Cravings!

So this isn't really a post so much as a ode to donuts and churros. Holy crap doesn't this look incredible?

Source: thesetingstaketime.com via Michelle on Pinterest

I don't honestly know if its pregnancy cravings or just that I have a crazy sweet tooth but I could eat all of those churros for breakfast. Daily.

And just to make this more of a pregnancy post and not just a picture of churros here is a picture of me at 15 weeks, 6 days. Excuse the horrible picture and the lack of makeup. I didn't take any belly pics weeks 1-12 out of fear that things wouldn't go well. Now I don't take any because I'm lazy and have been feeling pretty large and in charge these days.

More real and substantive posts to come soon.

Cravings!

Recent snack obsessions

When I travel for work I almost always stop in one of the book/magazine stores or Starbucks for a treat. I've come across some new snacks that I am absolutely obsessed with and aren't bad for you.

Kind Bars are all natural, gluten and wheat free and most are dairy free as well. They are pretty filling and sorta taste like dessert.

The fruit and nut one is one of my favorites but if you are feeling like something sweet go for the Sesame & Peanuts with Chocolate. Its kinda of ridiculous and amazing and may make you lick chocolate off of your fingers on a very crowded plane. Not that I do that because its disgusting.

I'm also loving peeled snacks. They are essentially just peeled dried fruit with no added anything. They also have fruit and nut mixes but I've never tried them. The "much ado about Mango" pack is by far my favorite. I could eat these packs all day long and each pack is only 120 calories so you don't feel guilty eating them.

What are some of your favorite snacks? Also don't think that I'm some kind of health nut - I chow down on gummi bears, chocolate and french fries far too often.

Recent snack obsessions

excited for the weekend! (accurate but lame title post sorry)

I'm so happy its the weekend for so many reasons....

Lost! I'm obsessed. In a serious lapse of judgement (which happens often lately) I decided to start watching Lost. There are 23-25 one hour episodes in a season and 5 seasons! I'm ridiculous. I'm on season 3 if that tells you anything about how many Netflix Lost episodes I've watched.

To be fair though, I do other things when I'm watching them but I'll admit I have a problem.

Jack is so sexy

Also, we are going to fancy romantic valentines day dinner at L'Espalier in Boston. This restaurant has amazing French food with an emphasis on New England ingredients. They have a vegetarian menu that tastes incredible (which is a big deal for high end restaurants) and the best cheese board I've ever tasted. They actually have a cheese program and fromager! I love me some cheese and their cheese is a mind blowing experience. It is crazy expensive so I'm excited for our rare little treat.

I bought tulips just for the heck of it at Trader Joes this week and they brighten up my day every time I see them. I love buying myself flowers. The pictures were taken with my phone so excuse the quality and the empty thing of sugar (me and my cookie baking).

And finally I convinced my husband to help me paint the kitchen this weekend and finally get some artwork on the walls of our "dining room". I'm thinking about a rich gold color to compliment the mocha color in our living room

Colors are Benjamin Moore

Any fun weekend plans?

excited for the weekend! (accurate but lame title post sorry)

dinner for a snowy day

It was supposed to snow a lot in Boston so I thought I'd make the classic cold day meal of tomato soup and grilled cheese. It didn't end up snowing much but I wasn't about to change my dinner menu. Oh and I threw in a side of chocolate chip cookies just because I'm awesome/gross like that.

I used this recipe from Michael Chiarello which was pretty easy to follow. I don't even like tomato soup but I really liked this recipe. If you leave the cream out and go lighter on the oil (3/4 of a cup is excessive) then the recipe is pretty healthy.

Soup for you!

Ingredients:

• 1 (14-ounce) can chopped tomatoes
• 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (I didn't use this much oil - it just seemed like too much)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 stalk celery, diced
• 1 small carrot, diced
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup chicken broth (I used vegetable broth instead)
• 1 bay leaf (I didn't use this)
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
• 1/2 cup heavy cream, optional (I used cream and it was really good but did add a lot of richness to the recipe)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Strain the chopped canned tomatoes, reserving the juices, and spread onto a baking sheet, season with salt and pepper, to taste, drizzle with 1/4 cup of the olive oil and roast until caramelized, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a saucepan, heat remaining olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the celery, carrot, onion and garlic, cook until softened, about 10 minutes. Add the roasted chopped canned tomatoes, reserved tomato juices, chicken broth, bay leaf and butter. Simmer until vegetables are very tender, about 15 to 20 minutes. Add basil and cream, if using (I simmered for about 45 minutes since I had time before our friends came over and I think this helped the flavors come out even more). Puree with a hand held immersion blender until smooth.

I've never used a hand held blender like this and it was AWESOME! I want to use this amazing little gadget a lot more now.

For the grilled cheese:

Ingredients:

• Loaf of sourdough
• Butter (to butter bread and coat pan)
• Cheese - any kind you want. I used pepperjack and cheddar.

Directions:

I know everyone knows how to make grilled cheese but for the hell of it I'll write directions. Slice the loaf of sourdough and butter one side of each slice. Cut the cheese (ha ha) into slices and place between two slices of bread (on the non buttered side).

Heat a skillet with butter (med-high) and grill sandwiches. I pressed the sandwiches down with another skillet just to help the cheese melt a little.

Bread, butter and cheese always works

For the cookies I used the classic tollhouse recipe.

Cookies!

Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) chocolate chip cookies
• 1 cup chopped nuts (I didn’t use any nuts this time)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375° F.

Combine flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.

Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Hope you are staying warm!

*All images via flickr (click on the links below pictures for sources)

dinner for a snowy day

chocolate, cookie dough and champagne photo shoot

Sarah Rhoads Photographers are photographers (husband and wife) based out of Seattle and they are uber talented. They have one of my all time favorite photography blogs and create art that is thoughtful and unique. Tall or short, fat or skinny, human or landscape - they really find beauty in all the subjects they capture. I fell in love with photography blogs while planning my wedding. Their site has remained on my reading list because they cover so much more than weddings.

I saw this on their blog today and started drooling immediately. I mean combine their actual art with candy, chocolate and baked goods and you have perfection.

Oh and did you see that cute polka dot apron?! Adorable.

*all pictures via Sarah Rhoads Blog

chocolate, cookie dough and champagne photo shoot

Return of the milk man

I was reading my friend's blog and she had a link to a local farm in Massachusetts that delivers milk, eggs and all sorts of other things. The milk actually comes from a farm in Vermont which has "happy cows" and its even delivered in glass bottles.

We are beyond excited to try the milk, eggs and ice cream (which won the National Geographic award for the 10 best ice creams in the world).

We're getting a weekly delivery of milk starting tomorrow so I'll let you all know how it goes. I'm excited to be supporting a local business and eating healthier, less processed foods. I may even join this Community Supported Agriculture (again thanks Miriam!) to get locally grown fruits and vegetables every week.

Return of the milk man