Thursday, August 29, 2013

Fun times buying new glasses...


I accompanied John to the Warby Parker store in Soho yesterday so he could pick out new eye glasses. If you're not familiar with Warby Parker, check them out. They're a sweet deal with loads of cool frames, but believe it or not, that's not why I'm writing... (I am also not on their payroll, I swear!)


I'm writing because they have an awesome photo booth in their shop on Green Street, and John and I seized the opportunity to snap some pictures. You'll have to forgive that first photo-- I was literally yelling to John from across the store to get him to join me in the photo booth... Needless to say, I'm a natural beauty.


This alone is reason 
enough to visit their store! 

I wish I'd known they had a photo booth-- I would have brought Jules along for the fun! Maybe we'll have to go back and pretend to buy more glasses so we can include him in the next photo session.


Please. Give me a daughter.

Whoa. Everybody get ahold of yourselves. John and I are about 1-10 years from discussing having another kid, so don't worry-- that is NOT happening right now. However, I just found this rug and sheets on the Dwell Studio website and I'm freaking out. They are literally the cutest two things ever (aside from Jules, obviously), and if I have a baby girl while this stuff is still being sold, I may be reduced to the rank of "parents-who-have-paid-too-much-for-their-children's-bedding". Yes. That is a club. I've been bobbing and weaving, trying to dodge induction into that club since my first ultrasound, but I think it's safe to say, I've been brought to my knees by this stuff.

To be honest, I would buy two of the pinwheel rug for Julian's new room upstate in a heartbeat, if I was even REMOTELY in a position to spend $1,000.00 on rugs. (I'd need two because his new room is going to be too big for one 5' X 8' rug.) This "Bull's Eye Rug" from West Elm is a decent runner-up to the "Pinwheel Rug", but let's be honest. It's a runner-up.


However-- you should hold onto your hats with these curtains to match... Good grief!


I mean, good grief! That would be one seriously cute kids room. Girl or boy.

If I ever win the lottery, I'm buying two pinwheel rugs and those curtains. 

Good thing the odds are against me, or I'd have to decide if I was going to buy blue, red, yellow, or green tassels. That could be tough.

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Carrot Cake for the masses!

I just whipped up carrot cake cupcakes for the first time. Pretty sure these are actually my first cupcakes, ever, and I'm positive I've never made carrot cake before, so this was a day of firsts.

At the request of a friend celebrating his birthday, I tracked down Smitten Kitchen's recipe for carrot cake, and followed her advice on the cupcake route. These were a roaring success, and I suspect if I hadn't been juggling a baby with an upset stomach and trying to squeeze in a shower before the birthday dinner, they would also have been a cinch to make. Evidently less so when you're also juggling that other stuff. : (

Lesson learned. Plan ahead. Or skip the shower. (Over-rated.)

Here's the scoop:

Carrot Cake with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

Makes 24 cupcakes (or one two-layer cake, instructions at end)

Ingredients: 
2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground ginger
2 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups canola oil
4 large eggs
3 cups grated peeled carrots
1 cups coarsely chopped walnuts (optional)
Directions: 
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Line 24 cupcake molds with papers, or butter and flour them.
Whisk flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger in medium bowl to blend. Whisk sugar and oil in large bowl until well blended. Whisk in eggs 1 at a time. Add flour mixture and stir until blended. Stir in carrots, walnuts and raisins, if using them. Divide batter among cupcake molds, filling 3/4 of each.
Bake cupcakes 14 to 18 minutes, or until a tester inserted into the center of one comes out clean. Let cool in pans for five minutes or so, then transfer cakes to a cooling rack. Let cool completely before icing them.

To make a carrot layer cake: Butter two 9-inch-diameter cake pans instead of cupcake molds. Line bottom of pans with waxed parchment paper. Butter and flour paper; tap out excess flour. Divide the batter between the prepared pans, and bake the layers for about 40 minutes each, or until a tester inserted into center comes out clean. Cool cakes in pans 15 minutes. Turn out onto racks. Peel off paper; cool cakes completely.

Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:
Two (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/4 cup pure maple syrup

Directions:
In a stand mixer beat all the ingredients on medium until fluffy. Chill the frosting for 10 to 20 minutes, until it has set up enough to spread smoothly.

I put the frosting into a large ziplock bag and then snipped the corner off to make a frosting-piping bag. Sadly-- that limited my ability to make beautiful shapes and patterns considerably-- so I stuck the classic "$" cupcake style. 

An oldie, but a goodie. : )

Doing A Little Exterior Sprucing Up...

We're at least one year away from painting the outside of our house and probably two more until we tackle the garden, and I've been trying hard to come to terms with that reality. Keep in mind that I make Martha Stewart look laid back in the "obsessive-compulsive-perfectionist-department", so it's been no easy sell getting me to ignore the exterior projects and focus on the more pressing projects-- like insulating the walls and making the inside habitable.


However, this past weekend, my inner-Martha got the better of me, and I spent a couple of hours perking up the front walk to the house. Nothing grand-- just a little color to brighten things up as you approach our falling down farm house.




Not exactly revolutionary, but it's a good start, considering I've got years of waiting to do before I get to really start gardening. 

I just keep whispering, "One thing at a time... One thing at a time..." to myself, and trying to repress my inner-Martha from rearing her ugly head. But man! Is that bi#$h persistent?!?!


Thursday, August 22, 2013

You CAN eat cake for breakfast.

It turns out that you really can eat cake for breakfast! (This probably does not mean you should.)

I was walking home in Williamsburg yesterday and saw a woman carrying a handbag that said "Eat Cake For Breakfast." My first thought was, "No", because I'm not a big cake fan, but this morning, I woke up and took a long look at last night's dessert (Easy Jam Tart), and thought, "F-it. Why not?" and took a bite!

Delicious!

Delicious for breakfast! Delicious for dessert! Delicious!

That said, I'm probably not gonna do it again. I feel a little ill now. I guess that is "why not." : (


Here's the low-down on the cake that got me into this predicament:

Easy Jam Tart
Adapted from Ready for Dessert

INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 cups (210 grams) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (70 grams) stone-ground cornmeal or polenta
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
9 tablespoons (4 1/2 ounces or 130 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
1 large egg, whole
1 large egg, separated
1/8 teaspoon almond extract
1 1/3 to 1 3/4 cups (450 grams) jam (see Note above; I used the smaller amount) or marmalade
2 tablespoons (30 grams) coarse-crystal or granulated sugar

Dessert= Breakfast Cake= Yum! 

































DIRECTIONS:
In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt. In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or in a food processor, mix the butter and 1/2 cup (100 grams) sugar together until smooth. Add the egg, egg yolk (keep the egg white from the second egg on hand for later) and almond extract and beat until combined. Gradually add the flour mixture and mix until the dough just comes together.

Transfer about one-third of the dough to a lightly floured counter and shape it into a log about 2 inches (5 cm) in diameter. Wrap it in plastic wrap and freeze until needed. 

Transfer the remaining dough to a buttered 9-inch (23-cm) tart pan with a removable bottom of a 9-inch (23-cm) springform pan. Using your hands, press the dough evenly into the bottom. If using a tart pan, press the dough up the sides to the rim of the pan and set the tart pan on a baking sheet. If using a springform pan, press the dough about 3/4-inch (2-cm) up the sides of the pan. Freeze the dough-lined pan until firm, at least 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Spread the jam or marmalade evenly over the dough in the pan. Cut the chilled dough into very thin discs with a sharp paring knife. Arrange them slightly overlapped in concentric circles over the jam to form a top crust. Consult this link to more clearly understand what you're doing with the concentric circles... Whisk the remaining egg white with a teaspoon of water until frothy; brush evenly over the tart lid and then sprinkle with 2 tablespoons (30 grams) coarse sugar. Bake until the top crust is golden brown, about 25 minutes. Let cool completely.

Do ahead: This tart keeps beautifully for up to 3 days if well-wrapped at room temperature. Perfect to take along on a picnic.


Another Yard Sale Win!

Okay-- this is really just an opportunity to post pictures of Jules.


We picked up this super-cute vintage folding lawn chair at a yard sale this weekend for a whopping $2.00. Julian is in the process of mastering the art of climbing onto and off of the chair, and in the interim, likes to practice pushing it around the house.

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Last minute win!

This past Sunday afternoon, while we were heading into town to hit up the farmer's market, we made a quick detour past a garage sale in Callicoon.*

*(Yes. I do love having a place upstate so much... I pretty much love everything about that previous sentence. Sunday. Farmer's Market. Garage Sale. Be still my beating heart.

The people having the sale were basically selling everything I could possibly want to furnish a country farm house. Fabulous antique dressers, gorgeous painted armoires, and more primitive farm furniture than you could shake a stick at...

This was a true dilemma-- given that we are on such a tight budget these days-- so I decided I could only buy one piece of furniture and it had to be really, really practical. After much back and forth, I narrowed in on a gigantic primitive farm cabinet because I figured it could be used for almost anything. I was thinking it could be perfect in the dining room-- but it could also work fantastically as a linen closet upstairs, or in Julian's room for toy-and-book storage once he moves upstairs. What sweetened the deal is that for the $300.00 price tag, the people even  offered to throw in delivery!

The pitch I made to John, who was staggered by the thought of buying a $300.00 piece of furniture, is that we could probably find this same piece of furniture at a swanky shop upstate for $800.00, and could definitely find something almost identical for even more in the city. I took a quick hunt around on ebay and found this guy, which is about half the size, listed for $795.00. And we'd have to drive to somewhere called "Port Carbon, Pennsylvania" to pick it up. Not doing that might be worth $300.00 unto itself.

This is the cabinet we didn't buy-- that cost twice as much. 


So we took the plunge, and bought the big farm cabinet! 

It's currently parked in our bedroom-which-will-eventually-become-the-dining-room, and I'm loving it already. Though I kind of can't stop thinking it would make an awesome linen cupboard upstairs, so I guess we'll just have to see how it all unfolds once we're finally living upstairs. Which is probably going to be five years from now, at the rate we're currently going... Ugh. In the meantime, think positive, right?!

Super thrilled! Super psyched! Super FARM-Y! 

Monday, August 19, 2013

A new location for something old!

After I re-arranged Julian's bedroom in the city, I couldn't find the right spot for the cloud mobile that Mummy made him ages ago. I put his beautiful french paper mobile swinging above the rocking chair, and hung the felt-ball-musical-mobile over his bed, and then if really felt like a third mobile would be serious "stuff-hanging-from-the-ceiling" over-kill. I know it might seem like the cloud mobile would take rank over the plastic-y "Tiny Love" musical mobile, but that mobile has become synonymous with bedtime for Julian, so there was NO WAY THAT WASN'T GOING UP.


I hemmed-and-hawed, and decided to bring it upstate. Originally, my plan had been to hang it over his changing table in the country, but then I had a stroke of genius (genius? maybe not.) and hung it up on the wall over the rocking chair. This was motivated primarily by my reticence to hang anything from Julian's ceiling, which is a bead-board ceiling, since that seemed like more of a pain to spackle down the pike when we move Julian upstairs and out of that room.


However, now that it's up-- I feel like I've given the mobile a new lease on life-- it's SO CUTE hanging up there now. I think I might even like it more than I did when it was a mobile. 

Awesome! 

Sunday, August 18, 2013

BINGO!


After a long delay-- I finally got around to hanging up these terrific bingo cards in Julian's country bedroom. The vintage cards were originally a gift from my mom from almost a year ago, and then after much debate about framing them, they were sent off with my friend Arezki (who is a professional framer). He offered to frame them for me as a gift to Julian-- so I could hardly refuse!





Once I got them back, it took an embarrassingly long time to get them up to the country, and I've just finally found the time/energy to get them hanging. But-- hey, hey-- they're up now, and that's what counts!


A big thanks go out to both my mom for the original gift, and to Arezki, for building Jules such completely beautiful frames. They so vastly exceed the ones I was originally going to buy at IKEA, it's preposterous.

Thank you again guys! It takes a village (to decorate a house!) 

Saturday, August 17, 2013

Drama Curtains!

Okay-- there was actually no drama putting these curtains up, but I was hoping they might add a "dramatic" touch to the kitchen, which I may or may not have achieved. I guess it depends on whether you'll willing to attribute "drama" to curtains, which John, I can tell you, is not.


Regardless of his cynicism, the drapes are up, and they look terrific. I picked them up last weekend at the good ol' IKEA, and hemmed-and-hawwed about putting them up. I already had the curtain rod, so that aspect didn't seem like much of a commitment. And BOOM! There they are. I decided to hang the curtains high to emphasize the height of the room, but also because it happened to work perfectly with length of the IKEA curtains I chose. Perfect, two-fold.


The plan is that during the summer, these curtains just serve as a nice decorative element to enliven the kitchen a little, and then-- come winter (aka. brick nickels) -- we'll be able to pull them closed and they'll serve as a "interior vestibule" as we come and go through the french doors. Okay, I say we, but mainly we're talking about John going to and from the grill, because I pretty much don't go outside during the winter. I'm that kind of gal. : ) 

Friday, August 16, 2013

Ha! Hosting Guests At The Weekend House...

While sitting in a waiting room last week, I made the mistake of leafing through the latest edition of Allure Magazine (Don't judge me! My options were limited!), and made a bee-line for "How To Host Guests For The Weekend" because I thought they might be able to give me some helpful "how-to"s.

Ha.

You'd think the "Weekend Home" photographed would have tipped me off that this article wasn't aimed at the Falling-Down-Farm-House-In-The-Catskills contingent. (Though it has made me consider the possibility of eventually installing a pool in the shape of my first initial!)

Tips like: "Prepare The Guest Room: Make sure there are a variety of pillows-- down, synthetic, hard, soft." Yeah-- I think at this point, people are thrilled if they even get a pillow! So far, 75% of our guests have had the honor of sleeping in rooms WITHOUT WALLS, so I wonder what Allure's Susan Spungen would think of that arrangement?!?!

She says "If they have everything they need, they won't have to ask for anything and won't feel like a nuisance." 

While undeniably true, I'm pretty sure that can't currently be applied to our living situation. I also like the "Plan Your Days" section, where I'm encouraged to tell people to "go take a hike" when I don't feel like entertaining them anymore.

Priceless.   : ) 

A welcome distraction...

Not for me, but for Julian Ignatius! 


I just hung this little french chalkboard up above Julian's changing table, and now-- instead of wiggling around like a mad man trying to escape the next diaper change-- he's taken to whacking it against the wall.

The good news: It makes diaper changes far more peaceful. Maybe peaceful isn't the right word-- it's definitely still noisy, but at least it isn't a wrestling match for the time being! It also reminds me of our Parisian honeymoon-- we bought the chalkboard at the Marché Bastille while we were there... In fact, it was the product of my first IN FRENCH haggling endeavor! (In hindsight, I probably still got fleeced!)


The bad news: I'm guessing it is only a matter of time before Jules prevails over that hook and it comes crashing off the wall. I'd say there is an anchor in my future...

Très mignon, dans l'intervalle!*

*Very cute, in the meantime! : )

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Julian's new room!



Making this switch was a crazy endeavor and a logistical nightmare. Trying to move a baby's room while they're using it is completely insane as it turns out, and I am going to file it away in my "never again" book for future reference.

Never. Again. 

Major. Hassle. 

However, we're on the other side of the ordeal and it all feels well worth it now. Or I think it does. Or it's going to. Or it's possible that I just have a knack for making my life more complicated than it actually needs to be. (I think I actually just heard numerous people across America all say "Yes" in unison.)




The good news is that his room is super-duper cute, now has a window, and I'm loving the outcome, so whether or not it actually made any sense, the deed is done, and the results are terrific.


Everything is pretty much "his-old-room", in "a-new-room", except I also bought these two IKEA floating wall shelves, which John installed above the changing table for easy access to relevant supplies as well as extremely cute display space.



I'm considering putting up a third one under the New York map poster, so we have some more storage for books down the pike, but I haven't committed to that plan yet.


And then the last two improvements will be to install a ceiling fan and to buy a rolling solar shade from JC Penney (these babies are cheap and easy, but not super-rugged, so if you open and close your shades everyday, I make no guarantees.) Ceiling fan-wise, I'm considering buying another one of these bad boys, which we installed in our bedroom and are totally happy with. Generally, ceiling fans are ugly or expensive, and all too often, they're both; so this basic white one totally does the trick. The price-tag is a bit steep, so I think I'm going to hold off for now, but eventually, that's my plan!

Monday, August 12, 2013

Delicious dish for the grill-owning contingent.

I know all of you city dwellers probably don't have a barbecue, but for those of you readers who are lucky enough to have one, I've got a super simple recipe, pretty much guaranteed to impress and satisfy your guests.

John's Grilled Trout with Lemon, Thyme, & Garlic:

This recipe is per fish, and John usually does 2-people, per fish, for lunch. You could probably swing 2-people, per fish, for dinner too, if you also serve an appetizer and dessert. Or if you're feeding a small person.

Ingredients:
1-Whole Fresh Water Trout, gutted and cleaned
2-Sprigs of Thyme
2-Thin Slices of Lemon
Thinly Sliced Garlic (1/2 clove)
1-T. Good Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper

Directions:

Get grill as hot as humanly possible.

Meanwhile, rinse your trout with cold water and pat dry. Then, open 'em up, and stuff with the ingredients listed above, and drizzle the inside with an ample amount of olive oil, salt, & pepper. Then close 'em back up, and drizzle the exterior w/ a similar amount of olive oil, salt & pepper.

Wrap them individually in cooking twine, and tie tightly. This step isn't essential but it makes flipping them on the grill much tidier.


Once your grill is as hot as humanly possible, lay your trout on the rack. DON'T TOUCH THEM UNTIL YOU HAVE TO FLIP THEM. 6 minutes each side. Both sides.

Done. Awesome. Serve immediately!

On The Side:

I whipped up this unbelievably good, seriously low-effort side dish, made with summer squash and zucchini, sauteed and then mixed into orzo.

I'm not sure it merits a "recipe" but the gist was this...

Put 1 qt. of water and 1 qt. of chicken broth in a pot together. Bring to a boil, and then add the orzo. I bought a box of the Barilla stuff, and added about 1/3 of the box. Boil for about 9 minutes and then drain.



Chop up the squash and zucchini into 1/4" pieces (leave the skin on) and then sauté in olive oil with a little salt and pepper. Cook until pleasantly soft, but not squishy. EMPHASIS ON NOT SQUISHY. Nobody likes squishy squash. This is a common misconception made throughout the midwest and in buffet-style restaurants across the United States. NO ONE LIKES SQUISHY SQUASH.

Once the zucchini/squash is cooked, gently toss the orzo and squash together, add a little more salt and pepper, and you're set.

In a small separate bowl, mix together a dressing of lemon juice, dijon mustard, salt, pepper, & olive oil. I recently discovered that I've been massively over-dressing my salads, so I recommend starting with just one tablespoon of the dressing in the bottom of a big bowl and then gently tossing (ideally by hand) a big bowl of salad greens in the dressing. I used bay kale, and it was terrific! If it still seems dry, add a 1/2 a tablespoon, and keep adding until it is dressed to your liking.

I'm telling you-- I've made A LOT of salads--  
and I was SERIOUSLY OVER-DRESSING my salads. 

Try this approach and compare.

So-- ideally-- you now have your orzo dish, your (lightly dressed) kale salad, and your grilled trout. Open up the trout and pull the bones gently from the flesh. Cut the fish into two pieces, and plate each piece on the bed of orzo, salad to the side; and serve. Garnish with a little lemon.


So good. So simple. SO EASY. 

Birthday cake for babies and grown-ups alike.

I think I'm supposed to be more anal retentive about feeding Jules sugar, but I just recently met this terrific couple (parents of 3) who occasionally let baby #3 have a popsicle, and he and his siblings seem like they're in good spirits and health, so I decided to channel the parenting style of people who have already gotten over the insanity of baby #1, and made Julian a birthday cake that would actually be palatable for adults and children alike.

He's just trying to play it cool. He loved the cake! 

This was a recipe that Mummy made for us a few months ago when she was out in New York, so I knew that it would excellent. John and I inhaled it then, and ate it even more eagerly for breakfast the next day, so I figured that was the perfect cake to have in a house full of guests. Anything that wasn't eaten on Saturday would certainly be eaten by Sunday. Awesome.

Already half way through his slice. A total success!
(But don't worry-- I only gave him a tiny sliver-- so I probably
didn't dose him with that much sugar...)
I don't know where Mummy originally got this recipe and I don't think she does either-- so if it's your recipe and I'm infringing upon your rights in some way, my apologies and please let me know so I can give credit where credit is due.

And hats off to ya, because it's delicious!

Piedmontese Hazelnut Cake

Ingredients: 
Makes one 9-inch cake
7 T unsalted butter, softened, plus more for the pan
¼ C semolina, plus more for the plan
2 C hazelnuts, toasted, skinner and cooled
½ C cake flour
1 t baking powder
1 t kosher salt
1C packed brown sugar
3 large eggs at room temperature
2 T pure vanilla extract
2 T olive oil
Powdered sugar as needed for sprinkling

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 375 F.  butter a 9-inch cake pan.  Line with a 9 inch round of parchment paper.   Butter the paper.  Dust the pan with the extra semolina, shaking out excess.  Put the pan in the fridge to set the coating while you’re making the batter. 
Put toasted, skinned hazelnuts in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. 
In a small bowl, combine the cake flour, remaining semolina, baking powder and salt. 
Put the remaining butter and the brown sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and cream together for a few minutes.
Add the eggs one at a time, beating thoroughly before adding the next egg.  Scrape down the bowl.  Add the hazelnuts and beat briefly to combine.
Remove bowl from mixer  then add dry ingredients, folding together gently with rubber spatula.  Fold in vanilla extract and olive oil, then scrape into prepared cake pan.
Bake cake until top is browned – 30 – 35 minutes.  Remove pan from oven and allow to cool on rack for about 15 minutes.
To unmold, run a small knife around the cake.  Turn out on to a plate or a piece of cardboard.  Turn right side up on to another plate.  When completely cool, sift powdered sugar on to the top of the cake.
Slice and serve.


This is a European-style cake, so it’s not as moist as an American cake.  A slice of this cake calls for a glass of Vin Santo or Moscato d’Asti.

Oops-- I actually didn't read that last part until this second-- so I just served the cake with a heaping scoop of vanilla ice cream, which is decidedly more American than Piedmontese...