Rosemary Beach Sunset, Panama City Beach FL

On the last day of our visit with the family we finally woke up early enough to catch the sunrise:

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: