Peanut brittle is a 'fancy' candy I remember from my childhood but I don't see it around much anymore. Occasionally I will make peanut brittle for friends (and us) to enjoy. I think candy can be something that's very daunting to try and make at home but as long as you have a candy thermometer (mine looks like this) and your house isn't humid, this peanut brittle will turn out. I have never had this recipe fail. I looked high and low for this exact recipe to link to but can't find it. It's ...
Zoom Cooking Class!
Two weeks ago I broke out of my comfort zone and joined a Zoom cooking class. The teacher was Meredith Laurence, my favorite chef you've likely never heard of. She used to be a brand spokesperson on QVC but she's also an actual chef and is very good at teaching people to cook. Which is fantastic because I am not a good cook. There are dishes that I can create, but they take hours and aren't great for weeknights. I can bake, but we can't live on bread and cookies alone. Well, we CAN, but you ...
I mean, Julie & Julia was a thing, right?
One of the books I read in January was Eleanor Roosevelt's 1933 book "It's Up to the Women" which was meant to rally the spirits of women during the Depression. One of the chapters featured a healthy yet frugal weekly meal plan. Now to stock up on prune pudding! The next Show us your Books roundup is coming on Tuesday. ...
Lunch prep: Pesto Chicken
Firstly, my all-clear letter arrived. Huzzah! The boobs survive another year! This summer I tried to be creative with the meals I made for my own lunches. In this last week before WM heads back to school and I start bulk baking chicken for the both of us (his end up in sandwiches, so I can't really go crazy with veg and sides), I tried a pesto chicken dish. I pinned this one from Tasty.com. I decided to leave my pesto cubes frozen for when I don't have any more fresh basil available. ...
Pesto!
This semester, WM has his night classes on Mondays and Wednesdays, meaning I'm on my own for dinners. He's not a fan of garlicky foods and garlic would my patronus, if a patronus could be a fragrant bulb. Meaning that on Mondays, we cook with garlic. With all of the basil growing in my garden, I knew I had to take a stab at making my own pesto, but for later. It took two of these filled 'baskets' to yield 2 cups of packed basil leaves. I used this pesto recipe from the New York Times. ...
The fruits of a four day weekend
I'm super glad I went to the beach on Friday, because it was the best day of the four days I had off. On Saturday my credit card and I dressed up and met friends for tea at the Mary Cassatt Tea Room at the Rittenhouse hotel for swanky Afternoon Tea. It was so worth it. The company was amazing, and although you'd think teeny sandwiches like this wouldn't be filling but with a pot of tea, a glass (okay two) of sparkling wine, and a selection of tiny desserts even I, queen of the ...
Currently, deep freeze edition
It's 17 degrees out, which is actually warmer than it's been. We went to MOD Pizza for lunch, marking the first time I left the house in days. Leave it to food to draw me out of my cocoon of warmth. I think it's going to be in the 30s this week so I'm about to break out my flipflops. Just kidding. I'm in 2 layers of socks until March. Watching: Home Town on HGTV. Y'all*, I have fallen hard for this show. I saw the first episode a while back and it didn't grab me. I'm glad I gave it a ...
Currently
This was a choreful weekend, but a good one nonetheless. On this Sunday night, I'm currently... Reading: I just finished Sonia Sotomayor's My Beloved World this morning and next on tap is The Animators by Kayla Rae Whitaker. Both came from my local library. I'm trying to get there every other week. Libraries are good for my soul. Mixing: I have a sourdough starter sitting on top of my refrigerator. For eleven years I've wanted to make my own sourdough bread. This morning I made a simple ...
Salad days
Believe it or not, I am still cooking chicken every Sunday for the week. And although fitness levels wax and wane, I credit these preplanned lunches for keeping me at about the same weight I was last year when I stopped actively dieting. WM still has his chicken in sandwich form. I usually have mine with a side of steamed mixed vegetables or edamame. Last Sunday I decide to be even more Pinteresty (Pinterestrier?) and make the mason jar salads that were so popular a few years back. I used ...
Boiled eggs and Facebook scariness
WM's gone for a bit to visit his family for Mother's Day so I am ruling the roost! And by that I mean cleaning out the fridge & tossing out socks with holes. While cleaning out the fridge, I realized I bought an extra dozen eggs. I bought them to bake with, but I had eggs here anyway. "No problem," I thought. "I'll just boil a bunch and have them for snacks or perhaps a tasty egg salad!" I loaded the eggs into a saucepan and blanked out. How do you boil eggs? Could it be that I've never ...
In the Kitchen with LadyGypsy*
Years ago, I was constantly sick. Colds, ear infections, croup, you name it, I had it. In Kindergarten, we had milk with our cookies for snacks. Milk always seemed to add to my congestion, so Mom used to send me into school with Pineapple juice on days I was sniffly. Good Mom. (Happy Mother's Day, by the way!) Flash forward 800,000 years. For the last year, I cannot get enough pineapple in my life. Maybe it reminds me of tropical getaways. Maybe it reminds me of the soft halcyon days of my ...
Is this really me?
I'm trying to cut back on what I spend. I have some holiday bills to pay and I want to replenish my savings accounts which consist of a traditional bank statement savings and a kick-butt INGDirect one - 4.5% monthly interest! If I wasn't so scared about fluidity I'd sock it all into the INGDirect account. Anyway, part of this fad of mine is not eating out so much for lunches and dinners. I'm lazy. I'm not a good cook (yet) and if food isn't moments away when I'm hungry, I'll go out and get ...
