Impromptu Winter Dinner with Friends

little snacks while dinner is cooking :
-Bruschetta topping (Trader Joe's)
Comes in a jar, fresh tasting and nice to keep on hand.

-Thin crackers with seeds (Trader Joe's)
Also good to keep on hand, & inexpensive at Trader Joe's.

-Brie with Fig & Orange Jam (Lunds)
I bought 2 pounds of brie on sale for 9.99 and have been eating it all December. The jam is a perfect compliment to the brie. I first had it at a Christmas party, and I sat close by all evening. After I had made a substantial dent, I asked the host what the topping was, because I couldn't identify the flavors. I searched all over for the jam and have only found it at one place: Lunds. They have regular fig jam, and also the kind with orange: that is my favorite.

dinner for 10:
-Stovetop Mac & Cheese (America's Test Kitchen)
Evaporated milk is the key to making this creamy, old fashioned mac & cheese. It is 100 times better than the pre-packaged kind and really not much work. After I made this recipe the first time, I now keep evaporated milk and macaroni on hand. Add a little (ok, a lot) of cheese & you get easy, creamy, warm comfort food. For a crispy, buttery topping, crumble Ritz crackers on top. I wish I had some leftovers, but every bit was gobbled up.

-White Bean, Kale and Roasted Vegetable Soup (Epicurious)
This soup is healthy and delicious. I add crumbled, browned ground sausage, and whatever other vegetables I have on hand -- sweet potatoes & regular potatoes went in this time. Good for leftovers.

dessert:
-Peach pie
I was seduced by a very large crate of peaches this summer at the peak of their flavor. They were sweet & juicy & beautiful and I could not resist. I bought the whole crate. We ate as many as we could and I still had about 10 pounds left. In one more day, they would be overripe, a shame!

I lovingly treated them to a nice hot water bath, and then plunged them into ice water. The skins slipped off. I removed the pits & cut them in half. They got another little bath in lemon juice to keep their color. They were so beautiful, I took a picture. I packed them in ziplock bags and reluctantly stowed them away in the freezer.

The peaches have since made appearances in white sangria (floating in white white & peach schapps), yogurt, & smoothies. Their culmination was warm, sweet peach pie: a reminder of summer sunshine in the middle of winter snow.

Kick Cancer Broccoli, Pomegranate and Wheat Berry Salad

My good friend Kelly was recently diagnosed with cancer. She has vowed to and is kicking ass on the cancer. I was looking through my cookbooks for some kick-ass cancer fighting foods when I remembered this salad. Caffe Latte in St. Paul has a version of this recipe in their deli case, and it is very tasty and healthy. I recrafted the recipe and added pomegranate for bursts of flavor, color and antioxidant power.



I had never cooked with wheat berries before, they are slightly chewly and nutty and shaped like little bullets. You can find them in the bulk section in natural food stores, Rainbow or Lunds (but not at Cub). I made the salad again for Christmas and brought it to our respective families. It was very healthy compared to all the other options. Chad's aunt had the gut busting version of this salad -- with bacon, uuber amounts of mayo, and cheddar cheese. Also good, but without the kick-ass cancer fighting power.

INGREDIENTS:

-2 heads broccoli

-1 pomegranate

-1 small red or sweet onion

-1 cup uncooked wheat berries

-1/2 cup sunflower seeds, raw

-3/4 cup white raisons

-2 Tablespoons balsalmic vinegar

-1/2 cup olive oil

-1/4 cup mayo

-1 tsp. dijon mustard

-sugar, salt

INSTRUCTIONS

-Add the wheat berries to a pot filled with water, bring to a boil and then keep at a low simmer for 45 minutes, until the grain is soft and chewy and doubled in size.

-Toast the sunflower seeds in a saute pan over medium heat until just brown and fragrant.

-Separate the broccolli into small bite sized florets.

-Chop the onion.

-Separate the pomegranite seeds from the fruit.

-Make the dressing: combine the mayo, olive oil, balsalmic vinegar, and a pinch of sugar and salt.

-Toss to combine all ingredients and enjoy!

A lot to be thankful for

Thankful that we have enough tables, chairs, plates and forks.

Thankful for friends, family and plenty of food.

Thankful for a husband who likes to clean!

and for a husband who likes to fix up the place. (He refinished the floors in the porch).


Extra thankful and best wishes to Kelly and Collin.

Emily and Chad's Thanksgiving Feast!

Sarah has inspired me to post my menu for Thanksgiving. Thanks girl! Our house is small, so to distract from the tight quarters, we are compensating with over-the-top food selections. Here is the planned menu:

Emily and Chad's Thanksgiving Feast!

Butter Lettuce, Arugula and Spinach Salad with Spago House Dressing, Pears Poached in White Wine, Aged Goat Cheese, and Toasted Pine Nuts.

Wild Rice with Leeks, Mushrooms, Dried Cherries and Apricots

Root Vegetable Puree

Chestnut and Sausage Stuffing

Pear Honey Cranberry Sauce

Lucia's Brined Roast Turkey with Pan Gravy

World's Best Green Bean Casserole

Baking Powder Biscuits

Apple and Pecan Pies

Furniture Binge

I have to admit, i went on a mini - furniture buying binge recently. These are all upgrade purchases, nothing that I was in desperate need of, but replacements for things I did not love.

Getting married kicked me into gear. We asked for $$ for our honeymoon from the wedding, and did not get many gifts. We had a great honeymoon! But it was also a little sad not to get the usual house things that come along with a wedding.

To compensate, I went on a mini-furniture binge. It is my intention to buy quality furniture with good design that should last a long time. I am trying to avoid furniture made of particle board, with a trendy design or that is made to be disposable. I think this is one of the best ways of being environmentally responsible.

We were very happy with the furniture and the vendors and I thought I would tell you about them, in case you are looking for good quality furniture at a reasonable price.

Here are my recent purchases:



Desk chair and lamp from Cb2.com

CB2 is an offshoot of crate and barrel and has more modern, contemporary furniture at very reasonable prices. Their selection is not huge yet, but they have some nice pieces. I have to say, the furniture arrived today, and we are very happy with the quality for the price. The desk chair was made in italy and feels very sturdy.

Used Danish modern teak table from Spinario. This is my new favorite antique store in the twin cities. they have a very awesome selection of furniture, artwork and pottery that is very reasonably priced. They list a lot of stuff on craigslist, type in spinario, but their showroom has so much more. Its 2000 sq feet of cool stuff. We talked to one of the owners and she buys estates from New York, which is where they get most of their artwork. They have a very nice selection of mid-century modern pieces. This is a locally run business created by some people who have very good taste. The showroom is in NE. I would definately encourage everyone to check them out.

Happy furniture hunting!

Halloween 2007

Thanks Heather for hosting a fun party!

Smashing Success

Our wedding was a smashing success. Thanks to all the friends and family who helped to make it so special.

Some early photos are in (Thanks Sarah!):

It's official.

City night kiss.

The girls!

The boys!

Notes on Planning a Wedding in less than 2 months

Resources and notes in case you are considering a similiar endeavor. Shout outs to all the vendors we've selected. Tips and Tricks. (I.e, ramblings at 4:30a.m. when I can't sleep.)

1. It can be done.

2. We found an excellent photographer by posting an ad on Craigs List. Her name is Ai Ling, http://www.lingfoto.com/. She was willing to give us a good deal because it was short notice and she was available. The other folks that responded that were our #2 choice were http://www.graddyphotography.com/, they were very responsive and friendly. In the end we liked Ai's style a little more.

3. Posting an ad on craigs list looking for a photographer yielded over 50 responses. Some were, let's just say, not exactly the style we were looking for. I was going to post some links but I think that might be rude. Example: one person had a big white beard and specialized in nudes and photos of women pregnant and nursing. Another person's website home page featured a bride with goth makeup wearing a lacey dress looking at themselves in a broken mirrore. We got tons of crap. Lots of sorting through.

4. We also found our jazz band by posting an ad on craigslist.

5. Skinny tall men have a hard time finding suits. Chad was drowning in all the suits he tried on. He finally found one at Kuhlman -- http://www.kuhlmancompany.com/ . All their stuff is european cut (i.e. for thin tall people).

6. We got our flowers ordering direct online: http://www.fiftyflowers.com/. They have not arrived yet but so far i have been very happy with the service and the company.

7. We are lucky in that we get to buy our own liquor. Trader Joe's has a nice selection of cheap bubblies.

8. We picked a venue that does not have a set caterer, etc so that we would have more choice. But then we had to decide on everything! I am happy with the venue but overall it's a total hassle to have to figure out things like: where do we get the tablecloths from? (We're getting paper that looks like linen). How do we refrigerate the wine when there is no fridge on site? (still working that out.) And, what bottle of white wine should we buy? (Also under debate).

9. Weddings make people crazy. And the whole industry is crazy as a result. I knew this when we started. This is part of the reason we went ahead with the planning in two months -- to try to minimize the craziness by boxing in the timeline. I have a theory about this. I think it's one of the only industries where the client (the bride, let's be honest) is doing something for the first time ever. In most other industries, buyers learn to be smart by buying something again and again. But because a bride is hopefully buying this big event and all related things for one time only, suddenly there is no learned saavyness about buying. Brides are not looking for deals for the most part, they are looking for the perfect this or the perfect that. It creates an industry where the people that are good and make it easy on the bride can charge a lot. Also there are a limited amount of peak in demand days. Saturday in June? You pay more.

10. Friends have been so incredible in helping us out. Our friend Matt just brought over a playlist of songs for the dance. Bob is helping us with setting up the sound. Andy is videotaping the whole thing. Our neighbor Kari is doing the ceremony. Jackie and Christopher are running a photo area for guests to get pictures. All my girlfriends are going to be there to help set up and for moral support. My mom and sister have done a ton. It has been incredible to get so much help and support. Thanks everyone!

Wedding planning

venue: check

T minus one month and counting...

Wedding Venue ideas

Sadly all of these places are not in the Twin Cities!

New Mexico, Colorado, More working on the bathroom.

new hallwall light and paint color:
new bar above toilet; toothbrush holder from Rejuvenation. Still working on the medicine cabinet.
New glass shower door:

Close up of towel bar and toothbrush holder:
new shower door:
double towel bar:
shower door:
Chad and Avery in Colorado:

Ella throwing a "big daddy" rock into the river in colorado
Chad and Eric catch a fish using Ella's barbie fishing rod:

Ella is not sure what to think of this fish:

Ella loves to color!

The ruins of cliff dwellings and pueblos at Bandalier National Monument, New Mexico:

From Minnesota to the bottom of the Grand Canyon