10 10 / 2011
Sunday dinner.
Fresh basil from McKinney Farmer’s Market, chicken from Natural Grocers, and rosemary from our garden. Threw everything in a dutch oven with sea salt, pepper, fingerling potatoes, and a few slices of onion and 1/4 cup red wine. A perfect Sunday dinner!
21 9 / 2011
Spicy Garlic Olive Oil, roasted Tomatoes and Le Creuset.
A little “ask and ye shall receive” action fell upon me today. We were at the local thrift perusing their racks of Halloween costumes and Chad walks up to me holding not one, but two Le Creuset skillets, a 6 in. and a 9 in. HAPPY DANCE!! And the price you ask?? $1 and $2!! So for the grand total of $3, we scored 2 pans, worth over $200. I can still feel Willy Wonka’s “I’ve got the golden ticket” rising up in me! SCORE!!!!
Moving on to food. So to begin, we’ve become hooked on flavored balsamics. I mean why have boring old balsamic dressing when you can have your salad drenched in a blueberry or perhaps a peach balsamic. Flavored balsamic’s best friend is a little guy named flavored olive oil. Too many nuances seem involved to infuse fruit into vinegar, but creating a flavored olive oil…I think I can do. And may I present, the new kid in the schoolyard, Spicy Garlic Olive Oil (SGOO), and I can’t think of a better way to use it than drizzling over slow roasted tomatoes. Enjoy and recipes at the bottom!
SPICY GARLIC OLIVE OIL-combine chopped fresh garlic and red pepper flakes with extra virgin olive oil in a glass container with a tight fitting lid. Marinate 1-2 weeks before use. The amount of each is totally up to you. For the container above, I used 2 big cloves of garlic and 2 tbs of flakes.
SLOW ROASTED TOMATOES
Cut under ripe tomatoes into 1/2 slices and place in an oven safe baking dish. Drizzle with SGOO, then top with dried basil (fresh would be great as well), thinly sliced fresh garlic, salt and pepper. Roast in oven for 2-3 hours at 200 degrees. These did not get too dried out which is what I wanted. But using a smaller tomato such as a roma, or even cherry tomatoes cut lengthwise would work just fine and would shrivel much more than these did.
20 9 / 2011
Another, please.
{ via le creuset }
I’m lucky enough to live near a Le Creuset outlet and a few xmas’s ago, my Dad treated me to a whole set. My husband bought my first one, a big stock pot in the color Flame. However, I’m feeling the need to treat myself this fall. I have them in a myriad of colors which I think is much more flavorful than having all the same. Which color would you choose?
17 9 / 2011
Container LOVE.
image via decorology via pinterest.
The cabinet (without doors!!), the open display of everyday items, even the cat, go against my minimalist, mid century modern, no indoor pet ways…..and I love it. I may have to change a few things.
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14 9 / 2011
Living outside (inside) the box.
I’ve been guilty of thinking more than once “If only I lived there”. Let’s face it. Sometimes the floor plan and crown moulding look greener on the other side. The temptation to cheat on my digs usually arises when I spy a piece of lovely decor that I don’t think fits into the make and model of my current “box”.
A chance meeting with a fellow “craigslister” may have cured my wandering ways. From the curb the home looked like most on the street, a brick box in a builder’s neighborhood. But what was inside led me to the realization that style doesn’t have to be defined by neighborhood and making the most of what you have is by no means an excuse to settle with mediocre space, but a reason to embrace great design in your surroundings. So, EMBRACE YOUR SPACE AND LIVE OUTSIDE (INSIDE) THE BOX!
photos courtesy of melinda michelle photography
Wreaths can really change the look and feel of a space.
Industrial chic!
The empty frame behind the sculpture is a GREAT idea!
If can’t fit a lamp beside the bed, put one at the foot!
Making art out of scrap metal (literally!).
13 9 / 2011
Quack Quack!! Scrambled Duck Eggs and GLEAN.
glean
Verb/glēn/
1. Extract (information) from various sources.
2. Collect gradually and bit by bit
The definition of glean is exactly what this blog is going to be about. I was inspired by the author of design sponge and a need to enhance my writing skills after a recent dip in the journalistic pool. So, here is a new blog. It’s going to be a place where I will share everything that I “glean” bits of inspiration from. I want this to be a meeting place (visualize a pool) of ideas and people, so please send pictures and stories of all that inspires you from that new restaurant in town to the vintage jacket you found at the thrift store. The globe is full of unique ideas, people, places and stories. When we stop, listen, look, and “glean” from them, we create our own unique worlds!
I went to France for breakfast last Sunday thanks to Local Yocal’s scrumptious offerings.
Ever since LY posted that they had duck eggs in stock, I was intrigued. I called my Mom and she immediately
retold stories of my grandmother and great-grandmother searching for duck eggs to bake with. Supposedly, duck eggs
make the best baked goods. Who knew?
Anyway, I love to bake, but I wanted to experience duck eggs by themself, not the cake it was in if you know what I mean.
So, this past Sunday, I hauled the dozen i bought out of the fridge along with day old mushrooms left over from a LY steak dinner
a few nights before, butter, cheese, and Village Bakery’s rosemary bread. Ten minutes later, we were knee deep in European
decadence. We whipped up what probably would have been a $15 to $20 per plate breakfast for mere dollars. The combination
was 10.5 on the flavor scale and it was a good change for my taste buds.
All I can say is, duck eggs are here to stay in this house. Can’t wait for my trip to
France next Sunday morning!!!
Scrambled Duck Eggs on Rosemary Bread with mushrooms (serves 4)
6 duck eggs
1/8 cup cream or milk
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
butter for toast and skillet
button mushrooms (cooked in butter and red wine and sprinkled with sea salt)
Village Bakery Rosemary bread
sea salt and pepper to taste
beat duck eggs and cream together with a fork or whisk
scramble on skillet adding the parmesan cheese, salt and pepper when the eggs begin to come together
toast and butter the rosemary bread
serve eggs on top of rosemary bread with warm mushrooms on the side
