3 good things

 1. i do not have to go to the supermarket

2. i do not have to spend money

3. i am not wasting what we have in our fridge

i am sometimes of the camp where i get bored with what i already have and when i start a new project, meal, anything - i need something new to make it as awesome as it should be.  if i want to knit something - in my mind its always better if i buy yarn specifically for the project.  if i make a quilt, i like picking out all new shiny fabrics. if i want to cook dinner, i ignore whats already in my fridge and trek to the store.  being 40 weeks pregnant, and the streets being covered with ice- this has forced me to be creative since i really really don't want to leave the house if i dont have to... walking is really painful and uncomfortable at this point and getting bundled up when you've got an additional ___ pounds attached to all angles just makes it that much harder.  so how happy was i when i was looking up new recipes and found something that i WANTED to make that i already had all the ingredients for - and its super easy!

thanks to my new favorite website: foodily.com.  its like an earth-wide search engine for recipes. ily foodily! i had extra brussels sprouts and thought "i want to eat these, but how!?" <--- internal monologue.   i thought i'd have to go to the store and find $45 worth of new things in order to make something delicious.  no no no! i found this perfect and totally yummy recipe from the blog, love and olive oil:

spaghetti with pancetta + brussels sprouts. (sans pancetta)

anyway. now that you know what i'll be eating for dinner, i know you're day is worthwhile.

you're welcome.

xo.

horn tootage, part deux

um. ok. so, i've never made eggplant parm before. i think i've had it, but i dont know. it did NOT taste like this though. dear lord if you love food and your tongue hasn't been cut out of your mouth, you better make this. this is the "lighter" version, which doesn't seem light while you're making it, BUT you only need to eat like 1 or 2 eggplant slices before you are crazy full. i literally cannot wait for lunch so i can heat another one up.  i tried to make it with pasta but (lol) i guess we didn't fully wash the soap out of the pasta pot from the night before, and the spaghetti literally foamed in your mouth. it was really gross. we threw that part out. but make it with some spaghetti or have it with some nice italian or french bread cause you need to soak this deliciousness up. 

RECIPE NOTE: the recipe SAYS 1/4 cup of marinara sauce, but it is actually an error - you will need 2 1/4 cups of marinara sauce.

Lighter Eggplant Parmigian

omg i'm gonna make this every week.

xo

perfect dinner for four

i'm not one to outwardly toot my own horn.

ok, maybe sometimes, when i'm really proud of something, or when it is really difficult, but mostly when it was really delicious.

well last night i made a really yummy dinner for my dearies sam and ian, my husband, and myself.  the dinner was to celebrate their one year anniversary and so i could give them what i've been working on for what seems like for-EVER...their wedding quilt!  i don't have any images but they promised to take some pictures so i could share with you.

alright alright - back to dinner.

obvi, martha. obvi, delish.

simple arugula salad

 mussels in white wine and garlic with a french baguette for dipping

oven frites

fresh cherry tart

i wish i was one of those people who could cook without recipes, but i'm not. i prefer knowing how things are going to turn out, how they are meant to look, etc etc. anyway, it was a simple and easy meal to make overall, but it really was good and i wish there were leftover fries to eat right this minute.

xo

7.4.10

Happy 4th of July!

I wish I could say I was celebrating in style and grillin up a storm, but I've been a bit sick lately and have been homebound.  But for those of you who actually have PLANS... here is my personal hero's list of 94 red, white and blue desserts, for those of you who are potlucking tonight.

i will be sitting on a lawn chair on the roof of my apartment building with a pizza and a beer, watching the macy's fireworks.  you're more than welcome to join.

xo

mama's day bonanza

so all this week i've been preparing for what turned out to be a super fantastic mother's day breakfast.  i made three different kinds of quickbreads (all martha stewart recipes, natch) and the most super amazing blueberry lemon muffins from one of my favorite blogs, joyeverafter.  i set up flowers and made (delicious) bellinis and all kinds of lovely mommy friendly things.  mama cried, which is really all a breakfast throwing daughter can ask for.
click here to see pictures of the day! see below for links to all the recipes

• zucchini spice bread
• strawberry bread (my favorite, so yum!)
• banana nut bread
• joy ever after's lemon blueberry muffins *best b-berry muffin recipe of all time, everyone always loves them.
• strawberry butter
• pear cranberry bellini

xo