belle epoque

I have pretty much always been a huge fan of Valentine’s Day. Not so much for the overblown romantic love aspect of it (far too much pressure, I think!), but the fun of reveling in pink, red, hearts, chocolate, doilies and glitter in the dead of winter (well, here in SF it is the beginning of spring, but never mind). I haven’t gone as overboard this year as I sometimes do, but I made wee mailable Valentine treats out of Dover sampler holiday images and opaque inkjet shrink plastic (which I’m still working out how best to use– I think it needs to be varnished).

I packaged them up in tiny Muji envelopes closed with glittery red heart stickers

and hopefully they will make it through the regular mail (tucked in regulation envelopes) with regular postage ok!

And for you, my lovely blog friends, I offer a yummy chocolate chunk cookie recipe. Just FYI if your sweetie happens to be male– I brought these to a Super Bowl party and they seemed to be a particularly big hit with the males in the room. The women liked them, but the men kind of freaked out.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Cookies (adapted from my favorite Fannie Farmer recipe)
1/4 lb butter, softened (or just left on the counter for a few hours)
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg
3/4 tsp vanilla
1 1/8 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup oatmeal
6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, cut into 1/2inch ish chunks with a sharp knife (Don’t stress about the size, just chop up the chocolate as best you can, and keep it all, tiny bits and all, on the cutting board until you dump it in the mixing bowl. I used Ghirardelli semi-sweet from Trader Joe’s, and guesstimated on the 6 ounces– I used most of a half-pound block)

Pre-heat the oven to 375 and either grease or line a cookie sheet or two with parchment paper. Cream the
butter, and gradually add in the two sugars, beating until the mix is light and smooth. Beat in the egg
and vanilla. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, salt and baking soda, whisking to make sure it is
well-blended. Beat the dry ingredients into the wet, just until well combined. By hand (with a wooden spoon or spatula), stir in the chocolate chunks and oatmeal until evenly distributed. Drop in rounded teaspoons onto the cookie sheets (I use a small ice cream scoop to make it easier), and bake for 8-10 minutes. Allow to cool before removing from the cookie sheet (they will not be totally set until they are cool). In the meantime, give someone you like the beaters and bowl to lick, as the dough is super yummy uncooked (though, y’know, not for the pregnant or tiny since there’s raw egg in it).

However you feel about Valentine’s Day, I hope you’ll treat yourself tomorrow!

Thanks to everyone who has entered the Bead Simple Giveaway, and those who’ve mentioned it on their blogs to spread the word! You have until February 6th, so get to pre-orderin’ and put your name in the hat if you haven’t already.

I’m still participating in the Dinner Challenge, so I thought I’d share two dinners I’ve made recently that are very similar in terms of ingredients, techniques and ease, but end up tasting very different. Moondoggie is my hero in many ways, but I particularly love that he always stops before we dig into a meal together (even when we have guests) and says “Wait! Do you want to take a picture of this?” Could a blogging girl ask for anything more? Each recipe serves 2 people with moderate appetites, so keep that in mind if your usual dinner partner is a big eater, or you’re feeding more. Ready?

Spice Rubbed Pork Chops with Roasted Sweet Potato Spears and Blanched Broccoli
If you want it all ready at once:
40 minutes before you want to eat:
1. Make the rub and rub it on the chops, then refrigerate.
2. Pre-heat the oven, get the sweet potato spears ready and pop them in.
15 minutes before the sweet potatoes are ready
3. Put the water for the broccoli on to boil and pre-heat your grill or grill pan
5 minutes before the potatoes are done,
4. Pop the broccoli in the boiling water, then put the chops on the grill.
5. Everything should be done around the same time! If in doubt when the timer goes off, leave the potatoes in while you take the chops off the grill, then drain the broccoli– extra time in the oven only makes them crispier and more yummy.

The Pork
2 center cut pork loin chops (these are the thin cut ones, no more than 1/2″ thick, often less)
Spice Rub:
1 T ground coffee (yes, really- I use espresso)
1T ground coriander
1/2 T salt
1/2T ground black pepper (I use the pre-ground stuff from a bottle, as my grinder doesn’t make it easy to produce big quantities of freshly ground pepper)
1/2t chili flakes
Mix the ingredients for the rub together in a small zip-top plastic bag and shake it until they’re blended. This makes more than enough for one meal, so don’t put your fingers in the bag when rubbing the pork! Use a spoon you don’t let touch the raw meat, or put a few teaspoonfuls in a little bowl to use for this meal. Place pork chops on a piece of waxed paper that is big enough to wrap them in. Sprinkle each with enough rub to coat and, no surprise, rub it in a little. Flip them over and sprinkle and rub the other side. Wrap them up in the waxed paper (it is ok to stack them on top of each other) and refrigerate for 30 minutes or so (you want to let the rub sink in a bit). Pre-heat your wondrous grilling apparatus on high if you have one (my Griddler is worth its weight in gold), if not, pre-heat a well-seasoned cast iron grill pan, or a regular grill pan for at least 10-15 minutes on medium or medium-high so it is nice and hot. Depending on your pan, you may want to spray it with some cooking spray. Pop those spicy little guys on the grill and either close and grill for 3 minutes total, or if using a pan, grill for 3 minutes on each side. I promise they will cook through quickly and if you cook them for longer they’ll be just like eating spice-rubbed leather, so trust me on the 3 minutes, and if you’re very brave, only give them 2.

The Sweet Potatoes
1 bag Trader Joe’s sweet potato spears (you could always chop a few sweet potatoes up into spears yourself- scrub them to get them nice and clean and then cut them into fairly equal wedges, the smaller the better)
1T olive oil
1t salt
1t black pepper
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Pop your spears into a big bowl, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper then toss with your hands until they’re all nice and coated. Lay them out in a single layer on a baking sheet and stick them in the oven for 30 minutes or so (they should be shrivelly with brown patches when they’re done).

The Broccoli
1 bag fresh broccoli florets (or one big crown of broccoli cut into florets)
Medium-Large saucepan full of boiling water
Throw broccoli in boiling water for between 3-5 minutes (depending on how crunchy you like your broc), then drain.
Eat and Enjoy!

And the second meal to be made with The Other White Meat:
Chops in Asian Marinade with Spicy Sesame Green Beans

For it to be ready all at once:
1. 1-2 Hours before you want to eat-make the marinade, pour it over the pork and refrigerate.
2. 40 minutes before you want to eat–pre-heat the oven, get the beans all saucy and put them in the oven to begin cooking.
3. 15 minutes before the beans are ready, pre-heat your grill or grill pan.
4. 3 minutes before the beans are ready, pop your chops on the grill.
5. If in doubt when the timer goes off, leave the beans in the oven while you finish up your chops.
p.s. Obviously this meal is missing a starch, so add your favorite– I think brown rice would be good (if I could make it turn out properly), and so would quinoa.

Chops:
Marinade:
2T soy sauce
1/2 T rice wine vinegar
1/2 T brown sugar
1/2 T sriracha (Thai chili garlic sauce- the kind I have comes in a squeezy bottle with a rooster on it, and is readily available in San Francisco- I got mine in the grocery aisle at Walgreen’s (!), but you should be able to find it at an Asian market or specialty store if you live somewhere it isn’t common)
1/4 t toasted sesame oil
1/2 t ground ginger (use 1/2 T minced fresh ginger if you’ve got it, it is better)
if you don’t like the spicy, omit the sriracha and include 1 clove of minced fresh garlic instead.
2-4 thin cut (1/2″ thickness) center cut pork loin chops
Put the chops in a resealable plastic baggie and pour the marinade over. Seal and refrigerate for 1-2 hours, if you think of it, turning and gently squishing the bag every so often to make sure that all of the meat gets evenly coated. If you’re in a hurry and not phobic about raw meat, you can leave them in the baggie at room temperature for 30 minutes in the marinade to eat dinner sooner (I do not want to be liable for any food poisoning, so I am not recommending this, just sayin’ that some people do it). Pre-heat your grilling machine on high (or grill pan on medium-high) for at least 10-15 minutes. Once it is nice and hot, spray with cooking spray and put on the chops. Close the lid and grill for 3 minutes, or if using a pan, grill for 2-3 minutes per side.

Green Beans:
1T soy sauce
1/2 T sriracha (aforementioned Thai chili-garlic sauce)
1/2 t toasted sesame oil
1/2t chili flakes
1.5T olive oil (or other high-heat appropriate vegetable oil)
1lb fresh green beans (I get mine at Trader Joe’s)– beware, I can eat a whole bag myself, and these guys are good cold, so go for about 10-12 ounces of beans per person if you feel the same way, and up the sauce accordingly.
1/2T sesame seeds
*If you’re feeding people who don’t like the spicy, you can omit the sriracha and the chili flakes, and these will still taste good.
Preheat the oven to 400. Mix together first 5 ingredients in a little bowl, then pour them over the green beans and toss until they are nice and coated. Spread the beans on a baking sheet and sprinkle with the sesame seeds. Pop them in the oven until the timer goes off. The beans should get shrivelly and a bit brown– truly, the browner the better, so don’t be afraid to leave them in there for awhile.

*by the way, I think it is recipe standard, but in case it is not:
big T is a tablespoon
little t is a teaspoon

And I like to accompany a meal with what I call the Pregnant Lady Cocktail, since my previous festive drinks of choice has been off limits for many months now.

This is probably something you could think up yourself, but just in case you haven’t yet, it contains
Juice of 1/2 lime
Cranberry juice blend of some variety (I like Cranberry Hibiscus, and Cranberry-Raspberry)
Sparkling Water
Pour lime juice in a pint glass, fill the glass 1/2 way with juice, and the rest of the way with fizzy water. Garnish with a slice of lime and enjoy!

Despite moving a bit more slowly these days and halving my to-do list much of the time, I’m so inspired by the many fun, crafty groups/challenges out there to join! Two of them fit in with what I’m already doing, so I felt ok about joining up- namely, Quilt Month over at Sew Mama Sew (the button on the left will take you over there) and The Dinner Challenge, which I found out about through Linda (whose risotto recipe looks so good!). The Dinner Challenge was originally 5 days long, so is officially over but looks like it is informally continuing on the flickr group. The chilly winter weather had me longing for comfort food, so I got everything together to try out Ina Garten’s Chicken Pot Pie recipe on Friday night. They turned out very pretty

They were also pretty delicious. However, I started cooking around 3pm and dinner wasn’t ready until 7, and the recipe was so rich, and made SO MUCH that we could barely finish our two servings, and neither of us really are in the mood to have any more, though there are about 4 more servings left in the fridge. I’m thinking about freezing the sauce, as the pastry is fairly easy to make, which would decrease the 4 hours of cooking time to more like 1.5 for defrosting and pastry-making.

Yesterday was spent cruising around in the car and doing baby-type-errands, including buying the all-important car seat/travel stroller thingy. Moondoggie spent the evening doing an awesome job putting together the crib, which now has a pink polka-dotted sheet on the mattress. The room is still rather bare, but once I’ve framed all of the pictures to go on the wall, and finished the wall hanging and a few other crafty baby items(quilt month, yay), I’ll take a picture to show you.

It has been a wet and blustery couple of days in San Francisco, inspiring lots of snuggling in and reading books and making warm, hearty meals. But today the sun has made an appearance, so I am coming out of my cave to show you what I’ve been making:

A flock of frocks from Alicia’s pattern in the book Softies. They are gifts for some lovely people I know, and I can’t tell you more than that without ruining it for the recipients who read this blog! I think these two are my favorites frocks:

Now, you are probably also noticing the FABULOUS fabric behind the little flock. Well, the kindness of bloggers never ceases to thrill me– you may remember that I got a square of that loveliness in Alicia’s Santa Lucia Doll Kit, and promptly became obsessed with finding more. I visited many Joann’s and despaired, but the lovely Jen saw my plea in the Santa Lucia Doll Flickr Pool and got in touch to say she too had been so enamored of that fabric that she bought bolts of it and was willing to send me 1/2 yard of her remaining stash! Isn’t that so generous? Thank you so much Jen! I vow that it will be used for good.

Also in the picture above is a book I’ve been coveting for ages, after reading many glowing blog reviews– Apples for Jam by Tessa Kiros. I was planning to use a nice Christmas gift certificate to Barnes & Noble to buy it, but on a chance trip into Anthropologie found it on the sale table for half off! Yes! $15 for that gorgeous, fat, colorful, inspiring book. I made the beef stew from it for dinner last night, though skeptical that something with so few ingredients could have much flavor. I was SO WRONG, it was DELICIOUS, basically just as written. I have always wanted a go-to beef stew recipe and now I have one! If you try it– instead of thyme I used a bay leaf, and I threw in a chopped sweet potato just because I had it in the root veggie bin.

Now I’m going to go out and soak up the battery-charging rays of winter sunlight!

Hello! Thank you so much to the lovely, enthusiastic, attentive people who came to my demo at Bazaar Bizarre. It was SUCH a fun event all around, with a truly amazing array of wonderful vendors. The cuteness was actually a little bit overwhelming! But I’m not complaining. I know I promised those of you who couldn’t make it the tutorial early this week, but I’m afraid it is going to have to wait a bit. What with holiday crafting, shopping, shipping, erranding and travel (I head east tomorrow morning), I haven’t had as much time as I’d hoped to make the tutorial all pretty and post it up. I shall try to do it from my parents’ house, but my mother says her computer is “on the fritz” so we shall see.

In the meantime, let me share with you a recipe for a combination that has been making me very happy lately. Namely, bread and cheese:

This is my version of a mutant Welsh Rarebit (the real thing of which I’ve only had once in a lovely tearoom in Woodstock, outside of Oxford. it was delicious and I’ll never forget it). I’m a big believer in individual servings, particularly of desserts and other rich, yummy things. You get to eat ALL of it (no ostentatiously taking a small spoonful from the big bowl because other people are looking and tsking) plus you don’t have to share. Perfect. Which is why I love ramekins, and the individual au gratin dishes you see above. Anyway, you can make the deliciousness you see there, just for you, by doing the following
Mutant Welsh Rarebit
2 oz sharp cheddar coarsely grated
chives
several generous dashes worchestershire sauce
1 T creme fraiche or sour cream
1 tsp beer (or white wine)- this is optional, as obviously it is not worth opening a beer or wine for 1 tsp. but if you have a little on hand, put it in.
1 egg, beaten
pinch cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 english muffin, toasted and generously buttered
Heat oven to 400.
Mix cheddar, chives, worchestershire, creme fraiche, egg, beer,cayenne, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Place your toasted, generously buttered (yes, really, nothing will make this a diet dish, so just go for it) english muffin half in the center of your mini gratin dish and pour the rest of the mixture over it. Place in the hot oven for 10 minutes, then heat up your broiler and pop it under the broiler for another 5 (or until it is brown and bubbly and gorgeous). Remove carefully (it is hot!) and eat. Yum.

I hope to pop in with the virtual gift of a pattern and tutorial for you before Christmas. But if I’m not able, I wish you all a very happy holiday (be it Christmas or Solstice or just a few days off from work), and I’ll see you in the new year!

I think this child may come out quoting Monty Python, because for weeks I’ve had the compulsion to do something very strange and anglophilic– make mince pies, from scratch (no bottled mince for us! nope!). I’ve never been a big fan of mince pies or spicy fruit desserts in general (I only like plum pudding with nearly a whole jar of hard sauce on it), but this year the idea of mince pies would *not* leave me alone. Which culminated in literally HOURS in the kitchen, muttering and stirring and making a mess. I used this recipe for the mince, and this recipe for the pastry crust. If I did it again (which is unlikely) I would halve the mince recipe, or be prepared to can some of it, because it made WAY more than necessary.

But look! They turned out so pretty:

Instead of stars or lattice-work, I used my wee autumn leaf cookie cutters to make the tart tops. I think they tasted the way mince pies are meant to– spicy and tart with a buttery crust. Now mince is OUT of my system and I can move on to other things!

First I fortified myself with early morning waffles

my favorite, maple pecan, which feel healthy because they are made with whole wheat, have nuts for protein and taste wonderful without anything on them. Even so, I only ate one and froze the rest for toasting another time.
Then I dove into holiday gift-making with a vengeance:

Onesies printed with a sweet sledding silhouette using my beloved print Gocco

Totes and pouches made with the fun vintage canvas I found back in July at the flea market.

I put a few extras up in my little shop if they strike your fancy and you’re buying handmade this holiday!

Still busy working on holiday gifts here! I have a little overrun on one of them, so I might re-stock my wee etsy shop with a few of the extras– I’ll keep you posted! But because I really don’t like to be away from the blog for so long, just a few things that I like!
*The Loop-d-Loop Lace Leaf Scarf pattern

The very talented Joyce turned me onto this pattern a few years ago. It is just right for my knitting style– quick (I can finish one in a few hours), and just interesting and varied enough, but not so challenging I get frustrated. This is not the *best* yarn to show off the nice lacy pattern, but I’m very fond of the autumn colors and the soft, squishy heft of it.
*Pumpkin dip

I know there are lots of ways to make it, here is how I make mine
8oz light cream cheese (preferably room temperature)
1/2-3/4 of a 15 oz can pure pumpkin
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 T maple syrup
1/2 t cinnamon
1/4 t ground ginger
1 t vanilla extract
Cream the cream cheese and brown sugar in your mixer until they are nicely blended and there aren’t any crystals of sugar showing in the cheese. Add the maple syrup and vanilla and blend some more. Add in the spices and mix again until nicely blended, then add the pumpkin a bit at a time, blending between additions. Taste every so often and when you feel it has the right amount of pumpkin taste to suit you, its done! Cut up some tart apples and nosh!
*Spectacular fall sunsets

photo courtesy of Moondoggie
*My grandmother’s teacup collection

My mother recently sent me a few boxes of things from the attic, and this was in one of them, along with a note from my grandmother (who passed away many years ago) to me, about the tea parties we had together and how she hoped I’d enjoy the collection. My grandma and I were peas in a pod, and I know she’d be so excited that I’m not only having a baby, but having a girl! I can’t wait to have tea parties with my own little girl and tell her all about her wonderful great grandmother who gave us these beautiful cups.
*The handmade gift buying opportunities popping up all over the place! I’m particularly excited about an event in Mill Valley that Christina will be participating in next week:
The Love Makers Sustainable Craft Fair
Tuesday, December 4, 2pm-8pm
Ambatalia Fabrics
1 El Paseo
Mill Valley, CA
For more details about all the fantastic vendors, click here. I met Molly, the owner of Ambatalia, at Maker Faire in May, and she is amazing. The selection of beautiful, natural fabrics at her booth was stunning, and I can’t wait to browse the whole store’s worth of goodness, let alone the crafty wonders made by the talented artists selling at the fair!

I know it doesn’t look like it, but I’ve been busy over here, I swear. If you have reason to believe you are on my holiday list, this would be the time of year you might want to develop instant amnesia after looking at my blog, ’cause if I don’t blog about gifts I’m making, there isn’t much to say.

So in the past week I’ve been:

*Decorating my crafty space little by little. Above you can see some amazing glittery lotus “christmas tree” lights that will be a year-round phenomenon, cleverly hanging from hooks that perch on the picture rail (no nails, yay!).

*Cooking healthy, baking whole grain no-knead bread (I’m just going to start kneading, because the quicker no-knead breads I’ve made remind me of just not-sweet banana bread), and yummy grilled garlic chicken with steamed broccoli (not pictured: my HUGE baked yam, which needed its own side plate).

*Designing another softie! I know I promised you a pattern for the giraffe awhile ago, but I haven’t finished fooling with that one. This one came out cute enough to suit me on the first go, so if my scanner works properly, I hope to have a pattern and tutorial for this little guy up before the end of the week. I had fun doing a photo shoot with Ned Nutkin and my absolute favorite Caffarel chocolates. I buy them at Miette Confiserie and keep them in their little mushroom jar. I eat only one at a time, on days when I feel I’ve been a particularly good girl.

Chez belleepoque, Halloween is extra special, since it is a certain someone’s birthday.

I am a JV pumpkin carver at best, but what fun to blow out the jack o’lantern and make a wish! Plus the pumpkin allows for additional birthday treats:

I tossed them in some vegetable oil, sprinkled on a few hearty shakes of creole seasoning then broiled them in a single layer in the toaster oven. It was only a small pumpkin, so all the seeds fit on the toaster tray just fine. Of course I had to test one, and they are appropriately salty, crispy and just spicy enough. I usually don’t much care for pumpkin seeds, but these made me revise that opinion.

I know debate rages in the cupcake world, but in my opinion the Magnolia Bakery cupcake remains the apotheosis of the old fashioned, no nonsense, totally delicious cupcake. Even so, I’d never tried any of their recipes when making my own. Since my previous favorite frosting had a raw egg yolk in it, which is a no-no for me (even though it isn’t my birthday, I think I get a cupcake too), this gave me an excuse to try out the Magnolia Vanilla Buttercream recipe, and it is DELISH. It makes a ton of frosting and I definitely didn’t have to use 8 cups of confectioners sugar to get the right consistency (more like 5). I only wish I’d had some food coloring to make it orange like the pumpkin!

Hope you have a super spooky evening full of treats!