Three days before Christmas, our fridge decided it didn’t want to stay cold. I opened the door to find the temperature was at 50 degrees. That is, in fact, the Danger Zone. Quickly, I salvaged all the dairy and condiments I could, and used our vintage Coke Machine as a fridge. So very thankful to have that as a back-up!

Hope everyone has a lovely Christmas Eve! I’ll be making cookies and relaxing with my husband. Can’t really ask for anything more…

Starting today, Foodie Fridays will be replaced by French Fridays with Dorie. I’ll be cooking through Around My French Table along with many others. Hope you enjoy this detour as I learn more about french cooking.

Today’s recipe was Gougères. This was such a simple, satisfying thing to make. My batch yielded 44 servings, not the 36 mentioned in the book. I baked a dozen, froze the rest. Did I mention I ate three before I even started writing this post? This will become a staple entertaining food for me since you can bake them from frozen. What a nice little treat for guests to have a warm, golden cheesy nugget like this!

This time I used gruyere, but I will try cheddar next. I’d also love to add a little spice to them and play with different flavors. Great recipe. Turned out perfectly. Can’t wait for next week’s recipe!

Enjoy your weekend! Eat something yummy.

Finally! I’ve been dying to try the MIHO Gastrotruck since we moved to San Diego. Last Friday afternoon my friend and I tracked them down in our old ‘72 VW Superbeetle in hopes of having a super yummy lunch.

We saw the line for food before we saw the truck! Hopes are rising high. Can’t wait to try the Fig & Goat Cheese Tart. Mmm… My mouth is watering.

What’s this? Already sold out only an hour into service!? My heart sinks. Thankfully, there were plenty of other things on the menu I wanted to try. And all proved to be quite tasty and worth the 20 minute drive to find these guys.

First we had a Fried Okra Salad. Local okra, local arugula, local tomato, red onion, house pickled local green beans, buttermilk dressing. Full $6.95 Half $3.95.

Then we dove into the Oaxacan Quesadilla. Local flour tortilla, queso Oaxaca, grilled local peppers, roasted local tomato salsa. $6.25

Last, we thoroughly enjoyed the Tacos de Pescado. Local rock cod, local cabbage, crema fresca, pico de gallo and local corn tortilla. $6.75

All of our dishes were very fresh tasting and definitely worth coming back for more. I felt the prices were quite fair for being so fresh, homemade and local. Their menu changes weekly based on what’s available at the markets. How cool is that? You never know what you’ll be able to try the next week!

One of the owners told us that soon there will be a permanent weekly location in the East Village in downtown San Diego… only a handful of blocks from where I live! I could not be happier about this little bit of information.

If you are anywhere near the MIHO Gastrotruck you must try it, and if you want to find out where they are just follow them on Facebook or Twitter. I am officially a HOMI! YAY!

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!

I can’t believe it’s been (almost) three months since I posted last. Does anyone else feel the year flying by? Sheesh! Life has been good, busy and full of fun things. Although, not much time for making and creativity. Hopefully that will change soon.

Most recently, Dustin and I went to New York City for a quick 2.5 day weekend trip along with some of my family. We took the bus, which was super fun and only cost $4.50 roundtrip TOTAL for both of us. I mean, you can’t beat that! We had a blast while we were there. Dustin took all of these photos. Enjoy!

Grimaldi’s Pizza was amazing! Totally worth the wait. We walked across the Brooklyn Bridge which certainly worked up our appetite for pizza! I would recommend trying Grimaldi’s (and walking the Bridge!). The space is quite small and a little noisy, but it’s also cozy and fun. You can watch them cranking out the pizzas in the back. Super thin crust, baked in a coal brick oven. YUM!

Amazing cupcakes. Well, at least they look amazing! We tried the Mini Pumplin Whoopie Pies and Coconut Nutella Macaroons which were both pretty spectacular. These baked goodies come from Street Sweets. A blue lunch wagon bakery on wheels! Try it if you see it. Bring cash, unless you want to buy $10 worth of goodies on your debit card.

Here’s my lovely Mom and super cool brother. We went through craziness trying to get tickets to see West Side Story. Finally, we lucked out and paid $35 for balcony seats and ended up with center orchestra seats! Amazing. Great show. Super fun. Made me want to dance!

The only photo of Dustin the entire trip.

Wrong stop. Lots of extra walking.
Definitely earned all the yummy food we ate during the trip.

Do you have a favorite New York City restaurant or activity? I’m going back in a couple weeks, and would love your input!

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]]> http://sewtrashy.com/2009/10/im-alive-2/feed/ 0 http://sewtrashy.com/2009/07/recent-finds-vessels/ http://sewtrashy.com/2009/07/recent-finds-vessels/#comments Wed, 01 Jul 2009 19:40:37 +0000 whitney http://sewtrashy.com/?p=148

I am a sucker for a lovely, useful vessel. Whether it be glass, metal or any other material, I have a very hard time refusing it. And, around $1-$2  a pop (some as low as .69 cents!), I certainly can’t turn that kind of a deal down! I splurged a little on the white tea tin I found on Etsy ($6). But, it was totally worth it!

I’ve decided to share some of my favorite pieces that I’ve accumulated over the last 6-8 months or so. I find these jars and tins so useful around the kitchen as well as the rest of the home. The glass flip top jars are perfect for food storage. I like to keep my nuts, seeds, snacks, dog treat, and baking items in them. Everything looks much prettier in a glass jar! These metal tins I typically use to contain my numerous teas. However, I have also been know to empty a few containers out and use them at a Craft Show as seen in this post.

The possibilities are endless. Enjoy!

]]> http://sewtrashy.com/2009/07/recent-finds-vessels/feed/ 5 http://sewtrashy.com/2009/02/i-heart-paula/ http://sewtrashy.com/2009/02/i-heart-paula/#comments Wed, 25 Feb 2009 16:48:51 +0000 whitney http://sewtrashy.com/2009/i-heart-paula/

paula_deen, originally uploaded by easement.

Although, I have never made a single recipe from Paula Deen, I thoroughly enjoy watching her on The Food Network. She has so many silly sayings that always make me laugh, but my favorite so far came yesterday. “Love comes in the form of butter.” ha! I love that!

Granted, I would die young if I ever cooked like her, but boy those recipes do sound so stinkin’ good, don’t they? Sometimes, Dustin yells at her on tv because he can’t believe how unhealthy she cooks. (He is a personal cook, you see, for a Coast Guard Admiral.)

I just love her. Don’t you?