Tiny Moment Tuesday

Channeling my inner 3 year old with real cheese toast and apples for breakfast.  Ignore the jumbo coffee cup!

Weekending-Good eats

The weekend started with an early departure from work on Friday; Sophie had a grooming appointment and then she hung out at the office for a couple hours.  It was definitely a top down day, and we took the long way home.  Saturday was the day to get things done-inside.  The weather was soo yucky.  I had several "administrative" things that have been on my to do list for a while.  One important task was  to renew my passport before it expired.   I also wanted to clean the apartment, and do laundry so that Sunday could be my "play" day.  I managed to get everything ticked off before bedtime on Saturday- yea!

A couple weeks ago I went through both of my Deb Perelman aka Smitten Kitchen cookbooks and marked the recipes I wanted to try.  This weekend featured 3 of recipes all winners.

Saturday featured the seared halibut and gazpacho salsa with tomato vinaigrette from her first cookbook The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook.  I substituted cod for the halibut, and did not make the salsa.  We had this with steamed asparagus and cacio e pepe potatoes anna which is a SK recipe from her newest book Smitten Kitchen Everyday.  Both of these were delicious.  Next time I do the fish I think I'll use halibut and make the salsa, but probably not the vinaigrette.  The recipe makes a lot and now I don't know what to do with the leftover dressing.

Sunday night we had the Chicken and Rice, street cart style from the Everyday book.  I used brown rice because that's what I had on hand, and I didn't have yogurt to make the sauce.   This dish was just okay, but on Monday I got the naan bread and the yogurt so I could serve the dish the way the recipe was intended.  What a difference it made having all the components.  I'd make this again, but add make it more red pepper so it'd be a bit more spicy.  That makes 3 down and about 30 more to go!  I haven't even begun to tag my Everyday Korean book, but think I'll get on that before the Olympics are over.  What's cookin' with you?!

Unraveled Wednesday

I'm going to try and give this Unraveled Wednesday thing a shot.  Fortunately I haven't had to unravel anything recently.  I have finished Taproot, but will wait until I've made my adjustments before posting a photo.  Currently I'm working on Beckett by Marie Greene, I'm knitting this with Rowan Finest which is a combination of extra fine merino, cashmere and royal alpaca in the colorway Happy.  It is soooo soft, I can't wait to see how this turns out.  I got this I think for 45% off at Cast on Cottage so a total win for me!  I've been taking photos at work because the light there seems to show the true color.

I recently finished a Gather hat for myself.  I'm on a quest to finish up my worsted weight yarn, and I thought I had enough to finish this hat with the russet color, but had to substitute a bit .  I'm totally okay with having a bit of black at the top. 

 I'm almost done with another Conversationalist hat using more leftover Berroco Vintage.  I made 2 baby sweaters from these yarns for die-hard Packer Fans.  I may have enough to put a small pom pom on top.  I think I'm going to be set for hats for a while.  I have a pair of mittens I've been trying to finish for quite some time, so I think that will be working on that when I'm not knitting on Beckett.  I'm thinking any other hats I make will go into a charity box to give away in the fall.

Finally, here's my most recent Smitten Kitchen recipe- Farro and Tomatoes.  I had farro for the first time at our Guild pot luck and it was delicious.  This recipe from SK was equally delicious.  I will definitely be trying more Farro recipes. 

December Daily- Wrap up 23, 24 and 25

We had a lovely family brunch at Mary's to start the day off right. The last photo is from our girls lunch on the 26th which really wrapped up the holiday weekend nicely.  I'm glad I have her blog to link to as I think that's the only time I have a photo of me show up!  It was so much fun watching Charlie talk about his tree cutter and blower, and while Sam didn't have much to say he definitely had lots of smiles to share. Much later in the day I had a serious raving for a Coca-cola-I no idea why, so off Andrew and I went with the dogs to the convenience store around the corner, but since it was so dark I decided to let Sophie wear on of my neon workout shirts so cars would see her.   Motorist in our area never pay attention to pedestrians.  She was not amused!
 

Christmas Eve we spent a few hours with my Mom.  Similar to what we did last year we took heavy hors d'oeuvres for lunch this year's menu included:  baked brie with cranberry jam, stuffed mushrooms, veggies and hummus, smoked trout dip, stuffed potatoes, shrimp cocktail, bacon wrapped scallops, bloody mary's, mimosas, and Moscow mules.  It was all delicious and we had a very nice visit.  We had dinner reservations at Maggiano's and I'm glad we had a decent lunch as the restaurant was overbooked for the evening and we had to wait more than 30 minutes past our reservation to be seated.

Christmas Day was just the 3 of us, and it was nice to have no plans to go anywhere or get dressed up.  Yoga pants and a t-shirt was the outfit du jour!  I knit Andrew a Clemson themed hat since when he returns to Maryland its going to be coooold!  This will help keep him warm when he walks Cocoa and traveling to and from the train station.  Maybe it will serve as a good luck charm that they'll go [and win] the National Championship again.  There was more delicious food for brunch and dinner- glazed ham, french toast casserole and snacks from Christmas Eve [and Maggiano's leftovers!].

I'd had my fill of football, so I cast on the Lilly Rose dress for my co-workers soon-to-be-born second daughter, and watched a few episodes of Season 2 of The Crown.   I've never struggled so much with a baby gift, but everything turned out too big or wasn't what I was hoping for.  I don't know why I didn't do this pattern to start with as it is such a cute/quick knit.  I am finally on the road to success with this one.  I also queue a ton of stuff on Ravelry, and my rationale was to purposely use the patterns I've bought [or printed] over the last few years, but manage to forget I have at the ready.  My goal this year is to knit from my stash and the patterns I've already purchased.  I plan to document my FOs a bit better this year.

The girl's lunch at Bistro VG on the 26th was so delightful, as always, and now all the out of towners are back home, but it was so nice to have everyone together.  I guess that means it's time to wrap up 2017 and focus on 2018.  I have some goals in mind that are achievable, and holding myself accountable to posting about them is at the top of the list.  I have a few more days off before I have to go back to work.  Today is a much needed hair appointment and I hope to get my Mom's quilt closer to being finished.  Yesterday I got together with Joyce and Brenda, and we've scheduled our next sewing day in the hotel lobby.  This will be our 3rd year, and I'm glad we've managed to continue to get together despite the fact that 2 of us have moved!  Friday will involve a trip to Acworth to help my Mom get her lease renewal documents submitted, and I hope to be home early enough to get Sophie out for an extra long walk.  It looks like the weather here will be dry but very cold which I can manage.  I want to get outside as much as I can before we have really yucky weather.  Here's to a productive few days-I hope!

I'm ready for some Football

While it doesn't feel like fall [at least in Georgia], the sports calendar certainly says it is cause there is football at all levels now.  I'm in second place [Team Poodle Power] in the office Fantasy Football league.  There are only 2 of us girls in the league and Lindsay is in first place [ahead of me by 11 points].  I'm beginning to like this whole fantasy football thing!  Carole's prompt is about football food.  I can get into serious trouble with this one cause there are so many good options, but they aren't necessarily good for you!  Here's my list.

10:  Chili-red, white, vegetarian.  I like em all
 9.   Gumbo-I made a pot Sunday using this recipe and it's the best one yet.
 8.   Nachos-anyway you top them as long as there is some cheese I'm good.
 7.   Veggies and hummus or other bean dips.
 6.    Potato chips and dip-especially if they are both homemade.
 5.    Antipasti type platters and some good bread and apples.
 4.    Cold beer-not a food-but goes hand in hand with football.
 3.    Muffaletta sandwiches-mine usually don't have the mortadella or salami, but I love the olive salad combined with the bread and cheese.
 2.    Cupcakes and red wine-not necessarily together, but anytime is a good time for cupcakes and they are so handy if you are tailgating, and red wine is a must during the fall.
 1.    Nuts and Bolts-a snack mix that our family has enjoyed for years, it's really hard to resist. What's not to love about chex mix, peanuts, and pretzels with just a bit of seasoning?!

I know there will be some great favorites posted, maybe I'll get a new idea or 2

Fall is a time for cooler temperatures and yummy eats.

The last few days in Atlanta have been glorious and have teased us that fall is here, so the prompt on favorite foods for fall is well timed.

10.  Apples and pears [the above is this morning's breakfast-Jif all natural peanut butter is THE bomb!]
   9.  Chili-all types red-white-vegetarian.  Love how it can be made ahead, put in the freezer, enjoyed as leftovers, and makes fabulous nachos!
  8.  Gumbo-which is NOT chili-spicy-hearty-and like #9 make ahead and enjoy a bowlful a few days later!
  7.  Homemade chicken noodle soup [also not to be confused with chili or gumbo ;-)]
  6.  Costco's autumn bark-if you've had it you know what I'm talking about!
  5.  Freshly baked bread-it's good all year, but if I'm making it myself has to be done when it's cooler out.
  4.  Lasagna-veggie is the best but hubby likes meaty lasagna-will have to figure out a compromise.
  3.  Pumpkin bread-muffins-or cupcakes.  Not the pumpkin flavored stuff- homebaked goodies that use the real deal.
  2.  Butternut and spaghetti squash [goes great with chili for a healthy version of sincinnati chili]
  1.   Mac and cheese-I have to be so careful with this, and it has to be homemade of course!

Hopefully our weather will continue to evolve into fall for good, but knowing how suddenly Georgia weather changes-it could be a heatwave next week!  What culinary adventures await you this fall?

Yes, please!

How convenient that I had a photo ready to go for this week's prompt which is about one of my absolute favorite foods CHEESE!!!

10. Featured on this plate from last night when my friend Brenda came over for knitting.  Typsy Goat, Manchego, and Imberico-thank you Costco for the handy packaging, along with some Sharp Cheddar and Swiss.

9.  Brie-especially with some crusty bread.
8.  Blue Cheese-with bread and a glass of red wine, or on a salad.
7.  Fresh Mozzarella- caprese salad anyone?!
6.  Parmigiano Reggiano- especially if it's grated or shaved.
5.  Queso dip-you just can't go wrong with melted cheese!
4.  Goat cheese-any way you serve it, you just can't go wrong.
3.  Feta cheese-see #4
2.  Comte-see #8 & 9
1.  American cheese for those times I'm craving an oohy-goooy grilled cheese and I don't have #'s 2-10!

I may have to make a trip to Trader Joe's of Whole Foods for some fun cheese now!

5 on Friday

A few things I'm looking forward to this weekend, and I'm loving the idea that I don't have to leave the house until Sunday for church, and I really have a short to-do list this week!

1.  Casting on, knitting and finishing a hat-totally doable right!
2.  Only one real chore-moving books to new locations in the house-really shouldn't take that long.
3.  Knitting-hopefully LOTS including the last bit of work on my Aperture cardigan
4.  Pizza and the season premiere of Justified.
5.  Try another bread recipe to go with leftover soup and bake chocolate chip cookies.

I'm sure I'll add more things to my list mentally, but would love to keep it simple this weekend.

A few days of (non) holiday fun

While my calendar last week was full of things to do, and there is still much to still be done, I managed some non-holiday activities that helped to re-charge my batteries. This is a good thing considering the contents of my bottom kitchen cabinets are now scattered around the dining and living rooms, and the kitchen table. Although the cookies are baked there is a bit of housework that really needs to be done.  I got an email about the Main Street Coffee's Wednesday Ladies wine tasting-a local wine store turned wine bar turned wine-coffee-gelato bar.  I re-arranged a couple thing so I could go-am very glad I did.  This place is very cozy with over stuffed chairs-low-ish tables and bar stools.  They feature Honeysuckle gelato, and while the flavors sounded delicious I didn't try any this time!  I did purchase a bottle of wine for my boss as a Christmas gift and a bottle to try at our family get together on Sunday.  I'm hoping to visit this place more often in 2015.

Thursday night was book club-a lovely bottle of wine, a very weird book, great company and conversation.  I'm really glad we didn't skip this month-not because of the book, but all the rest!

Friday night was my night to host quilt club.  It was a short night, but a lot of fun getting caught up with the girls.  Sophie was a BIG help with Kathy's quilt-she finally decided that she was more useful OFF the quilt!

Sunday I took my brother to the Falcons vs Steelers game, it was the first time he'd been to an NFL game, and he was like a little kid.  It would have been much nicer if we'd come away with a win, but what are you gonna do.  I did sit next to 4 of the cutest little boys who tried their best to help me understand the game.

The next few days are going to be crazy-dog grooming, appliance delivery, annual luncheon for 100 + at the office that I'm in charge of, counter-top installation, serious house cleaning, a pub crawl and a day with family-whew-is it Christmas yet?!  I think I need a vacation too