It’s nearly 50 here today, which has me giddy with visions of spring. I’m feeling inspired on a lot of levels this week. My aunt and I are so taken with 3191 that we’ve begun to exchange photos each day. At first, it was daunting – what would I photograph? Would I like it? Was it worth it? And now, six days into it, I’m “seeing” so much more … noticing things I would have ignored, or taken for granted. It’s been a lot of fun. (above is one of yesterday’s shots) I’ve added some of the shots to my Flickr account, so if you care to follow along on my journey, please do.
Here are some of my favorites from fellow Flickr-ers this week, without comments:
- the unfinished mind
- Fog in the park
- simply breakfast: day two
- Library Letterpress Wedding invite #3
- bring on the purple!
Hope that your weekend is filled with bliss. Don’t forget Daylight Savings Time! See you Monday.
Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. How can you go wrong with coffee, scones, muffins, oatmeal, bacon …..? Trying to redeem myself for serving up more than my fair share of PopTarts, I have been making oatmeal with an assortment of fresh berries for my son each morning. The photo above is from this week’s haul – strawberries were on sale.
If you truly want breakfast inspiration, check out photobird/Jen’s new photo blog, simply breakfast. Her breakfast photos are so elegant and inspiring. My next breakfast overhaul will be to incorporate variety. Blueberry muffins sound like a good place to start ….
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Spring cleaning is therapeutic, and yet, at the same time, a burden. The obsessive-compulsive in me happily makes a list of the tasks, and crosses them off, s l o w l y. Ah, the excitement of cleaning baseboards and shutters! More fun is bottle reduction, where I try to pare down my routine to the essentials, and then manage that elite group. Ha. Between lipgloss and hair care products, I’ll never get there. Committing to a shampoo/conditioner could be the impossible dream, and don’t even get me started on the samples you can acquire just trying to restock! Exhibit A: my medicine chest. (It’s actually “our” medicine chest, but good luck finding anything of my husband’s in there.) If I had achieved bottle perfection, this would be an interesting photo; instead, it’s a panoply of skin and hair-care. Latest additions? Bobbi Brown eye brightenere and the Phyto7. In search of? the perfect eye cream. Finally used up? Cargo sample-size tin of lip gloss. Dead man walking? Trish McEvoy rose lipgloss. Your days are numbered, half-used gloss. Wish me luck.
To be continued ….
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It is s-n-o-w-i-n-g outside again, but I’m ignoring it – I refuse to reward bad behavior with attention! Instead, let’s talk about my newest love: pots de creme. Officially, the obsession started when I had one for dessert at 39 Rue de Jean in Charleston (you should go if/when you’re there). When we got home, I googled recipe options, and sifted through my cookbooks (which are purchased primarily for the photography, but in this case it paid off!). I found an easy version in a Susan Branch cookbook. (yummy recipes + gorgeous illustrations) For round #1, I included the rum; for round #2, I left it out. I preferred #2 (see photo above) Any suggestions for round #3?
The recipe:
3/4 cup whole milk (but I’ve been using 2%)
6 oz semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 large egg
2 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
pinch of salt
3 tbsp. rum
Heat milk slowly; just to boiling point. Put all other ingredients except rum into blender or food processor. Slowly add milk and blend for 30 seconds. Add rum and blend for an additional minute. Pour into ramekins and chill until set; top wiht whipped cream for serving. Delicious!
Further confessions of the lazy: for round #1, I chopped the chocolate first, and then put it in the blender. FOr round #2, I just threw the chocolate discs in whole, and let the blender do its thing. I used Guittard chocolate, purchased at Williams Sonoma, but I think I’ll try other brands to compare as I continue to experiment.
Enjoy!
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Today’s bakery is a place I’ve never been, but I know I would love it. It’s Foster’s Market, with locations in Durham and Chapel Hill, NC. Someday, I’m going to go (to either location), and sit down for a cup of coffee and a nice slab of NY Style Crumbcake with lots of crumbs And I would return for lunch, of course …. Until I get to NC, though, I’ll have to satisfy myself with the latest Foster’s Market book, Sara Foster’s Casual Cooking. It sounds like cooking that I could handle – namely, easy to throw together + healthy meals. Who wouldn’t like that? The book will be released tomorrow, but until then you can have lots of fun perusing the Foster’s Market website, or Sara Foster’s blog. The photos alone are making me hungry!
image from clarkson potter
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