Friday, I'm in Love

...with this cake.  I want to make it stat; the recipe sounds wonderful.  

 

...with the fact that there has not been an earthquake or aftershock in over 24 hours here in Charlottesville!  I've talked to many people and read about different accounts of the quakes; they were similar to mine.  In short, I was scared out of my wits!  It was my first earthquake and hopefully the last one I experience for, well, forever, ha.  It's an eerie feeling when the ground is shaking beneath you, that's all I'm saying.

...with the fact that I'm having a bad hair day.  Not.

...with the fact that my house is hurricane ready.  A couple weeks ago, we had a severe thunderstorm and lost power at my house for about 25 hours (every single time there is a storm involving the slightest puff of wind, a tree blows down and onto a power line in my neck of the City).  When this happened, I had two candles in the entire house (should I be ashamed of that?), one was a tiny unscented pillar candle, and the other one was an awesome jar candle from Bath & Body Works, scented "Mango Cilantro."  I love the smell of this candle, but the cool thing about it is that you only have to burn it for 5-10 minutes for it to permeate the entire house.  I'm starting to think that this feature is not so cool.  You can imagine what happened after having it burn for a couple of hours.  I got the worst headache ever and had to blow out the candle (aka, it was night time and really dark) and sit in my room alone with a flashlight toward the ceiling for some semblance of an overhead light.  I don't really like sitting in the dark; plus, it was depressing.

We have four fireplaces in the house, and I had this vision for making a candle arrangement in the living room.  I am sure I ripped the idea from someone else, but I don't remember where...Anyway, I have a super quality image to "show off" the display after a trip to buy out World Market's supply of unscented ivory candles.  This picture was taken from my lovely phone, as I cannot find the battery charger that goes with my camera.  Awesome.  Anyway, besides those candles, I have some hurricane glasses (no pun intended) and many votive candles to brighten up the cottage if we do in fact lose power.  I should probably get some ice for my cooler...

In other news, my favorite sewing pattern company Colette Patterns is coming out with a book in November!!  The Colette Sewing Handbook.  I am chomping at the bit to get this book!  In fact, I may go ahead and pre-order it on Amazon.  If you have never tried their sewing patterns, I highly recommend them!  I can sing praises for Colette Patterns all day long, seriously.  Their patterns are darling, vintage-inspired pieces, and the instructions they provide for garment construction are well-thought, simple and just downright wonderful, not to mention that they have projects for all skill levels.  I have made the Sencha twice, and the Sorbetto twice as well with great results to show from both!  The Sorbetto is a free pattern download (click above), so if you want to give Colette a go before purchasing, it'd be a great project to dip your toes in the water!  I have Ginger on standby for an upcoming project for fall.  Check them out-they have great products and a great blog (and I know the book is going to be smashing!).  Here is the description of the five patterns in the book: "a scalloped-hem skirt, flutter-sleeve blouse, sweetheart neck sheath dress, asymmetrical flounce dress, and a lined dress with gathered sleeves"  They had me at Sarai Mitnick (owner/author/designer of Colette Patterns) and scalloped-hem skirt.  Happy Friday!

Fashion

Over the course of my life to date, I've made many things.  Several memorable ventures stick out in my mind such as:

• Glitter Play-Doh earrings with needles sticking out of them that I expected my mother to wear
• The classic I Love You Mom alphabet necklace--white round alphabet beads strung on hot pink flimsy thread as the "necklace" portion)
• A yellow gingham curtain for what I called the "playhouse," which in reality was a pig house with a flat metal roof that sat on the other side of the fence in my backyard.  Don't worry, there were no pigs in there.  Oh, and I wanted blue, teal and fuchsia sequin trim on it...
• Candles shaped and scented like desserts, such as cupcakes and chocolate chip cookies
• Glycerin soaps--once I made my grandmother a bar of cinnamon and oatmeal soap, in which all the contents sunk to the bottom of the bar.  :(

My days of craft have since improved and look more handmade in what I hope is an aesthetic way and not in a my-ten-year-old-made-this-for-you way.  I've become totally addicted to sewing apparel.  It's turning into my thing...Sewing clothing is great for me because I really enjoy sewing (so I'm going to spend the time and money on it anyway), and if I can wear what I sew then I don't have to buy as many clothes (not that I really have to buy clothes, but what girl doesn't like a new shirt every once in a while?). 

I have a suggestion for beginning apparel seamstresses:  start with a simple, A-line skirt, maybe even a wrap skirt (that was my first apparel project).  Skirts are more forgiving than shirts, as I learned when making my second piece of apparel, this white shirt.  And also, it is a good idea to become familiar with garment construction in general, as it will save you a lot of time.

If you're a super seamstress and/or thinking of opening a sweatshop to produce your fabulous designs (or you feel like doing something silly), you should play this game.  Fashion Incubator wrote a little review for it if you're interested in reading it. 

Yesterday, I ran across a craft that I'd never heard of or even considered.  It involves violently shaking a printer.  Check it out.

For dinner the other night, I fashioned a chicken parmigiana casserole.  I love casseroles for two reasons, deliciousness and longevity.  Hip hip hooray for casseroles! 

 Here's the recipe:

1/2 box thin spaghetti cooked al dente

2-3 cooked chicken breasts, cubed (I used a Rotisserie chicken)

1 1/2 jars red spaghetti sauce of your choice (I used 1 jar of Classico tomato and basil sauce and it was not enough because I like it super saucy)

fresh whole-milk Mozzarella, sliced

breadcrumbs (I used semi-stale sourdough bread made into crouton-sized toasted pieces)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  In a casserole dish, layer the ingredients in the following order: spaghetti, chicken, spaghetti sauce, Mozzarella, breadcrumbs.  Cover top with foil and bake for 30 minutes; remove foil and bake for another 5-10 minutes until breadcrumbs are golden.  Obviously, if you want to get gourmet, you could make your own sauce or add some fresh herbs, but I was in the mood for quick...if you try it out, tell me how it goes!

Avocado Tree

I have been on a huge avocado kick for the last week; I've eaten it almost every day.  H. says that my body is probably craving omega-3, but all I know is that I love me some avocado. 

I made a yummilicious dinner last night for my friend A. and myself.:  grilled, avocado and cheese sandwiches, zucchini boats and cheddar grits (just the instant kind, but I love them).

Grilled Avocado & Cheese Sandwich (there's a lot of slicing involved in this sandwich)

Layer in the following order and "grill" in a skillet:

1 slice of bread, buttered (butter-side down)

1 slice provolone cheese

3 slices cooked bacon

Avocado slices (I used 1/3 of an avocado for one sandwich)

2 tomato slices

1 slice provolone cheese

Last slice of bread, buttered (butter-side up)

Zucchini Boats

4 zucchinis

1/2 t. minced garlic

1/2 of a tomato, diced

2 T. sour cream

1/4 t. lemon pepper

Parmesan cheese, shredded

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cut each zucchini in half lengthwise (remove stem and blossom ends); set the zucchini halves aside on a baking sheet.  With a spoon, scoop out zucchini and chop.  In a skillet over medium heat, add 2. T. olive oil and saute garlic for about 1 minute.  Then add zucchini and lemon pepper and saute until tender (less than five minutes); stir in tomatoes and sour cream.  Remove from heat and evenly distribute sauteed vegetables among the zucchini halves.  Sprinkle the tops with Parmesan cheese.  Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes.

On Top of Spaghetti

When Mom and Dad were here this past weekend, I made dinner on Saturday night, spaghetti casserole, beer bread, corn and raspberries-on-the-bottom cake.  I love casseroles so much; I make the same ones over and over again in phases but I never grow tired of them.  Most of the time, I don't make totally-from-scratch-spaghetti-sauce for this, so don't think of me as a cheater.  Sometimes I feel like there's just not enough time in the day, but if there were more than 24, I'd be exhausted!

Without further ado, I present to you my broccoli-spaghetti casserole recipe.  Most of the time I make mine in a 13" x 9" Pyrex dish, but on Saturday I made it using my dutch oven on the stove top and it was awesome.  The great thing about this recipe is that it can be prepared in ADVANCE, how wonderful is that!  I made the sauce and cooked the noodles on Thursday night last week, stored them separate in the fridge and combined them and added the cheese while my bread was baking before dinner on Saturday!

R.'s Broccoli Spaghetti Casserole

1 lb. ground beef

1/2 t. minced garlic

2 jars Bertolli Organic Tomato and Basil pasta sauce

2 T. olive oil

2 T. Cabernet Sauvignon (or your favorite red wine; I use whatever is open but Cab. Sauv. is my favorite)

1 bag frozen Steamfresh broccoli florets

Thin spaghetti (I like to use linguine, too)

1 1/2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

Brown the ground beef in a dutch oven over medium heat; use a baster to remove the fat.  Add garlic and let simmer for about 1 minute.  Add both cans of pasta sauce and stir in olive oil, then stir in Cabernet Sauvignon.  Add frozen broccoli to the sauce; cover sauce and simmer for 30 minutes.

While the sauce is simmering, cook your spaghetti noodles (you'll need about half the box for this recipe, depending on the sauce-to-noodle ratio you like) according to the package directions.  Drain and rinse.  Incorporate the desired amount of cooked noodles into the sauce in the dutch oven, then top with mozzarella cheese and cover until cheese is melted, or you can pop it into the oven at 350 degrees F for about 15-20 minutes (or until cheese is brown).  I did mine on the stove top because I was baking some beer bread in my oven, which only houses one rack.  Try it out and let me know what you think!

Greener

My eyes are green, my favorite color is green, my favorite bowls in the kitchen are green, the mug on my desk at work is green, how much greener can my life get?  I understand the ecological pun this question poses, but let's not dwell on that; I eat healthy, people, and while that doesn't mean "organic," it does mean healthy.  I also reuse grocery bags in trash cans.  Enough said.

Green beans are one of my favorite things to eat, and I mean, they're right up there with mashed potatoes and chocolate cake.  It may come as a surprise to you that the first time I ever ate green bean casserole was about a year ago (made by Javalady).  If you think your mouth is on the floor, I wish you could see mine.  Green bean casserole is a revelation, and whoever thought it up over at Campbell's in the 1950's struck gold (in my opinion)!  Last night, I made the first of a long line of green bean casseroles.  I altered the recipe slightly, as I didn't have any milk, and I added a few more fried onions.  So here's my variation:

Green Bean Casserole

1 can Cream of Mushroom
1/2 c. Half 'n Half + 1/4 c. water
2 cans cut green beans, drained
1/2 t. black pepper (or to taste)
1 1/2 c. French fried onions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Pour cream of mushroom into a mixing bowl.  While stirring, slowly add the half 'n half and water to avoid lumps.  Then add green beans, pepper and 3/4 c. French fried onions.  Pour mixture into a 2-quart (or thereabouts) baking dish and bake for 25 minutes.  Then pour the remainder of the French fried onions on top of your casserole and bake for another 5-10 minutes.  

Maybe I'm crazy for loving green bean casserole, maybe I just jumped on the bandwagon super late in life, but all I know is that I ate green bean casserole for breakfast this morning and it rocked.  So yeah, I guess you could say that my life got a little greener yesterday evening at dinner time.  P.S. Please don't read into my comment about eating healthy because the jury's still out regarding the nutrition-value of the above casserole.  For what it's worth, I think one could count it as a vegetable serving or two, depending on how much you eat.

DIY Time:  Poppy Brooches!  The only "sewing" involved in this project is with a glue gun, so it's very doable.  I made them for Christmas gifts last year and they were a huge hit! 

O Tannenbaum

On Friday night, I co-hosted a party, and in the spirit of Christmas, I made a cake for it in  the shape of a ring of trees, with a train chugging along the bottom edge of it!  It even snowed on my cake, thanks to a dab of powdered sugar.  Unfortunately, this was the only cake photo from the party...Nordicware cake pans are awesome, huh?

DIY Time:  Today, I'm giving you all the recipe for the bundt cake pictured above:  Darn Good Chocolate Cake.  It is quite possibly one of the most wonderful chocolate cakes I've ever made, and anybody can do it!  Don't judge me because it has a cake mix in it, just try it, you won't regret it.

Darn Good Chocolate Cake

4 large eggs

1/2 c. vegetable oil

1/2 c. warm water

1 Devil's Food cake mix

1 pkg. instant chocolate pudding

1 c. sour cream

1 1/2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray bundt pan with Baker's Choice, or grease and flour the pan.  In a mixing bowl, mix together the eggs, vegetable oil and warm water.  Then add the cake mix, pudding and sour cream.  Mix until all ingredients combined.  Stir in chocolate chips.  Pour batter into greased and floured bundt pan and bake for 40-45 minutes, or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Everybody Wants to Be a Cat

My mom's friend has said for years, "If you want to learn how to relax, watch a cat," and after my long visit to Lebanon, I wholeheartedly agree with her statement.  Lucky is getting so big!  She's getting the royal treatment down at Dad and Mom's house, a package deal, which includes milk with her cat food and being toted around the house by my dad twice a day.  When she wants your attention from outside on the front porch, she hits the screen over the window with her paw.  Smart cat, huh?  I loved being at home with my family over Thanksgiving.  Highlights included: spending Turkey Day with my mom's family (giant crock pot of mashed potatoes, yeah!); going antiquing and spending hours in Hobby Lobby with my cousin Cort;  watching Casablanca for the first time; making white chocolate dipped pretzels and covering them in milk chocolate toffee bits and crushed up gingersnap cookies with Mom; and plain relaxing around the house. 

Bran, Dad and Lucky

 

December is looming over us, friends, and I'm trying to stay on schedule with my gift-making.  I do love the interim between Thanksgiving and Christmas, though.  For me, it's a time of reflection, and I am always astounded by how much God blesses me, even when I don't deserve it.  On Sunday, Jeff at LCF talked about kindness and how it is a huge part of Christ's nature.  One of the things he said was, "It is more important to be kind than it is to be right" (see John 8).  That statement really convicted me, and I'd like to strive to show more kindness toward people.  What a thing to be thankful for, the love and kindness of God.

DIY Time:  Pieces of Heaven Homemade Marshmallows.  I will be making these, stat.  I can't wait to try them; I've been coveting this recipe for months now, so bring on hot chocolate weather!

Birthday

H. recently had a birthday, so we had a party on Saturday, and what birthday party is complete without birthday cake? He wanted a yellow cake, and c'mon, I just couldn't use a box mix. I'm qualifying this cake as worthy of going on the chocolate cakery shenanigans because it had chocolate icing. I used this recipe from Smitten Kitchen, and I think it's the best cake I've ever made. So good. I did, however, alter the frosting recipe. I wasn't really in the mood for buttercream, but I didn't know how chocolate sour cream frosting was going to turn out. Using Smitten Kitchen's recipe as my base, I altered it accordingly:

1 bag Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 heaping cup sour cream
1 heaping cup low-fat vanilla yogurt
3/4 t. vanilla extract
1/4 c. light corn syrup plus some drizzle over the top

Melt chocolate chips. Combine all other ingredients. You want to have the yogurt and the sour cream mixture at room temperature (and let the chocolate cool off before adding it to when you add the melted chocolate chips) or it will kind of curdle, apparently. Anyways, mix all together and refrigerate until it's a good consistency to spread: 30 minutes to an hour. The frosting has a ganache-like consistency and it's a great alternative to buttercream if you're trying not to become a lardhead with all five sticks of butter in that frosting. It was a little tangy, but nothing a little corn syrup can't fix!

Here I am, frosting the cake, with cold spinach dip sitting in front of me, smelling the hot reuben dip and stuffed mushrooms in the oven. Sounds tempting, but when I make something or stand in a kitchen for a long time smelling the food I'm making, it makes me not want to eat it. When it's finally prepared, I don't want it anymore. I'm finding that cooking is all about the experience of creating rather than eating, for me at least. We made 14 pounds of pulled pork barbecue in some Crock Pots for the party; I couldn't eat it until the next day.

Here's the cake mid-party:


Prior to all the cooking we did for the party on Saturday night, though, H, Javalady and I went to the farmer's market, and H. bought me these lovely tulips to go in a Mason jar for the party. Aren't they beautiful! And since H. loves garlic more than life, he made 3 big bottles of garlic-infused extra virgin olive oil....while we were cooking for the party. It was an incredibly productive day!