tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78366726342285425532024-03-12T23:09:41.656-07:00gorgeous bitsAdventures in the everyday: finding glamorous bits of beauty and joy in cooking, writing, photography and life.Vontagenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08262087314436518596noreply@blogger.comBlogger189125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7836672634228542553.post-6961581168750727432020-07-25T09:56:00.010-07:002020-07-25T10:45:48.386-07:00Your Branding Session <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI89x_N3W5oW6STOBuUbALWdC1sE2_4piPF7hDIRNO7X_8IUAWfecac6rbFR8fQFtHEzFKk5JIWoDxJkKlEULk-EzsLyCuVMUppLuYL5b73g4410L_nvJBQM1Jgq3d5DazqnLMwi1efYgD/s2048/42-1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1367" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI89x_N3W5oW6STOBuUbALWdC1sE2_4piPF7hDIRNO7X_8IUAWfecac6rbFR8fQFtHEzFKk5JIWoDxJkKlEULk-EzsLyCuVMUppLuYL5b73g4410L_nvJBQM1Jgq3d5DazqnLMwi1efYgD/d/42-1.jpg" /></a><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">First of all, let's talk about what exactly a Branding Shoot is and why you need one.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">You know how actors have a variety of headshots and photos to sell and market themselves as a brand? It's the same thing. As a business owner, you are the face of your brand and people want to connect with people, not companies. You're not just selling a service or product. Your selling yourself and the experience your clients have when working with you. If you want to attract the ideal clients, you can do better than iPhone selfies. I promise you are worth more than that! Good photos of yourself, showing what you do are one of the best investments you can make in your business, especially now that we are relying on our online presence with social distancing changing the way we do business. Because of the Pandemic, we are having to rethink how we connect with our clients and since we aren't doing as much "face to face" business, we need to have a consistent and impactful visual online appearance with them. And it's not as expensive you you might think! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">When you have a Branding Photo Shoot with me, you'll end up with a treasure chest of images to use not only on your business card, but on your website and social media or if you ever do talks or seminars. Once you need a photo for your business, you don't want to go scrambling to find that halfway decent photo of yourself your spouse took of you three years ago on vacation! Let professional photos of you elevate your brand. Ideally, you should have a branding photo shoot a few times a year. Let me help you create a whole library of images you can use! Working with me is fun, creative and surprisingly affordable. I'll be your personal go to Paparazzi. It's easy, not as intimidating as you think and actually, SO much fun. This year I'm growing Uncommon Muse by helping you grow your business, so I have a special price for Branding Sessions that will make you want to hire me every season! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Let's start with how you want to look. Here are some Styling Details for your shoot:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The first steps in planning for a photo shoot is to decide what you want to convey to your ideal customer. Think about color palette and the vibe you want to represent what you do and who you are. If you need any help or advice on wardrobe, like what is most photogenic and flattering, I've got you! We can have a Zoom planning session to get you ready to be the star of your images and get you excited and comfortable too.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">A good rule of thumb when planning your wardrobe is to imagine a character or celebrity that you love and think about what photos you've seen that you like of them. For one of my sessions, I told the man I was photographing to channel young Paul Newman. He wore khakis, a white button down shirt and white tennis shoes for some of our photos, then a dark tailored suit with the same tennis shoes for more formal pics. The images were stunning and iconic. My fashion icon is 1950's Audrey Hepburn in her classic black cigarette cropped pant with a black turtleneck and red lipstick. What is your favorite celebrity's signature style? What clothes and accessories do they wear? What image do you want to convey? What first impression would you like to have? Think about how you'd want to look if you ran into your all time crush! This can be an opportunity to treat yourself to a mini makeover. So go ahead and splurge on a few outfits that make you look and feel your best. Or if you don't want to buy a new outfit, shop your closet with new eyes and pull out a few things that go together and are a color scheme and fit that are visually gorgeous. Women, you might even consider renting a gown from Rent the Runway! Confidence is key in headshots too, so if you want to invest in a blowout or professional makeup, go for it! I have plenty of recommendations if you need them. Make a day of it, so after we're done taking pictures, meet someone for a date or take yourself out for dinner to celebrate.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Bring a couple of different outfits. I recommend a formal one and a casual one. It might feel weird to dress up in a gown and high heels in the middle of the day, but a photograph in a "normal" setting while all dressed up is super cool and stands out. And I'll be with you-people will think they are witness to a celebrity! Bring a second outfit but that is similar in color scheme or classic neutrals. We can take photos of you walking down a city sidewalk, sipping coffee at your desk or on a porch. These will be comfortable, low key approachable images that would be perfect to use on a blog or on Instagram. If you follow anyone on Instagram and love their feed, let me know so I can see what you like and we can make you the star of your own photo shoot. And don't worry. I'll be coaching you through the best and most flattering poses so don't worry if you feel awkward. Our final photos will look amazing. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Lastly, have fun with it. I usually first meet up with my client and we have a coffee or cocktail together so we can talk through our shoot. It is fun and relaxed and the photos you end up with you'll be able to use for so many things!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Let's set up a Zoom call to collaborate. I can't wait to photograph you.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">heidivontagen@gmail.com/503-680-4581</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> </div>Vontagenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08262087314436518596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7836672634228542553.post-3129567866142318582020-04-18T12:26:00.000-07:002020-04-18T13:15:14.156-07:00Apple Pie Crumble Cookies<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHqS_jjvtz0DAJH_CKALoiD8xlIRlr5kR7l3zhJmDgWXC9xKKvvdXfg9K5x5fm8mZz_WIiKNT1mq7YS-7JoaGBdV3dAlRQu-9NhzHiy7jQoKw7lop5BjFL8U7IvDDF5sKOrm9nEAyMy0Af/s1600/IMG_3075.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHqS_jjvtz0DAJH_CKALoiD8xlIRlr5kR7l3zhJmDgWXC9xKKvvdXfg9K5x5fm8mZz_WIiKNT1mq7YS-7JoaGBdV3dAlRQu-9NhzHiy7jQoKw7lop5BjFL8U7IvDDF5sKOrm9nEAyMy0Af/s640/IMG_3075.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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We've been quarantined now for about 22 days. Being home again after flying and living in a Crash Pad in Seattle inspired me to go back to my roots... to cook, write, photograph, take care of my home and family. For the past several years I've found myself straying far from the kitchen, eating take-out and granola bars and can after can of sparkling water. I went through Fight Attendant training first at Horizon Airlines, then a few years later, Alaska Airlines and left my Culinary School background far behind. I've been living a bit of a Nomad life, half the time I'm in a little apartment in Seattle waiting to be called to fly across the country and stay in hotels. The other half, the "home" half, I am usually found on the couch with my feet up watching Netflix and nursing a glass of wine in my sweats. My husband probably didn't even recognize this new, quite unglamorous Flight Attendant wife camped out in the living room on her days off.</div>
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When the virus hit, my Airline was suddenly changed. Flights are suddenly empty. Everyone is wary to fly. In many ways it doesn't feel safe anymore... breathing the same air for sometime 6 hours and flying from places that are COVID19 hot spots. We have masks and gloves, the planes are diligently cleaned each leg, but you can feel the tension in the air and the eyes behind the masks look stunned and tired. So I've come home for a while and found solace in my kitchen.</div>
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I've been using whatever ingredients I have to make comforting food that makes the house smell divine. These cookies were inspired by Jamie Oliver and I converted the recipe just a tiny bit using fresh green apples and pairing them with a crisp Rose wine I had saved for a rainy day in the fridge.</div>
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/heidi.vontagen/videos/10158252772119798/">https://www.facebook.com/heidi.vontagen/videos/10158252772119798/</a></div>
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Ingredients:</div>
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1 stick unsalted butter</div>
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1 cup self rising flour</div>
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1/2 cup sugar</div>
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1 egg</div>
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pinch of sea salt </div>
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finely diced bits of apple</div>
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Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper that has been greased with olive oil or sprayed with non stick oil spray. Cut the cold butter into cubes.</div>
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In a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or in a food processor, blend together the stick of cold cubed butter with the dry ingredients and egg until crumbly. Save aside 1/4 cup of the mixture to use as a topping to sprinkle onto the cookies. Stir in the apply then scoop large balls of the crumbly dough onto the cookie sheet, leaving at least 2 inches between cookies. Sprinkle with a pinch of the mixture you'd set aside. Put into 400 degree oven for 10-13 minutes (depending on how hot your oven gets and how big the cookies are) Once you remove them from the oven, let them sit for an additional 10 minutes before transferring them off the tray onto a rack or plate. </div>
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Would be an amazing dessert with a served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream melting on top!</div>
Vontagenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08262087314436518596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7836672634228542553.post-131649653060430812020-03-31T17:16:00.001-07:002020-04-18T11:21:02.022-07:00Quarantine Cookies<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHwFPT9VrpBZkMxUF7RGdg4qJEPp23S4iOTqEEvlHmrhuH0MRBW6g0LVhIooT9SoMJGKwBItegdQVWVSJi-NQd2fZ9PUYwmEHXOTrtJcjrwYctMkB7nidJgz7Q6vUOthHp-c1Ay5M7tZnt/s1600/91006748_10158198775484798_8857883329421115392_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHwFPT9VrpBZkMxUF7RGdg4qJEPp23S4iOTqEEvlHmrhuH0MRBW6g0LVhIooT9SoMJGKwBItegdQVWVSJi-NQd2fZ9PUYwmEHXOTrtJcjrwYctMkB7nidJgz7Q6vUOthHp-c1Ay5M7tZnt/s640/91006748_10158198775484798_8857883329421115392_n.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
So....<br />
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It's been 7 years since I blogged. It was my old life. When my children were young. I was smitten with taking care of our home, cooking, baking, appreciating the nuances of family. <br />
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A lot has changed since then - the obvious things of course, such as my kids growing, graduating high school, one of them college, my husband starting a new business and me changing my career from Photographer-Culinary School Admissions to Photographer-Flight Attendant. We've aged. We have all grown apart. We ventured out into the world in our own directions. But something has happened that is bringing us home, making us crave family, home, comfort, security and what we know. The world is not safe anymore. The headlines are breaking my heart, ruining many lives and taking us back, without warning, to what is important. Whether we are ready for it or not.<br />
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A few weeks ago, I became crazy anxious. About my health, my family and friends health, the worlds health. I became crazy anxious about my job and my new work families jobs. I went back into the kitchen. I broke out my pots and pans and baking sheets and lost myself in the one thing that has calmed me since I was young... cooking. It helps. It takes my mind off of the present and nourishes my soul and feeds my family. <br />
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Today, the recipe I played with and eventually fell in love with because it soothes me in the craziness of all that is going on is simple Oatmeal Cookies.<br />
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Ingredients:<br />
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1 cup cold unsalted butter (not room temperature, this is the trick that makes a huge difference)<br />
1 cup brown sugar<br />
3/4 cup white sugar<br />
2 eggs<br />
1 and a half tsp. Vanilla<br />
2 cups flour<br />
1 Tbs cinnamon<br />
1 tsp baking powder<br />
1 tsp baking soda<br />
1/2 tsp salt<br />
3 cups oatmeal<br />
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Preheat oven to 410 degrees (yes, really. 410. It's a good trick for making the outside of a cookie perfectly browned but leaving the center soft and chewy)<br />
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Cream the butter and sugars together until creamy. Then add in the eggs one at a time and vanilla. Stir in the rest of the ingredients being careful not to over mix. Make small snowballs with the dough using your hands, about the size of a large egg. Put about 6 dough balls onto a cookie sheet that has been lined with parchment and sprinkle a tiny pinch of flaked sea salt to top for extra flavor. Bake for 10 minutes then leave on the pan to cool for 10 minutes before removing from the cookie sheet.<br />
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<br />Vontagenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08262087314436518596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7836672634228542553.post-17525732759188684422013-05-14T15:58:00.000-07:002013-05-20T10:14:02.979-07:00Chef Brian Wilke's Home Kitchen <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_IdABdY2OI0jp7BRVXJ9gKwIrEECWII3sFgdPUJvQgub5Plei29pR-4nbQ_7AjZf9uKClQzBno3FrD8toDAGiQ_o-Gw7yYePi3Y9EGUKVQt8l42DeoNYsZVBenbGJCcJuPwkwIeu6LRpM/s1600/wilke+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_IdABdY2OI0jp7BRVXJ9gKwIrEECWII3sFgdPUJvQgub5Plei29pR-4nbQ_7AjZf9uKClQzBno3FrD8toDAGiQ_o-Gw7yYePi3Y9EGUKVQt8l42DeoNYsZVBenbGJCcJuPwkwIeu6LRpM/s1600/wilke+2.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>A few months ago, I thought it would be cool to start a series of posts called "Chef's at Home" which would feature Culinary Instructors in their home kitchens talking about what inspires them and what they love about cooking at home. I started out with Chef Wilke. Wilke founded OCI, the cooking school where I've worked now for over four years. I'd met him over 10 years ago at another culinary school in town and he's constantly amazed me with his Rock Star attitude and how he exudes passion and confidence in the kitchens at school.</em></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Chef Wilke's wife Jill greeted me warmly at the door when I first arrived to take photos. She pushed an antique, thrifted cup of French pressed coffee with cream into my cold hands as she led me into the golden glow of the kitchen. The fragrance of onions sautéed in butter and warm croissants from a local bakery infused my senses and the chill of the damp, grey Portland weather vanished behind me as the door closed.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Chef Brian Wilke is the co-founder of a</span><span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"> </span></span><a href="http://www.oregonculinaryinstitute.com/" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">small, locally-owned culinary school</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">nestled in the heart of the Goose Hollow neighborhood in downtown Portland Oregon. He's been teaching and cooking for over 30 years, and has influenced and mentored an enormous number of young cooks who make up the thriving restaurant scene in Portland. He values local, independently-owned businesses and restaurants and is a part of the pulse that makes the food scene in Portland such a Mecca of unique cooking styles and people.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There is a story behind everything in this culinary jewell box. Even the bar-stools, where guests can cozy up to the counter to watch and eat, are works of art from re-purposed wine barrels -- a treasure Brian and Jill brought home after from a winery weekend in Walla Walla.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: center;">A well-oiled, gracefully curving butcher block counter separates the dining room and kitchen -- Wilke salvaged it from an old Portland bakery and refinished it to be an appealing and practical focal point. He chops away on the surface, d</span><span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; text-align: center;">eftly wielding his cherished</span><span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; text-align: center;"> </span></span><a href="http://www.kramerknives.com/" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-align: center;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Kramer knife</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">, making short work of the buttery slab of salty</span><span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"> </span></span></span><a href="http://www.olympicprovisions.com/" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-align: center;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Olympic Provisions</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">bacon and turnips from a local farmer’s co-op called</span><span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"> </span></span></span><a href="http://wealthunderground.blogspot.com/" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-align: center;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Wealth Underground</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: small;">.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Everything in this space, from the appliances to the utensils and ingredients, are beautiful and have purpose. Chef Wilke and Jill are practical in their approach to cooking, design and living but embrace the artistic side of their surroundings with equal love and creativity. </span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To the left of the stove is a collection of mortar and pestles. Each corner of the kitchen showcases the rare combination of utilitarian still life.</span><br />
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A small ceramic tray neatly displays the most used, staple ingredients: two kinds of salt, an aged balsamic vinegar, onions and shallots, and a re-purposed bottle of wine used to decant high quality olive oil.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The bottle of 1981 </span><a href="http://www.opusonewinery.com/" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Opus wine</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> on display was shared with his father over 25 years ago in Chicago and is a loving reminder of that memorable meal.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">I couldn't help but ask about the graphic design of a face drawn onto Chef Wilke's tee shirt. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">Brian looked at me with a lopsided grin, and I knew I was in for a good story. The tee shirt portrait is a custom rendering of Blues artist <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEhI7EQXth4">Professor Longhair</a> known as the “Bach of Rock and Roll.” Brian explained that Longhair taught himself to play using a piano that was missing several keys. Because of, rather than in spite of, his lacking instrument, he created music that was solely his own — a wild mix of New Orleans jazz and blues fused with Cuban beats. Wilke listens to Professor Longhair on vinyl record albums when he cooks at home, the music inspiring him to make incredible food from the carefully curated contents of his fridge and cupboards. His cooking philosophy is based in part on the simple idea of using quality, local, fresh ingredients to create nourishing and delicious food.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">Like Professor Longhair, it's all about knowing how to make something great out of what you've got.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><strong>What inspires your kitchen and your cooking?</strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"I guess the efficiency is the most important thing. I really did design it as a professional kitchen would work so everything is accessible--the tools, the ingredients... it's really really compact and efficient for a one person kitchen."</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>What is your favorite kitchen tool or element?</strong></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"It's gotta be my <a href="http://kramerknives.com/">Kramer knife</a>. The last time I checked, there was a 2 year waiting list... this guy builds knives by hand. He's a master blade-smith I bought my knife before he got famous, then he was in Cooks magazine or something like that and now his knives are coveted. I've had every knife out there and they just cut differently. This is my favorite by far."</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Bikram and his family from Nepal came over one night. Bikram is the Nepalese first term chef instructor at the school and I've known him for over 20 years. He's one of my best friends. It was rather nerve-wracking to prepare food for his father, uncle, aunt and cousin because he's such a phenomenal chef... and I thought for a long time about what I could possibly make for these people. Then, I thought, screw it man, I'm just going to make Nepalese food. I mean, what am I gonna do? Serve Italian? Either it'll be okay or I'll make a complete ass out of myself. We actually ate sitting on the floor in the living room and it was one of my favorite nights of my entire life."</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;"><strong style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The biggest challenge for cooking in your kitchen?</strong><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"The same as my favorite thing-- it's small. When you get rockin' and rollin' in there, if you have more than one person it gets pretty dicey."</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>How would you describe your cooking style?</strong></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Definitely "Black Box." (Author’s note: The "Black Box" test is a final exam in culinary school where students are given a few random ingredients and expected to create a meal or course using techniques, methods, herbs, spices, and fats from the restaurant pantry). Fresh ingredients and solid technique. Food is the only thing that affects all 5 senses and when you put things together while considering all five senses, you can pull a great meal together. My mom really inspired my whole interest in cooking. She used to put out braised meat, then smaller serving dishes with all kinds of ingredients like rice, chow mien noodles, onion, pineapple, scallions, coconut, peanuts... you know, 20 different things and you could just build your own meal from there. As a kid, I learned so much about what goes together and it inspired me to experiment. It was also a really cool way to feed a large crowd. It encouraged communication between everybody and was a magical dish that carried so much imagination, conversation and inventiveness."</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"George Thompson was my culinary mentor and we still teach together today. He really taught me about the whole "taste and aroma" idea. What we call "taste" is really much more about aroma... once you understand the intricacies of how they work together, that last little attention to spices and flavor makes the difference between good food and great food. It's genius how he breaks that down."</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The view from Wilke's kitchen window just over the sink is of his chickens. Practical and interesting, an egg-celent and egg-clectic addition. Very Portland. Very Chef-ish.</span></div>
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Vontagenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08262087314436518596noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7836672634228542553.post-48930335175717013582013-04-24T14:51:00.001-07:002013-04-24T20:00:52.292-07:00Dark Chocolate Bacon Brownies<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzDMq5sk5tVgkYeEoCEj87DpH3CDWo5JzxeDVE_CWbnGzqhoO2xShvF0XkZUakpjOW63WKwkRRqkrQBpyxMrzOK8axiyRGP238Z3AOq7ZY-ELznxW0hghTKynJPQC0AK9UUzZC8p-iV6te/s1600/brownies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzDMq5sk5tVgkYeEoCEj87DpH3CDWo5JzxeDVE_CWbnGzqhoO2xShvF0XkZUakpjOW63WKwkRRqkrQBpyxMrzOK8axiyRGP238Z3AOq7ZY-ELznxW0hghTKynJPQC0AK9UUzZC8p-iV6te/s1600/brownies.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've worked on the administrative and admissions side of <a href="http://www.oregonculinaryinstitute.com/about/"><span style="color: #93c47d;">culinary school</span></a> now for the last 10 years and although I myself am not a professional cook, I definitely share a passion for creating delicious, satisfying and unique food with others. One of my most memorable students from many years ago whom I stay in touch on Face Book is a cool guy by the name of Michael. We try to impress each other with our knowledge of All Things Bacon and he's been reminding me for the past several weeks that I'd promised to test out recipes for Bacon Brownies and get him the recipe. I've finally created an almost perfect batch...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This particular recipe is only 'almost' perfect because even though these smokey delectable bacon-y dark chocolate brownies have an ideal balance of gooey-chewiness and cake-ness, there were a few things I'd do differently to make them even better. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(don't fret lovelies. I'll add those notes as I describe the process.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To begin with, I wanted to make sure the bacon itself was crispy and not rubbery or too under done. I researched a few recipes online and found that baking several strips of bacon on parchment on a shallow cookie sheet produced the results I was aiming for. I ripped off a stretch of baking parchment paper, (or you could use aluminum foil of course) and set out the bacon about a half inch apart on the sheet and put it into the cold oven, turning the temperature to 400 degrees after shutting the oven door. There were several methods posted online, but starting with a cold oven seemed a popular trick. I watched the bacon carefully and it was about done after 19 minutes. ( a few minutes more if you buy thick cut bacon) Once the bacon was perfectly crisp, I used tongs to remove the strips and let them cool on a brown paper bag before cutting into smaller bits. I drained the clear fat off the parchment through a fine metal mesh strainer into a jar to use in the brownie recipe to replace a bit of the butter too, which was an extra step that made a flavorful difference.</span> <br />
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<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp8puaEqIf6liUvlcB5Gp0kUVceTfxT_tqA7a1nSHAKrG4Pbbra6u7K4mnyJjV-FNUMNpmUQvHgmHkEeXZLhpV6oEaCc_4-Va5a5tJhkav2N4eVb2wDjz2aOKWScf3o3uw75iTC7XeLmFB/s1600/bacon.jpg" /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I scoured the internet for the best brownie recipes and came up with the winner which was the Alton Brown Cocoa version. I slightly altered it using half the amount of butter he recommends and replaced it with the lovely warm golden bacon fat. Honestly, I think it needed even<em> more</em> bacon flavor. So next time I plan on adding a couple more tablespoons of bacon fat for an extra smokey-baconish kick.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Another change I would make is I would mix the bacon bits right into the batter rather than sprinkling them on top before baking. I think they would stay more moist and flavorful. Since I put them on top when I baked the batch pictured above, it slightly over cooked the bits making them too dry and not as flavorful. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Still delicious. The next bacon/brownie experiment will be Dark Chocolate Stout Bacon Brownies for Father's Day. I'm already daydreaming about adding in some Guinness and chunks of <a href="http://www.moonstruckchocolate.com/index.aspx"><span style="color: #93c47d;">Moonstruck</span></a> dark chocolate bits.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I doubt I'll have any shortage of taste testers.</span><br />
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<strong><u><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Dark Chocolate Bacon Brownies</span></u></strong><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4 large eggs</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 cup sugar, sifted</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 cup brown sugar, sifted</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4 ounces melted butter</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4 ounces salvaged bacon fat, (still melted)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 1/4 cups high quality dutch process cocoa, sifted</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1/2 cup cake or all purpose flour, sifted</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1/2 teaspoon kosher salt</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> 5 strips oven baked bacon (chopped)</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Grease 8" square baking pan with soft butter and dust with flour. Tap off excess flour into the sink.</span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Preheat the oven to 300 degrees </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In a mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the eggs at medium speed until fluffy and light yellow. Add both sugars. Add remaining ingredients, and mix to combine.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Pour the batter into a greased and floured 8-inch square pan and bake for 45 minutes. Check for doneness (desired goo-to-cake-balance) with the tried-and-true toothpick method: a toothpick inserted into the center of the pan should come out clean.</span></li>
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Vontagenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08262087314436518596noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7836672634228542553.post-74172334537990634772013-04-22T15:47:00.000-07:002013-04-22T15:47:14.389-07:00Baked Ricotta with Roasted Garlic and Lemon <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD7R8k54WivL5QD4HpByzK42ZFFHcYnA_54arE4RdsxYxDKzkF8yB4LJkaLegZkIDN2c6N-QNHHddhYS0NU8UUgTmAh3hUPf_palKdrtU1fl14FG_2IxHR_-IIrvokFvPeKOOlnQndJq6F/s1600/dip.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD7R8k54WivL5QD4HpByzK42ZFFHcYnA_54arE4RdsxYxDKzkF8yB4LJkaLegZkIDN2c6N-QNHHddhYS0NU8UUgTmAh3hUPf_palKdrtU1fl14FG_2IxHR_-IIrvokFvPeKOOlnQndJq6F/s1600/dip.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm a huge fan of the classic appetizer, warm Parmesan and artichoke dip. To be perfectly honest, I pretty much swoon at the mention of just about any warm gooey-cheesy type of food, and though I could probably become a vegetarian, (with the exception of bacon) I doubt I could ever become a full fledged vegan due to my addiction to cheese.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I discovered this quick delicious dip online a few weeks ago while reading an article about a new cookbook called "Cook Like a Rock Star" and tried it out on the fam. Everyone loved it and it disappeared rather quickly. I recommend doubling the recipe and storing a bit of it in the freezer or fridge for a last minute appetizer when friends stop in. Crackers or thinly sliced baguette pieces toasted in the oven while the cheese warms up are perfect for scooping. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u>Baked Ricotta</u></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2 cups ricotta cheese</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3-5 cloves roasted garlic cloves</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 sprig fresh rosemary, finely chopped</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 lemon, zest only</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3 tablespoons olive oil (plus a bit for drizzling on at the end)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 pinch red pepper flakes</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2 hefty pinches sea salt </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Combine all ingredients together in a large bowl and mix well. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Scoop dip into a buttered baking dish (I divided it into 2 small oven-safe bowls)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes until lightly browned and hot.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Drizzle with some good olive oil and top with a bit of rosemary.</span>Vontagenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08262087314436518596noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7836672634228542553.post-87395508403625185812013-04-19T12:27:00.002-07:002013-04-19T12:30:21.372-07:00Cheers to Friday<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC79glKTWhyphenhyphen4vwjSudp6h0bK0kdIgkO6AsiedHnVVPDjTGp_nI5agz5k5cilZhDglNKoKiqonOb0WZ9JPfvpU6nareMw4A6xulOjdUJbZlxijQmqZ6jWeLy_9Z_eeXtKfIjYXrZa8g-_c4/s1600/wine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC79glKTWhyphenhyphen4vwjSudp6h0bK0kdIgkO6AsiedHnVVPDjTGp_nI5agz5k5cilZhDglNKoKiqonOb0WZ9JPfvpU6nareMw4A6xulOjdUJbZlxijQmqZ6jWeLy_9Z_eeXtKfIjYXrZa8g-_c4/s1600/wine.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Over the weekend I'll be posting a few recipes I've been working on. Stay tuned for a fab oven baked ricotta-lemon-garlic cheese dip that is out of this world and perfect to keep on hand in the fridge, ready to go whenever you need a bit of comforting warm cheese. (which for me is just about always)</span>Vontagenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08262087314436518596noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7836672634228542553.post-1732425985866781862013-04-09T15:48:00.000-07:002013-04-10T06:52:34.828-07:00Dropping a Little Acid in the Kitchen <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI3RZcJDuCrc_ZQuc5ohtxYRrDRChM6ch6tuW_f8qpTQNmJom0z9yTidmWG4FsOGhEHlJqQq9URMxHSOKImJ9ewIEgHGWzvAqviH8AQmurogXSpszKkUFjZsm5X4JcrS4nItChO1nbCfJ3/s1600/pea+soup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI3RZcJDuCrc_ZQuc5ohtxYRrDRChM6ch6tuW_f8qpTQNmJom0z9yTidmWG4FsOGhEHlJqQq9URMxHSOKImJ9ewIEgHGWzvAqviH8AQmurogXSpszKkUFjZsm5X4JcrS4nItChO1nbCfJ3/s1600/pea+soup.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Working at a Culinary School is a huge benefit in terms of gleaning awesome tips and ideas about cooking from people who know the inside scoop.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One Golden Rule mentioned to me by more than one chef:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you taste a dish and you know it's missing something but your not sure what, it's probably acid. When I interviewed Executive Chef Brian Wilke, one of the founders of Oregon Culinary Institute a while back in his kitchen at home, I noticed he had a wire basket near the stove filled with lemons. He often uses a fresh squeeze of lemon to balance and enhance flavor in soups, sauces and marinades, then scrubs down the butcher block counter top with a little sea salt and the leftover wedge when he's done cooking dinner for his wife. In a professional kitchen, and at home, full utilization of product is ideal.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On Sunday, I finished off our Easter ham by cooking up a bowl of split pea soup with fresh thyme. It seemed to be missing something though, and I sliced off the end of a lemon, squeezed the juice into the pot and Voila! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Perfect flavor.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I even saved the heel and scrubbed my butcher block island as well before plunking the well used bit of fruit into the compost.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Chefs are practical and brilliant people. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihYsCutF95tg9TtYl8l_UbHkDqDYxiZtf6S-GxAEM60CeOP8MKimHTUSLm_hrYKJpDmY-isCuSL3sei6zI-VY7MbJagOGlVBmOGVUBCIoq8si4xIG-Rlh2A4GidP3nuJYpqCoE3pdmd5e_/s1600/lemon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihYsCutF95tg9TtYl8l_UbHkDqDYxiZtf6S-GxAEM60CeOP8MKimHTUSLm_hrYKJpDmY-isCuSL3sei6zI-VY7MbJagOGlVBmOGVUBCIoq8si4xIG-Rlh2A4GidP3nuJYpqCoE3pdmd5e_/s1600/lemon.jpg" /></a></div>
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<br />Vontagenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08262087314436518596noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7836672634228542553.post-41131751840885237502013-04-05T12:00:00.000-07:002013-04-05T22:35:42.649-07:00The Treasure of Family Cookbooks<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTTcGYWVH8Kw8De_l9xxkyhTZMOCzvvuNXWFf2yFpLm_poLn2m75VqpgK1n7D0MXZXxWzgk6qERRH2qz6Llg3Fq3YKjKjKgA4jBug58DAOjgAABqY9DAoRpIch_BoGK_Uy-S4mgWSblBez/s1600/Julia+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTTcGYWVH8Kw8De_l9xxkyhTZMOCzvvuNXWFf2yFpLm_poLn2m75VqpgK1n7D0MXZXxWzgk6qERRH2qz6Llg3Fq3YKjKjKgA4jBug58DAOjgAABqY9DAoRpIch_BoGK_Uy-S4mgWSblBez/s1600/Julia+1.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Last month, I had a super exciting opportunity to chat in-person via a super cool <a href="http://gorgeousbits.blogspot.com/2013/03/a-girl-crush-on-nigella-lawson.html"><span style="color: #76a5af;">Google Hang Out with Nigella Lawson, Julia Moskin from the New York Times and a home cook from New York as well as one from Scotland</span></a>. It was an amazing experience. Before the actual "live" video began to roll, the three of us regular-old home cooks chatted it up and laughed about things like photographing everything we eat and cook, how tiny Amanda's kitchen is and what exactly Preston was sipping in his coffee mug. Julia Moskin asked that we come up with a sort of backup question, in case there was time left after <a href="http://gorgeousbits.blogspot.com/2013/03/nigella-lawsons-pasta-dish.html"><span style="color: #76a5af;">chatting with Nigella about the Italian casserole recipe we all tested out</span></a>. The question was, "What is your favorite cookbook of all time?" Preston was the youngest in the bunch, and although he treasures his Nigella Collection, he mentioned that he had relatively few actual books, and finds most of his recipes and ideas for cooking online. I imagine this is so with many people these days. I mean, so many weekdays, right about 5:00, I find I find myself surfing on my work computer to figure out what to make. I look up recipes on my smart phone and iPad and subscribe to the New York Times Dining and Food articles online. I follow several food blogs that offer up not only fabulous recipes, but they inspire me with gorgeous photographs and I tend to enjoy the "voice" or tone of the writer, and feel like they are a friend in the kitchen advising me about what to make. At home, I have a laptop on the kitchen counter that I often look up recipes from Epicurious, Bon Appetite and Food and Wine. But I'll always have use for my shelf of well loved, actual paper and ink cookbooks. When Julia asked us to be prepared for which cookbook we would take with us to a dessert island, I had a few ideas. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But on Tuesday this week, I was given a gift that I will treasure for as long as I cook.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When I stepped through the door of my husbands parents house for dinner, his mother hugged me tightly and quickly ushered me into the dining room. She reverently pressed into my hands a cookbook that she had owned for years and years, and was now passing on to me:</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhoTEFwm24Q2zwZOpycI_wyj37NFjXLP9Ww5DLNfq9Coag3ZX1RDDhlAYWEUeansA_Lwc_dAv-kFKfjhp3Ux-cKNqe3AQESoWHuvBm6EkHdGiyQd9gKWnmFl8_jwADHgPhJxtthd10vFJ1/s1600/Julia+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhoTEFwm24Q2zwZOpycI_wyj37NFjXLP9Ww5DLNfq9Coag3ZX1RDDhlAYWEUeansA_Lwc_dAv-kFKfjhp3Ux-cKNqe3AQESoWHuvBm6EkHdGiyQd9gKWnmFl8_jwADHgPhJxtthd10vFJ1/s640/Julia+2.jpg" width="510" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was speechless. I gently opened the book, and saw, there on the first page, Julia and Paul Child's autographs. Now, don't get me wrong. I would have been tickled to death to be the second owner of this classic cookbook even without the precious signatures because I'm a HUGE Julia Child fan. I was given <a href="http://gorgeousbits.blogspot.com/2009/12/writing-about-cooking.html"><span style="color: #76a5af;">The Art of French Cooking a few years ago</span></a>, and of course have read just about every book written by and about Julia Child. But this particular book is going to be cherished more than anyone can know.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As convenient and inspiring as Food Blogs and great Culinary Websites are, I have to admit, the feel of a cookbook, the tiny sploshes of sauce or wine left on the page of a frequently referred to recipe, and the knowledge that someone you love once used it to cook those particular recipes for their family, is such a romantic notion that I will always be a loyal fan of actual books. So many times, at almost every family gathering, holiday, celebration and meal, there is a dish that is a "family" dish. A recipe that's been handed down. My husband remembers his grandmother vividly as he bites into the particular one-sheet lemon cheesecake that his mother makes for him still every year on his birthday. My grandmother made something called "Volcano Meatloaf" that I remember so clearly from childhood. My mom used to make it, and imagining a wedge of the stuff on her Blue Danube china makes me smile. When I am wanting to conjure up memories or comfort myself, I always think about and sometimes cook the things I remember my mother making. My favorite cookbook from my own mother is a tattered handwritten spiral booklet baptized with chocolate sauce and molasses. She gave it to me on the day of my wedding to my first husband when I was just 21. Recipes from my grandmother, great aunts, mother, neighbors and even things I used to cook when I was in high school are listed there. Just seeing her neat and rounded handwriting is reassuring.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV8RI_rIG9Dzl1A_Wmh3uld-YwqkklQv3fJgwvfEiqU_t3u-2id2g-HbHXAuJGjQqlqvtCLVQ1TVoBJPAhGedizr9suw16-IWxDsxz3HUwZKNLx0HXKhRndZDS1s9Zx_Pc68lB_MLJgBlD/s1600/Julia+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV8RI_rIG9Dzl1A_Wmh3uld-YwqkklQv3fJgwvfEiqU_t3u-2id2g-HbHXAuJGjQqlqvtCLVQ1TVoBJPAhGedizr9suw16-IWxDsxz3HUwZKNLx0HXKhRndZDS1s9Zx_Pc68lB_MLJgBlD/s640/Julia+4.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A few months ago, my ex-mother in law, who is very dear to me and who is a woman who can make an excellent soup out of just about anything, gave me the cookbook she used as a young bride, back in the late 1950's: </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqhAnQ_QC5CAqWEM_srAO32JgeKOU6pZbDn-CZOtB4VFC_zSjRsADi-bBXA8JNUNYwkroRSHlOS4a7GJkHv1iqA7CFXDcbJqxSOdbpYm7JJCrXSmVt0FdmVXMlgBvdLOLXMWDDQNN9Eqbq/s1600/Julia+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqhAnQ_QC5CAqWEM_srAO32JgeKOU6pZbDn-CZOtB4VFC_zSjRsADi-bBXA8JNUNYwkroRSHlOS4a7GJkHv1iqA7CFXDcbJqxSOdbpYm7JJCrXSmVt0FdmVXMlgBvdLOLXMWDDQNN9Eqbq/s640/Julia+3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Just about every single day, I check up on the online site, <a href="http://www.thekitchn.com/"><span style="color: #76a5af;">The Kitchn</span></a>. Recently, there was a<span style="color: #76a5af;"> </span><a href="http://www.thekitchn.com/four-reasons-why-i-will-never-give-up-print-cookbooks-187243"><span style="color: #76a5af;">great article</span></a> about the difference between online recipes and good old fashioned cookbooks...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What's your preference? Do you have a favorite dog-eared, creased and spattered hand-me-down that you treasure? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">At first, when the editor of the New York Times Dining and Wine guide asked me to think of my favorite cookbook, I entertained the notion of telling her something trendy or impressive. When I really thought about it, to be perfectly honest, my favorite books are a hodge-podge of recipes that I've made for family or these books that my mother, my mother in law and my grandmother's have recommended and used. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I can only hope that one of my kids will grow up to love cooking as much as I do. Then I can pass my collection on to them.</span></div>
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<img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZzVUfOJJgoNG6wZPIuU2cubwuGmlfblB5oraEstKpiDwyTUA5oISduadx9klfgvLE-1IiWzp6hYIX2nY3u7kZngA64kowN0NuHsY-ehn9JmfQA779EU6kMvebUVuY__77OBRfmC5Uoioe/s640/Julia+6.jpg" width="640" /></div>
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Vontagenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08262087314436518596noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7836672634228542553.post-59294297506233731992013-04-04T11:25:00.001-07:002013-04-04T11:25:09.275-07:00Thought for a Thursday<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ2H7_SCSbl3nFeK0lZnM_AUdWQcb8DLnwexbYmCzzUYEpytKknRzAxNir9FXGtx-ecPkcQzgB_HflW6exCjIA15gceFzsf2AaA8YItt5H3ZsfZxf_MUZeRstskiXQ-7D6DylKyzmpjaw4/s1600/for+blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="418" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ2H7_SCSbl3nFeK0lZnM_AUdWQcb8DLnwexbYmCzzUYEpytKknRzAxNir9FXGtx-ecPkcQzgB_HflW6exCjIA15gceFzsf2AaA8YItt5H3ZsfZxf_MUZeRstskiXQ-7D6DylKyzmpjaw4/s640/for+blog.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose in life is to give it away.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Pablo Picasso</span></div>
Vontagenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08262087314436518596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7836672634228542553.post-69455496212879526142013-04-02T17:33:00.000-07:002013-04-02T20:27:07.491-07:00Spring Break Shrimp Dinner at the Oregon Coast<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_zUsVKE21aV3rpHUTyQKvotGjQ8ekHIy-ZLNWSmsV6Pz8VMEiAHkMelumWhgHuJQmAR84obLzEY2_KNEmNypCugaxkdyxZsNNnKJfm5G7VPzf6M_Nhok0IZz_twKEGKsI_F2AYmvdWUKN/s1600/shrimp+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_zUsVKE21aV3rpHUTyQKvotGjQ8ekHIy-ZLNWSmsV6Pz8VMEiAHkMelumWhgHuJQmAR84obLzEY2_KNEmNypCugaxkdyxZsNNnKJfm5G7VPzf6M_Nhok0IZz_twKEGKsI_F2AYmvdWUKN/s1600/shrimp+1.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We scrambled to find a last minute deal on a cute little house just a block away from the boardwalk at Seaside for the weekend. The kids are just starting their week of Spring Break, and we wanted to kick it off with a short get-away.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The little house was adorable. The location wasn't perfect in terms of an ocean view, but we were simply a couple of blocks away from the beach and only one block from the old town promenade in </span><a href="http://www.seasideor.com/"><span style="color: #76a5af; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Seaside</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. The kids took off on their long boards and then we all hung out on a quilt on the beach reading books. Kevin played volleyball with Emma, we went for long morning walks and each night we walked to the local Dairy Queen for a cherry dipped ice-cream cone.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJcHlMKefl4iLnZHsH91XClZKyOmMmuVbQLDlZpm5jQAdagVIw0Qp8i0AQp6CTZq8zd3T1B0qenI0dAcDRScjWefOgU56aNZ7YbSXTHPkWrHzcMYq6MAH78jt8Pf39gY-DIL6A8X30UjTh/s1600/shrimp+7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJcHlMKefl4iLnZHsH91XClZKyOmMmuVbQLDlZpm5jQAdagVIw0Qp8i0AQp6CTZq8zd3T1B0qenI0dAcDRScjWefOgU56aNZ7YbSXTHPkWrHzcMYq6MAH78jt8Pf39gY-DIL6A8X30UjTh/s640/shrimp+7.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was impressed with the tiny kitchen in our rental, and managed to pull off a couple of decadent dinners with minimal pans and effort. Saturday morning we had stopped on our way out of the city at </span><a href="http://kensartisan.com/"><span style="color: #76a5af; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ken's Artisan Bakery</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> for a loaf of walnut peasant bread and a few basic staple supplies at Trader Joe's in NW. In just a couple hours we arrived at the coast and I ran into the local grocery store for a pound of fresh shrimp so I could try out this quick, very spicy and flavorful dish that I served with the bread and bowls of jasmine brown rice.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The recipe I used was from the October 2012 edition of<span style="color: #76a5af;"> </span></span><a href="http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/quick-recipes/2012/10/garlic-shrimp-and-white-beans"><span style="color: #76a5af; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bon Appetite</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. I just made a few little changes, and it was fantastic if I do say so myself!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'll definitely be adding it to my repertoire. </span><br />
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<strong><u><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Ingredients</span></u></strong><br />
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<ul class="ingredients"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
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<li><span class="ingredient"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="quantity">6 </span><span class="unit">tablespoons </span><span class="name">olive oil, divided </span></span></span></li>
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<li><span class="ingredient"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="quantity">3</span><span class="name">garlic cloves, minced, divided </span></span></span></li>
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<li><span class="ingredient"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="quantity">2</span><span class="name">dried chile's <span style="background-color: white;">(</span><span style="background-color: white;">chef Brophy hooked me up with dried chile's from his garden)</span></span></span></span></li>
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<li><span class="ingredient"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="quantity">1</span><span class="name">bay leaf</span></span></span></li>
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<li><span class="ingredient"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="quantity">1 1/4 </span><span class="unit">cups </span><span class="name">chopped tomato (about 8 ounces) (I used a can of tomatoes)</span></span></span></li>
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<li><span class="ingredient"><span class="name" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper </span></span></li>
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<li><span class="ingredient"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="quantity">1</span><span class="unit">tablespoon </span><span class="name">tomato paste </span></span></span></li>
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<li><span class="ingredient"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="quantity">2 </span><span class="name">15-ounce cans white beans (such as cannellini), rinsed, drained</span></span></span></li>
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<li><span class="ingredient"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="quantity">1 </span><span class="unit">cup </span><span class="name">chicken broth </span></span></span></li>
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<li><span class="ingredient"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="quantity">1 </span><span class="unit">pound </span><span class="name">medium shrimp, peeled, deveined </span></span></span></li>
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<li><span class="ingredient"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="quantity">1 </span><span class="unit">teaspoon </span><span class="name">smoked paprika </span></span></span></li>
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<li><span class="ingredient"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="quantity">2 </span><span class="unit">tablespoons </span><span class="name">chopped flat-leaf parsley </span></span></span></li>
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<li><span class="ingredient"><span class="name" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Grilled bread (we used the Ken's Walnut whole grain version)</span></span></li>
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<h3>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
<u><span style="font-size: large;">Preparation</span></u></span></h3>
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<li class="step"><span class="instructions"><div class="text">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Preheat broiler. Heat 2 Tbsp. oil in a large, heavy, ovenproof skillet over medium heat. Add 1 garlic clove, chile's, and bay leaf and cook, stirring constantly, just until fragrant, 1–2 minutes (do not allow garlic to burn). Add tomato; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring and smashing tomato with the back of a wooden spoon, until tomato is completely broken down, about 5 minutes. </span></div>
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<li class="step"><span class="instructions"><div class="text">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Add tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly, until paste is deep red and caramelized, 3–4 minutes. Stir in beans and broth. Bring to a brisk simmer and cook until juices are slightly reduced and thickened, 3–4 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. </span></div>
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<li class="step"><span class="instructions"><div class="text">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Combine remaining 2 garlic cloves, 2 Tbsp. oil, shrimp, and paprika in a medium bowl; season with salt and pepper and toss to evenly coat shrimp. Scatter shrimp over beans in an even layer. </span></div>
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<li class="step"><span class="instructions"><div class="text">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Broil until shrimp are golden and cooked through, about 3 minutes. Drizzle remaining 2 Tbsp. oil over shrimp and </span></div>
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</span></span><span class="instructions" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">beans; garnish with parsley. </span></li>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju-2dEwe9oFUqzwbKlenaczQxl2EMr8T2ltSNfJ3muf0Amsg5LADLS1QBDOxb2PHp1n7cMJ3Hq7Xp8D0wmgMVOk2BvV5ZWciigFR0qtXxIsczw_9IcLm7Qv0e4CRgoNlDb8qZLTBYRAZly/s1600/shrimp+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju-2dEwe9oFUqzwbKlenaczQxl2EMr8T2ltSNfJ3muf0Amsg5LADLS1QBDOxb2PHp1n7cMJ3Hq7Xp8D0wmgMVOk2BvV5ZWciigFR0qtXxIsczw_9IcLm7Qv0e4CRgoNlDb8qZLTBYRAZly/s1600/shrimp+5.jpg" /></a></div>
Vontagenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08262087314436518596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7836672634228542553.post-15298504691642332632013-03-27T14:48:00.000-07:002013-03-27T14:54:37.056-07:00In Light of Childhood<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs4fFW9nEOp9EPfL811iHuuj3I4Sa3n7cx_usP0B-PHDeNuf71D2F2GGWmptCuPjVkaIxxMW6uKWWW1G5GBjNpE4UgrNqiitGQU428E4dw-TESxWqNZ70gZXkljQ9kgZFWK3b05ZHPZyNZ/s1600/tu+tu.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs4fFW9nEOp9EPfL811iHuuj3I4Sa3n7cx_usP0B-PHDeNuf71D2F2GGWmptCuPjVkaIxxMW6uKWWW1G5GBjNpE4UgrNqiitGQU428E4dw-TESxWqNZ70gZXkljQ9kgZFWK3b05ZHPZyNZ/s1600/tu+tu.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #351c75;"><span class="bqQuoteLink"><span style="color: #674ea7;">Every moment of light and dark is a miracle</span>.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="bodybold" style="color: #674ea7;">Walt Whitman</span></span></div>
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<span class="bodybold"></span> </div>
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<span class="bodybold"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Whenever I see this photo it tugs at my heartstrings. </span></span></div>
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<span class="bodybold"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></span> </div>
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<span class="bodybold"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I took it several years ago, when my youngest daughter was still wearing her tutu over just about everything. </span></span><br />
<span class="bodybold"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As she grew, I'd find it abandoned here and there around the house... this frayed and worn tuft of elasticized tulle was such a vivid reminder of her love for purple, dancing, sequins and dress-ups. She still loves music and dancing, but "face-timing" her friends on the iPad, texting, slumber parties,Justin Bieber posters and pop music have replaced the purple tutu, stuffed pink unicorns, books about fairies and songs sung by Disney Princess's. </span></span></div>
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<span class="bodybold"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></span> </div>
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<span class="bodybold"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My kids have seemingly grown up into teenager-hood in what feels like a flash of time.</span> </span></div>
Vontagenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08262087314436518596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7836672634228542553.post-6608207803353235552013-03-25T15:40:00.000-07:002013-03-25T20:15:16.531-07:00Steak, Guinness and Cheese Pie <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFB9VjK91xwHzsxuGznFnzCscaXpWnGs0kd3uo29iJF7on5avzZBs_q-ZJiNuFIDhqbSF6Yez1xtU9C_79eR5ez4HiA8zT9MNFn8ab9zSp64IcQL8CWawVz0dZ2PKR9LQhMPZpj7WGVlMQ/s1600/Jamie+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFB9VjK91xwHzsxuGznFnzCscaXpWnGs0kd3uo29iJF7on5avzZBs_q-ZJiNuFIDhqbSF6Yez1xtU9C_79eR5ez4HiA8zT9MNFn8ab9zSp64IcQL8CWawVz0dZ2PKR9LQhMPZpj7WGVlMQ/s640/Jamie+2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I’ve been on a kick lately--comforting family style dishes
by English cookbook authors have been my thing. Maybe it’s inspired by the cool
<a href="http://gorgeousbits.blogspot.com/2013/03/a-girl-crush-on-nigella-lawson.html"><span style="color: #76a5af;">Google hang-out chat with Nigella Lawson</span></a> after <a href="http://gorgeousbits.blogspot.com/2013/03/nigella-lawsons-pasta-dish.html"><span style="color: #76a5af;">trying one of her latest recipes out on my teenagers</span></a>, or perhaps it’s because March weather in Portland is grey,
chilly and dreary.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Cold weather makes me
want to hunker down, hibernate with my family at home and create soothing and
hearty food.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
Saturday my son was not feeling well and lay sprawled on the
couch most of the day sipping tea, watching basketball games and past episodes
of his favorite show Psych.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Beyond
having a crush on Nigella Lawson, he thinks Jamie Oliver is a super cool dude,
and I think secretly wants to be just like him. I think he’s off to a good
start with the blond spiked hair and twinkly eyes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is one of my favorite pictures of him
taken when he was about 11 years old at the Oregon Coast~</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So to cheer him up and fill his stomach with something that
would stick to the ribs and be comforting, I pulled up an online recipe from
Jamie at Home and made a pretty cool dinner with the show stopping bonus of a
gorgeous, lightly golden crisped lid of perfect puff pastry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I used winter root veggies, organic natural
stew meat, freshly grated Oregon Tillamook cheddar and a pint of Guinness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">(</span>to be perfectly honest, not quite the
whole pint.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A pint minus a few swigs) I was slightly preoccupied and ended up forgetting to put the additional top layer of cheese on before attaching the pastry lid, so I had to pull it gently off, sprinkle on the cheese and re-assemble. It looked more "rustic" due to my last second rescue attempt, but tasted divine.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now, you can very easily</span><a href="http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/beef-recipes/steak-guinness-and-cheese-pie-with-a-puff-pastry-lid"><span style="color: #76a5af; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> go to the Jamie Oliver website and get an even more detailed recipe</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">, but I went ahead and attached a slightly
shorter version here too.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The only thing
I think I’ll change next time is that I wouldn’t put the bottom puff pastry
layer into the pie dish, I’d simply top it with one, </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">like a lid, then save the
left-over piece of pastry for another recipe another day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"> </span></span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span></b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Preheat oven to 190C/375F/gas 5. In a large ovenproof pan
heat a glug of oil on a low heat. Add the onions and fry gently for about 10 mins
- try not to color them too much. Turn the heat up, add the garlic, butter,
carrots and celery. Scatter in the mushrooms. Mix everything together before
stirring in the beef, rosemary, salt and pepper. Fry fast for 3-4 mins, then
pour in the Guinness, stir in the flour and add just enough water to cover.
Bring to a simmer, cover the pan with a lid and place in the oven for about 1
1/2 hours. Remove the pan from the oven and give the stew a stir. Put it back
in the oven and continue to cook it for another hour, or until the meat is
tender and the stew is rich and thick.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span></b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A perfect pie filling needs to be robust, so if it's
still liquidy, place the pan on the hob and reduce until it thickens. Remove
from the heat, stir in half the cheese and leave to cool slightly. <b><o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span></b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Cut a third off the pastry block. Roll out each piece to
the thickness of a pound coin. Line a greased pie dish with the larger sheet of
pastry, leaving the edges dangling over the side. Tip in the stew then sprinkle
the remaining cheese over. Brush the edges of the pastry with the egg. <b><o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
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</span><br />
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>4.</strong><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
C</span></span></span></span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">ut the other piece of the pastry to fit the top of the
pie dish and criss cross it slightly with a sharp knife. Place it over the op
of the pie and fold the over-hanging pastry onto the pastry lid to make it look
nice and rustic. cook on the bottom of the oven for 45 mins.</span> </span><br />
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I now thoroughly believe Guinness Steak and Cheddar Pie could be the cure for the common cold and the winter blues.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiai4BoALwAt6ZaKUESJ1840rhpDdRYpEhyphenhyphen75P38m-FnBUisDtmjE0kwGPlhWAt1vfkhQQdZGOpB2q3Urkv5jgX3L0g9yAiBhB5l2iNpY5vyEMwOWBYlBfWvHpl2Qs4-6rXdM-o__PHq4jt/s1600/jamie+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiai4BoALwAt6ZaKUESJ1840rhpDdRYpEhyphenhyphen75P38m-FnBUisDtmjE0kwGPlhWAt1vfkhQQdZGOpB2q3Urkv5jgX3L0g9yAiBhB5l2iNpY5vyEMwOWBYlBfWvHpl2Qs4-6rXdM-o__PHq4jt/s640/jamie+3.jpg" width="640" /></a>Vontagenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08262087314436518596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7836672634228542553.post-17231727355234723742013-03-21T15:39:00.001-07:002013-03-21T21:26:12.028-07:00Neighbor Love and Rib-Sauce<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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A surprise gift of food is a treasure.<br />
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Yesterday when I came home from work after a long day, there were two jars of homemade rib-sauce on the chair next to the front door. They were still warm. My neighbor Mary texted me shortly before I left work letting me know she'd been slow cooking ribs in red sauce all day and had put the jars out front.<br />
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Mary lives in a little barn-red house just kitty corner to my house. She's been in the Peace Corps and travelled the world, has a degree in environmental science and worked at <a href="http://www.joedobbeswines.com/"><span style="color: #76a5af;">a well known winery in Oregon</span></a> helping with Crush during wine seasons a few years back. She adores soccer and is a huge Chelsea fan, sometimes catching games at the local<a href="http://www.442soccerbar.com/"> <span style="color: #76a5af;">Soccer Bar 442</span></a> when she can squeeze in a few hours without the kids. She is one of the coolest people I know basically... totally dedicated to her family and staying home with the kids while they are small. I remember what that was like. I was a stay-at-home mom with my kids until they were 2, 4, and 8. I loved staying home and taking care of my family 24/7, and those were some of the best, hardest and most rewarding years of my life. I love my job now, but I wouldn't trade that time I was able to invest in my kids formable years for anything.<br />
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One thing that I used to do was to plan out weekly menus and grocery shop meticulously, adhering to a tight budget and trying to be creative about feeding my family delicious meals. I felt like cooking was a creative outlet, and a ritual that nourished my family. When you cook for people, it's a gesture of practical love. I always feel like I am taking care of people when I cook for them, and it's a huge treat when someone cooks for me. Mary stops by every once in a while and I set her up at the counter, usually with a glass of wine or a shot of whiskey in a pretty glass, and we talk while I cook. We share recipes and attend a supper club together when time allows, and a few times we've swapped bowls of food so our family can try something a little different for dinner.<br />
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Usually, on weeknights, we either have leftovers from meals prepared over the weekend, or we throw things together that we find in the pantry and freezer. This particular weeknight meal was a luxury. Mary's sauce was a rich, tomato based sauce with bits of smoky flavored tender rib meat mixed in. Hubs ran to the local grocery store for a loaf of olive specked Ciabatta bread, some spinach and couple of small steaks. I simply poured Mary's sauce over the steaks and we had the most decadent weeknight dinner. <br />
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What's that saying? "Love thy neighbor"? Nothing shows love like sharing good food. <br />
I felt completely spoiled and lucky to have such a thoughtful woman/mom/friend as my neighbor.<br />
I can't wait to reciprocate this weekend and share some dark chocolate bacon brownies I'm planning on baking.<br />
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Vontagenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08262087314436518596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7836672634228542553.post-3872671876880980642013-03-18T16:38:00.001-07:002013-03-21T17:57:50.561-07:00A Girl Crush on Nigella Lawson <iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/zwMBCs4rUUg" width="560"></iframe>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Whoa. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When I first saw the blurb in the New York Times on my computer screen announcing an opportunity to try out one of the recipes from </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Nigellissima-Italian-Inspired-Recipes-Nigella-Lawson/dp/077043701X"><span style="color: #76a5af; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Nigellissima</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">, I pounced. I wanted to be clever and pithy, and write something titillating and honest because I <em>really</em> wanted them to pick me. I think I ended up writing something that compared Nigella to a hybrid combination of Mae West and Julia Child. I mentioned relating to a woman with an appetite, and how I sometimes feel I could bench press most thin and tiny women who seem to dominate television and magazines. I ended with a wanton comment about how few things in life have made my eyes roll to the back of my head, and how warm, melt-y Gorgonzola cheese pasta is one of them. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Inevitably, I was chosen to be one of the three home cooks to video chat with Julia Moskin and Nigella. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's quite true that I spent most Sunday mornings lounging in bed with a cup of coffee, surrounded by cookbooks and Vogue magazines in my flannel pajamas watching Nigella cook gracefully in her bright white kitchen with the little strand of white Christmas lights in the background. It was the one morning a week I'd allow myself to luxuriate in the pleasure of hanging out in bed, imagining I could also be glamorous and sexy while whipping eggs, grocery shopping and stealthily eating leftovers right out of the fridge at midnight. Nigella Lawson is the epitome of womanliness... she's intelligent, beautiful, funny, loves to cook and is unapologetic about her appetite for life. She seems to care deeply about her family and friends, and is poetic, graceful and spiritual in her explanations about food and cooking and home. Who wouldn't want to be that way? When she cooed over the caramelized specks left over in the pan after cooking bacon, and breathed the words "gorgeous bits", I was smitten with her use of language as much as I was with her as a person. She inspired me to start my blog and to embrace what I love, to put words to the photos I take and to elevate the otherwise average and everyday things in life. I can get lost in her writing. My favorite cook book of all time is How to Eat. It feels like a person is standing next to you, talking to you about food and cooking, rather than just listing ingredients and bullet pointing steps. Her chapter that she mentioned in the Video Chat on Thursday about "The Solace of Stirring" makes my heart skip a beat. She speaks and writes about what I believe in. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cooking is a certain kind of philosophy.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">During the technical set up for the Google Hang Out, the other home cooks,</span><a href="http://sercocinera.wordpress.com/about-2/"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <span style="color: #76a5af;">Amanda</span></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> and Preston and I had time to chat. They were both so charming and eloquent, and we all instantly bonded when we started talking about food. Preston was an awesome combination of intellect, spirituality and art. He seemed to be a handsome, young, well-educated and travelled Renaissance man. He had a gorgeous sounding concoction of homemade ginger syrup mixed with libation to calm his nerves, and Amanda cracked me up when she calmly explained her New York kitchen was about the size of a closet. She demonstrated the point by reaching into the fridge, just out of the computer screen shot, and pulled a beverage out to drink. I get this whole Hang Out thing now. It's quite fun really. </span><a href="http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/14/recipe-lab-video-chat-with-nigella-lawson/?ref=dining"><span style="color: #76a5af; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The New York Times</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> dining and wine section will be making a series out of it I think, and the next home cooks they choose are in for a treat.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Nigella was as warm and lovely as I imagined her to be. She made a little comment about how when she lived in Italy she was 19 and it was before all of us were born... I wanted to yell out, "I'm 46 Nigella!" She looks AMAZING. My teenage son, being the smart kid his is, has a bit of a crush on her too. And once I told him she attended Oxford University and majored in Medieval Languages, he decided she is his dream woman. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My only regret other than making up a weird joke about how beer compliments everything, (it sounded clever in my mind, but I was star struck and tongue tied so ended up sounding like a dork I think) was that everyone on the chat was in their kitchen except for me. I was sitting in my 13 year old daughter Emma's upstairs bedroom. Although I moved all of the pink stuffed unicorns off the bed and took down the Justin Bieber posters, I still sat in front of a pink dresser with a missing drawer to talk to people around the world and at the New York Times. I wished so much I'd figured out how to get the computer cable to reach <a href="http://gorgeousbits.blogspot.com/2009/12/heart-of-home.html"><span style="color: #76a5af;">my own kitchen that is quite nice</span></a>. I would have loved to show it off a bit to Julia Moskin, who also seems to have a thing for white subway tiles and enameled cast iron pots and pans. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the end, what a great format for the New York Times to create, and what a cool opportunity for people who love food and cooking <span style="background-color: white;">to </span>connect on a real level, in real time. I learned a lot just from that half hour: about truffle oil, how long to cook risotto, that Nigella is truly authentic and not driven by what would make her more "marketable", and that lawyers in New York with tiny kitchens and young students in Scotland and moms who are editors of the New York Times sometimes think just a little like me.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Our passion for good, homemade food ties us all together.</span> <br />
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<br />Vontagenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08262087314436518596noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7836672634228542553.post-38877508696113653182013-03-17T17:26:00.001-07:002013-03-17T19:03:52.365-07:00Happy Sunday Darlings<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was a little disappointed I didn't just splurge on a huge coil of cable to use with my computer so I could have had my kitchen in the background of my video-chat with Nigella last Thursday. I LOVE my kitchen! </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">No worries though, it was a delightful experience, and I had the best time chatting with the other two home cooks/bloggers just before we aired. I'll post the finished bit tomorrow and get into a few details then too.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Happy St. Patrick's Day~</span>Vontagenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08262087314436518596noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7836672634228542553.post-43965560912610096812013-03-12T11:06:00.000-07:002013-03-13T19:33:22.060-07:00Nigella Lawson's Pasta Dish<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It seems a thousand things occur on the weekends that we have my kids: volleyball tournaments, slumber parties, homework, laundry, grocery shopping and hopefully, time to stop for a moment and look at each other across the dinner table and talk. </div>
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Since I work away from home all week, cooking for my children and that time we finally spend together is crucially important. No matter how busy or how long the weekend to-do list is, I squeeze in the time to cook. Senses are often frazzled from a week of racing the clock, and I find myself longing for just an hour or so in the kitchen--the sound of water filling a pan, the feel of a heavy knife in my hand, the warmth of the gas flame on the stove flickering to life, and the comforting savory smells of nourishing food slowly roasting in the oven is soothing and familiar. It brings me back to who I am and what I love. It reconnects me to my now teenage children. Putting together a meal for my family is about the best way I can relax, and knowing I am nourishing them with good food and memories at the same time is wholly satisfying.<br />
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When I found out on Friday that I was picked to cook a dish from <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Nigellissima-Italian-Inspired-Recipes-Nigella-Lawson/dp/077043701X"><span style="color: #76a5af;">Nigella Lawson's new cookbook</span></a> followed up with a chat by video with her and the New York Times Dining Section editor, <a href="http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/reference/timestopics/people/m/julia_moskin/index.html"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">Julia Moskin</span></a>, along with two other home cooks like me, I was elated. What a fantastic excuse to make something lovely and delicious for my family, and then photograph the whole thing! The cherry on the cake is to actually talk about it directly with Ms. Lawson after it's all said and done.<br />
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I followed <a href="http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/05/making-pasta-with-nigella-lawson/"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">her recipe</span></a> exactly. It really was something I could prepare on a weeknight, since the most complicated thing was simply a bit of chopping. Tossing the veg into the water as it boiled along with the pasta is a very cool time saving trick. If I was leisurely preparing the dish, and wanted to change it up a little, I might oven roast the brussels sprouts and potatoes after coating them with a drizzle of olive oil and sea salt in the 400 degree oven while the pasta boiled, then add them in at the last second. <br />
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I printed the recipe before I left work on Friday. A sweet benefit of working at a cooking school is having a stable of brilliant Chef Instructors at my fingertips, so I asked Maxine, the wine instructor, for advice about which wine would be best with this particular dish. She scribbled down a few for me and I grabbed up a rather lovely but inexpensive bottle of Sauvignon Blanc on my way home. <br />
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Although I followed the recipe rather exactly, at the last minute I realized I'd left my glass lasagna dish at a friend's house, so I used a cast iron skillet instead. Also, I set my oven to "convection bake" accidentally, so the dusting of Parmesan cheese crisped to a deeper golden brown than perhaps Nigella intended. We rolled with it though, and I just confidently informed the kids that it was simply "caramelized" and would add a little crunch that they would love. <br />
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The kids heaped seconds into their pasta bowls. Emma separated the sprouts from her coveted pasta and cheese as usual, but everyone agreed they'd love to eat this particular recipe for dinner again.<br />
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And of course, once the flavors melded together after a few hours, the left-overs were a delicious treat to be enjoyed after everyone else has gone to bed... in proper Nigella Fashion ; )</div>
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<br />Vontagenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08262087314436518596noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7836672634228542553.post-64562228259339216312013-03-08T18:23:00.000-08:002013-03-08T18:25:30.336-08:00Doing the Happy Dance!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Whoo hoo! Air kisses to all... </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I can't believe it. They picked me as one of the home cooks to prepare one of <span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"><a href="http://www.nigella.com/about-nigella"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #76a5af;">Nigella Lawson's</span></a> </span>recipes from her brand spankin' new cookbook,<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #76a5af;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #76a5af;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Nigellissima-Italian-Inspired-Recipes-Nigella-Lawson/dp/077043701X">N</a><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Nigellissima-Italian-Inspired-Recipes-Nigella-Lawson/dp/077043701X">igellissima</a></span>,</span></span> then <a href="http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/05/making-pasta-with-nigella-lawson/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #76a5af;">talk with her on a video chat with the New York Times</span></a> and two other home cooks like me!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am thrilled beyond belief, and I raced to Whole Foods to purchase all of the ingredients so I'm completely set to go tomorrow to work in the kitchen with divine Gruyere cheese, ricotta, Parmesan, garlic, loads of butter and gorgeous brussel sprouts and whole wheat pasta. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I even checked with Maxine, the fabulous wine instructor at my school as to which wine to buy that will perfectly compliment the dish.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'll be taking photos all along the way my darlings, so you are going on this adventure right along side.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Happy Friday for sure!</span>Vontagenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08262087314436518596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7836672634228542553.post-91944447189135993542013-03-07T21:10:00.000-08:002013-03-07T21:18:12.354-08:00Remembering Italy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One of the most romantic pockets of time in my life was when Kevin and I took our "pre" honeymoon trip to Italy. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'd never been overseas. I'd never really been farther than Chicago for a rather boring corporate training, which at that time, I still thought exotic compared to my old quiet stay-at-home life. I felt like a glamorous world traveller, and we would spend afternoons exploring the side streets and snug little cafes and shops as far away from the tourist-y places as we could find. I took my film camera, and captured my favorite moments on wonderfully rich sepia film. These are still some of my favorite images and the one up top was taken right after a short rainstorm that pushed us off of our walk into a covered stoop near a market where we bought Moretti beers and sipped them until the drizzle subsided.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The food was incredible, and for the ten days that we travelled from Verona, to Florence to Venice, we ate at wonderful little spots that featured menu's only written in Italian and sipped coffee spiked with tiny bottles of grappa. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've been thinking of Italy again quite a lot. This morning, I was invited by a reporter from the New York Times to try out a recipe from a new cookbook by Nigella Lawson, then, possibly, if all goes as I wish, I can video chat with the Domestic Goddess herself about the experience! It was fabulous serendipity that I found <a href="http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/05/making-pasta-with-nigella-lawson/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #76a5af;">the invitation on the NY Times</span></a> Facebook page yesterday morning, calling for fans of Nigella who would like to write something about her then have the chance to be chosen to chat with her about cooking. I've downloaded the recipe from her latest work, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Nigellissima-Italian-Inspired-Recipes-Nigella-Lawson/dp/077043701X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1362718124&sr=8-1&keywords=nigellissima"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #76a5af;">Nigellissima</span></a>, and I am going to buy the groceries this weekend and cook it with my children. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The idea of this little cooking challenge has triggered my favorite memories of Italy. I hope that the smells and tastes from my kitchen this weekend will remind me even more of that magical trip and time. Of course I'll be taking photographs and sharing the recipe too over the weekend. I think already that I am going to fall in love with the dish. Anything "swimming in butter and cheese" as this particular recipe is described, gets my full attention.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ciao Darlings~</span><br />
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<br />Vontagenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08262087314436518596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7836672634228542553.post-36206637999335083072013-03-04T16:41:00.000-08:002013-03-21T17:36:18.129-07:00Warm Pear Almond Tart<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxkwqAaKeU14Yw7sxYI2PtT-hC-2849QyZIdBlL9vkMUcJKa-sINIIIBKL3-oSLbkWwgCl_i8soHeKMi6YRvr_vouC9CAj4VjmwflWi_qzQnyTDox3s7HSCcJXiz3Qwzn9b5tFwJ5pLvi9/s1600/pear+tart+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxkwqAaKeU14Yw7sxYI2PtT-hC-2849QyZIdBlL9vkMUcJKa-sINIIIBKL3-oSLbkWwgCl_i8soHeKMi6YRvr_vouC9CAj4VjmwflWi_qzQnyTDox3s7HSCcJXiz3Qwzn9b5tFwJ5pLvi9/s1600/pear+tart+2.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My subtly amazing husband said this was a dessert so good,
it floated above the plate.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
Every once in a while, I’ve taken a bite of something so
delicious, it transports me to another plane, makes me close my eyes, and
mentally sigh. It
happened to me once in Italy, when I took a bite of my sister-in-law’s pillows
of butternut squash tortellini in a warm, rich gorgonzola cheese sauce.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It happened when I had a bite of a pork chop
with warmly spiced dark cherry-plum sauce served over a wedge of fried polenta
that <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yvj2PAgBNNg"><span style="background-color: white; color: #76a5af;">Chef Josh Blythe</span></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #76a5af;"> </span>made for me once here at OCI. It finally happened at my own
house Saturday night when I tasted a new dessert recipe I took a gamble on
trying for the first time.</span><br />
<o:p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></o:p><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
Kevin’s godfather Dann has been heroically battling cancer
now for a while.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We invited him and his
lovely wife Genevieve over for a quiet vegetarian dinner Saturday night, and I really
wanted to make them something healing and nourishing, filled with fresh, rich
flavor and interesting textures.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They
are both really kind people, and Dann’s attitude and stories about fighting
cancer are inspiring.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wanted to
comfort them somehow, with really good food. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I stuck to my favorite </span><a href="http://gorgeousbits.blogspot.com/2011/03/soup-for-rainy-friday-night.html"><span style="color: #76a5af; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">African Groundnut Stew recipe</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> for
dinner. As a side, I made some fluffy Jasmine rice, scented with cardamom pods,
and set out additional bowls filled with spinich leaves, fresh cilantro and lime wedges to use
as additions, along with a small bowl of chopped peanuts for added crunch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At first, I thought I’d serve something rich,
made with dark chocolate for dessert, keeping with the antioxidant ingredient
theme, but then I found some beautiful organic Oregon pears at Whole Foods while
shopping. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After Google-ing “Pear
Dessert” on my laptop, a plethora of recipes appeared.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I sorted through a few and found a delightful </span><a href="http://dessertfirstgirl.com/"><span style="color: #76a5af; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">blog</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> by <a href="http://dessertfirstgirl.com/about-pastrygirl">Pastry Girl</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have to
say, Pastry Girl gets every ounce of credit for this recipe. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I followed her recipe to the T, and even
brought out my old food processor to create the crust and buttery almond filling
as she advised. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Pastry</span> Girl
added a few creative flourishes to a recipe she discovered, first written by
Dorie Greenspan, and raved about the simplicity of the method and
technique.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The main trick to it is that
you have to create a few separate recipes then assemble them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That said, a great boon to this particular
recipe is you really could do all 3 components, (poach the pears, par bake the
crust and whip together the filling) up to 3 days ahead of baking and
serving.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It really is perfection.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
By the end of the evening, after tasting the tart, Dann and
Genevieve both were silently content, and I swear their eyes closed just a
little as they bit into the slightly warm, crunchy crust with buttery almond
filling and juicy pears. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As they were
leaving, Genevieve asked me for the recipe, and anytime a guest leaves my home
asking how to make something again, I feel like the food was a great success.</span><br />
<o:p><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></o:p><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
I wouldn’t add or change a thing to the recipe I found
online, and I even saved aside the sugary syrup I used for poaching the pears as
recommended.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thought I could add a
splash of bourbon to it for a decadent cocktail one evening this week! <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This recipe’s a definite keeper.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m going to take the easy way out this time
too, and just add the link:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><a href="http://dessertfirstgirl.com/2006/11/pear_and_almond.html"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">http://dessertfirstgirl.com/2006/11/pear_and_almond.html</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">
</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPGapeDBaU-RYGArMDe8NVAcgw-1sMNwrDyMPDkXOudparu7od3GiNESFvkieIFWxi847ska-ydT5rS5_5ELx6YMUMOw5CQaVysbAgo_bqQ-7whhOzOqtuF3SOnmPSKatyW9IZApJdws4A/s1600/pear+tart+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPGapeDBaU-RYGArMDe8NVAcgw-1sMNwrDyMPDkXOudparu7od3GiNESFvkieIFWxi847ska-ydT5rS5_5ELx6YMUMOw5CQaVysbAgo_bqQ-7whhOzOqtuF3SOnmPSKatyW9IZApJdws4A/s1600/pear+tart+1.jpg" /></a></div>
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Vontagenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08262087314436518596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7836672634228542553.post-12607409197188645332013-03-01T10:20:00.001-08:002013-03-01T10:20:42.547-08:00Shazaam!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdOaoOicv-U-EpC_W69jWLh2qYoiB583x7TWxmwdBB2ARLXIFx5YmwER8yUsCohLn_WhuLUEQNNTrhBPNpkM5zH9FRb88z2yDNgNY1gP2PcA5ZyoJDPAHZtN5j6aL3iH-81rqcCGkWPzE6/s1600/just+for+fun.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdOaoOicv-U-EpC_W69jWLh2qYoiB583x7TWxmwdBB2ARLXIFx5YmwER8yUsCohLn_WhuLUEQNNTrhBPNpkM5zH9FRb88z2yDNgNY1gP2PcA5ZyoJDPAHZtN5j6aL3iH-81rqcCGkWPzE6/s1600/just+for+fun.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">... found this series of photos from my </span><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/uncommonmuse/"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Flickr Photostream</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> from several years ago. I must have been bored.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Have a fun weekend and invent something out of nothing. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's all how you look at what you've already got ; )</span><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTv78TfMwiZUJ_MHZjXflfocnOsCkf0QFr2EqEry8iRcSTxdknN7pXvJa3B3qLG4ak81ttGeD_g9PXG3EuyZlMtQfIPHqKdt4g_NSAllCO405zWQEruHeM-HGHfs-FnlP4CbxOsn5SiyE5/s1600/for+fun+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTv78TfMwiZUJ_MHZjXflfocnOsCkf0QFr2EqEry8iRcSTxdknN7pXvJa3B3qLG4ak81ttGeD_g9PXG3EuyZlMtQfIPHqKdt4g_NSAllCO405zWQEruHeM-HGHfs-FnlP4CbxOsn5SiyE5/s640/for+fun+2.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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Vontagenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08262087314436518596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7836672634228542553.post-64273793139083222422013-02-28T15:27:00.000-08:002013-02-28T15:27:33.947-08:00"Red" Red Wine<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6Mn5UOhSvoHJXrH-0FVKNTyVgRGmsB3sjBzRQCvO-RkE1Y-VM79UAcDyTHLYdWJDnOLnMTtFmPetRyfqzhpLoHde9in72GMEuMjMkfoQH5wLMH5O-WcWuBPdoSSvcmQiirpluNfjGflFh/s1600/red+wine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6Mn5UOhSvoHJXrH-0FVKNTyVgRGmsB3sjBzRQCvO-RkE1Y-VM79UAcDyTHLYdWJDnOLnMTtFmPetRyfqzhpLoHde9in72GMEuMjMkfoQH5wLMH5O-WcWuBPdoSSvcmQiirpluNfjGflFh/s1600/red+wine.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #76a5af;">
</span></span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #76a5af;">Wine is to women as duct tape is to men.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It fixes everything.</span> <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is a gorgeous wine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I love it because it is perfect to sip after a long day of work, it
pairs really well with almost any red meat dish, and makes a lovely gift to
take to a dinner or party.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(As a matter
of fact, every time I give a bottle away, the recipient asks me about it and
wants to know how to buy more!)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On top of
everything else, it’s not expensive… right around $12 a bottle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I first discovered Red at my school’s restaurant.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tom, the dining room management instructor,
is personal friends with the <a href="http://grochaucellars.com/about-us/"><span style="background-color: white; color: #990000;">winemake</span></a><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="background-color: white;">r</span> </span>and recommended it to me with dinner one
night.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After a month long experiment of not eating red meat, I am
ready to dive into a really great hamburger or a slow cooked beef stew this
weekend with a glass to wash it down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cheers darlings!</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></o:p></div>
<br />
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
Vontagenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08262087314436518596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7836672634228542553.post-22229796376686998642013-02-26T17:17:00.000-08:002013-02-26T17:19:48.623-08:00Kick Start a Meditation Practice<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9jXAIbusts6rsmTr7JFddnal5r03WJZ-W_iaS_CSalbVmG_gS3lqId32VmxKvd_8Hb3TtqZfYHT_3wVLvQxO9Nk48E5UqIVyoyKCDyAS1fGaNy6hD13b3S5kCfQzSA414vknVjDjlIWsC/s1600/meditation+candle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9jXAIbusts6rsmTr7JFddnal5r03WJZ-W_iaS_CSalbVmG_gS3lqId32VmxKvd_8Hb3TtqZfYHT_3wVLvQxO9Nk48E5UqIVyoyKCDyAS1fGaNy6hD13b3S5kCfQzSA414vknVjDjlIWsC/s1600/meditation+candle.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I’ve almost always been a worry wart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mostly, I worry about my kids and if they are
safe, happy and healthy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I also worry
about money, work, aging, calories, laundry, world peace and what’s for
dinner.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ideas and thoughts swirl around
in my mind and it’s pretty easy to get overwhelmed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Everyone knows stress is unhealthy mentally
and physically--it can bury you and lock up your capacity to experience joy and
fun. It interferes with sleep, mood, energy and productivity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When I
get anxious about too many things, I shut down and want to hibernate and
my creativity suffers. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When I let myself
get into a twisted stressed out funk, I’m definitely not the best version of
myself.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
For the heck of it, about 6 months ago, I decided to give
meditation a whirl.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I set my alarm every
morning for an hour earlier than usual and created<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>a sort of nest in the corner of our living room
so I could sit on a floor pillow with a folded up warm blanket and I put a
single white candle on the coffee table to set the stage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I researched online and read a few books
about all the different ways to meditate. There are so many styles and
names of different practices that at first I was pretty confused about which one to
pick.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wanted something simple and practical, so I
gleaned a few different ideas and just jumped in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>Here are some easy steps to start your own
routine:<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span>Choose a time of day with the least amount of
distraction.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(When everyone is still
asleep at 6:00 AM, I have the house to myself) Set up an area that is
comfortable and soothing to you. Let your family or roommates know this is
going to be an ongoing thing, and to please not disturb you unless there’s an
emergency. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span>I uploaded a cool little<span style="color: #45818e;"> </span></span><a href="http://www.windowsphone.com/en-us/store/app/meditation-timer/1bd9db04-9a35-4b94-a557-14454b4d2645"><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">app</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> on my phone that helps keep
track of time so I don’t worry about falling asleep or going over my self-imposed
20 minute time limit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>
Or you can put a couple of songs onto a playlist that are equal to the amount
of time you want to meditate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Head</span>phones make
the music a more intense part of the meditation and can help by blocking out distracting
noises.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span>Close your eyes and focus only on your
breathing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Don’t worry if random thoughts
bubble to the surface.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just try to
imagine them as soft slow bubbles rising and popping on the surface of a warm,
slowly simmering pot of soup. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If too
many things rise to the surface, I tell myself, “Let go.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span>Sometimes I wear headphones and play soothing
music, but most of the time I don’t.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There is something pure and rare about silence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I’ve read before that the main difference between praying
and meditation is that praying is talking to God and meditating is listening to
God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No matter what a persons religious
background is, being still and silent is about the best way to connect to
something not only bigger than ourselves, but to go within to find a deep place of calm. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I love it because it quiets my mind and helps
me figure things out… sometimes during meditation, and sometimes hours or days
later, solutions just occur from seemingly out of the blue.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A
great analogy is to imagine a jar filled with one cup of sand and 3 cups of
water that has been shaken up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Muddied
and greyish brown liquid swirls around in the container and is impossible to see
through.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After setting the jar down and
letting the sand settle to the bottom of the jar, the water is clear.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
One of my favorite quotes about meditation I found while
researching was this: <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
“Think of your ordinary emotional, thought-ridden self as a
block of ice or a slab of butter left out in the sun. If you are feeling hard
and cold, let this aggression melt away in the sunlight of your meditation.” ~Sogyal
Rinpoche<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My kids tease me and think I’m being a bit “out there” I
suppose.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They asked me when they first
found out I was meditating if I was going to start collecting crystals and wear
embroidered smocks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But kidding aside, they reap the benefits of a
mellower mom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I’ll always worry about
my kids since I don’t have eyes in the back of my head to check up on them
every minute. But that hour I spend in silence every morning gives me a
foundation for a less stressed out day and a calm feeling of inner peace.</span> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpngjKP5LR8X5Gd25-jNsPD0lie387idP5TdO_f1ZXusIqjt7HbLU3BssoBn7XaSSb_xfz9PuEa2d80pYQrBweGT9zJz9nHPphb0xyW_2I9M1GVqSLHknTpS0Cqxg38D4s7pyQegfzpSzk/s1600/self+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="439" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpngjKP5LR8X5Gd25-jNsPD0lie387idP5TdO_f1ZXusIqjt7HbLU3BssoBn7XaSSb_xfz9PuEa2d80pYQrBweGT9zJz9nHPphb0xyW_2I9M1GVqSLHknTpS0Cqxg38D4s7pyQegfzpSzk/s640/self+4.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Vontagenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08262087314436518596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7836672634228542553.post-81699405769211768782013-02-22T13:32:00.000-08:002013-02-22T13:35:13.243-08:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Have a delicious weekend my lovelies. </div>
Vontagenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08262087314436518596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7836672634228542553.post-30801452206622585212013-02-20T16:39:00.002-08:002013-02-22T13:34:35.999-08:00Winter Veg and Lentil Stew<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmTbf276sVYZpK7rDxsfZLw5p0WMKCDeTqNjtUgGhtbrhMDYNMtOhe2VLvSGpLoJeTwVPInwed5ASM8XK3L9u2ShhOg7EFgJ1OiStvbtvJ76nM7JQKNiynulPX3FRQvTlMwuXDpGkHLsPf/s1600/lentils.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmTbf276sVYZpK7rDxsfZLw5p0WMKCDeTqNjtUgGhtbrhMDYNMtOhe2VLvSGpLoJeTwVPInwed5ASM8XK3L9u2ShhOg7EFgJ1OiStvbtvJ76nM7JQKNiynulPX3FRQvTlMwuXDpGkHLsPf/s1600/lentils.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span class="huge bqQuoteLink"><span style="color: #45818e;"><strong>"Soup is a lot like a family. Each ingredient enhances the others; each batch has its own characteristics; and it needs time to simmer to reach full flavor." Marge Kennedy</strong></span></span></div>
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<span class="huge bqQuoteLink">The Hubs and I decided to take a cue from a couple of the Chef Instructors who work at our school... Chef Brophy and Chef Bailey ritually take a month off from eating red meat and poultry once a year.</span><br />
<span class="huge bqQuoteLink">We figured it can't hurt to give our stomachs and bodies a month long break, and hopefully clear out our systems a bit at the same time. We are still enjoying seafood, and I've been cooking with salmon, cod and shrimp a few days a week, so I don't feel as though I'm missing out on protein. </span><br />
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<span class="huge bqQuoteLink">I do miss bacon especially. In the winter months, I gravitate to heavier, hearty, satisfying soups and dishes, usually brimming with shredded chicken breast or a smoked ham-hock thrown in for a richer flavor. When it's cold and dreary weather-wise, it seems my body naturally wants to pack on a few extra pounds for warmth. I blame biology and just reach for my favorite winter wardrobe pieces: Black wool turtleneck sweaters, chunky corduroy skirts and warm boots. Perfect camouflage for a bit of seasonal pudginess. Eating mostly fish and veggies this week hasn't really helped in terms of losing any weight since I still enjoy cheese and bread, but it's pushed me to cook more inventively and I feel pretty good.</span><br />
<span class="huge bqQuoteLink"></span><br />
<span class="huge bqQuoteLink">I love this recipe for Lentil Soup, from one of the most flavorful and healthy cookbooks I own, "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/UltraMetabolism-Cookbook-Delicious-Recipes-Fat-Burning/dp/1416549595">The Ultra-Metabolism Cookbook</a>" by Mark Hyman. I usually sneak in some bacon or a bit of ham or sausage, so this time, I stuck to his original recipe:</span><br />
<span class="huge bqQuoteLink"></span><br />
<span class="huge bqQuoteLink"><strong><u>Lentil Soup</u></strong></span><br />
<span class="huge bqQuoteLink"></span><br />
<span class="huge bqQuoteLink">3 Tbs. olive oil</span><br />
<span class="huge bqQuoteLink">1/2 cup diced leek</span><br />
<span class="huge bqQuoteLink">1/4 cup minced shallots</span><br />
<span class="huge bqQuoteLink">1/2 tsp. minced garlic</span><br />
<span class="huge bqQuoteLink">1 cup diced carrots</span><br />
<span class="huge bqQuoteLink">1/2 cup diced celery</span><br />
<span class="huge bqQuoteLink">1/2 cup celery leaves</span><br />
<span class="huge bqQuoteLink">1 (15 oz.) can chopped tomatoes </span><br />
<span class="huge bqQuoteLink">1/2 pound (2 cups) French green lentils, rinsed and picked over</span><br />
<span class="huge bqQuoteLink">5 cups low-sodium vegetable broth </span><br />
<span class="huge bqQuoteLink">1 multi branch sprig of thyme</span><br />
<span class="huge bqQuoteLink">1/2 tsp. kosher salt</span><br />
<span class="huge bqQuoteLink">1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper</span><br />
<span class="huge bqQuoteLink"></span><br />
<span class="huge bqQuoteLink">Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the leek, shallots, and garlic. Cook, stirring, for about 3 minutes, until the shallots are translucent. Add the carrot, celery and celery leaves. Cook for about 3 minutes until celery is softened.</span><br />
<span class="huge bqQuoteLink"></span><br />
<span class="huge bqQuoteLink">Add the can of tomatoes, lentils, broth, thyme, salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer and cook, uncovered, until the lentils are soft, about 1 hour and 15 minutes. The cooking time of the lentils may vary. Remove the thyme sprig before serving. </span><br />
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<br />Vontagenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08262087314436518596noreply@blogger.com0