Fashion trends I just can't stand, episode 1

Wearing your nice shoes...IN THE SNOW.

Ugh, call me a stickler, call me an old fashioned lame-o, but no REAL LADY wears her work shoes in the snow. 

I live in lovely Rochester, New York, which is a grand name for a place otherwise known as the basement of America. It is a little damp, it is a little dark, but you find a ton of really cool stuff here and it has a good vibe. Oh, and snow. Lots of snow. 

Just this morning I was suiting up for my long day and trying to decide what footwear to bring along to work, because the weather outside wasn't exactly frightful, but the remnants of snowstorm slush were there and I love my shoes too much to subject them to that. So, on went the nasty snow boots underneath my nice, expensive grey slacks, into a little baggie went my NotRated ankle booties with plaid foldover, and off I went.

On my way to class I see this really tall, thin girl with a lovely black coat on, which was perfectly suited to her and very long as well. There was a grey beret present. Nice. I was so intrigued by her sense of style in outerwear (as I generally am by well-dressed people) that I almost said something to her about it, but then my eyes got to her feet and there they were.

The cutest pair of velvet, black high heels with a bow on each delightful little toe.

Slogging through the salty mush.

Getting dirty.

Ladies, please. If you are going to spend money on nice shoes, especially the most heart breakingly wonderful pair of black velvet bow-on-the-toe ones, you need to also invest in a crummy pair of snow boots. I almost knelt to the ground and wept for these poor shoes and this poor girl, who will now have crusty and terrible salt stains all over her tootsies for the rest of forever. 

I don't care how busy you are. I don't care what style of dress you subscribe to. Say no to snow. If your shoes cost more than $20, and you like them enough to wear them in public, for God's sake take care of them.

Ok so you hate boots. 

 SHUELLA's are these fabulous little waterproof covers for your dress shoes. Awesome, they come in different colors. Not awesome: not insulated. But if you don't care about your toes turning black and falling off, then I guess it's ok. Plus they'll last you a while, and they look chic. I would totally pay to get these.

Whatever you do, do it fast. Your shoes will thank you. Now get out of here. I have some loving, gentle whispering to do into my shoe closet.

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. :(

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!

----

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.

CHICKEN WEEK, DAY TWO

I find that typing in all caps makes my entry titles feel VERY IMPORTANT. Another thing that is VERY IMPORTANT is using all of the leftovers of this chicken I made! So, last night for dinner, I made Linguine with Shredded Chicken Thigh, Mozzarella, Basil, and Cherry Tomatoes.

Here's what you need for one serving.

1 Leftover Chicken thigh

Pasta measured out for one (check out my awesome measuring thing in a few lines)

Four big basil leaves, fresh

a handful of cherry tomatoes (or whatever tomatoes you have)

some mozarella

1. Set your pasta to boil in some lightly salted water. See my awesome thing? It was only ten whole cents. What a sweet bargain! And I never have to guess how much spaghetti to make ever again.

2. Shred your chicken thigh into manageable pieces, either with your hands or with two forks.

3. Take your cherry tomatoes and slice them in half....

into

...and combine them with the chicken in a microwave safe bowl.

Microwave this for about two minutes to let the chicken get hot (because I hope you've been keeping it in the fridge, not letting it fester on your counter.... :/ ) and to let the tomatoes release some of their juices. Toss with a little bit of salt and set aside.

4. Chop up basil and shred the mozzarella as fine as you can. Of course, already shredded is easier, but don't let the challenge scare you.

5. Drain the pasta and mix it, the basil, and the cheese in with your chicken and tomatoes. Toss to coat, then put it into a nice bowl.

Day two...COMPLETE!

IT'S CHICKEN WEEK!

Welcome to CHICKEN WEEK!!!!

Basically what is happening is I made an entire roast chicken on Sunday...a 3.9 pounder from Honey Hill Farm. If you have never tried an organic, grass fed, free range chicken, you are missing out. It tastes like CHICKEN....I mean, like the chicken taste you could only ever dream of. Anyways, I made it.

I stuffed it with some of this mystery squash:

(what is this thing????who cares, it tastes good....)

 ...along with some chopped garlic, carrots, and scallions sauteed in butter. I tied the little legs together and rested it upon a bed of roughly chopped onion slices. I brushed it with a mixture of mustard, olive oil, tarragon vinegar, salt, more garlic, and basil. I baked it until my thermometer said  170. I took it out and drained the juices, strained the onions and bits and poured off the fat, and added lemon juice. I used this as a salad dressing. mmmmm!

BUT WHAT DO I DO WITH ALL OF MY LEFTOVER CHICKEN?

Lucky I am so crafty, huh? This week is all about you, the low-on-pocket-change messy chef in training, who has all this chicken and knoweth not what to do. I will make one new chicken recipe with my leftovers each day, finishing off THE ENTIRE bird....carcass and all. :) You won't get tired of it, I promise.

Onwards and upwards!

DAY ONE, MONDAY:  Chicken Salad Sandwiches for lunch!

1. Pick the meat off of the carcass of the chicken, what is left after you've carved it up. Should look like this. 

2. Add some mayonnaise. This is my favorite brand because it still has the "tang" of fresh mayo. Of course, if you want to be fancy, make your own, by all means. Not that I have ever been successful with that, but go ahead. That is another entry in the making, I guess.... hmm..

3. Add some fruit. Some people like apples, others grapes. I had asian pears. Whatever you like. You can chop up celery too. Not a fruit...still awesome.

4. So now you chop the solid bits up as fine as you like them, and mix them together with some mayo. Add slowly, because you don't want to overdo it and drown out the delicious flavors that mix when chicken and fruit come together as one. :) say it with me: "ommmmmm.....ommmmmm....nomnomnomnom!"

The Choke's on me.

All Hail the artichoke, the most noble and under-appreciated of all bizarre vegetables! 

The artichoke is a beast that I have steered away from in the supermarket for years. It is like the ultimate challenge. You know it is somehow impossible to cook and/or eat, and yet someday someone is going to point a finger at you and demand, 

"HAVE YOU EVER COOKED AN ARTICHOKE?"

...and your answer will be a tiny, meek, helpless,

"no."

It's okay though. Don't cry. I'm here to save you....the secret that your gourmand elitist friend doesn't want you to know is that artichokes are actually easy. And wonderful. They are like lobster in that they do take a bit of maneuvering around to eat, but just like our steadfast hard-shelled friend, they are worth the effort.

I didn't vote for this guy, but I did vote for the artichoke. That is because while being a super low calorie food (60 calories in a medium artichoke), they are super high in fiber, Vitamin C, iron, magnesium, and other goodies. I guess that's why you can allow yourself to have butter with it. In fact, my dinner this evening consisted of two small artichokes and a caprese salad. YUM!

Here's how to do it. You'll need a sharp knife, a cut lemon, a big pot, a steamer or a little pot, and a weight.

1. Slice the stem off your artichoke. Some people like to boil and eat this. The stems on mine were too puny, so I discarded them. Then, slice about 1/4 of an inch off the bottom of the choke, so it will sit on a flat surface. Rub the cut surfaces with lemon to prevent them from turning black.

2. Cut 1/4 inch off the top of the artichoke in the same manner. Rub with lemon. 

3. Salt a pot of water. There should be enough in this pot to cover the chokes with an inch of water over them to spare. Put the chokes in and you will see that they float...so weigh them down. I used a pot with a vase inside it. This tended to make my water overflow, so I would go with an upside down steamer weighed down with something safe. 

4. Great. Now boil those babies for 30 minutes. Check them after 20 if they were small like mine. Otherwise, maybe 30 isn't enough. Maybe more. Who knows. MYSTERY!

...just kidding. I wouldn't leave you hanging like that. To check if your green darlings are done, gently insert a knife into the very center. It should enter easily. If it doesn't, boil some more. 

5. Take your chokes out and drain them for at least 5 minutes in a colander. This will give you time to melt some butter.

Now, to eat one of these babies is something you kind of have to prepare thyself for. You take each leaf, and the meaty part at the bottom that attaches it to the choke is edible. Scrape this between your teeth. As Alton Brown said in his artichoke episode, there's not a lot of meat, but a lot of flavor. Be dipping these nibbles into the butter as you go. MMMMM!

My artichokes didn't actually have a choke, persay, but the choke is a little fuzzy inedible bit right above the heart. Scrape or cut this away and eat the base with butter. It is fantastic and you will devour it so quickly you'll wish you had a whole plateful. Such it is with lobsters, too. Note to self: investigate the possibility of a themed dinner.... "Night of many difficulties." I will serve artichokes, lobster, crab legs, fugu, and crack-your-own walnuts.

Now, who wants an invite?

 

PS: here's a link to that Alton Brown vid. I think he's a funny and smart guy, so check it out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxqRAACohEA

Here I am!!!

Sorry for the long hiatus! I was spending the summer teaching little girls how to ride...in Poland, Maine! (Yes, where the spring water comes from.) It was a long summer, full of much hard work and even a little bit of suntanning (!), and I made a great number of new friends from abroad. :)

So, where to begin? I am embarking on a money-saving agenda this year, keeping in mind the very many resources I have available to me as a citizen of Western NY. Just today I bought three ears of sweet corn and a pound of green beans for $4.50 total. And you wouldn't believe the taste of this corn. It's one of the easiest things to prepare...and a lot of people seem to bungle it up anyway. Get it right off the stalk and RUN home to plop it into a pot of boiling water...corn starts to lose its sweetness the minute it is separated from Mother Stalk!

To boil corn:

1. Set a lightly salted pot of water to boil on med-high heat. When it reaches boiling point, drop the shucked ears of corn in. A good, fresh ear will be done almost as soon as the water reboils again. Take a bite to test....and save that one for yourself. ;)

PS: Everyone should go see the movie "Julie & Julia"....great film about Julia Child and the foodie/novelist Julie Powell!