The Scoop

This is my new favorite baking tool. The cookie scoop. I've been eyeing them for years and finally I drove my butt down to South Portland to Wililams Sonoma and bought two. One medium sized and one larger. These have simplified my life so much. The larger scoop fills a cupcake liner perfectly. The smaller one makes perfect sized whoopie pie cakes. No more mismatched sizes! I've also used both sizes for cookies, like chocolate chip.

I don't know how I survived without one of these!!

I Love My Runner

For the entire spring and summer my husband as been getting up at the crack of dawn to run. He ran his first marathon last November in Philly. Loved it and ran the marathon at Sugarloaf. Then signed up to run the Maine Marathon with the goal of qualifying for the Boston Marathon in April. To do so, at his age, he must run 26.2 miles in 3 hours and 10 minutes. He trained so hard all summer. On days when it was 80 degrees at 6:00AM he was on the rail trail putting in his miles. "Do work, get fast." is what he says. And it all paid off. We will be going to Boston in April.

Momma and Abe were waiting at the finishline!

What's Growing at 179

With all this heat and sunshine in the east, my garden has really taken off. Last night was the first night I was able to harvest anything, a perfect zucchini! The other veggies aren't too far behind!



I have a few varieties of tomatoes, cherry, better boy, and heirloom.

This is ALL mint! Spearmint and Applemint.

There are red and purple peppers...that are green for now.

The tiniest cucumber! There are two varieties.

Little summer squash!

Mmmm. Basil.

Beachy Birthday

I was lucky enough to have my husband for 2 full days on the weekend following my birthday. He normally has to work either Saturday or Sunday but I guess he really does love me because he took both days off.

Every summer we drive to the coast of Maine and wander around beaches, parks, little towns, and have such a grand time. We always pack a lunch but have dinner some place along the way.

This year we stopped in Wiscasset to look around in the shops, Damariscotta to check out the Maine Cloth Diaper Company, and settled in at Pemaquid Beach for a few hours.

Every year we pack the same sandwich for our lunch. A pressed grilled veggie sandwich on ciabatta bread. We both love this. I also pack fruit, this time it was cherries and we stopped for a box of native strawberries along the way.

After a few hours at Pemaquid we sort of reversed our way along the coast and stopped in Boothbay. This is where we had dinner, at 93 Townsend. Very yummy and we created some fun memories there too. Boothbay is great for people watching. There is a mixture of locals, lobstermen, and tourists...always entertaining.

Pressed Sandwiches

Source: adapted from Martha Stewart

Yield: Two Sandwiches

Pesto

1/4 cup olive oil

1 big clove garlic, minced

S&P

1 small zucchini, cut into long slices

1 small summer squash, cut into long slices

1 small eggplant, cut into long slices

1 red pepper, roasted and skin removed

Fresh Mozzarella

Cibatta Bread

Heat grill or grill pan to medium heat. Combine olive oil and garlic. Brush each side of the squash and eggplant with the olive oil and then season with salt and pepper. Grill until tender. Chill.

Remove some of the bread inards and fill with pesto, sliced mozzarella, and cold veggies. Add the other piece of bread, wrap in plastic wrap, tie with butcher twine and press overnight.

Cleaning Out!

I decided to clean out my spice cupboard. I was never able to find what I needed. And often times I would go to the store to buy a spice, dried herb, or extract only to find a month later that I already had it.

Here is a treasure! I'm not sure how old this is but I'm guessing over 12 years old. I think my mother bought this.


I found doubles and triples of many items including; cumin (3), garlic salt (2), crushed red pepper (2), Cajun seasoning (2), ground ginger (2), Bell's seasoning (2).

And things that I will never ever use. Like steak seasoning.

Then there were things that were as hard as a rock...and they were meant to be shakeable. Like rimmers for drinks, seasoning for popcorn, and general seasonings.


Trash, trash, and more trash!

A nice wipe down of the shelving.

Gorgeous!

Everything is nice and neat now. It is easy to find things. All my bulk herbs I get from the healthy food store are in one big plastic bag. I'm loving this!

A Decade

I watched my mother die. I was 19 and the process was slow. She held on to life so dearly. She wanted to see the grandson she had been waiting to meet (he was born 14 days later). She wanted to be sure that it was OK to let go, to be sure that her husband and her three children would be OK. Eventually, either she grew tired of holding on or she knew that we would be OK. She died late at night and it was pouring rain.

Do you know what that did to me? It changed me. Forever. For the first few years it just made me sad and mad. I couldn’t (and still don’t) understand why it happened to her. To us. She was a good woman and the best mother. I was always able to deal with my sadness, anger and confusion through words, spoken and written. I always kept a journal. I would visit her grave on April 10th and on Mother’s Day with the journal and write until my hands cramped. I have always talked openly about her death. Now, a decade later, her death has left me with a raw and honest passion. I want to educate people. I want to make a difference.

It is so frustrating to watch people with a “passion” which is really just self fulfillment. Don’t drink the Kool Aid kids! Think outside of the box about education. Every single person needs education regarding cancer. Not just the wealthy. Not just the poor. Not just young or old, male or female. All. This isn’t about you as the volunteer. This is about helping, educating, and changing the world.

Hug your moms, your aunts and your sisters. Let them know you love them. I still let my mother know I love her, everyday.

Cookbooks are fun.

I have always had a thing for cookbooks. My mother had a few but she kept them in the drawer beneath the stove. Now that I think about it...is that the smartest place to keep something so flammable?

Anyway, I used to sit on the kitchen floor as a little girl and haul them out to look at them. I think this is where my food obsession started.

I never ended up with any of my mothers cookbooks, just some of her recipe cards. So I have started my own collection and I love it.


There are a handful that I use ALL.THE.TIME. The rest I refer to once in a while. Most used: Veganomicon, Vegan with a Vengeance, Bread Baker's Apprentice, Better Homes and Garden (my mother had the old old old version of this), and my binders.


This is what I like to do when I have a bad day; pull out an arms load of books and binders, make a nest, watch TV and make lists of stuff I want to try. Below you will see the binders. One is for anything not dessert/sweet. These are main dishes, breads, sides and salads, ect. The other binder is all sweets; cookies and bars, cakes, pies and tarts, ect. THEN, I have two folders, one of things to make in the near future, and one of things to be filed. It is quite the system I have going!!

Boyd likes cookbooks too.

My Husband Made Me Dinner.

Waaaaay back in the winter of 2007 my husband cooked for me for the very first time. He made a citrus marinated and baked tofu with roasted vegetables. And a really big mess. The second meal he made for me was a vegan spinach lasagna. Very good, both meals.

I was quite surprised to come home from work last week and see him in the kitchen. He had made dinner! He made veggie fajitas with meatless meat. He even cut the avacado correctly! It was awesome. I had never had that soy meat stuff before and I loved it!

Nice job Sefffff!

Holiday Traditions

You know it is the holiday season when Chex mix makes the rounds. I won't post the recipe because you all know it and I don't alter mine at all.

Let's talk holiday traditions, shall we? Growing up when we decorated the tree we always had snacks. I remember having Chex Mix and peanut butter fudge. It really makes me miss my mom to think of that. I can actually see her with that big pot that my father has, I think it was passed down from his father, in the kitchen with the yellow stove and the plaid carpet. (Who puts carpet in a kitchen?!) And we would be picking out which ornaments we wanted to put on the tree. We all had our special ornaments. I miss times like that.

I'm wondering...what do you do when you decorate your tree? Do you have treats? Do you play Christmas music? And for my Jewish friend who I miss a super duper really extra lot...what are you planning for the holidays?

I Love My Runner.

This is my husband.

He ran his very first marathon over the weekend. He finished running 26.2 miles in 3 hours and 31 minutes. Out of 7475 runners he finished 1346. In his age group he finished 207 of 686. There were 4365 males that ran the race and he finished 1153. And he has signed up for his next marathon in the spring.

I'm really proud of him. At first I felt envious, like...what have I done that is so great?? What accomplishments have I done?? But then I remembered all the work I do for breast cancer education. The conversations I have with my friends and family about this new government task force recommendation and how red my face gets because I am so angry. I guess I'm not a sucker after all.

Plus, he needs me to be on the side lines of the course! Who else is he going to kiss at mile 6 (yes, he really did stop and kiss me and I loved every second of that sweaty kiss). Who would carry a backpack full of his stuff? Who would massage his muscles the night before? Who would meet him at mile 13 to take his hat and arm warmers and offer him a fuel gel??

Plus, if I ran with him I would have to beat him and I'm not sure I could ever do that.

Into the Pink Pretzels

I'm sorry for being away my foodie friends. You see...I've been busy. Not really with cooking or baking but with being an activist. You know I hate breast cancer; we've been over this before. Here. And here. A few other spots too.

For my most recent event I collaborated with the very talented Bruce Mayo, a local artist. He wanted to throw a bash for his 40th birthday and instead of gifts wanted to create a new batch of work and have them sold for breast cancer awareness. He knows of my passion and allowed me to pick the charity. I chose Keep A Breast because of the audience they target and their unconventional way of awareness. They are very unique. Just like me. Just like my mum.

By the end of the night Bruce had sold 21 of his 29 pieces and we had raised nearly $3000 to send to KAB. In the end I believe we will be around the $4000 mark. What a great event and a fun night!


Honestly these pretzels have nothing to do with the event or even breast cancer. What I can say is that these are perfect. I am throwing out my old recipe for soft pretzels and using this one. Absolutely delightful!

Soft Pretzels

Source: Alton Brown

Yield: 8 big fat pretzels

1 1/2 cups warm (110 to 115 degrees F) water
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 package active dry yeast
22 ounces all-purpose flour, approximately 4 1/2 cups
2 ounces unsalted butter, melted
Vegetable oil, for pan
10 cups water
2/3 cup baking soda
1 large egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon water
Pretzel salt

Combine the water, sugar and kosher salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast on top. Allow to sit for 5 minutes or until the mixture begins to foam. Add the flour and butter and, using the dough hook attachment, mix on low speed until well combined. Change to medium speed and knead until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the dough from the bowl, clean the bowl and then oil it well with vegetable oil. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and sit in a warm place for approximately 50 to 55 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line 2 half-sheet pans with parchment paper and lightly brush with the vegetable oil. Set aside.

Bring the 10 cups of water and the baking soda to a rolling boil in an 8-quart saucepan or roasting pan.

In the meantime, turn the dough out onto a slightly oiled work surface and divide into 8 equal pieces. Roll out each piece of dough into a 24-inch rope. Make a U-shape with the rope, holding the ends of the rope, cross them over each other and press onto the bottom of the U in order to form the shape of a pretzel. Place onto the parchment-lined half sheet pan.

Place the pretzels into the boiling water, 1 by 1, for 30 seconds. Remove them from the water using a large flat spatula. Return to the half sheet pan, brush the top of each pretzel with the beaten egg yolk and water mixture and sprinkle with the pretzel salt. Bake until dark golden brown in color, approximately 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes before serving.

TEN FOUR OH NINE

I am returning from three days at the gorgeous Mountain View Grand Hotel in Whitefield, NH. As I mentioned in a previous post, Seth and I went to celebrate our one year anniversary at the hotel where we were married. When we were leaving on Saturday morning I had this wave of panic thinking that we had built the weekend up so much and it wasn't going to be as fun and enjoyable as we had thought. I was so wrong. Our stay was better than I could ever have imagined.

We did absolutely nothing besides enjoy each other. We sat, without talking, for large chunks of the day. We drank champagne in the evening and coffee and hot chocolate in the morning. We watched the people come and go and visited with the farm animals in the mornings after breakfast. On the night of our anniversary we grabbed a couple blankets and snuggled up on a wicker seat on the porch. Life is grand.

Of course we consumed massive amounts of food. The only shots I got of anything was of this pan au chocolat from a little vegetarian bakery in Bethel and of my caramel apple. I sort of have a thing for pan au chocolat and it is on my list of things to tackle this winter. This was so so tasty. I was told that the woman who makes these is pregnant and loves working the dough. That made me smile.

The apple was my dessert in the tavern. The granny smith was coated in a homemade caramel, then dipped in chocolate and presented with spun sugar (cotton candy) on the stick of the caramel apple. This was so cute and fun...and delicious!

Even though I don't have the photos to show most of the food we ate I have to talk about it!! The first night we ate in the tavern. Seth had a seafood bake and I had stuffed sole with lobster sauce. This was where I first figured out that they had a new chef. The food for our wedding was great and I loved it but this was over the top. Our bartender confirmed that they had hired a new chef, one of the best in New England. A great investment for them!

The next night (our anniversary) we ate in the main dining room. This was heaven. I think, quite possibly, the best meal I have eaten in my life. I had a tomato and mozzarella salad with an aged balsamic glaze. Seth had an artichoke salad with mozzarella. I love when restaurants give you sorbet prior to your entree. I was hoping that they would and they certainly did not let me down. We were served a lemon ginger poppy seed sorbet. My palette was cleansed for my entree...yellow fin tuna served medium rare. Now, I wasn't sure about ordering tuna because every time I have it has been over cooked. This one was perfect. Very very pink and raw in the middle. It was served with an oyster sauce and herb whipped potatoes. **sigh** I wish I had some right now! Seth had scallops in a brown butter with a Parmesan tuille. His was really good too! I had been craving creme brule since I saw it on the dessert menu in the tavern. Again, they didn't disappoint me. It was excellent. To my surprise Seth even ordered dessert! He had Indian pudding with homemade cinnamon ice cream. Oh. Now that is fall in a dish!!

We were so sad to leave and it was so hard to come to work this morning. Seth reminded me that we have to work in order to go on vacations like that!

Enjoy the photos!

Portland Eats (my personal challenge)

I like to consider myself a foodie. I love eating food and making food. I love reading about it and the science of it. Obviously I love writing and talking about food. As I've mentioned, sharing food (in writing or in person) is my way of showing that I love you, care about you, want to see you happy. How sad is it that I haven't been to some of the greatest restaurants in Portland, Maine; my nearest big city?!?! Sad. Very very sad.

Here is my personal challenge: below I have listed restaurants in the Portland area that I am dying to try. Seth has agreed that once a month we can make the trek to Portland and try one of the places on the list. I will then blog what I think about each place. Exciting right?! I do think so.

The list of eateries (this list could go on and on):

Portland Market House (they house three different kiosks)
Bresca (I've been dying to go here since they opened but I'm nervous because they have limited vegetarian options)
Pepperclub
Rabelais (this isn't a restaurant but a book store)
Fore Street
Bar Lola
Local 188 (for brunch)
Five Fifty Five (for the green and sweet plates)
Standard Baking Company
Duckfat
Hot Suppa!
Micucci's
Caiola's
Federal Spice

Some Portland Restaurants that I have thoroughly enjoyed:

Bibo's Madd Apple Cafe (they had a chocolate banana bread pudding that was amazing)
Novare Res (great little plates...they have me hooked on Marcona almonds)
The Green Elephant
Fuji
Two Fat Cats (my favorite bakery in Maine and where I got my wedding cake)
Katahdin
Dogfish Cafe

The Kitchen of 179

I follow a lot of food blogs. I even follow a few fashion blogs. There might be a couple craft blogs thrown into the mix too. Thank goodness Google Reader keeps me organized with all of them!

Some of my favorite posts by bloggers is when they give a glimpse into their real life. I like to see their home, the kitchen, their pets! Sometimes you feel like you really know these people!

Here is a glimpse into our home at 179...at least the kitchen portion. You don't need to see the rest!


I found this old door knocker in the cellar. My grandfather was in the Navy and I'm sure he picked this up some where with the intention of putting it on the door but never did.

This is my sweet little kitchen. Years ago my dad and I completely renovated the whole thing. We tore out all the drywall, the floors and the ceiling. We even removed a window which was above the stove. I wish I had a wee bit more natural light coming into the kitchen but I like how accessible everything is.



This is the light in my kitchen at sunset. I love being in the kitchen at this time of day. I didn't edit this photo, the light really is this warm golden color. It makes me happy.


Boyd is always right near me when I'm in the kitchen. In the first picture of the kitchen you can see him sitting on the stand near the fridge. He just sits there and watches me. What a baaaaby.

Tickles is never too far either. I tried to have a "photo shoot" with him last night and Boyd got so jealous he came over and sat in front of the camera.

I have a lot of cookbooks. I recently went through and cleaned out all the books that I don't use and I still ended up with 4 shelves of them! Check out those hefty binders on the bottom shelf, that is how I organize my recipes from blogs and magazines. I'm a little obsessed with them. I was keeping all of this on an old ratty WalMart bookcase. Then we found this beauty at the Pot Luck Shop in Hallowell. This is made from recycled barn wood from Wayne. I absolutely adore this.

The day we found that bookcase we decided that maybe we should pay the Pot Luck Shop's rent for the month. We ended up with this gorgeous piece as well. This is made by the same man from Wayne. When you open it up it smells like a barn...which I think is great.

Thanks for coming over! I hope you enjoyed the tour!!

Pretty in Pink!

I love pink. My kitchen is mostly pink. The Komen Kitchenaid line; I have most of it on display for all visitors to see. I used to hate pink. Black was my favorite color and it is still one of my favorites. Pink, to me, represented little girls and immaturity. It was the color that you put your baby in to identify its sex. The color of sticky sweet annoyance. Now it represents something completely different for me, cancer. Power. Hope.

I've heard cancer survivors and cancer patients express their hatred toward the pink ribbon. I get it. It is overdone. It’s everywhere and after awhile doesn't it start to lose its meaning? Sort of like saying I love you or I'm sorry over and over again. To some it probably does. To me it doesn't, I still notice every pink ribbon. When a company has a pink ribbon on their packaging, I notice it. I read it to see which organization they support and I think it is cool.

I sport pink because I want everyone to know that I have a passion for breast cancer education. I want people to ask. I want to tell my mother's story. I want to educate people and I want to answer questions. Pink is my power. It is me showing that after all that my family has been through; I have hope for the future. I will succeed. I will be healthy. I am educated.

Let’s talk pink cupcakes.

It has been extremely humid in Maine lately. We had a few nights where it cooled down and it was so comfortable to sleep. Now we are back to this muggy weather. I attribute my cravings for something lemony to the humidity. I was Googling lemon cupcakes and lemon buttercream when I came across these. Lemony AND pink!!

Pink Lemonade Cupcakes
Source: Simply Sweet Bake Shop
Yield: 9 Cupcakes

Ingredients:
1 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
Pinch salt
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1/4 c. vegetable oil
2 egg whites
1/3 c. thawed frozen Pink Lemonade Concentrate
1/4 c. buttermilk
Pink food coloring

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line muffin pan with liners. In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, oil, egg whites and lemonade concentrate. Alternately whisk in flour mixture and buttermilk, making three additions of flour mixture and two of buttermilk, beating until just smooth.
3. Add just enough food coloring to turn the batter a light shade of pink.
4. Scoop batter into liners (fill about three-fourths full). Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until tops of cupcakes spring back when lightly touched. Let cool in pan on rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool completely on rack. Top cooled cupcakes with frosting (see below).

Lemonade Buttercream:
3 c. + 3 Tbsp. confectioner’s sugar
1 stick unsalted butter at room temperature
1/8 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. pink lemonade concentrate
Pink food coloring

1. Add the butter, confectioner’s sugar, salt, lemon juice, and a few drops of food coloring to the stand mixer and mix on low using the paddle attachment until combined.
2. Turn the speed to med-high until the buttercream is fluffy and uniformly pink. Pipe or spread onto cooled cupcakes.