What a Prego Wears: In a Blizzard

28 weeks!

Sweatshirt: Jcrew

Bibs: Ben’s Carhartts

Hat: Gilt Group –forgot brand, sorry!

Duluth was hit by a blizzard yesterday and I found myself stuck at home for a snow day. It’s been a pretty lame winter here, so the snow was a nice surprise. I can no longer zip up my snow pants, so Ben suggested I wear his Carhartt bibs. I actually have always admired his and even tried on some women’s one last winter, but they give a rather brutal diaper butt on me. Maybe I need to get the men’s version?  Anyway – his bibs did the trick and we spent the afternoon playing in the snow and building this pretty sweet snowman. The thin mints we bought from the neighborhood Girl Scout came in handy for buttons J

Our friends Chris and April came over for dinner. Inspired by Brian Ferry’s candlelight dinner essay in the latest Kinfolk issue, I lit candles at the table. I forgot how much candles set the mood and make things more special. Our dinner was tempeh wraps using the recipe below and they turned out wonderfully.

We used three packs of tempeh and had some leftovers.

Sauce - 1/3 cup soy sauce, 1/3 cup lime juice, 1/3 cup brown sugar and 1 tbsp chili garlic paste. You might need to make more depending on how many packs of tempeh you use. I think we about doubled this for our 3 packs.

Slice tempeh and simmer in water for 15 minutes.

Drain and pour the marinade over it.

Fry it in some canola oil until brown on each side.

Reduce the remaining sauce into a glaze and pour over tempeh.

Serve on flour tortilla with a slaw of shredded purple cabbage, shredded carrots, cilantro, and veganaise and sriracha. Once again we just eyeballed this.

Serve with slices of avocado and lime wedges.

weekend.

yeah...remember when i wrote being sick wasn't so terrible? i regret writing that. i was assuming that i would get better soon so i would still have the weekend to have fun (or at least leave the house). nope. whatever i caught is still haunting me and i hope none of you get it. being sick is a downer. thankfully, i am on the up and up.
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i didn't take many picture of the weekend, but i did manage to take these two of ben's wonderful creation. after listening to Jim Lehey on the Splendid Table (a must listen!) discuss his "revolutionary bread" recipe, ben went and bought a cast iron pot and made the Panne all'Olive bread. it's a no knead recipe that just involves mixing everything in a bowl, letting it sit for 18 hours, and throwing into a cast iron pot to bake. wow. you MUST try it. it is so tasty and i can't wait to toast it and make a sandwich. i don't think we ever have to buy bread again.
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Check back this week. I will be posting some christmas gift ideas. xx

weekend nutshell.

weekend nutshell: eating dinner in a revolving rooftop restaurant (still feeling iffy about this), boardwalk runs, love story, hiking with argos, brunch with shana, genuine kangaroo hide postcard (already in the mail to one of YOU), making my annual autumn stew, and deck beers.


pictures taken by Ben.

easy fish tacos

I've been trying to get more creative in the kitchen lately. Usually Ben is the cook, but I've been trying to make more meals since he's been working a ton lately. I had some frozen white fish in the freezer so I decided to make fish tacos. They were super easy and pretty darn tasty too. It makes a great summer dinner for 2.


What you will need:

-1 large filet (mine was 12"long) of white fish or 1 lbs cod filets thawed and rinsed. If your in Duluth I bought my white fish filet at the coop by the deli freezer for $3! Cut into 2 inch pieces.
-Panko Japanese Bread crumbs
-1 package of flour tortilla (the smaller version)
-shredded red cabbage
-1 ripe avocado sliced
- fresh cilantro
-lime wedges


Sauce:
-1/2 cup plain yogurt
-1/2 cup mayo (I use smart balance)
-1 lime juiced
-1 Jalapeno minced
-1 tsp capers (optional)
-1/2 tsp cumin
-1/2 tsp oregano
-1/2 tsp dill weed
-1 tsp ground cayenne pepper (optional. only use if you like it spicy)


1.) In a medium size bowl combine yogurt and mayo. Add rest of sauce ingredients and mix well. Set aside.

2.) Put some Panko (you can also add whatever spices to this as well) on a plate and place the chunks of fish on it making sure they get covered in the crumbs. Most people will dip the fish in a egg and milk mixture first, but I find water works just fine.

3.) Pour canola oil into frying pan so that the bottom of pan is completely covered and about a 1/2 inch deep.

4.) Place filets on pan and fry each side until done (about 45 sec on each side). Set on paper towels.

5.) Warm tortilla on clean frying pan ( I just throw them on my cast iron for about 15 sec. on each side. Medium heat)


Place a few pieces of fish on tortilla. Add avocado, cabbage, and sauce to liking. Top with cilantro. Serve with lime wedges. ENJOY!

weekend.

What a busy busy weekend. My friend Kelly (cute girl in hat) came up from the cities and stayed with me Thursday night. We caught her up on all the new restaurants in Duluth and checked out our old stomping grounds for lunch Friday. I didn't spend as much time outside as I wanted, but I did get out of the house for some estate sales (scored that table for $8), ran 9 miles (eeep!), and baked this rhubarb tart that I found here. It was SO GOOD. We ate it warm with vanilla ice cream. Thanks Stephanie. It was a real treat and so easy to make! Ben and I were also watching our second favorite pup in the world-Ruby. She's a Vizsla that has known Argos since he was a baby. It was so sweet watching them cuddle and kiss each other.
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This week I'm planning on updating Hello Victory (lots of major finds), and getting things organized before we head to Canada this weekend. Can you believe it's going to be Memorial weekend already? Geeeez.

b fast.

I was able to meet friends Leslie and Taylor for breakfast the other day while in the cities. We went this place called The Grand Cafe and I had THE BEST corned beef hash ever. The place was absolutely darling with antique dishes and vintage paintings that I'm already looking forward to my next visit.
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PS. It's also Leslie's birthday TODAY!! Happy birthday Les!!!

weekend.

aaahh Monday. I must admit I wish it were Sunday still. The weekend went by a little too fast for me and I find myself very tired today. I did a good amount of estate sale shopping, eating out, watching netflix, and making lefse. I had never made lefse before, but Andrea had a little lefse party at her apartment yesterday. I spent 7 hours making that stuff! Of course lots of wine and good company were included. I plan on eating most of it with peanut butter and nutella this week. It was super fun and I am amazed at all the fun folk like tools you need to make it. We used this pretty wood stick that was hand carved with painted flowers on it to lift the batter unto the grill. It was pretty neat.
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How was your weekend? This week I have a lot planned. I am going to a silk dying class Wednesday and I can't wait to share the results with you. Have a good Monday!

weekend.

*First off. I want to thank you all for your sweet comments and emails regarding my insomnia problem. I really appreciate your feedback and I am definitely going to look into finding an evening yoga class or video to do before bed. If you know of any good yoga videos that would be relaxing to do please let me know!

This weekend I felt like a total dude. I actually went ice fishing yesterday AND watched a WHOLE football game. Yup. I know. It was a total blast. Ben, Hasty, and I bundled up and went ice fishing for a few hours yesterday during the snow storm. I didn't catch anything, but it was still fun drinking cheap beer and being cozy in the ice house. Last night we watched the Vikings game. I think it was the first football game I have ever watched beginning to end and will probably be my last. It gave me too much anxiety and I began to channel my dad's crazy sports induced outbursts.

I also took up smoking. Not really. Just the 29 cent variety that consists of sugar and high fructose corn syrup. Ben surprised me with a few packs. I think I like the "round ups" the best. Shana if your reading this, you and Tim should start selling these at the theater!

For you Duluthians: have you checked out all the amazing new restaurants we have? Ben and I checked out the Duluth Grill and it was so tasty. I ordered the buffalo tofu melt and it was delightful. Check it out.
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I hope you had a great weekend!

crab + weekend

On Friday we had a big crab dinner at our house. Andrea planned the whole thing and Ben and I hosted it. I never knew how easy it was to make! You pretty much just boil the legs for around 4 minutes and they're done. We had so much fun! I covered the table with newspaper and we gobbled up tons of crab legs and mashed potato's (and of course ramekins of melted butter). Besides for the crab, Ben and I made SO MUCH FOOD this weekend. Homemade pizzas, asparagus tarts, and homemade garlic cheesy bread. I'm getting use to this not eating out idea.

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How was your weekend? Other than eating tons of food (because clearly it looks like that's a priority in my life...) Ben and I went for a long hike, checked out an estate sale, and saw the movie 2012. BOO HISS. It was so long and cheesy. I kind of knew it was going to be but didn't think it would be that bad. It was. Tomorrow I am planning on going to the Banff Film Festival. That should cleanse myself of bad movie syndrome.

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I can't believe Thanksgiving is on Thursday! I'm heading to Minneapolis to celebrate it with my sister and brother. I plan on making about 8 pounds of chex mix (Ben is king of the chex mix) for the occasion and I may just have to partake in some vino (it is a special occasion, no?)

food.

{vegan creamy butternut squash soup}
{butternut squash ravioli (before cooked)}
{ravioli with homemade tomato sauce (sorry for the blurry pic)}
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Since I'm not eating out for the month Ben and I have been making some awesome meals. Well, at least Ben has :) He's a pretty amazing cook and sometimes I help out. He's been on a vegan cooking streak lately and made creamy butternut squash soup and ravioli. The soup was so rich tasting I would have never thought it was vegan. When I came home last night from salsa lessons* he was in the midst of making homemade butternut squash ravioli (also vegan since we had no eggs). I always thought pasta would be difficult to make, but it wasn't too bad and it was delicious. Ben assigned me the task of making the sauce which was SO EASY and tasty. If you can take away anything from this post, take this sauce recipe. Anyone can do it.

Creamy Butternut Squash Soup:

Ingredients:

2 large butternut squash (12 cups cubed)

3 large organic red potatoes (6 cups cubed)

1 large onion diced

6 cups veggie stock (simmering on stove in LARGE pot)

2 T canola oil

4 T of vegan butter

4 cups of unsweetened soymilk

fresh lemon juice

S & P

1t tarragon

pinch of nutmeg

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Heat oil in a large pot and saute onion on medium until soft

add potatoes and squash, stir cover.

Lower heat and cook until they "sweat" (15 min)

Stir in stock and seasonings, boil

Reduce heat and simmer uncovered till all vegetables are tender

Let it cool half way

Use and immersion blender to blend soup then add soymilk and lemon juice.

Done! Eat with yummy bread

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EASY Tomato Sauce:

7 organic tomato's, halved, seeded, and cubed

4 garlic cloves

1.5 T of sugar

1 T of salt

Red pepper flakes (I used about a tablespoon and it was medium)

2 T olive oil

** you can change the amount of everything depending on how much sauce you want to make. This recipe made about 2.5 cups.

Directions:

Throw everything into a blender and blend smooth

Put sauce in in pan and simmer for half an hour. DONE!

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**I got talked into salsa lessons last night by my friend Walter. I was kind of dreading it, but it was actually quite fun!

Prosciutto and Fig

Last week Leslie came into town and we went to the new Zeigeist Arts Cafe for a quick dinner. We shared the prosciutto and fig sandwich which was so tasty. Both salty and sweet. Ben and I decided to make our own version this last Saturday before pumpkin carving. It was quite easy and I wanted to share the results. You need these ingredients:

1 french baguette sliced
8 slices of prosciutto
fig spread (I found ours in the deli section)
danish blue cheese
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-Fry the prosciutto slices for a few minutes with some oil until the ends get a little crispy and set on paper towels.
-spread the fig on one side of the sliced baguette and blue cheese (just a little-its strong!) on the other.
-add the prosciutto and press the sliced bread together to form a sandwich.
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Another thing you can make for a quick snack or app (via Leslie) would be to put fig spread on some baguette slices and top with Mache and honey. Easy, vegetarian, and yummy.

weekend.

This weekend was just what I needed. Ben was gone and I tackled chores around the house. I cleaned out all the closets, organized my etsy station, cleaned out my photo room, washed all the floors, cleaned out the fridge, and cleared out 4 boxes for goodwill. It felt good. I only left the house a few times. Its always nice to have one of those weekends to turn music on as loud as you want, stay in your pajamas, not shower, and clean. I did manage to watch 6 movies on netflix during the evenings..... that may be a good or bad thing depending on how you look at it. I like to think I would have gone out and spent money on foods and drinks if I didn't have a million movies to watch at my fingertips :) Yesterday I made harvest stew which I have made the last 3 years. Its perfect for this time of year and so darn yummy. The recipe is easy and simple. I suggest you make it while apples are in their peak right now!

Ingredients:

4 medium carrots sliced

2 stalks celery sliced

1 red onion sliced

4 regular sized potato's sliced (I was thinking sweet potato's might be tasty too)

2lbs of chicken breast cubed (or not if you want to make it veg)

3 medium sized apples peeled and cut up

1 cup of dried cherries

2 cups real apple cider

3 cups chicken stock (or vegetable if you want to make it veg)

olive oil

1 tsp thyme

1 tsp caraway seeds

bay leaf

S & P

This year I used a crockpot for the first time and it was even easier to make. I just browned the chicken and threw everything in the pot on high for 6 hours. That easy. Otherwise you can you use the old school method:

Take the cubed chicken and start browning it with some olive oil and s&p in a pan. Once its mostly cooked and a browned set aside. While this is going on start cooking the carrots, celery, onion, and potato's with some olive oil in a big stock/soup pan. Once they start getting a little soft sprinkle with s&p, thyme, and caraway seeds. Add bay leaf, cubed chicken, chicken stock and cider until it covers everything. Let it simmer until potato's are just about done and all vegetables are cooked but not mushy. Once everything looks almost done add apples and cherries. Let it simmer another 5 minutes or so. Discard bay leaf, and its ready!

I usually like to buy some crusty french bread, and put a slice in a bowl then put the stew over that. Its even better the next day.

small talk

Leslie just e-mailed me some pictures from last weekends funness. It was an ideal autumn day in Duluth. Sunny, a mild breeze, and a good trail to hike along a rushing river. Lunch made the day even better....Have I ever mentioned my love for Danish blue cheese? Combine this with walnuts, a brown butter maple sauce, figs, and baguette. Its pretty much heaven on a plate. I live at the Scenic Cafe when this is on the menu (for a mere 2 months).

My other new addiction? Netflix! I know, I know. Your wondering why, just today, I'm excited for something every other person has already been using the last 2 years. Ben and I finally took the plunge after our favorite movie rental store went out a biz (And yes-I realize the irony and reasoning behind this). We really wanted to support the small guy as long as we could, but now that they are gone we signed up last night and spent 3 hours of our evening watching Dexter (for free yo). Of course I feel a little guilty I am indulging in the very thing that probably made our local movie store close, but they didn't even have the movie BIG the last time I went there! All they started carrying was new releases. I'm so excited to have all these foreign and independent movies at my fingertips! Have an recommendations?

kauai

Its hard to believe I was on a tropical island just days ago. Kauai was definitely one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited. I've been to other islands of Hawaii- both O'ahu and Maui, but there was something magical about Kauai ( it is Puff the Magic Dragon's home base ya know?). Ben and I had so much fun just laying on the beach, eating at the locals favorite spots, surfing (Ben), drinking mai tai's (me), sailing, and people watching. It was a badly needed vacation (especially for him), and nothing feels better than spending time with the love of your life on an island. Lucky for us, we have a pretty good time together even with 20 inches of snow on the ground and frozen snot on our faces :) {Ben ran a half marathon the third day we were there. He did quite well considering the first 8 miles were up huge hills!}
{The second day we were there, we took a 5 hour catamaran out along the Napali coast. This can only be seen by foot, water, or plane. It was absolutely gorgeous and breathtaking. We also snorkeled on this tour and had some close encounters with spinner dolphins!}

{We took advantage of all the fresh fish and tried many tasty things like fresh Ahi, fish tacos, garlic shrimp, sushi, mahi mahi, and bags of nori rice crackers.

{We bought some fresh ahi and grilled it up one night with some white and brown rice. It was one of the best meals we had while there}

{One of the gardens on the farm we stayed at}

{For three nights we stayed at North Country Farms. An organic fruit and vegetable farm that rents out a cottage right on the property. Its owned by the nicest family and we were encouraged to pick all the fruits and vegetables we wanted! I would love to come back and stay here again. The cottage was so charming and had a kitchen so we could prepare some of our own meals like the one above}

{We spent an afternoon visiting a botanical garden near our cottage. It was filled with Koi ponds, mazes!, and all sorts of trees and exotic plants. This orchid was growing right out of tree!}

I wish I had more pictures to share, but we didn't bring the camera along much. If you ever decide to go to Hawaii I highly recommend Kauai. Especially the north shore (around Hanalei) where its more rural and very lush.

saturday lunch.

When Ben and I spent a summer in Europe a few years back we had the most delicious sandwich at the airport in Greece of all places. It was a large baguette smothered in tapenade and topped with feta and cucumber. I decided to honor our Greek adventure and make a similar sandwich for lunch yesterday. I blended some kalamata olives and roasted tomatoes and spread it over a bolillo bun (Mexican bread that similar to a French Baguette). I then put layers of sliced cucumber and chunks of feta. Done! It was so easy and good.

farmers market

ben made the most delicious lunch for me on Friday.

he's an excellent cook.

the kind that can look into an empty fridge or cupboard and make a fantastic meal out of nothing.

(grilled portable sandwich with corn and brussel sprouts)

it was yummy

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He also bought a bag full of fresh produce from the farmers market

everything was picture perfect and tasty.

the oyster mushrooms were bought from my friend Savannah,

who we recently started a fungi farm!

I would love to go visit it this summer....