Mar 17, 2012 | From the Kitchen, This Life
Beef and cabbage and probably a beer.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
The holiday wouldn’t be complete without a little Beef and Cabbage. . . though, not Corned Beef because I just can’t bring myself to eat it. And interestingly enough, it’s not really an Irish tradition. Â So, I rolled up my sleeves and spent the afternoon making hand pies instead.
This is actually a German recipe called Bierocks. Â However, just about every culture seems to want to claim beef and cabbage! Since it’s St. Patrick’s Day, we won’t tell anyone and just go with it!
I’ve had the recipe since I was a teenager, but it’s been years since I’ve made it. These were a staple in the early years of our marriage: being one of the few foods I walked down the aisle knowing how to make. There’s a bit of nostalgia involved — which is probably why IZ was so willing to pass on tradition this year! Clearly, I’m not that Irish—and trust me, if you read the foot notes this will seem the least of my transgressions.
These tasty pies are a time commitment, but well worth the effort. The recipe makes 24 pies and you can easily freeze the left-overs for later! Make sure you have some yummy mustard for dipping, and yes, they are amazing with a “pint”.
Mar 14, 2012 | In Photos
Baked Cherry Pie with my boy. Happy 3.14
Mar 6, 2012 | In Photos
Whew. (words tomorrow)
Mar 5, 2012 | This Life
Hello Monday. We meet again.
It’s another Monday and I don’t really have a post. The flowers are pretty, no? IZ bought me roses and I plopped them in a vintage tin for Saturday night’s dinner because I’ve lost my floral foam. That’s confusing? Let me explain. You see, I had a bag of paints and floral foam that magically disappeared in the midst of the construction chaos. Floral foam, meant I could have put the flowers in a vintage ceramic piece, but since I couldn’t find it, I used a tea tin instead. Because glass vases are, glass vases.
You’re wishing you hadn’t asked.
I told you I didn’t have a post.
But for the record, vintage tea tins are not typically water proof. Learned that the hard way. Good thing my table is glass topped. Anyhow, if you use one as a vase, line it in a bit of plastic. I like zip lock bags. I just cut it to size and line the tin before filling with water. 😀
As for dinner, I earned all those carbs (IZ made Linguini with bolognese sauce) cleaning this house. Can I tell  you how hard it is to actually do that when your house is a construction mess? But I did. Most of the week, in fact.  Much to my shame, unfinished spaces don’t lend themselves to cleaning. So, I spent all day Saturday fixing what I could fix and generally disinfecting the place. IZ relented and put the door knobs on all the interior doors (work left undone by people with tool belts) I didn’t bother to rehang the art, but then we have to paint soon anyhow. And then I just took a deep breath and let our friends in—despite the fact none of the interior doors to the kitchen are actually finished and my carpets are destroyed.
Fortunately, our guests are good sports and focused on what was done and beautiful and had the good tact to pretend they didn’t see the rest. I think we’ll keep them. 😀
So this is another Monday post. I don’t know if I’ll be here tomorrow considering the day. But I’m guessing Wednesday should be an earful. Until then, go plop some roses in a tea tin and greet the week.
Mar 1, 2012 | In Photos
We woke up to a dusting of snow this morning. Nothing permanent, probably just enough to utterly confuse the vegetation though. It certainly has me dreaming of warmer destinations and wondering exactly how it’s already March.
Feb 27, 2012 | This Life
I woke up to these  two sweet faces wishing me a Happy Birthday. My adorable (great) nephew’s grandmother made me a digital card with their photo in it. And of course I’m printing it out and hanging it in the studio for inspiration. It will be a wonder if Mireio doesn’t do a baby line eventually.
Feb 24, 2012 | This Life
Unvarnished
Finally. I’ve been lying about my age since my early 30’s. People would ask and I would reply, “Oh, I’m 42.” Â Lying up works, friends. It typically took a few minutes before people would realize that I was exaggerating. Some actually believed the ruse: “You look amazing for 42.” Yes, yes I did.
But all my fibbing has finally caught up to me. 42. Â This is me today. Basically unvarnished, save for a touch of mascara. I especially love the state of my hair in this photo, because those flyaways are with me always. This is how I really look. I’m rocking the thrift store plaid and yes, that’s cleavage. (the only upside to being 30 odd lbs over weight). Glamourous? No. Sexy? Hells yeah. I feel sexy because I’m discovering that sexy is a state of mind. I’m choosing it. (I think you should choose it too, because you can, you know!)
Here’s the thing, I’m not without faults. I do want to drop some lbs. I did it last year and then was undone by my grief over this house. So, I’d like to reclaim that victory. My skin isn’t what it used to be, but that’s just a really good excuse to splurge on moisturizer and pamper myself more. Â And let’s face it, I creak when I walk and I have a closet full of pretty shoes I’ll never wear again. However, other than the usual complaints (Um, what, food allergies?!?) I’m happy with me. Comfortable in my own skin. Â The stuff I need to work on is just that, not the definition of who I am. And certainly not the only description of me!
So, if you ask me how old I am, I’ll own up to it today. I’m 42. Which seems like a perfect number.
Feb 23, 2012 | From the Kitchen
This is so easy, it’s practically cheating.
Our new go-to bread:
I love fresh baked bread. But I’ll be honest; I’m not nearly as good at baking it as I am at eating it! It’s a lot of time invested for a product that can be so quickly demolished. As in seconds at our house. Buying an artisan loaf is no solution, either—those need to be consumed quickly or they go stale. Never being one to waste bread, I pretty much use that as an excuse to eat. Portion control goes right out the window.
So, lately I’ve been cheating. Using this idea for Parmesan Knots from Pinterest as a spring board, I’ve been making these ridiculously good (and super easy!) rolls with soup and pasta. The recipe uses canned biscuits and while I’m not a fan of much canned, Pillsbury makes a biscuit called “Simply” that isn’t loaded with weird ingredients or trans fats. While a bit pricier than its canned biscuit counterparts, it’s worth it to be able to pronounce all the words on the label. Not to mention, these actually taste good. Not like homemade biscuits by any measure, but also not like that weird processed flavor you usually get with the pop-top biscuit.
So, the method is easy. All you need is 1 Tb of olive oil and 1-2 t of your favorite seasoning salts. I use steak seasoning because we like things on the peppery side and it’s colorful and marries well with soup.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees*. Pour your olive oil in a shallow dish and spread the seasoning salt on a separate plate. Simply roll out  each biscuit in your hands until you have a rope of 6-8″.  Lightly coat with olive oil and then dunk in the seasoning salts. I only coat one “side” of the rope because the salts I use are so peppery. Then tie your dough rope into a knot and plop them into a muffin tin. Yes, “plop” is a culinary term. You should totally use it to impress your foodie friends.
Now, bake for 14 minutes*. Â Once done, they’re ready to eat and trust me, you won’t regret making these. So simple. So tasty. And at 110 calories each, easy portion control if you need it like I do. (Oh how I need portion control!)
Of course, nothing stops you from making more than one batch at a time, but that’s all on you. I had nothing to do with that!
*follow the baking instructions on your tin of biscuits.
Do you have an easy culinary “cheat I should know about? Spill it!
Feb 22, 2012 | Boy Wonder
Corners of our home: a watch and a half woven lanyard in the bathroom window. . . I’m always finding creative detritus left by this child.
Feb 21, 2012 | A House A Home, This Life
New Porch Light. That tiny stripe matches the haint blue porch ceiling.
I took a break this weekend that turned into an even bigger blogging break. Did “not much”. Â And now, I’m paying for my slothfulness. I don’t have a post here, though I’m sure I can string together enough words to disguise it. We’re just sort of treading water at the moment. The weather and the paper work on the house and my ever expanding waistline have me questioning my sanity. Remember all that sunshine we had in January? Yeah, well, we’re paying for it now in damp, grey, wet, gloomy, I could go on with the adjectives weather. My soul is water logged.
Anyhow, I stumbled upon this photo I took during January’s snow and never posted. It’s pretty, no? There’s no real point in this, other than I love that light. It’s a tiny reminder of blue skies and prettier days that are sure to come back around again. Someday.
And who knows, maybe I’ll have found a point by then?
