Millet Cinnamon Bread from Sami’s Bakery, coffee with soy milk, place mat from Chilewich.
Evan is sitting across the table, looking dapper.
I have shiny black nails and a giant, green ring. And a clock from IKEA.
I apologize for how quiet it’s been around here lately. Work has been particularly grueling this season, and I’m left so drained at the end of the day that I don’t have the motivation to assemble quality posts. Spring is coming, though.
Morning coffee is a big deal for Evan and I. We like to take our coffee to go and enjoy it during our commute. We brew Illy Medium Roast at home every day. It’s definitely not the cheapest coffee in the world, but it still costs less than buying from a coffee shop every day.
A few weeks ago, I began a quest to find the best travel cup ever, and after sifting through a lot of recommendations on Twitter, I decided to order two medium (12oz; equivalent to the “tall” size at Starbucks) Keep Cups from Australia.
The Keep Cup comes in three sizes, and is made from thermal, non-leaching, recyclable, BPA-free polypropylene. There’s a silicone band around the middle for grip and heat protection, and a leak-proof lid that doesn’t drip when you drink.
There’s no handle (I hate handles on travel mugs, because they eat up valuable space in my bag), and best of all, the cup is sized small enough to fit in the automated coffee/tea machine at my office.
I always put a little bit of whole milk in my coffee. We’re lucky to have a very good dairy farm in the area that sells their milk in thick, glass bottles that can be returned for a $1 deposit each time. They sterilize and reuse the bottles.
Ready to go, and out the door!
p.s. The Keep Cup comes in a bazillion size/color options, and the cost for TWO medium cups (including shipping) to the US from AU is only about $32.
p.p.s. The truly is not a paid advertisement! I just really love my Keep Cup. And my coffee.
It’s been two years since I first posted my recipe for vegetarian chili (that’s it on the right, above), and I think it’s time for a repost now that the weather is getting cooler. THIS IS THE BEST CHILI RECIPE EVER. Trust.
Anna’s Vegetarian Chili
serves 6-8
1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 medium carrots, chopped
4 cloves garlic, diced
1 large yellow bell pepper, chopped
2 jalapeno peppers, seeds removed, diced
2 celery stalks, chopped
2 tbsp chili powder
28 oz can crushed tomatoes with basil*
14 oz can black beans*
14 oz can kidney beans*
1 cup corn kernels
1 tsp ground cumin
1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 1/2 tsp dried basil
2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 cup bulgur wheat
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
Heat oil in a large pot. Add onions, carrots and garlic; sauté until onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. Add yellow pepper, jalapenos, celery and chili powder; cook another 10 minutes. Add tomatoes, beans (with liquid), corn, salt and spices. Bring to a boil. Cover, lower heat, and simmer for 20 minutes. Stir in bulgur wheat. Cover and simmer at least 30 minutes (I usually let everything simmer for a couple of hours to let the flavors really develop, but it’s okay to take it off when the veggies and bulgur are soft), stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. Just as you’re taking the chili off the heat, stir in the balsamic vinegar. I know it might seem weird to put it in, but trust me—it really does make the chili taste extra amazing.
*I take the easy route and use canned beans and tomatoes. You can soak dried beans and use fresh tomatoes if you prefer, of course, but you will want to add water to make up for the liquid in the cans.
QUESTION: Have you tried this recipe already? If so, how do you like it? And have you made any modifications to it? When I made it last week, I was out of corn, so I subbed in a cup of frozen edamame. YUM.
First off, I’d like to thank the people who were courteous enough to either comment about or email me the above photo. The fact that there are at least 17 people in the world who immediately think of ME when they see a nearly-naked Morrissey (posing with his band for the inner sleeve of “I’m Throwing My Arms Around Paris”) warms the cockles of my heart. Seriously.
Moving along, a few notes from the weekend:
I finished tiling the bathroom floor at 2:00 AM Saturday night. Or does that count as Sunday morning? Either way, I was totally out of my mind with exhaustion by the time I finished. Aside from some imperfections resulting from my lack of experience with tiny, round, mosaic tiles (or lack of experience with tiling, period), I think it looks great—and it’s going to look even better once it’s grouted. The tiles are matte-black pennyrounds, and I’ll be using black grout. (Photos soon, hold your horses!)
We’re pretty sure we’re going to use the white room as a bedroom. It’s the perfect size, it’s far away from the street, and it will free up the two larger bedrooms for other uses. I’m itching to buy the MANDAL bed from IKEA. I think it would look amazing on the white floor, and those drawers could easily hold all of our extra sheets and blankets (I suspect they could make nice “sidecar” pullout beds for the dogs, too!).
Last night we had friends over for dinner, which was lovely. I’ve said this before, but it’s really nice to have gotten to a point where we have a semblance of a social life in Newburgh. I made Ina Garten’s Macaroni & Cheese, which was completely delicious and immediately became my favorite new recipe. I also made broccoli rabe, which to my surprise was enjoyed by all six guests! Usually there’s at least one person who doesn’t like bitter veggies, but that was not the case last night. I love broccoli rabe as a complement to rich, sweet foods. (Speaking of rich and sweet, one of my friends brought dessert—crème brûlée—and a blowtorch to caramelize the sugar! Maybe I’m just easily impressed by fire, but I thought it was all very exciting.)
My local Target now has some of the Orla Kiely collection in stock. This weekend, I picked up a couple of closet organizers and the laundry bag. Very cute! I’m crossing my fingers that my store ultimately gets in the entire collection. (EDIT: The full collection will hit stores on February 15th. Thanks, Holly!)
How was your weekend?
I do my best to cook most of the food Evan and I eat (we do make an exception on Friday nights, when we go out to our favorite restaurant, the Neptune Diner—we’re not fancy), including our lunches. We both work in midtown Manhattan, home of the $8.00 Tossed Salad of Unknown Origins. We like to eat organic and/or local as much as possible (again, Neptune is the exception…), keep our fat/calorie consumption under control, and be a little frugal, so it just makes sense to plan ahead a bit and bring lunches from home.
On Sundays, I generally cook two big pots of soup or stew. I divide them up into individual portions and put them in the freezer. Packing a lunch bag becomes so easy—just grab a container from the freezer and an apple or carrots, and that’s it. I know if I had to prepare a lunch every morning (or the evening before), we’d wind up buying lunch every day and easily blowing through $100 a week.
This week, I made Curried Black-Eyed Pea Soup (I started with this recipe but made many modifications based on the reviews) and Vegetarian Chili. Both were delicious, but my chili recipe really can’t be beat. It is SO GOOD. Trust me on this. Make a pot this weekend—you’ll love it. (And don’t skip the balsamic vinegar!)
This is one of those things I’ve been meaning to do for years, literally—I finally got my spice situation organized! I bought three RATIONELL VARIERA spice racks from IKEA, mounted them inside of a kitchen cabinet door, and transferred my 18 most commonly used spices to them. And look, labels! I bought a 3-pack of Martha Stewart labels to make life easy (I had planned to design my own labels, but for some reason, graphic designers tend to be really lazy about designing things for their own homes/lives—I’m not sure why this is…), and it’s done. Bulk and seldom-used spices were moved to a tray in the pantry (with labels on the TOPS of the containers, because I am smart).
I can’t even tell you how much better this makes my life, seriously. For years I have been digging through shelves of spices; buying 3 duplicate tins of cumin because I thought I was out, neglecting to buy nutmeg because I was sure it was in there somewhere, etc. The hour or so it took to get this done was totally worth it.
Christmas 1975. I’m the little one.
In a mere 12 hours I will be with everyone in this photo, sharing glögg and my mother’s meatballs and my brother’s gingerbread cake. My sisters will have their children with them, and Christmas will feel like Christmas for a little while.
My presents are wrapped (just a few packages; nearly everything I give is baked or in the form of charitable donations). This year, I saved the pages from my Stendig calender all year long and used them as wrapping paper. I think I’ll do the same thing next year. (Which reminds me…I need to buy a new calender for 2009!)
The cookies are finally, finally done. This year I made chocolate-dipped shortbread fingers, lemon-poppy seed glazed balls, espresso shortbread, sugar pretzels, and jam thumbprints. Phew! Somehow, I managed to do this in addition to making great progress in my end-of-year renovation marathon. I do occasionally manage to impress myself and go to bed not feeling like a miserable failure, and this is one of those times.
Tomorrow morning I’ll prepare Janssons frestelse (my third year running!), pack everything up in the car, and we’ll head off to my mother’s house. Everything feels complete this time of year. I love that.
Happy Christmas to you!
I’ve never been one to take a sick day from work unless it’s really necessary, but yesterday I just had to. My nose is all snuffly, my throat hurts, and I’m developing a dry cough that I know is going to be the kind that lingers for weeks. Sigh.
Sick days always feel like a giant waste of time. What’s the point in being at home if I can’t spend every second slaving over some renovation project? Isn’t that what people do when they’re not working??
Lunch was delicious, though. I made 15-Minute White-Bean Soup (adding celery and mashing the beans more than suggested—I like thick soups—so it really took more like 20 minutes) with a side of buttered toast. Buttered toast is the happiest food on Earth, isn’t it? Somehow it tastes even better when you cut it in half, too.
Cutting on the diagonal is reserved for grilled cheese sandwiches.
I’m preparing Thanksgiving dinner for the first time this year! It’s only for 8 people (my mother and stepfather, Evan’s parents and his sister/her husband), but I’ve been planning as though it’s a banquet for 100. I’m on vegetarian hiatus (I like to think of it as my rumspringa) after 15+ years of meat-free Thanksgivings, so turkey is still kind of foreign to me. I hope I don’t give anyone salmonella poisoning. (And yeah, I’m clear on the fact that “medium rare” is not an option for turkey!)
Most of my menu is based on recipes from Everyday Food, with tweaks and adjustments as I see fit. I’m a decent cook, but a lot of this (turkey, mashed potatoes, etc.) is new territory for me. I’m excited!
Beverages
hard cider/beer
wine (red & white)
lemonade spritzers
coffee/tea
hot apple cider
Snacks
spiced nuts
olives
various crackers & cheeses (with hard salami & fig spread)
parmesan cheese straws
Main Courses
bacon-wrapped turkey roulade
mushroom turnovers
Side Dishes
wild mushroom stuffing
pecan cornbread stuffing
glazed sweet potatoes
roasted garlic mashed potatoes
spring greens with shallots & gorgonzola
cranberry sauce
biscuits
Desserts
Bernie’s coconut cream pie
Debby’s cheesecake
double-apple cake (see photo above, YUM)
I can’t stop cooking butternut squash and broccoli rabe (aka rapini). I’m obsessed! The combination of flavors is just too perfect this time of year—sweet squash and bitter broccoli rabe compliment each other so well, and both are made even more delicious with copious amounts of garlic.
Butternut Squash (1 squash)
- preheat oven to 400 deg
- cut butternut squash in half, scoop out seeds/pulp
- baste cut sides with olive oil
- sprinkle with coarse salt and pepper
- place squash on foiled-lined baking sheet, cut sides up
- put three cloves of garlic (peeled, whole) in each scooped-out cavity
- bake for 60-70 minutes, depending on size of squash (you might want to baste the squash with olive oil partway through cooking)
- mash garlic cloves into the squash, add a little butter if desired…
Broccoli Rabe (1 bunch)
- wash well & trim thick ends
- boil for 5 minutes in salted water, drain
- saute in olive oil with garlic (2-3 cloves, minced) for 10 minutes
(Serves 2 people quite well!)
This is my favorite time of year for cooking. What have you been eating as the cold weather sets in?
What a weekend we had in Newburgh! On Saturday, we attended the grand opening celebration for our friends’ new local food market, Moo & Oink.
We are SO EXCITED to have a place to shop for food within walking distance from our house. That Moo & Oink’s focus is on local and organic foods just adds to the pleasure! It’s across the street from our favorite restaurant, Caffé Macchiato, on Liberty Street. We’re so used to seeing empty storefronts and dilapidated buildings that it’s a little shocking (in the best possible way!) to see this revitalization taking place. A cheesecake bakery and another restaurant are opening soon, too, and we recently got a lovely art supply store…all on the same street! Newburgh just keeps chugging along, getting better and better, little by little. When we made the decision to move to Newburgh three years ago, we had no idea what would happen—this is all very, very welcome. I feel like I have a community!
I am woefully behind on everything right now, from emails I need to write to blog reading (according to Google Reader, I have 261 posts to catch up on…) to blog writing to painting to patching to sanding to sewing to working on book covers to sleeping to breathing. I’m desperately looking for a spare day somewhere that I can use to dig myself out. I hate this feeling; it reminds me of being in school. (In a bad way.)
Little pockets of time irresponsibly spent doing things like eating ice cream are saving me from going crazy. One of my favorite things in Newburgh is Dairy Island, an old-school ice cream joint in an area that’s still comprised mostly of industrial buildings (some occupied, others not) and empty lots. It’s less than a mile from our house, but we didn’t discover it until this past summer—we were experimenting with shortcuts, and there it was.
There are disadvantages to living in a city that has fallen many years behind economically, but the upside is that there are still places like this (we have a bunch of old hot dog counters, too) hanging around. Dairy Island feels like an endangered symbol of everything that is good about America. With so much to be worried about in this country right now, it is a relief to feel a sense of patriotism and trust over something as simple as an ice cream cone.
p.s. Dairy Island somehow has access to the freshest Oreos ever. It’s like Nabisco rolls them off the production line directly into their kitchen. If you go, get vanilla soft serve with Oreos (I like it with warm butterscotch, too, but that’s optional). Trust me on this. They also have great counter people who make you feel like a regular after just one visit.
Yesterday I made pecan sandies using this recipe. They were delicious and totally devoured by us and by our flower-bringing lunch guests. My only caution when making this recipe is to be careful if you’re grinding your pecans in the food processor—keep a close watch on them, as a moment too long and you’ve got pecan butter instead of pecan meal! (Of course, now we also have a little something special and unexpected to spread on toast, but it was fortunate that I had more pecans on-hand.)
I also made grilled vegetable sandwiches with gouda cheese and garlic mayonnaise, and a butternut squash soup with spinach and rice. Yum. The best part is that there are leftovers of everything (except the cookies!) for lunch today.
My mother is Swedish, which is a wonderful thing foodwise at Christmastime! Last year, my siblings and I each took over a part of the traditional recipes to help her out a bit. I really enjoyed learning how to cook all of the yummy Swedish Christmas dishes I’ve been eating my whole life, and I’m looking forward to doing it again this year.
Here is my mother’s recipe for Janssons frestelse (Jansson’s temptation). So easy, and so unbelievably delicious.
Janssons frestelse (Jansson’s temptation)
2 yellow onions, sliced thinly
3 tbsp butter
6 medium raw potatoes, peeled and cut into small strips (julienne style)
20 Swedish sprats/ansjovis (save the brine)*
1-1/2 cups heavy cream
- Saute onion in 1 tbsp butter until nicely browned
- Butter a baking dish
- Layer potatoes, onions, and anchovies (finish with a layer of potatoes)
- Drizzle 1 tbsp of the brine from the can over the top
- Dot with remaining butter (2 tbsp)
- Pour 3/4 cup of the cream over the top
- Bake at 400 degrees for about 50 minutes, adding the remaining cream (3/4 cup) after 15 minutes
Janssons may be covered and reheated at 300 degrees for about 20 minutes or so and kept warm until serving. Aahh!
*Authentic Swedish ansjovis (available at IKEA and specialty food stores, a common brand name is Abba) are larger and much less salty than the “anchovies” we buy here. They are actually sprats (a different kind of fish), pickled in sugar, salt and spices. If you can’t get to IKEA or find true Swedish ansjovis elsewhere, you can use good quality Italian anchovies. Use the same number—the saltiness makes up for them being smaller. The taste will not be absolutely authentic, but it will still be yummy!
Brown the onions in plenty of butter.
All ready to go in the oven!
Today is Lucia Day and the start of the Christmas season! Fittingly, we received half a foot of fresh snow here in the Hudson Valley today, and I have spent the evening cooking for tomorrow’s potluck lunch in the art department I work for. Here’s the first recipe of the night, Chocolate Sour Cream Cake. This has been my mother’s go-to recipe for many years of birthdays and other celebrations—I wonder how many slices I have eaten over the course of my life! It is so simple and delicious, and goes very nicely with a little whipped cream and a cup of coffee.
Chocolate Sour Cream Cake
2-3/4 cups flour
1-1/2 cups sugar
1/2 pound unsalted butter
3 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla extract
6 heaping tbsp instant cocoa
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
In a mixing bowl, combine the first 3 ingredients. Take off and reserve 1/2 cup crumbs for top of cake. Add eggs, sour cream, baking soda, and vanilla and mix well (I find it easiest to use an electric mixer). Pour half of the batter into a well-greased tube (Bundt) pan. Sprinkle instant cocoa on top of batter. Mix chocolate chips in rest of batter, and pour that over the bottom half. Sprinkle the reserved crumbs over the top of cake. Bake at 350° 1 hour or until the tester comes out dry.
You’ll want to cut yourself a slice when it’s just out of the oven, but try to resist! This cake is really at its peak at room temperature (or even refrigerator-cold the next day). To serve, invert the cake onto a pretty plate—the crumbs will be on the bottom. You can garnish with a bit of powdered sugar if it’s for a fancy occasion, but it will look nice just by itself.
I try to make the majority of our meals from scratch, but tonight was all about odds/ends/leftovers. This was so easy and delicious! I can’t really even call it a recipe, but here’s what went into it (makes 2 large bowls):
1 small (16oz) box Imagine butternut squash soup
1 spicy italian chicken sausage (defrosted, sliced)
2 small handfulls dried mushroom tortellinis (cooked, drained)
2 cups Trader Joe’s Greens With Envy* (defrosted, chopped)
2 tbsp shredded asiago cheese
Put everything but the cheese into the soup. Heat. Serve sprinkled with asiago.
That’s it! Yuuuummmm.
*Greens With Envy is the best frozen veggie product EVER: organic spinach, broccoli, edamame, asparagus, and green beans. I try to always have it on hand, as it can be added to just about any dish for extra deliciousness and nutritiousness.
I made this recipe up as I went along last night, and it came out GREAT! So delicious, and so easy. It’s a little bit spicy, but in the most pleasant way. If you’re vegetarian, you can omit the chicken sausages and use vegetable broth.
Pumpkin Mushroom Soup
makes 6 large bowls or 9 cups
12 oz mushrooms (I used portobellos, but you can go fancier), diced
1 medium onion, diced
1 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp flour
1 tsp curry powder
3 cups chicken broth
15 oz canned pure pumpkin (NOT pie filling!)
2 chicken sausages (any kind; I used Trader Joe’s asiago & mushroom chicken sausages)
1 cup milk
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp sugar
shredded asiago cheese
In a large saucepan or pot, sauté mushrooms and onion in olive oil until very tender, about 10 minutes. You may want to partially cover the pan to keep everything moist. (If using precooked chicken sausages, slice into half moons, set aside. If sausages are uncooked, cook them now, slice, set aside.) Stir in the flour and curry powder until blended. Gradually add the broth, stirring. Add the sausage. Bring to a boil, lower heat, and cook while stirring for 2 minutes or until somewhat thickened. Add the pumpkin, milk, sugar and spices. Heat through on medium-low heat while stirring. Serve with a sprinkle of asiago cheese.
Three loaves of Lena’s pumpkin cranberry bread are cooling in the kitchen (I already snuck a little piece; it’s amazing). The house smells like winter.
What a busy, short weekend it has been.
Snow is coming tonight!! I’m going to bed early and resting myself for a short short workweek…
This really is the best vegetarian chili (or any kind of chili, really) recipe, honestly. I make a big pot of it just about every other week and freeze it in containers for lunches and dinners.
Vegetarian Chili
serves 6-8
1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 medium carrots, chopped
4 cloves garlic, diced
1 large yellow bell pepper, chopped
2 jalapeno peppers, seeds removed, diced
2 celery stalks, chopped
2 tbsp chili powder
28 oz can crushed tomatoes with basil*
14 oz can black beans*
14 oz can kidney beans*
1 cup corn kernels
1 tsp ground cumin
1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 1/2 tsp dried basil
2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 cup bulgar wheat
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
Heat oil in a large pot. Add onions, carrots and garlic; sauté until onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. Add yellow pepper, jalapenos, celery and chili powder; cook another 10 minutes. Add tomatoes, beans (with liquid), corn, salt and spices. Bring to a boil. Cover, lower heat, and simmer for 20 minutes. Stir in bulgar wheat. Cover and simmer at least 30 minutes (I usually let everything simmer for a couple of hours to let the flavors really develop, but it’s okay to take it off when the veggies and bulgar are soft), stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. Just as you’re taking the chili off the heat, stir in the balsamic vinegar. I know it might seem weird to put it in, but trust me—it really does make the chili taste extra amazing.
*I take the easy route and use canned beans and tomatoes. You can soak dried beans and use fresh tomatoes if you prefer, of course, but you will want to add water to make up for the liquid in the cans.
