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.

asparagus tart

As I mentioned in my previous post. Ben and I made a lot of a food over the weekend. My friend Grace bought me Kitchen Seasons by Ross Dobson for my birthday, and it is one the best cookbooks ever! All the recipes are easy, unique, and sorted by whats' best for the season your in. Asparagus season has passed, but I thought I would try to make this tart anyway since I had 2 bundles of asparagus I forgot to make for the crab dinner. It was so yummy! Ingredients:
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2 x 12-oz ready rolled puffed pastry (defrosted)
1 egg lightly beaten and mixed with 2 tsp water
2 T butter
2 T light olive oil
2 bunches of asparagus trimmed
5 oz. soft goat cheese
sea salt and black pepper
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Directions:
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-Preheat oven to 425 and line 2 baking sheets with baking paper

-cut the pastry to make 2 rectangles and place each one on a baking sheet.

-cut 1/2 inch wide strips around each rectangle and place the strips back along the border of the rectangles to form a border.

-prick the center of each pastry with a fork and brush the beaten egg all over both.

-cook in a preheated oven for 15 minutes or until puffed and pale golden.

*Meanwhile*
- Saute the asparagus with the oil and butter on high heat in a pan turning often until they start to soften

-season well with sea salt and pepper and set aside

-crumble goat cheese on pastry staying within borders and top with asparagus

-put back in oven for 10 minutes until dark golden.

SERVE!

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.

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.

A taste of "healthy" heaven

I'm not going to lie, I have weak spot of the egg McMuffin. Don't get me wrong though, I think fast food is terrible for the human race, but maybe once or twice I year (usually if I have been out late) I'll get an egg McMuffin and it tastes like heaven. In my defense, Saveur magazine did an article on this breakfast sandwich not too long in honor of the man who invented it, Herb Peterson. Even the editor at Saveur admitted to its deliciousness. Ben and I decided to make our own "healthy" version of these last night along with a new potato salad we had never tried. The result was heavenly. We decided to use whole wheat English muffins, and VEGETARIAN "fake" ham as meat substitute in the sandwich. I was a little hesitant, but I thought it was pretty tasty. Anyway, here are the recipes: Vegetarian (octo) Egg McMuffin Serving 4
ingredients:
4 Whole wheat English muffins
4 eggs
2 tbs olive oil
4 slices of vegetarian "meat" ham
4 slices of sharp cheddar

1.)Start toasting the muffins in toaster. Heat oven to 350
2.)while they are toasting heat up oil in skillet, once hot add veg ham & cook till ends get crispy. Flip if needed.
3.)Remove "meat" once done and place on paper towel. Using existing oil, add four eggs to pan and cook sunny side up.
4.) While eggs are cooking place a "meat" slice on each muffin.
5.) remove eggs with spatula and place one egg on each muffin. Add cheese on top of egg.
6.) Now that you have the sandwich built you can stick it in the oven until the cheese begins to melt or fry it like a grilled cheese in a pan. and your DONE! Easy peasy.

Purple Potatoes and Snap Peas (we found this on the bag. So good!)
Ingredients:
1lb of Petite purple potatoes rinsed
1/2 lb of sugar snap peas, trimmed and washed
1/4 cup of feta cheese crumbles
4 tsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbs olive oil
10 fresh mint leaves slices small

1.)Cover potatoes in a medium saucepan with cold salted water by 1 inch and simmer until tender (15 min)
2.)Use a slotted spoon and take cooked potatoes out to cool. Keep water in pot and add snap peas. Boil water and blanch peas for one minute. Remove and drain. Run cold water over them. Pat dry.
3.) Cut potatoes into quarters.
4.) Throw all ingredients into a big bowl and toss. Done!