Latest Obsessions

*Our Netflix Halloween Lineup
(Rosemary's Baby, Evil Dead, Bram Stoker's Dracula, to name a few)

*Oh Yoko-John Lennon
(this song never gets old)

*Applying to as many holiday craft shows as possible
(fingers crossed!)

*Crossword Books from the Puzzle Society
(the covers are so pretty)

*Halloween Search on Tastespotting
(in case you can't tell, I love Halloween)

*Dita Von Teese's Twitter Photos
(favorite lady)

Greenmarket Finds

I went a little overboard at the market today...
Everything just looked so good!

There were so many greens














and beautiful autumn-toned flowers



















This is what I came home with:
















*a lovely bouquet of flowers
*chive goat cheese
*burpless cucumbers
*cream
*spaghetti squash
*tri-star strawberries (!!!!!)
*red raspberries
*celeriac
*whole grain bread
*flour
*ground turkey
*dinosaur kale (because what sounds cooler than that?)
*french lettuce
*concord grapes

Recipe of the Week

I have found another use for my
delicious concord grapes.

This recipe was taken from Lottie + Doof
but I've peppered some notes in, they will
be in italics

Concord Grape Jam Tart

serves 8 to 10

Dough:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon coarse salt
• 8 oz (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 1/4 cup ice water

Jam:

• 1 1/2 pounds Concord grapes, stems removed
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• Salt
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• Coarse sanding sugar, for sprinkling
• Crème fraîche, for serving

Make the dough: Pulse flour, granulated sugar, and salt in a food processor. Add butter, and process until mixture resembles coarse meal, about 10 seconds. With the machine running, add ice water in a slow, steady stream until mixture just begins to hold together. Shape dough into two disks. Wrap each in plastic, and refrigerate for at least an hour (or up to two days).

Make the jam: Combine grapes and lemon juice in a medium non-reactive saucepan over high heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until grapes release their juices, about 7 minutes. Strain through a fine sieve (you should have 1 1/2 to 2 cups of juice). Return juice to saucepan over high heat, stir in granulated sugar and a pinch of salt, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-high and simmer rapidly until mixture reaches 220° F on a candy thermometer, about 8 minutes. Transfer jam to a bowl to cool, stirring occasionally as it sets. The jam should be thick and spreadable.

*Due to a broken candy thermometer I scorched the first batch of jam, while trying to get it to reach 220 degrees. The second time around I made it sans thermometer and gave it about 10 minutes on the stove until it thickened properly.

Assemble: On a lightly floured surface, roll out each disk of dough to 1/8 inch thickness. Transfer one round to parchment-lined baking sheet, and fit the other round into a 9 1/2-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Trim edges flush with tart pan. Freeze both until firm. Using the wide base of 2 pastry tips, or anything else you can find, cut clusters of holes in dough on baking sheet and return to freezer until firm.

*I used a house shaped cookie cutter

Preheat oven to 375° F. Spread 1 cup of jam over dough in tart pan. Brush top edge of tart dough with egg. Slide remaining round on top. Press edges to seal and trim excess dough. Brush top with egg, then sprinkle with coarse sugar. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Bake tart for 15 minutes, then gently tap pan on counter to release air bubbles. Return to oven and bake until golden brown and bubbling, 15-20 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack, and let cool. Unmold, and transfer to a platter. Serve with crème fraîche.

**This recipe was surprisingly easy (despite the thermometer debacle) and delicious. I recommend serving it with just a little bit of unsweetened whipped cream, or with some peanut butter brittle ice cream.yum.

Creature Feature

I've been featured in the Crafty Questionnaire
on the NewNewNY blog!

check it out here

Go Away

Seriously, Indian Summer,
I'm not really interested in having you around right now.
If the greenmarket looks like this:















Then it's time for you to go away.

I was having a conversation with a person at my bar
last night and when I said I was looking forward to cool
weather she said "Shut up! Don't even say that!"
I'm going to assume that she did not spend the
summer in NYC, because if she did I doubt that she
would still be clinging onto summer.

I should preface this by telling you that I love the heat.
I love summer, and sunshine and everything that comes with it.
This summer was beyond hot, it was humid/balmy/
hazy however you want to say it- it was brutal.
There were too many days spent in packed subway
cars with people sweating on you, and not enough
days spent at the beach.

It's time for a change.
Send in the crisp and cool weather!

Recipe of the Week

This week will feature Beef Stroganoff.
A recipe that I have loved for as long
as I can remember, it is one of my favorite
things that my mom makes.

(As I type this, it's actually simmering
on my stove)

1 pack of beef cubes
2 c of beef stock (or enough to cover)
1 can of Cream of Mushroom (I prefer Amy's brand)
1/2 c sour cream
1 bag of egg noodles

Heat a little bit of butter in a large pot. Brown the beef cubes
a little bit and then pour in the stock. Let simmer for
45-50 minutes or until reduced.
Add can of soup, reduce.
*At this point you can start cooking the egg noodles
or at least boiling the water*
Whisk in sour cream
salt and pepper to taste.

Serve over top of a very large pile of egg noodles.

Very simple, and ridiculously delicious.

Latest Obsessions

Le Creuset sets
(only in my dreams)

Eric Ripert
(chef crush)

Polka Dot Dress
(this is clearly an expensive latest obsessions)

Queens Frozen Treats List
(I need to check this out)

Halloween Baking Decorations
(so read for halloween! I know i'm way early)

PBJ Tart
(who doesn't love pbj desserts?)

Fizzy Lifting Drinks

The bf showed me this video last night,
and I just fell in love with this man and his
soda emporium.

He fights for the underdogs, hates corn syrup,
and loves carbonation. Why can't there be an
east coast sister store??

For me, soda begins and ends with Boylans
(mainly black cherry and root beer), I'm
also a sucker for fountain cherry coke...(mainly
when I'm at Wawa at 2am- which isn't too often)
Now, in terms of sparkling water, my heart
lies with Badoit.

What's your favorite soda/sparkling drink?

Recipe of the Week

Smitten Kitchen has been one of my
favorite sites to check for good seasonal recipes.
When the Grape Focaccia with Rosemary was recently
posted, I knew that this was going to be a favorite.

** be sure that you have about 3-4 hours
to spare, there is a lot of rising that takes place-
but this bread is totally worth the wait!

Low Country Daydreams

I have Charleston on the brain. (again)
My best ladies and I are possibly
going to plan another trip down there
very soon.

I'm dying to hang out by the battery
near my favorite pineapple fountain,
















try new restaurants that I've read about,
raid Harris Teeter for cake and balloons @ 3am,

















get ridiculous frozen drinks at Wet Willie's

















and just relax with my best buds.

I've been reading over these
two guides for some inspiration

designsponge Charleston City Guidee
NYT 36 hours in Charleston

Latest Obsessions

*Alexa Chung for Madewell
(especially this)

*Concord Grapes
(you should make grape focaccia)

*The German Cookbook
by: Mimi Sheraton
(I love German Cuisine)

*Atlantic City- Bruce Springsteen

*Haunted Cut-Outs

*Cheese 101 @ Murray's
(this class would be a dream come true)

Recipe of the Week

I'm trying to make my blogging a little bit more
consistent. I don't really want to do the whole
Music Monday, Worldess Wednesday thing.
So I'm doing what works for me.


So here we are! On this beautiful
Tuesday morning, my recipe this week
is for:

Basic German Pancakes
(Deutsche Pfannkuchen)

1/2 c sifted flour 4 eggs
2 tsp sugar 1/2 c milk
1/4 tsp salt 6tbsp butter (approximately)

Sift flour, sugar and salt together. Using a beater,
whip eggs until light and frothy; beat in milk.
Turn flour mixture into beaten egg and, still using beater,
whip until you have a smooth batter.
Melt 2tbsp butter (or enough to cover the bottom of the pan)
in a 10" or 12" skillet, and pour in just enough batter
to cover bottom with a thin layer.
As soon as you pour batter, tilt and rotate the pan so
the batter will run over it evenly. Cook over moderate heat
until pancakes are golden brown on underside; turn and
brown second side. Remove to platter.

*Recipe from The German Cookbook by Mimi Sheraton


These may be my new favorite pancakes.
I topped mine with a little bit of cinnamon
sugar and folded them up. You could do the syrup thing
or add some fruit compotes, either way-
these will be awesome.

Moving On

This summer has been amazing.
Lots of travel, delicious food, and
wonderful friends. And the heat!
my god, the heat. Not always pleasant,
but compared to summer 09-
I'll take the heat over the rain any day.

While I do love summer, I am definitely ready to
move on into autumn.

I'm looking forward to:
*Getting things together with my business
*Selling at markets again
*Baking delicious pumpkin bread
*Juicing concord grapes
*Watching the trees in Sunnyside change
*Late night bonfires in our backyard
*Hot apple cider
*Halloween decorations
*The start of French 3 classes
*Seasonal menu changes
*Scary Netflix selections for October
*Being able to wear scarves again

Back from Vacation

The bf and I just got back from a week in Orlando
with my family. It was a blast. We hit all the parks,
took time to relax by the pool, drank our way through Epcot,
and got to nerd out in Harry Potter Land.

It was a perfect trip.