Back and Ready for Action! End of Summer Review

So, even a domestic goddess needs a vacation.  I have recently returned from a relaxing week on the beach in Emerald Isle, North Carolina followed by trip up to Montreal, QC.  There were some domestic highlights of the trips (I am having issues with my camera so I'll add pictures later):

North Carolina:  Iron Chef Challenge--Battle Triggerfish!  

It was an intense battle.  Sous chef Molly and I against Chef Terry and Sous chef Kate as well as Chef Katrina and Sous chef Steve.  The set up:  we were each to prepare an appetizer sized dish for our 3 judges. We each had a half hour in the kitchen to cook, where immediately after, the dished were judged.  At the end the points were tallied and the winner was announced!  Molly and I did a traditional "fish n' chip" with our local triggerfish (think tilapia).  Molly made her grandma's famous homemade fries and I was in charge of the beer battering.  Even without a mixer to whisk my whites, we made the challenge in 30 minutes.  We served the fish n chips with a whiskey mayo in a basket with newspaper served with a British Ale!  Sounds like a winner right?? WRONG! :(  Unfortunately we were beat out by Katrina and Steven who cooked a delicious pecan crusted triggerfish with saffron and tropial fruit rice.  Coming in third, was a delicious pan-fried trigger fish with a beurre blanc (I don't know how to spell that) and a prosciutto crisp.

Montreal:  A Vegan Nazi and the Jean Talon Market

I went to a very odd restaurant in Montreal called, Spirite Lounge, where the owner is a self-proclaimed Nazi about food waste.  His belief is that restaurants waste too much food.  So, if you don't finish all the food on your plate (and I mean ALL), you don't get dessert, are charged extra, and asked not to come back.  Needless to say, I was a little nervous!  There is no menu, you pay a set price for a soup, entree, and dessert (if you're lucky).  We asked for the "smaller" portion size, which was still incredible large.  We had a delicious curry soup and a Crepe featuring Red beans and Eggplant...there were so many vegetables that constituted these dishes, I felt like I was getting all the fiber one would need in a lifetime.  Dessert was something cake like with chocolate...very good!

The outdoor market was wonderful.  Farish and I ate a ham, cheese, onion, and mushroom crepe which was my favorite thing I ate in Montreal.  I also sampled a tasty sausage sandwich and some venison and bison sausage on a stick.  

Labor Day back at the Ranch (if a row house in Philly can be referred to as a ranch):

In the past week I have had a couple of domestic triumphs:

Saturday night I cooked Ratatouille with ingredients from my own garden!! I was so excited to return from vacation to see two beautiful eggplants.  I also included some of our tomatoes, and a green pepper.  Whole Foods was out of zucchini (grr), so I used yellow squash instead.  Served it with a hearty roll from Whole foods...sooo good on a dark stormy night!  I've decided that Ratatouille is the French's version of Caponata (or perhaps, Caponata is the Italian's version of Ratatouille).  Either way, I love stewed eggplant!

In crafting news, my sewing machine came!!! I am now the proud owner of a Brother 4000, thanks to my good friends at Overstock.com and my parents (happy birthday to me ;) ).  I was proud of myself for figuring out how to thread the bobbin and the machine, and am now ready to get sewing!  I've cut out the pieces for my first project:  A yoga bag.  I got the fabric at the oh-so-cute store, Spool,  I just need to get some more interfacing before I start sewing.  Hoping to finish it by this weekend so stay tuned!!  

Happy beginning of fall!!

Apron Awards-Bakeries

Welcome to my first-ever Apron Awards...this is my attempt to give a shout-out to my favorite places to eat, shop, etc. The first edition of the Apron Awards is BAKERIES! Now, I obviously can't just name ONE bakery, because there are so many amazing ones, and I rely on certain ones for certain things (ie. I'm not getting my cupcake where I'm getting my sourdough). This list is obviously going to be based in Philadelphia (sorry to my non-resident readers), however I'm going to throw in some Seattle favorites as well.
Don't agree with my picks? Well, get your own blog, or post your favorites--maybe you'll change my mind!
(Also, if I was better with graphics I would create a cutsey little apron to put next to every pick, but alas I am not that skilled...so imagine a frilly pink apron....)
What do these bakeries get as winners of the Apron Awards? Riches? Glory? Obviously not, perhaps a little free advertising...or just the knowledge that I think they are great and will continue to be a loyal eater of their products.

Apron Award--Best Cupcake

BROWN BETTY DESSERT BOUTIQUE
1030 N 2nd St
Philadelphia, PA
215.629.0999

Move over Magnolia Bakery (Sex in the City fame, and often proclaimed "best cupcake")! Brown Betty makes THE BEST cupcakes I have ever tasted. Hands down. No contest. If people disagree with this award than I'm going to have to believe you have never had one of their cupcakes. This small little shop in NoLib's specializes in cupcakes, although they have cookies and cakes there as well. My favorite is the red velvet with cream cheese frosting. The cake is thick and moist, and the frosting, well it is amazing. They have a bunch of other flavors to choose from as well: chocolate, vanilla, pound cake, lemon, coconut, carrot cake, vanilla with lemon filling, vanilla with raspberry filling...I'm probably missing a few. I brought a few of each kind to a bachelorette weekend I attended and they were a big hit.

Apron Award--Best Chocolate Chip Cookie

BAKER STREET BREAD COMPANY
8009 Germantown Ave,
Philadelphia, PA 19118
215.248.2500

This is a new find for me, it is in Chestnut Hill, an area of Philadelphia I rarely frequent; however, coming home from a meeting one day I stopped at this small bakery to get a little treat and had one of the most perfect chocolate cookies. It fit all my requirements: 1. It was large (because I won't buy 2 cookies even if they are small--oh the willpower)
2. It was very soft in the middle...almost like a chocolate chip cookie bar, it was thick and chewy, I hate a hard cookie. 3. Chocolate chunks were spread throughout the cookie--chocolate in every bite! I realize the name of shop is "Bread Company" They do have a delicious apricot pecan loaf, but I'm coming back for the cookies.

Apron Award--Best Baguette

Sarcone's Bakery
758 S. 9th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19147
215.922.0445

If you live in Philadelphia you have been to Sarcone's, or at least have had their bread (even if you don't realize it). This is the ultimate place to get a long Italian style baguette. They bake them fresh every day and provide many restaurants with their bread. On weekends if you don't get there early they sell out. It is in the heart of the Italian Market, and an important stop when shopping for Italian Market Dinner (Fiorella's for sausage...Superior for pasta...but I digress, that is another Apron Award). They are 5th generation, Italian-American bread makers...so you know it's gotta be good!

Apron Award--Best Doughnut

Top Pot Doughnuts
Various locations in Seattle

For the best doughnut I had to go outside of Philly. Kristy Kreme, Smisty Kreme...if you want a really gooood doughnut (and I am not a doughnut person mind you) you need to check out Top Pot. Now, my fellow Philly friends may be thinking, "Top Pot...that sounds familiar..." This is because your local, friendly Starbucks is now carrying them in their pastry case. However, be fore-warned, this Apron Award is based on many a trip to the actual Top Pot Doughnut shops where they are making them fresh daily. So, don't get your panties in a bunch if you go to Starbucks and aren't blown away---pastries should not be packaged and shipped! My favorite is the apple fritter, but they have zillions of different flavor combinations.

Apron Award--Best Scone/Muffin

To Be Determined (by YOU hopefully)

This is a bit of a cop-out. I knew there had to be a scone/muffin category, but I have been having the hardest time coming up with where I have had the best scone or muffin. This is a tricky category. To be honest, I don't think I've had a great scone in Philadelphia. The closest I could come was Whole Foods and their oatmeal date. However, I am hesitant to name Whole Foods as the best (I mean I love them...but come on). So, I'm leaving this category up to you (wherever you may live)...I'll update the winner once I get some suggestions.

Apron Award--Best Bread (non-baguette)

Metropolitan Bakery
various Philadelphia locations

I had to do it...I had to give at least something to Philadelphia's resident Artisan Bakery. They are good, don't get me wrong. I love to go and get some olive bread or a loaf of raisin and walnut. What I don't like, however, is how they have kind of honed in on Philadelphia's bakery scene and taken over. I wish there were a few more small, mom and pop type shops by neighborhood that did the whole array well--muffins/scones, breads, cookies. Maybe this just means there is room in the market for a new Philadelphia bakery. Anyone know any investors??

Apron Award--Best Overall Bakery

Macrina Bakery and Cafe
Queen Anne Location
615 W McGraw Street
Seattle, WA
206.283.5900

The "Best Picture" of the Apron Awards, and I had to go outside of Philadelphia to bestow the award upon Macrina, the most amazing little shop in Seattle (there are actually 3 locations). This bakery is the best overall because it knows how to do EVERYTHING right (see above award for how I think Philly is missing this). From their Egg Bialy sandwich on bread which they baked themselves, loaves of olive bread, lemon lavender coffee cake, and too many sweet treats to name, Macrina is the one stop bakery you have to visit when you are in Seattle. They have brunch and light lunch available, too. I have their cookbook and completely bombed when I tried to make this lemon raspberry cake (I was using the wrong sized pan, causing batter to overflow and an oven fire to occur). The recipes are complicated and the owner/baker really knows her stuff. I've been wanting to attempt a bread recipe from her cookbook for some time. Most require the use of making a starter, which takes a couple weeks. I guess I have just been lazy...Also, check out their website, because they have featured recipes of the month!

My Green (and sometimes black) Thumb

Some pictures of my garden! mmmm, tomato....
thai basil...this looked like it was dying for awhile, but thankfully came back in full force.
This one is ready to be picked!
Ripening on the vine...
Little peppers...I think these are supposed to turn red or yellow...I forget what all I planted...
Pretty flowers!  

Anthropologie in the Garden!

For those of you who haven't heard...Anthropologie has a garden store! They just opened the Terrain outside of Philadelphia. I haven't had the chance to get there yet (probably best for my pocket book), but I'm drooling to go. My roommate Molly knows some people who went and said it was over-price (obviously) but had really nice stuff. This seems to be the trend with Anthropologie, they make things too darn cute so I can't resist spending money. I will be sure to report back once I get to go!

Things to Come

In an attempt to make sure I keep up with my new hobby, here is a list of projects I hope to do in the near future (I'm not really sure what that time frame is).

Yoga mat bag
Curtains
Fabric Silhouette art pieces
Paintings for my walls
Quilt
Reupholstering/Refurbish a piece of furniture (like a dining chair or something)

I'm going to stop there for now...don't want to get carried away! I need to purchase a sewing machine and some fabric before I can really get started, so that is the first order of business. Probably going to have to wait till after my August VACATIONS (woohoo!).

In the meantime, check back because I'm going to have some yummy baking posts, a garden update (the tomatoes are getting big!), and the first edition of my "Apron Awards"!

Cheers and Happy August ( happy birthday shout-out to Farish)!!

Blog List

My dad's favorite saying is "amateures imitate, professionals steal." Well, I must be on my way to becoming a professional artist (craft-ess?) because everything I've thought about doing I have gotten from other blogs/websites I have seen. Be sure to check out my blog list on this site...so much more creativity and lot of inspiration to be found! I'm sure you'll be seeing some projects coming from me right off their pages...

Framing Fabric and First Pillow

This is where it all began...I was beginning to feel a little antsy with my long summer and, how should we put this--lots of "free" time at work.  I decided I needed a project and wanted to do something for our living room.  We have this amazing row house with a long, white wall right when you walk in.  No furniture on that wall since it acts as the walkway, and we've always had a hard time finding art for it.  I had read somewhere about framing wallpaper as a solution to buying expensive art, so I thought, why not fabric?  Of course, this obviously isn't a new idea as I ran into on All Things Orange as well...I found this super-cute fabric on Pottery Barn, of all places (who knew they sold fabric?) under sales.  It only came in 5 or 10 yrds, so I bought 5.  Let me tell you, that is a lot of fabric.  I bought four 16x20" frames at A.C. Moore and the rest is history!

Since I had so much fabric I also decided to sew a pillow. I don't have a sewing machine (yet), so it had to be done by hand.  Since it is just a plain square that was obviously easy.  I'm going to make a second, larger one for the couch (this is 16").  I love the green with the deep purple. Let me know if anyone wants some of this fabric or wants a pillow made....I have plenty to spare!

Oldies but Goodies

I couldn't possible go back and chronicle all past attempts at being a domestic goddess. However, here are a couple of instances where I felt a picture must be taken...so I guess that counts for something.

This was attempt at making a dish called Eggplant Timpale ala Giada De Laurnetiis. I'm not usually a big fan of her meals. They are either ridiculously simple (she made an Italian quesadilla the other day for crying out loud!) or deceptively difficult. This would fall more in the difficult category, but it was more putzy than hard to make. I did forget to squeeze all the bitter juice out of the eggplant, however, so the flavors weren't quite right. Next time...it still pretty though!
Ah, Thanksgiving! This picture is from the 2nd Annual East Coast Thanksgiving (circa 2006). The pie on the left is from my friend Clair, a delicious apple cranberry. The cake on the right was my contribution for the evening, Martha Stewart's Pumpkin Cake with Brown Butter Icing! I love all things pumpkin (the smell, flavor, color...) however the one thing I don't like is pumpkin pie! I think it must be the texture. This dessert is the perfect substitute. It is nice and moist, easy to make, and the frosting is to die for!!!

A Blog is Born!

Hello everyone and welcome to my first post! I decided to start a blog because
a) People have been saying I should
b) I have some time on my hands
c) Everyone else is doing it

Seriously though, I have been wanting to have some place where I could show my feeble attempts at domesticity as I try to explore my creative side. I have recently realized that I really enjoy domestic pleasures. I like to cook/bake, I read decorating magazines for fun, and I have just started getting interested in sewing. I also am in need of a creative outlet, a summer internship in a stuff office does not a happy-mind make! Therefore I've decided to dive into domestic-dom and see what types of things I can create.

In this blog you will be able to find my attempts at
baking/cooking
sewing/crafting
hostessing

I'll also be sharing any interesting ideas I come across on the numerous other websites/blogs related to these things. I was really surprised, actually at the number of 20/30-somethings who are delving into these type of things. Perhaps it is because we don't HAVE to cook/sew that now we actually WANT to? Things to ponder...