Sunday, January 31, 2010

I have a problem, and it is called: I spend money.

Ok. Welcome to the first ever SEWING SUNDAY, hopefully a regular fixture on ye olde blogge. I couldn't really resist the temptation of discussing my purchases from the Vogue/McCalls/Butterick $3.99 pattern sales. I wasn't going to buy these patterns. I swear. Then, the devil took hold in the shape of this little suit:

...and that was it. I know, it's marked Advanced, and I still struggle with a pillowcase. I will save it for the FUTURE, when I am a level 57 sewing Jedi.  Just like I will be saving this dress along with it: 

...isn't it beautiful?
Well, on top of all of this, I decided to see what was up in the vintage and retro patterns section. No good, that's what. I ended up with these 4 from various areas:

...and if you look at the last one and wonder what happened to my sanity, I will tell you it flew out the window when I saw the incarnation of this dress and imagined myself lounging around in an expensive restaurant or something in it. 

I know. It's like the coolest thing ever. That, and those incredible hats. Next, I picked up a fall coat type pattern thing, because I secretly love these and I know that this pattern and I were made in heaven for each other. 


Finally, I purchased a vest pattern because the SO has been bugging me for a vest ever since he learned that i could sew. It sure looks dorky on these people, but we will make it look hipper. I swear.
And that's all, folks. Just had to share. Don't be like me, you will be broke in a very short amount of time. :(

Saturday, January 30, 2010

Herbed Tomato, Garlic, and Noodle Soup and some CHANGES


Hey there!

Long time no see!

Well, I guess I've been a little lazy, and definitely BUSY, but I'd like to just get right back into the swing of things with this recipe I made the other day. It is the middle of bone-chilling winter here in New York, and I had a horrible cold last weekend, so I wanted to make some sort of a soup to help me weather the sniffles. Now, if you know me at all you will know I am a hoarder of all things cookbook, and I have a million of them, but one of my most recent acquisitions is a Williams Sonoma Cookbook called Pasta Soups & Salads. I know, the lack of a comma in between Pasta and Soups irritated me to no end until I figured out that it was literally a ton of recipes about pasta INSIDE of soups and salads. WooAAhhh!

I don't usually mess with pasta. No joke. I mean, it always kind of seemed like a cop-out dinner. It was the dinner of shame and not glory, especially when you're working on some sort of thesis or something and you just can't stomach the idea of doing more work just to feed yourself, so you just plop a cup of pasta on the stove. Awesome. But no glory.

This soup, though, was glorious. There are noodles in it, which is yummy when you are really sick, and there are tomatoes, which are not yummy in the winter, but I made do. And of course there is a ton of garlic. If you do not like garlic, I recommend cutting the amount down. However, garlic is really good for you. Some of the benefits I found here include:

  • a treatment for acne
  • a natural antibiotic
  • a powerful antioxidant
Rock on, garlic!

Well ok, so here's your recipe. Not many pictures because I got so swept up in blowing my nose and drinking DayQuil every five minutes, making for the most psychedelic cooking experience of all time.

Herbed Tomato and Garlic and Noodle Soup

3 qt water
2 tsp salt
4 oz dried elbow pasta
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 small red onion, peeled and minced
1/4 c. garlic cloves, peeled and minced
3 tomaoes, peeled and seeded or 3 c. canned chopped tomatoes
4 c. Chicken stock
1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
2 tbsp chopped fresh chives
1.5 tsp chopped fresh oregano
1.5 tsp chopped fresh thyme
1/4 tsp chopped fresh rosemary
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
salt and freshly ground pepper







1. In a lrg pot over high heat, bring the water to a boil. Add the 2 tsp salt and the elbow pasta and cook until done. Drain pasta and toss immediately with 1 tbsp of olive oil.

2. In a lrg pot over med. low heat, warm the remaing 1 tbsp olive oil. Add onion and garlic and saute slowly, stirring, until the onion is soft, about 10 minutes. Add tomatoes, chicken stock, parsley, chives, oregano, thyme, rosemary and simmer for 20 min. Add pasta, vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer until pasta is heated through, about 2 min.


I made provolone and chive grilled cheese sandwiches for this, but you can do whatever. YAY!


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In some other news, there are going to be some changes to this blog. I am going to start posting a little more of the other things I do, including sewing, local restaurant critiques, and even the occasional "What I wore" post where I spend a chunk of time discussing fashion and what I think about it.

It'll be fun. Stay tuned.