Monday, February 28, 2011

Well done


My mom must have been drooling as much as me at the sight of these adorable crumpets, so she went and made her own! Aren't they lovely?

weekend yum


Over the weekend, I spent some quality time in the kitchen. We were out of my much beloved bouillon, so I made a big, fresh batch, enough to have plenty in the fridge and freezer.  I even made a small batch that included fresh ginger and portabella mushrooms, for use in Asian recipes and in my new favorite soup, a lovely Spring Minestrone recipe from Super Natural Cooking.  I also tried my hand at making ghee (clarified butter), since I've only recently heard of it's health and cooking benefits.  If nothing else, it spreads on toast like silk and melts even faster than butter.  Next, I made a nice carrot soup, which was delicious served with fresh, plain yogurt dolloped on top.  

Sunday morning's inspiration came from the image up above and the discovery of this incredible blog.  I tried my hand at shirred eggs, but instead of using ham in the croquette like many recipes call for, I sautéed garlic and shitake mushrooms and sprinkled Parmesan cheese on top.  Delicious, but coma-inducing.  Even though it was 11:30 AM, I considered getting back into bed thanks to the heavy cream baked into the eggs.  Luckily, Ryan forced me outside for an afternoon walk to get some fresh air and to walk off the many calories I'd gained from breakfast.   

A lovely few days off, indeed.  

Friday, February 25, 2011

Have a beautiful weekend!


Tonight, we're starting the weekend off right with pizza and our favorite Baltimore friends.  Somehow in the last few months, we've ended up spending nearly every Friday night with T & E celebrating the coming weekend by eating at a different restaurant each Friday night.  A Friday Supper Club, if you will.  The four of us have an equal love for eating, dining out and for beer, so no wonder the friendship works so well.  

Also, we saw A Single Man last night, a year or two late, but regardless- I was blown away.  What a gorgeous, heart-breaking film.  No detail was spared in the art direction of this film- clothing, set design, lighting, beautiful actor after beautiful actor... incredible.  Have you seen it?

Sending positive vibes out to you all on this Friday.  

Thursday, February 24, 2011

take me


...to your leader!  How amazing do these buttery, wonderful crumpets looks with their slathering of raspberry butter? Drooooool...  And, they're from the beautiful town of Stellenbosch, in South Africa! 

{Loving Miss Moss at Cup of Joe this week.}

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Bring it back


Oil paintings, particularly portraits, are such a brilliant way to freeze time.  Have you ever painted a portrait or been the subject of a portrait?  This project is awesome. 

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Something bright


Last week on this day it was 65; today there are three inches of new snow on the ground.  Looking forward to spring color, as usual this time of year.  

Wall dreams


As I'm sure many of you know and feel, one of the bummers of being a renter is the nail-in-the-wall dilemma.  I've always wanted to buy up a bunch of different frames and hang them on a big, open wall, kind of like these gorgeous photos above show.  I've never gone through with it because I fear my landlord's response when he or she sees all the spots in wall when we move out.  Have you had this dilemma?

In the meantime, I usually just tack on a frame to the nail left behind from the last tenant.  It works; but I'm eager to put nails wherever I want.  As usual, I see this type of nail-in-the-wall dilemma as a microcosm of a greater existential desire to plant roots and create a safe, constant space for me and mine. Makes sense, I think. 

Monday, February 21, 2011

Dinner to lunch


Last night's dinner to today's lunch; this salad was a delight.  I love eating.

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Love and sunshine


Hope there's a bit of both in your weekend.  :)

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Out of it


I haven't had much to say the last week, so I've been taking a bit of an unofficial blogger break. 

But, the best thing I've seen all week has to be this project, and I wanted to make sure everyone who pops in here has seen it.  What an amazing idea!

Sending some love out into the blogosphere to you and yours, happy Thursday all...

[photos via a cup of jo]

Monday, February 14, 2011

Dream space


Looks like a nice place to get something done.

Friday, February 11, 2011

No, really?


Slanket? Snuggie? Dinoblankie

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Signs of life.


Last night, I felt a spark of my imagination flare up.  I'm not sure why, but perusing jobs in NYC helped, as well as watching an old Audrey Hepburn movie with a nice, hot bowl of soup seasoned with soy sauce and ginger.  Something about imagining new possibilities made me feel like a normal, healthy person, when after all, I sometimes doubt that about myself. Maybe I'm moving away from my Baltimore/winter/mid-to-late 20's funk? At least for a moment.

Pasta is for lovers.


Deb from Smitten Kitchen just wrote up a lovely heart-shaped pasta recipe for Valentines Day.  Whether you're staying in a-la-solo or cozying up with a special someone, this would make a tasty dish for your special night... or any night, for that matter.  Yum. 

P.S. Four years ago I was a (temporary) vegan and Ryan made me a delicious, no-cheese lasagna for Valentines Day with whipped soft tofu instead of ricotta.  What a sweetheart.  

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Saint Andre


Last week I mentioned a certain Angel that came 'round and illuminated our lives to the wonder of triple cream brie cheese.  This week, I decided to try the cousin cheese of said Angel, Saint Andre.

I must say, Saint Angel has my vote of the two. While the tangy, dry flavor of Saint Andre added a refreshing twist to our Saturday night, it also had a certain crumbly texture that didn't impress.  Honestly, it tasted like a nice cream cheese, but cost about twice as much as one could pay for say, Philadelphia brand, and didn't spread very well at all. The outer edges had a much smoother, creamy texture that was quite lovely, but the flavor notes were not nearly as distinct or as memorable as Saint Angel. While I'd never discourage trying out a new cheese, I can't say I'll be going back for this.  One can only budget so much for such delicacies.

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Happy days


The guy I live with is pretty rad.  What a nice little Saturday night we had eating French cheese, sipping Spanish wine and munching on California almonds. (The caveat being some kind of rodent squealing in the kitchen in the middle of our conversation.  Whatever, we barely noticed.)

P.S. Those are my special pickled beets on the left, yummm.

Pictogram posters


Simple and understated, these posters are so creative. I like the smooth, clean lines as a form of visual expression.

Rosemary's Baby is such a great flick.  Have you seen it? Mia Farrow's style is classic and serene, yet the film is so spooky and weird.  Not sure I would recommend it to a friend who is pregnant, though.

Monday, February 7, 2011

I want a greenhouse.


Yesterday, we went to the local arboretum and saw beautiful, flowery plants growing inside the warm walls of the greenhouses.  It was refreshing to see a place filled with life and color in the peak of winter. 

I found this website that gives instructions on how to build a greenhouse out of old windows. Wouldn't that be lovely?  I have little inclination to take on a project anytime soon, but having my own greenhouse is definitely on my "list".

Friday, February 4, 2011

Have a tasty weekend.


I'm off to practice latte art for the afternoon/evening since my significant other is sick and tired and isn't up for too much at the moment.  Our weekend will most likely involve eating big breakfasts at our usual spots and watching movies on the couch.  I heard there was some football game this weekend?  Meh.  

Hope your weekend is lovely. 

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Home alone

Remnants of a Wednesday Night, by STG

Step 1: Pour last glass from yesterday's bottle of pinot grigio, grab crackers to eat with new favorite cheese, eat/drink while staring blankly into fridge in hopes of finding dinner-for-one inspiration.

Step 2: Turn up speaker volume to hear KEXP playing new Bright Eyes album.

Step 3: Make garlic mashed potatoes with asiago cheese for dinner; grab hoppy beer (since white wine bottle is now empty) and pour into champagne flute. 

Step 4: Watch Portlandia clips online and feel weird hearing myself laugh out loud when no one else is around.

Step 5: Thumb through Julia's Kitchen Wisdom, for a daily dose of cooking know-how. 

Step 6: Eat remaining truffles sent from mother-in-law in Canada.  

Step 7: Consider watching HOWL since it's here via Netflix, but pass since the dream sequences in the first 20 minutes were too cartoony.

Step 8: Finish tax return, feel slightly productive, eat spoonful of chocolate gelato, write blog post and go to bed.

Recap: Mashed potatoes as a meal, beer in a champagne glass to make life a little fancier, chocolate truffles, chocolate gelato and some other stuff in between.

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Arggg.


Yep.  That's all from me today.   

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Saint Angel


The friendly Cheesemonger at our local Whole Foods gave us a sample on Saturday night of this lovely, triple cream cheese. Friends, I'm in cheese Paradisio.  

I can't tell you how smooth, creamy, flavorful and delicious this brie is.  I've never tasted such a strong honey flavor in a cheese before, which makes the experience all the more delightful and indulgent.  Get thou some Saint Angel.  

Did I mention it's so soft, that it spreads like butter?  

If we had kids...


...this is what they'd say.  

I love my husband's great taste in beer.  :)