New Year's Resolutions

Tomorrow is 2015!

Wow it felt weird to write that...

 15?! 

Why do I feel like the 90's were yesterday?

Okay, so, save the fact that I am aging at an uncontrollable rate, 
and I should know better at this old age to make resolutions, 
I am going to give it another go.

Here are this year's lies:

1. To plant a real, bad-ass, flower garden. 

Yes, I know, this was last year's resolution, and 2013...I mean it this time.

2. To plant, and nurture my vegetable garden,

 and to preserve/can/sauce enough for the winter 

(this year was a sad flop).

3. To mentally prepare myself for the first day of kindergarten. 

I am going to be a F$%^ing basket case in September. 

I apologize to Elias' teachers in advance...

4. To make a 100% homemade lasagna. 

Our cow, our tomatoes, our basil, our homemade pasta, our homemade cheeses.

I will name it Narcissism, and it will be delicious.

5. To run my 5th and final half marathon in Lake Placid. 

After the second weekend in June, running and I will just be friends.

6. To make physical prints of every picture I cherish. 

Not on the computer. Not on disk. Actual, old school photo books all the way.

7. To finish that damn quilt.... 

this may require me to learn how to use a sewing machine.

8. To eat more green, less white for real this year, 

and do something everyday that could be considered exercise.

To be a good example for Elias.

9. To travel, explore, adventure every day;

 Whether it is in a book, out our front door, locally or globally.

To make everyday richer. 

10. To continue to make my family and true friends my priority; 

to laugh with them, to cry with them, to love them and to foster our relationships from a new place. 

To make every day, every week, every month brighter than last. 

*(Yes. I try.)

I wish you all a happy, healthy, fun, fulfilling, beautiful and delicious 2015!

Happy New Year!

ps. Today I plan to eat everything I see, drink everything in reach and not exercise one bit.
Just for the record.

Breakfast Smoothie Bliss

So I made it through an entire day of juicing yesterday until about six o'clock last night I dove face first into a bowl of Thai green curry...

Curry counts as a liquid, right!?

Well, if anything, I created a luscious lunch smoothie that gave me a very happy belly,

 and a little extra energy to get me through the afternoon.

Since I normally skip breakfast in lieu of coffee, chai or tea, this smoothie might become part of my normal morning repetoire, cleanse or no cleanse.

It is very simple, healthy, delicious and can be whipped up in less time than brewing a pot of coffee.

Ingredients:

1 banana

1 inch piece of ginger, sliced for easy blending

1/2 cup of chai tea concentrate (I use Starbuck's brand)

1 cup of unsweetened vanilla almond milk

One handful of ice

nutmeg for sprinkling

Steps:

Pull banana into pieces and put it in your blender with ginger, chai, almond milk and ice.

Pulse on high until smooth.

Sprinkle with nutmeg.

Enjoy!

Juicy Lucy

I know it is not New Year's yet,

however after what seems like weeks of gluttony it is time for a pair down of sorts.

I guess you can say that I'm doing a trial run for Thursday. 

I figure this will allow me to experiment with recipes, and cheat a little before the ultimate day of reckoning on January 1st.

As with all new beginnings, it is easier if we come prepared...yes?!

And if you're going the juice route, why not jazz it up with a fun glass!?

It adds a sense of fun to a seemingly daunting task.

Look at those biscuits!
Couldn't you just squeeze them!?

This smoothie came out surprisingly delicious, as it was a mish-mash of ingredients I had left over from this month's festivities;

One banana, two clementines, a handful of spinach, a chunk of ginger, a cup of ice and a splash of water.

Pulsed on high until smooth, this is super refreshing!

This juicing thing might be easier than I initially thought!?

Maybe.

Until I'm craving solids so badly that I will eat a bar of soap if it means something other than juice...

We will talk in a few days...

Yes Please

If your pants aren't tight enough, these may help...

If any of you are looking for any serious last minute...errr, late gifts this holiday season, I'd be willing to bet these would be a big hit.

Just a hunch.

http://www.oliveandsinclair.com/shop/duckfatcaramel

YUM!

Craft Explosion

Everything is turning up Sculpey.

I can not stop crafting, and I promise this will be my last post on the matter...well, maybe. 

I will try.

I both have to thank and to blame my friend Kathy for introducing me to these projects.

Once you realize how easy and fun it is, 

you feel like you could construct anything and everything out of this wonderously simple clay-like material. 

I have caught the crafting bug. 

Check these out!

...last post, I promise...

Holiday Themed Coasters

Coil, Twist, Smoosh Into a Ball  Roll Out (not shown) and Mold

The Finishing Materials:
Mod Podge to seal and add shimmer + Gold Paint to add a beautiful finished rim.

Walla!

Gifts for Everyone!

 Again, I cannot take full credit for these.

My friend Kathy not only introduced me to this awesome project, 

but also to the great blog 'A Beautiful Mess,' where this project originated, and every single one of their craft projects looks like something I could get my hands into.

(Poor Elias may have a winter of crafting ahead of him)!

Check out the link for the best instructions on how to do this project, and explore all of their other great ideas:

www.abeautifulmess.com

Happy Crafty Holidays!

Florentine Deliciousness

I poached an egg!

Hurrah!

I finally conquered my fear of this seemingly daunting task...

then I smothered that beautiful, shimmering, healthy egg with butter, cream, cheese and bacon.

We have to keep things real people!

I derived this recipe from a Florentine egg dish I had at a brunch years ago in New York City.

The place was over-crowded, noisy, and flirted with filthy, but their food was delicious.

So delicious, that I have been thinking about making this dish since.

The only problem is that I don't like breakfast. 

At least not at breakfast time.

Much to my breakfast-loving spouse's dismay, he is usually in charge of this meal...not to mention that he would never make this.

So, for years I have just kept this tucked in my sensory memory bank, just waiting to break free.

Well, to cut this long story short, over this past Thanksgiving weekend of pure gluttony, I actually woke up early and cooked! Zoiks! 

The timing seemed right and I had most of the ingredients.

I am very glad I did, because I may have to make this again;

Just maybe for dinner, and in the summer when the tomatoes are ripe for picking.

Recipe:

Serves two hungry, hungover people

Ingredients:

4 eggs

1 small onion, sliced thin or chopped

1 clove of garlic, finely chopped

5 tablespoons of butter, divided

1 tablespoon of flour

1 cup of heavy cream

1/2 tsp of nutmeg

2 cups of Parmesan/Romano cheese

s/p to taste

4 generous handfuls of fresh baby spinach

2 Thomas' English muffins, or homemade crusty bread, toasted and buttered

4 strips of bacon or pancetta, cooked until crispy and drained

2 generous slices of a juicy, ripe tomato:

*I used canned San Marzano tomatoes today because this was the only ingredient I didn't have: I drained four small plum tomatoes (2/serving) and cooked them briefly in a sauce pan. You don't have to do this with a fresh tomato; just slice and enjoy.

Steps:

1. Prep all ingredients (cut, chop, slice and measure)

2. In a large pan, saute onion until tender in two tablespoons of butter, add garlic for 1-2 minutes at the end. Be sure not to burn the garlic.

3. Add the remaining three tablespoons of butter and stir until melted.

4. Add flour and stir to make a paste

5. Add nutmeg

6. Add the heavy cream and stir until hot

7. Add the Parmesan cheese, a little at a time, stirring gently. 

8. If the sauce is too thin, add more cheese. s/p to taste

9. Add spinach, a handful at a time and cook until wilted. Keep warm.

10. Meanwhile, cook your bacon and poach your eggs and place in a fine mesh sieve placed over a bowl to drain

11. Also, toast and butter your bread component

*To poach the egg, bring water to a boil with the juice of half a lemon. Crack the egg and gently slide it into the water. Cook for 2-3 minutes, until the white is cooked and the yolk is set, but still runny. With a slotted spoon, remove and put into a fine mesh sieve to drain.

For assembly:

1. Place your bread component on the bottom of a medium-large shallow rimmed bowl. 

2. Top the bread with the slice of tomato (or cooked San marzano tomatoes). 

3. Top with poached eggs. Season with salt and pepper. 

4. Top with spinach/onion/cheese mixture. 

5. Finish by topping with cooked bacon or pancetta. 

6. Serve with a giant cranberry mimosa

7. Eat immediately

I hope you guys enjoy this recipe as much as we did!

Let us believe that it is healthy because of the spinach, tomato and the poached egg.

Wink.

Thankful

I am thankful for many things this year, 

but mostly the moments spent around the table.

Whether it is just the four of us, 

(Todd across from me, Elias on the left, Chloe on the right), 

our extended family, or our true friends, 

the moments around the table make me most thankful.

Thankful for the people that share them with us, 

thankful for love, 

thankful for friendships, 

thankful for laughter,

thankful for good food and drink, 

thankful for comfortable shelter, 

thankful for our health. 

There are people we wish could still be sitting with us around these tables, but we are thankful that our lives are richer because of them.

They are not close enough, but never truly gone.

They are in our hearts, and with us as we break bread. 

We are thankful for them.

Here are a few blessings for our table;

All an appropriate length to make our guests uncomfortable, and make them think you are an asshole for making them sing for their supper.

From our table to yours, 

we hope you all have a beautiful, delicious, thankful day.

Bage-zels

My sister is a kitchen goddess.

She is one of the best home cooks I know, and we had the delight of eating some of her best creations a few weeks ago.

She opened the evening with hot, doughy, salty German beer pretzels. 

Fresh from the oven.

AaaaaAAAaaaaAAAAAA!

(Sung like an angel on high)

Dreams are built around pretzels like these.

I, of course, in true younger sister fashion, had to copy her;

So as soon as I got home I ran to Wegman's for all purpose flour and beer.

Seriously!?!
So good!

Close up! You can almost smell them!

Ready for action.
I honestly can't believe they made it this far.

Oh ya, we went there.
Cheddar and ale fondue for the serious dippers.

The same exact pretzel recipe makes bagels!
I just made them round and added our favorite bagel toppings, sesame seed and garlic.
Next time we are going with EVERYTHING!

Look!
The addiction spreads.
PKR's beauties;
those are olive and rosemary bagels back there!

So much for going carb free before the holidays!?!

Oh well, we only live once, right!?

And to live a life with fresh hot pretzels and bagels, is to live a life of happiness.

This is such a crowd pleaser, 

and the kiddos totally love them.

I highly recommend them over the holidays. 

You just have to invite me over.

http://www.tasteof home.com/recipes/soft-beer-pretzels#

Thank you Whitney for the delicious inspiration!

Art on a Carte, Sarah Street Style

Last night we hosted our second official 'Art on the Carte' event at Sarah Street Grill in Stroudsburg and it went off without a hitch!

This time we painted Vincent van Gogh's 'Wheatfield with Cypresses,' 

discussed Post-Impressionism and van Gogh's life, and learned about color theory and different painting techniques, including impasto (thick, short brushstrokes signature of van Gogh's style).

Everyone did an amazing job, the food was spectacular, and fun was had by all!

Here is a photo gallery of the evening's event:

Our Classroom for the evening!
What a great space!

From a Different Perspective

Ready to Rock

Geek Board 1

Geek Board 2

Image and Art History Packet

Perfect Timing for Popular Culture and Art History to Collide!
Thank you Mom for the head's up and Vanity Fair for the supplement!

STUDIO SHOTS:

Ready to Paint!

Christy!
The girl who made this event happen!

Everyone is working so hard!

Yasmin!
Look at how great her painting is coming!

Everyone is in the groove!

I'm sad these pics are blurry because it doesn't capture the beauty of the work

Aimee and Larissa are very serious artists:)

That is more like it!

Max!

A Natural!

What an awesome class!

Art + Food = Fun!

These ladies rocked it!

I cheated

A Family of Artists!

I both love and hate the fact that there are so many people we couldn't get up close!
What an awesome class!

 Thank you Sarah Street for hosting us, 

and to everyone who came out for our first event in Stroudsburg;

I hope you all left feeling inspired and proud!
You did an amazing job, and it was great getting to work with all of you last night!

Cheers!

Getting Crafty

Look at how productive we were this weekend!

Our dearest friends came to visit, 

which is always the best because we eat, drink and laugh from sun up to sun down.

This time, however, Kath knocked the entertainment portion out of the park with this super easy, super fun, super beautiful art project. 

It was initially meant to provide the kids with an activity, but it hooked the adults instantly.

A new addiction has been born.

Look how beautiful!

One of my faves...

Another fave...
This one glows in the dark too!

My first attempt...

So easy even a four year old can do it;
These are Elias'!

Another one of Elias'!

Kath added a layer of Mod-Podge to seal the surface and add a shiny coat to her bowls.
What a great addition!
 I love how it makes them look like marble!

So beautiful!

I am so excited about this project, that I fully plan on running to Michael's tomorrow to purchase a gazillion dollars worth of Sculpey and Mod-Podge!

Now you all know what you are getting for Christmas.

Here is the awesome blog/link we referenced and used:

http://www.abeautifulmess.com/2014/11/marbled-clay-ring-dish.html

Enjoy!