I’m stuck inside with the flu, so I won’t be posting much this week. Too sleepy. But I thought I’d share this recipe with you. A good friend of mine stopped by yesterday and made me a big pot of lemon ginger tea with electrolytes! That’s what you get when your good friend is a good cook, a nursing student, and has spent some time in India. This tea is delicious, and it has antiviral properties because of the lemon and ginger. Stay healthy, and if you find yourself with the flu, make this or have a friend make it for you. Drink a lot of it. It’ll help. xo, m
Lemon Ginger Tea
Note: If you find that the flavor’s too strong, add more water to dilute it. I appreciated that it was strong and flavorful because the flu dulls your sense of taste and smell.
1-2 quarts of water (Janna filled up a big soup pot of mine)
Juice of 1 lemon or 1/2 of a big container of lemon juice
1-2 inches of ginger, skins taken off, chopped coarsely
1/4 cup honey or agave syrup
2 packets of Propel enhanced water mix (Janna got the lemon flavored. You can get it at drugstores.)
1 caffeinated tea bag. We used black tea. A little caffeine helps alleviate headaches.
Put everything in a pot, and boil. Drink a lot of this!
1 1/2 pounds small waxy potatoes no bigger than a small lime, halved
2 teaspoons fine-grain sea salt
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, peeled and chopped
1 teaspoon whole cumin seeds
1 teaspoon curry powder
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
scant 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 cup canned diced tomatoes
3/4 cup water
splash of cream or a dollop of creme fraiche
8 ounces tempeh, cut into 3/4-inch pieces
a small handful of cilantro, loosely chopped
Bring a few inches of water to boil in a large pot. Place the potatoes in a steamer, sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of the salt and cook until tender throughout – about 20 – 30 minutes, depending on how large your potato pieces are.
In the meantime, in a large skillet, melt the butter in the olive oil, add the onion and cook over LOW heat until they are soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in the cumin seeds, curry powder, turmeric, and cayenne pepper, wait about thirty seconds, then stir in the tomatoes, water, and the other teaspoon of salt. Remove from heat, stir in the cream and blend with a hand blender – (or leave it unpureed if you like!). Note: you might need to transfer it to a bowl to puree, then return it to the skillet.
Once the curry is back in the pan, add the tempeh and bring barely to a simmer. Let the tempeh cook for 5 minutes or so, then add the potatoes when they are finished steaming. Transfer to a large family-style bowl, and sprinkle with cilantro before serving.
Remember putting raspberries on your fingertips and plucking them off one by one? I still do this every raspberry season, and it puts a smile on my face and a freshly-painted glow on my finger tips. I like eating things with my hands, and I like licking my fingers. It seems almost primitive, and it’s a small pleasure in which we adults indulge too infrequently.
Keridwen Cornelius (what a name) of Gastronomica magazine puts it best:
“Eating with your hands is a sensuous indulgence. It’s getting soaked in a monsoon, taking your shoes off, and squishing wet sand between your toes.”
All of the foods below are finger-licking tasty and best eaten without a fork and a knife. That to me is comfort food. Links to recipes appear after photos. xo, m
P.S. Is it weird that I’m 24, and I’m excited about seeing Twilight tonight? Nothing like sexual tension, vampires, and werewolves on a Friday night.
I love these lights by Graypants, a group of three architects based here in Seattle. They made the light fixtures out of found cardboard scraps. You’ve probably seen and admired ‘em (the cute architects and the pretty lights) around town if you’re a Seattlelite. xo, m
Maybe because I’ve been eating healthfully, maybe because I love to bake, cake was the star of last night’s dream. The cakes in my dream were as tiny and beautiful as the ones eaten by Marie Antoinette in the aesthetically beautiful (but generally bad) film by Sophia Coppola. I wore a fancy tulle dress as I ate them. What does this dream mean? Perhaps my ego is inflated or I want to be an Austrian princess.
Here are some scrumptious cakes from ex-con Martha Stewart. Recipes’ links appear after photos. Enjoy this eye candy (err, eye cake?). If I had more time, I’d bake cakes randomly and invite friends over. Maybe I’ll do that this week; I have my eye on the coconut layer cake. xo, m
PS- Marie Antoinette never said the famously callous line: “Let them eat cake.” It was uttered 100 years prior by Marie-Thérèse, the wife of Louis XIV, and became a trademark statement used by French revolutionaries to demonstrate the monarchy’s ignorance of poverty. So much for a history lesson. Now to the cake!
Today’s the day for sharing old favorites (see previous post). My friend Brooke in New York introduced me to French-Israeli singer-songwriter Yael Naim’s music years ago, and I developed a little something called a “girl crush.” She’s talented and, well, totally adorable. Enjoy the song below from her eponymous album. I’m pretty sure it’ll make anybody smile, even on a rainy Monday. xo, m
I’m surprised I’ve never shared this recipe before because it’s the best. I found it in the Mayo Clinic cookbook years ago, and it’s become a staple dinner of mine. Easy, healthy, and yummy, this dinner is sure to become a favorite of yours too. Happy eating. xo, m
PS- This dish can easily be made vegan, since the cheese is more of a garnish than an integral ingredient. Substitute nutritional yeast, if you fancy.
Quinoa Risotto
Serves 3 as a main dish, 6 as a side Note: add in whatever veggies you have on hand. I usually use more vegetables than the recipe calls for.
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 cup quinoa, well rinsed
2 1/4 cups vegetable stock or broth
2 cups chopped, stemmed arugula
1 small carrot, peeled and finely shredded
1/2 cup thinly sliced fresh shiitake mushrooms
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (I usually add more because I love cheese. I know the more cheese, the less healthy… oh well.)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and saute until soft and translucent, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and quinoa and cook for about 1 minute, stirring occasionally. Don’t let the garlic brown.
Add the stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the quinoa is almost tender to the bite but slightly hard in the center, about 12 minutes. The mixture will be brothy. Stir in the arugula, carrot and mushrooms and simmer until the quinoa grains have turned from white to translucent, about 2 minutes longer.
Stir in the cheese and season with the salt and pepper. Serve immediately.
I got new glasses. They’re made by French company Anne et Valentin, and they’re for men. I love them. Here are some fabulous French people wearing Anne et Valentin glasses. (The models may not be French, but it would be more charming if they were, so let’s pretend. Besides, the pics are pretty!) xo, m
This may come as a shock, but that's not a french model. It's me with a dog and my new glasses.
Last night I went to a show at Fancy, nestled between Schmancy and Nancy on 2nd avenue (surprise, surprise, the 3 stores are owned by the same couple). The show, entitled Scrap, featured jewelry and housewares made by local artists using scrap wood. The map necklaces and wooden earrings were made by Annika’s friend Kate Bailey. They’re my favorite. Christmas prezzie, please?
I haven’t been to an opening since my New York days, and I enjoyed it despite the crowds. There was a man with finely coiffed hair and a bow tie who arranged the hors d’œuvres, which included bacon donuts. How Seattle. Photos from Seattle Metropolitan. xo, m
This seems like the perfect poem to post on a beautiful day. I took a walk this morning and kicked up the leaves. Have a great weekend! xo, m
There is a pleasure in the pathless woods,
There is a rapture on the lonely shore,
There is society, where none intrudes,
By the deep sea, and music in its roar:
I love not man the less, but Nature more,
From these our interviews, in which I steal
From all I may be, or have been before,
To mingle with the Universe, and feel
What I can ne’er express, yet cannot all conceal.
Meet Dax, the new family dog. (That’s his adopted name, and my mom’s keeping it since he’s trained.)
He’s hilarious, hyper, & ever-so-affectionate. I’ve fallen for a 2′ tall man; he has better manners than most of the men I’ve been out with recently (see post entitled “ew”). xo, m
PS- For a pick-me-up, go here. Watch the first one and the dachshund video. So sweet. Thanks, Katie, for posting this!
The little guy
He's not the easiest to walk...
His foster mom made this Halloween costume.
Big ears
Here he is watching Ellen dance. This is how he lies.
T-giving is happening soon, I hear. I am the sole vegetarian in a family of carnivores, so I’d like to make something that I can eat as a main course that others might enjoy as a side dish. (I can’t convince myself that Tofurkey is okay. It’s just… not.) Thanks to Whole Foods, Food & Wine, and Gourmet, I’ve gathered some recipes that may even entice the most fervent carnivore. Recipes’ links below photos. Happy eating! xo, m
I try to knit one new scarf each winter since wool scarves tend to get raggedy with time. (Or maybe I just wear mine too often and don’t take proper care of them.)
I learned how to make the tassels here. Easy peasy.
This year’s is a bright red one made with thick wool. So toasty! Here’s the finished product. Matching hat to come… And maybe leg warmers too, but we’ll see how carried away I get. Wishing you a warm week! xo, m
bright & warm
tassel
I made it extra long. So cozy.
My next project will look like this but in red and human-sized.
Who knew John Keats (1795-1821) had some heretical humor in his poems? Maybe I haven’t read enough of his poetry… This morning I opened up my grandfather’s Keats collection and found this little gem. xo, m
I love beautiful books.
Give me women, wine, and snuff
Untill I cry out “hold, enough!”
You may do so sans objection
Till the day of resurrection:
For, bless my beard, they aye shall be
My beloved Trinity.
If you search for Babycakes on Google image, this is the one of the few PG results.
Do you or does someone you know suffer from dietary restrictions? My friend Annika recently became aware of some inconvenient food allergies. Her birthday is fast approaching, and I decided it would be mean to give her applesauce or tofu. Instead, I’m paying heed to her stomach and baking a batch of these vegan gluten-free brownies.
The recipe’s by the adorable Erin McKenna, owner of the vegan bakery Babycakes NYC. Food & Wine writes, “These wheat-free, butterless brownies are decadent and dense. ‘It’s really, really hard to make a good vegan brownie,’ says chef Erin McKenna. Her first efforts using applesauce and vegetable oil were cakey or fluffy. It took her six months of making small adjustments to perfect them.” So there you go, Annika. I’m sure you’re eagerly awaiting these. I may present them to you along side a gift basket of all the foods you can’t eat. Kidding! xo, m
Brownie Bites for Lactards/ Celiacs
Yum! Babycakes!
Vegetable oil spray
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free, all-purpose baking flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/2 cup applesauce
1/4 cup canola oil
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup dairy-free mini chocolate chips
Preheat the oven to 325°. Spray 2 mini muffin pans with vegetable oil spray. In a bowl, whisk the baking flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt and xanthan gum. In another bowl, whisk the applesauce, oil and vanilla; stir into the dry ingredients. Stir in the chocolate chips. Spoon the batter into the muffin pans, filling them three-quarters full. Bake for 15 minutes, or until set. Let the brownies cool in the pans for 15 minutes, then turn out onto a rack to cool completely.
Last night I went to a show at 
