Italia

A little over a year ago, my husband and I honeymooned in Italy. It really is the place of dreams; beauty is around every corner and every day we felt like we had been transported back in time. While we did visit the bustling cities of Rome, Florence, and Venice, my heart belongs in the quaint side streets of the Cinque Terre and the little neighborhoods tucked away in Rome. I was inspired by the picture above (not taken by me) that I saw of Rome.

 Oh, how lovely it was!

In the next few days, I will be combing through our honeymoon pictures, of which there are many, and will jot down some thoughts on the indescribably delicious cuisine we enjoyed there. I may even attempt to humbly recreate a few of these meals. Not the gelato though, that's sacred!

Ciao,

K

Stuffed Yellow Tomatoes & Purple Peppers

Remember when I said I bought some beautiful yellow tomatoes and peppers from the farmer's market? Well, I finally did something with them... I stuffed them! Stuffing is a skill I've been working on a little; what do you do with a boring old chicken breast? You stuff it! With cheese, prosciutto, spinach, or whatever! You can find some really interesting recipes online, as stuffing is a popular way to create a delicious and simple entree.

I was alone in the kitchen last Sunday afternoon, wondering what to do with myself. We had just gone to a matinee in 104 degree weather, I had already gone swimming that morning and went to the gym as well. Usually I like to experiment in the kitchen, especially when I have an unlimited amount of time to do so. But, I was making a dessert to bring to work as well, and was trying to defrost a rather stubborn package of chicken breast (we made sliders!).

Anyways, I found a simple and succinct recipe from Giada. Her stuffed tomatoes are a little different than what I created, but hey, who says I have to follow the recipe anyways?

I think my favorite part about the vegetables is their bright, vibrant colors, and the subtle and summery flavors that melt in your mouth.

Cook these up when you are on a tight schedule, or when you're lounging around the house on the weekend. They are so tasty, especially with a little bruschetta on the side, or some nicely marinated chicken your husband whipped up.

Ingredients:

4-5 medium sized tomatoes, 2 large bell peppers, or both

1 tbsp. Italian seasoning (parsley, basil, oregano) or fresh herbs

1 tsp. garlic pepper

• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped

• 1/4 c. Italian style bread crumbs

• 1/2 c. panko bread crumbs

• 1 cup grated mozzarella or provolone cheese

• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

• 1 teaspoon butter, softened

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Method:

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees

Butter a 9x13 pie pan. Cut the tomatoes in half, horizontally. Use a small spoon to gently hollow out the inside of the tomatoes, getting rid of the seeds and saving the pulp. Roughly chop the saved pulp and put in a medium bowl. Add the dried or fresh herbs, both types of bread crumbs, cheese, pepper and olive oil.

Scoop mixture into tomatoes or peppers (or both!) and fill to the top. Press down lightly, but firmly to make sure the vegetable is full but not overflowing. Drizzle with about a tbsp. of olive oil. Bake for about 25 minutes until they look cooked and the bread crumbs appear toasted.

Mangia!

-K

Welcome!

Hi there,

I have officially moved over to Blogger! I'm excited to make the switch, and have been thinking about it for quite some time now!

Blogger has allowed more opportunities for me, and more ability to connect with other online sites and bloggers, so I am very excited!

Below are posts I have had on my past blog, and from today on I will be posting here.

Happy Tuesday, and I hope you continue to read Sage and Sound :)

One for the Table

I don’t know if anyone knows this, but Nora Ephron is an idol of mine. She was a hilarious feminist; a pioneer in screenwriting. She wrote a few treasures such as, (you may have heard of them),You’ve Got Mail, When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless in Seattle, and Julie and Julia. Plainly put, she was a rockstar. She also said, in an NPR interview, ”You can never have too much butter – that is my belief. If I have a religion, that’s it.” Glorious.

Anyways, the other day, I was recently searching the internet for some culinary magazines and blogs that I was hoping to send in recipes for and stumbled across One for the Table. It had a blurb saying that it was created by Amy Ephron. Instantly, I remembered that Nora Ephron had had a few sisters, just like myself. Three younger sisters, to be exact. After doing a little more research, I did see that Amy was in fact Nora’s sister. Magical!

Clicking around, I saw that the restaurant review section for Washington consisted of only one restaurant review, in Spokane. Nothing on Seattle eats! So, I sent in my little review on Urban Family Public House to One for the Table and was later contacted by Lisa, their editor, to say that they would include my review in their Washington state section, and would love other contributions from me as well.

Needless to say, a little bitty dream of mine came true. I’m not saying that I’m a fabulous writer, I’m not saying I’m talented. I think I just appreciate good food, good drink, and nice places, and I like to put all these thoughts down. To have them read by someone that has a connection to someone as wonderful as Ms. Ephron, just checks off a little box on my Bucket List that I never knew I had.  So here’s to you, Nora Ephron, I know you’re looking down on your sisters, I know you enjoyed good food, and I know you loved life. And I can appreciate that.

Excited

I’m very very excited to go to this place.  We just read an article on the Seattle Times about Molly Wizenberg & husband and how ridiculously cool they are.  I’ve been reading her blog for quite some time now, but had recently lapsed from my reading.  Her blog is my blog’s idol. Cool and classy, well-written and smart.

If you haven’t checked out her blog, restaurant, and book, please do. I’ve already penciled in visiting Delancey on our next Seattle trip.

Molly Wizenberg has a new book and baby on the way too, plus, Delancey is in Ballard; the best place ever.

We just got back from the Pasco Farmer’s Market, where I bought: a purple pepper, yellow tomatoes, and some rather large peaches. I’m already dreaming up something rich and dreamy.

Happy Saturday!

Ice Cream & Waffles

It’s this simple: slice up some ice cream (for once, not frozen yogurt!), make some waffles, add some chocolate chips sprinkled in, and enjoy. Pure, unadulterated summer sweetness. You have the mixture of cold, rich ice cream with the crunch of a homemade Belgian Waffle. It really is perfection.

My dear, sweet, mother inspired this dessert. She told me the other day that when she was a young girl, living in NYC, she told me that on her way home from Jones Beach, in the sweltering heat, her father would take her and her assortment of Irish cousins to Woolworth’s for the favorite summer treat.

“They’d slice a thick, cold, slice of that vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry ice cream, and lay it in between two square waffles”, she said. My mind wandered to a hot, humid, New York day, one of those days that requires two showers. My mom, about 11 years old, is trudging down the sidewalk, licking the strawberry ice cream off her fingers. Actually, wait, my mother would never lick her fingers. She’d use a napkin. Anyways, she’d wipe her fingers off delicately on a Woolworth’s napkin.

After it was all gone, just a distant memory in her full stomach, she’d sit on the subway, dreaming of the next weekend. Next weekend, she’d swim in the surf, build sandcastles with her family, and eat turkey sandwiches out of the cooler. Next weekend the glory that is Summer in New York would begin again.

annmarie

AUGUST 15, 2012 AT 2:32 AM

That was pretty cute and I had no idea that you would do this. I loved every bit of it!

Happy Monday

annmarie

AUGUST 14, 2012 AT 2:43 AM [EDIT]

I love all the beautiful thoughts, especially: marry only for love and count your blessings. All are good thoughts to live by.

a little smidge of inspiration

Chocolate Cupcakes with Coffee Buttercream Frosting

My grandma turned 90. Yes, 9-0! I personally find that amazing, and would imagine that you do too. She is just as feisty as I can ever remember, cracking jokes, telling stories, and always sharing her strong opinion.

I like to think that we’ve all gained a little something from her, and needless to say it is always a joy to see her. She’s given us all so much love over decades and decades and we were all so eager to celebrate her.

My parents and aunt and uncle rented out a party room at Il Granaio, a sweet and hip Italian restaurant in Mount Vernon, about an hour north of Seattle and I was lucky enough to make the dessert for this family celebration. I promptly began searching around on my favorite foodie blogs, and found the tiramisu cake I’d been searching for on Smitten Kitchen. It was divine, but more on that later.

To complete the dessert spread, my mother and I whipped up some simple chocolate cupcakes with coffee butter cream frosting. To give you an idea of how good they were, my nephews each ate two; I consider that to be a personal accomplishment!

 

Ingredients:

Frosting adapted from here
Chocolate cake mix (we took a shortcut!)
1 c. unsalted butter, room temperature
3-4 c. confectioner’s sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
2 tbsp. finely ground coffee, mixed with 1 tsp. of boiling hot water, stirred
about 3-4 tbsp. heavy cream

Method:

Make cupcakes according to recipe on the back of the box. We used a dark chocolate Devil’s Food flavor and they were divine.

For the frosting, beat butter for a few minutes with a stand or hand mixer . Add 3 cups of powdered sugar and turn your mixer on the lowest speed until the sugar has been incorporated with the butter.
Increase mixer speed to medium and add vanilla extract, salt, and 2 tablespoons of milk/cream and beat for 3 minutes. Add coffee syrup.

If your frosting needs a more stiff consistency, add remaining sugar. If your frosting needs to be thinned out, add remaining milk 1 tablespoons at a time.

Let cupcakes cool for about 30 minutes, then pipe frosting on top.

Enjoy!
k

Banana Berry Medley Bread

Yesterday I whipped up some very tasty & healthy breakfast bread for us. It really was entirely my own creation, but has the same obvious ingredients found in all recipes. I find that it is easy to mix and match your own recipe, especially with baking breads and cookies, because you just need the same basic ingredients. These would be a flour base, a liquid, sweetener, and something to make the whole thing rise a little bit.

Put all those ingredients together in one bowl (it’s a Tuesday, I don’t believe in dishes), and you have a scrumptious and healthful treat for the morning.

Ingredients:
2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. oats
1 c. yogurt, I prefer greek or non-fat
2 large bananas, mashed
2 tbsp. acai syrup or honey
2 tbsp.  canola oil
1 c. frozen (de-frosted) or fresh berries, I used strawberries and blueberries

Method:
Mix together the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Then add wet ingredients and stir. Be careful not to over-stir as it will make the dough rubbery.  It’s quicker and easier to mix the ingredients by hand. The nice thing about this recipe is that you don’t use processed white sugar to sweeten. The combination of berries and acai syrup or honey really do the trick!

As you can see, I really really enjoyed it with some strawberry jam!
Ciao,
k

Sangria

Ah, sangria. That delectable mix of fruit and wine. This sangria is a concoction from who knows where. I think I looked at a recipe a long time ago, which must have been where I got the idea for this particular mixture. However, I consider this my own recipe, because of what I add to it.
Sangria is perfect for those nights when you want a relaxing drink, but you don’t want a cocktail, and you don’t want wine. (I know, hard to imagine a night where you wouldn’t want one of either.)

 

This recipe has been popular in particular with my father, who has been known to run out to the store and return with about 3 bottles of wine, just so I could make more. It’s pretty good, I’m not going to lie to you. I have yet to try making white sangria, which sounds just as delicious and refreshing. When I do, I’ll let you know.

Ingredients:

Makes 4-5 glasses
4 c. of red wine, I use Rex Goliath “Free Range Red”, because it’s inexpensive and it’s a basic red wine.
1-1 1/2 c. ginger ale
1 lemon, sliced
1 lime, sliced, saving one slice for garnish
1 orange, sliced
Optional additions: strawberries or raspberries (or you could go crazy with blueberries!)
2 shots gin (I add more when it’s Friday night)
2 c. ice

Method:


First, it’s a good idea to set your bottle of Rex Goliath in the refrigerator so it can chill. No one likes warm sangria. Then, add wine and juices from your squeezed lemon, orange, and lime. Top off with ginger ale.
Give it a good stir, add the ice cubes, and let chill in your refrigerator (if you can resist) for about 15 minutes.

Enjoy on a warm summer night with friends & family!

Shrimp and Broccoli Rice Noodles with Peanut Coconut Sauce

Often times I will go through my cupboard and grab random jars, cans, and ingredients, laying them out on the counters; wondering what the heck is going to become of them. This particular meal was an off-shoot of one of those nights. I found a package of rice noodles, defrosted some shrimp, and voila- a very basic but delicious, Asian inspired, noodle dish.

I had begun making my own peanut sauce about a year ago and much to my surprise it was accepted very well by other members of this household.  It’s very simple, the key being not to overcook the sauce, as it will burn and you’ll think you ruined your nice pan that you got for your wedding and you have to spend at least 25 minutes scrubbing it. Not that I’ve experienced that.

Anyways, you can add any type of meat, tofu, or seafood to this recipe. I used shrimp because it is what I had on hand, but chicken has been successful as well.

My peanut sauce is a little less peanut-y than what you will find in an authentic Thai restaurant; if you’d like add a smidge more peanut butter or some sweet and sour sauce.

Ingredients:
1 lb. rice noodles
2 tbsp. chopped garlic
2 lb. peeled and pre-cooked shrimp, defrosted
2 c. washed and chopped broccoli
1 c. coconut milk
1/2 c. peanut butter, smooth
3 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. cumin
1 tsp. chili pepper
1 tsp. ginger, fresh & chopped or powdered
sprinkle of salt
1 fresh lime
1/2 c. chopped peanuts

Method:
In a large sauce pan over medium high heat, toss shrimp, olive oil, and garlic. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring often. Add ginger, chili pepper, salt, and cumin. Lower heat and let simmer for about 5 minutes.

Add peanut butter, coconut milk, and juice from about half of the lime. Bring to a high heat and right before it reaches a boil, reduce to simmer. Now, cover and add broccoli, allowing to simmer in it’s own juices for about 10 minutes.

Cook noodles according to package directions; I stir often for about 3-4 minutes.

Drain noodles and let cool for about a minute. Then add to large saucepan and thoroughly coat with sauce.

Garnish with a slice of lime and crushed peanuts and serve immediately, as it tastes the best when piping hot!

Ciao,
K

Born Hungry Mag Submission

Hey there!

This morning I was pleasantly surprised to see my rhubarb recipe was posted up on Born Hungry Food Magazine, an online food magazine for home cooks. It is run by Nicole Jones, who is one of the nicest pen-pals; I was super excited when she said she loved my submission! The pictures are by the contributing photographer, Colin Price. Love his work. Please check out their magazine, “like” them on Facebook, and tell everyone you know.

Happy Monday!

Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

I participated in Cupcake Wars. No, not the show on Bravo that I watch religiously every Sunday at 8 p.m., but the Cupcake Wars that we put on at my place of employment.  I had grand plans for my participating cupcake; I went from choosing a vanilla latte flavor, to Nutella, to settling on strawberry cheesecake with cream cheese frosting.

 I was ready, I had all the ingredients, even extra cream cheese in case there was a frosting snafu.  The preparation was easy, everything looked great…but…the presentation, well, let’s just say it was sub-par. The cakes fell in, all the way to the bottom of the muffin tin. The crust was too moist and did not cook correctly, and the strawberry swirl looked more like a strawberry blob.

After I had a brief moment in the kitchen, I started debating whether I would just try and cover up the shrunken cupcakes with frosting and just call it good, or completely begin again from scratch.  I rifled quickly through my Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook, straight to the cake section, and found a yellow cake recipe. Unfortunately, it made 24 cupcakes, which was not desirable at 10 p.m. at night.

So, I halved the ingredients, which has rarely turned out well for me. But hey, it’s now 10:15 p.m. and I’m fading.

Recipe:

Loosely adapted from Better Homes & Gardens’ Yellow Cake Recipe

Prep time: 50 minutes
Bake time: 15-20 minutes
Makes exactly 12 cupcakes

Ingredients:

2/3 c. butter
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 tbsp. lemon juice
1/2 c. bluberries, (fresh or defrosted ones)

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.

Leave butter and eggs to stand at room temperature for about half an hour. Grease and lightly flour one regular sized muffin tin.

In a medium sized bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, and salt.
With a stand or hand mixer, beat butter on medium to high speed for about 30 seconds. Scrape down sides with a spatula and mix for about 10 more seconds. Slowly add sugar, about a 1/4 cup at a time, and continue to mix together. Scrape sides once more and continue to beat for about 2 more minutes.

Add eggs one at a time, then beat in vanilla flavoring and lemon juice.

Add in the flour mixture and beat on a low speed, but be careful not to over mix; beat until only just combined.  Spoon about 3-4 tbsp. for about each cupcake. Press 4-5 blueberries into the top of the batter.

Bake for about 15 minutes and check. Continue to cook if cupcakes are not completely done; feel free to stick a toothpick in and check. A clean toothpick means cooked through! Take cupcakes out and let cool for about an hour on a cooling rack.



Frosting:
8 oz. cream cheese
1 little squeeze of fresh lemon juice
4 tbsp. butter
1 c. powdered sugar

Now you’re at the fun part! Making the frosting is quick and super simple. Beat the cream cheese and butter together on medium high speed until smooth.  Add the lemon juice and the powdered sugar, about a 1/4 cup at a time.  Let chill in the refrigerator for about half an hour.

Pipe frosting onto cooled cupcakes, and I promise you won’t be disappointed. Just remember to share with others!

Urban Family Public House

About a week or so ago, the husband, pup, and I went to Seattle to see my family and spend some time in the (rare) Seattle sunshine. We went to the Ballard Farmer’s Market, a plethora of fresh produce, handmade jewelry, talented street musicians, and just about anything you would want to see.
The Ballard Farmer’s Market is the quintessential example of why I love Seattle down to my very core. If a stranger ever asked me for the perfect Sunday morning activity, I would tell them: first, a latte at Caffe Vita and then stroll along the street, past the boutiques, the hotcakes shop, and the antique stores to the farmer’s market. Oh yes, and follow it up with a cupcake.

As we ended our foray into the market, after making about three loops past the Danish pastries, the bunches of vibrant flowers, and the hand crafted necklaces, we stumbled across a chalkboard sign inviting us to eat and relax on a deck… with our dog. Now, I know that Seattle is down with the doggy friends, we’ve been to Norm’s and have wanted to check out Shorty’s in Belltown, if it wasn’t for our mutual fear of the clown decor. But nevertheless, the opportunity to sit back, savor the sunshine, and grab a bite with our four legged friend is something we will not pass up.

And that’s how we found the Urban Family Public House. Snugly tucked in beside Staple & Fancy on Ballard Avenue, the pub was the perfect setting for some quiet conversation, a filling and tasty sandwich, and of course, a cold IPA.  When we ventured in, we asked the bartender (because maybe someone had made a mistake) whether dogs were indeed allowed in. He said “sure, inside, outside, wherever!” Magic to our ears, my friends, magic to our ears.

We promptly ordered two prosciutto paninis, which were accompanied by a cannellini bean salad, a match made in heaven in my opinion. The prosciutto was crisp and salty, the pesto warm and smooth, and the cheese, well I cannot say enough about the cheese.

 

While we were there, we nodded hello to a few other patrons, also overjoyed to be sitting outside, on a deck, in Seattle. Keep in mind this is not something that happens very frequently. It truly is like Christmas. A sweet middle aged couple sitting next to us were doing exactly the same thing, closing their eyes and munching on their paninis in between sips of an ice cold IPA.  And of course, our dog was there the whole time.

Urban Family Public House, 5329 Ballard Ave. N.W., (206-783-BEER) or www.urbanfamilypublichouse.com)

*Farmer’s Market picture courtesy of The Kitchn

Fourth of July, Desert Style

…yes, that’s “desert”, not “dessert”!

Well, I know you were all so very anxiously awaiting this post. I know that you were laying awake, staring at the ceiling, wondering “what in the heck did that little blogger make for the Fourth of July?” Did she go classic hamburgers & beer? Did she make cupcakes? What. Did. She. Make??

Well, my friends, the answer is, she made a completely self made recipe of bean, pepper, and and mushroom pizza squares. *Sounds weird, I know. And, because I am patriotic, not because I am obsessed with blueberries*, made a blueberry cheesecake.

My sweet husband and I were graciously invited to my friend’s house, allowing us not only to eat and drink until we felt like napping, but to have a simply wonderful time out in the desert sunshine.
Some of you may know my very dear friend, who blogs over at Sippy Cups and Prada. Her blog is growing in popularity, and is very inspiring, as the woman has two children, a husband, two dogs, and a very steady, meaningful job at my office. Needless to say, I’m impressed. And the important thing is that she looks good doing it!

As for the barbeque, we had grilled salmon, ribs, deviled eggs, homemade tortillas (which she has blogged about, people!), mango salsa, not to mention beer, and a very strong, slushy, pink drink, thaat apparently had a lot of champagne and sugar in it. Oh yeah, and they were in mason jars, so obviously that makes everything a bit more trendy!

On a sidenote, I am not sure if the husband, myself, and our pup, Molly may get invited back again, as Molly promptly “fell” into their pool, and caused quite a ruckus. She’s been known to cause a scene at barbeques before. Anyways, on to the food; there’s my cheesecake and pizza squares on the right!

…delicious mango salsa.



…and ribs.



There’s Husband, slicing into the delicious ribs. He’s clearly being hilarious.

Here we are, having a stimulating conversation!

My darling friend, Y.



And, here are the slushies!



Now, on to my pizza squares.

1 pre-made pizza crust dough, or home-made. I prefer whole wheat dough when cooking the dough on the pizza stone, it turns out nice and crispy.
½ can of non-fat, vegetarian, organic refried beans (there is such a thing!)
1 c. shredded sharp cheddar cheese
½ c. of black beans
½ c.  finely chopped red, orange, or yellow pepper, but definitely not green, ick.
¼ c. sliced mushrooms
¼ c. sliced olives
1 small handful of cilantro, chopped

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. The assembly of ingredients is just like a regular homemade pizza, however, I like to bake the raw dough on the pizza stone for about 5 minutes so that it won’t turn out mushy and fall apart in your hand, not that it’s happened to me!

Spread the refried beans on the crust just as you would marinara sauce on a cheese pizza. Top with ½ the cheese and sprinkle with black beans, peppers, olives, and mushrooms. Bake for about 15-20 minutes, or until the crust turns golden at the edges. Let cool for about a minute and sprinkle with the cilantro.

I think you will love this dish; it’s tasty, simple, and best of all, husband approved!

Ciao,
K

2 thoughts on “Fourth of July, Desert Style”

1. annmarie

   July 13, 2012 at 12:09 am [Edit]

   I really like the writing, so expressive and detailed! This looks like a true feast, I bet all of you needed to take a nap afterwards. A happy day for sure. The cheesecake looks professional!

   Reply
2. Kimberly

   July 20, 2012 at 9:39 pm [Edit]

   Looks fun & tasty Kathleen – I want one of those slushies !