Music Monday: Something Special from Wisconsin

It's been exciting in Madison the past week. I won't go into details but will instead let this video give you a glimpse of what has been happening.

It is truly amazing what can happen when a large group of people (20,000-60,000+ depending on the day) come together to try make things right.

Wisconsin Budget Repair Bill Protest from Matt Wisniewski on Vimeo.

Valerie Anne Molner

Valerie Anne Molner

BHLDN

As if Anthropologie isn't already ruling the world, they now have a line of wedding dresses and accessories. And yes, everything is amazing.

A few of my favorites from BHLDN:

Source

Recipe Wednesday: Milk Bar's Crack Pie

So I'm watching an old episode of No Reservations where Anthony Bourdain focuses on food porn. I'm hungry. Really hungry. He spends a bit of time with David Chang, the master behind momofuku noodle bar and related restaurants. This makes me want to go find some pho around Madison. Does it exist? Hmmm, I'm thinking it's probably hard to find.

It's much easier to focus on baked goods. Like this Crack Pie from momofuku's Milk Bar. I'm definitely making this soon. Very soon.

Ingredients

Oat Cookie Crust

• Nonstick vegetable oil spray
• 9 tablespoons (1 stick plus 1 tablespoon) unsalted butter, room temperature, divided
• 5 1/2 tablespoons (packed) golden brown sugar, divided
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 large egg
• 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons old-fashioned oats
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1/8 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon (generous) salt

Filling

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon nonfat dry milk powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted, cooled slightly
• 6 1/2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
• 4 large egg yolks
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Powdered sugar (for dusting)

Preparation

Oat Cookie Crust

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 13x9x2-inch metal baking pan with parchment paper; coat with nonstick spray. Combine 6 tablespoons butter, 4 tablespoons brown sugar, and 2 tablespoons sugar in medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat mixture until light and fluffy, occasionally scraping down sides of bowl, about 2 minutes. Add egg; beat until pale and fluffy. Add oats, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and beat until well blended, about 1 minute. Turn oat mixture out onto prepared baking pan; press out evenly to edges of pan. Bake until light golden on top, 17 to 18 minutes. Transfer baking pan to rack and cool cookie completely.
• Using hands, crumble oat cookie into large bowl; add 3 tablespoons butter and 1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar. Rub in with fingertips until mixture is moist enough to stick together. Transfer cookie crust mixture to 9-inch-diameter glass pie dish. Using fingers, press mixture evenly onto bottom and up sides of pie dish. Place pie dish with crust on rimmed baking sheet.

Filling

• Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Whisk both sugars, milk powder, and salt in medium bowl to blend. Add melted butter and whisk until blended. Add cream, then egg yolks and vanilla and whisk until well blended. Pour filling into crust. Bake pie 30 minutes (filling may begin to bubble). Reduce oven temperature to 325°F. Continue to bake pie until filling is brown in spots and set around edges but center still moves slightly when pie dish is gently shaken, about 20 minutes longer. Cool pie 2 hours in pie dish on rack. Chill uncovered overnight. DO AHEAD Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover; keep chilled.
• Sift powdered sugar lightly over top of pie. Cut pie into wedges and serve cold.

Read More http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2010/09/crack_pie#ixzz1E5Tii2Wy

Music Monday: LCD Soundsystem - Someone Great (Cello Cover)

This is amazing.

Sheep Sculptures

My friend sent me a link to this thinking maybe, just maybe I would like it. I LOVE it! It is so clever...the entire sheep is made out of the phone. I will never look at a rotary phone the same way again.

I think sheep are the cutest animals ever. My first pet was a sheep named Fern and I will never, ever forget her!

Source

Jean-Luc Cornec’s Sheep Sculptures from the Museum of Telecommunication in Frankfurt.

Anatolian House

Can we just say Heaven??

I saw a tweet the other day (while enjoying a snow day!!) from Anthology Magazine about the Anatolian House and decided that I must move Turkey to the top of my travel destination list.

Anatolia is located in Central Turkey and it is, obviously, so very, very beautiful. Perhaps I should go there now to escape from this crazy Wisconsin weather!

Source: 1,3,4  Source: 2,5,6

Recipe Wednesday: Pumpkin Waffles

I made these waffles the other weekend when I was in super-motivated cooking and baking mode. I made a double batch and stuck them in the freezer to enjoy at work. They are delish!

My waffle maker is the coolest waffle maker on earth. It makes waffle sticks! So, instead of dousing waffles with syrup (and then having them get really soggy) I dunk 'em. It makes my mornings just a wee bit more interesting. Hey, every little bit counts!

Source

Did you know that have a National Waffle Day? How great!

Pumpkin Waffles 

• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup canned pumpkin
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
  
   
Orange Walnut Butter (I didn't make this but I bet it could be tasty!):
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 tablespoon grated orange peel
• Maple syrup

Directions

• In a large bowl, combine the first six ingredients. In another bowl, combine the eggs, milk, pumpkin and butter; stir into dry ingredients just until combined.
• Bake in a preheated waffle iron according to manufacturer’s directions until golden brown.
• Meanwhile, for orange walnut butter, in a small bowl, combine the butter, walnuts and orange peel until blended. Serve waffles with butter mixture and maple syrup. Yield: 4 servings.

Recipe from Taste of Home.

The Love Bed

Great DIY headboard project. As always, gray and yellow are a perfect combo!

Source via Grey Likes Nesting

Music Monday: Lupe Fiasco ft. Jill Scott - Daydreamin'

Paper Sculpture by Papernoodle

Source.  Via Lost in E Minor

This is all made out of paper my friends. See more of Papernoodle's work at her Etsy site and on her web site.

Pretty Petals: Peonies

Last summer was my first summer of having a yard where I could plant flowers and have a garden. It was so exciting! One of the first things that I did to improve the yard was transplant some peonies. They didn't really bloom during that summer because of being transplanted but I am really looking forward to seeing how big and beautiful they get this summer. My hope is that my house will constantly be filled with peonies!

Source

 

Source

 

Source

Source

 

Source

Source

Recipe Wednesday: Trinidadian Chicken Curry

Have you been to visit The Pioneer Woman? If you haven't, I suggest you go visit her blog immediately. She is hilarious and has a way of writing that makes me want to go hang out with her for a weekend at her ranch. Actually, her writing really reminds me of the way I carry on a conversation...so many details, minor tangents about something that is somehow, in someway, related to the topic. Oh, we would have so much fun. Plus, I've always wanted to live on a huge ranch. With a huge ranch house that has an amazing kitchen. If only I had the life of Ree Drummond.

Anyway (did I mention I go on tangents?), I was in search of a curry recipe and came across this recipe from The Pioneer Woman. I've got my chicken marinating right now and in about an hour I'll be ready to dig in. Since I live alone I'm pretty certain it's ok for me to eat it with my fingers, the way it was intended to be enjoyed!

Source

Tom's Trinidadian Chicken Curry

Ingredients

• 4 pounds Chicken Pieces (I Used Legs And Thighs), Rinsed, Skin And Fat Removed
• 2 teaspoons Salt
• Cracked Black Pepper
• 1 teaspoon Yellow Mustard
• 1 whole Medium Onion, Halved
• 1 whole Tomato, Quartered
• 8 cloves Garlic
• 8 sprigs Cilantro
• 2 Tablespoons (rounded) Curry Powder (I Used A Trini Mix)
• 2 teaspoons Turmeric
• 4 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil
• Jalapeno Pepper, Sliced (optional)
• Potatoes (optional)

Preparation Instructions

Place chicken in a bowl. Sprinkle with salt and add mustard.
In a food processor, chop half the onion, tomato, cilantro, garlic, and black pepper (or jalapeno/habanero).
Add mixture to the bowl. Stir the whole mixture together so that the chicken is totally coated in the seasoning ingredients. Allow chicken to marinate for at least two hours.
After chicken has marinated, make the curry slurry: Add curry powder and turmeric to a bowl. Pour in 3/4 cup water and stir until dissolved.
In a large skillet, heat the vegetable oil over medium-low heat. Pour in the curry slurry and cook for a few minutes, stirring constantly. Curry slurry will deepen in color. If the mixture becomes too dry during cooking, add a little water.
When the curry slurry has become a thick paste, chop the other half of the onion and add it in. Allow the onions to soften, then add in the chicken. Stir to coat the chicken, then cook, half covered, for five minutes. Turn the chicken, then add in 1 to 2 cups of water. Shake the pan and allow the chicken to cook until done, stirring every five minutes. Cook for about 20 to 15 minutes.
At the end, be sure to taste and adjust salt and pepper. Serve chicken over rice; spoon sauce over the top.

Say Hello To: Alex & Eli

Say hello to these lovely looks by Alex & Eli.....

Source