Picnic Ready!

St. Louisans know that we have very small windows in between our cold, slushy winters and our too-hot, too-humid summers. These small windows of spring and fall? Oh my, do I love them! Matthew resides in the same boat as me, so whenever the weather approaches mild we go into "picnic mode".

"Picnic Mode" is not some passing fancy of oh, let's try to have a picnic next weekend. It is a full on attack of every park within walking distance of our home. In doing so, we tend to race against the clock once we get home from work--especially in autumn when the sun starts setting early. Over the years, I've found a few easy ways to maximize our post-work-picnic-potential. The common thread throughout is to keep things easy and to keep things ready.

Food and Beverages:

• Glass bottles of water in the fridge (when you get home, fill 'em back up and pop 'em back in the fridge)
• If we know the weather report for the coming week is good, I’ll make a big batch of something that lasts for several days in the fridge. Think salad: pasta salad, chopped salad, chicken salad, chickpea salad, or bean salad/salsa (like this or this). If I am really on the ball, I will divide it into smaller portioned tupperware. Note: in the photo above, I was not on the ball but just grabbed the whole bowl and carried it to the park!
• Generally speaking, our fridge is always stocked with chopped veggies, hummus, dressings, and cheese (don't forget to grab some crackers from the pantry). Throw any of these into your cooler and blammo! instant picnic fare. I'll pair some combination of these foods with a more substantial dish (see above) and call it done.

Getting Around:
I have a lightweight insulated tote bag that is perfect for quick picnics. You can find these almost everywhere (Target, Walmart, Amazon, BB&B, and the like). I keep it regularly stocked with the following.

• Disposable forks, knives, and spoons
• Bottle opener with cork screw (you never know when you might opt for some wine/beer!)
• Paper plates and napkins
• Bug Spray
• Wet wipes/hand sanitizer
• Little cutting board & knife (for cheese)

So when we get home from work, I grab the grub and toss everything into my bag. If there happens to be some extra room, I might throw in a freezer pack to keep everything chilled. And that's it. We sail out the door to enjoy some lovely scenery and each other's company. It's really one of my favorite things that to do with Matthew; I can't think of a better way to decompress from the workday! So as fall approaches (we are currently having a heatwave in St. Louis) get yourself ready to relish it with just a little bit of organization.

 

 

Eat: Berry Galette

The birthday of a grown-up can often be...underwhelming. The odds are that you're working that day, which most likely means that the majority of it will be hum drum. You go about your business, maybe treat yourself to a candy bar from the vending machine, and hope have a nice dinner that night. In an effort to combat this regular-day-syndrome, Matt and I have a lovely tradition of Birthday Breakfast. It is a relatively low key affair: the birthday boy or girl gets a special breakfast complete with candles and a solo serenade of "Happy Birthday". It makes for a surprisingly awesome morning and puts both of us in a great mood for the day.

This year, to mark Matthew's birthday I made a beautiful galette with strawberries and blueberries along with a side of greek yogurt. Galette is a generic French term for flat, round, and flaky pastries. As with many of my breakfast dishes, you can switch this up with whatever mix of fruit you prefer. On the 4th of July I made it with blueberries and raspberries. This dish is a quick snap to make, especially if you use a pre-made pie crust. It presents and tastes like a pie but is much healthier  because it doesn't have a syrup loaded with refined sugar. The fruit naturally creates a syrup when mixed with cornstarch. We were both crazy about this dish and I immediately added it to my regular-rotation-recipe stash.

Berry Galette

1 pie crust dough, homemade or store-bought (thaw ahead of time)
2-3 cups of mixed berries
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp cornstarch
Egg, beaten

Preheat the oven to 400 °F.

Roll out the pie crust flat onto a greased (or parchment paper-lined) baking sheet. In a large bowl, mix together the fruit, cinnamon, and cornstarch.

Spoon the mixture onto the center of the pie crust leaving about a 2-inch border of dough. Gently fold the edges of the dough over the filling.

Brush the top edges of the dough with a beaten egg. If desired, sprinkle with a bit cinnamon and sugar. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. Let it cool on the pan for a couple minutes before cutting.

If serving for breakfast, include a few scoops of yogurt on the side. For dessert, this pairs nicely with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

Birthday Weekend Whirlwind!

When it rains, it pours!

In this case, though, the rain is good. The rain happens to be fun celebrations for Matthew's birthday. Last Friday marked his 28th year and boy oh boy did we squeeze all the festive juice out of the occasion! It was a crazy few days but I managed enjoy each moment and not get stressed over just how many moments we were zipping to and from (something I've been known to do in the past).

Friday Morning
We kicked off Friday morning with our traditional Birthday Breakfast — more on that in a later post!

Friday Night
After work, we finished out the day at the Missouri Botanical Gardens. They just so happened to be hosting a Members' Night (and yes, we are members) with live music. Lord knows we love a good picnic, so we took in the scenery and big band music while chomping on some curried chicken salad, cheese, and wine!

Saturday Morning
Bright and early Saturday morning, we  went out to breakfast thanks to an it's-your-birthday-have-breakfast-on-us coupon that was set to expire. We simply could not turn down a perfectly good buy-one-get-one breakfast opportunity; it was a nice way to start the day.

Frittata with spinach, roasted tomatoes, goat cheese, and sausage. Delicious!

So composed!

Saturday Afternoon
After breakfast we got preparations underway for a potluck barbecue with our friends. It was such a wonderful time that I wish we could host a big picnic every Saturday! We had some very strange weather (ranging from hot sunshine and humidity to dark clouds and rumbling thunder) but our friends are so laid back that not even the threat of rain could phase them!

Later this week, I'm excited to share some easy tips for planning an inexpensive party. As much as I love party-planning, I also love saving money!

The wind kept assisting Matt in blowing out the candles.

 

Saturday Night

So did we rest after this gathering? Of course not! Matt's sister (and her husband/children) happened to be in town this weekend, so we cleaned up everything and swiftly headed out to West County for a family dinner of Dewey's Pizza. I highly recommend their Socrates' Revenge. It ended up being a relaxing evening of chatting, grazing the kitchen, and watching the kids play monopoly. Man, are they crazy about that game! Couldn't get enough of it! Technically, the adults were "playing" with them, but we just rolled the dice passively while they ran the board. What can I say? It had been a long day.

This reads " If you want to play Monopoly, find Lucas!"

Sunday
By late Saturday night, the past few days of busy-ness (coupled with multiple nights of poor sleep) had caught up with me. So as we were getting into bed, I announced that the odds of me getting up early the next morning for church were minuscule. I woke up on Sunday to Matthew making me breakfast as a sweet thank-you for my recent efforts. The rest of the morning was the usual practicalities and chores, then off I went spend the remainder of the day working an extra shift at the library. And yes, I regretted taking that shift!

Monday
So here we are on Monday morning, back at work and back to normal—but wait, there's more! Tonight we are driving out to my parents' house for our final birthday fête with my family.

The best part about all of this is Matthew. The entire weekend he wore a smile, sometimes small and subtle but often a full-out grin. Always being thoughtful, appreciative, and complimentary of everyone's attention and effort. It is so easy to celebrate such a great guy!

The end.

Eat: Father's Day Cilantro Lime Chicken

Yesterday, we hosted a casual Father's Day lunch at my house. Everyone pitched in, so we enjoyed a quite a large spread of Mexican-style fare. We are a clan of varied tastes, so I opted for two different entrees – one for the picky eaters and another for the more adventurous. I also made not one but two cakes! Both desserts were big hits that I'm excited to share in upcoming posts. The day was filled with the usual hectic energy of bigger family gatherings. Fortunately, the weather was nice so we were able to burn some calories outside. My favorite part of the day was the entire group walking together to a nearby park where we played around until dessert time. Matt and I go there at least once a week during the warmer seasons, so we were glad to share it with the family.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Myself, my dad, and my sister!

For the traditional half of the crowd, we had regular ground beef tacos with homemade seasoning. I highly recommend making your own taco seasoning. Not only do you avoid the artificial and processed "extras" found in many of the store-bought mixes but you also get to experiment to find just the right seasoning blend for your family's preferences. You can find countless examples online. The other dish I made is one of my absolute favorite slow cooker recipes: Cilantro Lime Chicken with Black Beans and Corn. I have made this more often than any other dinner recipe in my arsenal. I originally got it from Mama & Baby Love, which offers tons of other healthy dishes worth trying. Aside from being flavorful, it is a simple recipe with quick and easy preparation. I also love that it has black beans and corn in it, adding a bit more substance to the dish.

Cilantro Lime Chicken with Black Beans and Corn
Serve 6

1.5 lbs chicken breasts
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
Juice of 1 lime
1 cup fresh cilantro OR several hearty dashes of dried
1 (15oz) can of corn, drained
2 tablespoons of garlic, minced
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 can of black beans, rinsed
2 teaspoons ground cumin
Salt/Pepper, to taste

Combine ingredients in a slow cooker and cook on LOW 8 hours or HIGH 4 hours. Prior to serving, remove the chicken, shred it, then stir it back into the slow cooker blend. Add some additional cumin, salt, pepper, and lime juice to taste.

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I hope you all had a great Father's Day!

Go: Eat Out In Canada

Hello there!

I am sorry that my posting has been incredibly inconsistent the last couple of months. While I love gathering and executing recipes and crafts, I have found myself lately lacking the energy and/or motivation to write about them. I've also been assessing my overall vision for Making a Living. This mixed with a busy season full of major home projects and travel has resulted in very few blog posts. If you are a regular reader of mine, I apologize. I promise to make it up to you with a bunch of great posts I have coming along!

As I said, we've done a bit of traveling over the past few months including a very recent trip to Montreal and Toronto. It was us versus the rain most days, but overall it was a great vacation! A friend of mine asked what my favorite part of our trip was. I thought about it for a few seconds and confidently replied: The Food. Oh man! Montreal and Toronto both offered such a wide variety of restaurants, bakeries, and cafés! We always strive to eat well on vacation, but neither Matt nor I remember enjoying our meals nearly as much on previous trips.

Since food is one of the cornerstones of Making a Living, I think it would be appropriate to share some of our culinary exploits while across the border. I've included links below and highly recommend all of these restaurants. I may also try my hand at recreating some of these dishes. Enjoy!

Montreal

Le Givres
This was our very first night in Montreal and decided to start the vacation with a bang! By "bang", I mean a giant dessert for dinner. We ordered the "Dégustation pour Deux" which translates into Tasting for Two. Not only was this delicious, it felt positively decadent; I only wish would could have savored it more slowly--but ice cream does melt rather quickly.

It featured a mini "campfire" of pastry sticks, brownie bites topped with caramelized brown sugar, ice cream, and whipped cream; A big roasted homemade marshmallow; Organic bananas with chocolate ice cream & a brownie; Coffee ice cream with whipped cream and waffle cone; Poached pears with vanilla ice cream, spice cake, and caramelized ginger; Mini eclairs with pistachio ice cream and praline ice cream. I suggested we eat this for dinner every night in Montreal!

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La Crêperie du Marché
We ended our second day by roaming the Jean Talon Market, a large covered market selling everything you can think of, from meat and fish to honey and lavender. It was tough to decide from which booth we would get dinner, but La Crêperie du Marché won. I was surprised by how different the crepes looked from what we would usually find back home, their dark brown crispy exterior and square shape. Matthew went the semi-sweet route with melted apples, torchon ham, swiss cheese, and maple syrup. I opted for straight-up savory with asparagus, béchamel sauce, swiss cheese, torchon ham. A choir happened to set up shop next to our table, so we enjoyed some lovely choral music while eating!

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Arepera

This Venezuelan restaurant is a top contender for our favorite. It is a small space with brightly colored walls, warm atmosphere, and low lighting--hence the dark photo above. Arepas are flatbread sandwiches with a texture similar to english muffins. I decided to be extra adventurous and tried the smoked shark with plantains. I would compare the flavor to lobster (lightly sweet but still fishy). Matthew went with the spicy pulled pork and a sauce hot enough to make his eyes water. We also shared cassavas chips with a delicious avocado sauce. Cassava is a starchy tuberous root of a tropical tree--and tasty when fried!

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Premier Moisson

After a long day of walking and burning calories, we treated ourselves to some fancy french pastries. It took a long time to actually find this bakery, but it was well worth the search! Matthew ordered crème brûlée and I got the pain au chocolat aux amandes (or chocolate pastry with almonds).This is one dish I will definitely try to make. Somehow I doubt it would be as good!

Toronto

Thai to Go

The prologue to our dining experience at Thai to Go was less than pleasant. Lots of rain. Lots of walking in the rain. Lots of shoes filled with rain. Once we stepped into the restaurant, though, we were given some of the best service we've ever seen and delicious thai cuisine! I had the Mango Tofu Stirfry while Matt enjoyed the Pineapple Shrimp Curry. The restaurant offered us free drinks (we opted for cranberry juice) and a free dessert of green tea and pastries that flaked apart beautifully when bitten. I honestly think they would have kept serving us free pastries indefinitely had we stuck around long enough!

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SOMA Chocolate

Among the many places to explore in Toronto is the historic Distillery District. What began as the Gooderham and Worts Distillery has become a large center of independent shops and restaurants, mantaining its old-time charm. It was great to see the city utilize what would otherwise be an abandoned part of town. One particular shop that kept our interest (we visited it three times!) was SOMA Chocolate where we tried the Spicy Mayan Chocolate. It tastes like it sounds: hot and spicy with a rich, deep chocolate flavor. Yum! I liked it enough to buy a packet for my parents to try.

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Bibim Q
Boy, oh boy! The amount of food that came with these meals was overwhelming. I can tell you what we ordered (the Bulgogi and the Bibimbap Soya) but I'm not sure will mean very much to you. Instead, I list everything we got between the two of us: fried egg, tofu, rib eye steak, rice, coleslaw, clear noodles, salad, tons of vegetables, and something reminiscent of cold mashed potatoes. I wasn't sold on the cold mashed potatoes but everything else was fantastic! We enjoyed this meal en plein air at Queen's Park. We even used chopsticks.

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St. Lawrence Market

This market was very similar to Jean Talon of Montreal, so I loved it! A few people told us that we should try the "butter tarts" which are generally regarded as a speciality of Toronto. So while searching for souvenirs and strawberries, we bought a few tarts. They reminded me of the mini pecan tarts I've made in the past, except much larger and much sweeter. I felt like I was drinking maple syrup from a pastry cup! My sweet tooth was thoroughly satiated for a long while!

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Capitano Burgers
Toronto must have a major thing for burgers. Everywhere I looked, I saw a different restaurant for "gourmet burgers". So near the end of our trip we gave in and gave them a try. I must say, we were not disappointed! Matt and I each declared that they were the best burgers we'd ever had. Seriously. My burger featured the restaurant's namesake "Capitano Sauce" which I can best describe as a creamy sweet mustard. Matt (as usual!) went for the spicy option--I guess I must really be depriving him of hot spices at home.

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Merryberry Café

Behold, the last meal of our vacation! We tried to eat at Merryberry for our first night in Toronto, only to discover (after a rainy walk) that they close early on Tuesdays! I was bitter for a few days but Matt convinced me we should give it another chance. I am so glad that we did! The space could not have been cuter and everything on the menu was unique and appetizing. Matt wasn't particularly hungry, so he ordered a bowl of Mango Gazpacho. I'm telling you, this was the trip of the mango! We ordered it whenever we could! My sandwich also featured the fruit, along with smoked salmon, pesto, goat cheese, roasted peppers, and sprouts. Such a strange combination of ingredients but they came together beautifully! This one is also my list of meals to copycat at home.

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So there you have it! Of course, there are more meals and stories worth sharing but this post is already quite lengthy. All of these meals reinforced how important it is to step outside of your comfort zone with food and try new things--even if they have strange ingredients like shark! I'm going to incorporate some of these experiences into my own cooking regime. Stayed tuned for those attempts!

Front (porch) line of defense

It appears that winter has (at last!) taken its final bow and let spring onto the stage. Thank goodness for that. I'm not usually one to wish away seasons but I found myself uncharacteristically antsy the past few months. I've been itching to take walks, go on picnics, and remind my pale skin what the sun feels like. Now those itches can be scratched, so to speak.

 

Speaking of itches, though, there is one tiny problem with my love of the spring warmth. Actually, it's more like a million tiny problems: bug bites. Oh my word, do I get them! Ever since I was a little girl I have been a magnet for bug bites and they well up like I've been pelted with a paint gun. This year, I'm getting serious in my defensive plan against those pesky biters, starting with my favorite outdoor spot: our front porch. I did buy a citronella candle but wanted to do something extra that would also perk our curb appeal.

Here is a quick list of some of the best plants for repelling bugs, especially mosquitoes. You can click on each one to find a thorough overview it, courtesy of the fantastic Missouri Botanical Garden.

Catnip
Basil
Garlic
Horsemint
Lemon grass
Marigolds
Parsley
Rosemary
Sage


Catnip is generally regarded as one of the very best plants to repel mosquitoes, roughly ten times better than DEET. That made it the obvious winner for me! It's a hearty perennial herb that prefers sunlight and yes, is loved by cats. I read somewhere that catnip has the equivalent affect on cats that marijuana has on humans. How about that? Matt and I walked over to our local nursery and bought up three bunches. I painted some very old terracotta pots and voila! our porch is a bit more colorful and I'll hopefully avoid some welts bug bites. And maybe make a few feline friends?

I'll keep you posted on how well the Catnip works!

Christmas time was here!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas celebration! Ours was (as always) an exhausting but wonderful whirlwind of families, gifts, church services, and food. Lots and lots of food! I have zero will power when it comes to peanut butter balls, or peppermint bark, or brownies, or gingerbread cookies —you get the picture! Those healthy new year's resolutions are just around the corner...

Anyway, here are a few of my favorite shots from Christmas Day.

 

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Here is a simple egg casserole that we made for Christmas morning. I prepped most of the ingredients the night before, so Matt could just mix everything together (while I slept!) and pop it in the oven. It was hearty, delicious, and just 6 servings (a nice alternative to the giant recipes one generally finds).

Christmas Breakfast Casserole

1/4 cup ham, chopped
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
6 eggs, beaten
2-3 cups potatoes, shredded or chopped
1/2 cup shredded cheese
Thyme, 1/4 tsp dried
Salt & Pepper, to taste

Preheat your oven to 350° F. Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl and mix well. Pour into a greased pie pan and bake 40-45 minutes or until set.