New Prints!

Guys, can I just tell you how pumped I am about my new art? I finally got my apartment full up with art that I love...and then we moved. And this big ole house has about a million more square feet of wall space than our apartment, which means we're staring down a lot of blank gray walls. And yes, they're all some shade of gray. I LOVE IT AND I'M NOT ASHAMED. Anyway.

Something I've not collected a lot of are prints. I have paintings, I have photographs, I have handmade art from my college drawing classes (though most of it is not stuff I care to look at daily...or ever)...but no prints. And I think I like prints? I do, I just convinced myself.

So I'm officially on the print wagon. I've ordered three of them, and one is already here!!

It makes me happy when I look at it, which is weird because that's the most disapproving face in the universe. I mean, my favorite quote from her is, "I'll clap when I'm impressed." I got it from this great little Etsy store called Costume Sketchbook and Heather is obviously great at Etsy: a hand painted print, a handwritten note ABOUT MY TOWN, and an adorable apricot fried pie recipe card. Jake was looking over my shoulder as I opened the package and said, "It's like you made a friend!" THANKS HEATHER!! And the best part is, I think I paid $25 for this package of sunshine. You're welcome.

My other prints that have yet to be delivered (sweet baby Jesus I can't wait any longer! my impatience is showing) are two horoscope prints from a sweet Etsy shop called GirlAndParrot, one for me and one for Jake (a Gemini and a Capricorn--can you guess whose is whose?). Right now I have one of my own paintings hanging above our bed, but I've been dying to move it to another spot in the house. The colors just don't go with the rest of our room, and (ahem) it's a pretty good looking painting, she'd like to be shown off. So when I saw these big prints, well, they called to me. OH AND THE BEST THING--buy 1 get 1 free right now. I couldn't press that 'add to cart' button fast enough. $25 yet again. Best purchases I've made in weeks!

And because I got so print-happy, I made a big list of things I'd like to order and things I could definitely whip up on my own. Check out my Pinterest board if you're in the market! And if you've got any great sources for affordable art, send 'em my way. I still have to get these framed, but in the meantime I will be propping Anna up next to my computer so she can shame me into working harder.

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Cookbook Love: It's All Good

Cookbook review time!

Disclaimer, I have had to buy or steal all of my cookbooks. Other than as birthday or Christmas presents, none were given to me, much less in exchange for anything. I just straight up love cookbooks and I make too many Amazon purchases.

First things first: it’s not that easy to impress me with a cookbook. I don’t exactly have a library of cookbooks, but I do have more than anyone else I know so I think I’ve got a good grasp of what’s on offer. I’m pickier than most about the quality of the recipes, and my background in design means I’m much more critical of package as a whole (layout, formatting, photography, etc.). I have dozens of sticky notes on every recipe I’ve tried, with copious notes scribbled on the variations I made and how I might improve it next time. So with that in mind, I thought maybe these reviews would be helpful for any non-beginner cooks considering making a new purchase.

So...feel free to roll your eyes when I tell you that I bought Gwyneth Paltrow’s newest cookbook, It’s All Good. I’ll even tell you, friend, that I PRE-ORDERED THIS THING.

via

Straight up, I know that she is a polarizing figure, and we’re all certainly entitled to our own opinions of people we do not know and will never meet. I totally get it—I love/hate Kim Kardashian just as much as everyone else and don't even get me started on Kanye and Nori. 

However, I have to say that I have a lot of respect for Gwyneth’s food knowledge and she strikes me as someone genuinely in love with food (holla). Mario Batali even let her travel through Spain with him, and if he wants to work with her then I do too. On a side note, she speaks perfect, fluent, beautifully accented Catalan Spanish. I mean, it’s mesmerizing to hear. If I were a baby I’d like my mother to put it on repeat as I was falling asleep. I’d also like my mother to do that for me now but I digress.

Anyway, I bought this book with a different set of expectations/requirements than I usually have for a cookbook:

• Given the state of Gwyneth’s thighs, she is evidently doing something right and honestly, I wanna get in on that. Her body alone is enough of a testimony for these recipes. I was also confident she wasn’t going to tell me that only half a cup of sugar in something is healthy, and as a bonus, the recipes call for a lot of ingredients that I already cook with along with some that I’ve wanted to try.
• While I would love to spend all day every day immersed in food, between work and the gym and remodeling my house and watching Workaholics with my cat/boyfriend (shockingly those two are separate people), I’ve got a pretty full schedule. Most of the time it’s just not realistic for me to even spend 30 minutes fixing dinner. Thankfully, I get to cook whatever I feel like since I don’t have to cook full meals for a family and because Jake likes anything that is defrosted (and even that is sometimes negotiable). Sometimes that means I eat a bowl of cereal, and sometimes it’s mascarpone polenta with mushroom fricassee in a port wine reduction. All that to say that like me, Gwyneth is not a professional chef and she is a busy lady, so I knew this book would have simpler recipes that did not veer into Rachel Ray or Sandra Lee territory.
• Gwyneth’s thighs.

In summary, I like this book a lot! I think it can be very useful for a lot of people. There’s a lot of interesting and accessible recipes in here, and if you’ve got a Whole Foods nearby you’ll be especially golden. A few of the recipes sound like they might be a little bit meh (I’m probably gonna pass on steamed white fish topped with only soy sauce) but so far everything I’ve actually made has been pretty tasty and quicker than getting a sandwich made at said Whole Foods. I made an Old Bay/Vegenaise sauce that is unexpectedly addictive as a dip for a Schlotzsky’s turkey bacon club sandwich. Please believe me when I say that I rarely eat fast food, but I’d been painting the entire upstairs of my house, my fridge only had condiments in there, and it was late. This only happened twice. In one week. Swear.

I also made two sauces for vegetables: one was a miso/almond butter sauce that totally and unexpectedly rocked my world on top of sautéed spinach, and the other was a shallot vinaigrette for some roasted leeks that also made its way onto several other dishes (her leek method needs some more testing though—I didn’t love my results). There’s also these sea salt/almond butter cookies that took about 10 minutes from the time I sat on my couch thinking ‘I should make cookies’ to the time I was sitting there again waiting for them to come out of the oven. Y’all, those cookies were something else and the dough was even better. They're my new go-to cookie recipe and provided they don't instantly disappear, I eat them for breakfast. Because I can. 

Something else I really appreciate about this book is that she gives ideas for different ways to use sauces and techniques and ingredients—and she straight up laughs at herself when she calls something a “recipe” when it’s just a method or a combo of two ingredients. It’s endearing and slightly self-deprecating and I just really like her you guys.

I’ve also been careful to serve all of these recipes to a variety of eaters, all without mentioning the source of the recipes, and everyone agrees that they’re really good. So in summation, It’s All Good is a really practical book for modern home cooks of varying talent levels, and I’d recommend it without shame to anyone looking for healthy, quick meals.

Sea Salt Almond Cookies

makes about 2 dozen

adapted from It's All Good

1.5 cups all purpose flour (if you use gluten free flour you may need to add 3/4 tsp. xantham gum)

1/2 tsp. fine sea salt

1 tsp. baking powder

1 cup natural almond butter (I use Justin's)

1 cup grade A maple syrup

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract (I use Nielssen Massey)

coarse sea salt or gray salt, for sprinkling

Preheat the oven to 350F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Whisk together the flour, fine sea salt and baking powder (and xantham gum if using). In a separate bowl, whisk together the almond butter, maple syrup and vanilla. Thoroughly combine the wet and dry ingredients and mix thoroughly. Using 2 spoons, form the cookies into small balls (each about a generous tablespoon) and space them about an inch apart on the prepared sheet pans. Wet your fingertips and smooth out the cookies on the sides, pressing down lightly on the top to flatten into a small disk. Sprinkle each cookie with the coarse sea salt (I switch between Maldon and a French gray sea salt).

Bake until the cookies are just firm, about 10 to 12 minutes (they won't brown so you'll have to check them). Let them cool on the pans before serving.

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End of Summer Corn Salad

We had a small Labor Day get together at our house last weekend, and it was a runaway success if I may be so bold. Getting food together for 20 people only took about two hours and most of that was assembly and beer drinking time--I only turned the stove on for one dish out of like, eight. I did delegate the meat to Jake though--two racks of ribs, a brisket and a week later and we are all still making the sign of the cross every time we see meat. For someone that eats meat maybe once a week at most, I have eaten my weight in it this summer thanks to Jake's smoker, so I knew I was going to need some light and veggie-centric sides to keep the party going. This corn salad totally fit the bill--it's so fresh and summery, with the perfect amount of sweet and spicy. And the best part is it literally took me twelve minutes from start to finish.

You heard me--TWELVE. Go crazy, kids.

Summer Corn Salad
Serves 6 as main course, many more as a party app

6 ears fresh corn, kernels cut off
1.5 punnets of champagne sweet tomatoes (or any small tomato), halved
8 oz. bocconcini (small mozzarella balls), drained and quartered
1-2 jalapenos, very thinly sliced (I de-seeded about half of what I put in)

Dressing:
4 tbsp. fresh lime juice
1/4 tsp. lime zest
1/2 small red onion (about a few tablespoons), 1/4 inch dice
2 tsp. maple syrup
3-4 tsp. olive oil
salt and pepper

In a small bowl combine the lime juice, zest and red onion and let sit for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl prepare the corn, mozzarella, tomatoes and jalapenos.

When the onion is done marinating, you can either strain and discard or add it into the salad (I discard, I hate eating a red onion more than anything). Combine the lime juice mixture with the maple syrup and drizzle in olive oil while whisking, seasoning to taste with salt and pepper as you go.

Drizzle the dressing over the veggies and toss. Taste again for seasoning and adjust as needed.

You can serve this immediately at room temperature, or let it hang out in the fridge for a few hours. I think it tastes great warmed or cold so feel free to eat it however you like. I personally like to eat this with a spoon, but it's also great with hardy tortilla chips, pita chips, or on some toasted bread like bruschetta.

Enjoy!

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Room Redo Up on Copy Cat Chic!

Happy Saturday guys! Things have been a little quiet around here I know, life has been busy! To make up for that, I just posted a killer room redo for you over on Copy Cat Chic. I can't be held responsible if your living room makes a sudden transformation today, because this room is FAB.

You can check out the room redo and source list here.

Happy weekend!

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Healthy Mac + Cheese

This is one of the most requested dishes when I cook for friends, and it’s also one I always make and leave in the fridge for Jake to eat when I’m out of town (otherwise he defaults to eating like a sewer rat. Love you!).

You guys, I love macaroni. Everyone loves macaroni. Unfortunately, macaroni also makes me go comatose on the couch after partaking, and then compels me to kill myself at the gym the next day. Macaroni is a cruel mistress, but she’s my mistress, so I found a recipe to keep my tongue and my thighs both happy.

This recipe is one of Grace Parisi’s that I adapted from Food & Wine. As far as macaroni goes, I don’t think I’ve found a healthier option that actually contains real pasta or cheese. This one contains very little cheese, no cream or roux of any kind, and the sauce is actually made of pureed carrots simmered with orange zest. The bulk of your calories come just from the pasta itself so if you want to try substituting with things like shirataki noodles, be my guest (I personally can’t abide that toothsome bite, but to each his own). But to be quite honest, this mac is awesome and you can’t tell that it’s healthy! There are several additions you can make as well—I got a big bunch of sweet potato greens in my CSA basket yesterday and threw them in when I combined the sauce and pasta, it was ACES. And if you want to indulge or just use up some leftover cream in the fridge, you can always throw some of that in too. I do encourage you to make it the healthy way first though. It’s so good as-is, and while I love full-fat dairy products just as much as the now-infamous Miz Paula Deen, adding cheese/butter/cream is going to put you in coma-territory in addition to muting the flavors of the tarragon and carrot puree. Happy eating!

Healthy Mac + Cheese

1 lb. carrots, peeled and sliced into 1/4" coins
zest of 1 orange, in large strips
juice of 1 orange
3 cups penne pasta
1 cup sharp cheddar, shredded
1 Tbsp. chopped tarragon
1/4 cup water
1 cup reserved pasta water
white pepper (black is okay too)
salt

Preheat the oven to 350F.

In a large saucepan, combine the carrots with the orange zest, orange juice and 1/4 cup water. Season with salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Cover and summer over medium heat until carrots are very soft, about 20 minutes. If all the liquid evaporates and the carrots still aren't soft enough, add a little bit more orange juice or water. Discard the zest and transfer carrots and any liquid to a blender/food processor and puree until completely smooth.

Meanwhile, cook your pasta to al dente according to package directions (make sure to generously salt your water!). Drain, reserving 1 cup of the cooking water.

Add the cooked pasta and carrot puree to the saucepan you cooked your carrots in. Add the reserved water and cook over medium low heat, stirring frequently until pasta is coated. Stir in 3/4 of the cheese and stir until the cheese is melted. Stir in the tarragon and season with salt and white pepper.

Transfer the pasta to a medium baking dish and sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Bake until the cheese is bubbly and slightly browned, about 20 minutes.

Eat!!

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Lindsey Does on Copy Cat Chic!

Hey guys!

I'm so pumped about today, my first post is up on Copy Cat Chic! I did a room redo of one of my favorite spaces and I think you guys are really gonna like it. Check it out HERE!

Head on over to Copy Cat Chic to check out this fabulous room!

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what a wednesday...

I'm trying to get on some sort of regular posting schedule but stuff just seems to keep coming up. Alas. I'll get there, hopefully sooner rather than later.

So...eventful day, yeah? Today is a more somber Wednesday than we usually have, I think we can all agree. For starters, the news from Cairo is nothing short of bone chilling. On the drive home, I listened to an NPR reporter describe being shot at by military snipers while counting the bodies lined up in the hospital she and her team were sheltering in, and of running and stopping short as a man in an alleyway in front of her dropped dead from a bullet to his chest. And add to that the UPS plane that went down in Birmingham...the tragedy is on a different level but it's a tragedy nonetheless. My dad's company oversees all of the maintenance on UPS planes, and he's been known to sit in the "jump seat" in a plane for a quick jaunt to Louisville and back, to make sure there are no issues before he signs off on a plane inspection. As you can imagine, they had a helluva morning trying to determine if they played any role in this crash. Thankfully (for my dad) that particular plane hadn't been scheduled for maintenance since late 2011, but it was due back this October and was scheduled to be their last plane inspection of the year.

I dunno, it just makes my chest tighten when things like this happen. Sometimes we are a lot less removed from events than we think we are, and it today made me very thankful that I could text my dad this afternoon to ask his advice on something as mundane as how to get my yard ready for spring. So with all this in mind, it's kind of a strange place I find myself in--a few good things have happened lately and I want to celebrate them, but it feels pretty ungracious and inconsiderate to care about things as small as some lovely new shoes or a promising blog development. I guess it's kind of my eternal struggle as a Gemini--everything seems meaningful and it's hard to know which path is right.

But ultimately I can't help but think that, sometimes, the best way of making sense of bad things is to take a moment to appreciate the good things that are happening all around you. Sometimes they're big and sometimes they're small, but they're important just the same. The good adds light where the bad takes it away, and it feeds our hopes as it reminds us that things can and will be better than they are.

So in the interest of celebrating the good, I'm happy to announce that I'm the newest design intern for Copy Cat Chic! It's a blog I really love because it's such a valuable resource for being able to (design-wise at least) have your cake and eat it too. I'm just really pumped about it, you guys.

Secondly, my fairy godmother sent me these insanely good shoes this week:

Casadei

Brian Atwood

And the best part is that I didn't even have to scrub floors or fetch water to receive said fairy godmother!

Thirdly, I finished a major DIY project! I did a DIY version of those famous black Dorothy Draper chests using RAST dressers from Ikea (aka the patron saint of all that is holy in the DIY universe). That will be a separate post, but oh what a post it will be. It's just really satisfying to know I spent less on the whole project than I did on my last grocery shopping trip, and to have something super chic to (finally) put in my hovel guest room upstairs.

So since all my posts are turning out to be whoppers lately, I think I'll end here. Remember to be thankful for the good people and the good things you've got going on.

xo,

Lindsey

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