Happy May!

The first day of May has been a lovely one.
I spent the bulk of the day meandering around
the Brooklyn Flea. I had planned on buying
necessary presents for Mother's Day and various
upcoming b-days but no...instead I managed to
stuff my face with delicious food.
Not productive but definitely awesome.

Check out my Asia Dog. A hot dog done in
the style of a banh mi sammy.
















I also had a pretzel, some lemonade, and
I couldn't resist another bag of Liddabit
salted caramels or their new rhubarb gummies.


I came home and finally made the Rhubarb Upside
Down Cake that I've been talking about all week.
Unlike my Cranberry version, this turned out lovely!















The whole cake managed to come out of the pan this time!















After that I made a quick asparagus risotto, opened
a bottle of Corvina and caught up on my tv shows
for the week.

I love Saturdays like this.
Have a good weekend!

Take a Look at Me Now.

I've had thyme, basil and strawberry plants
for about a month now, and I am proud to
announce that they are STILL ALIVE!!
















Can you believe it!? (because I can't)
In addition to the 2 flourishing plants
I have also managed to get little strawberry
seeds to grow! This is a big deal for me.

















Remember in grade school when everyone
planted bean seeds in science class?
Well, mine either didn't even sprout or
died almost immediately.

I've had a black thumb for as long as I can
remember...I think it actually runs in my family.
But this is a new year and I'm keeping my
fingers crossed that my strawberry plants
actually bear some fruit.

On a side note: The Spring Handmade
Cavalcade was a huge success!!
Lots of people came out and I had a very
nice amount of sales!! So many thanks to
those who came out to buy handmade!

5 Days Away!

I'll be participating in the Spring Handmade Cavalcade
this coming Saturday @ Berry Park in Williamsburg.

It's going to be an excellent show, awesome vendors,
food, and rooftop views. So come on out and say hello
from 10-5!

The Hidden Wonders of Queens

Last weekend the bf and I visited another
lesser known spot in Queens.
The Flushing Mall.
We first heard about it from No Reservations,
anywhere that Bourdain goes is obviously going to
be awesome. This place did not disappoint.

Picture a little food court with the most amazing,
and sometimes unusual foods you've ever seen.
Our first item was a pink turtle shell shaped
creature that was filled with a red bean paste.
The texture was interesting,
(sticky and gelatinous)
and it was surprisingly delicious! and $1.50

















We made our way down the line to a booth that
Bourdain ate at. This place was known for its
hand pulled noodles, so naturally we tried their
specialty. This is spicy pork noodles, and it is
a perfectly satisfying dish, and it was $5.




































A few stalls down I noticed photos of what looked
like sesame buns, so I asked the ladies and they
told me that I had a choice of fillings: radish, scallion,
and a sweet red bean paste. Yes, red beans are everywhere.
I chose the radish, and definitely think that this is
something that I will get on every visit.
It was amazing! Light and flaky outside,
tangy radishes inside and this was about $1 or so.
















Dessert part 1 was this Vietnamese Shaved Ice,
which we were both kind of skeptical of, because of
the gelatinous nature of all of the topping choices.
Would they be good? too sugary? too weird?
(Gelatinous items are very popular in this food court)
But we went for it, because who ever had any fun
playing it safe? We got passion fruit, kiwi, lychee gelatin,
and just another flavor called assorted gelatins.
They were a mix of orange, white and yellow gel
rectangles that can be seen to the right side.
Anyway, another win for the Flushing Mall food court!
And it is now a new refreshing dessert favorite of mine,
I just wish that I didn't have to go to Flushing to get it!

















Our dessert part 2 will remain picture-less because
we ate them all before I thought to take a photo.
They are called "cream cakes" and they are mini vanilla
cakes shaped like corn with a cream filling on the inside.
So good! The bf isn't big on sweets so I managed to house
most of the dozen that we bought.


It was an awesome day, oh! and I also found Totoro slippers
at the mall. I might be getting those next time as well.

Latest Obsessions

*Martin's Pretzels

*Totes and things designed by Thomas Paul

*The return of Abita Strawberry Beer

*Uniqlo's new jeans. better fit, no more saggy knees.

*Buying plants/herbs at the greenmarket

*"Meet Me Halfway" By the Black Eyed Peas.
(I don't normally like their stuff but this
gets me dancin')

Ich bin ein Berliner

I definitely ate enough Berliners on my visit.
The ones from Bacca, our next door bakery,
were by far the best that we had.
Here is a photo of our favorite confection
next to a rhubarb creation that was equally
as delightful as the doughnut.




















And here is a list of my top 7 favorite things
about my trip to Berlin. (in no particular order)

1.)Schneeweiss.Prater.Weltrestaurant Markthalle.
I loved every dinner that we had. The German
cuisine did not disappoint, in fact, it has been
one of the few cuisines that I still crave upon
my return home. I didn't go photo crazy
with the food on this trip but here are a
few pictures to make you kinda jealous.













































2.)Olivin Wellness Sauna
We did go there on ladies day and it did not disappoint.
It was 26 euros for 2 1/2 hour in the sauna and a
20 minute massage-so affordable and very relaxing.
They did this thing that I like to call the orange ceremony,
a girl came into the sauna and poured orange scented water on
the coals a few times and then swung a towel around to
spread the heat and orange scent. This happened a few times,
then each lady got one final wave of the towel, and then
orange slices were passed around. By this time the sauna had gotten
so hot that I was feeling a little woozy, so I went outside
to their courtyard and laid in a lounge chair. It was surreal to be
outside in freezing weather, wearing only a towel, and watching
the flurries fall through the bamboo trees.

3.)The U and S-Bahn.
Ridiculously efficient. Why can't NY get on board
and let us know when the next train is coming?
I also never had to wait more than 9 minutes for
a train. Below is my favorite station Weberwiesse
(pronounced veeeberrveeasaa)

















4.)The DDR Museum
They cram a lot of info into this tiny museum.
Here, you can open up drawers and cabinets to
find infomation and old items from East Berlin.
Apparently nude beaches became popular and
to illustrate this they set up a model of nude folks
at the beach. Naturally I took a picture. You're Welcome.















5.)BonBonMarcherie
This candy place was awesome. You get to watch them
make the confections right in front of you, and pick
up some delicious treats to take home. My favorite was a
nougat filled caramel candy, I wish that I had gotten more.

6.)KaDeWe
I could have happily made a home on their 6th floor
amongst the cheeses and wines. I don't know that I can
really describe this for you and truly do it justice.
It is a food lovers paradise. I left with multiple cakes,
tea, candy, and a cigar for my dad. We also decided to
have lunch there at one of their many counters.
I got a delicious chicken veg stir fry with a ridiculously
perfect Riesling.
















7.) German TV.
I am a sucker for foreign television. Maybe because all
of their cop dramas and soap operas are so low brow,
or maybe because I'm intrigued because I have to really
pay attention to the acting to understand the story.
Either way I was very happy with the shows that I got
to see, and especially excited that I was able to watch
Lenssen und Parner. We actually watched it back when
we were in Rome, it was comforting to know that Lenssen
was still fighting crime out of someones home office.

Back from Deutschland

What can I say?
Vacation was wonderful.
The only things that could have possibly
made it any better, would have been warmer
weather and a full knowledge of the German language.

But it is March and I am taking French classes,
so no dice. But the city was great, U-bahn was quick,
and the food was outstanding. I think that I really could be
a meat and potatoes kind of girl-but only for Berlin.

It is currently 7.56am and I am wishing that my body would
adjust to EST already. I may go back and lay down in the
sleep machine, so I will leave you with some photos.
Expect a more detailed post very soon.

Vacation!

I know I'm way overdue for a blog post.
But in my own defense, February was a
crazy-mega-ultra busy month.

I worked a lot, french class picked back up,
I was doing the thing-a-day, making desserts,
etc.etc.etc.

With all that behind me, it is now time for
BERLIN! I feel like I just wrote the post about
buying my tickets. Funny how 5 months fly by.















Anyhow, I've spend a ton of time planning, marking
my map, and writing down addresses. But please don't
be fooled, I like to be prepared not follow itineraries.
I may make lists and lists but when I arrive at my destination
I will let go of any kind of structure and try to
become an instant local. I look forward to wandering
the city, going to markets and odd shops, occasionally
indulging in museums and galleries.















Here is a list of my top 5 things I plan on doing in Berlin:

*Spending some time at Olivin
They have a special ladies day, where the sauna is 8euros
for 2 1/2 hours and they also have 20 minute massages for 16euros.
(I know what you are thinking..and I am fully aware that I could do
this at home. But I want to relax on my vacation.)

*DDR Museum. An interactive museum about the GDR.


*A concert featuring the Orchestra Academy of the
Berliner Philharmoniker. We already have our tickets,
and I'm pretty stoked about this one.

*Eating a lot of traditional German food.

*Going to a discotheque.
is it too much to hope for a discotheque that plays disco?
One can dream.

I'll post all about this upon my return!
til then,
Tschüß!

I'm Liking This "Thing".

The Thing-a-day Challenge is like a breath
of fresh air for me.

Maybe it is because I know that I have to
set aside a decent amount of time in order
to create something. That forces me to really
plan out everything that needs to get done.
Once that motivation gets going, anything becomes
possible.

Kind of like when you start to clean the house
or really get into studying. You get into a groove
and you need to just stick with it.
I've been sticking with the thing-a-day
and it's really doing me some good.

All the things that I've created are posted to 2 sites
my posterous page and the official "thing-a-day" site
I recommend checking out all the things
that people are creating.

Awesomeness

This video was featured on a BoingBoing post.
I've been obsessed with the song ever since.
I like to think about lobsters shuffling off to buffalo.
(it's a tap step)

I may have to do a card series about it...








Hope everyone has a lovely weekend!

A Challenge

I have signed up to participate in the
Thing-a-day Challenge 2010.

It takes place in February, and the point is in the title.
You create one thing, every day, for one month.
I might take this in the culinary direction too..
Maybe just on Thursdays, when most of my time will be
spent at work making desserts.

Challenge starts Monday.
See you then.

Latest Obsessions

30 Rock

Growlers of kombucha from Whole Foods

The Haunted on Animal Planet

Berlin guidebooks and websites

Fancy Chocolate from Mast Brothers

Visiting a hidden bar in Philly

My Little Underground love these prints. (especially "the keeper")

Tea Tree face wash

2010

I have already compiled a list of projects, plans,
and resolutions that I've made.

Here they are in no particular order.

*Create an actual savings account.

*Plant an herb garden
Or should I say, try to keep it alive. I buy potted herbs every year
and every year I manage to kill them.

*Learn how to make yogurt.

*Learn how to can
This goes along with the whole "create less waste" plan
that I am going for this year. Plus, it will allow
me to have summer foods in winter months.

*Learn how to take better photographs.
Lucky for me, I know plenty of excellent photographers.

*Be a localvore

*Create a gift log
Each year I struggle to remember what gifts I have given people
for different occasions. This will allow me to not buy people the same thing,
and will prevent supreme embarrassment.

*Learn how to make kombucha

*Try to sell at 1 craft show a month (at least)

*NO PLASTIC BAGS

*Continue with French classes

*Travel as much as possible

A Look Back at the Last Decade.

I began to write "a look back at 09"
when I realized that the decade was indeed over.
This caused a massive retrospect, and I was
fairly blown away by everything that has happened.
To save myself from being long winded here is a list of lists
aka: things that stood out.


The Happy:
*I met 2 of my very best friends by pure chance
*Graduated college after 6 long years (and high school in 01)
*I met my boyfriend, which renewed my belief in love
*I traveled to: London, Amsterdam, Paris(twice), Rome,
Charleston(a millionx),New Orleans, Myrtle Beach(2 or 3x),
Tampa, Baltimore and Las Vegas(2x).
*I adopted a hobo dog
*I became an aunt
*I moved to New York (which has been my ultimate dream)

The Sad:
*I lost 2 grandparents and a prom date.
*Saw friends lose their parents/friends
*Saw friendships (that I thought mattered) dissolve
*Had my heart broken 3x
*I was put on the FIT waiting list 2x-which
at the time was devastating.
*I totaled Shelby, (my car) in 2006

Things that I am Proud of:
*I moved to Charleston on a whim
*I finished something that I started (college)
*In 2002 I spent a month in NYC at Parsons and that
forever changed my life
*I'm extremely happy that I was able to give a shelter dog
a second chance...even if he hates most people.
*I started eating fish (and eating better in general)
*I have been off of my anxiety medication for almost a year



Last night a friend agreed that 2010 would be good,
and said that this is the year of the tiger.
The tiger is a symbol of bravery.
So here's to being brave in 2010

Happy New Year!

Merry Merry

After a week in South Jersey, I returned to the city
feeling refreshed. Needless to say, I spent yesterday
falling back in love with NY. Not that I ever really fell out
of love, but it becomes so familiar that you forget to really
appreciate how wonderful it really is.

I suppose that happens to everyone from time to time.

Anyhow, the week in NJ was wonderful and relaxing.
Joelie Bear is getting so big!
It's only a matter of time before he will really
start walking and talking!















Christmas Eve is always spent with my moms side
of the family, and this is the second year that it has been
held at our house. We go through bottles and bottles of
champagne and lots of food-so you know it's a good time.
















This is another culinary milestone.
I, JessChambers, made a buche de noel!
This was taken right after I rolled it up,
and I'm just happy that it didn't fall apart.
With some more practice at rolling and decorating
I believe that my yule logs will become more
visually pleasing.















Last but never least, is my little burrito.
He only was slightly mean on our visit,
and had very few accidents in the house.
I'm very proud of him.
















It was definitely a wonderful Christmas,
giftwise I hit the jackpot! I received that cake plate
I have wanted forever, Hocus Pocus on dvd,
new pots and pans, a Berlin guide, and "No Impact Man"
by Colin Beaven, among other things.

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!
Next up will be a look back at 2009

WinterWonderland: the quest for pizza

The bf and I braved the snowstorm
(which is currently at it's worst)
to get a frozen pizza and 2 oranges from
our 24 hour grocery store.
































It looks like we have anywhere from 7-12"
outside, and the snow keeps falling.
We had both planned to head to our respective
hometowns tomorrow, but I guess we'll see about
that in the morning.















For now we are going to curl up on the couch
with some pizza,( and eventually hot chocolate)
and watch "It's a Wonderful Life".

Being snowed in has never been so nice.

cookies!

These are 2 of my favorite cookie recipes.

These spiced cardamom cookies are a nice alternative
to gingerbread. The dough, before it is chilled, is extremely sticky,
but these cookies are well worth the trouble.















One of my favorite cookies, are Girl Scout Thin Mints.
Though after reading the box and finding all kinds of crap ingredients,
I had vowed never to eat them again. Then I found a faux Thin Mints
recipe in the Martha Stewart Living Holiday Sweets edition,
and all of my peppermint cookie dreams were realized.
These are just as delicious without the preservatives and HFC
*high fructose corn syrup

1 cup all purpose flour (plus more for dusting)
1/2 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp plus 1/8 tsp salt
6 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1/2 c sugar
1 large egg
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
12 oz semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 tsp pure peppermint extract
*optional white nonpareils for decorating

*In a medium bowl whisk together flour, cocoa, baking powder,
and 1/4 tsp salt

*In large bowl cream sugar and butter until pale and fluffy.
Beat in egg and vanilla. Gradually mix in flour mixture, mix
until just combined. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and chill for
at least 1 hr, or up to overnight.

*Preheat oven to 350. Line baking sheets with parchment.
Form balls of dough, equal to 1 tsp, and place on lined sheets.
Dip the bottom of a glass in flour and flatten the dough into
1 1/2" rounds. Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, for 8-10 min.
Transfer to wire racks, and cool completely.

*Combine chocolate, peppermint extract, and 1/8 tsp of salt
in a large heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water.
Heat, stirring occasionally until smooth. Remove from heat.
(I don't own a heatproof bowl, so I used one of my medium
metal bowls and just handled it with an oven mitt.)

*Replace parchment on baking sheets. Holding each cookie across
the tines of a fork, dip in chocolate to coat completely,
then tap underside of fork on the side of the bowl to allow
excess chocolate to drip off. Place onto prepared sheet,
and repeat until all cookies are coated. Decorate with nonpareils.
Refrigerate until chocolate has hardened, at least 1 hr.
Cookies can be refrigerated up to 5 days, between layers of
parchment in an airtight container.

Latest Obsessions

*Assorted Hershey's chocolates in holiday foils

*Purple cardigan from Uniqlo as seen in the photo
of the previous post. (been wearing it 24/7 since Monday)

*Twin Peaks season 2.
(we're only up to the second episode but
this season seems even creepier than the one before)

*Wham's "Last Christmas" and Mariah Carey's "Christmas
(Baby Please Come Home)"


*Hot cider from the greenmarket

*Seeing NYC decked out in Christmas lights.

Oh Tannenbaum.

At 1.30 am last night, or this morning
(whichever) the bf and I finally decorated our tree!

Topped with a red squid, and covered in our
(mostly red) ornaments, it looks so lovely.
Now it really feels like Christmas.
















I have a lot of favorite ornaments, but these two
are definitely at the top of the list. I've had them
for as long as I can remember.







































I should also mention that I have not one,
but two Christmas Troll ornaments.
Yes, I was a part of the troll fad of the 90's.




















These little gnomes are the bf's favorite ornaments.
Apparently his mom was never a fan of them, but always
felt obligated to hang them, so they now
reside on our tree.

Weekend recap

So this past weekend was filled with activities.
Friday morning was spent at the greenmarket
picking up potatoes, celery root, beets,
flowers and milk. The bf also purchased
another bottle of sparkling cider.
I think that we've had at least 5 bottles since the fall!

I took some photos of my favorite flower stand
where everything is dried, this saves me the trouble of
having to kill an innocent plant with my black thumb.
We picked up a winter arrangement which now resides
on our "mantle" (which is what we are calling our long table
since we are sans fireplace.)






















And this, this is romanesco cauliflower. I have not
cooked with it yet, but the sight alone is worth a photo.
















Saturday was a long but very rewarding day.
The Holiday Handmade Cavalcade finally happened
and I could not have imagined a better outcome.

I had 59 sales and sold over 100 cards!!
I'm still kind of in shock from that.

I should have walked around and taken more
photos, but I just never think of those things
until it is too late. But I did take a shot
of the back room where a bunch of us were-
along with the food and delicious cupcakes
from Nine Cakes.















This is by far one of my favorite items from the show,
and this should come as no surprise to anyone, a cephalopod sconce.
I definitely told Jen (jtopolski) multiple times, how much I loved them.
Hopefully these will be hanging from my bedroom wall very soon.




















This was my first cavalcade and it really was a wonderful experience.
I finally got to meet a lot of the other team members,
and see how my cards fared at a larger show. I am definitely
going to get my butt in gear with this card business and hopefully
2010 will be even better.

Untitled.

Holy crap it's December!
Time to make my house cozy and bake
delicious things!

I started with Buttermilk Biscuits.
Once you try this recipe, no pre-made
kind will ever be good enough.

















3 cups all purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 cups buttermilk
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup Butter (or shortening)

Sift the flour to make sure there are no lumps. Add in
the baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Add the
butter slowly, working it into the dry ingredients
(I find that the best way to mix is with your hands)


Next add the buttermilk, working it into the mixture
too. After everything is thoroughly mixed, plop it
down on a floured counter top or cutting board.

Turn you oven to 450 to allow it to preheat. While
it's heating up knead your dough until it is about
the consistency of clay. You can make it a little dryer
if need be by sprinkling more flour on your
counter or cutting board. As you knead your dough
it will pick up more of the flour.

Roll the dough out onto a floured surface and cut out circles
with a cutter or by hand.
Place the biscuits on a baking sheet and cook for about
18 minutes or until lightly browned

I've been topping them with the leftover cranberry compote
from my recent Thumbprint Cookies. It really lasts too! It has kept
in the fridge for about 2 weeks now.


In non-kitchen news The Holiday Handmade Cavalcade draws very near!
Only 4 days away! eek! I'm almost ready- just need to
print up a few more cards and figure out a nice display.

I've given up on the penguin holiday card. After 3 tries it just
did not get any better. So RIP holiday penguins.

And hello holiday bunny!















He still needs some work, but this will be my 3rd
set of holiday cards. Simple drawings are my favorite.


I will end this post with a photo of Joelie,
miracle baby extraordinaire, and my nephew.
Cutest thing ever.

<3

This is worth its own post.

The Countdown Begins.

Less than 2 weeks until the Holiday Handmade Cavalcade.
Today I managed to print a lot of otter cards,
touch up and package the santa squids, AND
post both sets of holiday cards to my etsy page.







































There was a fail in all this success,
the giving penguins that just don't
want to print properly. le sigh.
I'm close to giving up on them-
but I want to give it one more shot
because I love the design so much.

Between all this cardmaking I
did manage to spend some time
in the kitchen. Last Saturday I made
Cranberry thumbprint cookies.

I wanted to make these cookies because:
a.) I fell victim to Whole Foods cranberry bog display
and ended up leaving with a bag of them.
b.) I could not wait to use my new cookie sheet and
cooling rack. I have officially become a kitchen nerd.
c.)I love cornmeal, and everything that
you can make with it.















I'm excited to start my holiday baking soon, not to
mention the decorating! But it is still 3 days til
Thanksgiving, and I cannot begin to think about
Christmas until Friday.

Latest Obsessions

* FlashForward. The show poses a lot of questions that seldom get answered but I am already sucked in so there is no use in fighting it.

*Concord Grapes. I've been buying quarts and juicing them.
It takes a few strains but the end result is delicious.
(and good for you, possibly helping anything from heart disease
to breast cancer)

*The Secret History of the World by:Mark Booth
This book is so interesting, but (for me at least) some
paragraphs require a second and sometimes third reading.
It's a lot of esoteric ideas to take in! But this time I am determined
to get through it-I tried once before and then became
distracted by other books that weren't attempting
to change the way I thought about the world.

Polyvore.com- I found this website thanks to Rebecca's blog post.
I was instantly addicted. Basically, you are creating
your own inspiration board-which was always my favorite part
of my fashion classes. Mine definitely aren't as intricate
as some of the others on there but it's fun to put outfits together.

Sick Day

I am actually taking a sick day.
This rarely happens.
I always keep on truckin'
and prolong whatever sickness I might have.

Not this time!
Today is dedicated to getting better,
and resting. I currently have enchiladas
from my favorite mexican restaurant
(De Mole) being delivered. All I have wanted
through this cold is spicy food.

Because I am feeling a bit loopy, I doubt this post
will come together in a cohesive way. So I will just
post my halloween photos and say goodnight until
next time.

My mom and I














Old Gregg and Howard Moon


















the bf, Joelie Bear and I *cutest nephew ever*














My sister Nan, butchering a pumpkin