Monday, November 30, 2009


Apple and Pear Crisp
  • 2 pounds ripe Bosc pears (4 pears)
  • 2 pounds firm Macoun apples (6 apples)
  • 1 teaspoon grated orange zest
  • 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
  • 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
  • 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

For The Topping:

  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 3/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 cup old-fashioned oatmeal
  • 1/2 pound (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, diced
  • 5-6 slices of crystallized ginger (my addition)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Peel, core, and cut the pears and apples into large chunks. Place the fruit in a large bowl and add the zests, juices, sugar, flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Pour into a 9 by 12 by 2-inch oval baking dish.

For The Topping:
Combine the flour, sugars, salt, oatmeal, and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low speed for 1 minute, until the mixture is in large crumbles. Sprinkle evenly over the fruit, covering the fruit completely.
Place the baking dish on a sheet pan and bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, until the top is brown and the fruit is bubbly. Serve warm.
-so i had 3 pears and 3 small apples so i used this recipe as a guide and adjusted as i saw fit. for example, i only used about 3T of butter as opposed to 2 STICKS like the recipe called for. it's one of those recipes you can play with. it came out damn tasty.

LB in all her glory




when i think about moving north, it's days like this in the city i call home that keep me here. pure beauty.
**photos ala andrea, my friend and photo snapper**

oops i did it again

while walking back from the post office this am, i made a detour into blue windows, a cool little boutique in belmont shores that sells clothing, jewelry, books and chachskis. overall the place is spendy so i rarely go in. today i found some cool deals that i liked and so did my wallet.

i'm a sucker for old maps. i'm a sucker for san francisco. well this isn't a genuine old map but it's pretty rad. great colors (that don't show up in this picture well), grainy feel to the paper and a copy of the real deal. $4


i also scored 3 cool wood cut out snowflake ornaments, $3/each. in the picture they look white but in reality they are a light, unfinished wood. and you know i love me some wood.

DIY


my friend adriana is a huge force wrapped into a small package. i first "discovered" her via a sunset mag article on garden bloggers. i related to her and liked her garden philosophy. and then when i saw she was a fellow long beacher, i was even more excited. lb is a "small" town and turned out to be even smaller once i finally met her. we have a couple mutual friends...go figure.

adriana writes a blog, anarchy in the garden, which chronicles her adventures in her home garden as well as the many community garden events she's involved in. people are taking to her (as they should) and you too might see her on your nationally syndicated tv some day soon. she is teaching people one seed at a time that anyone can garden and produce food in their own yard.

check her out. buy a anarchy in the garden shirt to spread the word that DIY is where it's at. power to the gardeners! power to anarchy in the garden!

christmas in southern california


my "holiday" wreath ala Target. i'm usually a pine fan but figured this baby would have a longer life...and an afterlife once i decide to deconstruct it.



current etsy favs


SO RAD: Minimoog by Pulsewidth


Signed Spiral Pottery Art Vase


Vintage Mid Century Modern Dark Wood Candleholders


Mid Century Dansk Teak Salt and Pepper Mill


Francie's Cheese Trary by Kustom Kraft


Vintage California Walnut Table circa 1940's


Solid Black Walnut Candleholder Kustom Kraft


Vermillion Walnut Cheese and Cracker Tray


Vintage Wheaton Flour and Sugar Canisters


SOLD- ;(


4 Piece Golden Yellow American Tourister Suitcases

just in case you were wondering what to get me for christmas.


Monday, November 23, 2009

the lineup


this is brainstorming/therapy so bare with me:

appetizers:
-Peruvian tamales/empandas
-white sangria

din din:
-citrus/herb turkey
-yukon gold mashed potatoes
-sourdough/rosemary stuffing
-GLUTEN FREE cornbread stuffing...that's right bitches!
-baked sweet potatoes w/apples and grainy mustard
-Chinese long beans
-cranberry sauce
-wine, wine and more wine

dessert:
-apple pie "undone" or pumpkin gingersnap pie
-coffee...maybe some Baileys, maybe just shots.

i've seen the light!


i already feel stuffed and the big day hasn't arrived. holiday food has started to creep in (uh hum Trader Joe's Peppermint Jo Jo's) as well as the stress of the upcoming arrival of my family and the "meeting of the minds". shopping list is growing, cleaning to do, food to make...did i mention work somehow fits in there? anyway, i've decided to do a light fast before the main event. i'll keep myself hydrated of course and maybe some fruit, but the heavy stuff that creeps in every day, see ya later! i need to focus like a champion fighter. clear my head. be light on my toes.

wish me luck. i'm a cook. i can make a meal out of nothing so i have to focus my creative food juices on the "the meal".

Saturday, November 21, 2009

i ♥ wood


(i think the grain on the side of this credenza looks like two boxers facing each other with their dukes up ready to fight)

being the treehugger i am, i still love me some wood furniture. i've got a rule though- nothing new. the bf and i were talking about furniture last night and how much of it is already in this world. if we stopped producing anything new right NOW, i think we'd all have enough to go around. just take a gander @ your local craigslist. jam packed full of everything your heart could ever desire. not to mention the deals out there. one good thing about this recession is people are selling. selling it all sadly, but for those of us on the hunt, it's a great time to come up.

now back to the wood. here are some creamy closeups. enjoy my wood porn.









that's enough eye candy for now.

super tasty








A Pair of Fruitwood Carved Horse Bookends
England
Circa 1900
A Pair of Late 19th/Early 20th Century Fruitwood Carved Horse Bookends with cork bottoms.

Price
$650

Condition
Excellent condition and finish.

Measurements
height: 8 in.
depth: 6 in.
width/length: 2.75 in.

ala Rumi Antiques in Canada

Friday, November 20, 2009

a centerpiece i can sink my teeth into


literally.

this baby and the "how to" can be found @ Design*Sponge. lovely.

my mom and tukey day


tablecloth anyone?

my mom is a jill of all trades. busiest woman i know and she doesn't have a "job". well i take that back, she has a decorating business called Accentuate but that's really part time. she just finished designing and decorating a tree for the Metropolitan Museum, with Mateese as her given theme which was off the chain-pictures to come.

as you might know, she is coming to my casita for thanksgiving. she has offered to bring "whatever i'm missing. plates, decor, glasses, the FUN!" real quote. i just received her latest email with her turkey day offerings......

fall colored napkins? got some, thanks.


glass squash? and why are these hiding under a table?!


ahhh, the pc thanksgiving day couple. we don't support pilgrims in our house.



this is the same lady who years ago made my entire extended family make a crate paper "hat" for themselves...either pilgrims or indians. (i'm going to make her send me copies of those pics if she can find them. priceless) let me tell you people, the crowd was not to happy. since i was only 7 or so, i thought it was fantastic. i know she's going to bring the fun again this year. i hope the bf's family can keep up with my circus from home.

the view from here


it's friiiiiday, SUPER foggy outside, coffee is percolating, holidays are around the corner, work load is manageable and i get to meet the newest addition to my "family"...miss Anais, the half sweedish, half mongolian beauty. i want to bite her cheeks.


Thursday, November 19, 2009

big white ugly


(glitterotzi)


(4 wheelin' fun)


(anyone need a lift)

you're not getting laid if you're wearing any of these.
went shoe shopping @ the local warehouse shoe joint wih the bf tonight.
of course i got sucked into the uglies.

fall harvest festival...NOW


should be a lot of fun. i'm interested to check out the Growing Experience as well as all tasty garden treats the chefs will be preparing. Click on the above flier for a larger copy for the details.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

cornholio


(picture thanks to Gluten Free Portland Oregon)

it's that time again, time for anther nail biting, earth shattering GLUTEN FREE FOOD REVIEW. this time we can thank the upcoming holiday for inspiration. as you may or may not know reader, i am having my fam and the bf's fam over to our house this year for turkey day. the meeting of the minds as i like to call it.

bf and i are making the turkey, mashed pot, stuffing and some libations. cooking is tops on list so as you can imagine, this g-free BS is really bringing me down. it's just not fun. i bought two loaves of rosemary sourdough @ costco to use for gluten cool people's stuffing. damn that sounds so good.

today while driving around, it occured to me i could make g-free cornbread stuffing. cornbread stuffing is not tops on my list but damnet, i'm going to make it good if it kills me...primairly because i'll be the only one eating it. (unless i succeed in my hidden g-free cooking).

so Bob's Red Mill cornbread (g-free and original) are on sale right now @ WF's- 2/$5. i bought two packages and took them home to try. one for now (test kitchen) one for later...maybe. i also bought some frozen sweet corn kernels to add to the mix. if i'm doing cornbread, i'm doing CORNBREAD!

i also decided to use my cast iron cornbread mold i bought at ye ol' thrift store. (first time)

so far, so good.

they rose much more than i thought, which is pretty key in the g-free world so these don't turn out to be corn bricks.

#1, when using a cast iron mold, you have to make sure to really grease that sucker. i did and they were still a bitch to get out. letting them cool was key.

as you can see, this mold is pretty much good for one use only other wise you'd have to wash and re-grease in between each batch. too much work for this girl! but aren't my corn muffins cute?!


so now on to the real deal: taste. they taste GREAT! texture is on point, flavor tastes like good cornbread should (thank you very much) and not g-free reminiscent at all! success. now it's off to find a good cornbread stuffing i can tweak to make my own. stay tuned.....