Odds & Ends: Soup, Grant's Farm, Real Estate

This post is about a lot of random things. I'm writing it while finishing up this amazing Potato Leek Soup I made last night. Healthy? Probably not. Delicious? Ridiculously so. This is the fourth batch of soup I've made in a week. Last weekend for an impromptu dinner party I made vegan Creamy Cashew Butternut Squash Soup and cobbled together a ham, bean, and kale soup from several different recipes. Last night was the potato soup and chili for a couple from the neighborhood. Winter. Soup. It's what I do.

Saturday I attended a presentation for Grantwood Village residents by Dr. Jeffrey P. Bonner, President and CEO of the St. Louis Zoo. It was a standing room only crowd, probably 100 in attendance. He talked about the zoo's vision for Grant's Farm should the current litigation favor those from the Busch family who want to sell to the zoo. Trudy Busch Valentine gave a heartfelt message at the end. The overall tone of those in attendance seemed to support the zoo proposal with an overwhelming caveat that very close attention be given to traffic, parking, and attendance numbers. It really seems like the best option for keeping the original intent and spirit of Grant's Farm while providing needed improvements. I'm hopeful and excited.

I haven't talked a lot on my blog about my new job, which I started in August. I am now an Operations & Marketing Manager for a small real estate team with a local boutique real estate firm. I am loving every minute of it. I'm learning all kinds of new things, it satisfies the house-geek in me, I'm directly involved in building something really cool, and my teammates are progressive, smart, and fun people to be around. I am looking forward to 2016 with this crew. 

Infused Water: A Love Story

Last week on a lark, I bought this Rove water infuser bottle at Marshall's for $5. I am in love with it. These are the combinations I've tried so far:

• cucumber slices and fresh basil
• raspberries and fresh mint
• peach slices and fresh tarragon
• herb mix including rosemary, oregano, mint, and basil

My favorite has been the cucumber and basil. The rosemary in my herb mix was a little overpowering, but I'm determined to find the herbal right mix. You can check out more recipes at The Yummy Life or Nutrition Stripped but I think experimenting is the best part.

On mine, the infuser basket screws from the bottom, so if it isn't on super tightly it leaks. I may look for one that has the infuser basket attached to the top. I encourage you to try one.

Wrapping The Week

 Eugene Delacoix, The Unmade Bed, 1828

Painting tonight and all day tomorrow. Decided on Lamb (a soft white) for bedroom. A nice addition to Heavy Goose in the living room. An entire menagerie of paint colors. After all these decisions about paint, I want a peaceful respite in our room. Nothing. Still. White. Looking forward to my first nap in the new house...probably sometime in April. Happy Weekend to you.

Always a fan of Sultan's lemons.

Jack Donaghy Insult Generator.

I'd share a drink with anyone at this place.

These green chairs!

Can't explain how much I love this redition of Don't Explain.

Sprinkle cookies I'm making for Valentine's Day.

xoa

Refrigerator Pickles

I've never made pickles before. But this is the second week in a row that our CSA box was loaded with cucumbers. And while Audrey can usually eat her weight in them, I thought maybe I should try to do something more adventurous. So I made these super easy no cook refrigerator pickles.

First, I used my mandoline slicer to thinly slice the cucumbers. The recipe called for 6 cups, which was about 9 cucumbers. I also used 1 - 1/2 onions from our CSA box, thinly sliced. These were layered in a glass bowl.

Next I made the vinegar and spice mixture. 

I poured the mixture over the cucumbers and let it cool on the counter for a couple of hours. I stirred it a couple of times. As the cucumbers yielded, more of the spice mixture covered more of the cucumbers and onions.

I used two Fido canning jars I purchased at Marshall's for under $3 and put the jars in the refrigerator where they are supposed to chill for at least four days. I can't wait to try them. Again, this was incredibly easy and I'm glad I found a way to use all those cucumbers. Now I have to figure out what to do with all the zucchini. I can't have zucchini bread or muffins hanging around the house. And I don't like relish. Do you have ideas?

Smashing Sandwich

{source}

My dear friend (and former assistant) Sarah sent me the sweetest email/recipe. I can't wait to try this. We are picnic maniacs in the summer.  I'm sharing with you...

I heard this recipe on Splendid Table one afternoon while I was out shopping, and then created something similar for a picnic that evening to bring to Shakespeare in the Park.  It. was. magnificent. 

Basically, take a crusty loaf, mix delicious veggies with your favorite herbs, some vinegar and oil, add your meat of choice, a bit of cheese, put it all together, and SMASH it.  We had ours smashed for about an hour, and then ate it a couple hours later.  By the time we ate it, all of the yummy things on the inside were delightfully marinated.

This was our main course, and probably not that diet friendly (we polished off an entire loaf of bread with the toppings), but cut into slices and served at a family gathering, it could be enjoyed in more moderation. 

The official recipe is here, but ours was fantastic with what we happened to have on hand.  I was working from memory that day and they encouraged creativity and using whatever is around, so I opted for the ingredients I knew Adam and I would enjoy - tomatoes, cucumbers, feta, fresh rosemary and basil, and a bit of salami.  I think I'll use chicken if I do it again (or just go with all veg), but originally chose salami, since it holds up better in the heat.  

It seemed like something you may enjoy, so I thought I'd pass it along.  I can't wait for an excuse to make it again! 

Sarah

Sweet Potatoes

Sweet Potato Pockets, 2005 (Wall hanging made from repurposed wool coat)
"Think Potato" Show at Las Vegas Contemporary Art Collective

Last night I made sweet potato wedges in the oven. Recipes for sweet potato fries are all over the internet, but this one is really easy, flexible, and healthy. A couple of weeks ago when we were eating dinner Audrey said, "Vegetables make you strong but potatoes make you happy." Wise girl. Technically, sweet potatoes aren't potatoes at all, but I think that lesson can wait until she is older.

Sweet Potato Wedges

• 2 large sweet potaoes, washed and patted dry. No need to peel.
• 1 tsp. to 1-1/2 tsp. olive oil
• salt, pepper, rosemary to taste*

1. Put olive oil, salt, pepper and rosemary in large zip-lock bag.
2. Cut each sweet potato into 8 - 10 wedges. Personally, I like smaller wedges because they cook faster and end up crispier.
3. Put sweet potatoes in bag and shake to coat.
4. Arrange wedges on a cookie sheet prepared with cooking spray.
5. Bake at 450 degress for 15 minutes. Turn over/toss and then bake an additional 15-20 minutes.

*Instead of rosemary, you can use cumin and chili powder for a kickier flavor.

Weekend Bits & Pieces

I got my container flowers and herbs planted on Saturday, along with a little wildflower garden in the backyard. Then I took a giant nap before going to the bon voyage party for Libby. We tried two great new recipes this weekend. I took the blueberry streusel muffins to Sunday brunch and then made a three cheese polenta lasagna for dinner that night. Sunday night as I was painting Audrey's toenails, she looked at me and said, "I love this day." Gaw, that kid is perfect. My life is good.

Beet Cake

This is a beautiful video/recipe. I know it has been blogged a lot already, but it is so gorgeous. I'm going to have to try it. I can't believe it took me so long to come around to beets.


beet cake from tiger in a jar on Vimeo.

Potatoes

I've been involved in two potato-themed group art shows--one in St. Louis and one in Las Vegas. Both were collaborative affairs that explored concepts of community, work, fun, and of course, the potato. In Vegas, I wandered the gallery and the surrounding streets sneaking tiny new potatoes in the pockets and hoods of unsuspecting passersby. That is me, above, evangelizing the spud in 2005. So how did I miss this marvelous abstract art / potato print tutorial on Oh Happy Day?

Potato Art

• More potato art by UK artist Julia Burns. 
• Great kitchen blinds printed with potatoes.
• Lotta Jansdotter potato printing video.
• And the inspiration for it all.

Potato Recipes

• Yukon Gold and Sweet Potato Gratin
• Chocolate Covered Peppermint Patties
• Lemon Drizzle Cake (I haven't tried this yet because of the UK measurements-but I'm dying to.)

Weekend Bits & Pieces

On Saturday we got fresh rhubarb and strawberries at the Farmer's Market in Tower Grove Park (or Grover Park as Audrey calls it). I made a pretty rockin' strawberry rhubarb cream pie (recipe and photo below), which was enjoyed late night on the deck with friends. Sunday we went to the zoo in the morning and the park in the afternoon. In between we had a dance party. Audrey loves Everybody Dance Now by C+C Music Factory. And really, who doesn't?

Strawberry Rhubarb Cream Pie

3 eggs
3 Tbsp milk or cream
1 2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
grated rind of half an orange (optional)
pinch of salt
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 cups pink rhubarb cut into 1/4" - 1/2" cubes
2 cups strawberries, halved

Crumb Topping
2 Tbsp brown sugar
3 Tbsp flour
2 Tbsp butter

1. Prepare your favorite pie crust and bake in a 400 degree oven for 5-6 minutes. Keep oven preheated to 400 degrees. 
2. With fork, beat eggs slightly. Add milk and stir well. 
3. Mix sugar, flower, orange rind, and salt together. Stir into milk mixture and flavor with vanilla.
4. Fold rhubarb and strawberries into "custard" and pour into shell.
5. Mix brown sugar, flour and butter for crumb topping and sprinkle over filling. 
6. Bake 15 minutes.
7. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and back 30 minutes longer or until knife comes clean.

National Pie Day 2011

{My tallest meringue ever! Aunt Hester's recipe for coconut cream pie. My dad's favorite.}

Today is National Pie Day. This post is all about pie. I don't know if you've heard, but apparently, pie is kicking cupcake's ass off the trend pedestal. I have been a lover, baker, promoter of pie for a loooong time. When I was in college, our little hometown newspaper featured an article about the tradition of pie in my family. Both of my grandmothers were outstanding cooks and made wonderful pies. They interviewed me and I provided some recipes.

I sort of see pie as a lifestyle choice. I've daydreamed about opening a pie shop my entire life. But I am afraid that if I had to bake pies under pressure, it would take the joy out of it. I don't want to upset the delicate relationship we have.

My favorite pie to make is always some variation of peach. I like to add raspberries, blueberries, or blackberries if I have them. I've won "Best Dessert" awards with a  Coconut Lemon Tart and a Ginger Creme Brulee Tart. Other favorites are Raspberry, Rhubarb, Pear Pie and Rhubarb Sour Cream Pie. This year I want to try making fried pies.

Here are some fun and useful pie links:

• Tiny Pies In Jars and Regular Tiny Pies from Not Martha
• Pie Pops (gorgeous photos) from Luxirare
• Great pie crust recipes from Simply Recipes.
• Barack Obama likes pie
• American Pie Council

Enjoy!

Best. Food. Blog. Ever.

Thanks a million times over to Emily at Wide Open Spaces for the introduction to the best blog ever, They Draw and Cook.

Honey Balsamic Roasted Beets & Carrots

We are in a CSA program this summer and are enjoying it quite a bit. I've never been a fan of beets, but mostly because I've only been exposed to the pickled variety. Tonight I made Honey Balsamic Roasted Beets and Carrots with the beets and carrots we've received over the last two weeks and not only was it delicious, but the colors were amazing. Really beautiful! We followed dinner with a cake, that was well executed (my layer cakes get better each time) but I wanted a much denser cake. I'm not a light and fluffy girl. I should have just gone up to SweetArt and bought the cupcake I was craving. Nothing can beat that Harmony Cupcake.

On a different subject, I'm going to a summer blogging schedule--instead of trying to write 5 days a week, I'll probably post 1-2 a week and try to do a Friday Wrapping The Week.  

Garlic Scapes

Today completely got away from me. Cleaning, grocery shopping, lying next to Audrey during her entire nap because she "afraid mommy" of the huge thunderstorm, then off to pick up our weekly CSA goodies. This week: spring mix (lettuces), red and white radishes, scallions, dill, and garlic scapes. Basically, I made a fancy salad with warm goat cheese medallions, along with grilled burgers and sautéed grape tomatoes, corn, and garlic scapes. I had no idea what to do with the scapes, but the medley turned out tasty. I enjoy the challenge of coming up with recipes on the fly. We are enjoying the CSA, although the one we belong to, located in Alton, Illinois, is having a difficult time because of so much rain. I've heard that many southern Illinois farmers are going to have to replant because crops have just been sitting under water.

Mangolicious

I made some version of this from a magazine years ago and have since lost the recipe. I'm sure I could find something on the interwebs, but mostly I just improvise often throughout the summer. We had it last night with grilled salmon and it was fantastic. I've also made it with the mango chicken sausage from Trader Joe's. It is best if made a couple of hours ahead of serving.

Summer Mango Cucumber Salsa

1. Mix together diced mango, cucumber, red onion, and red pepper. (Usually I use one mango, 1 small cucumber, 1/4 of med red onion, and about 1/4 red pepper. But there is no hard science...use whatever you have on hand at a proportion that looks tasty to you. I've also added diced jicama and a seeded jalapeno to this with pleasing results, but those aren't as commonly in my kitchen.) 
2. Mix together approximately 1/4 cup of orange juice, 1-1/2 tablespoons rice vinegar, and a teaspoon of olive oil (optional). Again, feel free to adjust these proportions to your liking.
3. Pour marinade over diced ingredients, add some chopped cilantro and toss.

Wrapping the Week

Yesterday was such a great day. Doctor delivered good health reports on both parents. Audrey and I had a wonderful library visit.  I made a delicious Blackberry Buttermilk Cake. And we had my brother and cousin as dinner guests.

My friend Leslie sent me this great video last week and I can't get over the cheeriness of the lead singer's pants. Ooh Ooh Child things are gonna get easier. The depressing winter is nearly over. Today is supposed to be sunny and 68 degrees, but rain is expected all weekend. We have to clean the work bench in the basement in preparation for a service call from the plumber on Tuesday. Spring cleaning? Already?

Dreaming of:

• Snuggling in and catching up on all my reading. I have a pile of New Yorkers dating to January.
• A treehouse vacation.
• To just get in the car and go somewhere. I am longing for a roadtrip.

I know...I just said I wanted to snuggle in and go on a roadtrip. I guess the ideal would be a roadtrip to the treehouse vacation where I can snuggle in and read.

Wandering. Wondering. Happy Weekend! 

Potato Love

Potato Love on St. Patrick's Day! Here is one of my favorite potato recipes. We had this at our wedding. Yum!

Butternut Squash with Browned Butter

This butternut squash recipe from Martha Stewart was the best thing I made during the holiday season. It was easy, but the depth of flavor/nuttiness was incredible. I also made a small batch of sugar coated pecans for the first time. Next year, I plan to make a huge amount and give away as gifts. Modifications to the recipe included substituting half the white sugar with brown sugar and using vanilla instead of water. Addictive.

Golden Cupcake

My lemon coconut tart won the Golden Cupcake Award at the 8th Annual Dewes Chili/Dessert Cookoff. This is my second Golden Cupcake. I was pretty happy. Picking coconut and lemon was risky as either flavor can be turn-off. I'm not even that fond of lemon, but the tart was delicious. Here is the link to the recipe, only I just used 1 cup of regular coconut. No, I didn't go all Martha Stewarty and grate the coconut myself. Get real.

Some Like It Hot

I can’t believe I won the Dewes 5th Annual chili cook-off with a vegetarian chili. The only reason I even made a vegetarian chili was for Thomas. I almost didn't enter it and just threw Lindsey's name on it at the last minute. And I won the golden cupcake award too! I love trophies. As usual, Jess & Mike threw a great party with interesting and friendly folks and fabulous food.

ANDREA'S CHOO CHOO CHILI
I found the basic recipe on the internet and made some changes. You can add/subtract whatever veggies and spices you want, I suppose.
INGREDIENTS:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 medium onion, chopped
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 tablespoons dried Mexican oregano
1 tablespoon salt
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 green bell peppers, chopped
1 jalapeno peppers, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 large can of crushed tomatoes
1-2 cans diced tomoatoes
1/4 cup chili powder
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans
1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans
1 (15 ounce) can black beans
1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn

DIRECTIONS:
Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Stir in the onion, and season with bay leaves, cumin, oregano, and salt. Cook and stir until onion is tender, then mix in the celery, green bell peppers, jalapeno peppers, and garlic. Reduce heat to low, cover pot, and simmer 5 minutes. Mix in tomatoes and season chili with chili powder and pepper. Stir in the kidney beans, garbanzo beans, and black beans. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer 45 minutes. Stir in the corn, and continue cooking 5 minutes before serving. Note: I may have added some chili peppers during cooking and removed them before serving. I can’t remember...Ancho or cascabel.