so quickly because I had leftover roasted butternut squash from the dinner I made the night before. Feel free to prepare the components of this appetizer the day before if you wish, you can roast cubed butternut squash and set aside in the fridge (bring to room temp before serving), or even combine the ricotta and zest the night before and refrigerate. Assemble right before serving.

Butternut Squash & Ricotta Crostini
Recipe from Bon Appetit

Ingredients:

1 bunch or package of fresh sage leaves

olive oil

1 baguette

1 butternut squash (or cheat and buy the precut pieces at the grocery store. Cutting butternut squash is one of my least favorite jobs in the kitchen- they're tricky!)
1 1/2 tsp brown sugar

sea salt & ground pepper

3/4 cup fresh ricotta

1 lemon- zested & then squeezed for juice

Step 1. Roast the butternut squash- after cutting into 1-2" cubes, lay butternut squash on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper, and sprinkle with brown sugar. place baking sheet in preheated oven at 425 degrees. Roast for 25-30 minutes, tossing occasionally. While this roasts, start the next steps!

Step 2. Fry the sage- in a small skillet or frying pan, heat olive oil until hot. Place sage leaves (stems removed) in oil and remove after they appear lightly golden and crisp. Place fried leaves on a paper towel and set aside. Reserve the used olive oil for the next step.

Step 3. Toast the bread- cut the baguette into 3/8" slices. lay on a baking sheet, and brush on the oil from step 2. Add the to the already hot oven (if not making the squash ahead of time. Otherwise, set the oven to broil and keep an eye on the bread, it will brown quickly!) until golden.

Step 4. Prepare the ricotta- While the bread toasts and the butternut squash finishes roasting, zest and juice half of your lemon. In a mixing bowl combine the ricotta and the lemon zest and juice. set aside until the bread has started to cool a bit.

Step 5. Assemble it all- Spread some of the ricotta mixture on to each piece of toast. Place the butternut squash pieces on top of that, then squeeze lemon juice from the remaining lemon half over the top, and drizzle a bit of olive oil. Top each crostini with 1 or 2 fried sage leaves, and season with salt and pepper.

This was easy and so delicious, I will definitely make this again soon. So perfectly fall!

As I mentioned above, I served this as an appetizer with a simple "doctored" pre-made tomato soup. When I am short on time and want something warm and delicious, especially as the weather gets cooler, I am not above opening a can of soup. I use Progresso Tomato & Basil, and add lots of fresh basil leaves, heavy cream, cracked pepper, sliced fried garlic, and a little bit of herb oil. A quick salad and some hearty bread, and you have an easy nearly instant light meal, that I swear doesn't taste like it came from a can.

Ok, excuse me, I am going to go make some more of these now!

Bedroom project: New headboard

2011-09-26T09:56:00.001-04:00

I recently upholstered myself a new headboard. It was one of those projects that was so simple and quick and that I had wanted to do for so long. Yet I didn't realize what would happen next: I would want to change everything else in my room, too! So essentially a one day project became weeks of updates and money spent and splinters, and getting paint on my favorite slippers. It works out that way, sometimes.

You may remember this picture I posted last year which shows my bedroom set up:

While I liked the way my room looked, it actually felt a bit too formal to me. The new set up is much more in touch with my current style, and it's lighter. So I said good bye to the curtained faux headboard, as well as the chocolate brown accents, and I created an upholstered headboard in a fabric I love. Recognize the fabric from my updated entryway bench project? Yep, it's the same.

Here's the new bed design:

By the way, see that weird branch hanging down in front of the window? My building is covered with vines, and durring the recent hurricane this one broke off the building, and in a strong wind rapped against the window and broke it! There is a giant crack going all the way through the window pane in 3 directions. I am still waiting for the building managment to come take a look, I hope they cut down that branch when they come, I am scared with it just hanging there that in a day with bad wind the whole thing could happen again!

You may also notice in the above picture that I moved the bed, it is no longer framed out by that closed off doorway. Want a sneak peek of what that area of the room looks like now? The detailed post is soon to come, but in the meantime:

I still have a lot of updates to take on, and completed ones to show you, here's a bit of what to expect in the future around here:

In my bedroom I'll be completeing these projects:
1. a patterned stencil wall above the bed
2. a DIY update to my overhead light fixture (I recently added a plain white drum shade you can see in some of the pictures above, but I am planning on making this more of a focal point)
3. a fun DIY update to a my desk chair
4. Building a new nightstand

And a few things I have yet to share with you, that I look forward to posting about:
1. The new crisp white sheers I hemmed for a more tailored look and some needed privacy
2. A few solutions to storage issues- especially since I am so worried about things looking even a tiny bit cluttered, but I live in a relatively small space, with no closet!
3. Of course- the built in shelves I built (with help) in my new desk/craft space as previewed above

Ok, and to wrap things up just one last picture for honesty's sake.

This is what the opposite side of the room turns into when I need to clear all the junk from the area around the bed and desk to take photos:

Yep, not so perfect.

Black Bean Soup & Sweet Potato Biscuits

2011-09-25T11:27:00.005-04:00

When people ask me what my favorite thing to cook is, I almost always answer with some sort of soup. French onion some days, butternut squash, perhaps a lively and spicy black bean soup, like this one. To me, cooking soup seems like a nearly magical process. Brown a few simple ingredients in the bottom of a large pot, perhaps onions cooked until translucent and lightly sweet, garlic and herbs, add liquid, a few other choice ingreidients, cover the pot and... Magic happens. Water becomes flavorful broth, dense root vegetables become soft and sweet. Herbs and spices mingle on your tongue, and the whole thing can be sopped up with a nice piece of hearty bread.

We have had our first few days of true fall weather recently, the rare moment in time where 50 degrees feels just chilly enough to curl up in a blanket on your couch with a book and make every excuse not to leave the house, or run all the errands you need to. (Or is that just me?) As the months wear on, we will grow accustomed to the colder weather, and a 50 degree day will seem like such a luxury, a moment to take back out our summer clothes. But at the end of the summer, with the certain crisp air only fall can bring, 50 degrees means it's a time to make soup; to comfort yourself.

I made this soup with my (lovely and pretty) friend Sophie, one of my oldest friends, whom I met in pre-school. We attempt now to cook dinner together every Friday (before settling in to watch Fringe-- any other Fringe fans out there? WHERE IS PETER BISHOP??) and her regular email to me "What should we make this time? Should I bring wine?" has been a great motivator of many of my food posts on this blog.

This time around, unsure what to make, I linked Sophie to my pinterest board for food inspiration. She responded pointing out that many of the recipes included sweet potatoes, and it had her thinking about the African Sweet Potato Stew I often make. Since I have already blogged that recipe, I suggested making a different sort of soup, and pairing it with the Sweet Potato Biscuits I had pinned and had been wanting to try. I suggested black bean soup particularly for a few reasons:

1. I love black bean soup

2. I love the way black beans pair with sweet potato- like in this recipe

3. The ingredients for black bean soup are cheap- no lies, this is always a good motivator for me

In the end we both loved the combination, and the leftover biscuits were great for breakfast the next day, too.

too bad I can't master the perfect sour cream dollop at the moment

Since we followed the recipe with no alterations I am not including the steps in this post, but you can head over to this link to see the original recipe- it's easy and delicious, they turned out flaky and just a tiny bit sweet. Like with pie crust, the key is to keep the butter cold and handle minimally. We ended up having to handle our biscuit dough more than we intended, but even so they were tender and flaky.

The only note I would make about the above recipe, is if you are short of time, peel and poke some holes in your sweet potato, then microwave it for about 3 minutes before mashing instead of baking it. We also chose to keep our sweet potatos mashed in a chunkier style, I liked the chunks of sweet potato in each bite that this created.

And for the soup...

This soup was adapted from a recipe from Eating Well. The recipe I started with was very basic, but gave me just the guidelines I needed. I supplimented it with 2 large cloves of garlic, more lime and cilantro than it called for, and where they asked for prepared salsa I used Trader Joe's Habenero Lime salsa which really added a lively kick. If you don't have a salsa like this available to you, I would suggest adding some diced fresh hot pepper and doubling the lime juice.

Black Bean Soup

Adapted from Eatingwell.com

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 onion, diced

1 tablespoon chilli powder

1 teaspoon cumin

2 or 3 cloves of garlic, minced

2 15oz cans of black beans, rinsed

3 cups of water

1/2 cup prepared salsa- I used Trader Joe's brand Habenero & Lime Salsa

Salt to taste

Juice of one lime

fresh cilantro chopped, plus some additional for garnish

Sour cream to garnish

Process:

1. In a large pot heat the oil. Add chopped onions and cook until translucent- less than 5 minutes

2. Add to pot: cumin, chilli powder, minced garlic, stir and cook 2 minutes

3. Add rinsed beans, salsa and water. add salt to taste, and adjust spices as needed at this point (remember that the heat of the soup will vary depending on what salsa you use)

4. Using a traditional or immersion blender, blend mixture minimally so that some chunks remain.

5. Add the lime juice and cilantro before serving, add additional cilantro to garnish, as well as a dollop of sour cream if desired.

Serve with cornbread, biscuits or something else delicious. Feel happy. Go watch Fringe.

Entry way update

2011-09-16T09:35:00.002-04:00

I hinted before my blogcation that I was making an update or two in the entryway to my apartment. I believe I posted this pic as a teaser:

The entrance to my apartment has been the subject of many posts, including all of the many steps of my still-evolving sidewalk-find dresser turned entryway table. But while that side of the foyer has been shown on this blog over and over the other side of the same space never has.

Why? Because it was weird looking and never really lived up to what I wanted. I found a media shelf in the trash of a building near my own two years ago. This was really my first DIY furniture hack. I took it, removed a few shelves, painted it, removed the casters to add feet, and sewed a simple cushion for the top. Voila! Entrance bench!

Except.... Well except I never quite liked it.

Why? I guess there were a few reasons.

1. I luckily happened upon 4 unfinished wooden legs at goodwill right after deciding I wanted to change out the casters for real legs. But even from the start their style was too traditional and even "country-ish" for what I wanted.

These were a pretty close match to the legs I found, but mine were shorter:

2. The color I chose, a sage green, was a paint I had on hand which had a similar tone to the tablecloth that sat on the old entryway table, which was a pretty sad folding table I had gotten from my parents. I later decided that the color made the bench look sort of heavy and dated instead of fresh and light like a coat of white paint might have.

3.The cushion, which took me forever to sew, since I didn't have a sewing machine at the time, looked sort of lumpy and sad instead of cushy and welcoming.

See? You can't see the legs from that angle, but you can see my sage color choice, the still existing pegs where the shelves used to be, and my hours and hours of hard work on that lumpy sad cushion. Sigh.

***Also, a quick apology- I took not one but several before pictures of this project. Sadly they are all sleeping with the fishes so to speak, in the depths of my sadly departed laptop. Shall we have a moment of silence?***

Later I found a large bead-board mirror at a local thrift store, and placed it above the bench, after painting it with same sage green paint. I thought the matching color would tie it all together to look a bit like the built in entry way benches I had seen occasionally online.

Unfortunately, I was working with something sort of weird to begin with. Our entrance way came with a shelf and coat hooks already on the wall, which we probably weren't supposed to mess with, since it was a rental. Nice, right? Except...the shelf was hung too high for much good use, and had a curvy country-home style that I was not a huge fan of. AND the coat hooks on the wall? Make that actually a crooked chunk of 1x3 lumber with a few 30 cent cup hooks.

In my most recent redo, I decided to work with the shelf, and use it as a display space instead of anything too functional given it's height (I can only reach it if I stand on the bench to do so).

But the 1x3 wood scrap complete with brass cup hooks? I took that baby down. And threw it in the trash. And no one will miss it.

Due to my sad story of long lost before pictures, the only thing I have to satiate your curiosity about just how awkward that 1x3 "coat rack" looked, is this picture from after I took it down. Even in its absence you can see how crooked it was, right?

Luckily a little primer and paint hid every hint that this was ever there.

I ended up buying some nicer brushed nickle coat hooks and drilling them into the base of the shelf. You know the kind that look like an octopus ready for a fight? Surely you all saw this make its rounds earlier this year- I first caught it on Laughing Squid, but am not entirely sure where it first appeared.

Next I replaced the bead-board mirror with a framed print I happened upon at the same local thrift store mentioned earlier. And, get this: the print isn't just a drawing of buildings from a cute new england town, it's pictures of buildings from the cute New England town I went camping in with my family nearly every year of my childhood. Lots of nostalgia. The frame it came in was pink plastic...I painted it with a bit of charcoal gray paint and I love it. Isn't it a cute little print?

I also rethought the cushion on the entry way bench, and made one by upolstering a piece of plywood with a few layers of foam, and the same fabric from the previous cushion.

I thought it looked a lot better, but still something wasn't quite right. I wanted the bench to look...fresher.

For your amusement I have put my mad-editing skills (ok, try my hillariously ametuerish editing skills..) into this info-graphic to better explain the situation in the picture above:

So I made a few updates... I used Dwell Studio's Indoor/outdoor fabric in Maze Work Brindle to recover the cushion. I chose an indoor/outdoor fabric since I figured there would be lots of wet rain coats and such making contact with this cushion. A bit of water resistance would be great!

I replaced the legs with some nice mid-century inspired ones which I special ordered from Home Depot and gave a quick coat of dark walnut stain, finally removed the pegs that used to hold to removed shelves, puttied, sanded, primed, and painted the whole thing white. Then I placed my white owl umbrella holder next to it...to rally up any big umbrellas.

Ah, so much better!

As seen above I added a few decorative items on top of that high up shelf, including a vintage globe from Etsy (I love looking at all the old country names like Anglo-Egyptian Sudan and Baluchistan. By the way, if you have a vintage globe and want to figure out how old it is based on the outdated names for countries, this page is great.), a decorative vase that used to sit on my desk, and a jar candle I very nearly got rid of in my recent goodwill donation.

So that's it! My new entry way area, opposite the much-pictured foyer corner. Finally that area is worthy of a pic on the old blog. Now if only I could find a way to take a picture of that area without flash that isn't dismally dark...man I wish this area had some natural light!

PS- if you like that update, check back soon to see the updates I am making in my bedroom, one of them is eerily similar to the update that bench got....

So- do you guys have any projects you just keep revisiting? Sometimes it takes a few tries to get something right!

Linking up to Remodelholic and Miss Mustard Seed's Friday Parties! If you stopped by here from one of those link parties, I'd love to hear from you!

I'm Back!

2011-09-15T08:43:00.002-04:00

Hello again!

So my little blog-cation took a bit longer than anticipated. I did get a chance to enjoy some summer days of hiking, biking and doing whatever else it is that you do over the summer. I also spent many hours in class, and started a big transition that meant leaving my previous position at my job (which I have held for 2 years) and learning the ropes of a different position in a different office. It's been a busy few weeks.

Here are some highlights I thought I might share though, and I would love to hear about the highlights of all of your summers', readers!

1. I took a trip out to the Berkshire town I lived in 2 years ago. While there I hiked in the rain, attended a downtown beach day, visited my favorite local pub, and took in the sights of a place that I called home not so very long ago.

I was surprised with the longing I was left with, revisiting this town that was the site of my adventure year in a new place where I knew almost no one. Seeing it all again has left me with the bug to try again living somewhere new!

I find myself planning my next adventure, to the tune of perhaps 2 years in an all new city by myself. At the moment I keep thinking about Portland, Oregon, but that could all change before the plan goes into action. I have a lucky opportunity to potentially move somewhere for my last couple of years of school. Do you ever get a bug to make a radical change to your life and your setting? I really think the time is right for me, I need a new experience!

a cliff-side view from my trip to the Berkshires, taken at a moment when it wasn't raining

Beach day, North Adams. Such a sweet, fun tradition for a landlocked town!

rainy, forest-y ruins of an old plantation

2. This summer I bought a new bike. I am so enamored of her, and have been biking everywhere. She's a road bike and she is fast and light. A few days now I have added up nearly 20 miles of riding! My calves are sore. And yes, to all the concerned relatives reading this: I do always wear a helmet. :)

3. I also got to watch a bit of baseball, taking in a game at Fenway (and another coming up this week!) and seeing a local minor league game, the Lowell Spinners vs. the Brooklyn Cyclones. There are some surprisingly fun antics at minor league games, I learned.

what exactly is going on here? Is that Mario? (picture taken by my sister, Abbie)

What fun things did you guys do this summer? Did you work and take classes the whole time, with only a stretch of 3 days totaling an actual "vacation" like I did? Did you travel, relax or take in new sights? Did you start something new, or hatch a plan for a new adventure? I'd love to hear about it!

Blog-cation

2011-08-04T10:52:00.000-04:00

It's August. It's been a long year. I've decided to take somewhat of a computer break for the rest of the month, as I think it will be cleansing. (minus things I need to use the computer for that relate the my job or school work, and probably Pinterest since I am an addict - you can find me on pinterest using the link on the right of this page, by the way)

I sit at a computer every day at work, for 8 straight hours. Every now and then I just need to remind myself that there is a big beautiful world out there, and when I am off work I should get off my laptop and out to where the fun stuff is. So I am challenging myself to stay away from the computer as much as possible, though I will pop on my email daily to make sure I don't miss anyone trying to contact me, and probably read up on my favorite blogs once a week or two.

But I plan to be back full force in the fall. And in the meantime I am still planning to tackle some projects and do some cooking, and photograph it all so I can update you guys on it later.

A few things I am planning to undertake:

Around the house:

Making a fabric faux headboard for my bed, using some awesome geometric dwell studio fabric
Updating my hallway bench with the same fabric to complete my foyer transformation (as mentioned here)
Completing my living room chair slip cover (as mentioned here)
Updating my hallway storage closet with lots of functional shelving and hooks, and some major organization
Creating more useful storage in my bedroom with custom shelves and jewelery hooks
Making a big comfy floor pillow/pouf for my living room in some lively fabric

In the kitchen:

I've been having a blast teaching myself to cook Thai food, so far I have made Tom Kha Guy soup, Pad Thai, and Mangoes with Sticky rice. It takes a while for me to get comfortable cooking with ingredients I haven't used before, but so far everything I have made has turned out good and not been hard to make at all. I will post some of these dishes in the fall.
I've been daydreaming about a rustic peach or nectarine tart with reduced balsamic drizzle, will be making that soon for sure.
I plan to explore a bit more with local foods, find great summer recipes for the fruits and vegetables that thrive in Boston's short summer season and rocky soil.
And thanks to feedback from you guys when I posted my favorite recipe round ups during my blogaversary, I will definitely be aiming to post more vegetarian recipes!

Enjoy the rest of your summer, I hope you all get to get out there and have some fun!

Forget about dinner

2011-07-24T19:06:00.004-04:00

Things are heating up. The other day, Boston (and much of the eastern seaboard) had one of its hottest days in history. Not since the 1920s has a temperature of 104 been recorded in this area, and no temperature higher has been recorded since 1911.

It's inescapable, wherever you are, the heat will find you. I don't have air conditioning in my apartment, and unfortunately even if I wished to use window units our power won't support it. I spent some time visiting with my parents and their AC. We ate out, to avoid having to cook, but one of my favorite ways to eat in the heat is to simply pull together some appetizers and cold white wine, and forget the dinner all together.

I did this on a night last week with my good friend Sophie. We ate kalamata olives, locally made bread, juicy red grapes, goat cheese, cheddar, and some rhubarb chutney I made recently with ingredients from the farmers market. We sipped on chilled Sauvignon Blanc, and dipped our bread in rosemary infused olive oil while chatting about the week that had passed and enjoying the cross breeze from two fans set up. Some interesting artisanal meats or fresh vegetables are also always a welcome addition. Perfect.

The good news is this heat wave seems to have broken, today was quite warm, but nothing like the past few days. Are those of you in other areas of the country (or other countries) having similar weather? How do you keep comfortable?

Do you have a favorite simple meal to make on days like this- when it is so hot the idea of standing above a lit stove is simply unbearable?

What have I been doing?

2011-07-17T20:59:00.004-04:00

It's been awhile since I've posted! Here's a taste of what I've been up to in my blog-cation:

Classes-- One summer class wrapped up last week, the next starts tomorrow. These 6 week long condensed courses take a lot out of me! Also, notice that school work all over my newly refinished desk makes it look a bit less pretty. Boo.

Laying in front of fans- on those hottest, most humid days, I was really wishing I had AC. But at least I have a window fan. Fun fact, did you know that the person who invented the first electric fan was born in my own home state of Massachusetts? His name was Schuyler Wheeler, and he was only 22 when he invented it.

Cooking things that are delicious but not so photogenic, like this rhubarb chicken:

Helping my sister paint her new condo. And using "sisterly persuasion" to get her to make daring choices with paint colors. And bragging about my edging skills.

Lychee Green Tea Martinis

2011-07-06T06:49:00.001-04:00

I've been mixing up all kinds of fun, summery cocktails lately. This one, made with Lychee juice, iced (unsweetened) green tea, vodka and a hint of lime juice is a current favorite of mine. Sweet and light, with a hint of smokiness from the green tea, served super cold. This is just the kind of thing I want to sip on a summer evening with friends.

I thew the ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice, then added a couple lychees for garnish. They're my favorite part!

You will need:
1 can lychee fruit packed in juice
A pot of strongly brewed green tea, given time to chill
Vodka of your choice
1 lime

combine 1 part vodka, 1 part lychee juice, 2 parts green tea, and a squeeze of lime. Shake over ice, and enjoy. You can also add cold seltzer (after shaking, not before) for a lighter spritzer variation. Yum.

I made and drank these with my friend Gabi (whose name has been dropped on this blog quite a few times now) as we ate homemade Pad Thai based on this Alton brown recipe (we substituted chicken for the tofu, and only marinated it for less than an hour, but it turned out great), and then munched on red bean mochi for dessert. Our meal and drinks were inspired by a last minute wander through Super 88, a giant Asian market around the corner from my apartment, also mentioned here.

Before & After-er (an update to my dresser to foyer shelves DIY)

2011-07-04T17:53:00.004-04:00

Remember when I took this sad drawer-less dresser

And ripped out the drawer tracks, painted it, an laid in some plywood shelves to create a shelving unit/entry table for my foyer?

Well, I recently did one little update- removing the cross bars (except the horizontal one at the top supporting the top shelf) for a cleaner, more open look. This meant getting to hack away at the bars with a saw to get them loose. Which is a pretty satisfying activity, I must say.

Cleaning compulsion?

2011-07-02T22:00:00.007-04:00

photo via womensday.com

Over the last couple of years I seem to have developed a bit of a cleaning compulsion. Every morning right after I wake up, I make my bed, sweep my room, organize any objects that may be out of place, empty the trash can, then move on to the kitchen. There I wipe down the counters, sweep, put away the dishes, sometimes I even mop. With bleach. At 6am. Really. I then have to remind myself to wait until at lease 7:30 to break out the vacuum, for noise reasons.

Looking objectively at my current routine, I have to laugh. I was the girl whose room was so messy all through middle school and high school that I forgot what color my rug was, because I could never see it. I had constant arguments with my parents over abandoned dishes and the mess I left in my wake everywhere I went. Clearly, somewhere along the line this changed.

Today while over my parents house to take care of their pet bird, Petey, I decided to do some organizing and purging in my old bedroom. I found some gems. In one drawer there was a bottle of perfume I bought while in Ireland visiting my sister (who did a college year abroad in Galway when I was 16.) One sniff and I was back there! Amazing how scent works that way, isn't it? The perfume itself is far too sweet to be something I would wear now, but its scent instantly brought me back. Next I found a pile of journals and sketchbooks. I am going to frame a few drawings I found, which I made originally back in 2001 and 2002, and hang them in my apartment. But the best find of all, was a journal full of angsty teenage poetry, lists of favorite movies and songs, resolutions, and one journal entry that stood out.

Judging from the friends I mention earlier in the journal, this entry was probably made at the beginning of my senior year of high school. While I do think it speaks to the moment of evolution in my psyche when it comes to cleaning, I have to confess there were still several solid years before my habits actually began to change.

On the chance that there are others of you out there who, like me, went from complete tornado-mess-makers to obsessive cleaning nuts, I thought I would transcribe some of the entry here for your amusement.

Sadly there is no date on the entry. There is also not much by way of structure, I created the line breaks to hopefully help it all make a bit more sense, in the journal itself it is just a constant stream of words:

Weird thing happened today- I have just cleaned my room, and have been working on keeping it that way. Put away one thing before you take out another; put dirty clothes in the hamper, clean in the drawers and the closet...etc. I went downstairs to get a calendar for in my room and noticed that the kitchen was a total mess. It seems like this house was always a lot cleaner when I was little.

Garbage bin brimming, food out, dirty dishes in the sink... It only took me ten minutes to clean everything up, wash down all the surfaces, realize we had no more sponges left- write that on the shopping list and load the dish washer. I turned off the light and realized what I had done: I had voluntarily cleaned up after not only myself but my family also.

I have always wondered how it is that my mom would spend her days off cleaning. I'm not saying I liked it. That's gross. I'm just saying I was willing to do it, somehow.

As weird as that sounds I guess I had always kind of liked my messiness. There is an exciting level of chaos and impulsiveness implied about a person who keeps a messy room. They are so much less boring and predictable than tidy people. While the idea of being chaotic, impulsive and spontaneous is very appealing, maybe clean is good too.

I decided that I was going to keep my room clean, and also become all around more tidy. Maybe this can be an early news years resolution. It doesn't hurt that my parents have offered me incentives... a phone in my room if I keep things clean for a month, a CD player after 3 months...

Well, there you have it, contrast that entry to my cleaning habits now. It's sort of amazing, right? By the way, I suspect this picture is one I took right around that time, when I was so proud of how clean my room was:


This was the cleanest my room ever was in high school.

So, did any of you used to be a slob like I was? Did you change down the line, or do you still have to fight it? Or do you not fight it, and just learn to love your messy self?

On the flip side, do dirty dishes in the sink make you twitch? Do you chronically clean every surface with bleach? Or is it just me- is there something terribly wrong with me?

Also...Have you discovered any old journals recently? Do tell! If you're willing to share some of the good stuff I might be convinced to post a few lines of my teenage poetry...Just saying.

Basil infused watermelon cocktails

2011-06-20T12:01:00.002-04:00

Remember that basil infused vodka I made? I turned it into a refreshing, lightly sweet summer cocktail with a bit of fresh watermelon, basil leaves, lemon juice, triple sec and ice.

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And Then There Was One

2011-06-19T14:38:00.003-04:00

I love his sweet little baby-bird face. I think all robins, sort of like all human babies, look a bit like Winston Churchill.

The other baby birds in the robin's nest I have been observing for the last few weeks have left the nest.
They are probably out learning how to fly, find food, and survive all the dangers of being a wild bird in a big city. This little guy hatched later than the rest, and stayed smaller, never quite catching up. His mom still comes to check on him and bring him food though, but it seems pretty lonely to still be in the nest once your brothers and sisters have left, doesn't it?

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The living room...Some more.

2011-06-18T15:40:00.002-04:00

In my last post I mentioned that I got this new chair for in my bedroom:

Well, buying that inspired me to see if my old reading chair which had been in that spot (a white slipcovered ikea tullsta that I had used to sit and read on exactly once in two years) might work out in that one problem area in the living room that I keep talking about. So I brought it over.

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Desk re-do

2011-06-18T15:21:00.004-04:00

Last month I started the project of refinishing a desk for my bedroom. I was lucky enough to grab this off the curb last fall on my street, and was excited to discover that while the finish was worn, the piece itself was high quality and sturdy. A stamp inside let me know that this desk is made by Vermont Tubbs, and a quick google search leads me to believe that what I got was their Woodstock line computer table, which retails for about $1500 with its matching desk chair.

The chair of course was not on the curb with the table, so either the previous owners bought this and kept the chair, or it was not sold as a set at the time. There was minimal damage on the table, some cup rings and wear in the top of the table, and in the poly had yellowed quite a bit, so I was just not crazy about the finish.

This desk comes in handy for me both as a spot to put on my make-up in the morning (hence the mirrors) and a crafting/reading/studying area. But there were a few issues I wanted to address.

1. Refinishing the desk to be more my taste

2. finding a better permanent (hidden!) home for my sewing machine

3. eliminating those storage boxes piled below the desk.

Nesting

2011-06-16T18:41:00.003-04:00

Earlier this month a Robin decided that the the window ledge outside our kitchen pantry was the perfect place to make her nest. I have to say I agree, the vines that cover our building protect her family there from harsh weather and make them nearly invisible to predators. It has been really fun and fascinating to watch the baby birds hatch and grow, though I don't think Mama Robin is so happy about us always peeking at her and her babies through the window.

Look at how much these birds have grown and changed in about 10 days:

photo taken by my roommate Brianna

They don't all fit in the nest anymore!

Edit 6/18

and one more two days later, they are changing so quickly! my first thought when I saw them this time was "wow, they're real birds now!"

And one last update about this robin family can be seen here.

broken laptop blues

2011-06-14T10:48:00.004-04:00

image from here

= :-(

Guys, I miss blogging. I have so much I want to share with you- from Salted-Caramel Kahlua Brownies to Watermelon Basil cocktails, to the desk I just refinished, to the chair slip cover I am finally getting a start on.

But... a few weeks ago my laptop stopped working. First a pop up notified me that the battery had "reached the end of its life" and yes, in the same message it notified me that replacing the battery was not covered by my warranty. So, I went online in hopes of finding a cheap alternative to replace the battery.

I was in luck and found one on amazon, which came quickly and saved the day. Sort of. Then I had trouble getting the laptop to recognize that it was plugged in and should charge. Madness ensued as I tried wiggling the cord to get it just right to charge, which actually worked for a while (and left me doing weird things like leaving my laptop propped up on pillows to keep just the right angle that allowed it to charge) and then eventually it wouldn't recognize the charger at all. I noticed that the cord where it goes into the laptop base had started the fray, with silver wire-y bits showing. So I decided to buy a new charger (cheap off of ebay) to see if that was the problem. But it's been about a week and the new charger has not yet arrived. So I have been computer-less.

I managed to post about the portobello burgers from my office, but believe me it's not ideal. And that combined with the school work I have to do make not having a computer at home a royal pain!

Of course any time something like this happens, it makes me evaluate how dependent I am on computers. I feel like I have lost a limb. People send me emails, and while I used to respond nearly instantly, I now may not be reachable for a few days at a time. I have trouble falling asleep at night because my old routine was so closely tied in to my ability to check all my emails, read a few blogs or news articles, or even watch a show on hulu until I was sleepy enough to go to bed.

There are friends I can only contact via the computer, for example one of my friends who lives in Australia. I could email her, or instant message, or even talk via skype, but I can't afford what my phone bill would look like from just calling her.

My calendar is online, and without it I forget my commitments- what day do I have to go to the optometrist to get my eyes dilated?

Well I suppose the only feeling that is worse is if my phone is missing or broken- how will I wake up without my trusty alarm, how will I be reached when I am home and don't have a land line?

The anxiety of not being constantly connected is so huge. I have always said that I have no need for a smart phone, I sit at a computer often enough to check my emails, and other wise people can call or text me to reach me, but not having a computer at home the last few days has me second guessing. If I had a smart phone I could check my email, update my blog, and check the weather even when my laptop is down, right?

I have been caught in the rain twice now unprepared, all because I couldn't check the weather report online before leaving the house!

What about you guys- do you feel like you're missing a limb or part of your brain if your computer or phone aren't working? I wish I was less reliant, but the truth is my life revolves around this technology- without it I feel adrift and confused!

Portobello & Red Pepper Burgers

2011-06-09T14:51:00.001-04:00

This recipe is one of my favorite things to make come summer time. Marinating the portobellos even briefly in a balsamic vinaigrette leaves them with so much flavor, and a rich tender texture. Red peppers, grilled until soft, with a skin nearly blackened have such a sweet unmistakable flavor. Further toppings of a some caramelized onions, fresh basil and barbeque sauce, all on crusty grilled ciabatta rolls made this a home run of sweet and savory flavors. I melted a bit of sharp cheddar on my own, which was a great addition, but even without the flavors were complex and satisfying.

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Banana Rum Caramel Bread Pudding

2011-06-01T16:13:00.001-04:00

Holy goodness, guys. I really can't think of anything else to say. Somehow "holy goodness" is an exclamation that comes out of my mouth sometimes. Is goodness holy? I don't even know. Whatever. But seriously. Hot, gooey bananas, custardy challah bread, and a drizzle of rum-y caramel? Yes, please. Mother, may I? Holy goodness. Jabberwocky. I can't even make sense right now.

For the record, these are far superior served warm, so the caramel is melty and gooey and so are the bites of chopped up banana. I was a bit impatient reheating one, and learned the hard way. It was still pretty yummy, though.

I used Challah bread I had in my freezer from the last time I made french toast. If you don't live in an area where this is available (ie, not in an area with a large Jewish population) other types of egg bread or brioche would both be good. I love how Challah is lightly sweet and fairly dense and chewy, so it works perfectly to soak up eggy custard in bread pudding or french toast.

I loved every step of this recipe, and it was a recipe with many steps. I suggest only making this when you have the proper attention to pay it, as getting distracted while making caramel sauce never ends well (have you ever tried to get burnt caramel off of your favorite pan?).

I have mentioned before that I love the feeling of becoming totally involved in the steps of a recipe, the complete zen mindfulness this process creates for me. This was just that kind of recipe, though actually each step was easy and pretty quick. Basically I made the rum caramel sauce first, set it aside. Then sliced the challah bread into 1 inch cubes, lay them out on a baking sheet, and cooked them until lightly browned, and dry. Then made the custard. Then sliced the bananas, and cooked them breifly in a pan with a glaze made of butter, brown sugar, rum and lemon juice. In the end I assembled them in ramekins for cute individual servings, layering in the bread, bananas and custard. After some time in the oven, I let them cool and then drizzled them with my caramel sauce, which I had poured into a plastic bottle once it cooled down to lukewarm. So, so perfect.

You can see the full recipe here from Bon Appetit. I halved the recipe and made 4 individual servings in 1-cup ramekins.

Basil Infused Vodka

2011-05-29T08:24:00.007-04:00

Basil = Summer time. It's totally true.It's not quite summer time yet, but close. I bought a bunch of fresh basil the super market, as it's still a bit too early to hit up the farmers market for some. Or my neighbor Jamie, who I am sure will have some I can steal this summer like last. (won't you lend me some extra?) Right now my bunch of basil leaves are sitting in a window sill in a jar of water. They are much happier that way than they would be in my fridge. I had a little project in mind.

A vodka project. Yes. Which is what led me to go down to the liquor store at 9:30am yesterday (kind of amazing there is a liquor store in my neighborhood that opens that early, don't you think?) I needed some vodka, and a little rum for a rum-caramel banana bread pudding (what mouthful- delicious though! Post coming soon).

I wanted to make some basil-infused vodka. It requires some patience, it needs several weeks to pick up that basil-y summer-y flavor. I can be patient.

I probably should have picked up a nice bottle of expensive, high quality vodka. But, I'm not that kind of girl. You could give me a glass of rubbing alcohol and tell me it was the good stuff and I am quite sure I would believe you. And I would probably drink it and pretend to enjoy it. Because I want people to think I have good taste. Now you know the truth about me. Please no one take advantage of this and attempt to feed me rubbing alcohol, OK? Thanks.

Easy as anything:

Fresh basil, a mason jar, cheap vodka

combine.

Then just seal it up, and put it somewhere dark.

That's pretty dark.

Now just wait a couple weeks (I have read different sources that say anything from 3 days to 5 weeks, so I am going to check on it after a week and make the call one way or the other), giving it a shake periodically. I'll let you guys know how it turns out. Any suggestions for basil infused cocktails when the time comes?

UPDATE: project "basil, meet vodka" was a success. I strained out the basil leaves the other night, and concocted a summery drink that was pretty darn yummy (if I do say so myself). Post coming as soon as I get my new laptop charger in the mail...technology problems abound so far this month.

A Copy-cat Hack

2011-05-27T18:15:00.002-04:00

Have you seen all the great two-toned Ikea Rast dressers that have been all over design blogs recently? The Ikea Rast, a little unfinished pine dresser that sells for only $29 (down from $39 last year), comes ready for staining/painting and creativity. Don't they just look so much more sophisticated with a bit of white paint and some dark stain?

My original idea for this project wasn't to just reproduce this two toned look, even though I liked it. A while back I bought this stencil planning to use it to DIY some patterned curtains with paint. I ended up buying plain gray curtains instead, and liked their subtlety after I started adding more patterned and colorful elements into my living room. So the stencil sat in my room unused.

When I bought this little Rast dresser (off craigslist, and walked it home similarly to how I got my kitchenaid mixer recently) I was planning to stain the outside a rich deep walnut or esspresso color, and paint the drawers with a white background, and then a paint on the pattern from my stencil in a contrasting color.

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Little side table make over

2011-05-27T17:07:00.002-04:00

A few weeks ago I picked up a little side table at a local thrift store for around $5. And made my friend Brooklyn carry it home for me. To be fair, I would have carried it, but I was already carrying a bentwood chair and a big drum shade.

Yes, we stopped a girl walking down the street and asked her to take our picture. Turns out she was on her way to the same store.

Both the little table and the lamp shade were items I picked up for an area of my living room I am currently trying to improve.

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I Love Craigslist

2011-05-24T13:21:00.005-04:00

I finally got myself a Kitchenaid mixer yesterday, glory be to Craigslist.

I had been trying to track one down for so long, but couldn't quite justify the price tag of buying one new. Luckily, as Kitchenaid mixers are huge, heavy, expensive, and not often used by people who don't do much baking, it happens fairly often that they appear on craigslist with an ad that sounds something like this: "I got this mixer as a wedding present, it's great! But I never use it, can't lift it, and it won't fit in my kitchen."

The one I finally ended up with has been used all of 3 times, and I got to test it out before buying it. The seller included all of the attachments she had, and the original recipe book. The model is not the popular Artisan, but the Classic, which is a little less expensive and lower in wattage. However, having studied the reviews I feel certain the Classic is just what I need. It wasn't free, of course, but it was a lot less than I would have to pay for a new one, plus located not that far from my house.

I was truly holding my breathe and thinking it was too good to be true when the seller responded to my email. Whenever one was listed in my area I would send an email, oh so hopeful that it might be mine. But every time, no response. But yesterday, finally, it all worked out. And, since the apartment I would have to go to to pick it up was only 2 miles from my house, I could walk there, and then take the train back most of the way with the new mixer in hand.

This is how I managed to get lost in Brighton carrying a 35 lb kitchen appliance. That thing is crazy heavy, and I was pretty near panic mode because I couldn't find my way to the T and my arms were screaming with strain. The only person around was an older Asian woman gathering bottles and cans out of people's trash. I asked her how to get back to Beacon street and she gave me the blankest of blank stares. I walked a little bit further, finally saw a street name that I recognized and knew would get me back to Beacon, and was so happy I think I may have squealed. Then I saw the most adorable wooden sewing table just begging to be refinished and made awesome, as well as several vintage-y suit cases out on the sidewalk. Oh how i wished I had more arms! Or a vehicle I suppose. Sadly, I only have two arms, and the weight of the mixer was enough to quickly dissuade me from even attempting to carry anything else as well.

Once I reached Beacon Street, I could see there was a train approaching, and in order to make it in time, I would have to run. Let me tell you, running while carrying a rather hefty mixer is no pretty sight.

But no matter, I have my mixer now! And it is lovely. And this weekend I will have to test it out for real and make something delicious.

I do have my old sunbeam mixer still, it works decently, but doesn't have the power to mix thicker batters without my having to rotate the bowl manually. It is great for whipping heavy cream or egg whites, and with just a bit of attention does other jobs fine. I have just been spoiled from using a more powerful machine in all of the baking courses I have taken. If anyone local wants the sunbeam, let me know, it's all yours.

Done with something!

2011-05-17T15:49:00.004-04:00

I completed my first college course! Took me six years post high school to do it, but I am happy with myself. Now I have two sweet weeks before my intensive summer courses start, during which I have that type of vacation where you actually work full time and are just as busy as usual. I feel like I am living some kind of double life.

I want to celebrate my accomplishment, though I know to many it probably doesn't seem very impressive. Especially living in a college-centric area like Boston, it's easy to feel never-good-enough when it comes to academic accomplishments. But really what it is is a start. And so far the thing that is starting is good. And I am starting to think seriously about what schools I might like to transfer to in a year or so. In general, I am striving to learn not to compare myself and my own progress to others, but only to do the best I can, and make choices that are best for me.

I also like to remind myself that I no longer have to be on the other side of the city before 7am two days a week, as after this semester I am altering my work hours a bit so I won't have to take classes so early before a full work day. Which is pretty sweet, since without a car it meant leaving the house around 5:30am, and it was usually still dark out.

In summary,

Where I used to be at 5:35am on Tuesdays and Thursdays:

Where I will be now:

Ok, I didn't work as hard on the second sketch...That's not even what my bed looks like.

(yes, I drew you guys some pictures on notepad paper so this post wouldn't seem too wordy. I know the pictures are what it's all about)

I would like to bake something to eat to celebrate this first step, but I have been trying to be more diet conscious recently- and my celebration food tends to be super rich cakes, whole batches of cookies and the like. Also, I think my roommates are near giving me an intervention for making too many cookies all the time when some of them are trying to diet! Or maybe I would go out and have a fancy drink somewhere special, but I have been trying to save money, and my celebration drinks tend to turn out quite expensive! Any ideas for other fun ways to celebrate this one small step? Also, any accomplishments (small or large!) you guys have been celebrating lately?

Also, just a head's up, I have a few projects I am holding off on posting...because my laptop doesn't work at the moment. Hopefully all it needs is a new battery, which is on its way to me now. But someday soon, expect tales of a disastrous attempt to change out a ceiling fan, a side table painted a bright fun color, my first attempt at sewing a chair slipcover, and my own version of this popular IKEA Rast hack.

Hope everyone is enjoying their rainy Tuesday! What are you celebrating?

New blog header

2011-05-14T11:34:00.000-04:00

Here is where I admit that I spent the morning taking photos of myself with the timer on my camera, wearing an apron, and standing next to my kitchen table pretending to cook. Because I am classy like that. It was really hard to figure out the timer.

I didn't get there in time...

I felt like Vanna White.

I really needed something to do with my hands.

So I made a sign to hold.

Sometimes I blinked.

Getting better at this.

In the end I cropped my face out...too weird?

Anyway, it may just be a temporary change, I will repeat the photo shoot with a better camera perhaps, and help from a photoshop savvy friend so the sign is more readable. Coloring the sign was fun. It felt like grade school. I used a crayon to make the word APRON purple.

Bread and Herb Butter

2011-05-13T19:30:00.002-04:00

I love bread and butter. I run into trouble when I go to restaurants that start you off with a big bowl of warm bread and some pats of butter- I eat it all until I am actually not hungry for what I ordered. It's usually worth it. I pretend not to know how little nutritional value a thing like bread and butter has. It's such a comfort food, I can tell even if it doesn't do much for my body (ok, anything) it is at least nourishing in another way. I sit on the couch with a magazine and eat some slices of french bread with butter and get crumbs everywhere and get grease on the corners of the magazine pages. I snack on some toasted sourdough slathered in butter and sprinkled with coarse salt at my desk while I study for a final or browse blogs. Tiny bread crumbs get in between the keys of my computer, causing the N key to require an extra hard push to work. It's all fine by me, I don't mind.

I was given a pot of thyme, oregano and rosemary from my mother on my birthday. I went out and bought a second one, too, and now they live on the sunniest windowsill in my living room. I remember to water them. I fuss over whether I should open the window for them, or if they get enough sun. I haven't clipped any yet.
Read more »

Angleman's Syndrome Foundation Walk

2011-05-13T13:38:00.007-04:00

I want to take a moment to post about something important to me and my family, and to share with you an experience I had last year, and am excited to have again this month. I got to walk in the Angelman Syndrome Foundation (ASF) Boston area fundraiser walk. According the ASF: "Angelman Syndrome (AS) is a neuro-genetic disorder that occurs in 1 in 15,000 live births. AS is often misdiagnosed as cerebral palsy or autism. Characteristics of AS include; developmental delay, lack of speech, seizures, and walking and balance disorders. Individuals with Angelman Syndrome will require life-long care."

My cousin Stacy, whose 3 children all have AS, flew into Boston with her family all the way from Washington State. They came in because for the past few years they have been participating in a study based out of Boston's Children's Hospital, and luckily both this year and last (which was actually the first year this walk existed in Boston) they were able to line up their trip with the date of the ASF walk.

This year will be the 2nd Annual Boston Walk, so I am excited to see if the turn out is even better than last year. You can read more about Stacy's family and the walk here at her ASF walk fundraising page.

Here is a glimpse at our experience last year:
Read more »

A Perfect Sunday- and how to a make a red wine, onion and blue cheese tart

2011-05-10T18:43:00.002-04:00

I just had a birthday. A couple weeks ago, actually. It was delicious. I decided instead of throwing a big shindig like I sometimes do, which for me can lead to feeling stressed out and overwhelmed and can take on a bit of "must have fun" pressure, I actually just wanted to create my ideal Sunday (since my birthday fell on a Sunday this year) and not even really think of it as a birthday celebration. Luckily for me, I have a close (and yet so far away) friend from Australia who was slated to visit over the week of my birthday this year. If I could create an ideal Sunday it would definitely include having her around! (If you see her, won't you tell her to move to Boston?)

Other things my ideal Sunday would include?

waking up early
doing a bit of organizing around the house (is it strange that this is truly one of my favorite activities?)
having a leisurely breakfast, either at home or at a diner
doing a little bit of baking in the morning- in this case a pie crust which I popped in the fridge to chill during the course of the day
stopping in for a fruit smoothie at a favorite local place
on the way to....attending a matinee of a new show at a local theater
and then spending the evening sipping wine with a couple friends, nibbling on cheese, and baking off a few tarts

Doesn't that sound perfect? OK, I understand that not everyone has the same love I do for organizing, or waking up early, or even making pie crusts. But to me? Bliss.

And what was that baking that I did?

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Around the net...things I've enjoyed this week

2011-05-10T11:43:00.004-04:00

Here are a few things I have seen online recently that made me smile or laugh...

1. Artist John Kascht gives some insight into his creative process, as he draws a caricature of Conan O'Brien. I love seeing other artists' processes!

2. I try to never give parenting advice, as I am not a parent, but I think I have some advice for the writer of this craigslist ad... Basically, I think he is missing something.

3. Popping a giant water balloon is way cooler in slow motion, in the same way that so many things are cooler in slow motion.

4. Because I love artist Mary Englebriet, it was awesome to get to see inside her home. To be honest I see so much more that relates to her art work and artistic point of view in the decor of her newer house than in her last- those bright pops of yellow and orange slay me.

5. As usual I adore the new spontaneous musical from Improv everywhere- Check it out!

6. One of my very favorite food bloggers to read, Joy from Joy The Baker, just posted some pretty sweet advice for a reader who is turning 21. I think this advice is great no matter your age.

Also, on a slightly separate note, a close friend of mine has started a new blog. He is a great musician and I hope he posts some of his music there. I love how our friendship has lasted and evolved over the years, we are so different in some ways, but really have a meaningful friendship. The biggest difference between us being that we have different religious views, he is in his 2nd year at Seminary in the process of becoming an Anglican priest, and I try not to talk about religion or politics here, but I'll just say I am not involved with organized religion, so it is very interesting to share our views and learn that you can believe very different things, but it doesn't have to hinder how you relate to each other. He is blogging about his studies, music and life in general, stop by and pay him a visit if you are curious.

He sent me this song several months ago that I just love.

Oatmeal cookies for my mom

2011-05-10T09:54:00.002-04:00

Mother's day was this weekend, and so I surprised my mother with one of her favorite things: Oatmeal cookies. I have my own personal favorite oatmeal cookies posted on this blog already, crispy with orange zest and cranberries, but I wanted to make her a more traditional soft, chewy oatmeal raisin cookie.

I am so lucky to have my mother in my life, she is the most supportive and generous person, not only is she always there for me and my sister at a moments notice, she is emotionally supportive to so many family members and friends. I think she is the kind of person that people think of when they just need someone to talk to, and she has close, nurturing relationships with so many people it is astonishing.

She has also taught me my entire life that it is more than OK to march to your own drummer, follow your passions, and not let anyone make you feel unimportant or wrong for being yourself. She is such a passionate person, and when she likes something she REALLY LIKES IT and is not afraid to let it show. Just ask her about the lengths she has gone to for her favorite hobby, standing in the pit at Bruce Springsteen concerts every time he tours- She has traveled to other states to see him, and stood outside all day in the winter to get those prime GA spots.

As I get older, I notice how nice it is to get to know your parents in a more grown up way, and it has been fun talking to her about when she was in her mid twenties and had just moved to Boston, I can tell so many ways we are so alike, and some ways we are different, but the coolest part is I can tell that if I met her 24 year old self, we would probably be friends.

As an odd coincidence, the apartment I am in now (which I found and moved to while my parents were out of the country) turns out to be just 2 blocks from her first apartment in Boston. She moved here for library school, right around my age, and found a roommate in the classifieds in a local paper. I moved back to the Boston area from the Berkshires two years ago, found my place and roommates on Craigslist, and now that I am going back to school I have even been considering programs at her old school. I currently am studying her undergrad major, too.

I love you Mom, thanks for being so awesome. You deserve lots of oatmeal cookies!

Chewy Oatmeal-Raisin Cookies
From Baking Illustrated

I stuck to the exact directions here, didn't change anything (except some comments I'm sure you'll spot), as I know that the cook's illustrated people put in much more thought and science than I do (though I did make the cookies smaller rather than larger, so I could feel better about eating several...I adjusted the cooking time accordingly). I ended up wishing I had smushed the cookies a little flatter, but other than that was quite happy with them. The fresh nutmeg is really what makes them fantastic. In the strange way in which the Stop & Shop near my house always runs out of really normal items, I could not find a single bag of raisins on my trip there, and so used dried cherries. What's up with the out of stock raisins, S&S? Also, that time I went to you for red onions, tangerines and and boneless chicken thighs and you were out of all them was way uncool, too.

These are particularly good warmed up a bit before you eat them, even just 15 seconds in the microwave- you won't regret it. Maybe served warm and with a small scoop of french vanilla ice cream?

On with the recipe...

Yield: 18 cookies
1½ cups (7½ ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
½ teaspoon salt
16 Tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened but still cool
1 cup packed (7 ounces) light brown sugar
1 cup (7 ounces) granulated sugar
2 large eggs
3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1½ cups raisins

1. Adjust the oven racks to the low and middle positions and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or spray them with nonstick cooking spray. ( I actually just used a silcone mat and called it a day)

2. Whisk the flour, baking powder, nutmeg, and salt together in a medium bowl.

3. Either by hand or with an electric mixer, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy. Add the sugars; beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the eggs, 1 at a time.

4. Stir the dry ingredients into the butter-sugar mixture with a wooden spoon or large rubber spatula. Stir in the oats and raisins. Find excuses to have to eat a lot of the raw batter.

5. Working with a generous 2 Tablespoons of dough each time, roll the dough into 2-inch balls. Place the balls on the prepared baking sheets, spacing them at least 2 inches apart.

6. Bake until the cookie edges turn golden brown, 22 to 25 minutes, rotating the baking sheets front to back and top to bottom halfway through the baking time. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 2 minutes. Transfer the cookies with a wide metal spatula to a wire rack. Let cool at least 30 minutes.

Thrift finds and Etsy scores equal big living room changes

2011-05-09T07:39:00.003-04:00

I have had this growing pile of thrifted items, discount store purchases and recent projects growing in a corner of my room for some time. Big changes are under way now in the living room, I am excited to update you guys on that in a bit.

Meanwhile, take a minute to observe what good thrifting luck I had recently, from framed prints, a brand new ceiling fixture, vases, some sweet vintage trays and even some wallpaper border I plan on using for a slightly different purpose:

Some big changes have already occurred in the living room inspired by all of this, but before my living room reinvention will be complete, I am taking on a pretty big project of recovering/slip covering two chairs, and I am on the look out for a small dresser to refinish to use in the space.

Change is good. Want a glimpse of a few of the changes so far? The reality is I can only afford to change a bit at a time, both because home decor and furniture can be so costly, and I have to wait to find the right things cheap/second hand, but also because there is work involved that I have to spread out over my weekends.

Here is one view (that is unfortunately not quite the same angle, but close enough you can tell what changed) so you can see some of the progress:

BEFORE:

AFTER:

A few of the changes- painting the wall that once was a walk through to the dining room (which is now my bedroom- we previously had a chocolate brown curtain hanging to hide it) I wanted instead of trying to hide the odd little closed up doorway space, to turn it into an accent wall. I used Valspar's Simple Gray which I scored during their (sadly over now) paint sample give away. I added a Sheffield Home mirror from Marshall's, which I punched up with some sunny yellow spray paint (it was originally a champagne color).

On the other wall shown there is a small wooden shelf I picked up at goodwill for $5, spray painted Krylon's Ivy Green, and distressed to let some of the original wood tone show through on the edges. Accessories on that shelf were taken from around the house and a few were scored at Goodwill or Urban Renewals (a local thrift store in Boston) for a few dollars each.

I also bought a white plastic tray on clearance at Joann fabric to use on the coffee table, and created a vignette with it, with some cute yellow mums, a book, candle, coasters and a wooden bowl of shells.

We also have some great new art from Etsy, including this whimsical set of prints:

More to come!

Recipe Round-Up: My Top 3 Vegetarian Main Courses

2011-04-26T13:34:00.001-04:00

The recipe round-ups just keep coming. Yes, I need to get back to cooking and posting new things, and yes, I need to show you all the changes I have made to my living room, and all my recent spray painting projects I have been withholding, and awesome etsy buys I have left you all in the dark about...and yet I have been having trouble motivating myself to see things through to the end recently, and actually get the posts set out in writing. It's not quite a writer's block, but perhaps a writer's fatigue-- Which I am sure will sort itself right out when that nice spring weather finally hits and wakes me up! But in the meantime, rounding up my favorite recipes previously posted on this blog allows me not only to share them with you again (and for the first time for some new readers) but also to celebrate my 1 year blogiversary, and perhaps will spur me back into blogging new recipes. So, without further adieu, my top 3 Vegetarian Main Courses blogged in the last year:

Eggplant Rolatini-
This was a really fun recipe to cook, and to write about. My good friend Jamie and I made this together (with some moral support from her little girl, Lilly) last summer. The result was just delicious, and I can't wait to make this again as soon as I see those tiny eggplants show up at the farmers market.

Meatless Cassoulet- A traditional french cassoulet is far from vegetarian, with sausages and meats galore (and often an abundance of duck fat). Adam from The Amateur Gourmet (I have a big old blog crush, by the way) did an excellent post on the more traditional meat-tastic dish here. It was my familiarity with recipes like that which made me raise an eyebrow at the concept of a "meatless cassoulet" when I saw this recipe from Gourmet. But, mostly, while this is actually closer to a french version of Ribbolita (a tuscan peasant soup made with white beans and bread) what made me love this version is that it is just plain delicious. And super cheap. Really, white beans given time to soak up delicious garlic, fresh and dried herbs, mixed with some slow cooked vegetables, and garlicky bread crumbs just seems like something that can't possibly be bad. And it isn't. An additional note- if you like garlic, this is an opportunity to go crazy. Seriously, add even more.

Sweet Potato Black Bean Chili-
This dish makes me so happy. I have made it now several times, and plan to make it again and again. It is hearty, both sweet and a bit spicy, full flavored, vegan, and just the right balance of filling and healthful. And sometimes it inspires dance parties.

Do you have a favorite vegetarian main course? let me know in the comments, I am always looking to grow my repertoire.

You can also check out my other round ups:
FAVORITE COOKIE RECIPES
FAVORITE MEAT MAIN COURSES

and coming soon:
Favorite Vegetable Side Dishes
Favorite Appetizers & Snacks

Recipe Round-Up: My Top 3 Meat Main Courses

2011-04-22T11:45:00.004-04:00

I was going to do a round up of my top 3 main courses...But I found I just didn't have it in me to choose between some of the fabulous vegetarian foods I have craved recently, and the heartier meat dishes that to me are pure comfort food. So I decided to create 2 different round ups. If you don't eat meat just hold tight, and vegetarian top 3 will be up soon. :)

But now, MEAT. Yes.

I will be the first to admit that chicken is underrepresented in this blog. I usually either skew towards vegetarian foods or else directly at the opposite end of the spectrum- red meat. I spent a while feeling guilty for my affinity for red meat, but then after a recent doctors appointment, when my lab tests revealed I was anemic, it all started to make sense. I need that iron! Bring on the meat! Maybe you need iron, too. Really, a healthy portion of steak is probably just what you need.

1. Steak with Red Wine and Shallot Sauce- This was the first recipe I posted to this blog. I hadn't quite gotten the hang of the format (or my camera's settings). I think I may revisit this recipe soon and post some better close ups of the food itself, and the process. But it is still a really easy, delicious meal, that I love to make whenever I want to serve something that feels a bit fancy and rich, without being overly expensive or time consuming. Pan seared steak with a rich sweet red wine reduction and caramelized shallots? Yes, please.

2. Stuffed Turkey Sliders- Thinking about these makes me miss summer. Good thing it won't be too long now! These sliders were two things I hardly thought a turkey burger could be (must be bad turkey burger experiences in my past), flavorful and juicy. With a little soy sauce and garlic powder mixed in with the meat, and a surprise pocket of cheese, caramelized onions and herbs within, they were a perfect light summer-y meal to eat before seeing the fireworks on the 4th of July. I served them on sourdough rolls and alongside a tall glass of homemade blueberry-lemonade spritzer. The meal was refreshing, lean, and packed with flavor. I look forward to making these again soon!

3. Slow Cooker Pot Roast with Coffee and Caramelized Onions - Served over mashed potatoes, this was a perfect winter comfort food. And it is made in a slow cooker so I could do the prep steps in the morning, and then forget about it all day while it cooked away. The flavor was deep and rich, and the meat tender. Don't fight it, you want it. You know what to do.

Do you have a favorite meat main course? More top 3's are coming soon- keep an eye out for vegetarian main dishes, vegetable side dishes, and appetizers & snacks!

Recipe Round Up- My Top 3 Cookie Recipes

2011-04-21T10:51:00.001-04:00

So I let my 1 year bloggiversary pass right by. I first started this blog on March 30th, 2010, after a rather drunken discussion with a couple of my roommates over my secret aspiration to be really cool like all those food bloggers whose posts I followed. That particular night I cooked up some steak topped with shallot red wine sauce. That particular sauce, made by caramelizing the shallots in butter, adding red wine, a touch of balsamico and a pinch of brown sugar then reducing to perfection, is actually the base behind my recent onion tart. So, that is kind of symmetrical in a nice way, isn't it? I will be posting that tart soon, I swear.

In the meantime, to mark the end of my 1st year of food blogging (and the start of my second!), I thought I would revisit some more favorites, like I did in this post.

But this time, I am going to look at my favorite recipes in specific categories.

My Top 3...

Cookie recipes:

1. Classic Crinkle Cookies-
these have become my go to chocolate cookie! I made a giant batch at thanksgiving and they worked out great. I made the batter at home, froze it overnight, and then brought it in a little cooler to new jersey for my family's thanksgiving celebration. By the time we got there it had thawed enough, and I was able to roll them in confectioners sugar and bake them off. They were rich, chocolaty, and delicious, garnering lots of compliments, and they were an especially good choice for a large event because they are dairy free.

2. Crispy Oatmeal Cookies with Orange Zest and Cranberries (otherwise known as the best oatmeal cookies)- The bright citrus-y orange zest really shines through in these crispy, just sweet enough oatmeal cookies. I have made them both with butter and margarine, and this is one cookie I am actually perfectly happy with subbing out all the dairy. One batch makes a lot of cookies (up to 48) but trust me, you'll be glad you made that many!

3. Seedy Snow-day Cookies
Luckily it's actually a pretty nice day today around here- cloudy, but mild enough (52 degrees currently) so I don't have to worry about snow. It sure puts things in perspective to remember back to all the snow days this winter- this morning I was standing at the T station shivering- but at least it wasn't snowing!
I made these when I was snowed in, and they were quick and easy, and I loved the sweet, delicate flavor. Poppy and sesame seeds add an unexpected twist to a basic butter-y cookie.

Do you have any all time favorite cookie recipes? I'll be back soon with some more categories of favorites!

Calling All Home Bloggers- I need your help!

2011-04-13T12:03:00.003-04:00

Did I mention I am taking a Sociology course this semester? Perhaps I complained about how I have to leave home at 5:30 in the morning to get to my class before starting my full work day. Anyways, I am embarking on a paper for that class, and I decided I was interested in looking at home-themed blogs from a sociological stand point. I am most interested in learning about the connections female bloggers have made across the country through this medium, and the social support and passing of ideas that comes from this. So, if you read or write blogs of this nature, I would love to hear from you. I am particularly interested to hear from women who are stay at home moms, work from home, or only work part time, who spend much of their time in the home, and from people in more remote areas who have created a greater network outside their own actual location through these means. But really, I would love to hear from everyone!

I have been so fascinated and impressed in the last year by the strong feeling of community and support observable between the bloggers I have encountered.

I have formulated a pretty simple questionnaire and will be sending them to some of the bloggers I have encountered. These questions are open to all, and the more responses I can get, the better, so I want your help! Anyone who wishes to voice an opinion about their experiences in the home blogging community, friendships you have made, support you have given and received, I would love to hear from you!

If you wish to give me some insight on your experiences, please feel free to comment here or to email me at hannahtaube@gmail.com (as for confidentiality, the only person who will see the answers sent to my email is me, and perhaps my professor, though I will not be using names and specifics, only quotes and trends.) And if you know of other people who may also have something to say, please send them my way!

The formal questions:

first, a bit about you:
Here are my answers as an example, and hey, now you can get to know me a bit.

What part of the country do you live in: New England
Describe your neighborhood/town briefly: I live in an somewhat urban neighborhood with a lot of young families, students, and immigrants, accessibility to public transportation and mostly apartment buildings and multifamily houses set close together
Describe briefly your family- are you married, do you have kids?
I am single with no children. I live separately from my parents and sister, but am lucky to have them nearby
Describe briefly your living situation and work place:
I share an apartment with roommates and work full time at an office

Then, a bit about blogging:
How long have you been reading home themed blogs? Writing one?:
I started reading home themed blogs a little over a year ago to pass the time at work- soon I was addicted. I started a food blog last march, and have in recent months started posting more home decor/organizing themed posts
Do you comment on other home-themed blogs?
I am just starting to- I want to network more and interact with more bloggers, but thus far I haven't done it that much.
Do you have any close friends whose blogs you read? Are they friends you met before blogging? Are they friends you see in person?
I have had a few very nice interactions with other bloggers, but have not yet built any close blog friendships here. However, one of my closest friends is someone I met through my previous, personal blog on live journal. She is now one of my blog followers. I also have in person friends and family members who read my blog, many of which I do not get the chance to see very often.
Have you received any recent advice or support from a fellow blogger you would like to share
I have recently received some great supportive comments from other bloggers, it really kept me at it! Thank you!
Do you feel that blogging and other social networking enables you to interact more with people you may have things in common with than you would otherwise?
I really think it has been eye-opening. I have gotten to be inspired by real people who share my interests, many of whom are so talented and tasteful I am a bit jealous!
Anything else you would like to add about your experience with the social aspects of home themed blogging?
I am pretty happy this lead me to a topic for my sociology paper! I hope some people will respond!

Ok, that's it. I know it is sort of long. I am hoping that other people out there like taking surveys as much as I do. If you would like to help, but don't have time to answer all the questions above, even just a statement on your general experience with the social community of home blogging would be a huge help!

Once again my email is hannahtaube@gmail.com if you wish to respond.

The First Pitch Story- Part II: the actual event

2011-04-13T09:27:00.001-04:00

First off, I hope you all read my Part I: the long winded introduction, if not, you can view it here. Also if you are wondering what this has to do with cooking, the answer is, nothing; as explained here.

Now, where were we? Yes, at the end of part one I may have insinuated that Bob the Builder would sing the national anthem at Fenway park. This is not the case. While his enthusiasm got him good marks at 3 Dog Down, he is not the best singer and no one would likely ask him to do such a thing as sing in public in a sold out ballpark seating 37,400 people. (for those that care, or know how that compares to the seating capacity of other major ballparks, we Bostonians are proud to say that while Fenway is still one of the smallest major league ball parks in the country, it is no longer the smallest as measured by seats, due to recent renovations. All of this while still being the oldest venue used by a professional sports team in the United States.) Also, if he had sang the American Anthem at Fenway, I am sure I would have titled this story "The American Anthem Story" and not "The First Pitch Story".

See what I did there?

Read more »

The First Pitch Story- Part I: The long winded, unnecessarily detailed introduction

2011-04-12T16:34:00.002-04:00

This is a true story. It involves my dad, and the Boston Red Sox. And also some boy scouts, an ox-like fenway employee, and an opera singer. It also kind of involves one time that my dad sang the national anthem in the middle of the quilt store in Montana. Let's start with that, the Montana story:

Several years ago, my parents and I were driving through Montana on our way to go camping in Glacier National Park, aka the prettiest place on earth. We stopped at a quilt store called 3 Dog Down, which rated its down quilts by warmness in terms of how many dogs one would need in their tent to keep them as warm as that quilt. A 1 dog quilt was for a 1 dog night, when there was only a slight chill in the air, one corrected by the body heat of only one canine. The logic follows then that a 2 dog quilt is twice as warm, for twice as cold a night, and a 3 dog quilt was for a night so cold one would need to snuggle with not 1, but 3 dogs for warmth. If that person was me, they would discover that snuggling with dogs in your igloo, while great for warmth is really a pain in the neck for your allergies. So, this might lead one to believe that a down quilt is in fact a better alternative than the traditional multi-dog cuddling method. Unless of course one was also allergic to down, but I digress.

Read more »

Spring is here!

2011-04-12T16:05:00.002-04:00

The sunshine (and constant rain) and magnolia buds and bulbs popping up make me happy. I just returned from a lovely weekend in California visiting with family. I am a tiny bit jet-lagged. I am deep in the throws of essay writing for my sociology course. I am playing catch up from the days of work I missed. I am daydreaming about buffalo chicken pizza from the local Spa (in the Boston area a spa is not just a word for a place where one gets a facial or a pedicure, but also a corner shop with a deli or sandwich counter also known as a Bodega). I am obsessing over my recent Etsy purchases. I am wondering when I will get a chance to go to Target to return those curtains I bought that turned out to be the wrong color. I am contemplating going on a diet to undo this weekend of biscuits and gravy, carne asada and cake.

I am not cooking something delicious to post on the blog. In fact, I haven't yet all month, have I? I cooked up not one but 3 gorgeous tarts a couple of weeks ago. Sweet potato with fresh sage and goat cheese, red onion with blue cheese, and sun dried tomato, pesto and goat cheese. I photographed them and everything. I still have the photos for that beet salad I mentioned last month.

But right now, I must admit, instead of writing up the posts for those items, I find I would rather revel in the glory of the first moments of spring. And so I am giving myself a momentary blog vacation. A week more perhaps.

BUT! For my beloved followers, occasional readers, and dear friends I do have some reading material in store for you. They are actually posts I wrote up last summer, and then decided only to post in my personal journal, as I was much more concerned at the time that all of my posts here relate directly to cooking.

But now that spring is here, and baseball is here, and the Red Sox have won 2 whole games out of the last 8 (their worst start since world war II!) it occurs to me that it might be time to look back at a very fun experience I got to witness last year at Fenway park. The posts are a 2 part series, the first of which I will post today, with part 2 coming tomorrow morning. So keep your eyes peeled!

The livingroom again

2011-03-30T13:39:00.006-04:00

The wheels in my head have been turning. I have been thinking about the living room again. In this post I professed to finding it a bit dark and cluttered with too much furniture, but I felt there was nothing I could do, as the space functions well, is comfortable, and I share it with multiple other people who may not want much to change. So I have been brainstorming small changes that would make a big visual impact.

livingroom by hannahjacklyn on Polyvore.com

IKEA STOCKHOLM BLAD
$60 - ikea.com

Spool Accent Table | Crate&Barrel
$199 - crateandbarrel.com

3-Piece Cooper Vase Set | Crate&Barrel
$25 - crateandbarrel.com

Amazon.com: World Imports Lighting 9007-88 Luray 1-Light Semi-flush...
$52 - amazon.com

UrbanOutfitters.com > Mosaic Wall Mirror
$98 - urbanoutfitters.com

Sage and Brown Butter Mashed Potatoes with Cheddar

2011-03-24T21:46:00.004-04:00

Mashed potatoes make me happy. Really, really happy. They are the ultimate comfort food. This variation has some extra sophistication and savoriness thanks to sage, brown butter, and sharp cheddar. So this is what love is? It's good to be in love. Even when your sweetheart is potatoes. I love you. The flavors of this dish are complex enough to be savored on their own, but also subtle enough to take a back seat if you wish to use them as a vehicle for braised meat and rich gravy like I did here.

Coming up...

2011-03-24T20:59:00.000-04:00

This weekend I am looking forward to trying some new simple recipes that use...

Cheese!

I have a pretty nice assortment at the moment, I feel like I ought to have guests over for wine and some of this:

Do you have a favorite recipe that uses sharp cheddar? How about bleu cheese? Brie? I am thinking some kind of onion tart might be in the mix, maybe with the bleu cheese. And maybe gougeres? Not quite sure yet, but whatever I make this weekend, the star of the show will be, yep, cheese.

I have my workshop back!

2011-03-24T20:19:00.001-04:00

This winter has been long. And snowy. And I know it's not quite finished, we even got some snow today. But, my good old back alley workshop is back in action- dry, and no longer filled with snow piles. So earlier this evening I officially started off the season with a little bit of spray painting.

For the most part things are just as I left them out there before the snow started falling, see that paintbrush on the ground in the top of the photo? My bad. I guess it was there all winter, hidden by masses of snow.

Also it seems the empty aerosol cans are still in the recycling bin I put them in last fall. Complete with brown leaves.

I can't, though, take credit for this guy:

yeah, guessing that used to be a jack-o-lantern. Disgusting, though somewhat fascinating in a science fair kind of way.

And on to my spray painting project:

These frames were found at goodwill, and each have a piece of handmade art. I love the idea that these were handmade by someone, and then anonymously donated to goodwill, where they ended up coming home with me. They are going to be added on to our art gallery wall in the hallway (affectionately known as the wall of weird art). I like to think that there is always a chance someone will come over and recognize one of them, and know their story. I'd love to know a little something about whoever it was who made each of them.

I am going to share the entire gallery wall soon, I realized I have never shown it on here. But for now, here is a sneak peek, my 2 newest additions:

I like to imagine this little bunny was lovingly cross-stitched by someone's grandma, to hang in a nursery. I saw it and for some reason it just made me smile.

And this little water-colored bird makes me smile too.

Of curtains and chairs, and function over form

2011-03-22T22:40:00.003-04:00

Have you seen these curtains from ikea?

ikea stockholm blad panels

I can't help but think these would look pretty nice in my living room, replacing the solid colored gold panels there currently. I am hesitant only because of the not so nice $60 per pair price tag, so for now I am looking for similar cheaper alternatives. I love the idea of something patterned, though.
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Red Wine + Cake + Red Wine

2011-03-22T19:19:00.001-04:00

Some of you may have noticed I went a bit awol this week, even after teasing to post recipes for both Brown Butter and Sage Mashed Potatoes with Sharp Cheddar and a really yummy citrus-y beet salad. Those are still to come, up until now I had no time!

And why did I have no time? Because I decided, with only a week before the application deadline, that I would really like to go back to college. I may have mentioned on here before that I am taking a course in the mornings before work at a local community college, and originally it was my plan to keep at it that way for a few more semesters before applying to a university. Well, I got a sudden idea in my head that I don't want to wait! I want to start asap. I will still have to find a way to balance work, but I think some big changes could be in store for me come september.

Anyway, all of this is to say that I spent the last several days writing a college essay, and calling the admissions office over and over to discuss transfer credits, and tracking down someone to write a recommendation letter, and discovering that my SAT scores have expired.

It has been a whirlwind few days. Especially with my class back in session now after break, and my job really picking up with the spring market. And by the end of a couple days like that all I really want is a little red wine. And some chocolate cake. And some more red wine, which happens to be baked into the cake. Yes.

You can find the cake recipe right here it's an absolute winner, so simple to make, and really moist and delicious. I think this will be my new go to chocolate cake recipe. The ingredients are so simple! I was concerned with only unsweetened cocoa called for that it would not be chocolaty enough, but it really surprised me!

Carrot, Apple and Ginger Soup

2011-03-15T10:37:00.000-04:00

Um, this was delicious, just saying. A fragrant, quick, vegetarian soup that is light, comforting, and a great starter for a late winter meal. Garnished with apple, carrot and fresh mint, and with flavors of ginger, nutmeg and allspice, I am sure this will become a classic I make again and again much like the butternut squash soup with pears and cumin, sweet potato and peanut stew, roasted garlic soup and kale and white bean soup I keep coming back to.

I guess I am a soup person, because really, nothing could make me happier. I served this as a starter, but it could also make a great lighter meal, served with hearty whole wheat rolls and a green salad sprinkled with some chickpeas for extra protein. And, don't forget, carrots will help your eyesight, right? Which actually I could use as I am finding I have to wear my glasses more and more these days. Heh.

Rosemary Honey Carrots

2011-03-14T17:46:00.003-04:00

This recipe is one my mother introduced me to over a year ago. It is from one of her favorite cookbooks, The 150 Best American Recipes edited by Fran McCullough and Molly Stevens. Every recipe she has tried from that book has been successful, so I felt it was about time I borrow the book. More recipes from it soon to come, including Sage, Brown Butter and Sharp Cheddar Mashed Potatoes!

This recipe was created by Tom Collicchio (love him!) and published in the New York Times. The best part is it could hardly be simpler: tender young carrots are pan roasted in a bit of olive oil, seasoned with salt, fresh ground pepper and fresh sprigs of rosemary, then drizzled with a mixture of melted butter and honey. Simple as that, and delicious!

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Slow Cooker Pot Roast with Coffee and Caramelized Onions

2011-03-14T12:52:00.006-04:00

My Uncle Dennis used to say that you know you're a grown up if you think onions and coffee taste good. By his definition I am a grown up, I suppose, though I still prefer a little sprinkle of sugar in my otherwise black coffee. But I wonder what he would have said about throwing those 2 things into a slow-cooker with a hunk of red meat, and letting it simmer and caramelize all day. I think he would have been into it.

I had never made a pot roast before, silly as that is. As I cook more I am discovering a lot of really basic things I have never attempted. I have grilled steak, and roasted meat and made beef stews, but never went to the grocery store, bought a big hunk of chuck, and browned it on the stove them cooked it slowly until it grew tender. I had never even bought meat from the deli counter before, actually.

I went to the grocery store, and made a bee-line straight for the meat aisle, where all of the cuts of meat are packaged up and displayed in the refrigerator. I didn't see what I wanted exactly, and so, after calling my parents for some "I'm at the store trying to buy some red meat" advice (aren't parents great for that?) I ended up deciding to ask an employee at the deli to cut me a piece of chuck in the size I had decided I wanted, and I specified that I didn't know which cut I would be best off with, but I wanted to make a pot roast that could stand up to slow cooking. Moments later the same employee emerged from the back room with a beautiful portion of shoulder roast, tied up with string, and wrapped in plastic wrap.

Really, it was beautiful. In fact as I stood in the checkout line, an older woman in line ahead of me turned as I unloaded my items onto the belt and said, in a thick Russian accent, "Beautiful meat!". That is just the kind of thing that would be creepy to hear in any other circumstance, right? I felt quite proud of myself, though, as I hurried home with my (incredibly heavy) grocery bags to start cooking.

Parmesan Polenta with Spinach

2011-03-13T13:34:00.002-04:00

I had never made polenta from scratch before. Turns out I have no idea what I was waiting for- it is cheap, pretty quick, and simple. I mixed freshly grated parmesan, salt and fresh ground pepper, and a little extra butter into the mixture, but otherwise just stuck to the directions on the package.

I served it topped with a little bit of cooked spinach and onions, and had a healthy, flavorful lunch.

A few simple ingredients: corn meal (polenta/grits) butter, salt, and parmesan cheese. Also water, but I didn't photograph that part.

My Favorite Recipes

2011-03-05T09:10:00.001-05:00

Hello, happy weekend!

Yes, I am reusing a picture from last spring...I miss peonies!

I have a big day today, first a driving lesson, than an open house at a local art school (I am looking into options to transfer), then studying for my first midterm exam in 6 years. All of these things make me just a bit nervous, and when I am nervous, I crave sugar. So, yes, it is not even 9am and I am already hitting the chocolate chip cookies. Don't judge...We've all been there, right? I hope?

Well this probably means I won't have time to cook anything for the blog today (maybe tomorrow, if my studying goes well, or I just need a break). But since I have a few new readers around here (Hello! Nice to see you!) I thought I would start the weekend off with a quick post featuring a few of my favorite recipes I have posted over here in the last year. This blog did begin as a cooking blog, even if my obsession with home projects got a bit more focus in recent months.

So here we go, my 5 favorite recipes from this blog:

1. Zucchini & Thyme Tart - with a basic, buttery crust, fresh summer vegetables, fresh thyme and two types of cheese, I adored both the making (I used my mandolin slicer!) and the eating of this dish. It was pretty simple, but turned out beautifully. I have made this 2 times since, and look forward to the summer influx of zucchini to start making it again soon (Ok, I am hopeful about that whole groundhog thing...).

2. Sweet Potato & Black Bean Chili - I love this hearty, flavorful meal not only because it is easy to make and lovely to share with friends, but because it is actually vegan, making it a great option to make when you are serving people with different dietary restrictions. There is no meat, dairy, eggs, or gluten, plus lots of protein and nutrients. You can't go wrong. Also, that night somehow evolved into a dance party for three...

3. Chocolate Fudge Tart - I love this. I brought it to Christmas dinner as well, but added 1/2 a teaspoon of orange extract to the chocolate, mimicking the the orange infused taste of the whipped cream- so that even those who couldn't didn't eat the cream could have that delicious chocolate/orange combination.

4. Lemon Bars - A simple but delicious classic, I love these too much to leave them out.

5. Butternut Squash Soup with Pears and Cumin - This silky, rich tasting soup is made with delicious fall flavors, and low fat yogurt. It is healthy, but still complex and rewarding. I served it for some family and friends, and found out a few weeks later that one of the friends had made this soup again because she loved it so much!

Wow, picking 5 was really hard, and there were a lot of recipes that I almost included here, and posts that were my favorite to write that I feel I should have mentioned. My 1 year blogiversary is coming up, so expect another favorites round up soon!

Spell check thinks "blogiversary" isn't a word- pfft!

Um, Bacon Jam?

2011-03-04T06:40:00.008-05:00

Wanting to get my crock pot back in action, but unsure what to make, I was browsing a round up of crock pot recipes from Martha Stewart's Everyday Food. I was mostly trying to decide if I would rather make a hearty beef braise, spicy chicken chili, or some sort of vegetarian soup. But when the words "Bacon Jam" appeared in front of me I decided I had no choice. I wasn't even sure if the idea appealed to me; but I had to try it. I love fruit jams (my current favorite is apricot) and am a fan of sweet and savory chutneys, but what exactly would bacon jam be like? What would you eat it with? The recipe suggested it on bread, which seems a little obvious but boring. I decided not only would I make this odd sounding jam, I would also experiment with a few different uses for it.

And as if it were meant to be, every single ingredient is one I have sitting on hand at home in my pantry (well, the bacon is the fridge...) How could I not give this a try?

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A Few Recent Additions To My Kitchen, Plus-- A Tea Kettle Dilemma

2011-02-27T10:06:00.006-05:00

The print I ordered from Etsy arrived recently, which I framed and hung on that empty wall above the kitchen table.

I love it even more than I thought I would! Check out the print I ordered, and the etsy shop I bought it from here.

I took the above picture the night it arrived. I had been stashing a frame I picked up from goodwill in anticipation of its arrival, so as soon as I saw that cardboard poster tube on my doorstep I framed it and hung it right away. I waited to post this until I had a chance to rephotograph it in proper sunlight. Sadly our kitchen doesn't get that much sun even on bright days, since it is in the back of the apartment, facing another part of the building. I always hope for bright sunny pictures in the kitchen, like I get in my bedroom. Another room that does get that kind of beautiful streaming bright sunshine, however, is the pantry.

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Sweet Potato Chips with Rosemary Salt

2011-02-26T17:23:00.011-05:00

Today I had a little craving for sweet potato chips. They are one of my favorite snack foods, salty and sweet, fried, and yet made with a vegetable that has so many nutrients one can almost pretend they are healthful. As I geared myself up to face the long lines at Trader Joe's on a Saturday, just to buy a bag of chips, a thought occurred to me. I had sweet potatoes on hand, sitting innocently in a basket in my pantry, waiting for their use, or the moment at which they begin to sprout and have to be discarded- whichever happened first. I also had a few sprigs of fresh rosemary.

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It's a fiesta!

2011-02-25T14:06:00.002-05:00

After admiring the iconic Fiestaware disc pitchers online for quite sometime, I finally am a proud owner of one. I went with a new one from Kohls, instead of ebaying a vintage piece, and thanks to a 30% of sale, and a 15% off coupon, it was a great deal.

I can't wait to see this in my kitchen- I am thinking I may use it to hold a few cooking utensils next to the stove.

Isn't it cheery?

***Pssst, thanks to my mother and her best friend Patti who helped me stake out this deal!

Before & After

2011-02-23T19:44:00.005-05:00

I finally did the next step in my make-over of the drawer-less yellow dresser I found on the sidewalk last month. I may still decide to add doors and/or a middle shelf, but for now it is very functional for my needs, and more attractive than before, too!

Before:

Lemon Buttermilk Pudding Cake

2011-02-13T22:44:00.005-05:00

Lemon. Buttermilk. Pudding. Cake. Yes, really. To me every single word of that is so right. It sort of makes me drool. Of course I love lemon. And buttermilk makes me think of perfectly sour sweet pancakes and waffles drizzled in syrup. And if I don't have to decide between pudding and cake, well, perfect, I don't want to.

A texture halfway between mousse and lemon pie filling, served chilled and topped with blackberry sauce, this dessert was bright, fresh tasting and a perfect spot of sunshine in the seemingly eternal darkness that is the month of February. I sat, I lifted each bite slowly. I didn't multitask with my computer or a text book at my side, I had no pressing thoughts on my mind. I sat and let myself be entranced by sweet and tart lemon and blackberry.

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DIY CRAFTS PROJECT: paper bunting for the kitchen

2011-02-13T21:23:00.005-05:00

Good news: I'm still loving my cheerful blue kitchen. It has been feeling pretty devoid of art work and decoration though, since changing the general color palate in the room led me to start from scratch with wall art. I picked out a print from Etsy that I think will look great, framed, under the pendant light on the wall above the kitchen table. Now I am waiting for the print to arrive, which may take a while, for 2 reasons: 1. I ordered a custom size, so the artist first has to MAKE the print, and 2. The artist I ordered it from lives in the Czech Republic (isn't the internet an amazing thing?) so who knows how long shipping will take.

The other empty wall in the kitchen, the one above the stove, has always been confusing for me as I try and decorate. Since there are no upper cabinets, the space is kind of awkwardly broken into two parts horizontally by a rail where traditional upper cabinets would sit. In the center is the stove, and the hood above the range visually splits the space into 3 parts vertically. When I consider what to do with this space, I am baffled. Do I try to work with the look of the top 3 vertical sections by placing a large piece of art in each? Do I put something large in the middle only? Should I work against those visual divisions and put something off center, or two pieces? It may not seem like such a big problem, but somehow I couldn't get my head around it. Everything I tried looked either too symmetrical too off balance.

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Look What I Found

2011-02-12T20:07:00.006-05:00

A while ago this caught my eye (and the eyes of quite a few bloggers and decor magazines I read):

I have seen it for sale at urban outfitters and around the internet including Amazon.com from $120-$140. The first time I saw it I swooned a bit, I admit I have a thing for birds and owls in decor (just like everyone else it seems, put a bird on it!), They are sort of all over my room.Especially in white ceramic forms.

Well, look what I found today at TJmax on clearance for $16.99?

quite a resemblance, right?

I think he fits right in, though I am contemplating if the branches look too much like weird spiky hair coming out of his head, what do you think?

Brie Pastry Squares

2011-02-12T19:19:00.004-05:00

I made these brie pastry squares to bring to a friend's the night of the Superbowl. Then I felt too tired to go (you know you can't be well when your body tells you 5pm is bedtime...) so I ended up eating most of these myself, while not watching the superbowl. It was weird. But, they are yummy and buttery and crisp and don't require silverware or proper manners, and are also super easy to make. Maybe you want to make them as an appetizer at your next dinner party? I imagine they are great for snacking on while milling around and socializing with a glass or two of wine. I can say from experience that they also are great for eating in your pajamas at 6pm alone in the house, in place of a real dinner.

The process was easy as pie (er, easy as baked brie):

4 ingredients:
frozen (defrosted) phyllo dough or puff pastry (I used Trader joe's All-butter artisan puff pastry)
brie cheese
jam/jelly
1 egg, beaten and applied as a wash

Spread out your sheet of phyllo dough and paint on the egg wash with a pastry brush. Slice the brie (which I bought in a roll instead of a wedge or wheel) into even slices.

Arrange the slices of brie on the dough, and top with jam of your choice. I used apricot jam which I infused with brandy for extra interest. I think fig jam, or spicy/sweet pepper jelly would also be great options.

I originally imagined these not as square but as purses of phyllo dough filled with melty brie and sticky fruit jam. Kind of like that yummy baked brie at holiday parties, but with no need for crackers or bread to scoop it up with. I folded my adorable little purses, washed the top with egg, and put them in the oven.

sadly when they came out they had un-pursed themselves, and were more like brie-pastry boats... I tried to seal the edges with egg wash and squeeze together, but somehow it just didn't work out. I think I probably just cut the dough too small to seal tightly on top.

While I thought these weren't as cute as purses I actually still thought they looked kind of nice. I ate one though while pondering how to fix the design and discovered that the pastry-brie ratio was off, and mostly you just tasted pastry. I decided to make the next ones with less dough, cutting it only a bit larger than the brie circles

Back into the oven (on a parchment lined baking pan, oven preheated to 400, for 6-12 minutes, or as directed by the instructions that came with your specific dough packaging.) When they come out the pastry is flaky and golden, and the cheese and jam are bubbly.

Sure wish I had a better picture of the finished product! It had gotten dark by the time I finished up, refer to the earlier "boats" to see how delicious and melty these would look in better light. :)

A small change

2011-02-09T16:31:00.004-05:00

In my last post about my kitchen I mentioned this little problem area:

Somehow clear glass does not do a good job of hiding the microwave/cord disaster ugliness. Who knew?

I have been planning a pretty clever hack to cover up the cord area entirely, but since I probably won't get to that project until things warm up a bit (can't use my claimed workshop space - the alley behind our building- when it is holding several feet of snow) I thought I would try and use things I had on hand to better distract from the things I dislike in that corner. I used a placemat from a set a friend gave me at Christmas, a book end I had in my bedroom, and a few of my favorite thrift store collected cookbooks.

Now the area looks like this:

You can still see the cords, but only if you are looking straight on, which involves standing right in front of the pantry door. Otherwise, it looks like this:

I think it's an improvement. And I actually love how the red book covers pop against that blue. Unfortunately I can't really make the microwave stop looking...microwave-y. Oh well. Now it has pretty vintage cookbooks on it, what's wrong with that?

Oh, and if you are wondering what happened to our growing wine cork collection, I simply moved it across the room to sit on top of the wire cart near the window. I'll post a pic soon once a few other little things come together.

My (blue!) kitchen

2011-02-02T17:32:00.006-05:00

So the kitchen paint job is done, and I really like it. It makes the kitchen feel really different, and I am happy to finally *like* my kitchen (especially after the orange chevron disaster of 2010). I have even been happily cleaning up everyone else's dishes and etc just to keep it looking shiny and clean and cheerful. Here a few pics, still a bit of work to do, including getting some art work up (*check out some updates on the kitchen artwork situation here and here!), and dealing with the icky microwave area (more on that in a bit).

I took this picture standing on the counter so that I could get in both the blue wall/kitchen table corner, and the cabinets/sink area. If only I had a wide-angle lens, or a bigger kitchen, might not have to resort to such antics. I am in love with the curtains still, they were a cotton shower curtain from target, which I simply cut and hemmed into two panels, then hung using cute little curtain clips instead of shower curtain rings. I also reorganized the wire cart that holds our toaster oven next to the window, which I feel made a big difference, now the wood top is empty, and everything else that used to live scattered in there is stored in baskets below. I love how clean things are right now. It can be hard to keep things orderly when you live with 4 roommates.

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Picking some art for the kitchen

2011-01-31T11:44:00.016-05:00

So yes, I painted the kitchen and I love it. Now I am checking out Etsy for fun prints that will be unique and really pop on this wall:

so that you can see it better, this is the pattern on the curtains:

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changing and rearranging

2011-01-30T11:57:00.001-05:00

There have been a few changes at my apartment in recent weeks, and I thought I would share.

We moved around the furniture a bit in the living room to create a workspace right under the window. The new arrangement also encourages conversation by having the seating a bit closer and more intimate. I also got a rug after pondering options here (you can also see the old arrangement at that link). Now the room looks like this:

And here is a close up of the rug I went with:

The dresser conversion in the foyer is on hold at the moment, though it hopefully will be done next weekend. In the meantime our foyer looks like this:

The biggest change, however, is in the kitchen. It is getting a heavy dose of cheery colors and whimsy.

Though I pretty recently made some changes to the kitchen here, I ended up feeling really unhappy with the result. I tried to live with it for a bit to see if it would grow on me, but you know what? It didn't! At all. if anything, I started to like it less and less, and started imagining new ways I could fix what I had done. Hope this works, I like it a lot better already, and can't wait to find some fun, poppy art work for that empty wall to pull it all together!

I'll post a few more shots once the project is done. Right now a lot of the kitchen looks a bit unfinished...

Balsamic Glazed Brussels Sprouts

2011-01-17T17:18:00.004-05:00

I am about to talk about something pretty controversial. I know it usually is best if you don't want to alienate your readership not to tread too often onto subjects like this one, and I really do hope my 5 (yes, 5) followers will still feel the same way about me and my blog after I say this.

So, I might as well come out with it: I think Brussels Sprouts are downright yummy. Yes, I know this is a very polarizing topic for many individuals. Some people love them, some people hate them, and yet other people don't eat them regardless of love or hate simply because they give them terrible gas (pardon my bluntness, dear readers). But I have to come right out and say, unless you fall into that third camp, you really should try these sprouts and give 'em another chance. Reduced balsamic vinegar, butter, a hint of brown sugar and the right amount of time in the oven turns these into tender, bright and sweet morsels that I eat up like candy. I even caught myself about to lick the last bits of sauce off the plate.

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Dresser Make-over: mid-project progress post

2011-01-13T11:20:00.001-05:00

Yes, that post title is a mouthful. Remember the drawer-less yellow dresser I rescued from the sidewalk near my apartment a couple of weeks ago? Well yesterday while snowed in, I began to make some progress on it. Sure it still needs proper shelves, doors etc, but at least now it is a pretty color that looks good in its new home.

Before:

Seed-y Snow Day Cookies

2011-01-12T14:13:00.001-05:00

These cookies are the right kind of seedy. They won't approach you in a dark alley, or make you question your safety, they will only fill you up with sweet nutty toasted seed goodness. They may also cause a drug test to reflect positive for opiates, but whatever.

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A few small projects in the bedroom

2011-01-11T13:48:00.003-05:00

I did a couple quick projects in my room this past weekend, some simple things to help me feel organized. First, I made some changes to my ikea Aneboda wardrobe. You know the kind, with the corrugated plastic that is translucent, so you can see whatever mess the thing is meant to hide. I used a roll of soft blue contact paper, and some decorative drawer pulls to change its appearance a bit. I am still debating adding some decorative moulding around the crown to give it a more feminine look that matches better with the pulls. I also have a second more modern pair of pulls I may use instead. I am going to give it time.

Before: (ikea stock photo)

After:

(poorly lit bedroom photo...does that red suitcase peeking out bother you as much as it does me?)

I also made the insides of the doors into functional space. I adhered cork board to the inside of the left door, and a jewlery organizer on the other side. The jewelery holder has clear compartments just the right size for storing hair clips and elastics and earrings and things, many of which had previously lived jumbled in a bowl on my bookshelf. The organizer will have to be cut down a bit and re-hemmed eventually, as it is a tad bigger than the door.

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Roasted Garlic Soup... Again

2010-12-30T12:30:00.000-05:00

On the morning of Christmas Eve I did a very brave thing. I went to Whole Foods. Yes, that is right. At 10am on the morning before one of the biggest cooking and entertaining weekends of the year (and as it happens also the calm before a giant snowstorm being forecast to hit the Boston area right after Christmas; yet another reason for the hoards to trample onwards in hopes of produce, meats, last minute prepared foods and every day staples) there I was, list in hand, forging forward with the masses, trying not to hit people with my shopping cart. (I narrowly avoided hitting the same whole foods employee twice, poor guy. Of course when I apologized the second time around, I quite exaggerated and offered an apology for nearly hitting him "about 6 times now!")

Luckily I was quite successful in my undertaking: in and out of the store within half an hour, did not wait in long in line, got everything on my list. Also, I managed to find something I didn't know I was looking for, and in fact did not know existed.

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Lemon Poppyseed Cake

2010-12-30T11:56:00.003-05:00

I own 2 Best of Gourmet cookbooks (1989 and 1996 I believe, thrifted), but until this week I had never actually made something from either of them. I guess I was a tiny bit intimidated. But I offered to bring dessert for Christmas Eve dinner (as well as a soup for Christmas night) and I wanted something lighter and a bit less sweet and rich to balance out all of the chocolates and cookies and goodies that we all seem to stuff ourselves with this time of year. Don't worry, I also made my favorite uber-rich chocolate fudge tart and even added a 1/2 tsp of orange extract to give it the chocolate/orange flavor combination I loved without the orange infused whipped cream.

I decided to make the Lemon Poppyseed Cake with Fruit Compote recipe from Gourmet. First I should say this: I was mildly disappointed by the cake, not the flavors, but the texture. It came out a bit too dry and crumbly. I was unsure whether I had perhaps overcooked it, or if the recipe was at fault. That being said, people seemed to enjoy it, especially served with the fruit compote, which lends it some extra moisture. I choose to make some lemon glaze to the top off the cake, which I think was also a good addition, lemon juice and zest gave it added interest and brightness, and made the top shiny and nice. I am open to suggestions if anyone has made a lemon poppy seed cake that turned out a bit moister, perhaps I will revisit this later with a similar recipe if I find something better. I quite enjoyed the delicate flavor though, and the compote was a nice addition to both the cake and the chocolate tart.

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Smells like DIY...

2010-12-30T10:18:00.001-05:00

Look at this terrible picture of the item I rescued from the snowbank (I mean sidewalk...) last night. Yep, it's a dresser. Somewhere along the line it seems to have lost its drawers (mercy!) but that's ok. I plan to give it a new life and whole new purpose. Right now I am deciding between finishing it out as open shelving, or creating doors and making it into a server type cabinet. More to come soon!

PS- a special thank you to my friend Gabby (Gabbie? Yo Gabba Gabba?) who rushed to my rescue to help me carry this thing home at only a moment's notice, and my roommate Danielle who helped us as we struggled to get it up the stairs.

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

2010-12-17T13:36:00.002-05:00

A good friend came to me recently, after we had struggled to find time to spend together, and asked if our next get together could involve baking something for her mother. She had joined me last when I painted the chevron pattern in the kitchen, featured earlier this month, and while we worked we had been snacking on some pumpkin-chocolate chip cupcakes which we both enjoyed. We discussed, and decided to make something similar for her mother. We ended up making chocolate chip pumpkin bread, 2 loaves so my roommates and I got to enjoy the other. I dug up a basic pumpkin quick bread recipe in my trusty Betty Crocker Baking book, and all we changed was the spices, and adding the chips.

In which I go even more insane than that other time.

2010-12-06T19:08:00.003-05:00

Remember that time crazy Hannah covered the refrigerator in patterned contact paper? Well I think I one-upped myself.

If you are thinking this looks familiar, it probably does. I posted about this project in mid-November right after its completion, but soon felt so embarrassed by the grainy dark pictures and took down the post. Anyway, want to see the crazy orange chevron wall in my kitchen? I think it is fun. And since I love to cook and experiment in the kitchen, it is definitely a place I like to have fun, so why shouldn't the space itself be fun?

Want to see a bit of the process?

First I taped out the pattern I wanted. I may have been a bit drunk when I started this. That would at least explain that weird gap of a few inches along the left wall.

The next step was painting white paint over the tape to seal any spaces where paint could bleed through with the existing wall color. My friend Gabby helped me out with this (if there is one tip I have when it comes to painting projects...invite some friends to help! We had so much fun!)

Then, up went the orange (we had ran out of the exact orange used on that rail, so we had to mix some up to match) Gabby and Sophie helped, as we hummed along to Janis Joplin and ate cupcakes and had a generally pretty awesome time.

After 2 coats of paint, the tape came down. Relatively cleanly, even. Though there were a few spots that were less than perfect.

Boo, peeling. Hopefully no one will notice!

Spiced mixed nuts

2010-12-06T15:51:00.007-05:00

Spiced mixed nuts, yes. They are pretty sweet. And a bit spicy. And have proven to be more than a little bit addictive. A bowl of these added to the spread of appetizers at your next dinner party sounds like a great idea to me. Invite me over, I will help you put a dent in them!

This was yet another item I made in advance for my thanksgiving festivities out in great state of New Jersey. And I made a lot. Way too much. Even though I broke them out a night early and snacked with my parents, sister (this mix is peanut free, so she didn't die!) and aunt and uncle.

So, okay, maybe you shouldn't make 10 cups of this mix and bring it out as one of many appetizers if most people are saving space for dinner because it is thanksgiving. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't make 2 or 3 cups before your awesome dinner party, does it? Or, that you shouldn't make a large batch like I did and squirrel some away for a rainy day (Bad pun? Squirel, nuts? ) or package them up in adorable jars and give as Solchamaszaali (Solstice/Channuka/Christmas/Kwanzaa/Diwali - term thanks to my very clever sister, Abbie, who as I mentioned, was NOT killed by this mix of nuts) gifts. But really, how could I resist more than quadrupling the recipe? Cumin, coriander and cayenne (great alliteration, huh?) mixed with the ware sweetness of maple syrup, sugar and salt, baked into a crisp crust on a mixture of almonds, cashews, pecans, walnuts and brazil nuts? People are gonna want some of that!

Roasted Garlic Soup

2010-12-04T11:38:00.002-05:00

I got home just past 6 pm. I wanted something interesting to eat: warm, comforting, not one of my usual staples. I didn't want to go to the grocery store. I looked in the pantry. Not much to speak of besides several heads of garlic. In the refrigerator: ends of a few pieces of cheese, a couple eggs, some spinach I had forgotten about which had gotten wilty and sad. Not that promising. But I kept thinking back to that garlic. I thought of a lovely and sharp soupa di ajo (spanish garlic soup) I had had at a tapas restaurant several years ago. After all this time it still stuck in my mind. I took out 2 heads of garlic and started to peel.

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The Best Oatmeal Cookies

2010-11-29T13:22:00.003-05:00

These are THE BEST oatmeal cookies. Don't believe me? Ask my mom. That's right. She said so. But also, I say so, and a bunch of other people who tried these cookies seemed to agree. Also, they have cranberries. Who could turn down cranberries? They are such a pretty color, and add such a sweet-tart element that plays off the subtle fresh taste of the orange zest in the batter. Try these, they are just what you need right now. Really, I think you need a cookie. You're so thin! You look famished! (By the way, how have you all enjoyed your various events and family time over thanksgiving? Do I sound like anyone's grandma yet? Maybe an aunt?)

But truly, you deserve a cookie. Not crazy about cranberries? Change em out. Go traditional with raisins, shake things up with dried cherries, appease your sweet tooth with dark chocolate chips (orange and chocolate are a great pair!) go nuts (add nuts!).

This recipe works surprisingly well substituting margarine in place of the butter originally in the recipe, I used earth balance, and I swear you can't tell (I really mean it, and I am somewhat of a snob about baking with butter).

Ok, enough chitchat, go make these cookies. Then bring me a couple at my office; I could really use a cookie like this right about now.
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I've been painting doors.

2010-11-07T11:01:00.000-05:00

What have I been up to? I've been painting doors.

Like this blue door in the bathroom, with a custom mixed paint color thanks to one of my friends at the hardware store where I used to work.

I also added mirrored decals from TJ Maxx. Now I just need to decide what to do about that old rusted doorknob. Ignore it since I rent, and with the lock mechanism it may be complicated to replace? I imagine a nice glass knob in its place.

I also painted the door of our broom closet with chalk board paint, creating a kitchen message center for myself and my roommates to use.

Also, see that blue tape in the upper left section of that picture? Consider that a sneak peek into a project to come. I just need to work out my final plan, and make sure my roommates don't hate it.

Kale & White Bean Soup (and the Dead Kennedys' "Soup is Good Food"?)

2010-11-01T18:04:00.004-04:00

I did mention that this is actually becoming a soup blog, right? After all as the Dead Kennedy's song says, soup is good food (OK, the rest of the lyrics of that song really, really don't apply- but every time I make soup, I can't help hearing that song in my head for a moment).

This soup is as simple as could be, but made with a flavorful homemade chicken stock, studded with firm canellini beans and curls of bright green kale, it felt healthy and healing after a near OD on Halloween candy (the mini butterfingers and york patties are my favorites, FYI).

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