Sage Cocktail

To help celebrate Jul 4, we made the best cocktail. I couldn't help but duplicate decorating the glass with the suggested garnish just like the recipe. The whole blackberry was good to eat after the drink went down. This would be a great drink to serve at Christmas not only for the colors, but for the warm and earthly flavor that would surely take the chill out of the bones on a cold night.

What caught my eye about this cocktail recipe was the simple syrup made from fresh sage, sugar, and water (and you probably know, we have a TON of fresh sage). And of course fresh blackberries as an ingredient reeled me in.

The recipe made a lot more syrup than we needed for two drinks. I put the rest of it in the fridge and now am trying to find other recipes where it can be used. No doubt that cocktail will be made a couple more times :).  The syrup keeps in the fridge for up to 30 days.

Today I added it to iced tea - surprisingly, it was so rich, earthy and good!! I wasn't sure if sage tea would be my "cup of tea", but it was spot on. It had a subtle sage flavor, and was really different.

I'd love to add it to a baked good of some kind if I had the time to figure out how to substitute it for other ingredients. The syrup would need to replace some liquid in the recipe, as well as any sweetener.

So I'm hooked on simple syrups because it's another way I can use my herbs. I'll make a few different syrups with some of our abundant mint or lemon verbena (or maybe basil?), which I think will be terrific in either cold or hot tea.

Edible in Bed 32

When we started "gardening", a few of our friends couldn't understand why we'd want to go through all the trouble. After all, for the sake of simplicity, we moved from a too-big-house in the 'burbs to a just-right-size condo near the city closer to both of our jobs and closer to where we spend most of our time.

And guess what? That simplicity, our change (drastic change) in lifestyle, has given us more time to do what we love. More time to do what matters in all kinds of ways. 

Planting a modest herb bed is one of those ways. And we it love because it is so good for us - we get super fresh herbs (farm-to-table is always healthier), it's less expensive (we bought a lot of herbs at the ridiculous price of $2-$3 a package), and we meet the nicest people who are tending their own little beds and talk smack about the advantages of hardwood mulch vs pine bark mulch or of composting vs store bought fertilizers.

And, goodness gracious, we're reaping the fruits of our labor from Bed 32!!

Tons of basil, mint, sage, thyme, oregano, tarragon, rosemary, peppery nasturtium flowers (for salads - yum) and everything else in between.

The other day I was pulling weeds (10 minutes a week if I keep it up) and took a few iPhone snaps.

All of these plants were no more than a few delicate leaves sticking out of the ground not that long ago!

We're using the herbs in creative ways - ways we never would have considered if buying from the store. Some of our salads are composed of nearly all herbs - so good!

Springy

I've been in a work-related class all week. Ack…my brain is frazzled and what gray cells weren't affected have taken an hiatus. I had to change my work schedule to accommodate the class, and boy was that tough. I'm a creature of habit and I like keeping a schedule through the week, but this class blew it all to pieces!

The fortune cookie in my Chinese take out dinner tonight appropriately read "The only constant in life is that there will be changes." True.

We decided to take up herb gardening (again*). On Sat we picked up a booty of herbs from Strange's and planted a nice sized bed that afternoon. Rosemary, sage, basil (lots), tarragon, lemon verbena (great in iced tea), mint, thyme, marjoram, edible nasturtium blossoms, and a few others.

*The developer of our condo laid out 30 or so gardening beds for owners who wanted to have a modest plot to grown things in. We planted an herb bed right after we moved in a few years ago, and it did just OK. Really, the bed wasn't in an ideal location and didn't get all the sun it needed to thrive. But this time we have a different plot that gets more sun so we're hoping it will flourish and yield a lot more than the first time around. Keeping our fingers crossed.

Shopping for herbs and flowers on a warm spring day is so wonderfully therapeutic!

It was French Food Fest weekend too - the best cream puff in RVA (although the homemade cream puffs at Aziza's on Main are pretty incredible).

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

A reprieve! I worked a few days last week and this week, and the rest of the holiday was front and center for just me and the hubs!

The week before Christmas we went out of town for a few days, and the day after I returned I fractured my big toe. I've been hobbling around getting things done, but all in all that's just not working too well. It's healing nicely, but it sure did put an unexpected crimp in my holiday activities. The condo is a bit of a mess. My holiday decorating is super simple (a house plant wrapped in mini lights, a purchased poinsettia, and a candle). I decided not to cook my usual New Year's "lucky" brunch for family because I don't want to run the risk of undoing the healing so far on my toe.

The hubs cooked the entire Christmas eve dinner! A mountain of seafood (which is what he grew up on) - shrimp, scallops, and talapia. Antipasti and roasted asparagus. So, so good! We had left overs the next day (easy peasy), to which I added an Apple Galette (DO make the homemade crust…it was incredibly easy and so very delicious). I think I'm getting addicted to galettes!

The hubs and I spent some time out most days during the holiday for very short periods. My mom came over for a few days after Christmas. We went to the movies and afterwards made a batch of peanut butter candy from an old recipe that my grandmother used to make every holiday before she passed (I LOVE it, and it's been a very long time since I've had it - really brought back memories of past Christmases at my grandmother's house).

Hope your holiday was fantastic!

Have a happy and healthy New Year!

 
 

Rustic Turkey Soup

How was your Thanksgiving, my friends?

We spent a quiet day at home cooking, eating, relaxing, and engaging in an abnormal amount of food-related conversation. Our rotation of Christmas DVDs played on (didn't always watch, but it was nice to hear them in the background anyway). We called family members and a few friends to catch up. In between we drank cappuccino and hot chocolate. Nice.

We were kind of sneaky and munched as we cooked, so by the time the table was set the hubs and I were not that hungry (which didn't stop us from eating a little more anyway).

Besides turkey, we roasted carrots and parsnips, and brussel sprouts. We made dressing, cranberry sauce, gravy, and apple pie.

We had a lot leftovers!  As usual, even before the meal was over, I was thinking of ways to use all the savory sides and turkey in other yummy comfort dishes. I have an aversion to discarding food, so I always try to reinvent leftovers.

Each year most of the Thanksgiving leftovers make their way into a savory, herb soup for a lighter day of eating. Besides breakfast made with leftovers this year (a modified version via this Pin), the soup is pretty much all we eat the day after (and the day after that). It's so good with the caramelized and crusty roasted veggies.

Oh, and after the soup we have a little apple pie, of course!

Rustic Turkey Soup

(I didn't give specific quantities for every ingredient.
Use what you have in the quantities you prefer.
Cooking is all about improvising!)

Sauté garlic and onions in olive oil.
Add 3 cups low sodium chicken broth and 1 cup water. You may have to add more liquid later, depending on the quantity of your turkey meat and veggies.
Add any leftover gravy (this is what makes the soup rich and flavorful!).
Bring to boil.
Add leftover veggies (add fresh too if needed).
Add shredded turkey. We like a lot of turkey here.
Bundle up a thick bunch of your favorite fresh herbs in cheese cloth and tie off so they don't escape.
Submerge the herb bunch in the soup.
Season with salt and pepper to taste (we didn't add salt because the herbs pack a punch).
Bring to boil again.
Turn down heat and let simmer until thickened a little.
Remove herb bundle.
Ladle into bowls and while soup is still hot, top with crunchy home made croutons, shredded cheddar cheese, and springs of herbs (herb sprigs are optional, but they look pretty, don't they?)

Enjoy!!

Breakfast

I make this for breakfast a lot after working out in the morning. So good, quick and satisfying.

Drizzle a little olive oil on a slice of hardy bread and sprinkle it lightly with kosher salt.
Broil in the oven on one side until golden. Remove from oven and let sit for a minute or so.
Spread ricotta cheese on the toasted side.
Top cheese with a variety of chopped herbs and sliced Kalamata olives.

I prefer to use goat cheese, but at the time I only had ricotta on hand and it was still yummy.  I also switch up the herbs a lot, using whatever I have on hand (which is sometimes just one herb).

This is good in lots of different ways. Instead of olives I sometimes top with halved grape tomatoes that have been quickly sauteed in a few drops of olive oil over high heat. Or, another favorite if I've got a sweet tooth going on is to leave off the herbs and top the cheese with warm peaches (leave on the skin, slice, and saute for a few minutes in a tablespoon of water, teaspoon or so of honey, and a few whole cloves - just long enough to give the peaches a nice glaze, maybe 3-4 minutes - let cool a bit, remove cloves, and add to top of the cheese).

I have to admit, I miss the tiny garden we tended in the backyard of our previous suburban home.  Just a modest bounty with mostly herbs and a tiny collection of vegetables. Nothing beats fresh picked herbs and foods for simple and delicious day-to-day cooking. I miss trekking out to that little plot and collecting super fresh ingredients for a meal.

Not saying I don't love my condo life. I can't imagine living any other way now. But we sure do miss that little garden at this time of year!

Our balcony doesn't get enough sun to grow much - goodness knows I've tried!

Hooray for farmer's markets and well stocked grocery stores!

Rustic Baked Eggs

Last Sunday morning I made "Rustic Baked Eggs" - a recipe I jotted down a long time ago. It was scribbled on the back of a torn piece of paper and dropped in a stack of recipes that I've collected over the years.

I was looking for something that would use the ton of fresh herbs we have in the fridge, and this looked good and easy. Although next time I make it I'll use twice the amount of herbs it called for.

As I was getting ready to cook, I realized that the ingredients called for chopped Kalamata olives, but my hand-written recipe didn't indicate when they should be added. So I sprinkled them on top of the dish (pushed them down into the mix a little) as the last step before the final broiling. Cooking is all about improvising, no matter how small it might be!

Rustic Baked Eggs

2 Tbl full fat milk
2 Tbl heavy cream
5 Eggs
2 Tbl olive oil
1 minced clove garlic
4-5 Tbl chopped mix of fresh herbs, or to taste
Feta cheese, crumbled
Kalamata olives, roughly chopped
Salt and pepper (to taste - cheese and olives add saltiness so I went VERY light on salt)

In a small bowl combine olive oil, herbs, and garlic, set aside.
In a separate dish crack the eggs.
Put butter and cream in a shallow broiler proof dish. Sprinkle with salt.
Place milk mixture dish under preheated broiler and cook until bubbly (5 minutes or so).
Remove the pan from the broiler and immediately but gently drop in eggs one at a time equally around the top of the bubbling mix. Carefull not to break the yolks. Sprinkle eggs with salt and pepper.
Drop the herb mix on top of the eggs and spread around (careful not to break a yolk, like I did).
Sprinkle the cheese and olives on the top.
Broil until eggs are done to your liking - I went for 5 minutes but to me the eggs were too done so next time I'll reduce the cooking time.

We ate it with toasted, grainy bread (we love "Harvest" loaves from Whole Foods) and our favorite morning beverage, cappuccino.

It was DELICIOUS.

There are a ton of recipes for baked eggs on the web.

Here's a similar recipe from Ina Garten that's cooked in individual gratin dishes, which I really like. But she doesn't use Feta or olives, which to me make the dish, so I'd add them for sure.

Here's another, which looks almost the same as the recipe I have.

Simple

This week I made an easy recipe from Real Simple magazine that I think you'll love as much as we did - Linguine with Summer Vegetables and Goat Cheese. I'm addicted to creamy, sharp goat cheese and have been putting it on practically everything lately.

I can't pass by the cookbook section of any store without stopping for a quick peek at the newest publications. The other day I picked up "It's All Good", and I'm excited to make a meal this weekend with two recipes - Perfect Herbed Grilled Chicken, and, Mango & Avocado Salad with Balsamic-Lime Vinaigrette.

I don't buy many cookbooks anymore (I already have way too many, and, I only have SO much room in our tiny condo :), so before I bought it I spent a good 15 minutes reading it to be sure it would meet my needs, and it did...

The ingredients were mostly fresh and easily accessible at the grocery store.

There ingredient lists weren't too long.

The recipes weren't too complicated.

The recipes were healthy. 

From this book I've already tried for breakfast - An Olive Oil Fried Egg. So easy and good.

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 organic egg

Coarse Sea Salt

Heat the olive oil in a small nonstick skillet over high heat. Have a lid for the pan at the ready. Have the salt crock within reaching distance.

Crack the egg into a small bowl (I found it easier to slip the egg into the hot skillet from the bowl rather than fumbling with cracking the eggs directly into the skillet - I cook two eggs at a time)

Slide the egg into the hot oil.

Immediately sprinkle on salt and cover with the lid.

It's going to crackle and sputter loudly beneath that lid, but that's OK. No peeking allowed (seriously, don't lift the lid because it's really popping in there).

Let it cook one minute. Yes, just one minute. A few seconds more and you'll get a semi-solid yolk.

Turn off the heat and let it calm down in there for a few seconds.

Immediately remove egg.

You can serve the eggs over any good left over base from last night's dinner - stir-fried veggies or quinoa (both recommended in the recipe). I think grilled veggies would be good.

Not having left overs that would work, I slipped the eggs over a patty of freshly made loose grits before sprinkling it all with cracked pepper.

Just around the edges of the egg is a crisp skirt which adds a wonderful crunch here and there. The yolk is creamy and lusciously dip-able, perfect for dunking a chuck of toasted nutty bread into.

Add a cup of cappuccino. Call it a morning.

Simplicity and good food. That's what cooking is all about for me.

Fresh

Summer! Fresh foods!

At our table over the 4th of July holiday...

French lentil salad (lentils, parsley, chives, baby spinach, carrot greens, shallots) topped with grilled whole carrots and Horseradish Greek yogurt sauce.

Raw Kale and Swiss Chard Salad.

This with some left over Swiss chard.

Watermelon and Ginger limeade.

So, so very good!

Filmology Continues

Got my second roll of expired film back from the lab - Kodak black & white TMax 400.

I like the results! The images are super grainy, but I'm not at all unhappy with that (by-product of expired film). And I'm pretty pleased with the exposure considering I was getting used to the camera and learning the proper way to expose film.

I did some dodging, burning, and adjusting for contrast in Lightroom (rather than in the darkroom like previous - dare I say old - days). A faded look seems to be another hallmark of expired film, especially if hasn't been stored properly over the years.

I'm in the process of shooting my 2nd roll of fresh film - Fuji 400H. I finished the first fresh roll of Kodak Tri-X 400 B&W a few weeks ago.  Then I plan to move on to the Mamiya 220 - can't wait to shoot with that monster. Once I get two rolls shot with the Mamiya's (I have two of them for now) I'll ship all the rolls off to the lab.

The last shot is a double exposure - which is a ton of fun with film. You never know exactly how it's going to turn out until you see the negative. I need to practice that technique!

Sure wish I could spend more time on this.  I'm loving it so much!

Really?

Winter is clinging tenaciously!

Tuesday we had 70 degree weather and sun.

This morning we had delicate snow flurries (short lived) and it's frigid - max high of 41 degrees today!

Mother Nature is so volatile in March.

A real spring. Real soon. Until then, a few more tulips to shake off the cold and keep me thinking of warmer weather.

Poached

Late at night you'll find me throwing together breakfast and lunch for work the next day. Thinking of anything more complex than cereal to take for the morning meal makes me want to run from the kitchen screaming.

But on weekends it's all about good food. I often cook a big meal for breakfast - bacon and eggs and toast from whatever bread we have on hand. Sometimes I'll whip up whole grain pancakes or fried potatoes if we've got a baked one left over from yesterday's dinner. I usually add a side of fresh fruit to round it out. Just simple, good food that'll stick to my ribs until dinner comes around.

I tried my hand at poached eggs recently in an effort to "lighten up" breakfast. I'm not enamored with the cumbersome process of delicately dropping the egg into a swirling pot of not-quite-simmering-water so that the twirl catches the egg white and wraps it around the yolk just right while it's cooking. And then there's the perfect 3 minute timing required for the best yolkie goodness. But I do love the taste results. Delicious, and much lighter than frying (which is my usual method - in bacon grease if I've cooked it - that's the way my mom and grandmother did it...don't judge:).

And whatever you do, don't judge these eggs based on shape. It's my first attempt! They're certainly not the lovely smooth round cloud-like poached creations that are served up in restaurants (or even by someone who knows what they're doing), but they were done perfectly - rich, creamy yolk and a solid white. Pretty good!

They Say Spring

We had 70 degree weather today. And snow less than a week ago! After today I'm not thinking about snow or cold weather for a long time!

Now I'm thinking about spring, my favorite season.

I'm loving warmer breezes, longer days, and anticipating fluffy blooming pear trees (soon).

I'm thinking of Easter, lighter clothing, and eating in-season fruits and veggies like greens, tender spring onions, snap peas and lettuces.

I'm ready for blankets to be put away, heat to be turned off, and wide open windows early in the morning.

I'm looking forward to dining alfresco on the balcony with wine and a board thickly layered with hard and pungent cheeses, shiny black olives, thinly sliced charcuterie from Belmont Butchery, and a crusty loaf of bread. Yum!

I picked up fresh tulips last weekend from the local grocery. They were dirt cheap so I landed three big bunches and placed several vases around the condo.  Nothing says spring like tulips!

Snow Revisited

I was so smitten with the quick and furious snow we got recently that I wanted to extend the (visual) excitement for just a little while longer - especially since its been close to 50 degrees over the last couple of days.

Love this collection of NYC's Grand Central Terminal.

March Madness

No, not that kind of March Madness.

We're having a blizzard today! We don't see much snow in these parts, but when it does snow it's not uncommon for it to happen in March.

The last hurrah for bad weather (if you want to call it that - I'm half tempted to put on winter clothing and take a photo walk). Mother Nature is cleansing the palette to make way for spring.

In a few weeks we'll be enjoying a rush of daffodils (have already seen a few of these), trees exploding with new buds (seen many of these too), and fresh lime green foliage popping up all over.

Until then, I love this view from my condo balcony today!

Off Line

Just the two of us shuffled around the condo on New Year's eve and day relaxing, cooking, watching a few movies, eating, drinking the hub's home made cocktails, and in general just being off line in every sense.

We headed back to work yesterday. Getting up really early again was killer. I'm addicted to early morning sleep - I get my best zzzzzz's then.

We did a ton of cooking over the holidays - really put our kitchen toys to work. Both the hubs and I enjoy trying out lots of different dishes and eating at home (but we always love finding a great restaurant, too).

The Reason for the Season

Merry Christmas my friends!

Easing in

Still getting used to the sun setting earlier.
Cozy, sparkling holiday lights scattered throughout the condo.
Lazy late holiday mornings with a slow wake up.
Still half asleep and making strong cappuccino with the Nespresso.
Reading quietly until 9 or 10 while keeping warm under thick throws.
Visiting with gifts and food and well wishes.
Planning our Christmas and New Year day outings.
Telephone conversations with friends and family.

Lovely times.

Pool is open!

Our lovely pool by the river opened last weekend.

I'm not a pool person. Laying out in the sun makes we want to run screaming for the nearest cliff. I whither away from boredom.

That being said, please know that I've spent many a day by the pool out of pure pressure from friends and family members and their kids. :) Nothing keeps a child occupied like a pool. And, well, as long as the food and cold drinks and decent conversation are flowing, I'm happy. Up to a point, anyway.

Apologies to all you sun worshipers. :)

Which brings me to say that the best part about visiting the pool at our condo is the view of the river while you're there. Just beyond that section of fence in the back is the river. Lovely.