flowers and my old friend john

Would you just look at these beautiful paper flowers by Livia Cetti at The Green Vase? Two of my favorite stores, John Derian and Anthropologie, are her clients, and while I've seen "more realistic" faux blooms made of silk, I think these are fun and whimsical.

Images via The Green Vase

I especially love the poppies and can't wait to see some of these designs when I visit the John Derian store in Provincetown next week. I'll be heading there with my mother on Tuesday, and other than poking around the many haunts of this sweet, old Cape Cod town, the John Derian store is our main destination. A friend recently visited the shop and said it is teeny tiny, but if it's anything like I imagine, I'm sure I'll still be able to spend hours exploring its many treasures.

I am so accident-prone, I'll really have to be careful in here.

 Images via Architecht Design (TM)

The store is only a short bike ride form John's 18th century home, once owned by a ship captain. Talk about a dream home tour. I wonder if he'll be around when we are there next week. I dream of having another chance to meet one of my creative idols!

Image via The Boston Globe

Here are some interior photos of his home. So much pattern, texture and muted color. Wouldn't you just love to cozy up to that fireplace on a winter's night? It's doubtful that this relic of a home is winterized, however I've read that John uses it year-round.

I can't tell if this is a twin or full bed, but I don't think I'd have any trouble sleeping cozily in it. That is, if the creaking of the old walls and floors wouldn't keep me awake.

John lounging on his porch. What a genius. I'd love to live in his world for just a day.

 Images via shelterpop

As we all brace for Irene here in New England, I pray that everybody makes it safely through the weekend. I take heart thinking of how many storms John's home has weathered. 

Have a safe weekend, wherever you are.

south carolina - august 2011

back on the sauce

THIS sauce, that is. Not the variety I consumed in excess for three straight days on the beaches of South Carolina last week. Don't get me wrong, it was a great time, but my body has been aching for some of the green, so this morning I whipped up a breakfast juice as well as this little delight that I took to work as an afternoon snack.

Monday juicin

kale (lots and lots)
cucumber
celery
pear
ginger

Pictures of South Carolina to follow. It was my first time visiting this part of the Atlantic coast and I was in awe of its natural beauty. Minus a close encounter with three enormous spiders. Bayou livin', I guess.

for the love of bulgur

Yesterday turned out to be a pretty surprising day.  I woke up ready to make my morning juice (check!) and intending to throw together a little lunch salad using some bulgur I prepared simply the other night. But while I was looking at the chopped tomato, onion, pepper and feta cheese on the cutting board that I had prepped for said lunch salad, I was suddenly struck with the inspiration to make a fritatta. Or fri-TA-TA, as this guy says:

You'll have to watch the movie "Morning Glory" if you are like huh??? at this reference. And I'm sure you are, because I had no idea this movie existed until I watched it with a group of friends at my parents' house this weekend. Allow me to get back to the fritat... while hosting this lovely group of girls, I made a fri-TA-TA on Saturday morning. Not to toot my own horn, but it was my first fri-TA-TA and it was pretty darn good. In fact, since last weekend, I've found myself looking at all the food around me and thinking: how I can transform you into a fri-TA-TA? Here's a breakdown of what happened, in photos, of course, because I'm too lazy to give you instructions.

 

After my success with the bulgur earlier that morning, I still had about 3 cups of the stuff leftover when I got home from work. I really didn't feel like chopping more vegetables, and by the time I started thinking about dinner, I was halfway through a glass of red wine, and my mind and belly began to wander toward things of an Italian nature. So I decided to make a casserole. Not so unlike a fritat, really. A dinner version, perhaps? But without the eggs.

This use of the bulgur was even better than the fritatta, and I swear to you, a few times throughout this freestyle recipe situation, I was like, WTF am I doing right now.

Like here.

And this was when my stomach started to get the better of me and I pondered how good it would be simply scooped into a bowl. 

 

yeah, that's a whole lot of parmesan cheese

But I persevered, knowing that fresh from the oven with a nice crusty top was how this casserole was born to be made.

 

And thus, I bring to you, my crunchy Bulgur and Broccoli Bake. I've decided that I don't like the word casserole. Anything heretofore refereced to as "casserole" shall now be called "bake". I'll get the instructions down just as soon as I can.

Today's leftovers are already calling my name.

I hope you have a surprising weekend!

thursday juice

This morning I made a loverly juice of the following:

Southern greens (mix of collards, turnip, mustard and spinach)
cucumber
celery
apple
blueberries
ginger

In a nod to Kris Carr, who likes to drink her green juice out of a wine glass, I changed things up today to make my juice a little more fun. Happy juicing!

Image via Raw Food, Right Now

wednesday juice

This morning I went for an all-vegetable* juice of:

kale
celery
yellow pepper
carrot
zucchini
plum tomatoes
garlic

* yes, I know some of these don't qualify as vegetables in the biological sense, but I'm using that term here as these are not sweet like most fruits.

I threw a dash of Kosher salt into the bottom of my glass before I poured the juice and so the last few sips (which are sometimes hard for me to get down), were a nice, savory treat. I was worried about using the zucchini because I hadn't before, but it was a really nice addition.
 

I'm already thinking about my morning juice tomorrow. It will most definitely involve blueberries and the ginger I bought last night.

a green juice a day

For the next few weeks, I'm going to do my best to have a green juice every morning. Aside from the obvious health benefits of giving my body between 4-6 six servings of fruits and vegetables at the start of my day, I'm a bridesmaid in a wedding on Labor Day (see last post), and I want my skin to be clear and glowing on the big day. Many people don't realize that the anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of fruits and vegetables are great for this, so I figure starting my day with a nice jolt of fruits and vegetables will be a great addition to my regular skin routine. And while having a green juice to start my morning won't do a thing to help me lose weight if I don't control my portions and diet for the rest of the day, I've found that when I begin my day on a healthy note, I'm inspired to make better choices throughout the day. So, who knows, maybe I'll be able to shed a few pounds, too.

Despite missing two of my favorite go-to ingredients, ginger and mint, the juice I've made so far this week has been incredible. Here's a quick recap:

Monday
kale
cucumber
celery
apple

Tuesday
kale
cucumber
celery
apple
blueberries - oh man, amazing

While the recipes are almost identical (haven't had a chance to go to the market), the juice I had with the blueberries this morning was delicious. I've added strawberries and raspberries before, but the blueberries made the juice slightly tart. It was still sweet, thanks to the apple, and also nice and light because of the mellow, watery properties of the cucumber and celery.

I'll post again after my morning juice tomorrow and will try to include a photo, although sometimes the color of the juice does not photograph well, if you know what I mean (read brown). One of my favorite things to do is to make a savory vegetable-based juice. I've got a bunch of almost-gone Roma tomatoes that would be awesome with some kale, celery, cucumber, carrots, bell peppers and scallions.

bridal shower remembered in photos

eating in the garage again

Lately it's where I go when I want to unabashedly shovel food into my mouth without judgment. It's also where Abi's no-bake vegan chocolate cookies are being stored in the spare fridge. I made them the other morning before work and haven't been able to stop eating them. They came together so easily and are amazingly rich and satisfying. It was the first time I ever used coconut oil (minus a hair treatment I did with a friend the other night - also awesome!) and the flavor it lends to the cookies is so subtle and tastes so good with the chocolate. Maybe like a Mounds bar or something... without the guilt.

Cracky Samoas (copyright: Kerry Carven)
Modified from Vanilla & Lace

Makes about 20

1/2 cup pure agave (I used light)
1/4 cup baking cocoa
1/4 cup almond milk
1/4 cup virgin coconut oil
1/4 cup peanut butter (I used fresh ground from Whole Foods)
2 cups old fashioned rolled oats (I used gluten-free)
1 teaspoon vanilla
pinch of salt (plus a little more)

In a medium sauce pan, mix agave nectar and baking cocoa. Add almond milk and coconut oil. Stir over medium heat, and bring to a boil. Boil for one minute. Remove from heat. Stir in peanut butter, vanilla, salt and oats. Drop by spoonfuls onto cookie sheets lined with wax paper. Stick the pan into the refrigerator until the mounds are set.

Awwww yeah, it's Friday. Have a great weekend!

the best part about moving?

The milkman comes every Tuesday.