Sunday, March 31, 2013

March Playlist

Drinking: Tea
Listening: Say Hi To Your Mom 

Ah yes, the end of the month. Time is the only thing I regret and it's because I never use it as wisely as I should. Enjoy this list of tracks for March!



horrible crows // Jesus brought us together
tegan & sara // closer
atlas genious // if so
passion pit // take a walk
muse // madness
maclemore // thriftshop
chet faker // no diggity
are you gonna be my girl // jet
dancing in the moonlight // king harvest
gone gone gone // phillip phillips
like Jesus does // eric church



What are you listening to this month? I would love to hear about your playlists!



Shalom



Monday, March 25, 2013

Music Monday

Drinking: Water
Listening: Miles Davis

I'm just being thankful today. Enjoy. :)



Monday, March 18, 2013

Music Monday

Drinking: Peppermint Tea
Listening: Muse

I love Monday mornings. I know that's strange. I really enjoy mornings in general, but Monday's are fantastic. Here's to a lovely Monday morning and a great week!

 
What are you jammin' out to today?
 
Shalom

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

What I'm Reading

Drinking:
Listening:

I am loving this series. That's all! Happy Wednesday!

 
Shalom

Monday, March 11, 2013

Music Monday

Drinking: Coffee
Listening: Muse

Happy Monday! Check out these songs! I'm really loving Muse's new single. It's going to be on my wedding playlist for sure. 


What are you listening to today?

Shalom

Saturday, March 9, 2013

Blue Cheese Crackers with Heirloom Tomato Tapenade

I put out the call for a guest blogger and the lovely Erica from Baubles & Bites answered! She's an amazing cook and here is her first offering! It looks delicious!


My name is Erica from Baubles & Bites and I am 25. I have been actively cooking for about six years now, something that was born out of necessity. That necessity grew into a full blown passion and I’ve never looked back. When I saw Margeaux’s post about guest bloggers I was excited to send out an email enquiry. The more we talked about post ideas, the more excited I became. The hard became narrowing it down.

Then came the storm and with that the epiphany. Something at once cozy and fresh befitting both time spent curled under a blanket with a favorite book as well as an evening spent with friends. It needed to be something as delicious as it was simple to prepare. Which meant turning to Nigella Lawson for some inspiration.

And thus, here is the recipe for Blue Cheese Crackers with Heirloom Tomato Tapenade. As an added bonus, if you to use something along the lines of Cashel Blue (an Irish blue cheese) these would be thematically perfect for a St. Patrick’s Day appetizer.
These crackers are addicting in their shortbread-like consistency and hint of blue cheese spice. Paired with the fresh brightness of the tapenade and I could probably polish off a whole batch in a single sitting. The key here is in the ingredients. There are so few in the making of these crackers that the flavor of each stands out. Especially that of the blue cheese.

Nigella’s recommendation of Cashel Blue in hand, the cheese monger steered me towards Saint Agur Blue. From Cheese.com, “Saint Agur is a blue cheese made from pasteurized cow's milk in the village of Beauzac from the mountainous French region of Auvergne. It is not as salty as a traditional blue cheese, but is rich and buttery with a subtle spicy taste.” If you’re having trouble finding either cheese, look for something that falls on the creamier side of the blue cheese family. Hard crumbles won’t blend well with the butter.

Blue Cheese Crackers
Adapted from How to Be a Domestic Goddess by Nigella Lawson.

¾ cup blue cheese
½ cup (or one stick) unsalted butter at room temperature
1 egg yolk
¾ cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup cornmeal
Egg wash

Cream together the cheese, butter, and egg yolk until well mixed and smooth in texture. Stir in the flour and cornmeal, being careful not to over mix. As soon as soft dough forms, stop mixing. Turn out the dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap and lightly knead as necessary to ensure the flour is equally worked in. Form a disk with the dough and wrap to refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. This dough is a sticky one so leave it in to chill a while longer if it still isn’t feeling firm.

While the dough is chilling preheat the oven to 400°F. Dust your rolling surface generously with flour and some extra cornmeal. This is also the ideal time to prep the tapenade (recipe below). Once the dough is done chilling, roll out to a ¼ inch thickness. You can use any small cookie cutter you like or as I did here use a sharp knife to cut out 1” squares. Lay out crackers on a parchment covered baking sheet and lightly brush with the egg wash (1 beaten egg and a splash of water). Bake for approximately 12 minutes or until golden brown and slightly puffy. This recipe makes about 30 crackers.
This tapenade was born out of the idea that every cracker needs a dip. And with the saltiness of the blue cheese the brightness of the tomatoes serves as the perfect compliment. This is similar to a salsa and you can play with it as such. Some finely diced onions would be lovely if you’re looking to add a little more spice.

Heirloom Tomato Tapenade

2 large heirloom tomatoes
1 handful of fresh flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
1 scant tsp. sea salt
Pepper to taste

Dice the tomatoes in large, even chunks and toss into a bowl slightly larger than the volume of tomato you have. Stir in the parsley, being careful not to mash the tomatoes. Stir in salt and pepper to taste. For me this meant just under a teaspoon of my favorite grey sea salt and 2 grinds of pepper. Chill for at least half an hour prior to serving.
To arrange as an appetizer for entertaining sandwich a single parsley leaf between two pieces of the tomato right before guests arrive to maintain the crispness of the cracker.

A huge thank you to Margeaux for allowing me to share here today. I had a blast putting these recipes together for you all and I hope you enjoying making them when you get the chance!

Shalom

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

What I'm Reading

Drinking: Mint Tea
Listening: Atlas Genius

I can't get enough of this series. Breezed through the first book and just started the second! 


Are you reading anything today?

Shalom

Monday, March 4, 2013

White Flame.

Drinking: 
Listening:

This past weekend Jordan & I went to White Flame with Peter & Liz. Such a simple, yet super fun, double date! They had come over for dinner (Thanks for the Chili, Peter!) and then helped with wedding invites. I couldn't be more thankful for friends who care. 





We played darts. Guys against girls, of courses. Peter & Jordan beat Liz & I, but don't worry... Our time is coming!

Shalom

Music Monday

Drinking: Almond Milk
Listening: Guster

Just a little what I'm listening to today.. I love all of these songs. Hope your Monday is absolutely lovely!

Shalom

Sunday, March 3, 2013

Beacuse you asked... :)

Drinking: Fizzy Water
Listening: The Rescues

Drinking: Water
Listening: City & Color

The lovely couple over at Brewed Together mentioned wanting to hear more about me playing the guitar. This is old, but my sister has a lovely voice, so I thought it would be great to post. Our voices blend so well together. 

Hopefully you'll forgive the terrible quality. Sally & I just wanted to sing a little, so the song cuts in and out and there's chit chat in the middle. :) I don't play for people often, so enjoy!

Shalom
Drinking: Water
Listening: The Horrible Crows

Just a little something for your Sunday Morning. :)


Shalom

Saturday, March 2, 2013

Girl time downtown.

Drinking: Almond Milk
Listening: Adele

This past weekend some of the high school ladies and leaders went out to ice skate in Grand Rapids. What a great time! I'm terrible at ice skating, but it was still a lot of fun.







I hope you all a lovely Saturday evening!

Shalom

Small things.

Listening: Bob Dylan
Drinking: Water


Just some things I'm loving today...
1. Craft supply haul I did earlier this week.
2. Packages filled full of bird seed for my wedding.

Shalom

Saturday Morning.

Drinking: Almond Milk
Listening: Florence + The Machine


1. Grapefruit
2. Oatmeal
3. Almond Milk



Jordan and I are getting more engagement pictures taken today by Elysa & Matt. I can't wait. We're getting lunch with them at a pizza place downtown and then taking cute pictures. It's going to be so much fun. Have a lovely morning!

Shalom

Friday, March 1, 2013

5 Things I Love #16

Drinking: Water
Listening: Modest Mouse



1. I use chalkboard paint on everything. 
2. The Mitten State makes adorable mugs. 
3. I love this Ikea throw blanket. 
4. These little tins from Ikea are supa cute!
5. Alphabet stamps are my favorite right now. 

Happy Friday evening everyone! I love that the sun is still out by the time I get out of work. It's amazing. I hope your night's are lovely!

Shalom