Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Fridge Fashion

{frolic} posted photos of her kitchen last month.  I loved them and had to share.

Pretty fridge 1 6326517851_3a7fa67470_z
Photos: Chelsea Fuss.


I think it's so important to make you space happy.  Cooking at home can be more of a joy than a chore when it's filled with your favorite music, special touches that feel luxurious, like having a silver-plated flatware set for every day.  Find all the ideas and sources here.

Monday, December 19, 2011

Do Try This at Home: Cinnamon Water

Apartment Therapy mentioned a cafe in Los Angeles CA, called WoodSpoon, where the table water is infused with a cinnamon stick.  Has anyone tried this?

Sounds so simple and exotic.  Perfect cold-weather season water, isn't it?

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Sunday, December 18, 2011

Peppermint Bon Bons

Dear Friends,

I have the best recipe to share with you.

If you like peppermint patties, you're gonna love this homemade version.

It all started when I tried to save a few pennies and eat the cheaper after dinner peppermint patties with the silver wrapping and green writing.  Well, after 4 days of a tummy ache.  I discovered that they were the culprit.

This recipe has 4 ingredients:

Sweetened condensed milk, mint extract, powdered sugar and semi-sweet chocolate.

Here's how to do it.

Mix a 8 oz can of sweetened condensend milk with 1 tablespoon of mint extract.  Stir to combine.  Add 5-6 cups of powdered sugar - 1 cup at a time.


Scoop 1 tablespoon rounds onto a cookie sheet or something similar (that can fit into your freezer) lined with waxed/parchment paper or a silicone mat.



Freeze the minty sugar balls for 20 minutes or so while you melt 12-16 oz of chocolate chips (good ones) over a double boiler or in the microwave at 30 second increments.


Once the balls are quite cold, dip them into the melted chocolate and using two forks, fish them out of the chocolate.  Let them drain a bit back into the chocolate bowl and place back onto the cookie sheet.

I had to do this in many many many shifts because I had to find slivers of time while my 1 year old daughter was sleeping or distracted so as to be able to not have a tray of toddler fingerprinted balls.



They're fluffy, minty and cold.  My son likened them to ice cream.

I love these and will probably make them each Winter from now on.  If you're as big a fan of Peppermint Patties as I am...you should, too.

Saturday, December 17, 2011

Bumble Cafe in Los Altos

I saw this over at Elements of Style.  It's Bumble Cafe in Los Altos, California.

They've created a kid-friendly space to eat, drink and enjoy your friends' company without chasing after the small ones.  So smart.


I would so love it if someone would make this happen in Phoenix.  Love this.

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Winter Chef Series - Come Cook with Me

I was stunned when I was asked to participate in the Winter Chef Cooking Series at the Downtown Phoenix Public Market.  Me? Eek! This will be my first time cooking for an audience.  

Of course I said YES and have been planning my meal and stories to share, ever since.

I hope to nail down the menu this weekend. It will be three courses plus wine pairings.  It's a steal of a good time at $55 for a 2 hour class in such a cozy and intimate space.

What you can expect is to learn all about leafy greens.

I'm thinking a greens tasting, possibly escarole with warm dressing and poached egg, maybe a butternut and goat cheese lasagna stuffed with greens, mustard chips and candied seville oranges.  This girl might change her mind, but that's what I'm tossing around today.

For all the details and the other guest chefs in the series, you can go here.  Mind you, I'm the home cook of the group. :) I'd love it if you want to register for the class and hang out with me on a Saturday afternoon in February, here's the link.

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Holiday Technology

My husband and I spend countless hours in bed next to each other tied to our laptops, looking like lab experiments. Usually, I'm working for Crooked Sky, writing for Chow Bella and/or watching Hulu/pinning things. My husband, meanwhile, finished law school, got into baseball cards, and wrote some iphone/ipad apps. The last one he wrote, is amazing.

It's called Holiday Box and it automatically adds antlers/nose, Santa hat/beard, or an elf hat/cheeks.

I adore it.

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