Weekend Projects

This weekend, there wasn't much time for rest, but our tea bags did provide us with some lofty goals. The heart shaped breakfast was Smitten Kitchen's Oat and Maple Scones, which I adapted with white whole wheat flour and almond milk. I got a little carried away selecting paint colors online and left them in the oven a minute too long, but I'd still recommend the recipe.

John painted our spare bedroom Celadon Green, part of my master color plan that is captured by this Design Sponge post. When I found it, I already had the bright blue, whites, greys, yellow and peach in my head, but this visual layout helped a lot. I've revisited it many times since this slow home design project started last summer. Our downstairs is finished, except for dining chairs and new flooring! The pops of coral amidst the white, bright blue, and grey are everything. That's the back room, and the front room is grey, white, and gold. Pretty. One of these days I hope to show you.

The spare bedroom (and one day office) is this relaxing yet invigorating green, connected by grey to our bedroom, which will be the lightest peach you've ever seen, with a darker peach bathroom. Pink and peach are supposed to foster warmth, support, and love. Apparently aggressive criminals are immediately soothed when placed into bubble gum pink rooms. Noted.

A Gift from John: Smitten Kitchen

This year for Christmas, John gave me the sweetest, most personal collection of gifts I've ever received. One of them was the Smitten Kitchen Cookbook, with a sweet note inside about our first married Christmas. To say I'm hooked would be an understatement. It's the first cookbook I've ever been unable to put down, and the only one I've actually wanted to read front to back. Deb's description of her endless attempts to formulate perfect recipes are fascinating. We made the Apple Cider Caramels, above, to give as holiday gifts, and I made her Baked Potato Soup, below, last night - the perfect January cure. (PS, you don't have to bake the potatoes!) 

(More) Little Holiday Moments and Tips

Part of me doesn't want this week to end, because once Christmas arrives, everything is gone in a flash. The little moments are what I'll miss. Herbie's obsession with his stocking, our tradition of baking together, and these secret chocolate chip cookies. I suppose the challenge will be to make little moments in the plain old normal, busy days that don't feel so magical. These two certainly make that easier.

Some holiday things:

We're having this baked Camembert tonight as part of our (private) Christmas Dinner.

I made these Apple Cider Caramels via Smitten Kitchen, and they're amazing. 

For your after dinner drink, a Cardamom Fashioned.

The best place to order beautifully designed gifts using wedding photos, Pinhole Press.

A beautiful piece about joy by Zadie Smith. 

How to Make Hot Mulled Cider

If you're anything like me, this illustration from Lisa Congdon captures everything you're feeling this week leading up to Christmas. I feel like I've been waiting ages for Private Christmas, which is finally here (tomorrow). We can't wait. We're also excited about the Bubblies and Big Reds Tasting at The Community Tap tonight. On Friday, it's off to Atlanta to begin family celebrations. Are you celebrating this week, or do you save it for the 25th?

Cheers!

Summer Need

I want this, Rocketship and all.

Down Home Girl

In an effort to simultaneously charm John and quell my own general longing for Collard Greens, I returned to my Southern roots last night to make Crispy Chicken and Collards, with Biscuits on the side. This is comfort food at its finest, folks. It's crispy without the fried -- Biscuits without the Lard. Thank you, as usual, Real Simple.

Dijon Mustard and multigrain cereal coated Chicken is baked in the oven while Collards are boiled for ten minutes and sauteed for three. Easy! If you're feeling even a little bit Down Home Girl (or Southern Gentleman), you should try this for sure. Yum.

They actually looked just like this, and I don't even have a good oven!

Art Meets Cooking

And they get along quite well. I found this on another blog today, but look how adorable it is! You had to see it. I love her concept of improvisation and play in the kitchen.  Freestyle pepper grinds, piling up fresh herbs until it feels right --- it tastes better and it's more fun. Win.

View the rest of Katie Shelly's Picture Cookbook here. This makes me want to grab John, Herbie, and a bottle of wine and get to work.


xoxo.

Chocolate Sea Salt

Photo Courtesy of The Spice & Tea Exchange

Recently, I've been waiting for inspiration to use a set of Gourmet Salts given to me from The Spice and Tea Exchange of Asheville, NC, oneofmyveryfavoritecities. Tonight was the night. With limited ingredients in the kitchen, Chocolate Sea Salt was just what the doctor ordered to save my impromptu vegetarian dinner.  

After throwing together a Water, Chicken Broth, Tomato Paste, Cumin, Smoked Paprika, Cayenne Pepper, Black Pepper, and Oregano sauce, I added and sautéed Onion, Celery, Orange Pepper, and fresh Garlic. It was at precisely this moment that I realized that my Cumin needed Dark Chocolate; my Cayenne Pepper needed Dark Chocolate! After adding the salt and letting the sauce simmer while my rice cooked, I added Chickpeas and eventually let some fresh Spinach wilt over the top. The result was a Vegetarian Stew of sorts - yum.

But Chocolate Salt...you have to try it.