reading nook



I've been doing some spring cleaning, including getting rid of stuff and making better use of the space in the apartment. I decided to make a little reading space in the unused area at the top of the stairs. I made a bookshelf out of a board and some bricks and stuck my favorite (Ikea) chair in there. Also, there is a skylight directly above, so I've planted a little herb garden in hopes that there is enough light. Only time will tell!

fish & chips

For St. Patrick's day. We had some lovely Great Lakes perch from Irv & Shelly's Fresh Picks. I dipped it in a basic beer batter, fried it, and scarfed it down with some chips, salt and vinegar, and beer. Greasy and delicious.
Beer batter: 1 c flour, 2 tbsp. garlic powder, 2 tbsp. paprika, 2 tsp. salt, fresh ground pepper, 1 egg, 1 bottle beer.

king cake

Hope you had a good Mardi Gras! I made a mini king cake with a pecan, brown sugar, and golden raisin filling. It is really more of a pastry than a cake. I think it will be lovely leftover with a cup of tea or coffee. The recipe was kind of huge, so I quartered it.

sencha blouse

Continuing my Colette addiction, I made the Sencha blouse. The only alteration I made was to take it in a bit at the waist. I wish these pictures were better, the fabric actually has a pale green in it that is hard to see here. This was a nice, simple pattern and I look forward to wearing the blouse. (When it's a bit warmer!)

nice breakfast

Goat cheese and gooseberry jam from last summer.

colette beignet skirt

I finally made another Colette pattern, this lovely high-waisted skirt called beignet. I had some sizing problems again, had to take it in a bit. Other than that, I really enjoyed making it. I took the pattern's suggestion to make bound buttonholes, with the help of this great tutorial. The fabric is Heather Ross for Kokka, I believe. It is a lightweight canvas, which is a little stiff but works ok for this pattern. The sweet vintage buttons I found at Soutache suit the skirt well, I think. Might make another in a smaller size and a lighter fabric a well.

finished triangle quilt

I finally finished my first full-size quilt, hooray! I made a whole bunch of bias-tape with the black fabric in order to bind the edges. It took forever, but I think it's worth it to have the fabric match. I'm going to do some more sewing, including another Colette pattern - this time the Beignet skirt. I love the high waist.

cocoa brownies with browned butter and walnuts

From this month's Bon Appetit. So good! Here is the recipe. The browned butter was a nice addition, but I had to be careful not to burn it.

oliver + s pattern: sunday brunch

I have two 2-year-old nieces, one on each side, so for Christmas they each got a "Sunday Brunch" outfit (in different colors). I should have taken more pictures of the skirt and jacket before I gave them away, but as usual, I was frantically scrambling to finish all my holiday projects. The skirt has pockets and the jacket has a bias-tape lining on the inside that matches the skirt. The fabrics I used were lightweight courduroys, which I think worked well for the pattern. I really enjoyed making these and will definitely try an Oliver + S pattern again, since I seem to have so many little people in my life right now.

peanut butter cookies

Jon requested peanut butter cookies... Coincidentally they are my favorite. I love allrecipes, I've found some good ones, like this. I rolled the cookies in sugar prior to baking, as per the instructions, but I think if I had some turbinado sugar they would have been even prettier.

hearty breakfasts

I love breakfast, especially anything with eggs. Here are some nice ones I've enjoyed recently. From the top, the veggie skillet at Cozy Corner (Thanks Allison for turning me on to the wonders of the skillet!), duck confit hash and eggs at Marigold Kitchen in Madison, and baked eggs with oil preserved tomato, cured tuna roe, and creme fraiche at Blue Duck Tavern in DC. Finally, Jon and I love to eat at Lula here in Chicago, where they always have a delicious farmer's market hash with eggs on the brunch menu. It's always different, using whatever veggies are in season. So, anyway, I decided to make my own with what I had on hand: sweet potatoes, onion, brussel sprouts and delicious Cedar Valley bacon. (And, of course, a poached egg!)

lemon curd

I had so many egg yolks left over from all those marshmallows that I decided to make a big batch of lemon curd. I used the same recipe for the lemon cake filling I made for my mom's birthday. I froze most of it, but some I had on one of the delicious Wolferman's English muffins (they are gigantic!) we got for Christmas. I felt like I was eating a big ol' slab of cake for breakfast.

blue cheese souffle



Tried Ina's recipe for blue cheese souffle last night, although I used Point Reyes Blue instead of Roquefort, because that's what I had on hand. The recipe is for 1 big souffle - she said serves 2, can you imagine? I made four little ones, I think that was about the right size for a single serving. We ate them with an arugula salad - simple and yummy. I think the recipe would be even more delicious with goat cheese...I will have to try that soon. I got a fancy new phone (lost mine on NYE - curse you Estelle's, why are you open 'til 5 am?) so I've included  a video of the exciting moment when they came out of the oven.

Christmas marshmallows

I've been neglecting the blog due to a busy holiday season. Oops! I hope everyone had a good one. Here are the Christmas marshmallows I sent out. I made tins of 3 flavors; vanilla, chocolate, and peppermint. I am very happy with the way they turned out, especially since they got rave reviews from my nephews.