[ezcol_1half]
“It’s been a busy week full of testing recipes! There was one notable failure, involving quick pickled cucumbers. I followed a recipe from a preserving book that I really love and trust, but it completely let me down this time. I ended up throwing the entire mason jar full of soy sauce-saturated, inedible cucumbers down the garbage disposal.
There were plenty of successes, however, including the citrus carrots in my photo for this week. Just steam some carrot rounds, drizzle some blood orange olive oil over them, zest some lime and add salt & pepper to taste. They’re a bright, healthy winter side dish.“
*If you’ve ever tried to save a few dollars on booze by buying the cheap brand, then you’ll know how useful this post from The Kitchn is. They present a way to doctor cheap rum to make it more palatable.
*I’m really into single cup drip coffee right now. It’s huge in Japan, and even Starbucks has a line of disposable single-drip dispensers called Origami (cute, huh?). While it’s convenient, it feels pretty wasteful to use at home. I suppose this gorgeous porcelain version from Elizabeth Benotti Handmade Ceramics would make an adequate substitute…
*I love fried chicken, but I don’t usually go through the trouble of making it at home. Until Food & Wine published the recipe from Wayfare Tavern, one of my favorite San Francisco restaurants. This was one of the aforementioned cooking successes of the week. So, so good, and worth the effort. I’ll definitely make it again.
[/ezcol_1half]
[ezcol_1half_end]
“Working from home is such a treat. Not only do I get tons of work done without the two hour commute, but I can also throw on a face mask, do some laundry and make myself tasty mugs of tea all day long. The one downside is that my desk is packed between blog work and craft work and photography work and so I sit at the kitchen table near a set of slat windows. It’s certainly less of a problem in the summer, but today I wanted to keep the curtains closed to block out as much of the draft from the windy, rainy weather as I could and it was feeling a bit dark. Then I looked up and noticed I was missing a WHOLE BULB up there. 25%! I should find an ark and hit the hardware store.”
* In case you don’t know of Heather Sphor, you may want to check out her Instagram feed. Not only are her kids ridiculously adorable, but she puts together the best photos of her son James with the hashtag #whileyouwereatpreschool to show her daughter. Seriously, check her out.
* Speaking of desks: one day I will have this amazing DIY gold version. You could also use sequin fabric or even glittered scrapbook paper instead of the gold leaf- cheaper AND easier!
* Our friend Christina over at Sweet Lavender Bake Shoppe actually made me drool a bit with this corn recipe she posted earlier this week. Everyone likes corn, right? In my opinion, this is a perfect snack/lunch/pre-dinner/meal substitute.
[/ezcol_1half_end]
Definitely don’t miss our contributor post over at Oh So Pretty: a Clementine & Honey Fizz!
Style Motivation added our DIY Burlap Coasters to their list of 20 Interesting and Useful DIY Burlap Projects!