Last weekend I took a short trip to the beach, and Penzey's!

Ancho Chili, Peppercorns, French Tarragon, and Berbere seasoning (free if you have the brochure coupon)

I've used the Ancho on mango with a squeeze of lime for dessert. Very refreshing.

I took out a pile of interesting reads when I went to pick up Tim Gunn's book.   'As Always, Julia' is ~so~ good, and  'At Home with Magnolia' (want to make the buttermilk nectarine cake!)

what's cookin, good lookin?

Are you looking for a new, spring smoothie?
I have been making this one, and it is tasty and soothing to a troubled tummy.

~~green ginger-peach smoothie~~

Full disclosure, the last time I made one, I couldn't figure out why it didn't taste as amazing as the time before.  Substituting mango chunks for peach slices shouldn't make that much of a difference, I said to myself.  The smoothie had an utter lack of taste, save for the ginger's heat.  After blending up the green mess (I'll add a bit more of THIS and THAT to give it something)... I realized my mistake...
I had thrown frozen butternut squash chunks in haphazardly, not mango.  D'oh!  So, don't do that.

Next food topic!
 I hit the 'Heirloom LA' food truck. Such a good life decision. The sage & squash agnolotti were so good, I shut my eyes to eat them.

dessert first- fritters with chocolate sauce

Arancini

Agnolotti

And, this is a salad I made from garden grown frisee (a gift), with some quick and easy salmon cakes-
(1 can salmon, 1 egg, small handful crushed potato chips, spoon of mayonnaise, big tsp old bay, pepper & tapatio to taste, fried in a medium hot, buttered pan until golden brown and toasty.)

What are you cooking up?

Spring

Hi!

I took a peek at some of my favorite blogs, and I found ~this post~ at the fabled needle. I'm going to get that Tim Gunn book! I liked reading about her color palette, so I did some investigating to determine what 'season' I am.

This site was helpful in breaking the color seasons down more specifically- pretty your world.

After determining that I am a 'Soft Autumn', I happened upon this blogger's pretty palette choices- the red lipstick. So pretty, right?  This makes sense regarding what works on me, too. 

This is how I interpreted an outfit:

soft autumn color palette by byitscover 

Yes! Yes to olives, salmon pinks, and aubergines for me! Even 'camel' is a color I should be able to wear well, which may explain why I have 4 camel sweaters. It can explain why olive tends to look better on me than I expect it to (compared to a perfect, Caribbean blue or mint green, olive doesn't catch my eye and make me swoon).  I will appreciate you more, olive!

And speaking of color, I have been in love with spring colors this year. I realize as I say this that I have fallen into modern trappings of being in 'love' with very silly things.

This article in the NY Times a few weeks ago dissected the overuse of the word 'obsessed', and even traces when the word 'love' started being used to express emotion towards objects and ideas, rather than solely towards people.
excerpt
 “In the late 1800s, there was an increase in young women of using the word ‘love’ for things that were not romantic love.” Ms. McKean cited a passage from the book “Anne of the Island” (1915), in which an older woman takes Anne to task for declaring her love for a cottage: “ ‘The girls nowadays indulge in such exaggerated statements that one never can tell what they DO mean. It wasn’t so in my young days. THEN a girl did not say she LOVED turnips, in just the same tone as she might have said she loved her mother or her Savior.’ ”
By TEDDY WAYNE
Published: March 22, 2013


Which is all to say, I have been painting my nails pastel colors. And hot pink, too, because, of course.

Maybelline's Color Show Pinkalicious

 Essie's Turquoise and Caicos

 Ulta's 'Vintage Violet'

What color palette are you?  What spring colors have you been incorporating into your wardrobe?

November...

How did that *airquotes* happen?

I still wish it were summer (stone fruits, red checked flannel picnic blankets, an imaginary lake to canoe in...)

But, I have been celebrating autumn in the best ways, like listening to The Raven, read by James Earl Jones,

and eating lots of Homemade Pumpkin Donuts!

(and lots of Halloween Oreos)





and, wearing lots of costumes.  I helped make my friend's Totoro belly!

I will say that I cannot be too sad for the season changing, because it sort of changes back every 3 days.  This is the gazpacho I made when it got so hot again that I thought my eyelids would melt off:

from Nigella's recipe

Are you enjoying the season change? Are you happy for the time change?  I am looking forward to it, especially since I still haven't changed my car clock back from the Vernal Equinox-eep!

The above is what's happening now, as summer officially begins.  We act cute on the bed, and buy pink peonies that pop the next day.  (Not so) lil fluffers naps while I read bits from:  My Only Wife -so poetic! it's so good. And, Home, Julie Andrews autobiography. I guess we say 'memoir' now?


I made my first pie of the summer, with: nectarine, cherry, blueberry and raspberry. It was ok, but next time- JUST peaches, I think. 

Have you been watching this season of Masterchef?  Gawly, it sucks me in but makes me never want to cook, it's so anxiety inducing.  You've never cooked a risotto? You might as well have leprosy.

I have decided to learn a bit about wine this summer, mostly white.  A new wine shop opened nearby, with French and sparkling sections, among other well organized shelves. This was my first purchase, and I'm trying to keep a diary about my adventures.  I'd say this reminds me of very early summer, or a quiet place by a little river. I took my time in drinking it and found it 'drinkable' and enjoyable.  And, this was my little throw together pasta with basil and peas and Parmesan.

I reorganized my work station and got some fabric cut.  So pretty, sigh.

Did I tell you about this?  It's the street lamp installation at LACMA. They were still up when I went to the California Design exhibit California Design, 1930–1965: "Living in a Modern Way. 

It was really cool. Really cool.

As much as I like vintage and retro and Mad Men etc, I'm a late comer to the mid century appreciation party.  I not only 'appreciate' the aesthetic more fully, but I feel proud to live in the state that was a center of innovative, laid back yet purposeful design.

Also, I want this book, but I probably couldn't make the projects in it.

s'more bars and other treats

 

So, I made some 'S'mores' bars.

~recipe and very clear instruction~

Another lesson in paying close attention before starting a recipe...*le sigh*

I doubled the recipe, and got two aluminum pans at the store. 

I thought I was getting the right chocolate bars when I purchased regular old Hershey bars, but she does indicate that the LARGE Hershey bars should be used.  I think mine turned out fine, but they were not as ooey gooey as her photo shows.

As you can see, there is an *appropriate* amount of chocolate in the cut bars. 

No shenanigans.

Also, I used mini marshmallows. I will double the amount next time, but using those over the fluff felt really easy and I'll do it again, I tell ya!

******

I got this 'AVOCA Tea Time' book for Christmas. I love it; the treats are pretty and lovely and Englishy. The recipes are by grams.  More maths. That's fine.

So, I made a sponge.

With whipped cream.

And raspberry jam.

And flowers (but not chamomile, like the photo. Next time!)

A proper sponge, apparently, is just eggs, sugar, and flour.

Who knew!?

My question is, do Brits keep self-rising flour in their cupboards? Maybe that explains the lack of leavening?  Or, maybe it just depends on the eggs?

 

                                                                            TTFN!!