May 2, 2012

Caramel Brioche Croutons

When I’m working in the kitchen and I’ve made something particularly good I do this thing….this thing that I wasn’t aware I did until Casey started working from home. When something blows me away, I do fist pumps and shout out “MMMM. IT’S SO GOOD. MMM. OH MY GOD MMM.” Then I proceed to walk through the house while eating…shouting how good it is. I didn’t realize I do it until I saw the peculiar look on my husband’s face.

Yeah dude, your wife does this weird thing.

So… that happened with these Caramel Brioche Croutons. Fist pumps, moans, angels sang, and Oprah shouted in my head.

THE WORKS.

People! This is so good. I want you to make something that will produce FIST PUMPS and weird noises.

Then and only then will my work done. It’s caramel. It’s bread. It’s crunchy sweet Caramel Brioche Crouton time.

recipes

April 30, 2012

Simple Greek Salad

Let’s start the week with a simple recipe. Mondays are hard!

Say hello to my favorite standby, my big fat simple GREEK SALAD. It may not be the most authentic Greek salad but is sure is good. When I’m grocery shopping, I almost always make sure to have these salad ingredients so I can easily whip it up on a week night. It’s a no brainer and it’s healthy. I love that in a salad.

I’m also kind of addicted to it. I think it’s the sumac. Do you know about sumac? It’s a Middle Eastern spice that adds a lemony tang to salads & meat. It MAKES this salad one of my favorite salads ever. It’s absolutely delicious.

If you feel like you need to add a lil somethin’ somethin’ to the salad, you could top it with grilled shrimp, sausage, chicken or steak. Marinated artichoke hearts or sun-dried tomatoes are a good additions too but don’t forget to serve it with some grilled PITA. Pita in all caps. CARBS deserve capital letters. I shouldn’t have to explain that to you.

my everyday life, Photography

April 28, 2012

My Everyday Life: Week 17

Here’s what this past week looked like:

I had the opportunity to tour Redwood Hill Farm in Sebastopol. I’ll tell you more about it soon!

Look at that goat!

Uncategorized

April 27, 2012

I love lists, Friday!

I’m really excited for Erin’s new website!
Dad creates touching time lapse videos of his kids growing up. Amazing!
Wonderful thoughts on growing up.
Cindy! You had me at toasted almonds.
I got a wee bit emotional with this one.
I love looking at other people’s work spaces.
Rhubarb syrup. Going on the TO-DO list.
Wowzers! Check out Nicole’s rendition of my Brussels Sprouts Pizza.
This is totally my dream kitchen. Ryan has exceptional taste.
That sweater! That necklace!! I want it all, Jen!
Traveling to Seattle? Robin has you covered.
This is supposed to be the most relaxing song ever. I’m into it. I’m relaxed.
My car looks like the before…I want it to look like the after! MOTIVATION TIME!
If you have time today…you should go through all 50. I cackled at many of them.
Future Hipsters. This one gave me a good laugh.

This week on High Straightenence, I show you a piece of My Crazy Laundry Brain. Do you like doing laundry? I don’t!

While you’re at Homefries, you should listen to some of the past Joy the Baker podcasts. We’re about to celebrate our first anniversary!

And thank you to Babble for including me in your Blogger Beauty Secret post. Hooray for coconut oil!

recipes

April 25, 2012

Roasted Pineapple w/ Yogurt & Pistachios

I’m kind of in a rut; I have no desire to cook or bake. Wait. I take that back. I have no desire to clean my kitchen. I DO want to work in the kitchen. I just want someone to always clean up after me. That would be the life. That’s how chefs live, right? Does that mean I need tattoos and clogs? I don’t know what I would want on my body for the rest of my life, ink-wise. I’m working my way out of cherry blossom phase so I’m soooooooo glad I didn’t get those… Also! Clogs. Totally comfy…still totally not sexy. I love sensible shoes but I want them to look less like clogs.

Let’s be real. I’m not a professional chef, but you already know this. I’m just a girl who loves to get my kitchen dirty and make things with my hands. I’m love pineapple and Greek yogurt and simple desserts that I can accomplish in no time, yet take a tremendous amount of credit for. Who doesn’t want that?

I made this quick little roasted pineapple yesterday because I had 30 minutes to kill. If I had people over for dinner, it would have been a fantastic ending to a meal of shrimp tacos. I would have gotten the “what’s your secret?” question with this dessert.

The secret is that I will be eating this for breakfast for the next few days and loving EVERY LAST BITE. And when I’m soo over eating it with yogurt & granola, I’m going to turn it into a smoothie. That’s a fact.

around the home, my everyday life, Photography

April 24, 2012

House Tour: The Sitting Room

Today I’m gonna show you one of my favorite parts of our house- The Sitting Room.

recipes

April 23, 2012

Tarragon Lime Green Tea

New recipe! Tarragon Lime Green Tea

It’s almost that time of year when I overdose on bruschetta and drink fancy cold beverages outdoors until the mosquitos come out and then I book it inside. Thanks to my friend Cheryl and her amazing/stunning new cookbook, Ripe: A Fresh, Colorful Approach to Fruits and Vegetables, I have a drink that will turn heads at future dinner parties. I have yet to find out if it will repel mosquitos…

In this fancy beverage, tarragon mixes with green tea, honey & lime to create the most pleasant herbal/citrus iced tea. It’s reminiscent of gin, but contains none. Since I’m always looking out for YOU and YOUR best interests, I mixed a little Hendrick’s gin in one of the glasses and was extremely pleased with the results. Cheers to that!