| week number six

| taste testing

Giver's Log is a site I follow via my lovely google reader (whatever would I do without that thing?), thanks to a friend of mine who thought I'd enjoy the gift wrapping ideas (which I do!). A few weeks ago, I happened upon a post requesting taste testers. I quickly commented, hoping I was speedy enough to be chosen. Sure enough, I was!

Amber, of Giver's Log, was kind enough to mail not only one but two tasting samples to a friend's address who we were visiting in Chicago the next week. Fully intent on documenting our mini tasting party, I brought my camera.

I'll let the pictures do the work, but I will say that we really should have tasting parties more often. Who knew they could be so much fun?

If our samples were any indication, you're going to want to hop on over to Amber's shop when it opens later this month and snatch up some hot chocolate for yourself! You can read more about it here and here. Yum! Seriously, it's like Europe style hot chocolate. Swiss Miss dreams of being this good.

Carefully reading the instructions.

Notice our excellent choice in milk, for those of you in the Chicago area.

Becky, nicely stirring the first sample, as it heats up.

Whoever said sake cups were limited only to sake?

Sample number two, er, technically number 13 as they were labeled.

Our very official looking notes.

Thanks, Amber, for some wonderful samples! Can't wait til the store is open :)

| day three of thirty.

[making dinner in the crock pot]

PSA : Do not mix cooking with Lightroom

Oh, Lightroom... how I love you. But you make me burn my waffles. I get distracted by all your buttons and presets and then I google "lightroom presets" and find myself showered with links to hundreds of free download-able presets and I get engrossed in organizing them (B/W, Vintage, Infrared, Holga) and I start to laboriously test them out on different photos, going back and forth between the presets and all the while I'm supposed to be supervising my waffle maker so that it doesn't burn my triple batch of yummy waffles. (Note: making a triple batch of waffles allows you to have WEEKS' worth of frozen waffles that can be grabbed and popped into the toaster at any time.) But nooooo... you, Lightroom, not only distract me long enough to burn one set of waffles, you have the power to distracted me AGAIN, after I've already chastised myself for thinking I could manage both things at once, and I burn them AGAIN. Not once, but twice. Well you will not fool me a third time, mainly because I'm out of batter. sigh.

This is an example of one of the B/W presets that is WAY contrasty (okay, apparently that's actually a word because it's not putting that nice little "red line" hint underneath it, huh.) but I really like how it looks applied to this picture from my brother in law and sister in law's wedding.

PSA : FREE ice cream!

Tomorrow is :


Read more about it and find a participating Ben and Jerry's near you! I'm sure they're doing it in honor of our one year anniversary of living here. :)

orvieto

All little info on Orvieto:

Elevation: 1,066 ft
Area: 108.5 sq miles
Population: 21,000
Region: Umbria
Name origin: "ancient city" urbs vetus in Latin

|View of Orvieto from our hike to a convent nearby : I love how it just sits atop the rock, above everything else.|

|Close up of Il Duomo, Orvieto - where I attended mass on Sundays|

|Some laundry hanging on a line off of Corso Cavour : Nearly everyone line dries their clothing as a way to conserve energy costs.|

|Fruit stand of a shop off the Corso : Apple = Mele|

featuring : Teri Lyn Fisher and others

Somehow I stumbled upon Teri Lyn Fisher last week and wanted to share her great photography with all of you. She also has a great food blog here. It combines great food with awesome photography... warning it may make you hungry. {Picture credit for above goes to her}

Then I wandered onto this little ditty: A girl and her polaroids. Fun stuff there too.

Happy Fauschnaut Day!

"According to Pennsylvania Dutch folklore, the tradition of serving fastnachts - hearty, doughnut-like pastries - comes from the tradition of "using up the fat in the kitchen" before Lent."

And so today, in honor of Fat Tuesday/Shrove Tuesday/Fastnacht Day (spelled many ways) I decided to make some! I told myself that I wasn't going to demand perfection, just the act of having the courage to try it was enough. It's amazing what happens when you give yourself that kind of freedom. It was so enjoyable. I made about 2 dozen little fried up dough squares, sprinkled them with powdered sugar and shared them with the Salon below us. And they were quite yummy to boot!

lunch excursions

Typically during the lunchtime hours, one of two things happens for me. 1) I grab a quick bite and continuing working while I eat or 2) I go to the gym to workout, take a quick shower and rush back to keep working. Last evening I decided that I would take an actual lunch today and step out of the apartment for reasons other than the gym. (on a side note... if it weren't for the gym and church, I could go weeks without ever leaving our place, seriously - especially in the winter)

So today I will venture out into the heat wave of 38°F. Above freezing! Rejoice! Here's a list of my preplanned destinations:

1. Geppetto's Toy Box on Lake Street. This has become my favorite toy shop since we moved here. The owners are great and the selection is wonderful. It's full of European toys made from wood, building blocks, games that actually make you think and have a strategy, puzzles, dress up clothes... it's just great. I have my first baby shower on Saturday so I'm using that as an excuse to shop there and make a purchase for once. What do you get someone who is having twins that's not cheesy?



2. Possible stop at the library. I love my public library. On my list (yes, I like lists) of books to read, suggested by friends: a)Life Signs b) The Wisdom of Tenderness c) Each Little Bird that Sings d) Chasing Vermeer e) The Wright 3 note: the last 3 are children's books


3. Swing into Starbucks for a lovely afternoon pick me up of Apple Chai. Imagine apple cider with caffeine. I'm not usually a big fan of caffeine, I so rarely ingest it that when I do I feel like my mind is buzzing and I have a hard time staying in my seat, BUT... this is so delicious that I'm willing to take the chance.

4. Trader Joe's: we need milk.

Maybe I'll take my camera along and share my jaunt around town. We'll see. Either way, lunch time sounds lovely today.

inspiration

One of the lovely gifts I received on my birthday was this mug from PaperSource. Unbeknown to the giver of this gift was the fact that I had actually had my eye on this mug for some time, secretly wanting to take it home with me. On Monday it came decked out in a Chinese New Year bag (as it was the Chinese New Year of the Ox) with some very yummy fair trade tea to accompany it.



This morning seemed a good time to try out my new mug and tea. I was not disappointed. The Ceylon Chai is quite lovely, with or without milk. And I fear I may have a new favorite tea company. You can find them right here at equalexchange.coop They even have a blog where you can read more about small tea farmers and fair trade.


It'll be a nice way to remind myself to "create" even on the days when I don't feel I have anything to contribute. Sometimes it's just a matter of getting the juices flowing. Or in this case, tea.

um... it got colder?

It does not seem to be warming up yet. M got up at 5 to go to the gym, until we realized it was -15ºF out and I made him crawl back in bed to keep me warm for another hour or so. And then it dropped another degree. I may try to venture out for yoga tonight, since I promised a friend but it's going to take layers of scarves and mittens to keep me warm.

On a warmer note: I stumbled upon this kitchen remodel yesterday via Design*Sponge. And I can't decide if I love the refrigerator or not. I love the idea, I love how it looks, but I realized that it would require keeping a very organized (and clean) refrigerator. I do have a knack for keeping a fairly tidy ice box and have been known to hunt down moldy, expired objects in others' kitchens while house-sitting, but this would take it to a new level.



See what I mean? Could you keep it clean enough?

another person has my job

Yet again, I found another person who unknowingly has my job. Well not MY current job, but the job I want, the job that would be just right for me. Last time it was the photographer from Philly. This time it's a gal who does "restaurant identity and food packaging." I know that doesn't really sound like much, but it basically means being the designer behind how the food is packaged and presented to the consumer. And doing the same for a restaurant (imagine interior designer + food). Making logos, coming up with a "brand look" for an item so that it is distinctive and easily recognizable in its own right.

Her name is Louise Fili. This is her site. And here are some samples of her work:




Plus, she teaches typography, her work is in the permanent collections of the Library of Congress and she also designs book jackets - need I say more? This woman is cool and I want her job. Oh, and I'm pretty sure she's got Italian roots.

For a sneak peek into her office check out design sponge.

my adventures this weekend

I've very excited to be headed to the Renegade Craft Fair : Holiday edition this weekend with some friends. We attempted to make it to the one this past fall but it rained heavily and we stayed home. We're going to grab some good BBQ lunch and check out what the fair has to offer. If you're in the Chicago area, consider stopping by!

The big news for today is that Trader Joe's is finally opening one block away from me. They open at 9am this morning and I plan on being there first thing to see what it has to offer. Maybe they'll have some freebie give aways for the first few customers!? I can only hope.



But first let's make sure I've got everything:
1. Showered and dressed : check. (You'd be amazed how many days this doesn't happen since I work from home)
2. Trash to put in the dumpster on my way out : check.
3. Scarf, mittens, hat, downed vest and winter coat : check. (It's currently a whopping EIGHT degrees here this morning)
4. Purse with money : check.
5. A material grocery bag to fit in with the "eco-friendly" Trader Joe's shoppers : check.
6. A watch to make sure I return in under a hour : check. (Work beckons)

I'm off!

Edited to add:

And I'm back! Wow! Who knew so many people wanted to grocery shop at 9am in the morning?! I got there just before they opened the doors. There was a camera crew, a ceremonious cutting of a lei and more employees to help out than you could imagine. It's a great store inside; not too big - nice and manageable. I walked out with some egg nog, milk, a soft pretzel stick (which was AMAZING) and a tin of peppermint bark for our gift exchange at our Sunday school Christmas party tomorrow evening. Plus, for arriving early I got a free Trader Joe's tote bag for future groceries!

Oh TJ, you're going to spoil me!

december brings with it snow and other tales from the holiday

Well! It's officially December, which I hardly cannot believe. I'm not nearly ready for the Christmas season and it's already underway. We woke up to a fresh layer of snow on the ground this morning! I guess it really is becoming winter.

The holiday went much too quickly and only now am I realizing I hardly took any pictures amidst the flurry of it all! Oh well.

The turkey turned out wonderfully! So good in fact, that I'm tempted to try another. Yea for brining! (see previous post) The results are below:


Our full list included:
Appetizers
Artichoke/Spinach dip with toasted french bread
Party Mix (both thanks to our new friend Beth)
Dinner
Turkey (as seen above) w/ stuffing and gravy
Cranberry sauce (of the lovely gelled in a can variety)
Lancaster County off the cob corn
Green bean casserole (a staple)
Twisted bread sticks
Parmesan Mashed Potatoes (thank you Barefoot Contessa)
Candied Yams
Dessert
Both Pumpkin and Apple pies (thanks to Mel)

Hope yours was just as enjoyable!

PS: I must add that I had wonderful help in the kitchen via my sister in law, who gave me moral support throughout the roasting process AND made the stuffing.

the brining of the turkey

We are in preparation for Thanksgiving! Monday night I put a pot on the stove and mixed together some Worcestershire Sauce, Kosher salt, garlic and brown sugar to make a brine.

Brine (lat. saltus) is water saturated or nearly saturated with salt (NaCl).

Once the solution had cooled (I had heated it to help dissolve the sugar and salt), I added it to the turkey bag with some careful pouring. The turkey now sits in its brine, in my bottom right vegetable drawer in the refrigerator. Quite convenient! It's a nice 12.26 pounder, so it should take about 3 1/2 hours to cook tomorrow.

Hopefully the brine will help it be as moist as possible. The idea is this: "When water flows out of the meat, salt flows in and begins to break down some of the proteins in the cells. In the broken down state, the molecules become more concentrated and the solute levels rise within the meat. This causes additional water to flow into the meat." (Thanks to Cooking For Engineers' site)

I'll keep you posted!

There's Henrietta in all her brining glory.
Because she's being so sacrificial,
I feel the need to take good care of her while she's in our home!
So yes, I named the turkey.

chai

It's a chai tea kind of Friday. I pulled out the cute little bee house teapot that my coworkers bought me for my birthday this past January and whipped up some chai on the stove. Yum!

(PS: I love the Bee House teapots... such cool designs)

peach crisp

Remember those peaches I talked about a few entries back? Well, yesterday I got the urge to make peach crisp for dessert. Once again, I traded white flour for whole wheat flour. I can tell more of a difference with this recipe than others, and would probably suggest sticking with white or doing half and half.

Peach Crisp
Fill pie plate with sliced peaches (I used about 3)
Sprinkle with cinnamon

Topping:
1 c flour
3/4 c sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 egg
1/2 c melted butter (one whole stick)

Mix all ingredients together, pat dough over top of peaches. (It may seem at first harder than it is, but once you start really patting things down, it does cover it all)

Bake at 350 F for 30-40 mins

Note: This can also be made with apples

banana bread

The banana bread turned out marvelously and I thought I'd share with you my recipe. It's my mom's recipe with a few slight tweaks to make it a bit "healthier." Or so I like to think. Admittedly, the applesauce was a substitution for vegetable oil because half way into making it, I realized I was out! But it turned out nicely and now I think I'll stick with it.

1 1/4 c whole wheat flour (instead of plain white flour)
1 c sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 c applesauce (this is in place of veg oil)
3 ripe bananas
2 eggs

Sift dry ingredients, beat eggs, mash bananas and add applesauce, combine all ingredients together and pour into greased baking pans. Bake at 350 F for about 35 mins or until toothpick comes out clean. Yum!

A little secret:
You can freeze bananas whole after they get ripe if you don't have time to be making bread right then.
I just put the whole thing in the freeze and pull it out the day I want to whip up a batch.
I let it thaw (or pop it in the microwave for a bit) and then snip off an end and squeeze out the "mush!"

Also, the stars you see hanging are handmade Moravian stars.
Takes a bit to get the hang of making them, but once you do, they're quite fun and easy!

design inspiration

This is the lime I mentioned yesterday. I felt the need to photograph it, since it was a bit intriguing, visually, to be looking at a black colored lime. It's paired along side some discarded cuttings from a handful of gladiolas I bought at the farmer's market two weekends ago. The urge to document them meant I was hovering over the kitchen sink with a tripod, turning on and off various lights, splashing water on the stems, manually combining droplets all in the name of getting just the right composition.

There are times that I think if one were to watch me set up a shot,
he or she would deem me quite silly in all my efforts.