Delish Gift Baskets: American Spoon Foods

 I sometime struggle with the gift baskets this time of year. So many sweets flow into our homes that I feel it is nice to have a food gift that can be savored later on. Also, I love to share my favorites from my favorite part of the world.

In the past, we’ve shared Sisson’s Main Street Bakery’s amazing Buckeye Cookies and other goodies and packages of Cherry Republic’sdried cherry products. This year, I found 3 different baskets onAmerican Spoon Foods’ web site that not only do I want to share, but I also want for my own!

Bingo! Easy, elegant, yummy gifts!

First of all the PB & J Perfection Basket with Koeze smooth and crunchy peanut butter. I love that stuff so much my husband once got me a case of it for a Christmas gift! Then the Michigan Wildcraft Collection caught my eye. Wild blackberries, elderflower, raw honey–I could pretend to be a bear and dig into that box.  I also love that local foragers gather these elusive ingredients.

What ended up in my shopping car was the Pick of the Leelanau box. The award winning Leelanau raclette cheese is our family’s all time favorite and when accompanied by a loaf of Stone House bread and strawberry jam I think I’ve found gift box perfection!

Leelanau Raclette gets scarce in the summer. But it is back in stores up north! Woo Hoo!

Yummy for your Tummy Breakfast

I’m getting ready to bake up the traditional German Lebkuchen this morning and I know in my heart that I won’t be able to resist sampling along the way.  With this in mind, I decided I should at least start the morning off on a healthy foot and not just get jazzed on java.  So, I just made and devoured a delicious, quick, warm breakfast of Nutty Maple Quinoa.

Two of the ingredients for my quinoa. I devoured it so quickly I forgot to take a pic of the actual dish!

This is my cousin’s recipe and I must share:

12 oz. package quinoa

2 c water

1/2 c dried cherries, chopped

1/2 c raw almonds, chopped

1 T fresh ground cinnamon

1 T maple syrup

Place one cup quinoa and 2 cups water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. (I used 1/2 c quinoa and 1 c water and it was perfect for a hearty individual breakfast).  Reduce to simmer, cover and cook until all the water is absorbed (10-15 minutes).   Toss in the remaining ingredients and serve as a warm alternative to oatmeal or cereal.

Of course, in real life, one can short cut the recipe by using what is on hand—I had sliced almonds and already ground cinnamon.  I also just drizzled on the maple syrup to taste and sprinkled the cinnamon.  Those of you who free form recipes like I tend to do will recognize yourself.  Those who like to stick to the measurements will also be rewarded with deliciousness!

Recipe Bonus: High Protein Curried Lentil Soup

Nothing is better in the fall than hearty soup.  This recipe is hearty, but oh so healthy!  I found the original recipe on Closet Cooking’s Blog for Curried Red Lentil Soup.  I tweaked this for my own taste buds.  Feel free to do the same!  The recipe is as good or better after a day or two in the refrigerator.

The finished product garnished with plain Greek yogurt and cilantro

High Protein Curried Lentil Soup

Ingredients:

2 T olive oil

3/4 c chopped onion

1 c chopped carrot

1/2 c chopped celery

1 T chopped garlic (used pre-minced or dehydrated if you are in a hurry!)

1 T chopped fresh ginger (again, use the ginger of your choice if looking for convenience–I like frozen cubes I recently found at the co-op)

1 T Curry powder–I use Garam Masala a northern Indian curry blend and Madras Curry Powder–combined to get around 1 T)

1 cup lentils (red are pretty, but any you have are yummy)

3 c chicken stock or veggie broth (additional water added to desired consistency)

1 28 oz. crushed tomatoes

1 T chili sauce (sambal oelek or similar)

1 19 oz. can chick peas (drained and rinsed)

1 c quinoa

salt & pepper to taste

For toppings:

chopped cilantro

Plain greek yogurt

To prepare:

Heat oil in pot you will be cooking the soup in.  Add veggies and saute until tender.  10 minutes or so.

Add the garlic, ginger, and curry.  Stir until veggies are coated.  Smell the deliciousness!

Add the lentils, stock, tomatoes, chili sauce, and quinoa.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until the lentils are tender and the quinoa is cooked.  About 15 minutes.  You may need to add water at this point to make it the desired consistency.

Add chickpeas, salt and pepper and warm up.

Garnish to taste with cilantro and yogurt.  Pat yourself on the back for making a super healthy meal!

Other Cooking Closet Recipes I will be trying soon:

Cheesy Broccoli Quinoa and Roasted Califlower and Aged White Cheddar Gratin–maybe both for Thanksgiving sides?

5 New Favorite LA Restaurants

Here is an somewhat eclectic list of 5 restaurants I just tried in Los Angeles that I highly recommend.  All for different reasons and moods and listed in no particular order:

1.  Axe–On one of my favorite streets on the planet, Abbott Kinney, in Venice, Axe (pronouced a-shay, of course) was a fun, hang out and share good food kind of place.  Although we had a reservation, we waited for awhile in the back courtyard–but I was glad to have done that—it was a serene area away from the more bustling inside..  Depending on the occasion, it might be wise to request a seat out here!  Seated next to the grill, we were almost overcome with hunger smelling the chicken thighs roasting and you better believe we ordered and devoured some of those puppies when our time came!

Empty at 3 pm, but I bet it starts hopping the minute we leave…

2.  Wurstkuche–we visited the one in Venice on Lincoln at around 3 pm.  It was very empty and we were very hungry, so it was a good fit–food was delish and fast and the beer selection almost too vast to decide.  Belgian fries with many dipping sauces, brats of every variety–I had the duck, and Belgian beer.

3.  Ink.  Yes, I am hopping on this band wagon.  After reading reviews, I think there are some haters out there. But we really had an energizing evening, filled with great wine and inventive food.  They do take Open Spoon reservations, which is convenient, but only 14 days in advance.  I actually set a reminder on my calendar as I was planning for my trip!  Glad I did.

Wall art at Wat Dong Moon Lek Noodle

4.  Wag Dong Moon Lek–OK.  If I’m picking favorites and if there is one choice that I will most definitely be repeating it is Wag Dong Moon Lek–a Thai restaurant in Silver Lake.  Don’t let the strip mall fool you!  This place rocks.  The mint lemonade was so refreshing as was the watermelon slushy.  I felt like I was the “meal winner” (do you play that game in your household?) with the Panang Curry.  For $8.99!!!  Seriously.  In LA.  Perhaps the cheapest, most fulfilling meal we had the entire week.  I can’t get the tastes out of my mind!

800 Degrees Pizza near UCLA’s campus. Don’t be afraid of a line out the door. It moves quickly!

5.  800 Degrees Pizza–So many pizza toppings, so little time.  It’s a good thing I don’t live nearby as I would have to try them all!

Fall Meanderings: Goshen, Indiana

I’m not sure what I expected to find on a recent jaunt to Goshen, Indiana, but I guarantee I didn’t expect to find the level of sophistication in the food and shopping offerings!

The Goshen Courthouse on a beautiful fall day.

My best find of the day was a store called “Found.” —All puns intended….

Plan on a good hour or more to explore all of the goodies at Found.

Just read the sign on the store window.  What more could you want?  My friend and I spent well over an hour there, had lunch, did more shopping, then came back and spent another 45 minutes.  I still don’t feel like I absorbed all of the interesting details and stories that are associated with the items in the store.  After leaving and unwrapping my purchases at home, I felt as if I’d been on an overseas adventure and was bringing home souvenirs!

Interior of Found. Transported me to China, Cambodia, Ethiopia. Not what I expected in Goshen!

Notice the icons in the picture above.  These are handpainted and came from Bulgaria, as did some amazing metal boxes.  The craftsman creates these boxes for the Bulgarian National Museum in Sofia and also for the Graber family, the proprietors of Found.

Another interior shot. Words just cannot describe the depth of the offerings here. Pictures help!

 Found is also a venue for the Graber family art.  Ten Graber family members contribute, including sister Jane who makes the most detailed miniature stoneware which is wheel thrown and hand painted.

Jane’s pottery displayed by one of those amazing icons.

Next up was lunch!  In our brief, didn’t even scratch the surface, day, we discovered two great spots for lunch.  Word of warning—they close early!  Kelly Jae’s Cafe closes at 1 pm at lunch time and Venturi’s pizza was luckily open just slightly later.  I know we missed out by not making it to Kelly Jae’s in time, but the silver lining was the amazing pizza of the day at Venturi’s–a fig paste, goat cheese, Gorgonzola, prosciutto, arugula, balasamic, truffle oil, and walnut delight!

This is what we missed by dawdling at Found. Next time!

But this is the delish pizza we ate. Happy mistake!

Goshen is ripe for a return trip.  I would love to go back and explore the antique mall again–where I found a few items I collect and a few more that I might start collecting.  Also, the Old Bag Factory is always a destination.  Next time!!!

Latest Jewelry Designs

Melani Wilson Designs started as a jewelry design business 9 years ago.  I started making earrings for family and friends and one thing led to another and I found myself managing 5 part time employees and not having the time to do the fun parts of my business.  Web orders led to despair instead of excitement.  Making the same product over and over was sucking out my soul.  So, I took a brief hiatus and regrouped.  I found that I still really do enjoy making and designing jewelry.  When I see someone wearing one of my designs, I am proud and happy that someone else appreciates my work.

Talking me out of my hiatus was a wonderful customer who wanted 23 necklaces.  How could I turn that order down?  Then I decided to participate in the Leland Art Fair again with my cousin.  Now, I’m making orders as they come in and making items for my own use–be it gifts or donations or to wear myself!

Here are some of my latest creations:

This beauty adjusts to wear at a choker length or 36″. I must admit I’ve been wearing it myself! Gray Pearls, Labordite, African trade beads.

Mixed it up with metal and leather. Pendant is aquamarine, freshwater pearl, labordite.

An order for a great customer. I need to make up a 9 pearl bracelet for myself with gray freshwater pearls and dark brown leather. It’s on the to do list!

4 strand necklace with biwi pearls, copper trade beads, pink freshwater pearls, and rose quartz. It’s pink, but it’s tough!

Corktown, Detroit, Michigan

I don’t always follow Martha Stewart’s advice.  When I have, I usually get frustrated—the projects always take longer than billed, the food is not as yummy as predicted—I’m just “off” when it comes to Martha.

But this weekend, I found myself following almost every word of a travel article published in a recent Martha Stewart Living about the Corktown neighborhood of Detroit.  To be more specific, Meghan McEwen was the author and she was spot on with her advice.

 “Our” block in Corktown. It didn’t take long to feel like a local.

Getting there was half the fun, as we stopped in Ann Arbor, Michigan at Zingerman’s Deli and Bake Shop.  The kale and prosciutto salad was inspired as was my BLT–made even more awesome with a slice of cheddar cheese.  Burnt sugar gelato for dessert was like eating the best part of a creme brulee.

On to Detroit and our stay in Corktown, a neighborhood established in the 1830s.  We spent the weekend in Meghan’s apartment known as Honor & Folly.  So fun to be part of the neighborhood–by the second morning the guys at Astro Coffee knew what kind of coffee my husband preferred and that I was a black tea kind of gal–but sometimes hot and sometimes iced.

The view from “my” spot on “my” couch at Honor & Folly

 We shopped a bit–Hello Records where we scored some Motown and vintage rock vinyl and Rachel’s Place–a 3 story vintage clothing store.  The proprietors of both places were nice as could be.  While the men’s section of Rachel’s was small, it was mighty, so guys have something to do while we women folk scour the rest of the place.

Slows BBQ, owned by Meghan’s brother-in-law, was scrumptious.  Staying at Honor & Folly allowed us to get a reservation for our small party and we were very happy to waltz right in and start digging in to the gumbo, tempura catfish, brisket enchiladas, baby back ribs, St. Louis ribs, pulled pork, mac & cheese, cornbread, mashed sweet potatoes, and black beans.  A great menu of micro brews topped it all off!  It was all we could do to walk back up the stairs to our weekend pied-a-terre.

I’m completely obsessed with this coffee shop. I will miss it tomorrow morning when I get up!

We left plenty to do for our next trip in.  Sugar House bar was next door and looked intriguing and I’d like to check out the used and rare book store recommended in the article, John K. King Used & Rare Books.  Detroit has other areas to explore as well–Greektown, a great art museum, and many other restaurants (we did hit Roast, a Michael Symon place, downtown–very yummy too!).  And from the looks of the posters and signs around Corktown, there is also a thriving art scene.

So true….

We’ll be back Detroit!  It’s been too long…..

Photography Apps

I’m kind of on a technology jag on my blog lately.  Really though, when technology makes our lives more fun or easier somehow, I am a huge fan!  I personally love hearing about what others are using and liking.  Some word of mouth editing of the choices is always a good thing.

In fact, the first thing I did when I got my very first iPhone was ask my daughter for her recommendations for good photography apps.  Right off the bat she suggested Hipstamatic.

One of my favorite Hipstamatic photos ever. On the way to Sundance UT.

Another Hipstamatic shot. Same location. I just shook my iPhone and it mixed everything up! I have no idea how I did this!

I still love Hipstamatic, but I’m not fully versed in all of the filters, films, etc.  I just like to shake my phone and take multiple pics of the same thing and see what I get.  Kind of an experiment.

Instagram has its uses, but I must admit that I don’t need one more social site to manage.  Maybe I should explore its uses and report back.

My favorite, favorite is ShakeItPhoto.  This app acts like a Poloroid camera.  You even shake your phone to watch your picture “develop.”  The light quality it gives is very nice.  Almost always makes a photo look better.  Also, it saves two pictures—the original that you can manipulate in your iPhoto and the Poloroid version.  I like cropping the Poloroid version and ending up with just an equal white border all around.

Exterior of Cathedral of Christ the Savior, Moscow. The same church where the band was arrested for hooliganism earlier this year.

360 Panorama is also fun.  Especially for landscapes or amazing buildings or just plain old big things.

Last but not least is Camera!  Or Camera Awesome.  So much sharing.  So  many features.  So little time.  I must explore some more of the amazing features of this app.  Really, you could spend all day.  I like the little pixie dust feature that let’s you “awesome-ize” photos with a tap of a finger. The running commentary is too funny.   Also, I love the sharing features.  Easy peasey.

Hall of Portraits–awesomized by Camera Awesome! Tsarskoye Selo (Pushkin), 25 km south-east of St. Petersburg, Russia

Fitbit–The Zip Wireless Activity Tracker

I bought a Fitbit awhile back and loved it!  It loved me back–said hello to me and offered encouragement–yes I know it is a little mechanical device, but every little bit counts, right?  I loved how it seamlessly integrated with the MyFitnessPal app and the Fitbit app.  A great tool for recognizing where you can improve with health and fitness and a great, entertaining way to stay on track.

I was having such good luck with my original model and then, one day, I lost it!  I was traveling when it happened and I really wanted to see how many miles we were hoofing it every day.

Today, I decided to replace it–I figured I’d done enough penance and I’d saved my pennies to get a new one–they aren’t the cheapest pedometers on the planet.  Lo and behold there is a new model and a much more reasonable price!  The Zip!!!!  It seems that the only feature it doesn’t have is the sleep monitor.  I’m OK with that as I sleep like a baby.

If you already use Fitbit and any apps, let me know which ones you like.  I’d love to hear from you!

Official Fitbit Store – Welcome.

Recent Faves: iPhone Apps for Dining

What iPhone apps do you reach for over and over again?  What ones really do help and make your life better or easier or more entertaining?

Here are some of my faves in the dining department.  I used these all regularly:

1.  OpenTable:  Makes life so easy.  Really.  If you have ever needed to make reservations for a trip and the time zones are different.  If you want to see all of your choices for a particular date and time all at once and not have to call multiple restaurants, Open Table does the trick.  One of my #1 most used apps.  It would be a crying shame if you have a smart phone and don’t have this app.

2.  LocalEats:  If you don’t know much about the restaurants in a locale and want to make some decisions based on category, Local Eats is a great tool.  I love knowing what the top breakfast place might be in a given city. I’m going to Detroit soon and know nothing about the food scene there.  Local Eats is helping me narrow it down.

An example of the types of categorization happening on Local Eats

3.  Map Muse–D, D, & D.  This app is a special interest map locater that finds all of the restaurants viewed on “Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.”  A friend recommended it and said they did some good eating on a family vacation driving down to Florida.  I plan on giving it a work out over the next 18 months as we hit the road visiting colleges with our son.

Image viafoodnetwork.com

4 & 5. Speciality apps–Starbucks and In n Out.  Both these apps help me when I need it–Starbucks locates stores for me, allows me to pay on my phone and re-load my card while I wait in line, keep track of the complex drink favorites of various friends.  It’s all good.  In N Out is also a locater and it’s free and you never know where you might be and need to know the closest route to a classic burger!  Plus check out the “not so secret” menu.  An urban legend debunked.

6.  Yelp.  Last but not least.  Yelp does help to narrow it all down!  Some great restaurants don’t have web sites, but Yelp can let you know what diners think.  Restaurants are just a small part of its knowledge base.

Download these now if you are human and you enjoy eating.  They will only add to your enjoyment!