Fresh Mint Tea

I love it when I'm traveling and I come across something so wonderful, yet so simple I can easily recreate it at home. That's how I'm feeling about fresh mint tea right now. In Amsterdam most cafes serve it.  It's so simple too- just a bunch of fresh mint steeped in hot water and it tastes amazing. I prefer it with a little honey.

This will definitely become a staple for me back in Seattle :) I feel like I might need to get some clear mugs though, part of the fun is how pretty it looks! 

Sugar Cookie Party!

When Jenny and I were in college we used to make about six dozen sugar cookies every Christmas, decorate them, and give them away all around the neighborhood. We had two ovens in our little house but it still took most of a day.

This year for Valentine's Day I resurrected that tradition with my nieces. I purchased my trusty Betty Crocker mix (you know I don't do this from scratch) and whipped frosting, some food dye and sprinkles and we made a big, sugary mess! Mylo was not enthusiastic at first about the frosting but he warmed up a little by the end. Patrick was a surprising participant and helped decorate quite a few, including the genius "BE MINE" cookie featured above. I think we may need to do this again for St. Paddy's Day!

Beginner Mistake in the Kitchen

I recently read this article from over at The Kitchn about the one mistake beginners make in the kitchen and I am definitely guilty! They say that the best way to ruin meat or other things that are frying/grilling is to move them around too much. I'm generally an impatient person so it's hard for me not to check on whatever I'm cooking. Also there is something about "stirring" that makes it feel like things are moving along even if they aren't. I was very diligent last night when browning chicken breasts not to move them and they turned out great-- what a great tip!

PS. I definitely want to try the chicken recipe that they recommend, looks amazing.

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"Working" in Los Angeles...

While Teresa's enjoying her vacation. I'm working from LA for the next few days.

I use "working" fairly loosely because we shot an awesome wedding this weekend that was basically us getting to hang out some fun and very creative people (photos to come tomorrow!)  and now I've stayed for a few more days to work on a project with my friend Ash Lendzion. We're writing a script! Ash is a former college roommate of Teresa and mine. She's an actress and writer and an all around hilarious person who has done a bunch of script writing, but for me, this is the first thing I've attempted to write (well, other than this blog). Its the type of thing we've talked about doing for a long time, and then actually came up with an idea worth working on. Obviously if it turns out to be amazing, you'll be hearing plenty more about it :)

Anyhow, after a long day of  creativity, Ash and I walked from her place in Studio City to Spitz for some Mediterranean Street Food and it was bomb. They had four different varieties of sangria. Of course I loved the one with lavender.

And then, there were these. Streetcar Fries covered in goodness. We also shared a plate of veggies with hummus and tzatziki and the Streetcar Doner, which is an amazing wrap. I'd recommend it all. 

Somehow, after a whole day spent with Ash, this is the only photo I have to show. Just think of her as the new Wilson. You know, the neighbor from Home Improvement? Maybe you'll never see all of her face.

Watermelon, Lime and Mint Infused Water

Teresa and I hung out yesterday and had a great time chatting about the blog and coming up with summer post ideas. 

While we were chatting, we made infused water. I'm doing a five day cleanse this week, part of which involves me actually remembering to drink water. So I thought this would be a good way to start. 

I've always said I'd make infused water. It's so simple! All you need to do is add fruit or herbs to water and let it soak up the flavor for a bit. 

Our version included watermelon chunks, mint sprigs and lime. And, if you're me and want to make it really easy, you buy precut watermelon. It's wonderfully refreshing, so it was perfect for this hot Seattle weather. 

I often find infused water at weddings (and spas of course) and different combinations I want to try for myself in the future include: 

Lemon and Orange

Grapefruit

Blackberry and Sage

Cucumber, Lemon, Mint and Rosemary 

Basil and Strawberry 

My Summer Drink: Wine Spritzer

My friend Erika introduced me to my new favorite summer drink: the wine spritzer. It's the perfect way to sip wine over a whole afternoon or cut back a little on work evenings. I just combine soda/seltzer water with my favorite semi-effervescent wine (a Vinho Verde or Grüner Veltliner work great), add ice and maybe a splash of lemon and you're set! 

PS. 17 reasons wine spritzers are the best drink of the summer. :)

My New Favorite Food...

...is this amazing coconut cream pie from Munchery. I love it. 

In the middle of all the chaos, I've been using Munchery for dinner a lot lately. Have you tried them yet? Teresa got me hooked! It's about the same cost as ordering Thai or Indian, but it's a good variety of things, and offers healthy options, and of course, awesome desserts :)

If you use THIS LINK, you get $20 to spend (and so do I!). So try it! 

My Cooking Secret - Wei Shallot Oil

I haven't had it in me lately to cook anything fancy. Mostly we've been eating some sort of baked or steamed veggies, chicken, and rice or bread. BUT my favorite flavor booster for otherwise boring meals lately is this amazing Shallot Oil that I use on everything from chicken to brussels sprouts. Shallot oil is a staple in Vietnamese cuisine but it's so versatile it tastes great on almost everything. They sell it in big sizes or conveniently wrapped gift packages, perfect for a hostess gift.

And bonus, it's made by a cute couple from Seattle! Love it!

Brunch Cocktail: Campari Orange

In Argentina one of the things we loved was that instead of mimosa's most of the hot brunch spots were offering "Campari Orange" -- which is simply Campari combined with fresh squeezed orange juice and ice. So good! We've started drinking them at home and it's easy to make it into more of an aperitif by adding sparkling white wine or sparkling water. It's definitely more on the sour/bitter spectrum but we love that. Cheers!

Easy Autumn Chicken Recipe

I was looking for a new recipe to roast a whole chicken and stumbled across this Kitchn recipe for the "Best Chicken Recipe of All Time." AND it comes from Jaime Oliver who is one of my favorites (I was addicted to his cooking shows when we lived in Ireland). So I tried it out on Sunday and I must say it does not disappoint!

It's a pretty unique recipe being that it includes a lot of milk, a cinnamon stick, lemon, garlic and sage, which to me don't necessarily belong together. But it turned out very creamy and filled the house with a lovely fall cinnamon vibe. Patrick loved it and it took me less than 15 minutes to prepare so I will definitely be making it again!

Here is the basic recipe as outlined by The Kitchn:

1. Brown a whole chicken in copious amounts of olive oil or butter.
2. Pour in some milk, two lemons' worth of zest, a cinnamon stick, and fresh sage leaves. Scatter in a handful of garlic cloves in their jackets.
3. Bake for 90 minutes.
4. Pull apart and eat.

It's really that easy. I baked mine in a cast iron pan uncovered and the top got really crispy which was awesome. I saw the Kitchn recommends baking it covered for a while. I also used whole milk which made it extra creamy but I'm sure 2% would work perfectly.

Happy fall cooking! This is my favorite time of the year to be in the kitchen. 

Munchery Food Delivery

Hey Seattleites! Have you tried out Munchery food delivery yet? They started in San Francisco and recently opened up delivery in the Seattle area. Patrick and I tried it out last week and I have to say we were really impressed. Local chefs design the menu and each day you can go online or use their app to choose one of about 10 entrees and 5 sides to have delivered directly to your house or work. They are all under $10 and the portion sizes were big enough to feed us and Mylo. There are tons of healthy options and for every meal purchased they donate a meal to those in need. Win-win.

If you want to try it out, use this link for $10 off your first purchase. I think we are going to do it again this week!

Pumpkin Spice

I am not a fan of the Pumpkin Spice Lattes at Starbucks. Yep, I said it. Did you see John Oliver this weekend ranting against them? Hilarious. I would however, be more interested in drinking something a little more natural like this. Have you ever tried to make one at home?

Cold Brew Coffee DIY

After seeing people go crazy for it in coffee shops for the last few summers, I decided to give cold brew at home a go.

What's so great about cold brew, you ask? A few things. There is a lower acidity level, giving the coffee a smoother taste (and making it easier on your stomach), also, hot coffee when cooled rapidly gets a bitter after taste, that isn't the case with cold brew since it's never hot. So, hypothetically, you're making a smoother, sweeter, cold coffee. (That's the Jenny paraphrase of info from Food 52 and the NY Times)

I chose to go with this incredibly simple and informative recipe from Jamie Oliver. So simple in fact, it suggests using paper towels to strain your coffee if you don't have anything else on hand. 

Don't get caught up in the world of crazy contraptions. It's really very simple and you can make a big batch and keep it in your fridge for a week. Also, to keep it even longer, you can freeze the coffee into ice cubes. 

This is the easiest version of coffee I've ever made. No equipment required. Seriously, paper towels. You can do this.

DIY Kombucha

Look! I made this! 

(AND I drank it and haven't died!)

I'm a big fan of kombucha, but the idea of making something that's fermented was a little scary to me and rightfully so- the fermenting process goes against everything I've ever been taught about food safety and leaving things out, growing bacteria, etc. 

If you enjoyed science experiments as a kid, this is right up your alley. 

Basically, you make tea, add sugar, put it in a big jar with this sorta creepy looking bacteria/yeast blob that looks like a wet rubbery biscuit and let it sit on a shelf in your pantry for a few weeks. Added bonus, you can hide your favorite snacks behind it. It definitely detours husbands looking to eat all of the cookies :). 

I'm not going to pretend to be an expert by any means, so instead of telling you how to do it, I'll direct you to the experts that I've looked to:

First off, this post comparing the costs of buying kombucha  vs. making yoru own is what inspired me give it a go. 

I purchased the Goldfinch Kombucha Kit at Whole Foods. Their instructions were really straightforward and simple to follow. 

This had a bunch of helpful tips, photos and explanations as well. 

For my first round, I chose to keep the flavors simple, mainly because I wanted to make sure everything tasted right. I kept a few plain and added pommagranate juice to a few. I'm excited to try some of these suggestions in the future. 

Finally, I got my bottles from Bob's Homebrew Supply

I've already got my second batch fermenting in my pantry! SO I'd call this experiment a success! 

Would You Add Butter to Your Coffee?

Have you heard of this new craze called Bulletproof Coffee? People are adding butter to their morning cup of Jo instead of creamer...to loose weight. What??

Dave Asprey "invented" this concoction after tasting coffee with butter while trekking in Tibet. His recipe involves adding unsalted butter and MCT oil (or coconut oil) to your morning coffee, then blending it in to a frothy "latte-like" drink. He claims that when substituted for breakfast it is a great tool for weight loss while heightening awareness at the same time. Sounds about right if you don't eat breakfast and then drink coffee... I wouldn't know though since I'm more of a tea girl.

Apparently butter coffee is becoming the new thing at fancy coffee shops as well, would you try it?

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Favorite Things: Sofia Coppola Champagne Cans

Have you tried Sofia Coppola's amazing champagne "mini" cans? I love her champagne anyway but these little guys are perfect for sneaking into the movies, taking along for picnics, and sipping at bridal showers/pre-wedding festivities. They are one of my favorite go-to gifts for friends who like bubbly. Perfect for a fun summer treat!

Seattle Spotlight: Book Bindery

On Saturday Patrick and I celebrated our six year wedding anniversary by hiring a babysitter and going out on a date (which we both decided we need to do more often!). We got all spruced up and hit the town in the rain. We started with cocktails at one of our favorite cozy restaurants on the southern bank of the ship canal, Book Bindery. Being there reminded me that I wanted to do a post about this special little restaurant.

Parking is simple, the views are lovely and reminded us of European canals, the food and cocktails are top notch and the ambiance in general is perfect for a date or intimate dinner gathering. You can actually hear yourselves talk! (Yes, I'm turning into an old lady). My favorite part is that about half of the dinning area is in a greenhouse-style atrium so you feel like you're eating al fresco even when it's cold and rainy, which let's face it, this is Seattle. Patrick and I shared the truffle fries this time (ATTN: Jenny!) and they were a tasty compliment to our fancy cocktails. Bon appetite! 

Healthy Lunches

Anybody have any healthy lunch ideas or cookbooks?

I am in a bad habit of buying lunch at work everyday and now that Mylo is eating three meals a day we need to get a loose "meal plan" going at our house. I'd love to make up a big batch of a couple of things on the weekend that we could eat throughout the week. I'm thinking chicken breast, quinoa, lentils, couscous, pasta....

Have you ever made the "salad in a jar" thing? Some of these recipes look good from the Kitchn. Would love any blog/recipe/Pinterest resources from readers!

Flavored Water

It seems like everywhere I go these days I'm being offered fruit or herb infused water. There is something about it that is so refreshing and delicious. Now that summer is upon us I want to try keeping some flavored water at home to avoid the calories in juices, soda, and vino. This formula seems like the easiest for mixing up a perfect combination of herb and fruit. Also, have you tried one of these "infusing" pitchers or water bottles, they look like fun (but hard to clean?).

For summer it would be nice to get one of these big carafes (or this cute pitcher) to fill in the morning and just drink yummy water all day long...maybe out of these awesome glasses.

Do you have a favorite "recipe" for flavored water?

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Project Pinterest: Ginger Ale

I decided to start of my summer of crafts, creating and DIY with something super simple- a simple syrup. 

Jason and I drink a TON of ginger beer/ginger ale. I tell myself it's "healthy" since it has real ginger in it. 

When you buy the good stuff, made real ginger, it isn't cheap.  So it's something I've been wanting to try making for awhile.

I'd been eying a couple of fairly intimidating recipes- involving food processing and straining and things. A lot of steps and a lot of dishes to clean in the end.

Then I discovered this recipe from David Lebovitz, which is SUPER simple. You don't even have to peel the ginger!  

Once you make the simple syrup it'll keep in the fridge for a couple of weeks. Just mix it in a glass with some ice and sparkling water. Adjust the amounts based on how gingery you like it. I like it with a bit of lemon or lime squeezed in. 

It's perfect to turn into a mixed drink as well, just add your favorite liquor.