To Market

I know I've shared some pictures from the West Side Market before, but going there just makes me so happy. Besides, we did get a new camera for Christmas so these are much better. Devin took these. I was too busy looking for the best grapefruit.







It's crazy cold outside. I keep feeling like I should be baking or doing something industrious, but I can't seem to move from this very warm spot.

New Year = Cinnamon Rolls

I've been wanting to make a New Years post for awhile, but, as usual, I just write them in my head and never actually type them. We didn't do anything too exciting. We did watch Once, though and that made me very happy. I was so sick over the holidays that I feel as if I'm just now getting back in the swing of things.So, thinking New Year's thoughts, I came across Hannah's New Year post. It just seemed so perfect and included so many of the little things that have been in my mind, that I'm going to cop out and say read it for yourself. Besides, her blog is lovely.



I've been out of cinnamon since Christmas, which is probably why I was craving it so much. Having finally replaced it in my pantry, I decided that cinnamon rolls were in order for Sunday morning. I've never actually made cinnamon rolls before. I think I avoided them because I thought that their rise time was much longer and frankly, I'm more of an immediate gratification kind of girl when it comes to eating breakfast. As it turn out it's not bad at all. I used Nigella's Norwegian Cinnamon Bun recipe and it turned out great. These will be made again.


Norwegian Cinnamon Buns


Dough:
4 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 1/4-ounce packages of yeast
scant 1/2 cup butter
1 2/3 cup milk
2 eggs

Filling:
1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp butter
1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 egg, beaten to glaze

Combine flour, sugar, salt and yeast. Melt butter and whisk it into the milk and eggs. Stir into the flour mixture. Mix until combined and then knead dough until smooth and springy. Let rise in oiled bowl (covered) for 25 minutes.

Roll one third of dough into a rectangle and place in bottom of pan. Roll remaining dough into a large rectangle and spread with the filling mixture. Roll up from the longest side and cut into 3/4" slices. Place them on top of the dough already in the pan and brush with egg wash. Let rise for 15 minutes.

Bake at 450 for 20 - 25 minutes.



I had some help in the kitchen:


Later in the afternoon, we went to see Juno. You know when they call something the "feel good movie of the year" and you're not really sure what that is supposed to really mean? Well, I think that Juno really lives up to that cliche. Seriously, I was in such a great mood leaving that movie.

We're off to enjoy some of this crazy weather. I do appreciate not needing a jacket in Cleveland in January and yet it creeps me out big time. It just makes me feel weird. The wind doesn't help. Hopefully I can get this scaredy cat of a golden retriever to brave the gusts for a much needed afternoon hike.

Holiday Sweetness

Just wanted to share a picture of these Christmas Eve goodies we picked up in Little Italy. I got to try out our new camera. I'm looking forward to learning all of it's ins and outs. Unfortunately, I've been quite sick for the entirety of Christmas vacation so I'm not sure I tasted any of the icing or the pastry cream. I also managed to cough my way through Atonement and Sweeney Todd. So, finally beginning to mend in time for the holiday to be over. What can you do?

I'm it!

Jessica tagged me last week. It's taken me awhile to reply but here goes...

The Rules:

1. Link to your tagger (see above), and also post these rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself (random or weird) on your blog.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they are TAGGED by leaving a comment on their blog.

So, it appears some random facts are in order.
1. I was married in San Francisco's city hall. The photographer was our witness. We had lunch afterwards at the Asian Museum. That evening we went to SFMOMA and ate dinner at Millennium. This is one of my favorite pictures:



2. I used to be an opthalmic assistant. I was pretty good at it and it was really interesting, but the medical field is not so much for the creative types. Also, I was really squeamish in surgery.

3.I've been the nanny off and on for a wonderful family for the past 3 years. I love them so much They are now expecting their 6th child. I actually find it way easier an more interesting to nanny for a big family than just one child. Here's the sad princess:


4. I don't make my bed. Actually, I do sometimes, but I have a hard time getting in to the habit. I really love when the bed is made, it makes me feel all organized and together. I can make it for days and days and then poof! one day the habit has disappeared. Good habits are really hard to start. This reminds me of a Mitch Hedberg quote. "People who smoke cigarettes, they say "You don't know how hard it is to quit smoking." Yes I do. It's as hard as it is to start flossing."

5. I love Mitch Hedberg. I'm not really a stand up comedy kind of a girl, but he makes me laugh so much. I found out that he had died when a band opening for Bob Dylan in Chicago dedicated a song to him. We were in the highest possible seats. I literally had vertigo. I kept thinking I must have heard them wrong, but sadly, I had not.

6. I have a very recent obsession with potato chips on sandwiches. Mostly jalapeno or salt and pepper. I'm not sure how I went to long without fully appreciating this. I'm thinking it's kind of like vegetarian bacon.

7.For two and half years, we were tough dog owners. Ok,not so much tough, but we did follow the no dogs in bed rule. Then, one night, Devin had trouble sleeping and he went and got Ramona. That was that. We really get so much pleasure out of having her there, that we keep asking each other how we managed for so long without her. I mean how did we resist this face:



I've waited so long to do this, that it seems like everyone has already been tagged. So, I'm tagging just three:

Jen

Claudia

Ashley

boo

I made Devin some Peanut Butter Blossoms with candy corn Hershey Kisses. He's allergic to chocolate,so I jumped at the chance to make a favorite work without it. The candy corn kisses taste kind of like butterscotch to me. Maybe not the most wholesome of recipes, but really good all the same.




When your walls are pumpkin colored and this is your cat, every day seems like Halloween.

naan stop

A few nights ago we had Mutter Paneer (well, tofu actually) and I made a huge batch of naan. I use this recipe a lot. Mostly because the majority of naan recipes I encounter have yogurt in them and I just don't always have plain yogurt on hand. It was pretty delicious and it's really easy to make as long as you don't mind cranking your oven up to 550. I find that preheating the oven with a couple of pizza stones in it works really well. I bake about 3 at a time. It takes a round or two to get into the rhythm, but once you do, you'll start to feel confident enough to make jokes about opening your own Indian restaurant and calling it, yep you guessed it, Naan Stop. Maybe the heat was getting to me.



It seemed like fall was all stalled out, but suddenly overnight the colors are finally here. They always seem to sneak up on me. We've been hiking at Huntington Reservation few times a week. I didn't even take the camera, feeling like colors hadn't changed enough, but of course I was wrong. Deciding not to take the camera is pretty much always the wrong decision. Other than that there's been a lot of soup making and dvd watching. I realized that there are few things as great as discovering a really funny tv show and watching it all in one go on dvd. I also discovered that there are few things as disappointing as realizing you are caught up with said show and you have a years wait before you can watch another episode.

I watched the Godfather for the first time. (I know, I know, I'm not sure why it took so long). I was really struck by how visually beautiful it was, the colors in particular. The whole movie (actually 1 and 2) the color scheme is almost entirely muted neutrals with these shots of burnt orange. I tried to find a picture to show you, but I couldn't find one that wasn't filled with weapons. I can't get those colors out of my head. Unexpected inspiration.



I decided it was time to take part in the Pay It Forward Exchange. I think it's a great idea and I joined up on Jen's page. It works like this: I will send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment on this post requesting to join this PIF exchange. I don’t know what that gift will be yet and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week, but you will receive it within 365 days, that is my promise! The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog.Such a good idea.

So, comment away and enjoy this October Sunday (Actually, by the time blogger behaved...Tuesday).

velvet lily pads

We had the great fortune of getting a big bad of organic Pink Lady apples at the West Side Market for one dollar. A few were a bit bruised, but they were perfect for cooking with. Every time I take one out, I think "A dollar!" in my head, so happy am I of this great luck. I've been thinking of lots of delicious apple recipes, but as it turns out so far I've ended up making only one apple recipe twice because it was so delicious the first time. Dutch Babies are a tradition in Devin's family where they are baked plain and then topped with a delicious sauce of fruit, butter, and sugar. I came across this recipe with apples and had to try it. Typically it is made in a cast iron skillet, but we don't have one of those, so I just use a glass pie plate. You could also divide it up into individual portions using a muffin tin. The batter is almost identical to Yorkshire Pudding batter and I follow the rules of my English grandmother here- all ingredients at room temperature.

Apple Dutch Baby

2 apples peeled, cored and sliced
1 1/2 Tablespoon butter
1/3 C. sugar or honey (or more to taste and tartness of apples)
cinnamon to taste
3 lg eggs
3/4 C. milk
3/4 C. flour
1/4 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
In a skillet saute apples, butter, sugar,cinnamon until apples begin to soften.

Whisk together eggs and milk. Add to flour and salt and mix together.

If you are using a cast iron skillet you can just pour the batter right over the apples and pop it into the oven. If you aren't I like to melt a little butter in the pan I am using and place it in the oven for 3-5 minutes to heat up. Then I add the apple mixture and top with the batter.

Bake for 20 minutes.
Top with powdered sugar and cinnamon if desired.

I wish I had a picture for you, but it's most delicious when it's right out of the oven and disappears quickly, so...



I've been reading Abigail Thomas' memoir A Three Dog Life. The essays chronicle her life after her husband is in a terrible accident chasing after the dog in Manhattan traffic. After the accident, he lives in an assisted living facility existing in the most present tenses, unable to recall time after a few moments. I just wanted to share one of my favorite parts of the book, aside from when he calls dog's ears "velvet lily pads" which is so lovely and perfect.

Thomas is writing about the assisted living center's art studio where many of the residents spend time working on projects and finding new life through art. She tells this brief story: "There was a young man who had arrived at the Northeast Center angry and belligerent, as inclined to take a swing at you as not. He began showing up in Bill's studio and started to paint. Bill watched him become an artist, and gradually he stopped being at the mercy of his rages. He got well enough to leave the center and move to a group home. This is what he said to Bill before he left: "What is art, anyway, except not pounding on walls."

chill in the air

There's officially a chill in the air, and it's beginning to feel truly like fall. Even though there is bound to be a few serious warm-ups before fall is officially here, I'm excited that the crazy 90 plus days are gone. It means that I can finallymove my ridiculous mess from the dining room back up to my attic studio. I'm excited. I had so much fun "making over" the attic on a $20 budget. I'll be glad to get settled in again, though I will miss having a dog at my feet. Ramona's domain is the downstairs. The cats are the boss of the upstairs. They would like to hide out in the attic, but they just get into spots where they don't belong and get their white feet all dirty.

This air makes me want soup, so there's some simmering on the stove. This recipe again. If I remember correctly, it was my last hurrah before spring was really here. I've been really hungry for something Indian inspired and I think this will hit the spot. I've been reading Madhur Jaffrey's Climbing the Mango Trees and I've been dreaming of curries as I drift off to sleep. Another great Indian memoir is Monsoon Diary. It really introduced South Indian cuisine to me for the first time. I finally got to try it on a trip to Concord, Massachusetts of all places. It was one of our many destinations during our "Spring of Interviews". We went into Cambridge one night and had an amazing meal. I was finally able to eat a dosa. Since then, I've managed to track down a local restaurant the specializes in South Indian food. If you are in the area, it's called Udipi (from experience I can tell you that it may be called Udipi wherever you live) There's a great grocery next door as well.
When I think of all of those trips, I think of great Indian food. We seemed to eat it everywhere we went. Concord, Seattle, Chicago, Connecticut.


I love a memoir that incorporates food, because food has such strong associations with our memories. I think of Indian food and I remember Massachusetts, that's the way it works. I was excited about Concord for more than Indian food. I loved Little Women more than anything as a girl. I read her biography as a fourth grader and just immersed myself in those Alcotts. I would carry around a notebook a imagine I had a garret to escape to to write stories in. Susan Cheever recently wrote a book about the lives of the many famous Concord residents. American Bloomsbury was interesting, although I felt like I was left wanting more. The lives of Concord residents are worth looking into though.

For now, there's soup.

red

new inspiration

I bought this lot of vintage pins a few weeks ago at a flea market. I think they may have been grouped by political persuasion, but I"m not sure. My favorites are the Audubon Society pin and the "comrades" one. It ended up being the inspiration for my next project.I've been collecting vintage illustrations, in particular those from old reference books. After a little trial and error, I'm really excited with the end results:
brooches

barrettes


I really love them so, so much. I hope that there are some other people out there who will love them too. I keep passing by them and looking at them. I can't seem to help myself. I hope to add this batch to my shop as soon as possible.

It hasn't been easy working on things in this heat. I did make a delicious strawberry tart from this recipe.It was the perfect weather to enjoy this dessert, but not so much the perfect to make it. But, it came out alright and we managed to have seconds.

deliciousness

from Max's deli.

blueberry consolation

Isn't this picture fantastic? I wish that I could say that I took it, but I didn't. My brother and my best friend, otherwise known as Nate and Hannah, took a trip to Assateague Island.They are actually there right now. ( Did I mention how lovely and convenient it is when your brother and best friend are a couple?)They sent these via camera phone. We were supposed to go with them, but just couldn't manage it. I think a few days of beach and camping and wild horses is just what I needed,so i was pretty bummed that we couldn't go. I also wanted to be there when my little brother saw the ocean for the first time.But, I do have a great picture of it:



So on a chilly and disappointing day, baking was in order. I've been wanting to make some muffins every since I read this post. I actually have that Ina Garten cookbook, but I'd never baked the muffins. They were exactly what I wanted. The batter was gorgeous, the muffins were gorgeous, the texture wonderful. I've really been wanting the blueberry muffins I remember from my childhood, when muffins were really good, not just big and sickly sweet.


I'm sure that part of the wonder of these muffins is that I made them with butter and eggs and sour cream (albeit light sour cream), when most muffins around here involve flax seed and wheat germ and whole wheat flour. Don't get me wrong, these can be delicious and certainly have their place, but it's just not always what you want.
I love when you make something and the process feels effortless and the result is all that you hoped for.I think this recipe will become a regular around here, even if it alternated with something flax-high fiber.

long weekend

Memorial Day weekend has always been a busy one in my family. I was born the day after, and wouldn't you know it, my other half was born on Memorial Day. Because of this it's always a bit of a two for one holiday,or now, a three for one. This was the first year that we hosted something and it was nice to have everyone there and to get to have it by the lake. We made a vegetarian version of this delicious sandwich. There were lots of leftovers to enjoy as well. Even though it sometimes stresses me out a little, I really thrive on planning these sorts of things. I especially love the details, like hording my used coffee cans to use for a centerpiece.The problem is I suffer from post even let-down. It always happens. After all the hustle and bustle and company, I'm always a little sad it's over.

So, today was rebound day. We took a crazily long walk for frozen custard happy hour. Mondays, 99 cent cones at Rosati's. That alone can cheer a girl up, but then there was this sale. Patterns were only 99 cents, and I thought I might randomly grab a skirt pattern or two. Then I spotted the Built By Wendy patterns. I thought that there was no way they were part of the sale. I really love them, but at $15 a piece and being a completely novice seamstress, I can't begin to justify it. So,I hesitatingly, took four to the front and wouldn't you know it...99 cents! Built By Wendy patterns for the price of a happy hour ice cream cone. Now I just need for my studio to not be 110 degrees right now...

what do tea and windsurfers have in common?

We're a bit under the weather around here. Devin started it and I followed about 8 hours later. Just a scratchy case of the sniffles, but a bit miserable nonetheless. When I'm not feeling well the first thing I want is a cup of tea. I'm all for the healing properties of green tea and white tea and well as most herbal teas and all of their incarnations, but when I really need comforting there's only one thing that will do. A good cup of strong English tea. I've written about this English thing before When I really want to be coddled I want it with milk and sugar, just like my grandma made for me when I was kid. Later,if I have a cold, I usually switch to lemon and honey. I've gotten pretty good at making a cup of tea, but it still tends to be inconsistent. My grandmother, on the other hand, gets it just right every time. I guess 80 plus years of practice will do that to you. My mom is pretty good, too. She must have figured it was her duty as a good daughter in law.
Here are my grandma's guidelines for perfect tea: (although she gets it perfect even when it's just a mug and a teabag)
Put the kettle on.
Fill teapot with hot water and set aside.
When water is close to boiling, pour out the water.
Add tea. Loose is best. One teaspoon per cup, plus one for the pot.(I usually follow the same rule with bags if I'm using them)
When water is boiling (It has to be boiling,not just close), bring the pot to the kettle.This is the rule, I always remember. According to my grandma, the kettle cools too much on it's trip the teapot.
Steep to desired strength.
Of course, all the rules don't mean much when the steeping is left to concept as opposed to a set number, and it seems to be where I often go wrong and just miss the mark.Also, most of the tea rules in my family only surround it's brewing and not so much the drinking. My family is strictly working class bakers, so there's none of this pinky raising business.Although, my grandma does bake a mean empire cookieAnybody else have any good grandma tips?

Speaking of my grandma, I was getting summer clothes out of the attic and among them was this treasure:

Both my brother and I had a pretty strong recollection of this skirt and I've been badgering my grandma about it for a couple of years. Last spring, she found it for me. I'm pretty sure she's past her windsurfer print skirt days. Yes ,those are indeed bikini clad windsurfers.

The waist elastic needs to be replaced, but it's really comfy.Thankfully, I'm not past my windsurfer print skirt days just yet.

sunny sunday

coffee outside::lazy dog watching airplanes::winter things packed away::laundry on the line::wildflowers planted::clean car::new sunglasses::this jacket::the long winters::

a walk through the cultural gardens::

Three Bernese Mountain Dogs::gelato under umbrellas::

falafel & chickpea fattoush::the new issue of Blueprint::
More photos here.

who knew?

I have a thing for foreign candy. More specifically, candy of the British variety. This is almost entirely due to the fact that my dad was born in England, so there is this heady nostalgia surrounding all things Cadbury, Quality Street, and Wine Gum related.I think I may have gotten heart palpitations when I saw the Cadbury machines in the London Underground. My best friend's father is randomly from the same town in England as my father, so this affection is even further amplified. Some of her first memories are of getting wine gums from my grandpa in church. Her uncle designed the first Quality Street tin.So for all of these reasons, trips across the border to Canada always involve hauling lots and lots of English confections. There are,of course other venues to purchase these goods. Indian Grocers can be successful as well as fancy grocery stores and places like World Market, or even better, when we lived in Cincinnati,Jungle Jims. But then, an ordinary candy bar costs like $2 bucks, making it something special, and thus the reason why I put off eating them until they are way,way past their prime.

So, you can imagine how I felt when I spotted a Coffee Crisp recently. First it was in a vending machine in Dr.'s office. Really strange, I thought.Maybe the vending company got an odd lot from Canada. It is just across the lake. Then, today, There they were at Discount Drug Mart 2/$1.00. I resisted my inclination to stock up on them and bought just one. In case you've never enjoyed one, a Coffee Crisp is much like a Nutty Bar,only instead of peanut butter cream it is coffee flavored cream. It makes it seem a little more adult and legitimate that way. When I sat down to write this entry,I went looking for a Coffee Crisp webpage, and low and behold, there has been an entire campaign devoted to bringing the Coffee Crisp to the states. Seriously, it was incredibly successful and you can read about it here. It's kinda crazy and a little cool to know that across the country people were being mobilized to demand the right to buy this candy bar.Of course, we all know that scarcity creates desire and once they are at every gas station and drug store, their elusiveness will only be legend. My future children may never know a world without Coffee Crisp.

delicious

I promised a recipe from our trip to the market yesterday. It's really one of my favorites. It's quick, easy, comforting, pretty healthy, and easily adaptable to any ingredients you prefer or have around the house. It's based upon the Nigella Lawson recipe for Double Potato Halloumi Bake. I am in love with salty ,squeakiness of halloumi, and there are very few things that it doesn't go wonderfully with. It's getting to be pretty widely available at most larger grocery stores with a specialty cheese section. If you live somewhere with a middle eastern market, it is often much less expensive purchased there- and you can probably pick up some other great stuff for your meal. I love ethnic markets, but that's another post.

Preheat the oven to around 400. Fill a roaster pan with chopped vegetables of your choice. Last night I used red onion, red pepper, yellow pepper, green pepper, and russian and french fingerling potatoes. You could include anything else you'd like : tomatoes, mushrooms, zucchini, broccoli,sweet potatoes, squash, you name it.

Toss to coat with olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic, any other spices you prefer. I really like sumac with this. I'm not sure if this is available most places, but it can be found at any Middle Eastern store. It's dark red like chili powder and has a slightly sour, citrus taste. It's really good spinkled over hummus.


Cover with foil an bake for around 30 minutes, until the potatoes are fairly tender. Then remove the foil and roast uncovered for another 10-15 minutes depending on how brown you like your vegetables.

Now, you can add the cheese if you like. We didn't have halloumi, so I threw some feta on instead. Place under the broiler until cheese begins to brown and melt. That's it. If you have any fresh herbs around, you can sprinkle some on top. I happened to have basil, so I added that. Parsley and even mint would be good here,too.

We had it with an asiago garlic baguette we had saved in the freezer. It would be really good with flatbread or as a sidedish.
The leftovers are really good. I made extra just for this reason. It's good with eggs, on the side, in a frittata or quiche. It would probably even be a good filling for enchiladas. In the past I've added sausage (the fake kind) and peas and topped with mashed potatoes for Shepherd's Pie.

Out & About

We enjoyed yesterday's amazing weather with some ouside time: yard work, carwash, a trip to the beach. We really missed the beach while we were landlocked for a few months.

Today, we made a trip to the West Side Market. It is by far one of my most favorite spots in the city. Because of the number of merchants, competition creates the greatest deals on produce. Inside, there is a huge selection of specialty food stalls with great coffee, gorgeous spices, tempting baked goods, and also a huge meat seafood area if you are into that sort of thing.


Chocolate Cake packages we managed to resist:

Fresh pasta at Ohio City Pasta:

Vegetables!



Afterwards, we headed down the street the SPACES gallery to check out their annual Art Mart.
We managed to make a delicious dinner with our market haul. I'll share the pictures and a recipe tomorrow.