sweeter salt

Today is my birthday – woot woot! I’m turning the big 2-7, which actually feels like kind of a big age for me. I’m married, we just bought a house (moving day is Saturday!), and I’m officially in my late 20′s. Huzzah!

In lieu of an actual post, I’m going to show some of my favorite things I’ve pinned on pinterest recently. Are you on? I’m obsessed, you should follow me. Since I am in major house mode, I’ll show some of the things that are inspiring my design ideas in my new living room / dining room area.

These are the colors we’re going for in the living / dining room area. I want to do a light gray throughout most of the space, with two walls (a corner) in the living room a warm, spicy orange color. There will also be a few accents of turquoise (we already have a huge antiqued turquoise cabinet which will be a statement piece). This is actually already purchased -hooray! We knew we wanted a leather couch and velvet chairs in the living room in grays and browns. We lucked out and found this awesome gray leather couch at Furniture Market (awesome store, by the way) on sale. This is a big foundational piece for us, so I’m excited. Now we just need to find some brown chairs.

Shag carpet – oh yeah. We’re lucky to have hardwood floors throughout the house, so we’ll get an area rug for the living room. I happen to love shag carpeting, so we’ll put something like this in the living room. I like the color of this one a.) because it goes with my color scheme and b.) because it is the same color as Franklin. Shed all you want buddy, it’s not showing up.

I want to find an awesome antique trunk for a coffee table. Pretty and functional, store your junk in there!

The dining room is connected to the living room by a half wall. Currently the place where our table will go has a ceiling fan over it. Weird. So, we’ll be replacing it with a chandelier. We’re actually going to take an old brass one from my parents and spray paint it a turquoise/teal color, similar to this. It will add a pop of color and will be super cheap.

At some point I’d love to build some custom shelving in the dining room using distressed boards and black piping. Ross has already built us two awesome clothing racks using black metal piping and fittings (you can find supplies at home improvement stores). I think this would look cool and would be functional for displaying pretty things.

That’s just a few of my favorite ideas! Are you on pinterest? What inspiration have you gathered lately?

This has been a challenging week. Work has been super busy, I’m in the middle of moving / buying a house, and I had an unfortunate conversation that left me in tears. Here’s the kicker: after having a tough day, I got in the car and was on the verge of tears again. THEN, “I had the time of my life” came on the radio. Since “Dirty Dancing” is the best movie ever made (obviously) I excitedly danced and sang. THEN, I remembered Patrick Swayze died, THEN I cried again. THEN, I laughed because I was crying. TMI alert: I think I’m hormonal.

So, suffice to say, I’m a little bummed out (and a little crazy pants) right now. You know what I do when I’m down in the dumps? Wear bright colors. It’s silly really, but something about wearing happy colors brings up my mood just a couple of notches.

I got this Kimchi and Blue mohair sweater at Find (the Scarborough location) this weekend. I wound up paying nothing for it, using some store credit I had, so I’m really glad I found it. I don’t wear pink very often, so it’s kind of fun. For me, pink is a bit of a scary color (so girly!) so when I wear it I tend to do so with bright, contrasting colors. Just to add a little sass.

Pink sweater: Kimchi and Blue (via Find)
Dark green blouse: Express (years ago)
Green belt: vintage
Black pencil skirt: L.L.Bean Signature
Black boots: L.L.Bean
Watch: Michael Kors

Mint green earrings: Leetie Lovendale (via SWAPmaine)

What do you do to lift your mood when you’re feeling bummed out? Right now the promise of a Friday night spent with red wine, and possibly a trip to the new Gelato Fiasco location in Portland, is getting me through!

Growing up my whole family was totally enamored with a Bon Appetit recipe for Hoisin Pork. I re-created the dish in October, calling it Hoisin Pork with Green Beans, Mushrooms and Rice Noodles. Heck yes, this stuff is TASTY. I love hoisin – basically a Chinese barbecue sauce. It’s rich, spicy, sweet and filled with savory flavors. It also happens to go perfectly with fennel, I just found out.

I made my Hoisin Glazed Roasted Fennel for an easy weeknight meal along with some brown rice with sesame oil and scallions and salmon cakes made with canned salmon, fish sauce and garlic (the poor girl’s fillets). Yum! The fennel’s liquorish flavor comes out in the roasting process and the hoisin brings out the sweetness. It also adds what I dare describe as… umami?! I feel a little out of my league using that word, but something about the combination creates flavors that are deeply savory, sweet and just a bit spicy.

The best part? You can tell your dining companions that they are having an umami sensation in their mouth! I believe Ross gave me the side eye then continued eating. Whatever.

Hoisin Glazed Roasted Fennel
*serves 4 as a side dish

Ingredients
2 bulbs of fennel
1 tsp. canola oil
1 tsp. low sodium soy sauce
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
2 tbsp. bottled hoisin sauce
1 tbsp. sesame seeds
1 tbsp. fennel fronds

1.) Preheat the oven to 400*F. Cut the branchy portion of the fennel off, leaving the bulb. Reserve about 1 tbsp. of the fennel fronds for later. Cut the bulb in half (top down) then cut wedges about 1/4″ thick. Place the slices in a mixing bowl and toss with the canola oil, soy sauce, salt and pepper. Arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet and roast for 25 minutes.

2.) Heat a small pan to medium. Add the sesame seeds and toast until lightly browned, a few minutes. Keep your eye on them so they don’t burn. Remove to a small bowl to cool.

3.) Once the fennel is done roasting, add it back to the mixing bowl. Toss with the hoisin sauce, half the sesame seeds and half the fennel fronds. Spoon into a serving bowl and top with the remaining sesame seeds and fronds. Serve warm, room temperate or chilled.

I love the word snood. I have no idea why someone decided that a circular scarf should be called such a thing, but I’m glad they did. IT IS FUN TO SAY -> SNOOD SNOOD SNOOD. But, back in my day, we called circle scarves neck warmers. Did anyone else have a fleece one for playing in the snow?

I got this furry snood (heh) on super sale from Asos. I heart them by the way – sales are great and free shipping, all the way from the UK. The only problem is my debit card always gets rejected (international sale) and my credit card company always calls to ask if it’s fraud. Oh well.

This is me pretending to be happy that it’s snowing. Don’t I look happy? Pained? Probably pained.

Black skirt: American Apparel
Striped turtleneck: Century 21
Gray cardigan: Uniqlo
Boots: L.L. Bean
Burgundy faux fur snood: Asos
Watch: Michael Kors

Ok, I’m a snow hater, but I have to admit, that little snowflake gently resting on my snood is kind of pretty. KIND OF.

I forgot to wear my bag in the shot, but I wanted to include it. I got this Rachel by Rachel Roy bag for Christmas from my sister-in-law and I love it – wear it all the time. Funny thing is I pinned it on pinterest (totally obsessed) and she saw it, so bought it for me. I also saw that she was pinning lots of bags, so we got her a Cole Haan purse. Great minds think alike!

The title of this post is wildly inaccurate. Ok, maybe not “wildly,” but it isn’t totally true. I did not make a green “chicken” chili, but rather a green “turkey” chili. You see, I roasted a 20 pound turkey last weekend… for Ross and I. Our friends sold their condo and were getting rid of stuff in the freezer, so we took a turkey and duck off their hands. Score! It was my first turkey roasting experience, and it turned out pretty well. Good practice for when we host Thanksgiving at our new house (!!!) next November.

Anywho, I had a lot of leftover turkey on my hands (SO MUCH), so that’s what I used. I called this recipe “Green Chicken Chili” because I figure most normies have chicken on hand, not turkey. Use whatever you have, but just use it! This was absolutely delicious, if I do say so myself. Slightly creamy, with plenty of zing from cilantro and lime, with a punch of spice – we loved this dish. Plus, I managed to sneak in plenty of kale, which is no small feat in my household. I live with a leafy greens hater, so the only way I can get him to eat this super food is by chopping it up pretty small. It worked, he couldn’t taste it and polished off his bowl with no problem. This is also a great tip for Moms and Dads trying to sneak veggies into their kids’meals.

So, go roast yourself a turkey! Or not, whatever, use tofu for all I care, just get to it! This is such a great cold weather recipe, and a nice twist on your average red chili. It’s super healthy, and the meat-loving dudes in your life will never miss the red meat. Super bowl dish, right here.

Green Chicken Chili
* serves four

Ingredients
4 cups diced cooked chicken or turkey (I used turkey)
1 cup low fat milk
1 cup chicken or turkey stock (I used homemade turkey)
1/2 cup tomatillo salsa (I used store bought)
1 poblano pepper, diced
3 ribs of celery, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups finely chopped kale
zest and juice of one lime
1/4 cup (plus additional for serving) cilantro
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons ap flour
1 tsp. canola oil
3/4 tsp. coriander powder
dash of cayenne (to taste)
salt and pepper to taste
opt: scallions, cilantro, shredded cheddar, sour cream, etc. for serving

1.) Bring a large pot to medium low heat. Add your canola oil and saute the celery, poblano pepper, and garlic until tender, about 3-5 minutes. Remove with a spoon and set aside.

2.) Heat the pan to medium and add the butter to the pot. When melted, whisk in the flour to make a roux and cook for about two minutes. Whisk in the milk and stock and cook for about 10 minutes, until bubbling and reduced a bit. Stir in all of the ingredients, except kale, cilantro, cayenne and salt and pepper. Cook for about 30 minutes.

3.) When you’re just about ready to serve, stir in the kale and cilantro, until wilted down. Taste it for salt, pepper and cayenne and season accordingly. This will vary on how salty / spicy your stock and salsa are. Serve with any toppings you desire.

I bought this skirt at Goodwill about a year ago and liked it a lot (seen here), but found the midi length to be a little hard to wear. Don’t get me wrong, I love a full mid-calf skirt, but they can be tricky to pull off. Considering this skirt is a heavy wool, in a plaid print, I feared I was looking like one of the old French ladies I grew up seeing at church. The ones who got their hair blue hair styled once a week at the salon. Not the look I’m striving for.

So, a few weeks ago I happened upon the photo below, which I immediately pinned. Side note, I’m obsessed with pinterest. If you are too you should follow me and I’ll hit you back. I loved the length, and how full the skirt was, so I decided to give my plaid skirt a chop-a-roo.

credit

Skirt: thrifted, hemmed
Black turtleneck sweater: H&M
Belt: vintage, gift
Brown flower headband: J.Crew
Watch: Michael Kors

It’s a bit hard to tell from the photo (my photographer did not stand back far enough to capture the whole ensemble), but the skirt now falls just above my knee. I love it! I’ve worn it twice since I hemmed it, so it was definitely worthwhile. I don’t own a sewing machine, so it was quite the amateur sewing job, but I’m happy with it.

Oxfords: Jeffrey Campbell

Have you ever made a big change to a garment by hemming, cutting, etc.? I’m kind of obsessed now and curious to see what else I can do!

We got totally slammed with snow on Thursday. It came down all day long while I was at work, leaving me with the glorious hour long chore of shoveling out my driveway to get my car in. Sweet! Just what I wanted to do the second I arrived home!

Side note: why does anyone like snow? All it does is make every day life ten times more difficult. I digress.

Anywho, after shoveling my little heart out all I wanted for dinner was something warm and hearty, that wouldn’t take long to prepare. This meal fit the bill. Though it is almost entirely constructed out of pantry staples (cans are my friends) it still tasted fresh and delicious. Salty from the olives and feta, sweet from the tomato sauce and a little tangy from the artichokes, this was quite the tasty treat after a long day. Plus, with the whole wheat pasta and cannellini beans it packed plenty of protein and fiber.

Even if you didn’t just waste an hour of your life shoveling out your driveway, I highly recommend this meal for a little winter soul warming.

Vegetarian Mediterranean Pasta
*serves 3-4

Ingredients
4 ounces spaghetti or linguine (I used whole wheat spaghetti)
1 14 ounce can artichoke hearts
1 14 ounce can cannellini beans
1/2 cup tomato sauce (I used frozen leftovers of my Homemade Tomato Sauce)
2 tbsp. prepared basil pesto
1/4 crumbled feta cheese
1/4 cup sliced olives (I used green because I had them on hand)
salt and pepper to taste

1.) Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add salt to taste and pour in your pasta. Cook to al dente (about 8 minutes).

2.) Meanwhile drain your artichoke hearts then rough chop. Set aside. Drain and rinse your beans and set aside with the artichokes. Slice your olives and add to the artichoke mixture.

3.) In a small mixing bowl combine the tomato sauce and pesto, as well as 2 tablespoons of the feta cheese.

4.) When the pasta is done cooking drain well and return the pasta in the pot to the stove. Lower heat to medium low. Add in the vegetables and sauce and toss to combine. Cook until heated through.

5.) Serve each dish and top each with one tablespoon of feta. If you had fresh parsley or basil it would be perfect here, but I didn’t have any on hand.