Downsizing My Closet

My sister is convinced that the Zero Waste Home book has become my lifestyle bible and that I am now going around spreading the word like some crazy zealot.

Not. True.

I am however attempting to make changes to how I live in an effort to decrease the impact I have on the environment and to live a simpler and eco-friendly life.

Simple=less stuff
Eco-friendly=less trash

So now that I have cleared out most of the plastic containers which had accumulated in my kitchen cabinets, the next stop was my closet.  I know...probably the toughest spot to tackle because I looove clothes!  Like Bea in Zero Waste, I was NOT going to have a wardrobe which fit into a carry-on suit case.  That was just not possible for me.  So I started searching the internet for ideas on how to create a capsule wardrobe (where everything is coordinating giving you more options, but with fewer clothes) and came across a few inspiring websites.

The Project 333 - Less is the new black.
Be More with Less - A minimalist fashion project.
Into Mind - A minimalist approach to personal style and wardrobe building
Uniform Project - One dress, 365 days.  All to raise money to send kids to school in India.  Check out the Tedx talk on the site.
Seamly.co - Sustainable fashion made in the USA.  The Versalette, one piece of clothing 30 ways.

Needing some moral support for the project, I called on my sister (a costume designer) to come and help me start the process of simplifying my closet.  I decided to go with a system based on Project 333 - 33 items for 3 months - and created a wardrobe for each season.  Fall - September, October, November. Winter - December, January, February. Spring - March, April, May. And finally the summer - June, July, August.

We started with a full closet and pulled out several items which I counted as "must haves" for each season and then built the rest of the wardrobe around those items, using what I already had in my closets and drawers.  Whatever was left after that, was either recycled, donated or consigned.  That meant, the cute top which matched only one other item usually went in the discard pile. Tear.

I am including a before picture and will show a true after picture when I get started in September.  While I do have a seriously pared down wardrobe for summer right now, I wanted to start fresh with the fall cycle.  I will include a complete list of my fall items and the basic rules in September.

So here is to a year (hopefully longer) of living with less.

P.S. This was a very difficult area to tackle, I spent most of the summer thinking about it and mentally preparing myself to part with almost half of my wardrobe.  This is not for the faint of heart!  We will see how I feel about it come the end of November :)

P.P.S. Some additional resources I forgot to include last week.

Cookies and Cream Popcorn

It has been quite some time since I have posted... again... and I have finally found a recipe that I feel might be what I needed to break my non-posting slump.  Yes, friends, it was so intriguing that as soon as I saw the recipe online while simultaneously eating lunch/checking email/catching up on my Google reader feeds I printed it out and stopped at the grocery store on the way home from work.  Which, by the way is not something that I usually do when it is raining...there is something about all those wet plastic bags that bothers me (yes, I use plastic bags...it keeps me from paying for them to be used as trash bags...so don't judge me!)

Anyway, the recipe is for Cookies and Cream Popcorn!  Now you may think that is really not your thing, but trust me it is excellent!  After making this batch, I found that I could not stop snacking on it and finally had to package it up so that I did not eat the entire pan.  What I like about this snack is that it is super quick and easy to make, as well as it has all the things that are great about a snack: sweet, salty, crunchy and doesn't leave your hands all messy when you are finished (good for sneaking a handful without getting caught!).

So here is the recipe that was inspirational enough to get me to brave my super slow internet to attempt a post...with pictures!

This is from before I realized what a mess it was trying to chop these by hand on a small cutting board!

Cookies and Cream Popcorn

modified slightly from Handle the Heat

1 bag of microwave popcorn (the home style kind, not the super buttery kind)

12 chocolate cookies with cream filling, aka. Oreos, chopped up

6 oz. of white chocolate chopped (or half a 12 oz. bag of white choco. chips)

• Pop the microwave popcorn.  I use the popcorn setting on my microwave, or just follow the directions on the package.  Allow this to cool while you are getting everything else ready.  
• Cover a baking sheet with non-stick foil or parchment paper.
• Chop the chocolate cookies into pieces about the size of a cheerio.  I ended up throwing mine in the food processor and pulsing, just don't over process them or you will end up with crumbs. 
• In a microwave proof bowl, melt the chips in 30 second intervals, stirring in between, until melted.
• Put cookies and popcorn in a large bowl and mix gently.  Add about half the melted chips and then stir a bit so that you bring the un-coated popcorn to the top.  Then add the remainder of the melted chips and stir until all of the popcorn/cookie mix is coated.  Spread the mix over the foil covered pan and allow to cool until the chocolate has hardened.  Gently break apart into the desired size and put in sealed bags or containers.  This will keep similarly to caramel corn, don't refrigerate or it will get soggy.

This is a great take-a-long for parties or as holiday gifts!

French Macarons

While it feels like the spring is always a busy time... I forget how crazy things can be in the fall as well. That said I have been a total slacker with the blog and am now going to try and be better about posting, especially with the holidays coming up. And by holidays... I mean Halloween of course! I just got the cutest mini cookie cutters that are Halloween themed, must do something cool with them!

Fall craziness aside, I did take a week where I tried to master the French Macaron (this does not have coconut) and when I say "master" I mean try two batches before getting tired of spending all my money on sugar and egg whites. But really, I wanted to try this out because I wanted to be able to give a fabulous cookie to my friend who has a gluten allergy and these are gluten free cookies (they are made with almond flour, and no it is not available in the store, you have to grind them up yourself!). So while I am sharing pictures, just know that this is my first attempt, which actually went much better than my second (Martha's recipe was awful...gasp!).

I found the most success with the recipe from David Lebovitz's book The Sweet Life in Paris which is by the way an excellent read. The recipe was easy to follow, however I was only able to get one batch to come out of the oven successfully. I need to mess more with the temperature and the time. I did not follow the time exactly in the recipe, but I will post more about it when I can get it right. For now though, here are the pictures of my first attempt at Macrons. They truly are worth the effort. There is something about the crispy outside and the soft cream filling that is like no other cookie I have ever had!

David Lebovitz's French Chocolate Macaron Recipe

Peanut Butter and Jelly Cupcakes

I do not like peanut butter. I know...it seems criminal, however I just do not care for peanut butter in things. I will eat it on an apple, with carrots, or with honey on toast, but in things like ice cream, cake, candy, etc. I am not a fan. So when I was asked by a friend to make chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter icing, I was at a loss. How do you try out something that you don't really like?

I ended up making PB&J Cupcakes because I had a vanilla recipe I wanted to try and so had cupcakes already on hand. I didn't think that just plain cake and peanut butter icing would be so good alone so I decided to add some flavor by filling the cakes with blackberry jelly. The end result was pretty good. I did try one and liked the flavors together. The icing recipe I got from Cara at Cara Lee Cupcakes and Cake was excellent and I will be using it for the cupcakes that I am making for my friend's wedding. The vanilla cake recipe was pretty good too. It was light and fluffy with good vanilla flavor and stayed fairly moist the next day. I am not sure if it is the best vanilla cake recipe I have found, but it is easy to make and better than others I have tried.

The cake recipe came from Ruth Reichl's book Garlic and Sapphires. It was a great read, not a cook book, but a narrative of her years as a food critic for the New York Times. It was very entertaining as she described the different disguises she would use to avoid being recognized. There are recipes interspersed in the chapters that meld well with each story she tells.

PB&J Cupcakes

Vanilla Cake
Slightly Adapted from
Nicky's Vanilla Cake
Garlic and Sapphires by Ruth Reichl

2 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons vanilla extract

Makes approximately 18 cupcakes.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put papers in cup cake pan.

Mix butter and sugar in a mixer until smooth and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time and mix well after each addition.

Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a seperate bowl. Mix well then add to the butter and sugar bowl. Mix well. Add the sour cream and mix until combined. Add the vanilla and stir until blended.

Using a medium cookie scoop fill cupcake liners with batter or use a spoon and fill until 2/3 full. The batter is thick so the cookie scoop works well.

Bake in the oven for 14 minutes. Do not over bake or they will get dry!

Using a paring knife or small sharp knife, cut a small circle into the center of the cupcake and remove the chunk of cake. This will be similar to coring a tomato. You want enough cake cut out to create a small well for the jelly. Don't take out too much or the cake won't hold up.

Fill the depression with your choice of jelly. I used blackberry because that is what I had on hand. Also it helps to mix the jelly in a small bowl first so that it is not chunky. Use a teaspoon to fill the cake.

Peanut Butter Icing
Slightly Adapted from Cara Lee Cupcakes and Cake

1 stick of unsalted butter at room temperature
1/2 block of cream cheese at room temperature
3 tablespoons of creamy peanut butter (I used pretty heaping tablespoons)
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla
2 cups of powdered sugar (Add a bit more if you want a slightly thicker frosting)

Cream butter, cream cheese and peanut butter in mixer until well blended and smooth. Be sure to scrape down the sides. Add the vanilla and mix until incorporated. Add the powdered sugar one cup at a time, blending well after each addition and scraping the sides as you go.

At room temperature, pipe onto cupcakes. The frosting can be refrigerated, but let it come to room temperature before using.

I gave these to my neighbor, who has two little boys. They were quite happy to get cupcakes with pirate wrappers!

Chocolate Chip Cookies and Salted Caramel Sauce

One of my earliest memories of baking is making chocolate chip cookies with my dad. He was always the baker in our house growing up and he is still an expert cookie maker. I can remember standing at the counter watching him cream the butter and sugar together with a pastry cutter. To me it never seemed like a planned thing to make cookies. We would take the butter out and start, no waiting for it to come to room temperature. And, there were always chocolate chips in the pantry. I couldn't tell you where or when they were purchased, but they were just always there like a favorite stuffed animal. And maybe that is what chocolate chip cookies have become for me, a comfort food like no other, not only because of the salty, chewy, and sweet flavors, but because of the comfort of making them with family. Now as an adult, I always have chocolate chips in my pantry, just in case I need them.

It is my father's birthday today, so I have made chocolate chip cookies and will be dropping them off at his work this afternoon to surprise him. I used the recipe on the back of the Tollhouse chip bag. That is the one we always have used, and I follow it exactly. That recipe, hands down makes the best chocolate chip cookies. My only piece of advice is to bake them for the minimum amount of time listed on the package (usually 9 minutes).

As an aside, this recipe also always makes me think of the Friends episode when Phoebe tries to remember the recipe that her grandmother used to make chocolate chip cookies. Monica then makes about 100 batches of cookies to try and get it right, only to find that it was the recipe from the back of the Nestle chip bag that she used.

The other thing that I made was a Salted Caramel Sauce. My dad is a huge fan of ice cream, salt and caramel. I thought what would be better than a jar of homemade salted caramel to go over his ice cream. I used a recipe from Cara at Cara Lee Cupcakes and Cake. The recipe was super easy to follow and the sauce turned out delicious!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!

Pear Ginger Maple Pie

I got back from the beach yesterday and thoroughly enjoyed my weekend free from technology. Just me, the sun, and lots of sunblock! The downside to this trip is that when I returned, the roofers were still hammering away and the gutters still have to go up. So much for wishful thinking that it would all be done by the time I got home.

And, to be even more of a Debbie Downer, I was trying to bring my plants back to life, by giving then a thorough soaking and I stepped on a nail! Yes, one of the nails that has been flung into my yard by said roofers. Needless to say to be on the safe side, I cleaned up my foot and hauled it to Target to get a Tetanus shot (really, what can Target NOT do?) Now that I have averted potential lock jaw, I feel better, but I am not sure what hurts worse, the shot site or nail wound!

I also returned to find I had missed the Pie Party! So despite my late submission, I am still posting about pie (cause pie makes everything better) and sharing a recipe that I got from my neighbor, who is also quite skilled in the kitchen. I love when she pops over to share something that she has whipped up! This time she shared a slice of Pear Ginger Maple Pie. I quickly requested the recipe which she shared, notes and all! The original recipe is from food blogger Garrett McCord of Vanilla Garlic.

Pear Ginger Maple Pie Recipe
from Simply Recipes via Garrett McCord

INGREDIENTS
•1 recipe dough for pate brisee pie crust (or use frozen crust)(I went with frozen)
•6 cups of peeled and roughly chopped pears (use Bosc or Bartlett)(Red Danjou work too)
•1 ½ tablespoons of cornstarch
•1/2 teaspoon of salt
•1/4 cup of packed brown sugar
•1/4 cup of pure maple syrup
•1 tablespoon of lemon juice
•1 teaspoon of lemon zest
•2 tablespoons of chopped candied ginger (or 1/2 teaspoon of ground ginger)

Oatmeal Crumb Topping Ingredients
•2/3 cup of flour
•1/2 cups of old-fashioned oats
•1/2 cup of packed brown sugar
•1/4 teaspoon of salt
•1/3 cup of cold, unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces

METHOD
1 Roll out pie dough and place in a 9 1/2-inch deep-dish pie dish and place in the freezer to set. (A 9 inch works fine too)
2 Preheat the oven to 400 F. Place the chopped pears in a large bowl with the cornstarch, candied ginger, brown sugar, maple syrup, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Toss well.
3 Place the pear mixture into the chilled, crust lined pie dish and smooth the top of the fruit. Place the pie into the center oven rack and bake for 45 minutes. (Put a baking sheet on the rack under the pie to catch any drippings.) After 30 minutes, line the edges of the pie with foil or a pie protector to prevent them from burning.

4 While baking take all the Oatmeal Crumb Topping ingredients and place them in a bowl. Use your hands and mix the ingredients until large crumbs form. Refrigerate until use.

5 After 45 minutes reduce heat to 375F. Remove the pie and carefully place the crumb topping over the pie, covering all the fruit. Bake for another 15 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for at least one hour. Serve.

Yum!
I am not nearly finished on the topic of pie as it is a part of my family food history!

Panna Cotta with Homemade Strawberry Syrup

I saw a picture of this on Handle the Heat and decided that I had to try it because it just looked so pretty. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Panna Cotta here is some background, but it is basically an Italian dessert with cream, sugar and gelatin. As much as this sounds like it is just creamy jello, it is much more than that. Being someone who can not stand any kind of whipped cream or cool whip with her jello, this is a delicious combination of creamy, sweet and firm, similar to a custard.

It was incredibly easy to make and kept well in the fridge. The tough part was getting it out of the cup smoothly, it definitely has to be sprayed well with cooking spray so that it comes out easier. I would also suggest halving the recipe since it made way more than I could eat. I also used some homemade strawberry syrup that I had canned in May when the berries were coming in. I liked the taste and texture of the whole berries and the cream together.

Panna Cotta Recipe from Handle the Heat

Best Chocolate Cake EVER

I have found the recipe for the best chocolate cake EVER, and I really do mean to capitalize "ever". I found the recipe on Desserts for Breakfast, a great food blog, and followed the recipe exactly. The cake was rich and chocolaty without being too sweet. I mean there are almost 8oz. of chocolate alone in the icing!

I would post pictures, however I am going to just let you rely on the images from where I got the recipe. I didn't finish putting it all together until 9pm and by then it was too dark to get the natural light I needed for a good pic, but trust me, mine looked just like the pics on the blog. The icing was shiny and smooth while the cake was dark and very moist.

Here are a few warnings/tips if you make this cake, which I highly suggest! First, the icing really does need to stay cold/cool to spread and actually stay on the cake. I stuck mine in the fridge to cool down, but not to the point that it was solid. You should still be able to stir it and it should look shiny.
I made the mistake of letting the cake sit in the car on my way home from work while I ran into the store to grab more flour and sugar (I ran out... imagine that!). In the heat, the icing ran down the sides of the cake and ended up pooling on the plate.

Second, I used two 9" round pans and it just barely fit. I was lucky that it did not run over into the oven, but I would probably do the same again. I also only cooked it for the minimum amount of time listed... since my oven is finicky.

Third, I lined the bottom of the pan with parchment instead of flouring it (which I hate to do) and it came out just fine.

Really, give this cake a try...you just might cry it is so good!

Food Swapping

I am a frequent reader of the fabulous food blog Eat the Love, by Irvin. It is his blog that made me aware of the food blogging community and got me started with my own blog. It is so nice to know that I am not alone in my obsession with food!

I recently read his posting about food swapping... and I was completely in love with the concept! The only places that I found online that do this are Brooklyn and possibly DC. I so badly want to try this... any takers?

Beautiful Spring Images

I saw this and had to share. lemmemakeit is a fab blog by a Martha Stewart employee. Her images of the tulips in Holland are beautiful. I cannot fathom the size of the fields and how lucky one could be to stand in the middle of them!

French Inspiration

It was the book Lunch In Paris: A Romance with Recipes that did me in! I do not mean that in a negative way at all, however it was the starting point for my newly minted obsession with French cuisine and food culture.

Americans have no food culture, hence the negative relationship we have with food. It becomes something merely to provide sustenance, to be eaten quickly and without pleasure. That alone makes me sad. Luckily, I grew up in a house the appreciated food and spent time in preparation, eating and enjoyment of it. But I digress since that entire concept could be a blog in and of itself.

My point is that unlike the French or Italians or many other European cultures, Americans to not have a relationship with their food. So upon reading Lunch In Paris I have decided to give my relationship with food an overhaul. Compared to many it is not that drastic a change. I already only use sugar, butter and olive oil. I eat very little packaged food and enjoy the preparation of a good meal. What does get changed is portion size, sitting down to eat, and shopping more frequently for seasonal and fresh items.

In my obsession to adopt French food culture, I have checked out the blogging world and here is my inspiration for this week: La Tartine Gourmande. The images are so beautiful you would eat the pictures and the recipes so simple and delicious that you can not help but want to try it. So Saturday morning I tried the following variation of a recipe from La tartine Gourmande.

Baked Egg with Asparagus, Pancetta and Creme Fraiche

Use 4 small ramekins. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

3 eggs
1 tbs. Creme Fraiche and a bit more (I found it already made at Shoprite, w/ the sour cream)
4 stalks asparagus (cut up and briefly pan fried w/ olive oil, but still crispy)
1 whole wheat sandwich roll
2 slices of pancetta

Slice roll in half (like for a sandwich) then in smaller pieces so that it fits into the bottom of the ramekin. It should not fill the entire space, just cover the bottom like a crust.
Mix 3 eggs with 1 tbs. Creme Fraiche.
Divide egg mix between the 4 cups. Place asparagus on top, add a dab or two of creme fraiche and place pancetta slice on top.

Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes, basically long enough so that the egg is baked through. These little cups of spring are great warm or cold and the perfect breakfast treat.

I'm Not Alone

One of my colleagues shared a most wonderful blog with me the other day. I am a huge fan of young adult literature and have found a group of others who are like me! The blog, Forever Young Adult is totally devoted to those adults, like myself that prefer to read YA over that impossibly boring adult stuff. Because many people do not take the time to recognize the merits of YA lit, the ladies of Forever YA are the perfect voice for the genre. I love the snarky, sarcastic and alcohol related postings that come from these women. I mean really, what could be better than a Sweet Valley High Drinking game?!?!

Inception

Its time.

I have been contemplating this blogging business since I had to start one for class and now after reading some really great blogs, have decided to try my hand at it. I don't know how successful I will be, or even if anyone will care, but I am gonna give it a try.

So while I may not be the most entertaining or interesting person out there, I hope to share stuff that is. I like to cook and bake, craft, as well as read, garden, and most importantly hang with friends generally in a setting that involves alcohol.

I like to use my co-workers as guinea pigs for my baking and tonight as a way to avoid doing my grad work (something that this also helps with as well) I decided to make some most delicious Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins that I found on an excellent baking blog. The original recipe was for a cake, but you just cut the time down to 20 minutes for the muffins. They turned out great and I will be taking them into work tomorrow, I am sure to the pleasure of my work friends.