Monthly Archives: August 2012

A Brief Pause

August 30, 2012

There are sometimes these points in life that require us to step back and breathe, lest we be swallowed in exhaustion and defeat. I’ve been putting it off. It’s not in my nature to rest or admit weakness, but my body is clamoring, and I can ignore it no longer. Energy has been scarce these last few months and inspiration more so. Too much time has been devoted to the blog (and email and other related tasks) and not enough to my health and my family. I’ve been drowning, and though I’ve tried with all my might to pull myself …

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Eowyn’s Apple Pie with Vanilla Bean Gelato

August 28, 2012

There once was a little girl named Eowyn. Her hair was like golden silk, and her eyes glowed with innocence, though as she grew, a spark of mischief began to grow as well. Despite living in a region known for its abundance of apples, she hadn’t yet experienced the glory that is revealed when nature’s jewels are transformed into pie, not that it stopped her from exclaiming, at seemingly random intervals, “Apple pie!” “What’s that?” asked her mother. “Apple pie! Apple pie!” she said with joy and confidence. The mother was perplexed; she considered the past and was quite certain …

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My Week in Food {08.26.12}

August 26, 2012

This week has been both challenging and wonderful. Challenging because I’ve been feeling a little under the weather, struggling with neck pain, headaches, and stomach issues, but wonderful because these things have forced me to slow down and get some much needed rest. We had friends over on short notice yesterday, and more and more, I find some of our best meals are born out of these types of spontaneous gatherings. Our guests brought a (delicious!) salad, and we pieced together what we had to create a patchwork feast, including this grilled feta cheese and flatbread appetizer. I placed a …

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Chocolate-Painted Sugar Cones with Summer Fruit

August 21, 2012

It’s a happy day any time simplicity collides with oh-my-gosh-these-are-amazing, and it’s made better when I can get my girl in on the fun, too. Eowyn loves to paint; she gladly dips her paintbrush in the rainbow of colors squeezed onto leftover party plates, smearing them across the page and displaying her work with pride once it’s complete. “Woooow!” she says to me with bright eyes, and instantly I know those few moments playing together equaled time well spent. If painting is enjoyable with non-edible (yet also, thankfully, non-toxic!) matter, how much more so with chocolate. The idea for this …

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My Week in Food {08.19.12}

August 19, 2012

Happy Sunday, everyone! I’m kicking off today’s edition of My Week in Food with a jazzed up version of my favorite cookout item: bratwurst. I love a good sausage, and while I’m quite content to eat it simply with the accompaniment of classic yellow mustard, this time we made a topping of caramelized onions and peppers. Since it was one of the hottest days we’ve had thus far, we opted to use the burner accessory on our gas grill instead of cooking indoors. I warmed a cast iron skillet (a recent gift from my friend, Amy!) over medium high heat, …

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Fresh Fig, Prosciutto, and Goat Cheese Sandwich

August 17, 2012

You don’t have to cook fancy or complicated masterpieces – just good food from fresh ingredients.  -Julia Child The food world has been abuzz this past week as many have celebrated what would have been Julia Child’s 100th birthday. To be honest, I don’t know much about her life apart what was captured in the 2009 film, Julie and Julia, but what I do know of her, I adore. It seems she was a no-nonsense type of gal, practical, and full of wit. She was a pioneer, demystifying French cooking and presenting techniques to which “servantless, American cooks” could relate. I …

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Steel Cut Oat Breakfast Cookies

August 15, 2012

Cookies for breakfast? I’m thinking yes! Super sugary treats aren’t usually my thing, but add a touch of sweetness to any ordinary meal, and I’ll be downing it in no time. Instead of fighting my preference for sweet as I have often done in the past, I’ve decided to start using it to my advantage. Take these cookies, for example. The whole batch has only 1/3 cup of sugar (well, actually, it’s coconut palm sugar, but more on that in a moment), and it relies heavily on the natural sweetness of medjool dates. Between the steel cut oats, unsweetened coconut, …

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My Week in Food {08.12.2012}

August 12, 2012

This past week included its fair share of frozen pizza and scrambled eggs, but I do have a few highlights to share with you. These shrimp were peeled then marinated for about 30 minutes in a mixture of 1 tablespoon minced fresh mint, 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger, the juice of one lime, a swirl of extra virgin olive oil, plus salt and pepper. We had the grill on low heat for fear of burning them, but we decided that in the future we’ll have to crank it up just a smidge as they took a little longer than they …

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Broccoli-Carrot Salad

August 10, 2012

Dan and I made note of it during dinner last night. The air is still warm, but the heat is waning; autumn is just around the corner. Hopes of pumpkin patches and apple cider are beginning to rise, yet we are trying to enjoy the rest of summer, whatever may remain. For reasons unknown, the abundance of this season is more beautiful to me this year than in the past. Fresh produce is delicious indeed, and the bright colors of unique farmers’ market finds make me giddy with excitement. I know summer won’t last for long, that the coldness of …

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Roasted Blueberry Fool with Maple-Candied Walnuts

August 7, 2012

It may sound odd, but there’s something about typing up a recipe that I find mildly therapeutic. The sequence, the logic, the detail; it makes sense to me, and there lies a certain amount of comfort in the technical nature of it all. Art, for me, is laborious. I find it challenging, and I have to push myself to persevere in the frequent moments that I want to give up. Yet that is not so when it comes to numbers, instructions, and things with clear boundaries. I have often wished that I was more carefree and didn’t cling so tightly …

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