Comfy

I resist posting a lot of pictures of Lola for fear of becoming one of "those" dog people (I am for sure, but you know, I like to play it cool). But today I really wish I were cuddling on the couch with this little monkey instead of spending the day at work...

Linda & Harriett

Its pretty safe to say that Linda & Harriett is one of my favorite stationery stores. And in the same way I still enjoy it when school supplies start populating the stores again, I love getting a glimpse of next years calendars! Linda & Harriet revealed their 2010 calendar today, which has an added bonus - at the end of the month, you can cut out a postcard that's formatted on the back and send a handwritten note to a friend. Swoon!

notakeout

One of the most frequently heard questions at our house is, "What are we going to have for dinner?" Drives me nuts. We'll be really good about planning out two weeks worth of menus and getting the corresponding groceries, and then those groceries will run out and there will be days of no food and confusion. We both work, we both like to cook, but the reality is that by the time we get home, waiting an hour to cook something just isn't an option.

So this week I found a link to notakeout and I have to say, I am interested. The subscription is free and they send you an email every day telling you what you're having, what to pick up at the store on your way home, how to quickly cook it, and even what wine pairs well with the meal (because let's face it - dinner without a glass of wine in our house is a rarity). And if you're more into planning out meals and going to the store once, they have archives.

Have you ever tried notakeout, or something similar? What's your strategy for meal planning and the inevitable "what's for dinner" question?

Still Life

I am not sure what it is, but paintings of everyday household items make my happy. We have one of mason jars hanging in our living room and if I had the means I would love to have one of these from Holly Farrell {found via Urban Grace}. They remind me of my Grandma's kitchen.

Fuji, Please

I am becoming more like my Mom. In almost every sense I would say that is a good thing, but there is a disturbing trait that I am starting to display, one that I have harassed her about for years on end.

See - my Mom is the person that waves at you when you're actually waving at your friend, who happens to be standing behind her. Those Madonna-like headphone/microphone ensembles that the employees wear at stores like The Gap and Old Navy? She almost always thinks they're talking to her, when they are in fact asking the dressing room attendant for a price check on a cardigan. Herein lies the disturbing part...

A couple of weeks ago I was at Trader Joe's over lunch. I love fuji apples and eat them several times a week for breakfast, so I headed over to the apple section to replenish my supply. In case you haven't been there, this is the point in the story where I should mention that Trader Joe's employees are really friendly. They're chipper and bubbly, always helpful, and just excited enough that if I didn't love their food I would probably hate them. So that is why, when I was scanning the apple bins, engrossed in the search for my beloved fujis and someone walked up and said, "Honey - what kind do you want?" I assumed it was an energetic, hawaiian shirt clad employee, stopping by to help me pick out my apples.

I said, "Oh, thank you! I am looking for the Fujis" and then looked up to see a Mom, holding her daughter's hand and asking the child what kind of apples she wanted. They both stared at me for several seconds before I resumed my apple bin picking, face bright red with embarrassment. Its now only a matter of time before I can no longer shop at The Gap and will have to resist waving at anyone on the street, even if I am sure its my husband. Thanks, Mom.

{Photo from cannelle et vanille's flickr stream}

Set Your Course...

{Image from Anthropologie}

Favorite Cookies - Update

For a family party this weekend, I made these chocolate chip cookies again (I can only make them when large amounts of people are involved in their consumption, lest I eat the entire batch myself). Instead of adding in the required 3/4 teaspoons of regular salt, I added about 2 teaspoons of sea salt. And just when you think it can't get any better - it does! I love things that are both salty and sweet - there is something about the combination that gets me every time. If you feel the same definitely give this updated version a shot, but out of fear for your waistline be sure to have some people around to share them with. {Original recipe right here}

Homemade Pizza

We actually eat a lot of homemade pizza at our house - sometimes just a regular margherita and often barbecue chicken - but usually with dough from Trader Joe's (its only about $1.99 and always turns out well). This past Friday I decided to try my hand at making dough from scratch, and I am happy to report it was surprisingly easy. You don't even need a mixer! We had some extra andouille chicken sausage, so I used that to make the actual pizza which turned out equally as good. Both recipes are below, with the dough instructions adapted from Smitten Kitchen:

Pizza Dough (makes aprox. one 14" pizza)
3 cups flour
2 teaspoons salt
1.5 teaspoon active dry yeast (about one packet)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup lukewarm water

Stir the flour, salt, and yeast into a bowl until they are adequately mixed. Slowly add the olive oil and then the water - at this point its best to just ditch the spoon and mix them together with your hands. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead it for about two minutes. If you're having trouble getting it all to stick together, definitely read Deb's post.

Grease the bowl you used to mix everything together with either a bit of olive oil or cooking spray (I used olive oil) and put the dough back in the bowl. Move it around so its coated with oil, then cover it with saran wrap and let it sit until it doubles in size - it took mine about an hour.

After it's doubled, knead the dough for another few seconds so that all the air is removed. Then put it back in the bowl to sit for another 20 minutes. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. After that, roll it out, add your ingredients, and put it in the oven for 10 minutes. We ditched our pizza stone awhile ago in favor of putting the pizza on some parchment paper and then placing it directly on the rack. It makes the bottom of the crust a little crispier and cooks more thoroughly. Just be careful when you're taking it out (a cutting board underneath works well)...sadly, I speak from experience. There was a flaming cheese incident.

Andouille Sausage Pizza:
1 heaping tsp. Olive Oil
4oz. Andouille Chicken Sausage, sliced
1/4 Red Onion, chopped
1/4 tsp dried basil
Mozzarella Cheese

For the pizza, swirl the olive oil around like you would a sauce and then use a pastry brush to distribute it evenly. Add the sliced sausage and onion, then as much cheese as you like. Sprinkle the top with the basil and follow the baking instructions above.

Book Report: A Homemade Life

I am actually quite sorry to say that I have just now gotten around to reading this book, because I knew all along that I would love it. I've been reading Molly Wizenberg's blog, Orangette, for quite awhile now (that includes hours of mining through archives) and was certain the book would be equally as charming as her blog. It didn't disappoint.

Molly has a way of writing that makes you feel like you know her, and when she shares a recipe its as if an old friend has passed along a secret. She met her husband through the blog, and you can go back and read the chronicles that lead up to their wedding (and we all know how much I love a good wedding story). Her banana bread with chocolate will make you a lifetime convert, so I can hardly explain my need to try her Winning Hearts and Minds Cake. I haven't yet had a good excuse to make it, and if I don't have a reason to share it that just means I will quite certainly eat the entire thing myself, which won't end well for anyone involved.

So this is a long winded way of saying, I love the book so much I am tempted to sleep with it under my pillow. And I'll be sure to let you know how that cake thing turns out. {Image above is from Kristina, because she's amazing like that and took a better picture of the book than the publisher}

Goop

Do you subscribe to Goop? It's a site written by Gwyneth Paltrow, and each week you receive a newsletter with a different topic - Make, Do, Get, Be, etc. I have to admit that I was a little hesitant about the whole thing at first, but I really do like a lot of the recipes and advice that she shares. Today's Goop was "Make" which means it includes several healthy (and usually pretty easy to make) recipes.

The newest newsletter doesn't seem to be up on the site yet, but the recipe for the chicken salad pictured above looks too good not to share. Hopefully you can follow this link and print it for yourself, but if not I've copied it below:

SERVES: 4

TIME: 20 minutes

2 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken

1 large stalk celery, cut into 1/4” dice

1/2 green apple, peeled and cut into 1/4” dice

1/3 cup toasted walnuts, roughly chopped

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

2 scallions, thinly sliced

2 handfuls arugula, roughly chopped

1/2 cup Veganaise, or your favorite mayonnaise

2 teaspoons fresh lime juice

coarse salt to taste (about 1/2 teaspoon)

freshly ground black pepper to taste (about 1/2 teaspoon)

Stir everything together.

The Fabric Society

Not only do I love this handmade hemp table runner from The Fabric Society, I wish I could sit at that table and have an evening meal. It's one of the things I dislike about living in a condo - I would love to have a place (and a climate) that would allow for eating dinner outside most nights.