On repeat

Snack on repeat: wasabi peas. Pro column: spicy and amazingly crunchy. If you put too many in your mouth, the wasabi shoots up your nose and clears your sinuses. Con column: contains MSG. Why, wasabi, why?

Song on repeat: It Will Rain by Bruno Mars. This song is a trifecta: it's a slow jam, it's from the latest Twilight movie soundtrack, and Bruno Mars happens to kind of be adorable.

J&G's Butternut Squash Soup

Be under no illusions -- working with butternut squash is a huge p in the b. That being said, this recipe makes a pretty awesome soup.

I actually made this soup once last year and was underwhelmed by how little meat it had (none). It just wasn't filling. Yet fall is here again and I found myself craving this soup as an appetizer or a light lunch. So let's revisit.

The recipe calls for crème fraîche, and I can't read or say "crème fraîche" without thinking of a South Park episode that P had me watch a while ago. Um, this:

Harris Teeter didn't appear to sell crème fraîche, but the word on the street is that you can make your own using some cream and buttermilk and a little time out on your counter. It can be used like sour cream, but unlike sour cream, it can also be whipped. I decided to leave the crème fraîche experiment for another day and use Greek yogurt, which is arguably more healthy but still makes the soup plenty creamy.

I also followed the shiitake mushroom suggestion, because seriously, what are black trumpet mushrooms?? The shiitakes have their own distinct flavor, but I couldn't help liking them paired with the butternut squash.

The results taste like you're slurping up a bowl of autumn.

Full disclosure: I am not posting a picture of my soup because it didn't look quite as creamy (and bright orange) as the soup shown on metrocurean. Sorry for being so self-conscious about my butternut squash!

As a side note, Jean-Georges has a new cookbook that is to be released shortly. I am hoping to acquire it and perhaps have it be a contender for the next cookbook club book. What? Yes, cookbook club. The subject of another, later post (that will blow your mind).

I feel like i should start blogging again POD

Hello, Blog!

It's been almost a year since I've written and yes, I have totally missed you.  

I thought about you today. And thought about what you could look like post-makeover. All strutting around with a new theme, a new direction, if you will.

Any ideas? Ideas:

1. The first-world trials and tribulations of living with a vitamin b12 deficiency (underlying mystery element: is there a tapeworm somehow involved?! Probably not, but what if!)

2. A weekly guide to shopping at the Costco and what to do with 2-pound bags of shredded mozzarella and 2-pound containers of tzatziki yogurt dip. What samples are "in" and what samples are "out"?

3. The Russian Mother's Advice column (advice provided courtesy of my very own Russian mother). Advice topics range from proper fish oil consumption to proper pillow materials, from shoe styles to pregnancy preparedness. Whatever you're doing, you're doing it wrong! Or could be doing it better! From Russia[n mother] with love. 

Just kidding. It's good to see you.

Make 1,000 lovely things -- Homemade bows

Check out these beauties:

They are large and in charge and they match the gift wrap just right. I made one for my sister-in-law, own mother, and boyfriend's mother, weee!

For detailed instructions and inspiration, look here.

modern art

i love this print:

So many recipes to try, so little time...

Roasted Scallops with Breadcrumbs and Bacon

Mussels with Garlic and Basil

Seared Brussel Sprouts with Bacon Lardons

Pumpkin Custard
3 out of 5

Oven Baked Sweet Potato Fries

Spicy Squash with Lentils and Goat Cheese

Chorizo, Chickpea & Sweet Potato Soup
5 out of 5

Pumpkin Bread
5 out of 5

Chicken with Roasted Cauliflower and Tahini Sauce
3 out of 5

Spiced Applesauce Cake with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

Lamb Meatballs
5 out of 5

German Apple Pancake

Gingerbread Bundts with Cinnamon Glaze

Momofuku-Style Chicken Wings

Flank Steak Stuffed with Spinach, Feta & Artichokes

Sweet Vanilla Quiche

Chocolate Ginger Cookies

J&G's Butternut Squash Soup
4 out of 5

Roasted Eggplant Soup

Lamb Chops with Pumpkin Apple Chutney

Roasted Chicken and Butternut Squash Soup

All-American Chili

Seared Scallops with Espresso Beurre Blanc

Roasted Root Vegetables w/ Feta & Pumpkin Seeds
2 out of 5

White Bean Soup with Mini Lamb Meatballs

Sometimes you go to a music festival and end up liking a bunch of hippies

Beach Weekend POD

Make 1,000 lovely things -- Slideshow for my dad's 60th birthday

My dad has turned 60 years old and in his honor, and with my mom's help, I put together a "Life and Times of Papa T" slideshow. I think it had the intended effect -- it made my mom cry and the dog pee on the living room carpet.

Number 76: Meet an alpaca.

This is Snooki. Snooki likes eating, being fed, and getting the food bin stuck on her head.

Victory Ranch Alpacas

Number 92: Go on a serious hike.

Appalachian Trail, Mary's Rock, Shenandoah National Park. Done.

French in a flash POD

Sweet Onion and Goat Cheese Tarts with Thyme.

Make 1,000 lovely things -- Blueberry pie with freshly-picked blueberries

This morning I went to a farm in Maryland to pick my own blueberries. Then I made a pie.

The recipe comes from America's Test Kitchen. Instead of their full-proof pie dough (which uses vodka and which I should have used since it's FULL-PROOF), I tried their basic pie dough recipe. Let me tell you, handling that pie crust was the most stressful part of my week. And it came out a little rough around the edges. Still, delicious mission accomplished.

Pick blueberries at your co-worker's farm POD

Pig roast = life goals

A blog post caught my eye recently and got me thinking. It was titled "How to Roast a Pig on a Spit". Believe it. My world was turned upside down as I realized that I needed to reexamine my original Mighty Life List immediately. Here is the updated list [some of these have already been accomplished, go me!]:

1. Participate in a pig roast. Obviously. 

2. Visit in person all 36 painting by Dutch artist Vermeer. (12/36)

3. Cook Julia Child's Boeuf Bourguignon.

4. Read major works of Russian literature in Russian. I'm looking at you, Crime and Punishment.

5. Learn to ski.

6. Go to a World Cup game. Possibly make do with a DC United game.

7. Buy a super expensive bottle of champagne. Like those rappers.

8. Own a dog. One to whom I can say, "You cut to the core of me, Baxter" or name Cosmo.

9. Live in another country.

10. Go on a cruise. Maybe to Alaska so that I can see Russia.

11. Visit the Acropolis in Athens.

12. Sign up for a ballet class.

13. Learn some ballroom dances.

14. Watch the sun set behind the Great Pyramids in Giza.

15. Watch the sun rise at Stonehenge.

16. Go to a kabuki play in Japan. Eat sushi.

17. Make cheese.

18. Brew beer.

19. Grow basil or a tomato plant.

20. Publish something. Even if it's nerdy tax stuff.

21. Buy an original piece of art.

22. Take a painting class.

23. Take a golfing class.

24. Own a business. [A nerdy tax accounting business?]

25. Teach a course.

26. Become fluent in French.

27. Know basic Spanish.

28. Take a course at Oxford.

29. Learn what all of the buttons and settings do on my SLR digital camera.

30. See an opera at the Met.

31. Spend a day at the Hermitage in St. Petersburg.

32. Spend a day at the Louvre in Paris.

33. Go to Oktoberfest in Munich.

34. Go to Carnaval in Brazil.

35. Become a better swimmer.

36. Go to a petting zoo in Australia.

37. Have afternoon tea at the Ritz.

38. Learn to play guitar.

39. Learn to play the drums.

40. Learn to make my mom's favorite recipes.

41. Take a special someone to Russia with me.

42. Own a summer home. Or start with becoming a homeowner.

43. Participate in a tea ceremony in Kyoto.

44.Wait by the stage door after a concert and meet one of my favorite bands.

45. Go to a taping of the Daily Show. 

46. Go skinny dipping.

47. Take a road trip across the U.S. 

48. Make my own strawberry jam.

49. Make a quilt.

50. Ride in a helicopter.

51. Have tapas in Barcelona.

52. Go to a wine festival.

53. Own a pair of authentic cowboy boots.

54. Make a pie from scratch.

55. Make a pizza from scratch.

56. Bake bread.

57. Commission a portrait.

58. Go mushroom hunting.

59. Get my wisdom teeth pulled.

60. Cook in a Le Creuset dutch oven.

61. Learn to drive a standard.

62. Organize a book club.

63. Resurrect the Finer Things Club.

64. Learn to play a few Christmas Carols on the piano. Host a Christmas sweater party.

65. Go sailing.

66. Read Les Miserables.

67. Make more traditions with friends and family.

68. Try hot buttered rum.

69. Letterpress something.

70. Get my master's degree.

71. Be admitted to practice in front of the Tax Court.

72. Work in a winery. 

73. Host a fancy pants dinner party.

74. Go to the Stanley Cup finals.

75. Take a cooking class in France.

76. Meet an alpaca.

77. Spend a night on a train.

78. See a drag queen show.

79. See all of Frank Lloyd Wright's houses that are open to the public. (1/??)

80. Fire a gun.

81. Really learn wine.

82. Give a heartfelt, touching, and witty toast in public.

83. Spend a week on a farm. 

84. Host a Thanksgiving dinner wherein I cook the turkey.

85. Pick out a pumpkin from the pumpkin patch.

86. See a drive-in movie.

87. Have a Wikipedia entry.

88. Go to Vegas.

89. Buy a stock on my own.

90. Participate in CSA, community-supported agriculture.

91. Walk the Golden Gate Bridge.

92. Go on a serious hike.

93. Make 1,000 lovely things. (1. Blueberry pie with freshly-picked blueberries. 2. Slideshow for my dad's 60th birthday. 3. Homemade bows.)

94. Try 1,000 new things.

95. Learn how to eat a crab.

96. Cover my fridge with magnets from places I have visited.

97. Be able to parallel park with confidence.

98. Order the tasting menu at a fancy pants restaurant.

99. Wear a dirndl.

100. Read every book I own.

 photo from Serious Eats, "How to Roast a Pig on a Spit"

Hydrangea POD

We Are Scientists present ... the rules of wine

We Are Scientists present ... the rules of wine

There are two basic types, or "varietals", of wine: red and yellow. Not surprisingly, there are different words for red and yellow wine in different countries. The French call them "bordeaux" and "sancerre", respectively. The Australians say "shiraz" and "chardonnay"; Italians, "nero d'avolo" and "pinot grigio." Germans, refreshingly, call everything "riesling". 

Study these rules while listening to WAS' new album, Barbara.

I get pinkeye just from listening to this song

Send me your photos and I will make them artsy fartsy on my new iMac POD

Greetings from Germany POD