Handmade Mart

here's another peek for what you might see at our booth this Sunday.

inspiration

the farmer's market is in season and since Handmade Mart is coming up, i want to show you where some of my inspiration comes from. enjoy!

it's wild!

as of last week, i had my very first Morrel. it was so darn delish! my boss sauteed it with butter, salt, and pepper...yum!

today, i was lucky enough to have been given Morrels and wild asperagus too! so after a long day, i decided to destress with a simple recipe.

1 1/2 pounds fresh asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces

8 oz of veggie broth

1/2 pound sliced Morrels

8 ounces linguini

1 tablespoon olive oil  

1/4 tsp of garlic salt/powder

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan

cook pasta. heat the olive oil in a nonstick skillet. saute asparagus in the pan over medium heat for about 3 minutes. add sea salt and ground pepper to taste. add veggie broth and mushroom slices; cook 3 minutes more. since i used 8 oz of broth, the sauce will be super runny, so you could reduce it some more or use as is...i used it as is cause i like a lot of sauce.

toss the drained pasta with asparagus mixture; sprinkle with Parmesan and voila!

Ladie's Tea on Easter

this Easter, Lacey held a Ladie's Tea for a few of us girls. she planned out a vegan menu in which we could pick an item to make and all got together in her back porch for some tea time. we got dolled up...


Lacey went all out and made several of the dishes on the menu, which were all SUPER delish and i made an easy quinoa salad and vegan red velvet cupcakes using beets to dye the cake red.



the table looked amazing. the spread was all delicious!


no dainty tea time plate for me, i ate a whole lot of food!


we had dessert...


i had a few things on my plate...




 this was Lacey's last week before her big move to Alexandria and it was such a special time and we all had a blast. thanks Lacey. here's to a great Easter.


ps - more 'real' photos to come!

...and i shall call you, cupcake!

i'm sorry about the insane amount of cuppycake posts, but i've just had the urge to bake bake BAKE! the other day, i bought some yummy cupcake liners for $2 and i just couldn't help myself but to stay in on a Saturday night and bake til the wee hours.



this one was a doozie. it's a vegan s'mores recipe that i had found on Cupcakes Take the Cake. i say a doozie because i felt like it took me forever to make. sometimes i admit i jump into things a bit too early and found i that i didn't have all of the ingredients (for the chocolate glaze and the icing). luckily, Lacey came to the rescue and brought some of them. she also helped me decided to forgo the ganache part and instead to stirred some mini vegan chocolate chips into the icing. BEST IDEA EVER. and instead of sticking a piece of graham cracker into the top of the cupcake, i decided to dip the sides of the icing into graham cracker crumbs...like this...



this cupcake turned out so rich and got many good responses. tomorrow i will be making a batch of cupcakes for my girlfriends' senior show here in town. they've asked some of us to whip up some food for the opening and i'm so excited. i've got a few ideas for decorations, but i've yet to find the perfect cupcake recipe. any suggestions?

Food Friday...uber delayed

voila! Thursday night i had Coconut Heaven Cupcakes from Vegan with a Vengeance. i borrowed the book from Lacey, after learning that a co-worker of mine loved coconut cupcakes...and on top of that, it was her birthday! she mentioned that her most favorite cupcakes were from a bakery in Baltimore and you couldn't get it anywhere else. so i took the challenge and after reading the first line from the recipe:

"These are a must for the coconut lover in your life: dense coconut cupcakes topped off with fluffy coconut icing to die for, thus the name Coconut Heaven Cupcakes."

i used the book for recipe, but i just found one here. the only difference from all of this was that i used sweetened shredded coconut. i cut down the confectioner's sugar (because i ran out) and added 1/4 cup of vegan cream cheese because my icing turned out runny. the results were pure bliss. i loved the icing with the hint of cream cheese. Elia loved it too. she even said that it was better than her favorite cupcake from Baltimore. sweet!!

i baked

so i ended up baking Vegan Pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. my friend, Chris, just got a job playing the bassoon for the Naval Band and just enlisted, so i took them over to his bonfire. i kept a good bit for myself to pass around to some special people. i got this recipe from Kirby Von Scrumptious which is loosely based on Vegan Cupcakes Take over the World.





they turned out really great and was super moist. delish!

you're my cuppy cake

this here is a Vegan Chai Latte cupcake. i got the recipe from Bake and Destroy, who got the recipe from the book, Vegan Cupcakes Take over the World. i first got wind of this when one of my girlfriends baked some for her bake sale. i was hooked...i even went back to get seconds and bought extra the next time there was another bake sale. so Sunday night for a pot luck i decided to make some...i made two batches actually. i made both batches with vanilla soy milk, vanilla soy yogurt, and used agave instead of sugar in one (partly because we thought we were out of sugar at the time). the one with agave came out tasting rather muffin-like and not too sweet...which is a great thing since i don't like cakes what are too sweet. tonight i'm thinking about make more cupcakes, but haven't decided on the type. any suggestions?

Food Friday

for St. Patrick's day, i wanted to make Guinness cupcakes. i had Lacey in mind so i wanted to make sure the recipe was Vegan. i was ready, bought all of the necessary ingredients...and then i scrolled down on the recipe page and found that some of the comments mentioned that Guinness wasn't Vegan. what?!?! then why are there recipes for Vegan Guinness cupcakes?? luckily, i live right above a beer & wine store (how convenient), so Meg ran downstairs and found that Rogue made a chocolate stout suitable for my cupcake...and voila!



i adjusted the recipe based on one from Dulcedo. it turned out rather yummy (Lacey said it was better the next day), but the vegan butter cream icing i had made for it was too runny. i also recently made Vegan vanilla whoopie pies with modified to be vegan orange cream cheese icing and the icing was runny again. can anyone remedy this or point me in the right direction? haaaalp!

what we make

happy Friday everyone! before i go back to work, i just wanted to pop in and show you what's being made around these parts.

last night, Meg made delicious S'More cookies! they were so good!



Shane finished his electric cigar box guitar out of a vintage cigar box that he thrifted for a couple of dollars and some found supplies. this guy is uber talented, but doesn't want anyone to know about it, so SHHHH! he actually carved the handle himself! it sounds so good hooked up to the amp.



and today, your's truly made a dinosaur tail with little C as my helper. he got distracted after a little while, so i had to finish it up all by myself, but i'm certainly not complaining. C is completely into his dino phase and loves anything T-Rex related, so when i saw this tutorial mentioned on Craftzine's blog, i totally jumped on it!\



it was so adorable i want to make more!

hope everyone's having a fantastic Friday. off to work i gooo!

26

yesterday, i turned 26. i still feel the same as when i turned 23. except i'm a lot more achy and i just figured out that i could only eat a row of the Samoa cookies instead of a whole box in one sitting. (it's getting too sweet for my poor teeth.)

i'm not really big on birthdays so i just went about my day. slept in, worked, yoga, followed by a nice and quiet dinner with my work friends, and ended with a 3 way call with my besties. it was stress free and no one got hurt. a good start to 26 for sure.

Food Friday

 hi! i , cooked! finally! it was my roommate's birthday, but she was bed ridden with migraine. she had previous plans to cook dinner with another friend of ours, but i saw a recipe for Portabello Stroganoff that Mellow Moods had posted on their facebook and i could not for the life of me, stop wanting to eat it! so i took the bulls by the horns and started to make it...luckily, my roommate felt better and we sat down for a nice quite dinner.

Portabello Stroganoff (recipe via Mellow Moods)

1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup unflavored yogurt
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons dried or fresh dill
1/8 teaspoon salt, or to taste
pepper to taste
6 medium portobello mushrooms (5 to 6 inches in diameter; 1 1/4 pounds total)
2 tablespoons butter or margerine
2 tablespoons minced onion
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2-3/4 cup vegetable broth

**We like to serve over noodles (egg noodles, veggie bow tie noodles, rigatoni, etc.)**
So put some noodles on to boil before you start the rest:

1.) mix sour cream, yogurt, mustard, dill, salt, and pepper. sit aside.
2.) slice mushrooms into long thin strips (1/4 inch think or so)
3.) In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add mushrooms and onion; cook, stirring, until soft, about 6 minutes.
4.) Stir in flour until absorbed. Stir in the broth to deglaze the pan. Cook, stirring, until broth boils. Stir in sour cream mixture. Cook, stirring, about 1 minute longer.

Serves:4  Prepare time: 15 minutes.

------------

i had to improvise and made it vegan with coconut milk because i forgot to pick up some yogurt. those of you who know me, know that i'm pretty skeptical about vegan food at first, but it turned out really well, although it took me more than 20 minutes for me to make (because i am slow and i get frantic when i cook). the girls liked it, but the true test is if the real vegan, Lacey, approves. i gave her some leftovers for dinner today, but i have yet to her from her. we will see what she thinks!

Food Friday

every once in a while, i like to take photos of what i eat. Lacey, is really good at that. but me? i'm just shy of mediocre. but when it's just too pretty to dig in without evidence, i whip my camera out. for instance, my breakfast from the other morning.



and speaking of food photography. here's a look at what i baked last night...



that, my friends, is a piece of cookies n cream Oreo fudge brownie. you can thank my roommate, Meg, for that. she was the mastermind and found the recipe from KevinandAmanda.com. (Meg has just found StumbleUpon and she's been sending me food and photography links left and right.) as soon as i saw the recipe, it was over. we hopped over to the store, grabbed the ingredients, and whipped up a batch...oh my goodness was it tasty! i'm not sure if i had undercooked it (like how i like to bake most of my brownies so it's really gooey on the insides) or if it's because of the extra fudge added into it...wait! did i tell you there was fudge AND cookies 'n cream ice cream in the batter itself?? oh yea, and we used double stuffed Oreos. it's so rich i could only handle eating half of a piece...so maybe a nice glass of cold milk would help wash it down.

thanks to Kevin and Amanda (and their cute Bostons!!!!) for this divine recipe...

Cookies ‘N Cream Oreo Fudge Brownies
1 box Brownie Mix
eggs & oil (as called for by the brownie mix)
1 heaping half cup (6 oz) Cookies & Cream ice cream
1/4 Cup hot fudge topping (chilled or room temp)
Preheat oven & spray an 8×8 baking dish generously with cooking spray. Combine brownie mix, eggs, and oil as directed on the back of the box, but do not add the water. Add ice cream and hot fudge to the brownie batter and stir to combine. Pour half of the brownie batter into the baking dish, layer with Oreos, then top with remaining batter. Bake for 40-50 minutes or as directed on the back of the box.

YUMMMMMMM...

hello friends! photo heavy!!!!!

just checking in folks. i'm getting back to it...slowly, but surely. these are some of the things i've been up to:


i've been baking a good bit with the girls. they picked blueberries with their family and so we made really simple blueberry muffins with them


a mini beach trip with Lacey & Brian. they buried me in sand...it was fun while it lasted but not fun afterward


eating Maryland crabs...they are my favorite


having girl time


having some much needed family time


a bachelorette party in Baltimore


enjoying dinner on the grill (not mine though)



meeting/making new friends and fireworks


loving on Remy! my most favorite thing on this earth!

tomorrow is a HUGE day! Liz & Cory are finally getting married (and so are my good friends Jess & Chris. love you guys!). this will be my very first wedding as the head photographer (luckily, i will have good help!)...please wish me luck.

thanks for sticking around. i hope your Saturday is fabulous.

Coast to Cote: week 21

this week, our pictures matched up because we had a girl's night at the Boonsboro carnival together (the town where i grew up). along with our other girlfriend(s), we played bingo (25 cents to play, 20 ways to win!) and "I Got It!" (think connect four with bouncy balls) and had a few 'treats.' i hope you enjoy!



Pang: After spending too much money and not winning a whole lot at the carnival, we decided it was time to make our rounds to take some photographs. I took this photograph of the Farris wheel, and was puzzled as to why it's reflection was showing up on the corner of the photograph, which I think looks like fireworks. Several pictures later I realized the light was bouncing off of the UV filter I had on my lens. An accidental effect that made for an interesting photograph for sure.

Lacey: Im home! I haven't been super productive since I got back - been too busy seeing friends and family and unpacking and getting settled. Our very own Pang of Coast to Cote invited me to go to the Boonsboro carnival this week to play a little Bingo and I happily agreed. A little country music and greasy food was just what I needed to feel back at home. Admittedly I didn't really miss those things - but I did miss spending time with my friends so it was a night well spent. PS...didn't win at Bingo.

flakey goodness

more pop tarts. this time the more colorful ones. i don't know how these taste (cause my fave is brown sugar cinnamon!) in real life, so if you have, i hope it was delish!

W.I.P: stinky stinky!

other than photography, i've also been trying to finish a lot of sewing...albeit mostly unsuccessful. here's what else i've been working on...



you've seen this onion before, haven't you? on Valentine's Day cards from last year i believe. well, i'm bringing it back like sexy. i'll let you guess what it's going to end up being.

Foto Fun Friday: Bon Appetit

Bon Appetit, originally uploaded by Angie Naron.

i saw this photograph a couple of days ago (then Meaghan left me a link too) and it absolutely made me smile. i hope it does the same for you!

...i wonder how long it took just to put all of those little googly eyes on the cheerios...

nuggets, nuggets, nuggets, and more nuggets!!

Thursday is my favorite day of the week. mostly because i'm off and i could spend the day doing whatever i wanted, which is usually going somewhere with J. since he has been feeling under the weather and rested all day, i decided to spend the day sewing. i sewed, took breaks, sewed, walked into town, had a smoothie, sewed some more, annoyed J (really fun!), and sewed until we went over to his parent's house for dinner. all in day i'd say it was pretty successful. i finished more chicken nuggets, and am 75% done with more PANGUINS. yay for getting things done!


i free handed the shapes, so some of them seem a little wonky...but i think it adds to the cuteness. i'm not quite sure how i feel about the mustachio'd one though.


guess what? chicken butts!

and while we are looking at pictures, i'll show you what else i took pictures of today...

this here is Tater. she belongs to J's parents. i've been dating J for almost three years and have never EVER gotten a photograph of Taterkins...she hates the camera. everything i would point my camera her way, she would move and whine...but not today! she complied and was wonderful! perhaps it was the beautiful weather, but we will never know.


here's my handsome bearded man. J said he looks mean in this photograph, but i beg to differ. there's a little smile on that face! and then he took a picture of me being a little sassy. love this photo.

i hope your Thursday was good too. see you tomorrow for Foto Fun Friday!

Coast to Cote: week

here's our mash up for week 14. although they are completely different, i love how there are blue tones here and there throughout the photo (Lacey's more so than mine). enjoy!



Me: Sunday was the annual Thai New Year/Songkran Festival at Wat Thai DC. I pretty much go there every year with my family to stuff my face. This one wasn't much different except I went with two of my American co workers...and with my very red hair...we kinda stuck out like a sore thumb. We ate like Kings and Queens and ended up broke, yet satisfied. Honestly, I wish I had brought more money so I could have taken more food home. Can someone say gluttonous? This is one of my very favorite Thai dessert/snack, which I forgot to even buy, I bee lined it to the main course line and forgot to grab these before we left. Why can't everyday be Thai New Year festival?

Lacey: During our stay in Rome we decided to spend a day in Capri. Getting off the train in Naples you would never know that this beautiful island is just a 40 minute ferry ride away. Naples is loud and crowded and dirty due to (we learned this by eavesdropping on a conversation) the fact that the Mob runs the trash system there, and sometimes they just decide to go a month or two without picking it up. Lovely. But, supposedly Naples has the best Italian food, and I can at least vouch for their pizza! In any case should you ever get the chance to go to Capri, DO IT! Its pretty much paradise. The water is this beautiful clear turquoise, there are so many different kinds of birds and plants, and you can't really take a bad picture. We stayed on Capri for only a few hours and unfortunately didn't get to see the Blue Grottos or take a massive hike like we had planned but maybe one day we will go back.