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.  

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.  

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.}

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. 

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. 

Dinner to lunch

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

Love and sunshine

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

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]

Dream space

Looks like a nice place to get something done.

No, really?

Slanket? Snuggie? Dinoblankie? 

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.  

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.