Nothing too Crazy

This is a simple dish that took little to no effort. Why?  Today is a time for reflection for many and my biggest beef with myself, is not taking / having enough time for my loved ones. So I made a quick dinner so Spencer and I could spend some quality time together and share in each others company, not the perfection level of the dish, cleanliness of the house, or one of the other umpteen things that would normally keep me busy and away from my kissy face.

Steamed Rice & Broccoli :

Rice cooker with 2 c rice & 1 large cluster of broccoli large thick stems submerged in the water and the floret's above. Perfect way to cook both!

Sliced omelet:
4 eggs whisked with sesame oil and fried in a pan omelet style, no stirring while cooking. Cook like a pancake. Add scallions if you would like.

Fried Shiitake Mushrooms: sliced thin with a little oil and garlic. Brown and serve on top of the rice, broccoli and omelet.

Douse all with soy sauce and perhaps chili paste.


Enjoy with someone who's had a long day. They need your company more than they would need the food. But, you know, food is love.

roadside inspiration

I love, love, love walking through RVA on beautiful afternoons. If you are looking up, big blue beautiful sky, down, lost treasure that no one else seems to notice or care. I may be sharing this city with a million other people, but I will never feel like it in my own little world of street & sky. Found this crusty looking cap on the pavement and he just had to be made into a pendant. Accompanied by some castoffs from a new friend and blam!!! Instant neck art. Repulsed by the thought of donning something that was found in the city street? Good, I don't have to share. ;-)

Blueberry Morning

I freaking love Sundays. It's a time for slow food, fun,  family & friends. This lazy Sunday morning, full of lounging in the sun and not really getting dressed til well after the sun is up, is brought to you by blueberries! Summer is coming to an end and I am getting all the fresh picked lovin' & sun I can while supplies still last.

Blueberry Corn Cakes:
3/4 c corn masa
2 c bisquick (cheater, perhaps. efficient & effective, always.)
1/4 c vanilla sugar ( sugar with a vanilla bean in it for flavor)
1/4 tsp cardamom
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
2 c milk
2 tbs butter for the pan
1 1/2 c rinsed blueberries

melt butter in the pan. Let it get a lil brown, that's were the goodness is.
Combine your wet ingredients and your dry, mix well. Let stand for 3 min before spooning out, it helps with the finished texture of the pancakes. ( I am learning, rubber pancakes be damned!)

Spoon out about 1/4 c worth of batter into your large skillet of brown butter goodness as many times as will fit. Top with 2 tbs of berries, or as many as will comfortably fit. You want a good surface batter to blueberry ratio. Too many berries and it will be a gooey, sticky mess. Too little and it's not really a blueberry pancake. You want the batter to be able to cover the berries when flipped.

Cook until bubbles form on the top and flip. Cook about the same amount on the opposite side.
Serve with fresh maple syrup and fresh blueberries, and steak like bacon if you happen to have some.

Enjoy lazily whilst snot fully dressed and on your own damn time.

It's BACON!

Suppertime plans thwarted by a trifecta of lack of energy, lack of gas for the grill and thunderstorms. Sooo we brought it in for the night and prepared it a bit differently. It still tasted just as amazing.

Bacon Chicken:
Trader Joe's Ends & Pieces Bacon, thick and amazing
Dark Meat Chicken, Thighs are perfect
fry together in pan until tender. Yup, that's it.

Fennel, scallion & leeks:
chopped fennel, scallions and leeks
2 tbs olive oil
1 hot skillet
S&P to taste
cook until tender and barely browned

serve with garlic nan

desert, toasted angel food cake with honey figs.

Just what I needed for the evening. That and some down time listening to the rain with my husband and fuzzy babies. The gigantic glass of pinot doesn't hurt either.

Pendant, check

It's been a whirlwind of a day and I am going through the motions and the checklist of what I need to do. This lil piece of art is one of many things on my list. It will accompany the earrings I made the other day. Amber and gold. Love the colors.

Amber Sunset

I am loving this amber color lately. Anything with a dark, saturated, eggy rich color is really catching my eye. Perhaps it's the longing to extend the summer that passed too quickly. Perhaps it's my propensity for sunsets. Whatever it is, I really can't get enough of this.

Bottling A Little Anger

Sometimes things don't really work out like you want them too. It's not that it's a bad thing, it's just not the way I thought it was going to be. Pendant. Bottle top and wine label.