FoodFash

Adventure Begins in the Kitchen

Happy Memorial Day!!

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Just because you’ve been cooped up in your apartment for days, doesn’t mean you can’t get into the holiday spirit!  I’ve been fighting what has to be the nastiest sickness for what seems like forever, but decided to take advantage of a brief pseudoephedrine burst of energy to make something festive.

Red, white, and blue jello?  Now what could be more ‘Merican than that!

I followed this recipe, but used plastic cups to avoid cookie cutters and non-stick spray.  Thankfully I went this route, because my fridge was not on board to cool these cups fast enough.  I ended up placing the cups in the freezer after each layer which worked much better.

Now I just have to figure out where to drop my ‘Merican treats off so I can retreat back to my couch cocoon in hopes of feeling well enough to get back to work tomorrow.

Happy Memorial Day to all!!

All Wrapped Up

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I knew the mom and I would be restauranted out by the end of her visit, so when I dropped her off at her conference this morning I asked what she wanted me to make for dinner.  She simply responded “black bean hummus”.

Black bean hummus for dinner?  How about black bean hummus wraps filled to the max with uber fresh veggies for dinner?  Yeah, that’s more like it.

While roasting an entire package of cherry tomatoes, I pulled out the veggies and a cutting board and got to work.  I shredded the carrots, chopped up the cucumber, and pulled two new-to-me veggies out of their containers:  zesty sprouts and mache rosettes.

I layered a pita with black bean hummus and veggies and rolled it up, Pita Pit style.  So guiltless, so good!  And I bet these would keep well in the fridge overnight for lunch the next day.  I shall keep you posted.

Gettin’ Crafty

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I’ve had visions of prop tables dancing in my head since arriving in Austin, but didn’t know exactly where to start.  And although I didn’t have any grand ideas yesterday, I did have grand motivation to head to Home Depot, hoping things would fall into place.

I found a small section of smaller-sized plywood panels that, cut in half, would be perfect for two table tops.  I looked at each piece, searching for the best grain pattern.  Naturally, the piece I favored was well out of my reach.  I jumped like a fish out of water for a mere 90 seconds before being rescued by an orange-aproned man.  Phew!

When I arrived in the paint section it was like Martha Stewart knew what was up.  There was an entire display of faux finish samples, color boards, required tools, etc.  I immediately tossed the crackle finish in my cart.  But what to do for the second board?  Metallic glaze?

The crackle finish was by far my favorite.  I think it adds awesome texture to the background of photos.  As far as the bronze glaze…  Not a fan.  As soon as I get bored with crackle, I can see myself Pinterest hunting for  surface finish ideas.

Also, it turns out that the quality of wood I used for the crackle finish didn’t matter.  All that hunting and jumping for the perfect piece?  Fun, but totally unnecessary.

Capitol Picnicking

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I had been secretly jonesing to picnic for weeks before suggesting the idea to Lauren and Matt, who were both anxious to have their first picnic of the season as well.  And after too many days of Florida-style thunderstorms, it was high time to spend a day outdoors.  The Capitol lawn would be the perfect setting for us to sprawl on this sunny, breezy, barely 80 degree Sunday.

Lauren and I attempted to stick to a theme, but ended up bringing anything we thought the group would enjoy.  She made brie, fig jam, and arugula sandwiches (a new fav of mine!), bacon wrapped dates, guacamole, and fruit.  I brought chabrin (a harder variety of goat cheese), French epis (a twiggy-looking loaf of bread), assorted olives, and Moroccan mint iced tea.

We set up my new portable speakers and listened to Real Estate, Bright Moments, and The Shins while playing 1990’s Trivial Pursuit and Taboo.  Can you say perfect Sunday??

Other than a total fail of forgetting sunscreen, I could have spent all day lounging on the Capitol lawn.  I have a feeling that today was the first of many lawn lounging days for me, Lauren, and Matt!