Art

I realize that part of my blog title is Crafts, and I really haven't done anything crafty lately. This needed to change!!

Today Jenn and Paige came over to bake challah with me. While the dough was rising and then while we were baking challah, we decided to do something creative.

Paige has a lot of art supplies and was kind enough to share them. I took inspiration from one of my favorite artists, Mark Rothko, and here are the results:

(medium used: watercolors)

Winter time

I know it's technically fall now, but it is really cold! It feels like winter. And there are now clementines in the store!!! I bought a box of them last night and they are super sweet! What a great guilt-free dessert.

Oh, and they also remind me of Jenny: she always ate them :)

More Jewelry

Last Friday night I was meeting Jenn and Monica to see a play at the Croatian Embassy. I had some time to kill and decided to stop by Bedazzled. I'm always amazed at the variety of beads they have, and it seems like they have finally improved the level of service!

I did not buy any beads, but I did find a very pretty pair of earrings and they were on sale! They are pretty long, but light and move well: perfect for dancing!

A bit of warmth, spice and sweetness

THAI COCONUT CURRY SOUP
I needed a snack and thought of getting a smoothie. However, when I went outside, it was cold, rainy and gray. I decided a smoothie would not be the best idea.

Instead, I all of a sudden wanted something warm, flavorful, spicy and homey: SOUP. Au Bon Pain had a new choice of soups: Thai Coconut Curry Soup and I decided to give it a try.

DELICIOUS! Just exactly what I wanted. I think it'd be fun to recreate it: ginger, potatoes, red peppers, coconut milk, curry, onions, tomatoes, bamboo shoots, spinach and lemon grass.

Simple Pleasure

Frozen Yogurt

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Blueberry Jam from Maine

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Slivered Almonds

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Simple Pleasure

Anthony Bourdain

Last night I went to see Anthony Bourdain speak at the Lissner Auditorium. He ROCKED! Seriously, it's incredible when you think someone is cool and your opinion doesn't change after seeing that person in real life.

He showed some clips from his show, No Reservations, and then discussed different experiences he's had in his travels. He also expressed his hatred of Rachel Ray, Sandra Lee and all vegetarians. The guy has no censor: he says exactly what he thinks. The audience LOVED him! In fact, one woman told him she was in love with him (something I'm sure a lot of us were thinking). Speaking of love, Anthony Bourdain has a 6 month old daughter...who would have thought?

After the discussion he held quite a lengthy Q&A session with questions ranging from what would be his last meal (sushi and beer) to what he thinks about DC food scene (it's getting good). The last question was really touching and dealt with No Reservations episode from Beirut that took place during the Israel-Lebanon conflict. Bourdain was genuinely saddened and touched by his experience during that time and said he will definitely go back and finish shooting the episode in the future.

Needless to say, I'm still enamored with Anthony Bourdain. This was a great event!!!!

Dancing with the Stars

I love Dancing with the Stars and haven't missed a single episode! Of course the fact that Maksim Chmerkovskiy is such a hottie doesn't hurt.

Coincidentally, the show is on Mondays, the night I go salsa dancing at Lucky Bar. It is at Lucky Bar that I often feel like a star. After 5 years of dancing, I'm pretty good (in fact, people often think I'm a Latina), but being good doesn't count unless I am dancing with someone who is either at my level or better.

This past Monday was one of those magical nights when I danced with four of my favorite dancers! I love dancing with different guys because each one has a different style, allowing me to learn new moves. One of them, I should have asked for his name, is just awesome! His moves are inventive, unpredictable, artistic and never boring. You can tell he dances from the heart and hasn't simply memorized a few moves taught in a class. When I dance with him, we are totally in sync and I feel like we are on a stage with everyone's eyes on us; I just wish someone could tape us dancing so that I could see what others see when they look at us dance.

When I dance with my favorite guys, especially when it's to the songs that I love, I feel like I'm flying! It's one of the best feelings ever.

Here's to more dancing!!!

Dinner: Spaghetti that wasn't

Last night I decided to make spaghetti. Beef was defrosting in the refrigerator and I had fresh green pepper and an onion to spruce up my store-bought pasta sauce.

As I opened the package of ground beef, it smelled a bit off, but I thought with enough seasoning and if I browned it really well, I'll be fine. Unfortunately, even when the meat was cooked, it looked off and I did not dare taste it. I think I get this from my mom, who at the first sign of a slightly sour smell throws the milk out, while my dad would just boil it and use it, thinking the milk has been saved.

Okay, back to my dinner. Now that the meat was in the garbage, I had to improvise. I sauteed a green pepper with an onion and a few cloves of garlic; added a can of garbanzo beans (drained!), dried basil, some onion powder, and a can of pasta sauce and let it bubble happily while I cooked the pasta.

Twelve minutes later, the pasta was done and as I added a few final touches to my sauce (pitted kalamata olives and fresh parsley) all that was left to do was to combine the pasta with the sauce and sprinkle some cheddar cheese on top. This was a great meal on a cold night!

A Beautiful Beginning

I rarely, if ever, name my flowers. I also don't talk to them. Fortunately, they forgive me and still grant me with gorgeous blooms.
This particular orchid is an exception to the name rule. It has a name; it actually has two names: Laura orchid or Florida orchid because I bought it several years ago when Jenny and I were in Florida visiting Laura.
This is the second time this particular orchid is blooming! It has two stems with 7 buds on each one. I took the pictures at night, so the light is obviously off, but you can still see a beautiful beginning of a perfectly blooming orchid. I can't wait till all the buds are open.
I will try to take some pictures over the weekend using natural light.

Cheer up, Darling!

Over the weekend I was feeling slightly down and needed a bit of cheering up. When Jenny lived in VA, she was always good about bringing over food, or flowers and of course her company always helped. Alas, she's in NYC now, so I needed to be independent and cheer up myself :)

This time the cure was a bunch of yellow Gerber daisies. They totally did the trick and also reminded me of Era because they are one of her favorite flowers and she had them at her wedding.

A New Scent

I really like perfume. Some of my favorite ones are Burberry (the original scent: Anna of course bought it first, and I had to follow suit), Armani Mania and Very Sexy by Victoria Secret. The different scents elevate my mood, make me feel pretty, and it doesn't hurt when I get complimented on them!

I was running low on all of the ones that I already have and have been contemplating buying a new one. Everyone needs a change, right? I went to Origins and was completely surprised when I tried Ginger Essence™ Intensified fragrance spray. I really liked how it smelled and decided to treat myself to it!

Here is a description:

Here's a little something special to help you stay warm all season long - Ginger Essence™ Intensified fragrance spray. The spicy fire of Ginger and the refreshing zeal of Bergamot, Lemon and Lime are deepened to create an even more sensuous synergy between warm and cool, energy and calm, tempest and tranquility. Now the aroma is even more impossible to resist.

Reflections

I just finished reading The Devil in the Kitchen, and one particular sentence (or two) struck me.

You know how we usually say that other people enrich our lives? Well, in the book, Marco Pierre White talked quite a bit about great friendships that have dissolved for one reason or another, and this is what he had to say about Gordon Ramsay: "I decided my life would be enriched if I saw no more of him. It’s unlikely we shall ever know each other again. When I cut, I cut.”

I guess sometimes our lives can be better without certain people around. And that's okay. Because hopefully we'll meet others that will enrich us in a different way.

This also reminds me of something Alyssa told me.

People come into our lives for a reason, a season or a lifetime.

Thank you for being a part of my life, whether you were/are a reason, a season or a lifetime relationship.

Lunch: comfort food

Yes, took a day off work again because am feeling slightly under the weather and needed a day on the couch: watching TV, drinking tea, and comfort food.

One of the easiest things to make that also tastes great (and according to many Jewish mothers is good for you) is matzo ball soup. All you have to do is buy one of the boxes that contains two packets: one for broth, one for the matzo balls. Follow directions and enjoy the soup! Sometimes I add carrots or peas in the soup, this time my fridge was pretty empty, so I just added fresh parsley. YUM

Dinner: weekend of testing

Testing? Not the type of testing you are thinking, after all, I've been out of school for too many years to count. Instead, I was testing recipes for one of my favorite chefs who teaches classes at Sur La Table: Robyn Webb.

I can't reveal the secrets, but here are the pictures of the winter salad with citrus, salmon with garlicky kale and pear crumble with frozen yogurt. DELICIOUS and easy and healthy!

Beauty

I love pretty things. I love flowers. I love beauty.

Yesterday Alyssa was at a wedding and brought an orchid bloom back. It's gorgeous! I hope it lasts for quite a while. It makes me happy just to look at it!

Dinner: butternut squash with rice

I bought a butternut squash last week and it's been sitting on my counter for a week now, so I decided to make dinner using it. I am a bit tired of the pureed butternut squash soup and decided to roast it instead.

Directions: cut butternut squash into 4 pieces. Remove seeds and peel. Cut each piece into bite-size pieces. Coat with olive oil, salt, pepper, turmeric, a bit of cumin and chili (or any other spices you like). Preheat an oven to 425 degrees with a cookie sheet inside (similar to my roasting potatoes method). In a single layer put the butternut squash onto a preheated cookie sheet and bake for about 30-40 min or until the pieces are browned, tender on the inside and slightly crunchy on the outside.

I ate the roasted butternut squash with rice leftover from one of the SLT classes and a bit of fresh parsley sprinkled on top.

Yum!

shopping!!!!!!!

Today I went to Teaism with Alyssa and Paige, and it's right next to one of my favorite stores: Secondi! So of course I had to go and see what I could find. And find I did!
1) this very unique black sweater. The flowers are made from leather. I think it's really cool, and decided to spend $55.


2) This is the first pair of shoes I bought in Secondi: BCBG! for $22!!!! and they are so cute and pretty comfortable (I wore them for the rest of the day!) And I did not have any brown flats, so I needed them (right).

3) This was DEFINITELY a splurge. Alyssa and I went to Touchstone gallery next to Archives metro and I saw this ring there and LOVED it! It's sterling silver and you can actually make it taller or scrunch the coil to make it shorter. So I decided to treat myself ($90!). I love it!!!

Looking forward to....

Hi!
I realized I haven't written in a few days. Not much has been happening, and the weather has been majorly depressing. It's been raining for days, cold, gray, gets dark early and is still dark in the morning....right.

So I decided to write about a few things that I'm actually looking forward to :-)

1. Today I'm going to the Performance of Tango Buenos Aires.
2. My friend Alyssa is coming for a visit this weekend and we are planning to have brunch at Teaism, do some shopping at Secondi and then go to a few museums.
3. This weekend I also will be testing 4 recipes for Robyn Webb.
4. There are several volunteering events I'll be participating at with Washington DCJCC in November. One of them is Everything But the Turkey.
5. For Thanksgiving I'm going to Des Moines!!! Why? Because I've never been to Iowa. Okay, sort of kidding. Anna is there, so I'm flying to visit her :)
6. Food related excitement (Sort of): on November 7th I'm going to see Anthony Bourdain!!!

I think these are all the major ones for now. Will keep you updated if anything else comes up.

Dinner courtesy of Stacey

Last night I had dinner courtesy of Stacey. No, I wasn't lucky enough to have her cook for me, instead I made two of the recipes she recommended.

Asparagus and Leek Risotto with Prosciutto was my first ever attempt at making risotto and I was really looking forward to it after hearing rave reviews from Stacey and reading reviews from Epicurious. I also decided to give a zillionth chance to making pork chops in hopes that this time they will turn out fork tender (as if!).

Risotto: I cut the recipe in half. Instead of using prosciutto I used thinly sliced Black Hill Ham. I also added sauteed mushrooms. The recipe turned out great even though I had to add more liquid than called for and it definitely took more time. But the flavors were great. I'll definitely try making another risotto in the future.

Pork: pork was another story. Seriously, am I being punished for

being Jewish and cooking and eating pork? The recipe Stacey told me about called for searing pork chops on both sides and then baking them at 300 for 40-60 minutes in a dish filled with some chicken stock and wine and covered with the aluminum foil. I seared the pork. It looked gorgeous. I then decided to cook it for an hour. OMG: it was absolutely dry on the inside, although there was plenty of liquid left in the pan. Maybe I should just leave pork out of my repertoire? Sadness. I might shred the remaining pork chops and slather them with BBQ sauce and have a sort of Sloppy Joe.

If anyone has fool-proof recipes for pork chops (boneless) please let me know. The only time I had success was when I drenched them in egg mixture, coated with crumbled up Doritos and cooked on both sides in a pan. Why mess with a good thing?

Lunch: Zucchini Latkes

Lunch? I know, you are used to descriptions of dinners, but yesterday I took a day off and made lunch (that was not the sole purpose of taking the day off, obviously).

I haven't gone grocery shopping in days and my fridge was showing it. I had a few yellow zucchinis and decided to make zucchini latkes (similar to the potato latkes one makes for Hanukkah).

Ingredients and Directions

1. Grate (I used my beloved food processor) 3-4 small peeled zucchinis (I used yellow, but you can use green or a combination of both) and 1/4 red onion (or yellow or white).
2. Squeeze extra liquid from the above mixture. Add one egg, two heaping spoon-fulls of flour, salt and pepper to taste (you can also add fresh herbs, dried rosemary, whatever else spice/herb you wish or have on hand).
3. Heat oil in a non-stick pan. Form patties and let them fry/saute on both sides for about 2-3 minutes depending on thickness.
4. The typical way my parents used to serve this dish was with sour-cream, but I also added salsa (you know how I'm all about salsa).

Crafts: giant ice-cubes

Over this weekend when I was babysitting L&A, we were watching Simply Delicioso, and on the show she made decorative ice cubes with fresh flowers inside.

L&A and I decided to do the same, but go bigger! We found some wild flowers on our walk and put them in large plastic cups, filled with water, and froze***. The ice cubes turned out really pretty. I guess you could use them in a giant bucket of champagne or soda drinks :)

***Note: to remove the ice cubes, run hot water on the outside of the plastic cup for a few seconds, until you can slip out the cube from the cup.

Fall Weekend

I spent this weekend babysitting L&A. Here are some pictures of the changing leaves. The weather was gorgeous: warm, sunny, blue sky. Enjoy :)

Dinner: a blast from the past

Food not only feeds the body, but also the soul. Okay, this is not going to be super sentimental.

From time to time I like making the dishes my parents made when I was little. Tonight I made a pretty typical Russian dinner, although I doubt many Americans will find it appetizing. Be BRAVE! Give it a chance.

Buckwheat with boiled eggs and "fried" onions

1. Cook buckwheat similar to rice, using 1-2 ratio (1 part buckwheat, 2 parts water). Put dry buckwheat into a bowl and pour cold water over it. Anything that floats to the top: discard. In a pot boil the water, add salt, add buckwheat, bring back to a boil. Turn to low, cover, and cook for about 3o minutes.

2. Boil eggs.

3. Cut and saute a white or yellow onion until the onion pieces are a beautiful golden-brown. This requires patience; if you are not patient and keep the heat on high, the onions will burn and you'll have to start all over.

4. Assemble the dinner: combine cooked buckwheat with cooked onions and peeled and finely cubed boiled eggs. You can add a bit of butter or olive oil. Ajdust for salt and Enjoy. It's really a great comfort dinner.

Dinner: Chili! The comfort food.

As soon as it gets chilly outside, I start craving chili! Jenny was the first one who taught me how to make it, so it makes me think of her too :) And this time I even used celery!

I usually make chili with ground beef or turkey, but this time decided to use cubed meat instead.

Directions: brown cubed meat in a bit of oil. Separately saute diced celery and onions in a big pot. Add a package of chili seasoning and cook for a few more minutes. Add browned meat, 2 drained and rinsed cans of beans (I used black and kidney), 1 drained can of corn and a large 28 oz can of diced tomatoes (with the juices). Bring to a boil, turn to low, cover and simmer for an hour or two :)
I love chili with cornbread, cheese, sourcream, green onions and sometimes a bit of salsa. It's also awesome for leftovers or potluck. You can serve it over rice or with a baked potato.

Enjoy!

Flower Power

Right across from my office, next to Union Station, there is a guy selling flowers, mostly roses, every single day. I doubt it's the same guy that has been there almost 6 years ago, when I started working at BLS, but from time to time Jenny, Laura, Stacey and I would buy flowers from him. I think it used to be $3 for half a doze roses, or maybe even $2.

Since then, the price went up to $4, but it's still a great way to cheer up and to beautify my cubicle.

My family always makes fun of me for asking "did they have another color?" and whenever I buy roses, I'm always looking for variety. I have mentioned several times to the seller that it would be fun to have mixed colors in the bouquet instead of just red or yellow, etc.

Today, the guy had a bouquet with all 6 different colored roses! I decided I needed to support such an endeavour, and bought it!