weekly scenes

Life has taken a turn for the busier. You'll have to forgive me for the silence that has ensued because of it. I know I've barely shared a peep, but I must admit, I don't feel entirely horrible about it. It's important to get out and experience life that is not set behind a computer screen. With the recent shift in weather, I've been making it a point to do so. I've been chasing dreams, laying in the grass, cooking up a storm, biking EVERYWHERE just because I can, and trying to make it to as many yoga classes as possible.

I do want to call out a few special moments that have happened recently though....

1. Adam's band had their first show! It was such a fun night of free beer, free souls, and free rock n' roll.

2. We finally bought a vine! Now I just want more. :)

3. This little one is back in my life and we've been having a ball. This shot was taken while enjoying the weather at Penn Treaty park on a Saturday afternoon.

4. My new favorite thing is to pick up fresh fish from Ipolito's Seafood. They got what's good.

5. Check out this post I did on cream vs. oil moisturizer! I'm a total convert.

6. Yes, succulent vines do exist. And yes, I will own one someday.

7. God I love this girl. She is one of the best, kindest, funniest, good-to-be-around people you'll ever come across. Anyone who gets to meet her in their life is damn lucky. I'm so happy to have been one of those people!

8. I almost started a chicken farm in our way-too-small of a backyard when I met these babes (or should I say chicks) at Greensgrow. 

9. Adam & I started a food blog! Go check it out!

Oh, and I'm heading to San Diego next month! Anyone with suggestions of where I should go, visit, stay, eat, etc. please drop me a line in the comments! I hope everyone's spring is off to as glorious a start as my own. Much love. xx

salmon wild rice

Easter Sunday rolled around. I am not a Christian, but I wanted to make something nice. After all, it was a holiday, it was Sunday, and I had the time and ambition to cook something good. To get started, I picked up salmon, peas, and chives at the grocery store. I paired it all with wild rice whose dark color would allow for the pinks and greens to pop. I treated it like a risotto, although not Arborio, and cooked the rice slowly with a stock. To make it creamy like risotto, but in a healthy way, just add in some almond milk and coconut oil at the end. Finally, everything gets a nice drizzle of lemon juice to brighten up the flavors. It's a healthy, tasty, and let's face it, beautiful!, spring-time dish.

Ingredients:

1 Cup Wild Rice

2 Cups Water

12 oz Salmon

1 Cup Frozen Peas

1 Vegetable Bouillon Cube

2.5 Tbsp Chives, chopped

2 Garlic Cloves, minced

3/4 Cup Almond Milk

1 Tbsp Coconut Oil

Juice from 1 Lemon

Directions:

1. Add your wild rice, water, and vegetable bouillon cube to a pot and bring to a boil.

2. Reduce heat and let the rice cook down. 

3. Once almost all of the water has evaporated, add a spoonful more. Do this three times or so. On the last time, add almond milk and peas, then let everything finish cooking down.

4. Stir in chopped chives, minced garlic, and coconut oil, then set rice aside. 

5. Heat up oil in a skillet, and quick cook your salmon.

6. Tearing the salmon apart with a fork, stir it into your rice mixture. Squeeze lemon over it all and finish stirring.

brookfarm general store

 ABOVE: Scissors // Brookfarm General Store $14 // BELOW: Whiskey Rocks // Brookfarm General Store $29

I'm crushing on this little shop, Brookfarm General Store. They remind me of the woods. The smell of pine. Smoke. I can feel the cool air in my lungs as they transport me back to a simpler way of life; think tin lunch boxes and the warmth of a fire. 

Images Used:

1 // 2 // 3 // 4

venice

Third Stop: Venice

Venice, the most beautiful city on Earth. Full of  secret alleyways, glittering facades, and romantic shuttered windows, we spent a day and a half there, but not long enough. We wandered around, got lost in the labyrinth, ate the best meal of our lives, and visited a Salvador Dali exhibit that blew our minds. The hostel was horrible, but there was a bed, and that was all we needed besides each other in this city. We could have wandered around for days and been equally elated every moment. 

house-cured salmon

Lox is my favorite food, hands down. I was raised on it, it's in my blood and I crave it like water. When I heard that it was actually pretty simple to make at home yourself, I had to try. It took two tries to get it down perfectly, but for a food that is so luxurious in feeling, it is amazingly stupid easy to do. You can bet I'll be doing this a couple times a month....for the rest of my life.

It came in handy when the hurricane rolled around that I had just produced my second round of homemade lox. Adam and I were shut up inside, and so what better to do than cook up a storm. We've been on a bit of a benedict kick, and we decided to make a salmon version using the lox and Adam's homemade lemon hollandaise sauce. Even we were impressed at how delicious it all turned out - the perfect hurricane dish. :)

Ingredients:

1 fresh cut of salmon, choose your size (I like to get my salmon for lox at Wholefoods. It is the best high quality, wild caught, and fresh fish that I've been able to find in Philadelphia.)

chopped dill

1 part salt: 2 parts sugar (ex.1 cup salt, 2 cups sugar)

Directions:

1. Lay out a sheet of plastic wrap and set your salmon ontop, skin and all.

2. Sprinkle the cut with chopped dill, and cover evenly with about 1/2 inch of your sugar/salt mixture.

3. Wrap everything up tightly, and set it in something to catch any juices that may leek out. I used a flat casserole dish.

4. Place everything in your refrigerator for 36 hours.

5. After letting the salmon sit for 36 hours, pull it out and unwrap. Rinse the fish off to remove all salt/sugar.

6. Using a sharp knife, cut the skin off of your fish. Then, do make pieces of lox, cut in thin, long, angular slices.

an italian meal

Second Stop: Florence, Italy

The way that meals are prepared in Italy is something I've always tried to replicate here in the states. It starts with gathering the ingredients - not a simple run to the grocery store. You first stop at the latteria, followed by the macelleria, and so on, picking up item by item. You buy freshly baked breads and hand-rolled gnocci, sample cheeses and talk with shop owners. 

Once everything is home it's a long evening spent in the kitchen. You're preparing a gala of at least three courses rather than just one dish. Foods spend hours in the oven, and finally at around 8:30 pm you all sit down to enjoy the feast. Those who weren't in the kitchen, probably sat and munched on appetizers of parmigiana and salami, just waiting to eat.

I don't know if my family wanted to break him in, or they were seriously interested to taste his cooking, but on our visit, Adam was put up to the challenge of creating a full Italian meal. A simple request to cook dinner turned into a meal for twelve. To prepare, I took him to the center market and all of the little shops to get ingredients. We planned as we went, and I sheepishly told him how it was going to go. 

Back in the kitchen, we took our usual teamwork to the big leagues. I played sous chef, chopping and slicing, while he worked his magic: gnocci in a spinach & tomato cream sauce, swordfish with a lemon butter reduction, and a beautiful fall vegetable mash up. 

For me, the whole evening recalled memories of my childhood. I remember looking up at my grandmother, she in her fur coat and me holding my her hand, as the butcher fawned over me and how much I had grown. But this time I was holding his hand instead, and I guess you could say I was little more secure in my size. I remember asking my grandmother, who I adored, what I could help with next as she worked on dinner. Sometimes I was set to grinding the parmigiana and other times I would layer tiramisu. Maybe I got a knife this time, but I fit right back into my old role as the little helper, Adam taking the lead. 

Being in that kitchen, bringing him into that world, was something else. Not only do I love that kitchen and the Italian culture surrounding food, but it's also a big part of me. I was letting him into a magical world. One that before had been my own little secret. 

munich: part one

Back from my vacation! 

First stop: Munich, Germany

In Munich we did all of the typical things. The misty grey skies force you into the German way of life, and there isn't much avoiding it. We sat for hours in the beer garden at the Hoffbrauhaus, drank steins full of Hefewiezen, and ate our stomachs full. Unfortunately, we didn't find Oktoberfest to be as much fun as we had hoped. Luckily the nightlife, restaurants, and cafes of Munich made up for it. 

I fell in love with the city itself. I could have sat for hours sipping on coffee, munching on a plate full of cheese, while reading my book and staring out at the calm scenery. Everyone was warm, and the streets felt clean and modern (as modern as a European city gets). It is a place in which nobody locks up their bikes or has to go through a turn style to get on the subway. What a blast of refreshment it was that there exists such a large population of simply honest and good people.  

I can't wait to go back someday.