Modern Foodie

Crafting for Christmas

2011-12-01T19:11:00.000-08:00

For the past 12 years, as a married couple, we haven't really decorated for Christmas (other than a tree and lights on the house). No stockings hung, no tree skirt, no snowmen or other things decorating the house. And each year we would get a Noble Fir tree.This year everything is different. We bought our tree the weekend of Thanksgiving (a first!), we bought a Douglas Fir, I decorated the inside

What's New...

2011-10-29T14:40:00.000-07:00

I'll be honest. I haven't had the motivation to blog. I've been busy at home creating. Cooking, baking, making jam, craft projects. But every time I think about doing a blog post, I get overwhelmed.If I want to take pictures of the food or craft project, I need to think about how I want the finished picture to look. Then get the props out and decide if I want to take the pictures during Miette's

Sewing: Messenger-style Bag

2011-10-13T08:43:00.001-07:00

The other day I went for a walk with Miette. Just around the block. And as I started gathering my phone, tissue, keys (just the necessities) I realized I needed some small bag to carry these things. Not my big diaper bag. Not my purse. Something that I could throw over my shoulder and have both hands free.So while we were walking, I designed this bag. I came home that night and cut all the fabric

Decorating: Kitchen Inspiration

2011-10-07T13:44:00.000-07:00

Decorating. Does anyone else have trouble committing to a particular color or design for your house? For some reason, I've just never felt confident enough to officially coordinate and decorate our house. We have lived in our house for 10 years and I am just now starting to decorate! And I have to say that Pinterest was a big help to me. I have a lot of gray in the house as well as orange but I

Creating the Sugar. Blog Sugar 2011.

2011-09-27T13:58:00.000-07:00

(photo by Ruthanne Photography) (photo by Megan of Fairly Fabulous)My kitchen is finally clean, the dishes are done, the oven is ready for its next job. I'm still finding sprinkles here and there (those little guys are hard to sweep up!) and decompressing from a busy weekend.In January, Rachel asked if I would be interested in making desserts for the third Blog Sugar and I said absolutely!

A Favorite Breakfast

2011-07-29T11:24:00.000-07:00

Growing up breakfast was usually cereal, malt-o-meal, pop tarts or toast. On occasion, we would have pancakes for dinner but not for breakfast (which my husband thinks is strange and I still love!). It wasn't until a few years ago that I discovered plain yogurt. Not flavored yoplait but unsweetened, thick, creamy yogurt. I fell in love. Drizzled with honey and topped with strawberries, banana and

Coconut, Peanut Butter, Chocolate

2011-07-18T10:11:00.000-07:00

Happy Monday! I'm enjoying this beautiful day and reflecting on a fun weekend. A birthday weekend. My husbands birthday was yesterday. On Friday we took M to the Long Beach Aquarium and had so much fun watching her get so excited about the fish. I love seeing things through a child's eyes. They just soak everything in and are so joyful! Saturday B went to a friend's bachelor party, at the beach,

Blog*Sugar 2011

2011-06-29T09:34:00.001-07:00

Hello! I am so excited to be attending BlogSugar this year. I had so much fun at the first one but missed the second one last year (new baby!) so I'm looking forward to September. I'm also excited because I will be making the delicious desserts for everyone to enjoy! I can't wait to meet everyone and share my yummy treats.April

Sewing: Fabric Sash Tutorial

2011-06-22T14:49:00.000-07:00

This fabric sash has been on my project "to do" list for awhile. And it was so simple I don't know why I waited so long! A few years ago I purchased a few Calvin Klein dresses from Marshalls, each were around $40. Fully lined, simple, great fit. But a little plain.This yellow one is my favorite. And I have the cutest shoes to wear with it but it needed a little dash of color. I rummaged

Randomness on Wednesday

2011-06-22T08:36:00.001-07:00

Lots of things to share and I love lists. So I combined them both and tried not to make the list too long!* I went to the library to get my book club book (all out, had to put a copy on hold) and instead came home with these books. Instead of spending ALL night on Pinterest (you can follow me here), I'll be enjoying these books.* I've been teaching M sign language but she seems to interpret my

Miette: Peanut Butter Cookies and Caramel Corn

2011-06-19T14:49:00.000-07:00

Miette. The name of our beautiful baby girl. About 10 years ago, B and I watched a French movie called "(La cite des enfants perdus) The City of Lost Children". The main character is a young girl by the name of Miette. We both immediately fell in love with the name and knew that if we ever had a girl that would be her name. A few years later we were in San Francisco and stumbled across a pastry

Lovely Lemon Muffins

2011-06-17T13:42:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I was at a friend's house and she served quinoa muffins with dried cranberries. They were good but a little heavy. I started thinking of ways to lighten the muffins as well as add more flavor. Citrus, tart, sweet. I adapted a lemon poppy seed recipe and replaced the poppy seeds with a large quantity of cooked quinoa, and added dried cranberries, blueberries and cherries. This

Sewing: Birdie Top and Cardigan Sweater

2011-05-13T10:20:00.000-07:00

I've been on a sewing kick lately. I made some bibs, a shirt, a sweater and I'm planning to make a jacket and a skirt in the next week or so. I go through phases where I sew a lot and then the sewing machine sits there, untouched, for weeks at a time. I've been inspired by so many blogs and it's amazing how creative and talented these women are! I have a long list of things I want to make and

Cupcakes for a Friend

2011-03-03T20:18:00.000-08:00

First Friday's. That's what a few friends and I call our time together. We have decided that we will get together on the first Friday of every month. That way we know we will get to see each other and we will (try) not to make any other plans!My friend B emailed to remind me that our other friend's birthday was coming up and that we (read: me) should make something sweet and that she will

Chocolate on my mind.

2011-02-26T13:59:00.000-08:00

Growing up I didn't like chocolate. I know, crazy right? I didn't know why I just never wanted to eat it. I preferred (and still do prefer) chewy candy. Jelly bellys, licorice, hot tamales, skittles, cinnamon bears. Give me any of those and I will eat them until I feel sick, seriously. But now I know why I didn't like chocolate, I only knew about the super sweet milk chocolate. After being

New Life, New Growth

2011-02-08T08:47:00.000-08:00

Last year before Miette was born a few friends came over to help me plant my Summer garden. Because I knew for sure that by the Summer I would be cooking up a storm and would, of course, want to use all the vegetables from the garden. Well, that didn't happen. I was a bit overwhelmed with being a new mom and the garden was neglected. There was a point when the cucumbers grew to be as long as my

Cooking Classes

2011-02-01T10:54:00.000-08:00

Hello!Well I'm finally getting back into the swing of things. Baby M is 9 months old and I've been busy taking care of her, making her baby food, making food for Brian and I and just enjoying life. I'm planning to start up some cooking classes this Spring and Summer and was wondering what type of classes you would be interested in taking.I have a few ideas but want to hear from you! So tell me

My new favorite thing!

2010-06-25T15:46:00.000-07:00

Quite a lot has happened since my last post. I'm a mom now and keeping busy with my almost 8 week old baby girl! I haven't had much time to cook, bake or eat out so I don't have much to share but I'm getting back into the swing of things and plan on doing lots of baking in the near future!Just a few pictures of my adorable little girl before I tell you about my new favorite thing...Okay, so a

Frozen Yogurt + Pizzelle Cones

2010-03-24T12:37:00.000-07:00

I had a major craving for Pinkberry the other day and I decided to indulge and remembered how much I love tart, plain frozen yogurt. Making my own frozen yogurt is much more affordable than going to Pinkberry every other day! And this is such a delicious recipe and so easy to make that I definitely recommend trying it yourself. You won't regret it!I also wanted to experiment with my pizzelle

Floral Embossed Plates

2010-03-05T15:44:00.000-08:00

After meeting Rachel and Miss K at Noah's for some delicious bagels this morning, we met up with Melissa and Miss J and drove to some estate sales across Long Beach. I wasn't able to find anything at the first two sales but at the third sale I did stumble across these adorable plates. At only $4 for a set of 8 I just couldn't resist. My only problem...I'm not exactly sure how to use them! I

Baking with Buttermilk

2010-02-24T09:00:00.000-08:00

For some reason I've ended up with a quart of buttermilk each week for about the past month. A recipe calls for just about 1/2 cup and then you are left with the rest and what do you do with it? Well normally I will make buttermilk pancakes (I have been craving those almost every day for breakfast!), buttermilk english muffins or buttermilk biscuits. Today I decided to try a few new recipes

Celebrating

2010-02-11T08:41:00.001-08:00

Today I am celebrating because I passed my glucose test and I don't have gestational diabetes! Which is a very good thing because it would be so hard for me to give up the wonderful carbs, sweets, sugar, fruit and all the foods that are excluded from a diabetes diet. So I decided to celebrate by making some cinnamon-swirl cupcakes, which taste a bit like snickerdoodles. I love all forms of

Back to Basics

2010-02-10T17:03:00.000-08:00

I'm so happy to say that I have been back on the baking bandwagon for the past month or so and it makes me feel like my old self! Last week I had a craving for oatmeal chocolate chip cookies and those were delicious (no pictures, too busy enjoying them). This week I went crazy with homemade bread. Amazing english muffins, whole wheat bread and ciabatta sandwich loaves. All the recipes are

A New Hobby and Some Exciting News!

2010-01-22T10:55:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone! I apologize for my disappearance these past few months but I do have good reason. I'm so happy to share that I am 5 months pregnant! And these past few months I just haven't been motivated to bake, cook or blog so I took a brief break but now I'm doing better and can't wait to get started again!I just recently bought a new book Simple Sewing for Babies by Lotta Jansdotter and

Vintage Goodies and Tasty Treats

2009-10-05T15:59:00.000-07:00

Do you love amazing vintage finds? And delicious desserts? Then you must come to "The Attic" this Sunday, October 11th. My friend Rachel is having a sale of tons of vintage goodies and trust me, you will want to be there! And I will be providing some sugar to keep everyone happy while shopping. Email justaspoonful@gmail.com for more details!

The reasons I am looking forward to Autumn.

2009-09-01T11:27:00.001-07:00

1. Road trip from Seattle to California with my sisters (image via deviantArt)2. Packing my bags and travelling to New York (image via Anthropologie)3. Walking through Central Park while in NYC (image via Town&Country Travel Magazine)4. Making lots of delicious soup5. Wearing sweaters, scarfs, jeans, coats, boots, hats, the list goes on! (images via Anthropologie, Oscar de la Renta)6.

Peanut Butter-Chocolate Dobos Torte (Daring Bakers)

2009-08-27T07:00:00.000-07:00

When I first found out about this month's challenge I was so excited about all the possibilities. I immediately thought about the different shapes, flavor combinations and other variations that would be delicious with this cake. I kept the basic cake recipe but I decided to go with a peanut butter-chocolate layered torte and some caramel shards for topping. The layers of sponge cake were

Grapes!

2009-08-16T15:27:00.000-07:00

Finally, after 8 years of growing grapes in our backyard we hit the jackpot! I harvested 7 pounds of red grapes this afternoon! I got to them before they turned into raisins, before the birds ate them and frankly before I forgot about them, again. I don't remember the exact grapes that we planted but I think these are red wine grapes. They taste sweet, have a tiny seed and are very juicy.So

On a Non-Food Related Note...

2009-08-12T15:09:00.000-07:00

Isn't this happy little owl adorable? My friend Vicky is a wonderful artist and makes natural toys, art and accessories from wool. Yes, needle felted from wool. The process, according to Vicky, "involves taking a sharp, barbed needle and poking loose fibers thousands of times until the desired form is achieved" and I know these are very labor intensive and are just amazing! She started making

Fresh Raspberry Vinegar & Salad

2009-07-30T17:13:00.000-07:00

I had quite a few fresh raspberries that were going to waste so I found a delicious way to extend their life! A fresh raspberry vinegar. Delicious, easy to make and has so many uses. One of the first things I made was a wonderful chicken salad using the vinegar for the dressing. Perfect for a warm Summer evening. Enjoy!Simple Raspberry Vinegar(Recipe from The British Larder--an amazing blog!!

Chocolate Milan Cookies (Daring Bakers)

2009-07-27T07:15:00.000-07:00

If you are a fan of the Pepperidge Farms chocolate milano cookies then you must give these a try. A chocolate ganache filling sandwiched between soft, delicate lemon-vanilla cookies. I enjoyed each of the elements separately and together. The cookie would be great on its own with a cup of tea and the chocolate ganache can just be eaten with a spoon! Or maybe with some vanilla ice cream.

Making Pasta with Friends

2009-07-24T07:56:00.000-07:00

My parents got me this pasta machine and drying rack as a lovely Christmas gift a few years ago. And for some reason I was intimidated to make fresh pasta! I'm not sure why since I make bread dough all the time and the basic principles are the same. So to motivate me I had a few friends come over and we made fresh pasta together. It was so much fun and I think we all said "that is so cute"

BBA Challenge: Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

2009-07-23T13:29:00.000-07:00

I absolutely love cinnamon rolls. A sweet dough filled with cinnamon & sugar topped with a gooey-sugary glaze--delicious! And as with most homemade food these taste so much better than those cinnamon rolls from the can.I'm not a fan of raisins or nuts in my rolls, I'm a purist and I love just lots and lots of cinnamon and sugar. And I start eating the roll from the outside and eat in a circle

Cooking Fresh from the Garden

2009-07-17T14:40:00.000-07:00

Summer in the garden is a wonderful time. Pretty soon most backyard vegetable gardens will be overflowing with delicious tomatoes, herbs and zucchini. This Tomato, Zucchini and Goat Cheese Tart is the perfect way to enjoy the bounty of fresh vegetables! Enjoy this light tart as an appetizer or light lunch with a mixed greens salad.Tomato-Zucchini Tart with Goat CheeseServes 6-8Adapted from Eat

Thoughts on Estate Sales and Some Great Finds

2009-07-11T08:17:00.000-07:00

Estate Sales are interesting to me. Most often they take place after someone has died and the family is trying to get rid of everything to either pay bills or get the house ready to sell/rent. You get a glimpse of the persons life by looking at all their possesions. You wonder what kind of life they led. So many thoughts go through your mind. How did they die? How would they feel about so

French Classics

2009-07-10T17:12:00.000-07:00

I found a few treasures at an estate sale this morning. Mastering the Art of French Cooking and Larousse Gastronomique.Each book was $1, in great good condition and definitely in my budget!Both classics have been reprinted, revised and updated multiple times over the years so I know that there may be newer items in the more recent versions but I feel that these books should be as close to the

Cocoa Bean-Pecan Cookies

2009-07-09T14:49:00.000-07:00

I'm getting together with some friends a bit later and needed to make something chocolate-y so I decided to try a new cookie. Made with chocolate, pecan and cocoa beans then dipped in chocolate, these cookies are light and have the perfect subtle flavors of chocolate, toffee, coffee and vanilla. Not too sweet but just the right balance.Cocoa beans, also known as cacao nibs, are the roasted,

Featured on "The Kitchen!"

2009-07-05T16:56:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited! I submitted my backyard vegetable garden to the Apartment Therapy My Great Outdoors 2009 and I was featured on The Kitchn a few days ago!Check out my garden here: The Kitchn

July 4th Fun

2009-07-05T12:52:00.000-07:00

What a great 4th of July! Lots of new and old friends joined us this year to play in the bocce ball tournament and enjoy some wonderful food. Everyone brought their own meats for the grill, fruit, homemade salsa and a large assortment of delicious side salads! I love to see the different types of food everyone brings and everything I tried was great!The bocce tournament lasted about 6 hours (

Happy 4th of July!

2009-07-03T23:05:00.001-07:00

Hope you enjoy your day! I will be celebrating with friends while hosting our 7th annual bocce ball tournament and bbq. Can't wait for all the yummy food and dessert. Oh, and the burgers we are making will be to die for! More on that and pics later.

1st Summer Harvest from the Garden

2009-07-03T11:03:00.000-07:00

Well it's finally summer in my edible garden! I was able to pick my first vegetables of the season and look forward to more as the summer goes on. This was a small harvest but its only a matter of time before I am overwhelmed by the amount of vegetables I have.Top to Bottom: Red Stupice Tomato--This is a new tomato type for us. Brian picked it out and can't wait to see how it tastes.Thai Chile

Wednesday Inspirations...Learning to Like

2009-07-01T08:14:00.000-07:00

I ran across this quote the other day on this wonderful blog and I just wanted to share it with you. What great inspiration! Learn to like what doesn’t cost much.Learn to like reading, conversation, music.Learn to like plain food, plain service, plain cooking.Learn to like fields, trees, brooks, hiking, rowing, climbing hills.Learn to like people, even though some of them may be different . . .

BBA Challenge & Falling Behind

2009-06-29T08:09:00.000-07:00

Top Row (L to R): Challah, Artos Greek Celebration, AnadamaBottom Row (L to R): Jalapeno-Cheese, ABin5, Pane SicilanoWell, I've fallen a bit behind on my Bread Baker's Apprentice Challenge. I was on top if it for week 1 and loved week 2 but that is as far as I have done on my challenge! I've been pretty busy, been out of town and just haven't had the motivation to bake bread, which is very

Bakewell Tart with Lemon Curd (DB)

2009-06-27T07:30:00.000-07:00