|
|
By Sami, on January 15th, 2012
Guess who’s obsessed with French Macaroons now? Me! I bought these today at La Petite France Bakery & Café in West Hartford. I ate the vanilla one, which is why it is not pictured, but I’m trying to be good and wait until after dinner to daintily devour the rest.
Who am I kidding? I will devour these suckers after I post this. In any case, you should stop by La Petite France! They’re right in West Hartford center and they have delicious sandwiches and desserts, of course. My sister Suzi took me out to lunch there today and we wanted to eat everything.
By Sami, on December 24th, 2011
I haven’t been blogging this week because I’m taking a break from work, blogging, and soapmaking, as a way of celebrating my graduation ~ woo-hoo! But! I was making tra la las today and I wanted to share the recipe in case anyone is looking for an easy, last-minute treat to bring to a holiday party. Let’s get to it!
Cookie Ingredients {yields 3.5-4 dozen cookies}:
- ½ cup {1 stick} butter
- ½ cup white sugar
- 3 eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 cups flour
- 1 tbs baking powder
Icing Ingredients:
- ½ cup confectioner’s sugar
- 1 tbs milk
- ¼ tsp lemon or almond extract
- nonpareils/sprinkles {optional}
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350° F.
2. Grease cookie sheets.
3. Cream butter & sugar in a large bowl until smooth.
4. Beat eggs and vanilla extract into creamed mixture.
5. Combine the flour and baking powder in a separate bowl; slowly add to creamed mixture. Beat well.
6. Roll walnut-sized portions of dough in your hands then drop onto greased cookie sheet.
7. Bake 8-10 minutes, until bottoms are golden brown.
8. Mix icing ingredients together.
9. Dip baked cookies into icing ingredients and sprinkle with nonpareils or other sprinkles.
Note: If you burn the bottoms, it’s very easy to scrape it off with a grater.
Note 2: Make sure you sprinkle on your nonpareils/sprinkles before the icing hardens, otherwise they won’t stick on.
Note 3: Always sample your delicious treats before serving. ;)
Thanks to Katrina over at Pugly Pixel for the velvet ribbons. Happy Holidays! xo
By Sami, on September 21st, 2011
Before I get into this post {which is way overdue}, let me explain why I look so horrifyingly angry. In one of the classes I’m taking this semester, we’re discussing gender representation. We watched Sut Jhally’s Codes of Gender in which Jhally discusses how, in advertising, women are often shown in submissive or “silly” positions, with their head tilted to one side, a leg bent, a hand on the hip, and all these other things to essentially make the woman look as if she isn’t in control of her environment. On the other hand, a man is almost always shown in fierce control of his environment — looking directly into the camera, holding something forcefully, angry or domineering. Noticing that I fell into the trap of looking silly and “girly” in many of my photos, I thought it would be interesting to switch it up and use the codes of gender that apply to men in advertising. Doesn’t work for me, right? We’re not used to seeing a woman look domineering in a photo. Okay, it might be the purple tights.
So, what am I wearing? Studded Flats: Rampage, Peonies Couture {around $10-$20}. Purple tights: Technically, they’re “Orchid Pink,” We Love Colors, $8. Gray striped skirt: Target, $10-15. Gray cardigan: Forever 21 {Heritage 1981}, $20. Scarf: Plato’s Closet, $5. Headband: Target, $3.
Also: I tried making cookies from scratch last night. They were okay, but not spectacular. Too much flour and not enough chocolate chips, I think. But, who am I kidding? I’ll still eat them.
Also also: Happy Birthday to my honey! Stan is 23 today <3
By Sami, on August 8th, 2011
Mish and I have been dying to try out recipes from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero for a very long time, and we finally did on Friday. Because neither of us had ever made vegan cupcakes before, and Mish has never made cupcakes from scratch, we decided to go with a simpler recipe: Simple Vanilla and Agave Nectar Cupcakes. For the frosting, we made a Chocolate Ganache using the recipe from the book and adding a little bit of our own invention. Here’s the result:
These were the most moist cupcakes I’ve ever had! I’m guessing that’s a result of using agave syrup in lieu of sugar and eggs/milk. I mean… wow. I’m not vegan {though I may be slowly heading that way, if it weren’t for bacon…}, but I have a feeling I’ll be making many more vegan cupcakes.
Psst: check out author Isa Chandra Moskowitz’s website, The Post Punk Kitchen, for more unbelievably delicious vegan recipes. :)
By Sami, on May 14th, 2011
I love tea. I really, really love tea. Stan and I have an entire cabinet devoted to tea, and — after our trip to Simpson & Vail in Brookfield — we might have to devote a second cabinet entirely to tea. I’d been wanting to visit Simpson & Vail for a long time, but it’s about an hour drive, so we put it off for a while. We finally went yesterday and we bought 16 different kinds of tea. I am SO excited.
Jim Harron, the owner since 1978, chatted with us about our differing tastes in teas, made recommendations, and told us a little about the company’s 80+ year history. ”This right here is the best part of Simpson & Vail, though,” Jim said, pointing to a photo of his family, and showing us the ads that feature his grandchildren {above, right}. “We’re family owned.” I think that’s the best part, too. Joan, Jim’s wife, packaged our teas and educated us on brewing times and the caffeine content in tea leaves. Though it varies greatly by specific tea, did you know that black and white teas generally have the most amount of caffeine and Oolong and green teas have the least?
Though we bought lots of tea, we walked away with a lot more. Jim and Joan were genuinely happy to have us as customers, and even gave us a tour of their warehouse. We saw their collection of tea crates and they gave us a demonstration on how their tea blender works. If we weren’t tea nerds before, we definitely are now.
If you’re a tea lover, or if you’re just curious about tea, please visit Jim and Joan at Simpson & Vail in Brookfield, CT. They have great stories, great prices, and of course, amazingly good teas — from Earl Grey to Oolong to Jasmine and other florals to white teas and green teas, herbal teas, and everything in between! Or, you can always order online. Stan and I couldn’t wait to try ours out, so we had Groovy Guava in our fancy tea cups with our friends Jenna and Ryan {yes, the Ryan who gave me my fantastic new hair}. It was so good! Who wants to come over for the next tea party?
|
|
