More Crappy Photos!

Oatmeal is my favorite food. Look at this beautiful bowl filled with rolled oats, chopped apple, cashew almond peanut butter, cinnamon, and brown sugar:

Georgetown is my favorite campus. Check out the view of my school from the Key Bridge:

You may have noticed the poor quality of my pictures as of late....that would be due to my inability to upload any edited photos. Further evidence of my computer's slow but sure demise into ruin! Currently the screen goes black if I try to push it open past a 90 degree angle, which feels like vacation compared to last week's angle max of 45 degrees. Did I mention the broken disk drive and volume keys? LOVE MY LIFE. No but seriously, I do, just not my computer. 

And Everything Nice

I've been in love with sage ever since my sisters and I hosted Thanksgiving two years ago. I remember staying up late with Becky the night before, peeling potatoes and yams over the garbage can. We were listening to Spice Girls pandora and screaming singing our favorite songs from middle school while we prepped the gourmet dishes that would be on the menu the next day. The following afternoon we poured browned butter that had been infused with fresh sage into the yukon gold and sweet potato mixture and whipped it together into the tastiest dish of all time. With that in mind, and in an effort to cook seasonally, I decided to buy pumpkin puree this week and adapted (another) Rachael Ray recipe to create this  pumpkin sage pasta sauce:

I added sauteed mushrooms to the leftovers!

Ingredients

Olive Oil
1 lb. ground veal
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 bay leaf
6 sprigs of sage, cut into strips
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup almond milk
1/8 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
salt and pepper




I started by sauteeing the veal in just a little olive oil until it was mostly cooked. I transferred it from the pan to a plate, and poured the excess fat down the drain. I added a tbsp. or so of olive oil to the pan and began cooking the garlic and onion until they were tender, then added the wine, bay leaf and sage. I let the sauce simmer until it had reduced a little before adding the chicken stock, pumpkin, and veal. I stirred the sauce ferociously until it was well-blended, then added the rest of the ingredients and let it simmer for 5 minutes. I served this over whole wheat penne, and froze 2 other servings of the sauce. It was yummy, but not as flavorful as I expected... I think partly because I used veal instead of the sweet Italian sausage that Rachael recommended--I was trying to be fancy, plus I kind of hate sweet Italian sausage. Next time I'll try hot Italian sausage, which I think will add the necessary richness and flavor that I'm looking for. The whole heavy cream component would probably help with that too, but let's be honest, creamy pasta is probably the most problematic food category for me on the planet. Need I remind you of my stay in the bathroom at the Olive Garden in Binghamton circa summer 2008?

Exotic Leftovers

 What To Do When You Have to Buy a Whole Package of Prosciutto Even Though You Only Want to Use One Slice for Your Boyfriend's Breakfast Sandwich:

1. Brush a chicken breast lightly with olive oil and sprinkle with black pepper. Wrap it in a slice of prosciutto and bake for 15 minutes at 350. Serve with roasted rosemary potatoes and brussels sprouts.

 2. Cut prosciutto in small pieces and brown for 60 seconds in a pan. Add TJ's Arrabiata pasta sauce and simmer for for 3-5 minutes. Serve over whole wheat pasta (or spaghetti squash).

Next on my list? This Giada De Laurentiis recipe  .... can't wait to try it! 

Sweet Home

A small disclaimer- obviously I tired not to photograph the sketchy parts of my dwelling, including the ivy plants growing out of my carpet (yes, I am not exaggerating), the shower, which is too awful to joke about, and the fact that the kitchen counter is slowly but surely sinking into the floor beneath it. But, it's true I've collected some beautiful things over the last couple years of living on my own...

magazine rack- from Goodwill in Vermilion

papasan chair- originally Pottery Barn, bought off of Craigslist 

drapes- Mimi's Attic

cream chenille area rug- originally Urban Outfitters, bought at Mimi's Attic

 

                     bookcase- found in my parents barn, painted red and "antiqued" myself

vintage lamp and fleur-de-lys shade- Mimi's Attic

mint night stand- Mimi's Attic

antique metal bedframe- Craigslist (for $25!!)

bedding- Anthropologie

desk and bookshelf- Target

fern painting- original art by Kacey Stafford (gift from Mom!) 

area rug- Urban Outfitters (on sale plus free shipping!)

antique writing desk- found by Becky on the street in Brooklyn

yellow chair- formerly my roommate's, spray painted yellow

 

 

dish towels, apron, oven mitt- Anthropologie (gifts from Katie/Mom!)

hanging fruit basket- World Market 

enamel flower hooks- Pier 1 (birthday gift from Jordan!)

   

 

spice rack, utensil holder- World Market

corduroy G- bridesmaid gift from Jordan

Yeah, there's not much exciting going on in here.

I think I did pretty good with what I had to work with... but until I get a significant raise I'll continue to spend my time dreaming of hardwood floors, breezy windows, and kitchen drawers. 

Chipotle Chili

When I was grocery shopping this week I knew I was in the mood to make chili, but I hadn't found a go-to vegetarian recipe that was incredibly inspiring. So, I tossed 2 cans of kidney beans, 1 can of black beans, and 1 can of diced tomatoes in my shopping cart, knowing that they were sure to be included in whichever recipe I settled on. After some serious googling back at home I found a Whole Foods recipe that I adapted into something awesome-- seriously, this is the only vegetarian chili I will be making from now on. It's spicy and smoky, and includes a secret ingredient (which I discovered all by myself!) that is so perfect it almost feels like cheating.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp. olive oil
1 carrot
2 stalks celery
1 yellow onion
4 cloves garlic
1 green pepper
1 red pepper
1 tbsp. oregano
1 tbsp. chili powder
2 tsp. cumin
1.5 tsp. salt
1-2 tbsp. Tobasco chipotle pepper sauce
1 can diced tomatoes (28 oz)
1 can chopped green chiles (4.5 oz)
4 cups water
2 cans kidney beans
1 can black beans

Heat olive oil and add all the vegetables. Saute for 10 minutes and then add spices, including Tobasco sauce. Stir together and cook for a minute longer, then add tomatoes, chiles, and water. Bring to a boil and simmer for approximately 30 minutes, and then add beans. Cook for 20 minutes longer. Blend about 2/3 of the soup just slightly to break down the vegetables and beans, then add to the rest of the pot. Continue to simmer together until serving with brown rice or quinoa.

Ah, the joys of blending soups! It's always worth the extra clean up... even if that includes scrubbing your entire (albeit tiny) kitchen due to a hot soup-blender explosion. Blend carefully, folks, blend carefully.

Weekend

At the risk of sounding like a Jane Austen novel, this past weekend was lovely. The weather was beautiful, and on Saturday Schuyler and I walked to the local coffee shop and I studied for the GRE and drank an americano in the sunshine.

 

Later we went to Jordan and Jamie's house for dinner and Schuy got acquainted with Henry Moynihan. They played/wrestled a little at first but Schuy got annoyed and tired of it pretty quickly. It's sad to think that he's really not a puppy anymore; he was so calm and relaxed compared to feisty Henry!

I ate delicious meals, including tri-color pasta with shredded carrot, cheddar, and peas and a blueberry almond salad with balsamic vinaigrette:

AND I cleaned my apartment, which is almost ready to be unveiled...

More to come soon!

Pizza is (still) my Favorite Food

Recently I discovered Trader Joe's whole wheat pizza dough, which doesn't really help develop my dairy-free diet but definitely adds delicious simplicity to my dinners! One package of dough is $1.29. Yes, $1.29. When I got back from grocery shopping a couple weeks ago I divided the dough (enough for 8, regular-sized slices) into 3 portions and froze them in balls in saran-wrap. When I was ready to use it, the dough thawed perfectly in the fridge while I was at work, and once I rolled it out and added my toppings in the evening it only took 8 minutes or so to bake in a 450 degree oven. I've made two pizzas so far: goat cheese, chicken, kalamata olives, artichoke hearts, and tomato (see the terrible photo below) and cheddar (lactose free!), tomato, and black beans. Such an easy, satisfying meal!