April 2012
2 posts
Watchwho needs toys when there is a tail?
Watchwylee’s first time at home!
October 2011
2 posts
4 tags
Whole Wheat Raspberry Ricotta Scones
This was the first meal we ate in our new apartment, about one month ago:
And the very first thing I baked in our new place?
SCONES. Of course. Whole wheat raspberry ricotta scones.
I hadn’t even unpacked all the dishes into the cabinets, but managed to find my flours, pastry cutter, and baking sheet.
I only let myself bake off a few because I have been known to devour a whole...
September 2011
2 posts
Where did the summer go?!
I’ve spent the better part of the summer months tackling a thesis and a defense, figuring out the next step post-PhD (a.k.a. finding a job), moving out of a 5th floor apartment (sans elevator service) into our first property without the aid of movers or even a moving truck, and discovering the joys of speeding in our new (to us) german driving machine. It has been an incredibly exhausting...
August 2011
1 post
July 2011
3 posts
4 tags
Fig Hazelnut Spread, Brie, and Prosciutto Panini
My thesis defense (a talk about the last 6 years of my life) date has shown up in the 10-day forecast. Does anyone else measure their life by the 10-day forecast?
Upon this realization, the first thought that jumped into my mind was, “what am I going to WEAR?!”. And the second thought: “I guess I should start on my talk soon.”
But before I start, I wanted to tell you...
1 tag
A little breather.
I feel like I have been running at break-neck speed non-stop for the last two and a half weeks, and only a few days ago did I finally get to stop and take a breath. After pouring all my energy and waking moments into making some sense of the last 6 years of research and trying to organize it into words and pictures to resemble a cohesive thesis, AND closing on our first property and taking a...
June 2011
4 posts
5 tags
Braided Lemon Bread
My dad has taught me a lot over the years. He taught me how to drive stick and made me drive from a full stop up a hill, over and over until I didn’t stall. He educated me in the rules of NFL football, quizzed me about team names, coaches, and quarterbacks, and taught me to love the Niners (in good times and bad). And, he taught me how to be resourceful in the kitchen.
In my dad’s...
4 tags
Pavlovas with Meyer Lemon Curd and Fresh Berries
It seems that the warm summery weather we experienced two weeks ago was just a cruel, cruel joke. Not funny Boston. Not at all.
Over a month ago, when the weather was much like it has been the last week (dark… gloomy… wet… depressing…), I was using happy meyer lemons to substitute for the absent SUN, and I made these pavlovas and a meyer lemon curd. They were fun,...
3 tags
Spaghetti with Lemon and Olive Oil
So…….
it’s been really hard to break the silence.
I’ve started and stopped and erased posts at least 5 times since we last spoke about absurdly excessive cookies, which was 2 whole months ago!!! And as more and more days passed, the more I felt that I had to present a worthy post to compensate for the length of silence… which at this point, would have required...
May 2011
3 posts
California Dreamin'
Last week, I was lucky enough to be able to take a much needed break in warm hot, sunny, Southern California. I napped frolicked on the beach…
and fervently prayed that my pasty skin (which has had practically NO exposure to the sun’s rays in over 6 months) would NOT burn.
I relaxed and did some yoga (combined with weights and cardio) that left my abs and butt screaming for...
April 2011
4 posts
2 tags
Oreo Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies
April Fools’ Day is not quite over. I present to you these humongous chocolate chip cookies…
that are not quite exactly what they seem because…
there are OREOS inside of them!!!
If only all April Fools’ jokes could be this… sweet.
These cookies were not originally baked with the intention of fooling anybody. They were actually baked for a lab function where...
March 2011
3 posts
4 tags
Guinness Brownies
I have been holding out on you.
But not on purpose, I promise!
I baked these Guinness brownies at the end of 2010, and in the midst of the holiday craziness, visiting families on opposite coasts, getting engaged, and turning 29, I somehow forgot to post about these stout-y chocolate-y chocolate brownies.
But what better day to tell you about a dessert infused with Guinness than the day...
2 tags
Balthazar's Cream of Mushroom Soup
So last week when it was all chilly and brrrrrrr, I saw this vegan mushroom soup and knew I would be making mushroom soup to warm my bones. And it seemed perfect because having a new labmate who is vegan made me realize that my blog is not vegan friendly. In fact, I struggled to recall a single recipe admist all the POUNDS of butter, dairy, eggs, and cheese that is vegan. My tumblr is...
5 tags
Honey Millet Muffins
There is this fantastic little place in La Jolla. With an extensive brunch menu that I still have all-too-vivid-and-drool-inducing dreams about. Delicious lattes in cups the size of small bowls. Six (6!!!!!!!!) different kinds of eggs benedict. Free coffee and homemade coffee cake while you wait for your table. And… some amazing jumbo sized freshly baked raspberry millet muffins.
So when...
February 2011
11 posts
7 tags
Artichoke Heart-Stuffed Shells in Ricotta Sauce
This recipe was advertised by Bon Appetit as “A Pasta for Lovers”, and with Valentine’s Day not so long ago (my flowers are miraculously still in bloom) and its development by the brilliant Smitten Kitchen (who captures my heart weekly with her deliciously stunning and witty posts), you would think that this recipe was destined for an ultra-romantic candlelit dinner for two....
4 tags
Blood Orange Olive Oil Cake
I’ve been a bit obsessed with blood oranges this winter: I’ve been buying them by the bagful, I’ve made marmalade, and from the moment I saw this olive oil cake, I have kept at least 3 blood oranges ready and waiting in my fruit bowl so that I would be ready to make this at a moment’s notice.
Unfortunately, it took 2 weeks for that moment to finally arrive.
But arrive...
4 tags
Best Buttermilk Pancakes
It’s the weekend. And that means breakfast at home.
This weekend? A favorite… pancakes.
My parents often made pancakes on the weekends when I was growing up and it was always felt like such a treat. The pancakes came from a quick mix in a yellow box, and until I left for college, I thought that was the way everyone made pancakes. In fact, they are still the pancake that I...
5 tags
Lacey Chocolate Sandwich Cookies
Though Andreas and I don’t really make a big deal out of Valentine’s Day, we do try to do a little something special, whether it’s dinner together at our favorite sushi spot or bacon lettuce tomato sandwiches on a lunch date. This year I somehow managed to make Andreas’ ULTIMATE IDEAL COOKIE, almost completely by accident!
His ideal cookie is thin and shatteringly...
6 tags
Oatmeal Sandwich Bread and Meyer Lemon Blood...
I finally had the opportunity to slooooooowww down this weekend and so I was happy to take advantage: I caught up on trashy reality tv, filled the apartment with the warmth and aroma of freshly baked whole wheat oatmeal bread (I wish I could bottle it!), and attempted to make jam for the very first time.
This bread is so good that I have actually been looking forward to waking up every...
4 tags
Glazed Nut and Pretzel Mix
Tomorrow is the Super Bowl and you know what that means.
Beer, overdosing on snack foods, hanging out with friends, entertaining commercials, and (hopefully) an action-packed game!
I always look forward to the Super Bowl, but it is a little bittersweet as it not only signifies the end of football season and but also my excuse for vegging (and sometimes napping) on the couch for 6 hours...
3 tags
Chinese Almond Cookies
Happy Year of the Rabbit!
I know I’m a day late, but pulling together a 35 slide powerpoint lab meeting presentation prevented me from posting this yesterday. But don’t let the passing of New Year’s day prevent you from enjoying these buttery little cookies- they are quick to pull together and are perfect on non-New Year’s days, particularly with tea.
These cookies...
3 tags
Acorn Squash Quesadillas
There is a spectacular amount of snow piled up on the streets of Boston, thanks to weekly snowstorms over the last 4 weeks. But I’m tired of waking to the beeping and racket of snow plows thundering up and down the roads before its even light out. I’m tired of the unsolicited workout I’ve been getting from stomping through the snow in heavy snow boots to get to lab and back...
January 2011
9 posts
4 tags
Chicken with Herbed Goat Cheese and Sun Dried...
My parents are both amazing cooks and much of my love and respect for cooking and eating comes from growing up in a household where most of our meals were cooked from (mostly) scratch. But what ignited my insatiable curiosity about new recipes, unfamiliar ingredients, and different flavor combinations was actually the Food Network. Cooking shows brought recipes into my home and through powerful...
5 tags
Pumpkin Walnut Cranberry Bread
For some unknown reason, my face has decided to relive my youthful teenage years this week, which is a nice way of saying pimples of gargantuous proportions and intense redness have unapologetically assumed residence on my face. Not quite sure why my face has decided to punish me; it could be the stress, it could be the junk food, or it could be that my face is now predicting snow storms in the...
7 tags
Braised Lamb Shanks with Lentils
In the last few days, we’ve been experiencing the type of weather that I didn’t know existed until I moved to Boston- weather that I am beginning to think of as “Hell Freezing Over” because it’s certainly cold, and most definitely hellish!
On Monday, it was the kind of cold that freezes any moisture in your nose into instant boogers that impair your breathing. Not...
5 tags
Crescent Jam and Cheese Cookies
I’m not sure I would call these cookies (instead of pastries), but I will not hesitate to call them AMAZING.
The flaky pastry dough is very reminiscent of (if not identical to) another favorite “cookie” of mine, rugelach. I don’t know what chemical reactions occur between the cheese and butter at 400 degrees, but they just happen and give you wonderfully light and...
6 tags
Lamb Chops with Pistachio Tapenade
Recently I’ve been having some trouble sleeping. I have no problem falling asleep, in fact, often I’m ready to drop my head into my dinner, but I have been waking up in the middle of the night, but despite feeling exhausted, I am unable to fall back asleep. I’ve ramped up work in lab and also re-established some routine of physical exercise (so much for not making resolutions for...
3 tags
Fleur de Sel Caramels
How is everyone doing with their New Year’s resolutions?
I am a horrible person because I am posting a recipe that makes about 80 homemade caramels a mere 4 days after some of you have resolved to cut down on sugar and unnecessary sweets in 2011. But I just know that if you made these, you’d forgive me immediately because these are just simply divine.
The idea of making candy...
4 tags
Champagne Panna Cotta for the New Year
Happy New Year, my dear friends!
For New Year’s Eve, I thought it would be fun to have a champagne dessert to drink with our champagne toast! This champagne-flavored panna cotta is super easy peasy-if you can warm cream on the stove, you can make this. The champagne flavor is quite bold so be sure to use a champagne that you love to drink! The booziness does mellow out over time, in fact,...
December 2010
6 posts
1 tag
Holiday Fun
I always find that visiting Andreas’ family in Virginia is very much like being on vacation. They have a beautiful house on the water, we enjoy home-cooked meals, and there really is nothing more to do than relax, catch up on recreational reading, get to the next level of Angry Birds (hello my name is Crystal and I am an addict), and play with this guy, who never (EVER) tires of his...
5 tags
Chez Panisse Gingersnaps and Thomas Keller's Oreos
Well, how quickly time flies (I guess I was having too much fun this month), I can’t believe it’s already Christmas Eve.
I’m in Virginia (which is as cold as Boston, boo) for Christmas, and since no holiday is complete without an EXCESSIVE amount of BUTTER, I brought an army of cookies with me: Chez Panisse Gingersnaps and Thomas Keller’s Oreos. It’s like bringing...
4 tags
Roasted Quail with Grapes and Chestnuts
Looks like there may be quite a White Christmas in Boston this year! I have seen snowflakes in the forecast for over a week now, but as the days passed, the real snowflakes never really manifested (minus the few that fluttered about on my birthday).
Inbound, Red Line, Longfellow Bridge.
Charles River. freezing.
ummm… SNOW!!!!
Until today. The snow has been lightly, but steadily...
4 tags
Over a Year Tumblrversary and Pumpkin Scones
Wow, November totally flew by, didn’t it?
It began deceivingly leisurely: I was enjoying the warmer-than-usual Boston November weather and lab had slowed to a more bearable pace as we prepared for and moved our entire lab to a brand spanking new building. Then suddenly I was on a California-bound plane to visit family and friends for Thanksgiving where I stuffed my face for a week straight...
