Blogging is tough because coming up with original content is not easy. I don’t have any interest in blogs that regurgitate topics or offer unoriginal insights so I try not to do that here. I’ve made it my mission to provide anyone who reads Domestocrat with an original, fun, and useful slice of life.

Let’s talk about behind the scenes of blogging, shall we? Most of my blogs require a lot of forethought and planning. Specifically recipe blogs. I usually spend about a week thinking about a recipe before I make and photograph it. My method when it comes to recipe blogging is to take 3 times as many pictures as I think I’ll need and take tons of notes along the way.

Uploading all of my photos, editing, outlining, and writing the actual post can take anywhere from a day to a month. This usually depends on the topic though. For example, a blog that took me just a day to capture and write was my Lavender Mead Arnold Palmer post. On the flip side it took me about 3 weeks to master the Sourdough Boule recipe and its baking technique.

The same applies to my other types of posts too. One post that took me only a day to write was my First Time Home Buying post (mainly because I was super revved up and had a lot to say). On the other hand it took me a full month to plan, photograph, edit, write, and complete my DIY Reclaimed and Refinished Side Table post.

The question I am asked a lot is how do I have time to do all of this stuff? The truth is I do a lot of my blogging on the weekends (recipes, travel recaps, product reviews etc.) and space them out during the week. My goal is to publish one post per day on weekdays and to create the content for 3-6 posts over the weekend.

I’m also asked a lot about inspiration. My blog started as just a way to share my thoughts and my life. I blog about what I like to read about – food, adventures, relationships, crafts, and cats – with some humor and fun on the side. So, every day life is my inspiration. I would be doing every single thing I blog about anyways, I figure I might as well snap some pretty pictures and try to share it in case it could be of use to someone else.

I’m not a writer. I don’t think my writing is actually any good which is why I’ve chosen an instructional format for my blog. I also believe in switching it up. In the past when I’d get asked what type of blog I write I would usually say something like “oh, um, recipes…sometimes travel…but mostly pictures of my cat.” Lately, as I’ve delved deeper into the blogosphere, I think my blog could more accurately be labeled as a lifestyle blog because I offer up real talk about recipes, travel, home projects, DIY ideas, product reviews, wedding planning advice, and sometimes deep thoughts.

I really hope you are enjoying Domestocrat so far in 2012. I’d love to know your thoughts and if there are any topics you’d like to read about going forward.

(The food pictures shown here were legit prep photos for the following blogs: Chewy Molasses Chocolate Chip Cookies, The Domestocrat Guide to Spicy Spices, Cucumber Agua Fresca, and Two Bean Veggie Burgers.)

I’ve been making my own healthy version for years, not really thinking anything of it. When I suggested making it for work lunches this week John was immediately on board. (Sidenote: He, however, despite being 100% Jersey Italian, did not eat a lot of CBZ as a kid, weird.) I whipped this up and he loved it. I never thought the recipe was that big of a deal. I guess I was wrong. So here it is for you!

Domestocrat’s Guilt Free Chicken, Broccoli, Ziti
(Yields 8 lunch portions, nutritional info below!)
3 lbs. chicken breast, cubed
1 onion, chopped fine
1 shallot, chopped fine
2 tbsp. EVOO
4 cups broccoli, washed and trimmed
1 box of ziti/rigatoni
2 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. kosher salt

For the sauce:
3 cups fat free greek yogurt
1 cup light sour cream
3 oz. crumbled feta
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 cup bread crumbs
2 tbsp. parsley
1 tsp. crushed red pepper
Salt & pepper to taste
Dash of milk (optional)

Start with the items that will take the longest to cook: the onions/shallots and the chicken. In one pot combine 1/2 tbsp. EVOO, onion, and shallots. Cook down until they are translucent, not caramelized (about 20-25 minutes). In another pot combine the rest of the EVOO and the cubed chicken. Sauté until chicken is fully cooked but not dried out (20-25 minutes).

While that is cooking, make the sauce. Combine the greek yogurt, sour cream, cheeses, bread crumbs, parsley, crushed red pepper, salt and pepper. If it gets too thick, add a dash of milk.

When the onions and chicken have about 10 minutes left, start on the ziti and broccoli. Boil a big pot of water for both.

Wow, this dish required the most space I’ve ever used in the kitchen at one time.

When the water is boiling, toss in the pasta. You want it a little underdone because it’s going to keep cooking in the oven. When it’s 1-2 minutes from being done, add the broccoli. After 1-2 minutes, remove from the heat and strain.

In a very big bowl (I used my chicken pot/Le Creuset) combine the chicken, onions, and sauce. When the pasta and broccoli have drained, add them too.

Mix together thoroughly. This requires some elbow grease!

Divide the mixture into whatever you have for casserole dishes, sprinkle a little more parmesan cheese over the top, and bake on 350 for about 10 minutes or until the top is crispy and brown.

Wahoo, it’s done!

It’s so good. I promise you will not miss the heavy cream sauce or butter. My version is definitely decadence without the guilt; creamy, fresh, and full of flavor. Oh, it also kept me full all afternoon at work (check out the protein count below, no wonder!).

Yay work lunches!

Nutritional Information (calculated using the Lose ItiPhone app):

538 calories
12.3g fat
643.7mg sodium
54.8g carbohydrates
6.5g fiber
9.2g sugar
52.3g protein (holy protein!!)

Here’s the before and after:

However the one thing that was leftover with no home were our vacation jars. We were really loving the corner of newfound space in the office and didn’t want to clutter it up so we decided on wall shelving for the jars. We went back and forth about what kind of shelving, the size and placement of new shelves, and where to buy them. We couldn’t find anything we like and we started to get fed up with the process.

On a whim I showed John a few ideas I had found on Pinterest (this and this) and he loved them! I then had the great idea to check out local antique markets to see if we could find some cool old wooden crates. You may have seen my blog on the Cambridge Antique Market which where we ended up finding two amazing yellow United Farmers of Boston dairy crates.

We measured the wall, found the studs, and got to mounting the crates.

We sunk large screws into the studs and hung the crates by the natural spaces in the slats rather than screwing through the crate and into the wall. This created a straighter and more sturdy fit.

Mounting the second crate took my handy husband about 2 seconds.

Once the crates were wall mounted and we tested them to make sure they were sturdy, we loaded them up with our vacation jars. Here is the finished product:

What do you think?! We love them. The end result turned out way better than we imagined. The crates add the perfect pop of color to the room. They are a unique approach to traditional shelving and add a little antique charm to our office.

Agua frescas are fruit/citrus/spice infused waters, popular in Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean. That description alone should tell you why this drink will help cure your winter blues. It’s refreshing and cool with warm weather flavors.

Domestocrat’s Cucumber Agua Fresca with Lemon and Mint
(yields 2 servings)
1/2 cucumber, peeled (I use English cukes)
2 tsp. lemon zest
3 tbsp. lemon juice
6 mint leaves
3 cups cold water
2 cups ice
2 tsp. Splenda (or sugar)

Garnish:
2 lemon slices, cut into wedges
4 mint leaves

Pulse all of your ingredients together in a food processor or blender until everything is incorporated.

Fill your glasses with ice. Put a small strainer over the top and pour in the agua fresca. I imagine if you increase the recipe (which I plan to do), you can pour the agua fresca into a pitcher and strain with a bigger strainer if you like.

Make sure to press all of the water out of the cucumber pulp with a spoon. Don’t throw away the pulp! You’ll see why below.

Garnish with lemon wedges and mint leaves. Enjoy!!

Going, going, gone!

John and I gulped these down fast. They were refreshing, light, cool, and just taste like spring/summer. The next time I make these I might let the blended mixture sit for longer to infuse more flavor into the water. Still, this recipe is fine to drink immediately.

Pro Tip: I saved my pulp in a plastic baggie, divided into equal sections, and froze as agua fresca ice cubes! I plan to toss them into plain water. I’ll let you know how it turns out.

How are you beating the winter blues this year?

I searched Yelp for local antique markets thinking I would find the closest one to be in New Hampshire. I was beyond excited when I realized there is one in Cambridge, less than 3 miles from our house!

The whole place was incredible. There are 5 floors all packed with antique treasures.

The basement floor was a bike workshop! So cool. Tons of bikes, accessories, and a whole work area down there for repairs and tune ups.

I could have spent hours here. We found what we were looking for pretty quickly so it was a short trip. We’ll definitely be back though.

It’s so awesome to take a chance on an adventure and find amazing things right in your own backyard.

Here’s a sneak peek on the project I mentioned above. This is what we bought:

Any guesses????

Are you an antique lover? Where are your favorite places to shop for them?

Here are the most popular spicy spices:

Let’s break it down, shall we?

Cayenne Pepper
Cayenne pepper, otherwise known as red pepper since that’s what it is in ground form, is a gorgeous burnt orange color which I love. It’s extremely spicy (a little will go a long way) but not hot. It has a lingering tangy flavor. My favorite uses for cayenne are in marinades, dry rubs, and soups.

Red Pepper Flake
Red pepper flake, otherwise known as crushed red pepper (or simply “crushed red” if you’re Anne Burrell), is made from dried hot peppers. It’s slightly sweet, very spicy, and has a lingering hotness. Red pepper flake is my favorite of all of spicy spices however, it’s very easy to overdo and blow your whole dish. There aren’t many foods you can’t add red pepper flake to, in my opinion. I love it in pad thai, pasta dishes, and it’s probably been on every single piece of pizza I’ve eaten in the last 10 years.

Black Pepper
Ah, black pepper. So simple and underappreciated. Black pepper is probably the most versatile of all the spices. Yeah, I said it. If you have any spice in your kitchen it should be ground black pepper (paired with some good kosher salt). Black pepper is not spicy but has a mild bite to it. I add it to literally every single dish I make minus desserts; it’s perfect in everything. My favorite black pepper applications are the simplest ones: on a hot buttered baked potato, over pasta and parmesan cheese, or sprinkled over a freshly boiled ear of corn.

Chili Powder
Chili powder is the most diverse of the bunch as it is usually made from a blend of dried chili peppers. It is said to add piquance to dishes. (PS – Piquance is my new favorite word) I like chili powder because it’s smoky and salty, and that combination always reminds me of BBQ. For that reason I highly recommend chili powder for BBQ rubs or meat marinades. However my favorite use for chili powder is in mac and cheese. It adds huge flavor to the roux that carries throughout the whole dish.

Paprika
Last but not least is paprika. Paprika is the mildest of all the spicy spices because it’s usually made from ground bell peppers (which are not hot at all). Because it’s so mild paprika is often used in recipes just to add color, believe it or not. Paprika is sweet and slightly smoky with a non-lingering flavor. Hungarian Paprika is the best variety, in my opinion. My favorite uses are in risotto and on homemade pita chips.

I mentioned specific uses for each of these spices but I wanted to mention a few recipes where they are interchangeable or where you can use them all. They are chili, tikka masala, BBQ dry rub, and spicy chicken.

One last pro tip on spices: Buy them at Penzey’s. In my opinion their products are of the highest quality, impart the best flavor, and last the longest.

This is the 4th year John and I have gotten tea at L’Espalier for Valentine’s Day. I think it’s my favorite tradition that we have. Every tea experience is both different and familiar. The quality of the food is always exquisite but the menu itself changes slightly every time. The ambiance is always sophisticated and classy but a different seat every year has offered us a new take on the dining room. The cheese selection is consistently excellent though regions and flavor profiles change.

Here’s the salon with a full view of the amazing cheese display case:

Here was the view from the corner nook we were seated in:

The newest, and most exciting, addition to our tea experience was the flowering tea. We were each served a blooming tea pod that flowers over the course of 10-15 minutes, releasing a gorgeous confetti of fragrances and flavors. It was so pretty and tasted delicious (ours was lavender and amaranth).

Here was our cheese course and tea sandwiches:

And, finally, the dessert course:

My favorites this year were the Earl Grey trifle (layered with grapefruit preserves, shortbread, and Earl Grey flavored cream) and, as always, the scones.

And, if you’re curious, here’s the outfit I wore for our Valentine’s Date Day (loving this new blouse I got at Macy’s):

• My blog about the perfect recipe for one pizza, Peter Reinhart’s Napoletana Pizza Dough
• My blog about adapting the Reinhart/Bread Baker’s Apprentice Pizza Dough for grilling
• My blog about the perfect single serving pizza dough recipe

Recently I realized I need just one go-to pizza dough recipe. It’s not that the above recipes are inadequate in any way, I just desire to commit one really stellar, signature recipe to memory and then, go forth and conquer. I’m happy to report I’ve finally found it.

Domestocrat’s Perfect Homemade Pizza Recipe
(yields one delicious pie)
1 cup King Arthur Sir Lancelot flour
1/2 cup King Arthur bread flour
1/2 cup King Arthur whole wheat flour
3/4 tsp. yeast
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp. sugar
1 & 1/4 cups warm water

Before going any further let’s talk flour. Here is my triumvirate:

I exclusively use King Arthur flour products (King Arthur Sir Lancelot flour, King Arthur bread flour, and King Arthur whole wheat flour). They are extremely high quality, produce excellent results whether you’re baking pizza, cookies, bread, cakes, etc., and I really believe in the company and want to support it. The Sir Lancelot flour is particularly important in breads because it’s high gluten which adds extra chew and great texture.

Also, using good yeast is a must.

I swear by SAF Red Instant Yeast (also available from King Arthur). It stays good for over a year if kept in the freezer, it doesn’t need to be proofed before baking, and the whole package will make 96 loaves of bread. For under $6, I’d say that’s a no brainer.

The hardest part (procuring good quality ingredients) is over, let’s make some pizza. All you need is time, patience, and to follow these seven steps:

Step 1 – Combine all of your ingredients whether in a bowl or stand mixer. Knead for at least 5 minutes.

Step 2 – Move the dough to a greased glass bowl covered with a kitchen towel.

Step 3 – Proof your dough for at least an hour. Pro tip that I learned from Joy The Baker: Turn your oven on to 200 degrees and set the proofing dough bowl on top of the oven. Proofing dough needs warmth to rise and this works beautifully, especially in the winter. Also, this works best with a gas oven.

Step 4 – When the dough has fully risen, preheat your oven and pizza stone at 500 degrees.

Step 5 – Sprinkle a clean surface liberally with cornmeal, roll out the dough to your desired size, place the dough on your pizza stone, and parbake for 2-5 minutes.

Step 6 – Remove the dough from the oven then add sauce, cheese, and toppings. Bake the pizza for another 10-15 minutes depending on how done you like it.

Step 7 – Cool for 5 minutes. Then enjoy!

Red pepper flake on top is a must. Garlic salt too if you have it. John likes pepperoni. I think simple is best when it comes to pizza but whatever floats your boat.

Do you have a go to pizza recipe? What are your favorite cooking methods? What are your must have toppings?

Lately, though, the baked potato craving has been too strong to ignore. So last Saturday night I told John I was making us a nice healthy dinner at home and not to ask questions. Mwahaha! Plus, I don’t always believe him when he says he doesn’t like something. The man will eat anything! Just to be safe though I jazzed this one up to make sure he’d love it.

So, this is my fun twist on classic twice baked potatoes. Giada inspired me but I whipped this up mostly on a whim. This ain’t yer grandma’s twice baked potato; it’s packed with tons of flavor and extra veggies!

Domestocrat’s Not Your Grandma’s Twice Baked Potatoes
(serves 2-4, depending on portions)
2 medium sized white potatoes
1 cup portbella mushrooms, chopped
1/4 cup caramelized onions
1/4 cup chicken stock
1 tsp. minced garlic
4 tsp. EVOO
1/2 cup cheddar cheese
Salt & pepper to taste

Start by washing, trimming, and poking holes in the potatoes. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 1 hour. It may take a bit less or a bit more time to cook depending on your oven and potatoes. Check on them often and take them out when they feel done to you. I squeeze the sides and when the middle gives easily, I take them out.

When they are done take the potatoes out of the oven, cut them in half, and let them cool for 20-30 minutes.

On to the filling! You can start this 15 minutes before you are ready to use your cooled potatoes.

Chop the mushrooms. I use baby bellas here but you could use any variety you like.

I pre-caramelized a huge batch of onions for the week so I made my filling in the same pot. I highly recommend doing this, so much flavor! In your pot combine onions, mushrooms, garlic, chicken stock, and salt and pepper. Cook for 7-10 minutes over medium heat or until the mushrooms have softened.

Now that the potatoes are cool, scoop the baked potato goodness in the middle into a bowl and set aside.

Pour 1 tsp. of EVOO into each potato half and rub liberally on the inside and outside. This is critical for nice crispy potato skins!

Add your cooked filling to the bowl with the potatoes. Add half the cheese and mix thoroughly.

Scoop equal amounts of the filling into each potato skin.

Top with cheese, place on a wire rack on a baking sheet, and bake on 350 degrees for 5-7 minutes or until the cheese is melted.

John gobbled up his potatoes faster than I have ever seen him eat anything before. They were the perfect addition to my healthy dinner of roasted chicken and garlicky spinach.

Nutritional Information:
I counted one whole potato (two stuffed halves) as one serving. Calculated with my Lose It app.

470 calories
13.6g fat
301mg sodium
71.2g carbohydrates
8.1g fiber
5.9g sugar
17.6g protein

Here are some more details and the nutritional information:

Country of Origin: England
Milk Type: Cow
Rennet: Vegetable
Age: 24 months
Texture: Creamy-crumbly
Taste: Intense and savory with natural sweet notes

This cheese is fantastic. It’s just as delicious, sharp, and creamy as my favorite aged Cabot cheeses. It’s much more affordable ($3.99 per) and is perfect for any use (snacking, wine/beer pairing, or adding to a main course like mac & cheese).

(Product reviews are never sponsored; they are just my musings on products I’ve tried and want to share with you.)

John and I went to the TD Garden on Friday night to see the Celtics vs. Knicks. I always forget how much I love basketball until I go to a game. Basketball on TV doesn’t really do it for me however basketball in person is awesomely fun.

I love the team intros before tipoff. The green hue over the Garden gets me so amped!

Real talk: This was our view from Section 6. These were the best seats I’ve ever had at a Celts game.

Seeing the 2011 Bruins Stanley Cup banner hanging in the rafters made me a little misty eyed.

Who can resist a big soft pretzel? Not this girl.

At half time, free ballin’:

Overall the game was great. They kept it close the whole time which is the best way to watch a live game. In the end the Celts took it 91-89. I can’t wait to go again!

Domestocrat’s Seven Layer Dip
2 cans (each 16 oz.) refried beans
2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp. black pepper
1 head of lettuce, shredded
1 jar (12 oz.) salsa
1-2 tomatoes, cubed
2 cups (14 oz.) guacamole
1 container (16 oz.) sour cream
1 bag (8 oz.) shredded cheese
1 cup green onions, thinly sliced

The instructions here are simple: chop your veggies, prep your beans (thoroughly mix in cayenne and black pepper), put your ingredients in an assembly line, and get ready to layer.

This is the order in which I layer my dip. The rule I use is to alternately layer sturdy ingredients (beans, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese) and looser ingredients (salsa, sour cream, guac) so it’s easy to scoop and eat the dip.

1. Refried beans
2. Lettuce
3. Salsa
4. Tomatoes
5. Guacamole
6. Half of the cheese
7. Sour cream
8. The rest of the cheese
9. Garnish with green onions

Make sure you have a big, flat utensil to spread out the layers with while you’re making this dip (I use this). Don’t worry about making the layers perfect, no one will see it anyway! Do spend some time garnishing the top with green onions to make it look pretty though.

That’s pretty much it. Enjoy with chips, veggie sticks, or pita bread.

Do you make a seven layer dip? What are your seven layers?

First, let’s talk party classics. Who can resist delicious Feta Guacamole or Beer and Brown Sugar Kielbasa? My personal favorite unique twists on classic party food are Lasagna Cupcakes and a Restaurant Quality Cheese Plate you can DIY.

Sometimes I like to make a more substantial dish for my guests. For that I’d recommend my Easiest and Yummiest Pasta Salad Ever or some classic Mac and Cheese.

And what would a party be without yummy desserts? My go-to are Salted Caramels, Gooballs, and classic Chewy Molasses Chocolate Chip Cookies.

One last thing – drinks! A huge stock of yummy drinks are key for any party. I prefer lots of nice craft beers in an easily accessible cooler like the one seen here (cat optional). But you could also fancy up your party with Lavender Mead Arnold Palmers or some Apple Cider Sangria.

What are you making for the Superbowl? Are you hosting a party or going somewhere? And, most important, who are you rooting for?!

If you’ve ever had Nutella this is basically what TJ’s Cocoa Almond Spread tastes like. Smooth, chocolately, creamy, vaguely nutty. However, where Nutella has a milky taste (because it’s made with skim milk), this stuff has an almondy/soymilk taste to it. Still wonderfully chocolately, however the undertone flavor is less hazelnut and more almond.

Healthy? Uh, no. But really dang yummy if you ask me.

At $3.99 a jar it’s probably worth a try if you’re a Nutella fan like me. And heck, if you’re looking for a recipe to use this up in I think it’d be a great swap in this ice cream recipe I made with Nutella.

(Product reviews are never sponsored; they are just my musings on products I’ve tried and want to share with you.)

Larz Anderson was a French businessman who loved cars and married an amazing lady from Boston. He also had an amazing handlebar mustache.

The museum started when the Andersons retired their obsolete vehicles to the carriage house on their estate and started giving tours of them in 1927. The museum is billed as America’s oldest car collection so there is a lot to see here.

The basement held the most impressive part of the museum.

We really enjoyed this museum and will definitely be returning.

This dried bean and barley mix boasts an impressive 17 bean varieties. Yup, count ‘em, they’re all there (if you count lentils and various types of peas as beans, that is).

Check out the nutritional information: all that protein, fiber, and iron. Yes, please.

What a gorgeous assortment.

Heck, the packaging is even super helpful, providing two options for prepping – a long soak and quick soak method. I did the quick soak and the beans came out perfectly. I used the whole bag and found they really bulked up after soaking. I split the entire amount in half, some for my chili and the rest I’ll keep in the fridge for next weekend.

After the quick soak, I added half of the bean and barley mix to my already simmering vegetarian chili.

After 3 hours of low and slow bubbling, I packaged it up into 5 portions for work lunches this week. This all-veggie chili with a hearty bean and barley base clocks in at 539 calories per serving. All that fiber and protein keep me full until dinner. Not to mention it’s warm, comforting, and bursting with flavor.

I definitely will be buying TJ’s bean and barley mix again to make chili. I can’t wait to think up more applications too!

(Product reviews are never sponsored; they are just my musings on products I’ve tried and want to share with you.)

The time that goes into making these burgers is worth it though. The recipe I adapted my burgers from was from Daily Garnish. It’s a great recipe and I can’t wait to make it again. That said, I definitely plan to use an egg next time as a binder.

Domestocrat’s Two Bean Veggie Burgers
(adapted from Daily Garnish’s Vegan Bean Burgers, nutritional info is below)
1 can black beans (drained and rinsed)
1 can garbanzo beans (drained and rinsed)
1 carrot, finely minced
1 onion, finely minced
1/2 cup ground oats
1/4 cup ground pumpkin seeds
3 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. coriander
1/4 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. Vietnamese cinnamon
1/4 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper

First, pulse your onions in a food processor until they are chopped finely.

Add your carrots to the foodpro next and pulse to a similar size as the onions.

Rinse your garbanzo beans (chickpeas) and black beans and add them to the foodpro.

Before you pulse, add your spices on top.

Pulse for a good 1-2 minutes until the whole mixture is smooth and creamy.

The next part of the recipe calls for ground pumpkin seeds and oats. I ground them down in the coffee grinder I use specifically for spices and grinding things like flax seeds and oats.

Add your bean mixture and ground items to a big bowl and combine together thoroughly.

Form the mixture into patties. This recipe should make 6 patties. Spread them out on a well greased cooling rack on top of a baking sheet. Bake on 350 degrees for 35 minutes.

When my veggie burgers came out of the oven they were cooked but not as crunchy as I would have liked on the outside. So I crisped them up in a pan for about 3 minutes over medium heat before serving.

Serve them as you would a regular burger (on a bun with tomato and pickles) or by itself with a runny egg on top. Either way, enjoy!

Nutritional Information:

Loaded in and tracked with my Lose It iPhone app.

Since my burger recipe makes 6 servings, here is the nutritional info for one burger:

266 calories
10.6g fat
36.5g carbohydrates
1.7g fiber
3.6g sugar
10.3g protein

Domestocrat’s Oatmeal Cherry Walnut Cookies
(makes roughly 30 cookies)
2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1.5 cups AP flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. kosher salt
3 cups old-fashioned oatmeal
1/2 cup dried cherries, chopped fine (I love Trader Joe’s dark sweet cherries)
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped fine

Start by creaming the butter and sugar. Proceed by adding in the rest of the wet ingredients (egg, vanilla).

Next, slowly incorporate the dry ingredients (baking powder, cinnamon, flour, oatmeal, etc). When all of the wet and dry ingredients are mixed together, add in the walnuts and cherries.

Scoop uniform dough balls (I use a #20 disher for cookies) onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet.

Bake the cookies on 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes until the edges and tops are slightly browned.

Let them cool if you can or just immediately eat. Either/or. I prefer these cookies warm. You can store in the freezer for a few weeks too.

I’ve been working on this type of thinking and negative self talk. It’s extremely hard to change the direction and patterns of your constant internal chatter. My battle with shoulda’s is the worst but I’ve been confronting it in two ways: giving them the time of day and countering them with more positive self talk.

Instead of focusing on what I should do, I need to count what I have done as something, and, if possible, turn should-haves into something actionable. One of my favorite sayings is “If it is important to you, you will find a way. If it’s not, you’ll find an excuse.” So, for example, when I pass the ever-growing stack of books I’ve been meaning to read for months and think to myself for the millionth time “I should read those,” I will make a point of sitting down and giving my should-have 5 minutes of my time. I will ask myself how truly important it is to my life to complete and also how much energy/time it will take. My reading example requires carving out some concrete time every day to tackling a chapter or two but isn’t awful or hard because I really enjoy reading. My other most common example is letting stuff lay around the house that needs to be put in our basement for storage. I walk by such a pile and think “I should put that downstairs” but get distracted or am too lazy or plan to ask John to do it. It really isn’t so hard that I should be putting things like that off and making myself feel miserable over it.

Sometimes when my shoulda’s are really outlandish and unrealistic, I don’t even give them the time of day. I try to counter them with something more positive or supportive. For example, I often should-have over very generalized things (I should be better at technology, I should have more expertise in my field, I should be smarter, I should try harder). These things are way too general and unrealistic to get bent out of shape over. So, instead of letting them get me in a twist, I would counter them by saying: I’m doing the best I can, I don’t always have to be the expert, I could improve my skills in a few areas but it takes time and practice and I might not have that right now.

I think as I practice how I react to my should-have thoughts it will get easier and my negative self talk will hopefully lessen. Do you battle with should-haves? What do you do? How do you counter negative self talk?

Domestocrat’s Double Potato Latkes
1 sweet potato
2 small white potatoes
1/4 cup onion, grated
1/4 cup AP flour
1/4 cup Italian bread crumbs
1 egg
1/4-1/2 cup canola oil
Salt & pepper to taste

Recipe Note: The recipe calls for 3 potatoes and clearly in the pictures I processed the whole lot of them that I bought. The pictures are just for illustrative purposes, stick with the 3 potatoes that the recipe calls for. Your 3 potatoes should yield 2-3 cups grated and that is the ratio this recipe is based on.

The first step is to process all of your potatoes – wash, peel, grate in your food processor. You can leave the skins on (I did with the white potatoes, I don’t recommend doing that with the sweet potatoes though) or hand grate them. It’s really up to you!

Combine your grated sweet and white potatoes together in a bowl.

Next mix the flour, bread crumbs, egg, pepper, and salt together in a separate bowl. (A note: I like Italian bread crumbs because they come preseasoned but you could use plain or panko if you like.) Add your grated potatoes to the mixture and combine thoroughly.

In a large saute pan heat 1/4 cup of canola oil over medium heat. When it starts sizzle drop in your latke(s). Each latke should be roughly about 2 tbsp. of your batter formed into a little patty. Fry in the oil until the edges brown then flip. You can press the latkes down slightly to help form your patty. Thin latkes are better than thick ones, they crisp better and cook more uniformly through the middle. You can cook them individually (shown) or 4-5 at a time in a bigger saute pan (which I recommend).

When you remove the cooked latkes put them on a paper towel lined plate to wick away the excess oil. As you cook your batch keep track of the oil level, if it gets too low just add a little more. You don’t want to add so much oil that they get soggy, just enough to immerse the bottom and crisp them. You’re looking for about 1/4-1/2 inch of oil in the bottom of the pan at all times.

These latkes are savory and hearty, but very light. The two potatoes compliment each other perfectly and the hint of onion brings it all together. Serve hot as is or topped with greek yogurt!

The obligatory before shot:

Underneath the awful gray default cover of the Solsta Pallbo (gotta love the name on this one) was a pretty simple particle board cube with a foam top. Looks unsturdy and uncomfortable but these things can hold any weight, are super comfy to sit on, and perfect to rest your feet on. Impressive!

I bought some fabric at IKEA (the lovely Makjen) and got to work drawing up a pattern for the covers. Basically I needed a 15″ x 15″ square for the top and a 60″ x 15″ piece for the sides. I measured out the fabric, adding an extra inch on all sides for a hem allowance, and then cut it. You can see how they look below.

My plan was to sew straight, 1″ hems on every piece of fabric and then simply sew the larger piece on to the top. Kinda hard to explain, you’ll see.

First, I sewed the hem on the top piece, creating a perfect 15″ x 15″ square.

Someone wanted to “help”:

The end result on the top:

I then took the top piece, matched it up to the hem of the larger piece, and carefully sewed them together on all four sides. I made sure on each corner that the edges lined up perfectly.

The end result was crisp corners on each edge (warning: kitty photobomb!).

When I had sewn all the way around the top, I sewed a straight seam up the side to close it.

I then repeated the whole thing to make the second ottoman cover and, voila, they were done!

A much better match with the tan couch and so much cuter.

This project isn’t over yet though!!

I had some fabric left over and, not wanting to waste it, I decided to whip up a quick curtain for our washer/dryer area. During the saga of getting them, the door had to be taken off the laundry closet so we’d hoped to be able to cover it in some way. Finally!

I quickly measured the door frame (I believe it was 73″ x 24″), cut the remaining fabric down, sewed a 1″ hem on all four sides, and I was done. I got some adorable clips from IKEA and a thin curtain rod at Target to hang the curtain with.

And here it is! It was a super easy side project, a great way to cover the laundry area, and adorably matches our ottomans.

What do you think??? I love small touches like this around the house: the fabric pops, it was all DIY, and adds a lot of personality to our living room.

I separate all of my receipts into two plastic folios: one for my debit card and one for my credit card.

At the end of every year I take everything (receipts and bank statements) out of the folios, organize by month, and file away in a box.

This is a lot of stuff to keep. A lot of paper to be specific. Ahhh!

So this year I thought I’d cut the clutter and really sort out what I need to keep and what I can toss. I found some great advice online (thanks LifeHack and Oprah!) but ultimately came up with my own system I thought I’d share. Here goes.

Domestocrat’s Receipt Rules

Keep Receipts For: Anything returnable (clothes, appliances, electronics, etc.), banking transaction receipts, anything medical (including Rx receipts), gifts, really expensive items of any kind, gym membership, car repair/service, parking tickets, reimbursements, and anything someone else owes you money for.

Recycle/Shred/Toss Receipts For: Gas, everyday items (Target, etc.), food/groceries/meals out, events/shows/tickets gone by, and any clothing item that’s been well worn, thrown out, or donated already.

Sticking to these “rules” dramatically reduced the amount of paper receipts I saved from 2011. Where I would normally have a whole box of receipts for one year, I only had one 8×10 paper envelope for 2011. Yippee!

How do you keep your receipts/finances organized? Do you organize them at the end of the year at all?

I’m getting over a cold myself (plane germs are the one and only awful thing about vacation). It got me thinking about preventative ways to avoid a cold and I’m not sure there are many. Get enough sleep, work out, wash your hands, etc. I do all these things and still sometimes get a cold. The only way to really beat a cold, in my opinion, is have a handful of ironclad reactive measures. So, here are my top 5 tips to beat a winter cold:

1. Sleep With a Humidifier On – I swear, I will get sick without the humidifier on at night from September to April. The moisture keeps my nose and throat from drying out (a sure first sign of a cold). Also the white noise helps me sleep better too.
2. EmergenC Packets – Forgo the calories of OJ and drink one of these per day instead for all of your Vitamin C needs (120 cals per 8 oz. vs. 20 cals for 1 packet). I prefer to drink mine in the morning with breakfast. File EmergenC packets under Awesome Hangover Remedies also.
3. Alka Seltzer Plus Cold & Cough Medicine – The only cold meds I take. This stuff helps with symptoms like cough and congestion and will knock you out at night so you can sleep. Though, unlike Nyquil, it won’t give you weird dreams or be impossible to wake up from.
4. Gargle With Salt Water – Sounds gross but nothing soothes a sore throat more than salt water. Dissolve a teaspoon of salt in a cup of warm water, gargle 3-4 times, repeat 4-5 times per day.
5. The Obvious But Tried and True Tips – rest, sleep, a hot shower, blow your nose rather than sniffle it up, have cough drops on hand, stay hydrated (water and green tea work best for me), and acetaminophen.

Here’s to your health! Feel free to share your favorite ways to deal with a winter cold.

We flew to Fort Myers on Thursday and got in in the late afternoon. We unpacked, went outlet shopping, and got our favorite BBQ (our post-engagement BBQ place).

Day 2 had us up early and off to Lovers Key at Fort Myers Beach.

We had a little beachside picnic lunch. Fun!

Then we were off to our favorite outlet mall, the Miromar Outlets. It’s so huge that we spread our shopping out over two days.

After shopping we went home, packed up, and hit the road to Cape Canaveral 3 hours north.

We stopped in Kissimmee at El Tanampa for the best Mexican food I have ever had. This restaurant even had a mariachi band!

We finally arrived in Cape Canaveral and stayed in a very nice hotel for the night.

On Saturday morning we were up early for breakfast at the Waffle House and then off to Cape Canaveral!

Going to the Kennedy Space Center was the thing I was most looking forward to during our trip. John and I are both huge space nerds and I couldn’t wait to go see this part of history.

We took the Up Close Tour which was a little pricier but took us behind the scenes to the places the regular tours don’t go.

It was so funny, there is nothing around this whole area except the Space Center. The stretch of launch pads is actually on 40 miles of uninterrupted, gorgeous Florida beachfront. Nice!

The first stop on our tour was the Vehicle Assembly Building. Enormous is not even the right word to describe it. The size was unfathomable.

We got to see the space shuttle Endeavour up close and personal. It was amazing, totally breathtaking. I couldn’t believe I was seeing this iconic piece of history with my own eyes.

This is launch pad 39B where the majority of liftoffs occur.

This is a different vantage point of 39B with a placard explaining everything at the site.

The bus tour ended after an hour or so of touring around the complex. It ended at the Saturn V Center where we saw a cool video and a replaying of the actual launch of Apollo 11.

We also got to see the actual Saturn V rocket which was incredible. There’s me and the rocket in that first picture. Crazy, right?

Lunar Sample and place where you could “Touch The Moon”:

The Rocket Garden:

Actually walkway used by the crew of Apollo 11 (Aldrin, Armstrong, Collins) to board their space shuttle:

After our full day in Cape Canaveral we made the long drive back to Fort Myers. We had pizza, watched the Patriots kill the Broncos, and went to bed.

On Sunday morning we made an early trip to Naples Beach.

We strolled around the always lovely 5th Avenue.

We had lunch (including garlic knots) at our favorite 5th Ave restaurant (Cafe Luna), window shopped, and John had a cupcake.

After lunch we went back to the Miromar Outlets for a second round of shopping. We had dinner with my grandparents that night and then hopped a plane home to Boston very early Monday morning.

Vacations go by way too fast. Can’t wait for the next one!

My quest was simple: find the perfect bread base. My ultimate plan was to recreate a loaf of sausage bread we had in NJ over the holidays. I dig some digging through my favorite bread recipe books and found it in Peter Reinhart’s Bread Baker’s Apprentice book (my favorite of all my books). Any bread recipe that can turn into both cinnamon buns and this sausage bread? Winner.

Reinhart’s Biga recipe is simple (2.5 cups bread flour, 1/2 tsp. yeast, and 1/4-1 cup of water). I made a double batch and took about two thirds for this recipe. The recipe below is just for the sausage bread and does not make a double batch.

Domestocrat’s Sausage and Mozzarella Bread
For the dough:
3.5 cups flour (I use King Arthur’s Sir Lancelot)
2/3 tsp. yeast
1-2 cups water (add slowly, to ensure the dough is moist, a little sticky, but not soupy)

For the filling:
1 lb. sausage (I used Italian chicken sausage)
12 oz. mozzarella cheese
1 tbsp. EVOO
1 tbsp. kosher salt
1 tbsp. black pepper

Start with your dough. The instructions are simple: combine all ingredients, knead for 10 minutes by hand or in a stand mixer, let the dough rise in a plastic wrap covered greased bowl at room temperature for 2-4 hours, use right then or knead again for another 10 minutes and store in the fridge in a plastic wrap covered greased bowl until you’re ready to use.

In the meantime, cook the sausage. Heat the EVOO over medium heat. Remove the sausage from the casings and add to the warm oil. Break up the sausage as it cooks. Usually I break the pieces up into very small bits but for this recipe you want the sausage to remain in chunks. You’re aiming roughly for the size of a quarter instead of the usual ground meat size of a pea. When the sausage is cooked thoroughly and browned, remove from the heat and cool completely.

After the first rise of the bread I rolled it out on the counter and sprinkled on the kosher salt and black pepper.

I then put the dough in the bowl of my stand mixer and kneaded with the dough hook for 1-2 minutes. Next I added the cooled sausage and all of the cheese and kneaded for another 3-4 minutes.

After mixing, form your dough into a loaf shape on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and let it rise one last time for 45 minutes. Letting the loaf rise on the parchment paper lined baking sheet makes it super easy when it’s time to bake; you just throw the whole thing in the oven – no pesky pan transferring required.

After the final rise bake the loaf on 400 degrees for roughly 1 hour. Let it cool completely before cutting.

The end result is a pillowy bread studded with sausage and cheese in every bite. Next time I might add some sauteed veggies to the bread. The possibilities are endless!

Among our favorite things to do were coming up with some excellent midnight snacks after rolling home from the bar (ahh, to be 23 again), usually involving peanut butter. On one occasion when I was sharing such a story with John he said “oh what, like gooballs?” I burst out laughing. “Goo-WHAT?” “Gooballs! You know, like the hippie peanut butter, granola, and weed snack they bring to festivals to sustain themselves on!” I don’t know what I thought was funnier: the name gooball, John’s supposed knowledge of hippie culture, or the existence of such a food item. (For the record, I looked it up and a gooball is a totally legit thing. Thanks Urban Dictionary!) So ever since then we’ve constantly joked about gooballs.

Cut to the other night. We were craving something peanut buttery, I mentioned making oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, but in the end was too lazy to actually bake anything. Well I went into the kitchen and whipped up the following recipe. When I emerged, holding one out for John to try, he took a bite, eyes widening, and said “Kim, you made gooballs!” We died laughing and promptly ate all of them because they were so dang delicious. Those hippies are on to something I guess (minus the drugs). Enjoy these and have a laugh at my expense.

Domestocrat’s Gooballs
(makes 10 servings, see below for nutritional information)
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup peanuts
1/2 cup chocolate chips
2 tbsp. honey
2 tbsp. peanut butter

Start by combining the oats, peanuts, and chocolate chips in a bowl.

Melt the peanut butter in the microwave for 30 seconds. Pour that and the honey over the oats/nuts/chips.

Stir thoroughly until you have a homogenous mixture.

Prep your gooball rolling station: line a plate with plastic wrap, place your bowl right next to the plate, and wet your hands with cool water. Breaking off little pieces at a time, roll the mixture between your hands into a tight ball and place on the plate. If the mixture starts to stick to your hands, just wet them again with more water. This batch should make ten 1-inch gooballs.

Up until this point the mixing, combining, and rolling should have taken only 5 minutes or so. To complete the gooballs, put the plate in the fridge for 10 minutes to cool/chill.

There you have it! The best 15 minute, no bake dessert ever. Also, it’s totally satisfying because it includes all the yummy flavors we are constantly craving like hippies: peanut butter, chocolate, and oats. The texture is awesome too; it’s crunchy, sticky, and sweet.

Now for the last and most exciting part (in my opinion) – the nutritional information!

I have had a lot of requests to add nutritional information to my recipes. I am so happy to finally be able to do it! Since I bought my iPhone I have been app crazy. One app that I love is Lose It. It keeps track of your daily calorie intake and exercise (it’s the #1 thing helping me stick to my healthy resolutions so far this year). Included in the app is the capability to create your own recipes. That means I can track every ingredient that goes into one of my recipes and it will tell me all of the nutritional information per serving. Check it out:

So, since my gooball recipe makes 10 servings, here is the nutritional info for one gooball:

152 calories
8.1g fat
17.4mg sodium
13.2g carbohydrates
1.7g fiber
8.5g sugar
3.4g protein

Want to see more nutritional info with my recipes? Let me know what you think!

So, my confession for this week is this: in the face of chaos, I choose mindlessness. Temporarily.

This has worked wonders for my resolution to get back to the gym. During hectic work days I’ve been going to the gym on my lunch break and watching either Scrubs or Glee on the elliptical. I totally forget the world for 30-45 minutes. It’s a glorious escape. But it is an escape with intention. If I’m feeling fried, overly burdened, unfocused or just plain old negative, the best way to adjust my attitude is to turn my brain off completely. If I need a quick fix at work and don’t have time for the gym, I catch up on the backlog in my Google Reader. If I’m home and the dishes and laundry are piled up, the cat box needs changing, I have a million emails to read, blog posts to write, floors to sweep, and dinner to get on the table? Sometimes I just park it in front of the TV for 20 minutes and watch E! News, give myself a quick manicure, or do something similarly mind numbing.

I have already proclaimed 2012 the Year of Balance. For me, balance means being kind to myself. I know I’m garbage to myself and everyone around me if I’m feeling drained or crabby.

My final point is the Temporarily aspect. My confession here is not to humblebrag about my fancy free trips to the gym or my time wasting tips at work, it’s to share what is working to gain balance in my life when everything else seems crushingly overwhelming and potentially manic. We all feel like this from time to time. There has to be a way to cope while being good to yourself, so there is a limit to how long and how often to indulge. I limit my exploits in mindlessness to those aforementioned quick things (we all know that it’s super easy to fall down the rabbit hole of finding awesome new podcasts on iTunes for 3 hours, not that that’s happened to me…several times in the last week). So, try some temporary mindlessness. Indulge, be kind to yourself, but don’t go overboard. Find that balance. You might just find yourself more mindful, thoughtful, and joyful afterwards.

My favorite thing that happened over the last two weeks was that I got my very first iPhone. I’m so excited! My prior Android was so slow, sluggish, and nonresponsive. The OS on the iPhone is so much faster, I kind of can’t believe it. I can pull up information in an instant and not wait for an eternity at the black screen of death. Yippee! Also, I’m already totally addicted to Instagram. You can find me here.

I’ve been baking a ton of bread lately. And it’s been coming out delicious, if I do say so myself.

John gave me a new pair of checkered Vans slip ons for Christmas (my favorite shoes of all time because I am a 15 year old boy). My prior pair were a little beat up, don’t you think?

On Monday everyone had the day off so a bunch of friends had lunch at the always lovely Henrietta’s Table in Harvard Square.

On Tuesday night a group of coworkers and I went to The Paint Bar in Newton. The Paint Bar is basically an art class where you go and paint a selected painting (ours was a riff on Van Gogh’s Sunflowers). The instructor guides everyone step-by-step through the whole process which was totally great for our group of non-artists. In fact, that’s kind of the schtick. It’s for all skill levels and the instructor gives you structure with her guidance as well as the freedom to get creative. Oh, and there always the bar part of The Paint Bar. You can drink wine and beer and eat snacks here as you paint. Genius! Here’s my painting from start to finish:

I’ve been drinking a lot of tea.

And hanging out with this guy a lot.

How was your last two weeks of holiday excitement? Are you back to your routine yet?

Phase II happened between September and November: Bush Removal. These bushes were deep rooted and not responsive to the weed killer. It required John to hack both apart with a saw to get them up. We did one bush and, a few weeks later, the other. Here are some pictures between bushes:

Finally, in late November on an unseasonably warm day, we were able to remove the last bush and finally have a clear front yard!

The plan is to finish in the Spring when the weather is nicer. We hope to level the ground, maybe mulch, and set up some large potted plants. As you can see, our yard isn’t really a yard. We can’t do much with the space so it might as well look pretty. However if we let the wild greenery come up again, it’ll just be an insane eyesore like it was before.

What do you think? I’m really proud of our exterior home improvement project!

I have dabbled in peanut butter cheesecake before (twice actually) but I think this recipe may take the cheesecake! The modification here? Adding mini peanut butter cups into the batter to bake inside the cheesecake. They added an extra peanut butter and chocolate explosion in every bite.

Domestocrat’s Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecake
For the crust:
20 chocolate sandwich cookies (I like Joe’s O’s from Trader Joe’s but Oreos are good too)
6 tbsp. butter, melted

For the cheesecake:
16 oz. cream cheese (I use half light, half regular)
2 cups peanut butter
3/4 cup sour cream
3 eggs
3 egg yolks
1 cup sugar
1 cup mini peanut butter cups (I got these from Trader Joe’s)

Start with the crust. To make it, pulse the cookies in your food processor until they are crumbs. Drizzle the melted butter over the crumbs and pulse again until the mixture is moistened throughout. You want this pretty wet, no dry bits in the bottom of your foodpro. Press down with a spoon or your fingers until the crust is a compact, even layer on the bottom of a springform pan.

Next, the peanut butter cheesecake. Mix all of the ingredients (at room temp) in a deep bowl (a stand mixer or hand mixer will both do here). Make sure everything is incorporated and the mixture is fluffy and light.

Next add the mini peanut butter cups and gently stir in to incorporate. Pour your cheesecake on top of the crust in the springform pan, making sure the batter is evenly distributed.

Bake the cheesecake on 325 degrees for 1 hour. The middle might still look a little raw but if the top is brown and cracked along the edges (see below), it’s done.

To remove the cheesecake from the springform pan use a small paring knife and cut along the entire outer edge. This will ensure that when you release the springform, your cake won’t rip in half.

Let your cake cool for at least 30 minutes before serving. This cheesecake is nice warm but it’s even better straight out of the fridge a day later. A total make ahead recipe!

The cheesecake is creamy and very peanut buttery! Every bite with a mini peanut butter cup is every better. A must try!

Before:

(Yup, it’s What Not To Wear)

John decided about a month ago he wanted a new TV and had done some research. We had a small surplus of cash from holiday gifts and with the post-holiday sales, we thought it was the right time to buy. We ended up with a 51″ Samsung Plasma TV. We also bought two new shelving units from IKEA so we could unify the whole setup.

The Makeover In Progress:

We couldn’t be happier with the results. The shelving spans the whole wall and interrupts the room much less than the previous setup. The room looks wider and longer, and the space feels open now. The arrangement now looks proportional to the wall behind it. I’m a big fan of linear and the whole makeover is exactly that.

I really like the decluttered look we were able to achieve. As much as I love our DVDs and stuff, I didn’t feel like that needed to be on display. Something about that just screamed College Dorm to me. So now we have baskets to hold our DVDs, video games, etc. and we can actually put books and pictures on display. It’s a lot more Grown Up looking, I think.

After:

This project is a reminder of our approach to home buying which is to buy a place you are in love with and make it your own over time. Many people spend so much money up front to buy their property, go through the closing, and make necessary purchases like repairs, fixtures, and appliances. We were lucky in that our condo was brand new so we were able to tuck a lot of our excess cash away. We knew we’d want furniture and aesthetic upgrades over time but I’m glad we didn’t go crazy doing that all up front. It’s been extremely satisfying to watch our home grow with us as we get more comfortable in it.

Plus, since we moved almost 5 months ago, our cash reserves have been growing a little bit. One of our resolutions this year is to make a few big principal-only payments to our mortgage and we are in a good position to make one this month. That is a really rewarding feeling!

2012 has already started out exactly as I’d wanted – baking bread. I spent a lot of time this weekend with my bread cookbooks trying to find the perfect base for a few loaves I baked over the weekend (recipes coming). I ended up with Peter Reinhart’s Biga recipe in the Bread Baker’s Apprentice book (my favorite book I think).

The Biga recipe is simple (2.5 cups bread flour, 1/2 tsp. yeast, and 1/4-1 cup of water). I made a double batch, as I mentioned above, and took about a third for this recipe. The recipe below is just for the cinnamon buns and does not make a double batch.

Instructions for the dough are also simple: combine all ingredients, knead for 10 minutes by hand or in a stand mixer, let the dough rise in a plastic wrap covered greased bowl at room temperature for 2-4 hours, use right then or knead again for another 10 minutes and store in the fridge in a plastic wrap covered greased bowl until you’re ready to use.

Domestocrat’s Cinnamon Buns
For the dough:
1.5 cups flour (I use King Arthur’s Sir Lancelot)
1/3 tsp. yeast
3/4-1 cup water (add slowly, to ensure the dough is moist, a little sticky, but not soupy)

For the filling:
3 tbsp. butter, melted
1 cup brown sugar
3 tsp. Vietnamese cinnamon (I use King Arthur’s)

I picked up some Vietnamese cinnamon when we went to the King Arthur Mecca in December. I had heard great things about it and couldn’t wait to try it. Supermarket cinnamon tastes so dull and muted to me, like it’s been sitting for a long time. The King Arthur Vietnamese cinnamon is full of flavor; it tastes alive. It’s warm, spicy, and can stand on it’s own without being overpowering.

Combine the butter, cinnamon, and sugar in a bowl. Make sure everything is combined. The mixture should be just damp, not super wet or dry.

Roll out the dough into a big oval, spread the mixture on one side leaving and inch or so of room, and, rolling the mixture on the interior, curl the dough into a tube.

Cut the dough tube into slices and place on a parchment lined baking sheet.

Store overnight in the fridge covered with a kitchen towel.

Overnight the buns will rise slightly. Remove from the fridge at least 1 hour before you plan to bake them to bring them to room temperature and proof a little bit more.

I topped each with a very thin pat of butter before baking on 350 degrees for 15 minutes.

The mixture got a bit gooey in the oven but I just poured the excess sauce over the top of the buns.

Serve for breakfast or as a snack. These are fine in the fridge in an airtight container for a few days and reheated.

Happy New Year!

I’m going to take a blog break during the holidays. I hope to spend time with friends and family, relax, refresh, eat a bunch of cheese, and take a lot of naps. See you in 2012 and happy holidays!

With that said, here are my favorite pictures that I took in 2011:

If you want to read more about any of these pictures, follow the links below (from L-R, starting at the top):
Boston Day, Campfire, King Arthur Flour Bakery, Flowering Tree in Raleigh, Reggie, Wedding Date Pins, Apple Week, Sourdough Boule, Stanley Cup Champions, Salted Caramel Ice Cream, Reggie Again, Bean Reflection, Blueberry Lemon Cake, Joshy, Summer Sunflowers.

I’m trying something new – music to listen to with a certain post (press the orange button). Please enjoy the song Portland, OR by one of my favorite bands, Into It. Over It., as you read this blog (to read more about the album/project this song is from, click here).

My favorite trip of the year was absolutely our honeymoon in Oregon. Once a week since we returned I have reminisced, pined, or longed to be back in Oregon. Obviously it’s because I was totally blissed out on our honeymoon, but I also think there is something magical about the Pacific Northwest. I love that whole area of the country, with similar affection towards Seattle and Vancouver. It feels so familiar but with a cool beauty, whimsy, total clarity. I found peace simply breathing that Pacific air.

It’s an experience I can’t really describe so, in the only way I can alternately express it, here are my favorite pictures from that trip:

The runner up for my favorite trip of 2011 was Chicago. In my mind Chicago is Boston’s twin sister but a little dressier, edgier, and poised. We jetset to a gorgeous city for the weekend just to celebrate my birthday. I felt so free doing that. We had the fanciest most refined meal of my life and I felt humbled and privileged for that. And I, predictably, fell in love with a city I knew I loved even before I got there.

Domestocrat’s Greatest Hits of 2011: Best Recipes

1. Sweet and Spicy Pork
2. Lavender Mead Arnold Palmer
3. Rocky Road Chocolate Bark
4. Blueberry Lemon Cake
5. Muesli Bars Reboot
6. Feta Guacamole
7. Salted Caramels
8. Apple Potato Latkes
9. Oatmeal Anything Cookies
10. Cheesecake Stuffed Strawberries
11. A Classic Meat and Potatoes Dinner
12. Healthy Pork Fried Rice
13. Green Monster Smoothie
14. Salted Caramel Ice Cream
15. Chicken Tikka Masala

Domestocrat’s Greatest Hits of 2011: Best Posts

1. 2000-2010: A Decade In Review
2. First Time Home Buying: Why Buy?
3. Trip Planning 101
4. Tops 10 Songs For Doing Cardio & Top 10 Songs For Lifting Weights
5. The 10 Best Foods You Aren’t Eating
6. Wedding Planning: The 15 Things I Know Now That I Wish I Knew Then (also featured on A Practical Wedding)
7. DIY: Reclaimed and Refinished Side Table
8. Wedding Planning Guide (a two part series)
9. Things I Love: Afternoon Tea at L’Espalier
10. Boston Pizza Tour
11. Our Wedding – May 21, 2011
12. Home Decor Project: Gallery Wall
13. Our Wedding Invitations: The Reveal
14. Home Project: Bathroom Tile Backsplash
15. Bride Arms Workout
16. DIY: Vacation Jars

What do you think? Did I miss anything? What would you like to see more of or less of in 2012?

I’m elated to know that another bride will get to enjoy this dress. But a part of me was sad to see it go. I didn’t ever think I’d be attached to it as much as I was. But, like anything we are fond of, it represents my emotions more than anything. And letting go of physical things we are emotionally attached to often times makes us think we are giving both up.

The dress was a symbol of beauty to me but also defines a part of my life. The Searching For The Dress part where I bonded with my mom, sister, and grandmother in doing so. It also defines the Bride part of my life where I got wear this special dress and feel truly beautiful for maybe the first time in my life.

What a beauty you were, wedding dress. You transformed me into the bride I never knew I could be.

Freshly Pressed picks their featured posts based on original content, appealing visuals, and the discussion of a compelling topic. They describe Freshly Pressed as “the best of 376,678 bloggers, 728,045 new posts, 431,141 comments, & 148,378,384 words.” Humbling!

Freshly Pressed posts are usually up for a day or two. My post was on Freshly Pressed for 7 days! Needless to say, I got a lot of traffic. The numbers were so staggering, and unlike any activity I’d ever seen on my blog before, I didn’t really comprehend how huge this was while it was happening. But yesterday I ran all of the stats. (I don’t talk about it much here but in real life I work in Higher Ed doing Institutional Research so stats are kind of my thing.) Let’s talk numbers, shall we?

Below is a graph of the hits my blog received in the days leading up to, and then during, being Freshly Pressed. The high reached 2,194 hits in one day.

• For the days that I was Freshly Pressed my blog saw a +713.65% change in activity (jumping from 1,000 total views from the week prior to 8,283 for this week).

• Domestocrat was viewed 9,518 individual times over the last 7 days compared to my 39,864 blog views of all time. My blog also gained 82 brand new followers from this visibility.

• My Looking Towards 2012 post received 5,593 individual hits, averaging 780 hits per day. The post net a total of 186 comments and 188 “Likes.”

• The individual hits to my Looking Towards 2012 post are second only to my home page which has received 9,892 individual hits over time (you can see my top posts sorted by views below).

I am without words to express how exciting and amazing this experience has been for me. To be recognized for a post I thought about deleting several times seems unreal. I am so grateful to everyone, new and not so new, who read what I write. I know photog/foodie/DIY/traveling/every day bloggers are a dime a dozen. I work really hard to write posts that are original, unique, fun, and that are told visually with photographs. I will never compromise that about this blog. I hope all of the newcomers will follow me into the new year and that my existing followers find my new content to be even better than what brought them here in the first place. I really think 2012 is going to be great. I have so many ideas and new things I want to share, and I can’t wait to get started. So thank you, truly. I blog for me but it would never be this rewarding without you. Thank you.

Domestocrat’s Savory Lentil and Sausage Soup
(makes 16 cups or so, enough for roughly five 3 cup tupperware lunch containers)
1.75 lb. ground sausage
3 cups green lentils
15 oz. can of diced tomatoes (I prefer the no salt variety)
1 onion, minced
4 celery ribs, minced
3 carrots, minced
64 oz. chicken broth  (I use one low sodium container and one regular)
2 bay leaves
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. fennel seeds (crushed or whole)
2 tbsp. EVOO
Salt & pepper to taste

Start with your sausage. A word here about this. You need to use good quality sausage. Get to your local butcher and find a deliciously seasoned pork sausage. We go to The Meat House for sausage. It’s fresh, amazing quality, and comes in a variety of delicious flavors. But the other thing about good sausage? The fat. I know, I know. I try to cook healthily the majority of the time and avoid mega amounts of fat in any dish. However, the fat here imparts a flavor and depth you cannot create with broth or vegetables alone, sadly. I’m not saying buy a fatty, greasy, disgusting sausage. I’m saying that if you go to a reputable butcher they will have ground their sausage with a perfect proportion of meat to fat. Just trust me on this one. And if you want to go with a fat free variety, go ahead, but the flavors won’t be as robust. Just saying.

So my sausage here was a cheddar and garlic pork sausage. Brown over medium heat with the EVOO. Break apart with a wooden paddle as it cooks. You do need to babysit this a bit but it’s worth it. The soup is much better with small bits of sausage throughout rather than huge chunks. Cook thoroughly (about 10 minutes).

When the meat is cooked, toss in the bay leaves and all the spices, stir in, and let them sit with the meat for a minute or two. Next add the mirepoix (onion, celery, carrot), stir in thoroughly, and cook with the meat for 10 minutes or so or until tender.

Next, add in the tomatoes…

…and the chicken broth. Stir together to combine.

Finally add the lentils. Make sure to rinse your lentils carefully before adding to the soup pot. There can sometimes be hard bits, stones, or grit in lentils that you do not want in your soup.

Mix once last time, cover the pot, drop the heat to low, and simmer. The length of time you simmer the soup is up to you. The minimum should be at least 1 hour and maximum would be 4 or so. I let my soup simmer for 2 hours, stirring roughly every 25 minutes. Don’t forget to leave the cover on for the duration of the simmer. You don’t want your soup reducing down to nothing. Also, whenever you stir, taste for seasoning and adjust the salt and pepper to your liking.

After your soup has simmered you will have a flavorful, savory, protein packed soup. Piping hot with a crust of bread on the side, perfection!

Me: Are you bringing something to that holiday party?
John: Yes.
Me: Are you making something?
John: Yeah.
Me: What?
John: Potato chips.
Me: …you’re…potato….what?
John: Potato chips. I’m going to make them for the party.
Me: Are you going to fry them?
John: No, I was going to bake them.
Me: I….can’t let you do that. I’ll handle it.

And then I made him the following….

Domestocrat’s Individual Peanut Butter Cheesecakes with Chocolate Ganache
(Makes 24 individual cheesecakes)

For the cheesecake:
12 oz. light cream cheese
1 cup peanut butter (I used chunky unsalted)
1 cup confectioner’s sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 pinch kosher salt

For the ganache:
12 oz. (one bag) chocolate chips (I like semi-sweet)
1 cup half & half
2 tbsp. butter

For the crust:
15 chocolate sandwich cookies (I like Joe’s O’s from Trader Joe’s but Oreos are good too)
4 tbsp. butter, melted

Start with the peanut butter cheesecake. Mix all of the ingredients in a deep bowl with a hand mixer. Make sure everything is incorporated and the mixture is fluffy and light. If you’re making this ahead of time, you can cover the cheesecake and put it in the fridge overnight.

Isn’t this just the best?

To make the crust pulse the cookies in your food processor until they are crumbs. Drizzle the melted butter over the crumbs and pulse again until the mixture is moistened throughout.

Line a cupcake sheet with paper cups. I like these double layer ones (paper on the inside, foil on the outside).

Spoon about a tablespoon of the crumb mixture into each cup. Press down with the spoon or your fingers until the crust is a compact, thin layer on the bottom. Bake on 350 degrees for 7 minutes to allow the crust to set.

When the crust layer is baked and set, let it cool for 10-15 minutes. Next, spoon the peanut butter cheesecake mixture into each cup. I used a little less than a tablespoon per cup. Press the mixture down into the crust lightly with the back of your spoon.

Bake on 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until the top of the cheesecake is golden brown.

I made my ganache the night before just the same as the cheesecake. You could do it day-of but make sure it has time to set in the fridge.

To begin to make the ganache, melt the chocolate chips over a double boiler.

When the chips are all melted, pour the half and half and butter mixture over them (you should heat these two ingredients together in the microwave for about a minute just before pouring in).

Stir/whisk thoroughly. Let the ganache cool on the counter (about an hour or so), whisking every 10 minutes to make sure the consistency is smooth. Put in the fridge overnight or for at least 4 hours to make sure the ganache sets.

When you’re ready, prepare a piping bag for your ganache. I usually use my pastry tips and a ziploc bag. You can always just use a ziploc bag with a hole cut in one end.

Pipe a swirl or dollop on each mini cheesecake. Put them in the fridge until you’re ready to serve them.

Or, just eat right away!

These mini cheesecakes are creamy, peanut buttery, and super chocolatey. Very decadent and a very special treat. Enjoy!

It sounds cruel…because is kind of is! I’ve participated in a lot of Yankee Swaps, between friends, family, and coworkers. The Swap is usually entertaining and enjoyable but this can totally depend on the quality of the gifts brought to the swap and the best practices of the game. Which leads me to this post. So let’s dive in, shall we?

Here are my Do’s and Don’ts For The Perfect Yankee Swap Experience:

• Set your price limit up front. Depending on the type of crowd and number of people involved, the price limit could change drastically. For the majority of Swaps I’ve participated in, the average is usually somewhere between $15 – $25.
• Yankee Swap gifts should be crowd pleasers; something everyone would like to receive. Most of the time these are practical gifts, believe it or not. Which leads me to my next tip…
• No booze. I know that a wine basket is really festive and the locally craft brewed winter warmer beers at Whole Foods are exactly the price limit, but booze isn’t a gift everyone loves and can actually be insensitive at times. Just don’t do it.
• Another note on crowd pleasing gifts – this means absolutely no kids toys, plants, clothing, or gift cards (with just one exception, see below).
• Oh, one last thing – no homemade gifts. I love DIY just as much as the next craftgrrl but anything homemade will go unappreciated at a Yankee Swap (unless it’s a specific Christmas Cookie themed swap or Knit Something Magnificent themed swap). Save these thoughtful, time intensive gifts for a specific person. They are much too intimate and special for a Yankee Swap.
• Bring a gift you would want to receive back. It’s considerate and adds more quality items to The Swap. Also, it goes without saying, regifting anything into a Yankee Swap is repugnant.
• Don’t go over or under the price limit. It’s set for a reason and people can tell when you do that.
• Don’t be afraid to be cutthroat! I will leave my grandmother high and dry with a set of wrenches if she has the artisanal salami collection I want. Being competitive only adds to the fun, it’s called a Swap after all!
• Always have a booby prize for the person who ends up with the worst gift. Invariably someone is going to end up with a Chia Pet or a Snuggie, and when they do it will be nice to console them with some Ghirardelli hot cocoa.

Now that you have Yankee Swap etiquette down, here are my suggestions for perfect Yankee Swap gifts (these suggestions are assuming a $25 price limit):

• Cooler on Wheels – This was the hot item at my family Yankee Swap this year and we ended up with it! This is perfect because anyone can use it – the tailgater, the foodie, the camper, the BBQer, the beach bum.
• A Nice Tupperware Set – I know, overtly simple and boring but still, this was the second most popular thing we fought over at my family Yankee Swap this year (and we ended up with it!). This set has locking lids and a range of sizes. Perfect for anyone who is always going through tupperware, like us.
• Movie Gift Pack – Load up some movie candy, popcorn, and gift card to your local movie theater chain and you have an awesome gift anyone would like. This, by the way, is the only instance where a gift card is acceptable.
• Hot Cocoa Gift Pack – We made up one of these for my family Yankee Swap: we took our favorite hot cocoa, two adorable mugs, and these cute hot cocoa spoons and created a little gift set. It was perfect!
• Fancy Popcorn Set – Who doesn’t love Moose Munch, c’mon now.
• Local Sports Team Blanket – For us, it would be a Patriots blanket. Someone brought one of these to my family Yankee Swap and it was a hot item!
• iPod Dock – This is a great gift for a swap where kids and teens are involved. Everyone has an iPod and sometimes headphones just don’t cut it when you want to have a dance party in your room.
• One Year Subscription to a Cool Magazine – The emphasis here is on cool; I’m not talking TIME or People here, I’m talking about unique and specific interest mags like Ready Made, Beer Advocate, or The Art of Eating. Despite the internet, I think there is still such valuable content in print magazines. You could really get creative with this depending on the crowd too (ex. foodies, beer snobs, college football fanatics, etc.)
• Dunkin Donuts Coffee – It is insane how many eyes will get gouged out for this stuff.
• Blank DVRs – Painfully simple but hugely crowdpleasing. Don’t you need some of these right now? Thought so.
• Fran’s Chocolates’ Coconut Gold Bars – The unbelievably coveted, pimped by Bobby Flay, delicious fancy candy bars. I’ll tell you a secret – I tried to buy some for John for Christmas this year and they were sold out. Can’t get them anywhere, they are that good.
• The First Season of A Really Great TV Show – The first season will get anyone hooked if the show is good enough. My top picks: Portlandia, Breaking Bad, 30 Rock, or Dexter.
• When in doubt, Lottery Tickets.

I hope you’ve enjoying my tips, tricks, and suggestions. Report back with your best swaps!

Domestocrat’s Vegetarian Chili
2 cups stock (any kind works but use veggie if you want to keep this truly vegetarian)
One 28 oz. can of diced tomatoes
One 15 oz. can of diced tomatoes, no salt
Two 15 oz. cans of tomato sauce
One 15 oz. can of corn
One 15 oz. can of cannellini beans
One 15 oz. can of black beans
1.5 cups salsa
2 cups pearl barley
1 green pepper, chopped
2 red peppers, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
3 ribs of celery
2 cups carrots
3 tbsp. EVOO
1 tsp. red pepper flake
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tbsp. black pepper
2 tsp. shallot salt

Start by making the base of the chili. The base is essentially all of the vegetables but they need time to cook down and soften. Start by using your food pro to mince down the celery and carrots into very small pieces.

Place this mixture, along with the rest of the chopped vegetables and the EVOO, into a cast iron pot or dutch oven. Saute over medium-high heat for 15 minutes.

At this point the vegetables will have begun to soften. Keeping the heat on medium-high, add the stock and place the cover on the pot, stirring occasionally, for another 15 minutes.

After that time the vegetables should be soft and tender. Now add in the spices and mix thoroughly. You should taste the chili later to make sure these measurements are to your own liking (more on that later).

Now is the time to add in the canned tomatoes…

…and all of the beans. Reduce the heat to low and cover for 10 minutes.

Because I didn’t have bulgur wheat like the Other Side uses in their chili, I used barley instead. I took 1/2 cup and ground it up in my spice grinder. I wanted this powdered barley to simply be a thickening agent throughout the chili.

I then added my barley powder and the rest of my whole barley.

The final addition was the corn.

I then covered my chili and let it simmer over low heat for 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Before you are done simmering the chili make sure to taste for seasoning and heat level, adjusting to your preferred taste. Also, this chili is chunky and thick. If you prefer it to be less so, add more stock to thin it out. I prefer it chunky so I left mine alone.

When the chili was done I actually divided it up into five portions to have this week at work for lunch. Just a quick reheat in the microwave and I have a hearty and healthy lunch. So good!

This chili came out delicious, I really can’t wait to make it again. It’s very veggie heavy which I love. You really don’t miss the meat at all between all the vegetables, beans, and barley. This chili is spicy, filling, comforting, and totally satisfying. Bring on the winter; this chili will keep me warm!

However 2012 is going to, and needs to be, the Year of Balance for me. Despite staying steady, I haven’t exactly stayed in balance. Priorities have waned, work took over for a while, motivation has been pretty low. Caitlin over at Healthy Tipping Point recently posted about a situation that is all too familiar:

“We sat and talked about how hard it is to pursue big dreams when you aren’t even totally sure what those dreams look like and still have to juggle the everyday junk.  She commented that so many people leave inspiring conferences…thinking, ‘Okay! I am going to CHANGE MY LIFE NOW!’ but then they get home and there are dirty dishes in the sink, and just like that, you fall back into your old patterns and never make any changes.”

I’ve been thinking a lot about what it means to flip the switch; to desire something, to make the time for it, and to make it happen. I have such good intentions 95% of the time, if I could just translate that into something actionable…

I do my best when I have a visual. When I can look at something and be reminded of it as constantly as I need to until it sinks it. So I drew up a little inspiration word cloud of sorts for myself. The point is to remember my goal (balance) and all the things I can do to help me achieve it. I plan to put this up pretty much everywhere (my office, car, bedside, etc).

What are your goals for 2012? What will help you get there? How do you remind yourself all year long of your goals?

I decorated!

I wrapped presents! (While listening to Christmas music!)

I even got crafty wrapping presents; transforming a Macy’s bag into a fun DIY gift bag.

Heck, I even made my own ornament out of our wedding invitations and drank a festive candy cane beverage.

The only thing missing is my annual watching of Love Actually. Why isn’t this streaming on Netflix? Help!

When we arrived at our hotel on Friday night it was pretty late so we immediately crashed. We woke up bright and early on Saturday to get our day going. There was lots of frost!

Our first stop? The King Arthur Bakery, School, and Store. You guys know how much I love all things King Arthur so this was like my Graceland.

Their in-store bakery was phenomenal:

We shared a chocolate covered macaroon and it was, without a doubt, the best macaroon I’ve ever eaten.

We also got to peek into the baking school. I hope to someday take a class here, it’s on the bucket list. How awesome would it be to bake bread in this outdoor oven?

The next stop was at the Quechee Gorge Village. They have a bunch of really neat stores we wanted to check out.

The first was the Cabot Creamery Store.

Also inside the Cabot Store is the Vermont Toy Museum. Don’t ask.

It was awesome though and made us so nostalgic for all the toys we had when we were kids.

Also in the Quechee Gorge Village was the Vermont Antique Mall. The whole place was packed floor to ceiling. You could spend hours and/or get lost in here.

Next up was the Harpoon Brewery in Windsor, VT. This Harpoon operation does about 40% of Harpoon’s brewing whereas the Boston location does the other 60%. We’ve been to both now and they are both spectacular. The tour was awesome and the samples were generous. My favorite was Harpoon’s seasonal Vermont Spruce Tip. So good.

We got the try some “green” Harpoon IPA right out of the fermenting tank:

By then it was lunchtime! We went to our favorite lunch place, the restaurant at Simon Pearce in Quechee.

I got the exact same thing I got last time – potato leek soup and the pulled pork quesadilla.

After lunch we browsed the store a little bit.

Around 3PM we hit the road to drive up to Burlington.

I love downtown Burlington. It’s so quaint and quintessentially New England.

And also gorgeous around the holidays,

We walked around and shopped for a while downtown. Somehow a few hours went by and it was time for dinner. We went to our favorite restaurant in Burlington, the Farmhouse Grill & Tap.

We had the first seating. It didn’t stay this empty for long. Within 15 minutes after opening, the whole place was packed. I totally get it. Their food is incredible, the beer selection is great, and their cheese boards are the best around.

We ended the night with a quick trip to Lake Champlain Chocolates. A local luxury and favorite.

We got on the road to drive back to our hotel and then left early Sunday morning to drive back to Boston. Another incredible weekend in an incredible state. Be seeing you again soon, Vermont!

A few months ago as I was surfing Pinterest I saw this pin of a wedding invitation ornament. Genius! I had to make one. My friend Danielle recently made one too and it came out so cute. I was motivated, and off to the craft store.

Materials You’ll Need:

• Extra wedding invitation
• Clear ornament bulb (glass or plastic, mine’s plastic)
• Some cool ribbon
• A ruler
• A pencil
• Scissors

Start by measuring the invitation, making a series of dots where you’ll draw where you’ll cut.

I went vertical on my invitation but you could do this horizontally too. Probably could have read the words better that way, ah well.

When all the strips of the invitation have been cut, curl them around the pencil.

Curlicues!

Carefully stuff each curled strip into the ornament (I got mine at Michael’s, by the way). I used my pencil to push them down in there.

Get your fun ribbon (mine’s a silver glitter ribbon) and create a loop to hang the ornament with.

You can tie a bow or add a charm if you want.

And then you’re done and ready to hang your ornament!

In additional to my love of bubbly water, I also can’t resist a candy cane flavored seasonal product. So when I saw Polar’s seasonal Candy Cane seltzer water I had to try it.

I just love the bubbles so much.

This seltzer is subtly minty, not crazy minty. It’s cool, refreshing, and perfectly wintery. A must try!

Vanilla sugar is delicious, aromatic, and a huge flavor boost to any recipe where you would use regular sugar (baked goods, simple syrup, beverages, sauces, heck even in your morning tea). The uses are infinite!

The process is super simple. The first item of business is to get a really well locking container. I love my set of Lock & Lock tupperware.

Just take the scraped vanilla pods, cut them to fit the tupperware, and alternate them between layers of plain old white sugar.

When the container is full let it sit for 5-10 minutes. Then mash the pods around in the sugar with a spoon or fork to release the oils. Lock the lid on and store in a cool, dry place indefinitely (anywhere you keep your sugar regularly is good for storage). Shake occasionally (every few days or so) as the sugar can clump up.

You can make vanilla sugar in any quantity. The batch I made here would be the minimum I’d recommend making at a time. I used 1 cup sugar with 2 vanilla pods. You could scale this recipe up as large as you like depending on the container you use to store it in.

My mother-in-law created a beautiful and festive tablescape with her gorgeous china.

Recipe Recap of the Meal:
Sourdough Boule (plain and seeded)
Homemade Cranberry Sauce
Mashed Potatoes
Brussel Srouts with Shallots and Pancetta
Brined Turkey

Recipe Recap of the Desserts:
Classic Pecan Pie
Vanilla Bean Ice Cream
Congo Bars

And you all know what the best thing is. A fridge full of leftovers (and other goodies from our trip such as Yuengling and Frank Pepe’s):