Yesterday, we made our way to a local Salvation Army to drop off a load of items for donation. It was so amazing how much we stuffed into our little ‘72 Super Beetle that even one of neighbors who say the pile of junk before we loaded it up said, “You guys fit all of that stuff in there?!”

I had high hopes of finding something wonderful between the Salvation Army and the nearby Goodwill store, but it was such a let down. We’ll have to check out some other areas of town before we find our gold mine.

I did score this nice lampshade in spectacular condition for a whopping $4.50, so it wasn’t a total bust. I think it replaces our ratty old ORGEL shades from Ikea nicely! Those shades that have lasted us through five moves over the last five years. What do you think?

Now, I just need to score another nice lampshade for our second ORGEL lamp and I’ll be a happy lady.

I’m also not sure where I’ll place this “new” lamp yet. I have been moving it around our new place hoping it will speak to me when it’s found it’s home. It hasn’t spoken yet.

This past Saturday, I made it out to the Little Italy Mercato here in San Diego. I scored big time with cipollini onions, heirloom tomatoes, swiss chard, fresh french baguette, goat’s milk feta… and the list goes on!

I’ve never tried cipollini onions before, but I’ve been dying to since I read how tasty they were after roasting them. But what recipe should I try?? Hm. This was tough, but when I came across Smitten Kitchen’s Roasted Tomatoes and Cipollinis I was hooked!

Wow! Really. WOW! I would like to eat this every night. I didn’t add white beans to mine, nor did I used the chopped basil. (It was in fact chopped and sitting on my cutting board, oops.) It was still so tasty!

Can’t wait to make this again… with the basil.

To accompany my roasted delights, I made my first batch of swiss chard. I used the Lemony Swiss Chard recipe from Martha. This was also quite good, and a lovely addition of color to the plate. It was different than I’d expected, but in a good way.

I could have photographed this swiss chard all day. It’s so lovely. So vibrant. So fresh. Straight from the farm.

If you haven’t found a local Farmers’ Market in your area yet, then get out and find one! It’s totally worth it.

I had never made a pot pie before. As much as I love the comforting idea of a pot pie, it seems they have to be super fattening to be tasty. Not so! This healthier version is a nice comforting winter treat.

I’d come across a recipe in a recent Health magazine for a Chicken Pot Pie filled with leftover roasted root vegetables. Of course, I didn’t have what I needed. Not to mention, the chicken I prepared turned out to be bad (as in make-you-sick bad). At this point I was so frustrated and completely snowed in. We’d already walked to the grocery store a mile away… twice. I wasn’t about to trek out in two feet of snow…again!

Discouraged that my first pot pie would be less-than-perfect… I finished it anyway. I hate to waste food. To my complete surprise, this Yummy Veggie Pot Pie turned out to be absolute perfection! With every bite, I turned to my chef husband with such pride and satisfaction waiting for his stamp of approval. Even he loved it!

Yummy Veggie Pot Pie

WHAT I USED

1 sheet puff pastry, thawed, cut to fit dish(es) (I used about 1/3 of one sheet)
2 teaspoons unsalted butter
2 teaspoons olive oil
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups 1% Lactaid milk
2 – 3 sprigs fresh thyme
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 cup roasted zucchini, cut into small cubes
1 cup roasted parsnips, cut into small cubes
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 fresh sage leaves
1 large egg white, beaten

WHAT I DID

1. Place cubed zucchini and parsnips on baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and season with kosher salt & pepper. Bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes or until tender. Depends on size of your cubes. Once veggies are done, raise over temp to 425 degrees.

2. Meanwhile, cook butter and oil in medium saucepan over moderate heat. Add flour, cook 1 minute, whisking constantly. Continue whisking while adding milk in a slow stream; bring mixture to a simmer. Add thyme Simmer 5 minutes or until thickened.

3. Remove thyme sprigs. Stir in next 5 ingredients (through pepper). Spoon mixture into ovenproof dish. Take thawed puff pastry from fridge and cut piece to fit your dish. Work quickly, minimizing handling of pastry. Press pastry to outer edge of dish to seal. Place 2 sage leaves on top. Brush with egg white.

4. Bake pot pie on a baking sheet in center of oven for 17-19 minutes or until pastry is golden brown. Serve hot!

*Our puff pastry was a little underdone on the inside so you might bake a little longer, but keep an eye on it. You don’t want it to burn!

**I used a dish to yield 2 larger servings. I did not have individual dishes. This would make 3-4 1-cup servings if you have individual dishes.

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Is your mouth watering yet? Mine is! Can’t wait to make this again. Feel free to use any combination of veggies. This would be great with so many varieties. Winter squash might be nice. Mmm…

Happy Weekend everyone!

We picked up this neat old piece of art for under $2 earlier this week. I love the colors and the ship. The wood was quite dull, so it needed a little love. Simply spray a rag with a little olive oil cooking spray and wipe gently over the wood. Voila! Good as new.

You could probably use any type of oil. Just apply lightly. You don’t want greasy art.

Tomorrow is Foodie Friday! Is your mouth watering yet? Mine is!

This is one of my favorite meals. It’s incredibly easy, but so elegant and tasty. What more could you ask for? I have to thank my husband for introducing this recipe to me. He made it for me once or twice, and I was hooked!

Is this a galette or tart? We’ll call it a galette. Sounds fancier!What is so great about this recipe is that you could substitute an vast array of ingredients for the filling. All sorts of vegetables would be so lovely nestled in this rustic galette. I cannot say that I have tried any other combos in this galette since I’m totally in love with the tomatoes!

Rustic Tomato Galette
2 Meal Portions / 4 Side Portions

WHAT I USED

1 Pillsbury Refrigerated Pie Crust, or homemade
2-3 medium tomatoes, cut into 1/4 inch slices, seeds removed
Small handful of fresh herbs, basil or thyme are personal favorites
1/4 cup Hellman’s Real Mayonnaise for brushing
McCormick Italian Herb Seasoning Grinder

WHAT I DID

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Line a baking sheet with a Silpat or parchment paper.

3. Place pie crust on baking sheet. Store-bought is easier since there is no rolling involved.

4. Brush the pie crust with some of the mayonnaise.  Season with kosher salt, pepper and Italian Herb Seasoning grinder.

5. Working from the center of crust, begin placing your tomato slices in layers. Season each layer with kosher salt, pepper and Italian Herb Seasoning grinder as well as some of your herbs. If you love basil, use more. This is up to your tastes. It will add lovely flavor, don’t be shy!

6. Continue layering tomatoes and seasoning until you’ve used up your slices. Season with kosher salt, pepper, Italian Herb Seasoning grinder and remaining herbs.

7. To close up your galette, start by folding the two sides onto tomato mound. Press into the mound gently, try not to tear the dough. Next, fold up the front and back pieces. You can simply fold it up, or try to overlay the pieces to make a nice design. It doesn’t matter, it will taste great either way! Try to close it completely, but if you have too much filling, don’t worry. It’s just as lovely and tasty if it doesn’t cover your entire tomato mound.

8. Brush a good amount of mayonnaise over the entire galette. If you’ve got an opening, brush onto tomatoes as well. Be sure to get into all the cracks and folds. This will add flavor and give your galette a glistening brown appearance. Season with kosher salt, pepper and Italian Herb Seasoning grinder.

9. Bake for 40-50 minutes, rotating once during cooking. Juices will run from the bottom, but no worries. Allow to rest and cool for 15-20 minutes. You can slice and serve from the baking sheet or carefully place entire galette onto a lovely platter.

This makes two nice dinner portions or four side portions.

Want to print this recipe? Click here.

Have a great weekend!

I came across a bag of smooth stones I’d picked up pretty cheap at Ikea a long time ago. They seem to be moved from one box or closet to another. It was time they had a makeover! Here I’ve made them into pretty little paperweights.

WHAT I USED

- any rocks, smooth stones
- scrap lace or trims
- Fabric-Tac

WHAT I DID

Decide which side of your rock you’d like to be the top. Now flip it over, and place your lace edge down to see where you want it to be glued. I pushed mine towards the center a bit so you can’t see the edge when it is sitting on your surface.

Start by drawing a thin line of glue around the bottom of the rock. Take one end of your lace and place it in the line of glue. Press gently to keep fingers clean! Do not flip right side up until glue has dried.

You may also want to place a bead of glue where the ends meet to keep a uniform look throughout the lace. Otherwise you will see two unfinished edges.

Now you’re done! Use as a paperweight or simply a pretty little addition to your home.

I have really been craving soup these past couple weeks. Maybe it’s all the snow we’ve been getting and chilly temperatures! I happen to love butternut squash. What better to use it for than a soup?

I found this recipe from Bon Apetit, but realized I didn’t have all the ingredients, nor did I want to use heavy cream or milk. I did however have similar ingredients (i.e. sub parsnips for carrots, celery root for celery). While I was unsure of how this would turn out with the substitutions and my own spin, I decided to press on. Boy, am I glad I did. This soup turned out to be amazing!

Butternut Squash & Roasted Garlic Soup

WHAT I USED:

2 heads of garlic, tops removed
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
3 cups chopped onions
3/4 cup peeled, chopped parsnips
1/2 cup peeled, chopped celery root
4 pounds butternut squash, peeled, seeded, cut into 1-inch pieces
6 cups canned low-sodium chicken broth
3 tablespoons chopped fresh sage

kosher salt & fresh ground black pepper to taste

light sour cream for garnish

WHAT I DID:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place each head of garlic on it’s own foil sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and wrap tightly. Bake about 40 minutes, or until tender. Cool in foil.

2. Melt butter in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add onions, parsnips and celery. Cook until onions begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Stir mixture so it does not brown. Add squash, broth and 2 tablespoons sage. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer uncovered 25 minutes or until squash is tender.

3. While soup is simmering, unwrap peeled garlic. Squeeze into a small bowl, discarding papery skins. Mash garlic with a fork into a smooth paste.

4. Stir garlic into soup. Using a hand blender, puree soup until smooth. Season with kosher salt and pepper to taste.

5. Ladle soup into bowls. Garnish with a dollop of light sour cream, remaining sage ( if desired ) and a little kosher salt and black pepper.

** Soup can be frozen ( without sour cream ) up to 4 weeks. Freeze in individual portions for quick meals. Thaw in refrigerator. Reheat on the stove over medium low heat.

This is a fabulous soup perfect for a simple meal at home or a night of entertaining. A perfect first course! Serve with bruscetta for dipping or your favorite yummy bread. Garnish with a dollop of light sour cream to counter the sweetness of the squash. Yum!!

I’ve never used celery root before, but it worked very nicely with the meal. It seemed to be milder than celery to me. Maybe it just married perfectly with the flavors so I didn’t notice. It was easy to work with and a nice substitution. Don’t be afraid to try new ingredients. You might be surprised!

Helpful Link:
How To Roast Garlic

Recently, I tried making my own pizza dough from Martha Stewart’s Baking Handbook. It turned out so nicely that I have made it several times since! It’s so rewarding making things like this from scratch. I simply make a batch and freeze half to use at another time. It’s worth the little effort to have something fresh and tasty. Here is a similar recipe to the one in the book. Frozen Pizza Dough.

For this Margherita Pizza, I use one container of Domino’s Marinara sauce (we had one leftover), fresh mozzarella slices and fresh basil leaves. First, I roll the dough out. I like mine on the thinner side. Sprinkle cornmeal on your cookie sheet. Place rolled dough onto sheet. Brush with olive oil, top with marinara, mozzarella slices, basil leaves and salt & pepper. I also grated a little asiago (or any hard cheese) I had in my drawer, just to add a little more flavor. Bake in a 450 degree oven for 12-15 minutes. Throw a few more basil leaves on top and enjoy!

If you don’t want to make your own dough, buy some to use. You could also make your own pizza sauce. I just haven’t gotten around to perfecting that. Might be next on my list of things to learn.

This is such a tasty dinner. It has become a staple in our home. Try it! There are so many combinations of flavors out there. I favor simplicity, but these would be super tasty with meats if that’s your thing.

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We’re enduring a record-breaking snowstorm here in the Baltimore-D.C. area. Will post updates of the snow! It’s just lovely.
Have a warm and happy weekend!

My husband LOVES spicy food. It seems with him, the hotter it is, the better! We came across a recipe in a recent issue of Bon Appetit magazine, and thought we’d try it. These would make a nice addition to sandwiches or anything you want to add a little bit of zing to. Below is our recipe adapted from Bon Appetit.

Pickled Hot Peppers
Makes 1/2 quart.

WHAT I USED

1/2 pound peppers, sliced (jalapenos, 1 cubanello, 1 small red bell pepper)
1 medium shallot, thinly sliced
1 cup white wine vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1.5 tablespoons water
2 shakes dried thyme
1 garlic clove, thinly sliced
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Pinch of kosher salt

1 glass container, I used a thrifted glass jar with lid. (thoroughly washed!)

WHAT I DID

1. Chop peppers and shallots, place in a heat safe bowl.

2. In a medium saucepan, combine remaining ingredients and bring to a boil over medium heat. Stir to dissolve sugar. Remove from heat and pour over peppers and shallots. Cover, let stand 5 minutes.

3. Uncover and let cool. Once cooled, transfer entire contents to glass container. Press peppers into brine and store in refrigerator. Peppers should chill at least 4 hours. Will keep up to 10 days.

*If you prefer milder flavor, use sweet or mild peppers and be sure to remove all seeds. I left the seeds for extra spice.

Recently, my husband took me to see It’s Complicated. In the movie, Meryl Streep’s character makes these incredible looking cheesy, toasty bits of goodness. I had never heard of these French sandwiches before, but I couldn’t get them out of my mind! After some research, I came across this recipe from Simply Recipes. I adapted it to my tastes, but holy moly these things are amazing! I can’t even begin to describe how each mouthwatering bite of creamy, cheesy goodness tasted. Perfection. These are going to become a staple in our household.

I believe the key to making the Croque Monsieur was to buy quality ingredients. Truly, I think it made a difference. Somewhere in my research I came across a comment that was made, “It’s just an expensive ham and cheese sandwich.” Oh no, no, no! Sure, it’s bread, cheese, ham, but does your ham and cheese come bathed in a Béchamel sauce? It is just so satisfying to make meals like this at home. For me, the cost of the ingredients is still far below what I’d pay for a mediocre (at best!) restaurant meal. Really, it’s just the cheese that is “expensive”, but they will last you longer than more lackluster cheeses will. With so much flavor, a little goes a long way. Although, I did indulge tonight on the cheese front!

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Croque Monsieur (adapted from SimplyRecipes.com)
Makes 10 pieces or 2-3 servings.

WHAT I USED
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp flour
1 1/2 cups 1% Lactaid, warmed (I can’t handle real milk, funny the cheese doesn’t get to me)
Salt & Pepper
1 1/2 cups Gruyère cheese, grated
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated and packed
Crusty French bread loaf, cut into 1 inch thick slices (sandwich size, not skinny baguettes)
8 ounces Black forest ham, thinly sliced
Dijon mustard

WHAT I DID
1. Preheat oven to 400°F.

2. Using a small saucepan, melt butter over medium heat until melted. Slowly add flour while whisking constantly. Continue cooking and whisking until mixture turns a light blonde color, a couple minutes. Keep color light, do not let brown. Slowly pour in warmed milk, while whisking. Keep a light simmer and continue to whisk until sauce starts to thicken. Add Parmesan and 1/4 cup Gruyère cheese a little at a time while stirring. Do not add all at once, or sauce will clump. Once you’ve combined cheese into sauce, salt and pepper to taste. Need help with your Béchamel? Links below.

3. Turn heat to low under sauce. Lightly toast your bread slices on a baking sheet in the oven, turn once. Do not let brown.

4. Spread a very thin layer of Dijon mustard over each toasted slice. Add about 2 slices of ham to each piece. Sprinkle each slice with the Gruyère cheese reserving about 1/4 cup. Spoon Béchamel over each slice, then top with remaining Gruyère cheese.

5. Bake for 5 minutes. Rotate pan front to back, then turn broiler on High for 3 minutes. Cheese will be bubbling and lightly browned when ready. Be sure to keep a close watch while broiler is on, they can burn quickly.

6. Remove from pan, plate up and enjoy!

Traditionally, this is more like a sandwich, but I enjoyed these quite a lot without the top portion of bread. I feel it would have been too crusty and hard, especially for me. (Braces!) I probably shouldn’t have been crunching on the one crusty piece as it is! My Orthodontist would be unhappy with me. Shh! You won’t tell, right?

Have an outstanding weekend and indulge a little!