it's a Panama City Beach holiday

A very warm, Happy New Year.  Welcome, 2012!

sometimes life is just a movie

even when it's rainy, the sun, somehow, is peering through somewhere and everywhere (cue music):

birthday

it was momma and papa Schellack's birthday...so I crafted some cards.  Simple and fun!

Christmas Wrapping

to accompany our very first Schellack Christmas Tree!!

made with re-used tissue paper, packaging paper, and raffia.

memories of chocolat

I've been pining for chocolate lately (as I do every other eight days), and this called to memory the chocolate shops in Lucca Italy.  Beyond these doors was a petite shop of chocolate, from the rough blocks of dark chocolate to the artfully sculpted truffles and other various sweet treats...wish I could take a quick trip across space-time for an afternoon bicycling atop the park-like city walls and lazily roaming the cozy city streets.  Alas!

Holiday Shaped cookies

There's something about making holiday-shaped cookies that make this time a little more whimsical and fun...

The first time I ever made sugar cookies--and I appreciate them more now.  I never really cared much for them, but good ones are hard to come by-- and when done right, they are perfectly moist, with the right amount of sweet (which, for me, is a generous sprinkle of cinnamon sugar).

Curious to try this with gingerbread flavors, nutmeg, and glaze.

atop the GWB

July 2011

it might not look it, but it was a sweltering 96 degrees the day we climbed up the george washington bridge.  bridge-building is one fascinating form or architecture.

it's an oq coffee holiday...

at the Schellacks! and this year, we had a fortunate mishap leading to a surprising change in ribbon-age.  We think it looks classy and festive:

We even up-ed it with a fancy stamp.  Thanks to some amazing friends who pulled it off with us.
To see it stacked up against last years, see 2010 last year's OQ box


to get your hands on one of these, visit OQ Coffee ;)

coffee

@oqcoffee. #good.

more seasonal squersh

I love squash.  I really do.  I am now fully appreciating fall/winter for all the varieties of this vegetable!

Roasted spaghetti squash with some butter.  From here, go either one of two distinct, both delightful ways:

1. top with fresh grated Parmesan, or any other hard cheese

2. top with sauteed onion, tomato, sweet peppers and a scootch of garlic. Optional: pasta (and not very much)

*win*

fresh out of a brown paper bag

Ben found this brilliant idea to make leftover bagels that are frozen, as delicious (if not more--for their crispy outer layer) as the morning they were made:

Oven to 400F, frozen bagels inside, a few minutes later, bagel perfection.

Bagel Breakfast for lunch - complete with and egg,  bacon from the PA Dutch farm market +  fresh sliced cheddar. B for Brilliant!

Bouncing Berries a la New Jersey Pine Barrens

I heavily modified a recipe to make do with what we had, thus, resulting in a fresh cranberry orange-lime muffin, topped with toasted walnuts.

Next time: I won't sift the flour; use almonds instead; and generously fill the muffin tins for an overwhelmingly large muffin Top :]

autumnus wintrus treats

as part of my "talent" that I would share (Ben played the guitar, Amy played the piano, dad played the violin.. you get the point), I opted for baking--- a sweet potato casserole with brown sugar pecaned topping (which ended up being the crowd favorite), and this experimental (sad?!) pie. 

pumpkin sweet potato Pie

New: Complete Streets in New Brunswick..

and the rest of New Jersey, someday.

This Saturday AM kicked off with the dusting off of the bicycle (thankful that I have a stupendous husband that headed out to prep my bicycle that hasn't been unlocked for 3 months).

Civic Eye Collaborative is a new and unique consulting firm of transportation planners and a media art guru.  They're young, but I'm excited for what they will come up with to inform and empower NJ and other local communities to make getting from Point A - to - Point B.

Saturday AM proved to be the perfect weather to shoot some "b-roll" for a short video they are creating to show planners what little they can do to make a big difference in complete streets (for bicycling, especially).

Nothing interesting to see here, except a staged photo.  Mosey over to Civic Eye's web site for better images and more on their work, and perhaps in several months, the finished product.

on Franklin Blvd (Somerset); Dave, Brian, and David

rustic apple pie

tis the season for apples; thus, tis the season for apple pie!  I'll say...I'm pretty proud of the lattice pie crust top.  It was all the more tasty shared with our MC.

Acorns and Flying Saucers

Yes, that's right...

Acorns and Flying Saucers.

We took 'em and roasted 'em in the oven for a half an hour - 

     threw them in a soup of sauteed onions, garlic, carrots, and pears - 

  simmered for another half hour - 

     and pureed it just to the point that when you take in a spoonful, there remains an outstanding texture that allows you to still guess what may be in that delightful bowl of fall/winter squash.

raw materials, all from our backyard *high-five, Ben!*

squashed saucers and acorn.
f I had fresh cream, I woulduh dropped a dollop
of sour cream in the middle

a Kale-er meal: Winter greens

Who knew a wholesome dinner could be so satisfying... Observe a dinner made almost entirely from our garden (or someone else's --thanks, Union Square Farm Market!):

Black Prince Cherry Tomatoes - our community garden in NB
curly kale - Union Square Farmers Market in NY
apple potatoes - apples from Riameade Farm in Chester NJ
bacon from Whole Foods

I don't do this often, but I'll take credit for coming up for a quick, kick butt way to cook up kale which satisfies as a co-main dish :)

- 2 bunches of curly kale (fall - winter)

- half a jalepeno pepper, cut in 0.5x1" strips

- balsamic vinegar

- dash of sea salt (1-1.5 tsp)

- 3 cloves garlic, minched

1. Rip off kale leaves, leaving them in large bits

2. blanch in bunches (don't overfill the pot so it blanches evenly) for 3 minutes; set aside to drain in colander (sprinkle lightly with sea salt)

While it drains,

3. sautee the jalepeno pepper in a skillet with OO; begin to add the balsamic if it gets too dry

4. toss in the garlic; brown

Squeeze the kale if it's dripping. Then,

5. Toss the kale into the skillet to heat up again and soak up the pepper + garlic flavors; add sea salt to taste

6. Add some more OO and balsamic

7. Voila!

     You can add a tiny bit of fresh Parmesean cheese; I'm usually unreasonably generous with the freshly-grated cheese, but not here.  Take heed--if you add too much, you'll overwhelm the other outstanding trio of flavor

Serve hot with whipped apple potatoes topped with caramelized onions and hearty bacon and sauteed/steamed heirloom tomato halves.

tHis was delicious...I promise.

Little Town sunset

in a corner of the little town of Middlebury, the sun fell over a quiet waterfall.

Middlebury, VT

Behold...the Golden Wood!

Thanks to Columbus Day weekend and a 70-degree day, our first experience in Vermont was unforgettable:

Summer is Out

the few days before summer officially ends, the sunsets rush off into the night faster than the day before

18:19p, new brunswick

Because a Fresh Coconut is Better

....than a not fresh coconut...and heck, why not?!!

we ventured into the exotic fruit world and stood up to a wild coconut.  Ben was sure we would be able to crack it open.  It's amazing:  it has two tiny holes that "happen" to be perfect to puncture to let its silky, smooth, yet delicately thin and pure milk flow through.

Anyway, we had plans for this coconut, but it perfected itself with its leftovers serving as a perfect way to make non-dairy milk.

Voila!

new brunswick

"the mighty Raritan" ...at sunset!

Impromptu Fritter

I shredded two potatoes (one was purple) and made some Potato Fritters with Goat Cheese and heirloom cherry tomatoes as a last-minute-Oh-we-need-to-eat meal.  The goat cheese is from a small goat farm in Ithaca  (Ben insisted we stop in...glad we did!) and the tomatoes are from our Community (Shiloh) Garden in New Brunswick.  While the photo was snapped in a jiffy, they were more yummy than they look, and also last about all of a few minutes.  Observe:

Quick fried in a skillet  (just to seal the potato shavings), then baked at 400F for about 10 minutes.

Paella Schellacked

Recipe Mash-up!  We took two recipes and came up with the following:

Chicken and Shrimp Paella
with roasted red peppers, onions, and eggplant (!)
with an array of carefully picked spices and seasonings

For the first time ever, I took a knife and scissor to poultry, thanks to Ben picking up a Cornish Hen ("heirloom", he calls it) from the PA Dutch Farmers' Market.  I bet people would eat a lot less meat (forget the emotional part of cutting into, and prepping the chick!), if only they knew how much work they had to do, and do it every time they wanted meat.

Anyhow, it was absolutely delicious.  I'm looking forward to the leftovers for lunch this week.

Millions of Peaches...

Summertime in NJ, especially late-July and August is near-synonymous with peach season.  And the best thing about it is, you can get great, local peaches at every (yes, bold statement), EVERY farmers' markets!  There are more peaches than you know what to do with.  Ben has incorporated them into our morning smoothies, I've made a peach tart, and they are the perfect way to accompany and perk up a Swiss Chard salad (b/c Swiss Chard is intensely in bloom during this time as well).

So when its 80 degrees, rip up some chard, honey your peaches, throw together a light, oil/white wine vinaigrette, and chop up some almonds for a salad that even men will thoroughly enjoy in the summer!

August Summer Salad, 28 August

Civilian Conservation Corps at work

we should put more money into doing stuff like this...make our assets more accessible, because it is too unfortunate a waste for people to be missing out on vistas such as these!

They built from this:

This:

So you could see this:

Morphology

This is a pwHelms Bread recipe, which yields a TON of dough.  So what better way to use it up than to make tight, little cinnamon rolls that are perfectly crusty on the outside and unreasonably (yet deliciously) moist on the inside?

What would you make with extra (half-wheat, a little sweet) bread dough?

One Too Many Dimensions

26 April 2011 - hidden and abandoned architectural pieces

3 years ago: "Last Chance"

On the way down from Lookout Mountain--it's almost mystical:

A trip to the Moon --Revisiting Roots

This was pretty ambitious, but I was determined to do it: Black Bean Mooncake, Taiwanese-style!

I must admit:  I am pretty proud of these--mostly because a certain someone (Benjamin) loved them! I snagged the recipe (and then modified it, of course) somewhere from the interwebs, which, who knew: it's impossible to find a good recipe for this.  So perhaps, I'll come back one day and write it out.  The most difficult part of the mooncake fiasco?  -->trying to purchase a rolling pin.

Blueberry March

Thurs, 30 June

Everyday, since we've returned from Italy, Ben has made a SMOOTHIE (without fail).

We purchased a flat of BLUEBERRIES since they were on sale (can I get a "'hooray' for harvest season in NJ!"?) and threw them in the freezer.  Anytime a smoothie (or SORBET!) needs to be made... voila!  These little suckers are perfect for any LITTLE SUMMER TREAT.

Castellina Curb Quartet

Sat, 11 June

Okay, okay...I know this can't pass off as food, but a GIANT TUBA on the curb of a small Italian hill city was just too beautiful to keep to myself:

Castellina in Chianti

Sat, 11 June

Italy isn't just about wine, but it definitely knows how to do it right.

Wildflowers, and vino, and soaps, OH my...!

Clear Flour Bakery - Boston

Sat, 9 April 2011
Off to Boston for an APA Conference.  Stayed with some friends in Brookline, and of course, had to stop at:

who also offers Terroir coffee.  Good to know good coffee and baked goods are slowly coming into people's lives.  Get a chocolate croissant here...or hallah bread.  So good.

Now, we just need OQ Coffee to open up shop in New Brunswick, NJ.

ruins of ancient italy

while our absolutely unforgettable stay at Podere Patrignone, we took one morning to take an easy hike across the hills, with one big, furry horse of a dog tagging along on our heels.

Volterra Bicycle Parking

because in Italy, it's always better with a bottle of vino ;]

a beautiful mess

after hours of late-night construction, Rachel, Adel, Shayne, and Abby (who dominated flower-design and construction) have secured (thanks to Pete) a beautiful trunk full of flowers for the wedding--they were beyond gorgeous, in anyone's opinion.

While all these girls made it happen, check out Adel's site--she's up for hire, if you're lucky!

two of the most delicious things in life...

of course, had to be showcased at the wedding: coffee and chocolate!

A small mason jar of a single-origin from OQ Coffee and impulse bars, 70% dark from Green & Black's organic.

Being that I am back-dating this entry, I am recalling from memory the amazing friends who executed this and made all the things during Wedding Season and the wedding itself go off without a hitch, many things which we were not aware of until waay after the day--some, we may never even know!  We are so immensely blessed beyond imagination.   And beyond these things, continue to be thankful for incredible friendships and support. Thank God! 

Chocolate Raspberry Souffle

Wed, 5 Jan 2011:

Make use of your ramekins:  make a soufflé.

eXtropia

It took three semesters to finally come across "eXtropia".  The story of eXtropia itself is rather fascinating, in a convoluted, tangled history of "parents" Selena Sol and Gunther Birznieks.  I'll leave it at that. 
Anyway, this is a very different post:  not food, not photography.  Nonetheless, it is something "new", and is worth sharing.  Reading anything on computers, programming and databases are never fun.  I repeat:  never fun!  But at least these guys make it easier.

eXtropia

Check it out, if you're a data geek: eXtropia

march of the [littlest] carrots

So we dropped seeds for carrots last spring and decided to let them "over-winter"... it is very comical to see what we've produced.  See Exhibit A below:

Exhibit A -  littlest carrots in size order: from tiniest to tiny

Next time, we'll use sandy-er soil :D

Spring = Running Outdoors

After four weeks of being sick, running is as refreshing as a tall glass of water!

Going for 65-minutes turned out 7.84 miles.

Johnson Park & DnR Canal tow path, Highland Park NJ

Cupcake Craze

Warming up February with...chocolate!

peanut butter frosting dominated this cupcake

...topped with a triangle treat of italian chocolate*

*thanks for Rob who took the photo before they disappeared