wallpaper.

Seriously lusting over this wallpaper.  

I think the number one perk of home ownership is being able to apply wall paper.  

These poured concrete floors are also swoon-worthy.  



Image via Pinterest. 

cherry and blueberry buckle.

When we were in the depths of winter,  I went through the archives of my favorite food blogs (and some new ones) bookmarking recipes for when summer finally showed up.  There were recipes for roasted tomato tarts and grilled potatoes with mustardy vinaigrette.   There were minty sugar snap pea salads and fruit-filled cakes galore. 

So many fruit cakes.

As evidenced by the current state of refrigerator, I get a little trigger happy around farmers markets this time of year.  It's hard to walk past rows upon rows of cherries and blueberries and raspberries and not immediately gather up as much fruit as your arms can carry.  Our freezer is already bursting with rhubarb and strawberries. Our fridge is no better.  And while I've been doing my part to consume it as fast as I purchase it, there are only so many bowls of raspberries I can eat stirred into yogurt and drizzle with maple syrup.  

This is where a good buckle recipe comes in.

My love affair with fruit-filled strussel topped rustic cakes that can be severed with a dusting of powdered sugar or a spoonful of vanilla ice cream knows no bounds.  Actually, I find it to be growing exponentially.  This cake is my new favorite version (and will probably be included in my 4th of July menu).  Bake it as soon as you can.  Studded with fruit that bakes down into pockets of jammey summer wonderfulness it's positively addicting especially when paired with a crunchy, spiced, and subtly sweet strussel topping.  You'll be the hero at your next BBQ if you bring this.     

Cherry and Blueberry Buckle

Recipe from Bon Appetit and Seven Spoons

Once again the baking time on this recipe seemed exceptionally long.  Original recipe called for 75-90 minutes of baking.  I baked in what I think was a 9 inch pan and for about 60 minutes.  In an 8 inch pan it may require the longer time.  I would start checking it at 45 minutes.   

Feel free to use all blueberries or all cherries if you choose.  Though I find the cherry/blueberry combo to be brilliant that is until I get my hands on wild Maine blueberries and then all bets are off.   

For the Topping

½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar

¼ cup (32 g) all-purpose flour (I swapped this for graham flour because I had some on hand)

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

¼ teaspoon ground ginger

¼ cup (57 g) unsalted butter, cold and diced

For the Cake

¼ cup (57 g) unsalted butter, plus more for the pan

1 ½ cups (191 g) all-purpose flour, plus more for the pan

2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt 

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)

½ teaspoon ground ginger (optional)

¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar

1 egg, room temperature

2 teaspoons vanilla extract or seeds scraped from a vanilla bean

¼ teaspoon almond extract

½ cup (120 ml) heavy cream

10 ounces (283 g) pitted cherries; a mix of tart and sweet is wonderful but just sweet would work

6 ounces (170 g) blueberries, fresh or defrosted

Start with the topping. Whisk sugar, flour, and spices in a medium bowl. Tumble in the butter cubes and rub between your fingers until the mixture is evenly damp and coming together in clumps. Set aside.

For the cake, preheat an oven to 350°F / 175°C. Grease an 8 or 9-inch springform or removable bottom pan. Line the base of the pan with parchment, then grease the parchment. Dust the pan with flour, and tap out the excess.

Whisk the 1 1/2 cups flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. 

In another medium bowl, beat the butter and sugar together with an electric mixer on high speed until light and fluffy, around 5 minutes. Add the egg, vanilla, and almond extract and beat to combine, 2 minutes. Turn the speed down to low and gradually add the dry ingredients, stirring until mostly incorporated. Pour in the cream and stir until smooth. With a spatula, fold in the cherries and blueberries. The batter will be quite thick, and may not fold easily; as long as the fruit is somewhat stuck into the batter, all will be fine. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan, and smooth the top. Place tin on a rimmed baking sheet, then sprinkle the topping over the batter in an even layer.

Bake in the hot oven until the buckle is golden brown and a cake tester poked into the center comes out clean, 50-80 minutes (see note above). Transfer pan to a wire rack and let the cool completely. Unmold and serve, as is, or dusted with icing sugar.

the summer salad (a guide) + lemon tahini dressing.

It is the summer of the salad.  And I'm not talking about some bland leafy lettuce salad with a boring vinaigrette. I am talking about the salad as the meal.  Chock-full of textures and flavors.  It's how I like to eat salad especially now that we've reached the official start of summer; when days are long and sticky and food should be light and easy but interesting. It's also super easy to make an interesting and exciting salad when we are at the peek of farmers market produce season, especially if you adopt my motto of "cram as much peek season produce as possible into your meals".

And how do I want to dress said salad?  With a lemon tahini dressing of course. This has been my go-to dressing for weeks now.  I've paired it with everything from burrata and sugar snap peas to arugula and peas.  It just somehow works with everything and it provides the kind of earthy unami flavor that I come to crave.  Utterly brilliant.  

New Life Motto - Salads make summer eating easy.           

The Summer Salad (A Guide)

We eat a salad like this at least once a week if not more because it's easy and refreshing and satisfying.  It's also a rather excellent way to use up those little scraps and containers that seem to languish in the fridge. Below are some of my favorite combinations but the world is your oyster. Just make sure you make the dressing.   Serve with a wedge of good bread (and rose if you choose).   Dinner is served.   

Baby Arugula + Peas + Cubed Avocado + Cannelini Beans + Hot Sopressata + Aged Cheddar
Burrata + Snow Peas + Sugar Snap Peas + Avocado + Pumpkin Seeds + Torn Basil 
Green Beans + Grilled Haloumi + Toasted Walnuts + Pumpkin Seeds + Sesame Seeds + Currants 

Lemon Tahini Dressing

1 tablespoon tahini
1 tablespoon olive oil
Juice of half a lemon
2 teaspoons Mikes Hot Honey (or 2 teaspoons Honey and a pinch of red pepper flakes)
Salt and Pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a bowl.  Taste.  Adjust seasonings as necessary.  I find that if I have a particularly juicy lemon I sometimes need a little extra tahini to balance the flavors.   Pour over the salad and eat!

wood panel.

I have love hate feelings for wood paneling.  Sometimes it feels overdone and very DIY and other times it feels insanely chic.  Here, with the white subway tile and the pendant lights it feels insanely chic yet friendly which is exactly what a kitchen should feel like.  






























Image via Pinterest. 

strawberry rhubarb crumble.

I've been finding it hard to resist strawberries.  This berry situation has been particularly bountiful this year.  Or perhaps, after the longest winter ever, I'm just more attune to all the produce that is popping up around me.  I've been eating bowls of them for breakfast almost daily.  Drizzled with a bit of maple syrup they become positively addicting.  So addicting in fact that I've begun to hoard them with the intentions of freezing them.  Clearly I've already started planning for another tundra like winter except this one will be filled with strawberries - a fleeting memory of spring to be consumed in the depths of winter.

But I was willing to sacrifice some in the name of a crumble.  A strawberry rhubarb crumble to be exact.  You can go crazy for pies but I will continue to pledge allegiance to the crumble - the humble pie cousin.  I love a crumble for it's simplicity.  The fact that it doesn't require a crust but does beg for a dollop of whipped cream or ice cream.  I like that it is open to interpretations and somehow, no matter what you do to it, always tastes good.  Because what is better then fruit baked down to a puddley mess of sweetness topped with sweetly spiced nubbins of deliciousness on a Sunday night? Nothing I tell you, nothing.  

Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble
Recipe adapted from the NYTimes 

For the Fruit

4 cups of rhubarb diced into 1/2 inch pieces

4 cups of strawberries, halved and quartered if large

Juice of half a lemon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar

For the Crumble

1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup graham flour (can replace with all-purpose flour)

1/3 cup dark brown sugar

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup melted butter

1/2 cup finely chopped almonds.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. To prepare filling, toss rhubarb and strawberries with lemon juice, ginger, and sugar. Set aside.

To make topping, in a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugars, spices and salt. Stir in butter and almonds. Coarse crumbs will form.

Pour filling into a 9-inch square or round pan (do not grease first). Using your fingers, form topping mixture into 1/4-inch to 1/2-inch crumbs and spread over cake. Bake until filling bubbles and topping is light golden, about 55 minutes. Let cool slightly. Serve.

the smashed burger.

I am as close to a burger purist as you can get which means that when I want a burger I want a cheeseburger with nothing but cheese on a burger (cooked medium-rare or even better smashed) and a sqiushy potato roll.   No lettuce, no tomatoes and DEFINITELY no onion.  (The handful of times I remember going to McDonalds as a kid my order was always “Quarter Pounder with Cheese No Onions No Pickles”.)  I’m not sure if this makes me part of the norm or if it makes me an outlier but I am OK with it either way.  

What all of this really means is that I love Shake Shack.  I don't care if you think it's over-hyped or the burgers aren't that great, I think it's pretty damm perfect.  It's salty and satisfying and everything I crave when I want a burger (also their cheese fries are utterly amazing and I only recently discovered that and I can't believe I didn't know that sooner).  So when I figured out that I could make a smash burger - the kind of burger Shake Shack is known for - in the comfort of my own home, well it's safe to say I was at the butcher 24 hours later.

This is my dream burger.  Thin and crispy edged.  Melted cheese that manages to seep into every beefy crevice.  It's perfect in it's simplicity but if you desire toppings the world is your oyster. Best of all this can be made indoors on a cast iron skillet which means no grill is required (perfect for those city folks).    

The Smashed Burger

Recipe from Serious Eats and Epicurious

Makes 4 hamburgers

1 pound freshly ground beef (3/4 pound ground sirloin + 1/4 pound brisket is recommended, but if you can’t find, use chuck) with an 80/20 fat ratio

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more if needed
4 potato rolls, preferably Martin’s brand
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Kosher salt, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
4 slices cheese, American or whatever you like on burgers, if you’re making cheeseburgers
Optional toppings (if you are so inclined) 1/4-inch-thick tomato slices, thinly sliced pickles, burger-sized pieces green-leaf lettuce, ketchup (duh), mayo 

Prepare the meat: Form the meat into four equal-sized four-ounce meat “pucks,” roughly 2 1/2 inches thick. Place them on a plate lined with plastic wrap or waxed paper and freeze for 15 minutes, but no longer. We don’t want to freeze the meat, but we’d like it to be extra-cold when it hits the pan.

Toast the buns: Heat a griddle, large cast-iron skillet (my first choice and recommendation), or large heavy stainless-steel skillet over medium heat. Melt the butter and place the buns, cut-side down, in the pan. Cook until cut sides are golden-brown, about 1 to 2 minutes. Place toasted buns on four plates; you’ll keep using your griddle or skillet.

Cook the burgers: Remove patties from freezer. Increase heat to high and add 2 tablespoons oil to the griddle or skillet — you’ll need this only for your first burger batch; after you’ve made a couple or if you’re scaling the recipe up, the fat from the earlier burgers will be sufficient — heat until oil begins to smoke, at least two minutes. Working one at a time, add a patty to griddle and immediately flatten it to a 1/2-inch thickness with a heavy spatula and something with weight and heft (the handle of a second spatula, a meat pounder, etc. see details up top) to help it along. You’ll have to “hammer” harder than you might think to flatten the patties out. A second spatula can be used to help remove the hamburger stuck to the flattening one, so not to tear the patty. Generously season with salt and pepper. Repeat with remaining patties.

Once the first side is deeply browned with crisp, craggly edges, about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes for medium — mine were all quite black when they were flipped, and yet still totally pink inside when we cut into them; it will be hard to overcook them at this high heat — use a spatula to scrape underneath the patty and flip it over. Cover with a slice of cheese if making cheeseburgers, and cook 1 to 2 minutes more, until melted. Repeat process with remaining patties.

Assemble burgers: Transfer cooked patties to toasted burger buns. Top burgers with tomatoes, lettuce, pickles (if using) ketchup and mayo and immediately dig in.