Emma

On Thursday, January 26th at 9:44 p.m. my third niece was born. 

7 lbs. 11 oz

21 inches.

Hello, beautiful Emma. 

In The Loop

My sister, Susan, has been making The Loop scarf. Last week when 

she was visiting, we were in a clothing store when she saw one that was two toned. 

Do you know what she did? She went home and made her own... yep, if I didn't love her I'd almost dislike her for her talent:)  

I think these are fantastic! 

The Yellow Loop

The Gray Collar

I think you would agree, she is talented, oh and photogenic! 

(photos courtesy of: Susan Brak)

Apple Crumble

For Christmas, my family gave me Gordon Ramsay's Maze (recipes by Jason Atherton), cookbook. I love to cook and one of my favorite things to to do at the bookstore is to pour over cookbooks. 

Yesterday, I tried my first recipe from Maze. It was a simple apple crumble recipe, and I loved how it turned out. 

*This is a very good recipe to use when you have apples that are going soft. 

Apple Crumble with Hazelnuts

Apple Compote:

4 lb (10-12 whole) apples

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter

1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract 

Crumble:

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup granulated sugar

pinch (1/8 tsp) ground cinnamon

3 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter 

1/3 cup toasted hazelnuts, lightly crushed 

(Optional: I used chopped pecans, which were very good)

First, peal, core and chop the apples. 

Put the chopped apples in a wide skillet with the sugar, butter, and vanilla. 

Cook over medium-low heat for 15-20 minutes until the apples are just soft, but still holding their shape. Spoon the apple compote into a shallow ovenproof dish, and let cool. 

For the crumble, put the flour, sugar, cinnamon, and butter into a food processor, and pulse until the mixture resembles fine bread crumbs (Alternative: use a pastry blender, by hand).

Stir in the crushed hazelnuts or pecans, then spread over the apple filling. 

Preheat the oven to 400 F. Bake for about 25 minutes until golden brown and crisp on top. 

Spoon  and serve with vanilla ice-cream, or fresh whipped cream. 

Fruits In Season

Growing up my mom had us eat a lot of fruits and vegetables. Most I liked, a few I did not (for some reason I had a disgust for celery that lasted into my adulthood. It changed when I found out how delicious it could be smothered in blue cheese with spicy wings!)  

Now, I am trying to learn the best times to pick out my fruit and vegetables (in season) for two simple reasons: Flavor and price (oh, and so I can also tell my child one day, "Eat your celery sweetie, one day, you'll like it...smothered in blue cheese ") 

December, January, February

Clementines
Grapefruit

Kiwifruit
Mandarin Oranges
Oranges

Pear
Persimmons
Red Banana
Tangerines


March, April, May
Apricots
Honeydew
Mango
Oranges 
Pineapple
Strawberries

(Courtesy of: http://www.fruitsandveggiesmorematters.org)

(Photos courtesy of: steamy kitchen and me)

The Man Behind the Grinch

Growing up I loved having Horton Hears A Who!, Yertle the Turtle, and How The Grinch Stole Christmas, being read to me by my mom.

After the 2001 movie I Am Sam, where the main character reads Green Eggs and Ham to his daughter, I returned to Dr. Seuss on my own.

*Dr. Seuss' name real name was Theodor Seuss Geisel

*While at Dartmouth College, Geisel was caught drinking gin with nine friends in his room. As a result,  the Dean insisted that he resign from all extracurricular activities, including the college humor magazine, Dartmouth Jack-O-Lantern. To continue work on the Jack-O-Lantern without the administration's knowledge, Geisel began signing his work with the pen name "Seuss"

*Dr. Seuss' first book: And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, was rejected 27 times

*He went on to publish and illustrate 46 children's books

(Courtesy google, wikipedia, npr)

http://www.npr.org/2012/01/24/145471724/how-dr-seuss-got-his-start-on-mulberry-street

For the Love of the Game

Who would have thought I'd find myself on a Sunday night, saying "Come on!" or throwing my hands up in the air because I was so excited a certain team had won? That's what watching American football has done to me. To be completely honest, I find the game fascinating and fun to watch. 

I don't think you'll ever find me with my face painted in a certain team's  colors, but you will find me looking forward to watching The Superbowl and not just because of the half-time show and snacks
 (I do still love the snacks though).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3hUpMgfMFc&feature=relmfu

* The American Professional Football Association, which later became the NFL, began in 1920 at a Canton, Ohio car dealership.
* The NFL is the world's richest professional sports league, bringing in close to $1 billion each year.


(photos courtesy of:google)

The Joy in Eating Out

Tonight, after I got done with work, I went out to eat with my family and some friends. Ever since I was little, I've always loved eating out, especially for dinner. When I was growing up, I always knew eating out was a special treat, and it still feels like that now that I'm grown up. 

My family use to tease me because I would order the same thing every time. Even when I would say "I'll try something new this time" I would always order the 3 piece fried, chicken dinner. 

I think what makes eating out so special is you get to choose a dish that makes your stomach smile, you don't have to do any of the dishes and it's shared with people you love or care about. 

I hope this week you will be able to share a meal with the ones you love and laugh with. 

(photos courtesy of:weheartit.com)

A Little Snowdrop

 Snowdrops (Greek gála "milk", ánthos "flower") are the flower for the month of January. 

I think they're beautiful. 

"The snowdrop and primrose our woodlands adorn, and violets bathe in the wet o' the morn."

Robert Burns

"The morning star of flowers."

 James Montgomery

"Nor will I then thy modest grace forget,

  Chaste Snow-drop, venturous harbinger of Spring,

    And pensive monitor of fleeting years!"

      William Wordsworth

(photos courtesy of: weheartit.com)

A Bowl of Soup

Yesterday morning my sister and I went to the store and picked out ingredients for a Monday soup. 

I recently found two soup recipes that I combined together. I love soup, especially in the winter; it seems cozy.

I had a friend who told me her husband liked her soup when it was "hardy", which I translated to mean "soup that has enough substance to it, that I won't be hungry in an hour".
 This soup is a "hardy" soup. I hope you enjoy it! 

Meatball Tortellini Soup

1 Large Egg

1/2 lb Lean Ground Beef

1/3 cup chopped fresh basil (grocery stores carry this in the produce department)

2 Tbsp Seasoned Bread Crumbs

Olive Oil 

1/4 cup chopped onions

1 cup matchstick carrots 

1 cup mushrooms-chopped (optional) 

2 garlic cloves diced

2-3 cups Spinach

2 cartons/cans (32 oz each) Chicken/Vegetable Stock 

2 cups Frozen Cheese Tortellini 

*I really like Buitoni Tortellini, which is not frozen

Salt and Pepper to taste

1. Combine 1 egg, ground beef, fresh basil, and bread crumbs in medium bowl.

Form into small meatballs, 1 tsp each.

2. Brown meatballs on all sides in 2 Tbsp of olive oil on MEDIUM, about five minutes. 

Remove meatballs from heat; save the drippings to put into the broth later (adds nice flavor!) 

3. In a large soup pot, sauté the onions, carrots, mushrooms and diced garlic, in 2 Tbsp of Olive Oil on MEDIUM/LOW for 8-10 min until carrots are slightly tender.

4. Add 2 cartons Chicken Stock to the soup pot.

5. Add meatballs (and drippings), spinach and tortellini. Let simmer on MEDIUM-HIGH  about 5 minutes until pasta is tender. 

6. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Garnish with grated cheese (optional) 

Enjoy!

Through Tyler's Eyes

I met Tyler only once. She and her friend were graduating from high school and asked if I could take some fun pictures of them, since they would be going to different colleges.

 Ever since then I have so enjoyed seeing people through the eyes of her camera (She likes to work with natural light, which I love) and reading snippets of her life on her blog. 

I think you will love her work and talent too.

http://www.tylernicolephotography.com

(all photos courtesy of:tylernicolephotography)

A "New Girl" Makes Me Laugh

Who would have thought when I watched the pilot episode of New Girl, starring Zooey Deschanel, that I would find its quirkiness so funny? I have found myself laughing so hard that I confess, I've snorted (while also cringing at its VERY awkward moments). I find it  to be funny

and a little bit endearing. 

About The Show

After a bad break-up, Jess Day needs a new place to live. An online search leads her to a great loft...and three single guys she's never met before. But Jess moves in, and through her upbeat personality, unique sense of self and the unlikely support of her new roommates, she learns to move on.

(pictures courtesy of: google, 

synopsis courtesy of fox)

Thinking of The Deep

I have a fascination and fear of the ocean; it's so huge and I am, well, a very tiny fish in comparison.

Visiting an aquarium seems like the perfect answer for someone like me, who wants to see, 

learn and experience the ocean. 

Georgia Aquarium

" The Georgia Aquarium is the world's largest aquarium with more than 8.5-million-US-gallons  of marine and fresh water housing more than 120,000 animals of 500 different species. Funded mostly by a $250 million donation from Home Depot co-founder Bernard Marcus. Marcus credited his 60th birthday dinner at the Monterey Bay Aquarium in 1990 among the inspirations behind his desire to build an aquarium in Atlanta. "

http://www.georgiaaquarium

Oregon Coast Aquarium

"The largest exhibit is "Passages of the Deep". It features walk-through acrylic tubes surrounded by deep water marine animals such as sharks."

http://aquarium.org/

Shedd Aquarium-Chicago

"The John G. Shedd Aquarium is an indoor public aquarium in Chicago, Illinois in the United States that opened on May 30, 1930. The Shedd Aquarium was the first inland aquarium with a permanent saltwater fish collection."

http://www.sheddaquarium.org/

(information courtesy of: google & wikipedia)

If Ever in Denmark

I was reading an article titled: Artisanal And Authentic, The Flavors Of The New Year. Towards the end of this article the writer set aside a few paragraphs to write about a restaurant in  Copenhagen, Denmark: Noma.

"Noma was just named the best restaurant in the world by The San Pellegrino World's 50 Best Restaurants. Redzepi's staff forages in the woods, and the menu includes such things as sorrel granita, musk ox, pork skin and chicken skin, as well as accents of hay, pine, moss and juniper. For dessert? Jerusalem artichoke ice cream." 

Because I have a love for most things relating to food, I looked up Noma's website and...

I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. 

(excerpt courtesy of: 

http://www.npr.org/2012/01/01/144442022/artisanal-and-authentic-the-flavors-of-the-new-year) 

Gustave Eiffel's Tower

When I think of Paris, France, I think of the Audrey Hepburn movie Sabrina. I think of the Louvre Pyramid and I think of The Eiffel Tower. 

The man behind the Eiffel Tower was Gustave Eiffel, known for his revolutionary bridge building techniques. These techniques would form the basis for the construction of the Eiffel Tower. He was also known for the construction of the Statue of Liberty's iron framework.

The structure took more than two years to complete. Each one of the estimated 12,000 iron pieces were designed separately to give them exactly the shape needed. All pieces were prefabricated and fit together using approximately 7 million nails.

The Eiffel Tower is used as a radio broadcasting and observation tower.

(photos courtesy of:weheartit.com

information courtesy of:aviewoncities.com) 

Most Favorites (for now)

Favorite city: San Francisco 

Favorite hobby: cooking

Favorite song: "Nothing" by The Script

Favorite flower: Garden Roses

Favorite Blog: Pioneer Woman

http://thepioneerwoman.com

Favorite drink: Latte

(Photos courtesy of: weheartit.com & google)