A Few of My Favorite Things...

I am also working on spending more time baking this summer - taking advantage of our kitchen's focal point, the beautiful red KitchenAid mixer that has not (yet) received the loving attention it deserves! Today's project: to concoct a magnificent pistachio muffin that is as delicious as its inspiration! My friend Bert introduced us to the great pistachio muffins at Magnificent Muffins in Somerville and I've been meaning to see if I can create a version equal to the task! The bad news: This one is not quite there... a bit salty and no classic muffin-tops to be found... so I will keep working (if I can afford the pistachios)! The good news: Silicone cups are AWESOME! I love this low-mess, low-fuss solution to small baked goods and plan to use them again and again.

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One of my newly discovered great pleasures of summer is growing your own ingredients to put into fresh concoctions like this, Strawberry-Rhubarb pie! I actually can't take any credit for the rhubarb... it was one of the things we inherited in our tiny garden... lovingly planted by some previous resident. And this year, we decided to uproot it in favor of using the precious remaining space for some other lucky plant, so this photo is a tribute to that little rhubarb... this pie the last of its fruit!

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This is one of my favorite pictures. Chilly English garden at sunset. There's so much love and care in this little shed, and so much of the charm of my grandparents' home. I imagine it in full bloom in the summer and it makes me smile.  

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I took a lot of pictures in Germany, but most of them were of my brand new little niece - such a camera magnet! But I did manage to sneak in a few shots of food, and here's one of my favorites. Simple, but delicious with a cold pint in the middle of Marienplatz on a beautiful (but chilly) day! Prost!

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This is a picture of breakfast. The most exotic breakfast I've had in a long time. My sister-in-law's Bulgarian cheesecake! Or at least I think it's Bulgarian! I didn't get to watch her make it (she was up several hours before I!) but I think it's actually made with a cottage-cheese like dairy, rather than a solid cream cheese. The spots throughout are blobs of cocoa infused cheesecake batter. It was even more delicious than it looks. This is a recipe I'll be requesting - just love the effect!!

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We have this place down the street that serves up one of my favorite guilty pleasures - a great sink-your-teeth-in meatball sub! But, believe it or not, I'd never made one myself. So, last month, I was determined to give it a shot. My favorite takeaway from this recipe was a small detail that really added to the overall effect - carving out a little tunnel down the length of each side of the roll, so the meatballs have a channel to sink into. And the melted mozzarella cheese broiled on top didn't hurt either...

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My sister recently introduced me to the wonders of vodka penne. I'd heard about cooking with vodka, and I've cooked with my share of liquors, but I was shocked to find that lo and behold... vodka sauce actually contained, well, vodka! Anyway, cooked a huge batch the other night and it lasted us near the full week, good sustenance during the first big blizzard!

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Near our final night in Paris, we took another boat tour - this time down the Seine, where we caught the evening lights on the Eiffel Tower at the end of the cruise. Isn't it romantic?

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... a collage of highlights from our trip!

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This was our view our first night in Paris! We stayed just a night in the Marais neighborhood and spent the day exploring famous sights around every corner. Jet-lagged though we were, we lapsed into a temporary lifestyle of rich meals, mid-afternoon naps, and long, sensational walks. Ahh, vacation!

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Okay, folks! Finally clearing out the backlog on my first free Saturday in months! We finally took a long-awaited vacation to Europe last fall and here was a news-plastered window we saw in Bruges, Belgium. This town really impressed me - sometimes called "the Venice of the North," it is set upon a series of winding canals with a beautiful, ornate market square at the outcomes of just as many winding cobbled lanes. Famous for its lace and chocolate, Bruges did not disappoint and we saw plenty of both! We also partook of a canal boat-ride, one of our favorite things to do when traveling in a new city, because you get such a different view (from below) of all the architectural elements. Two very enthusiastic thumbs up!

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We celebrated our first anniversary with an extended few days of good food, great times, and anticipation of our upcoming vacation! I'm a lucky girl!

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More adventures in international cuisine! Several weeks ago we tried Thai night! I'm not sure if it was just us or if this is common in Thai cooking, but the recipes we chose shared many more ingredients than I expected - notably Fish Sauce and Peanut Butter! Oh, the peanut butter! Menu included Satay Chicken, Fresh Rolls, Massaman Curry, Tom Yum Soup, Thai Chicken Pizza, and... the icing on the... Coconut Cake! Always a good meal - always better company.

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With all the spare tomatoes we have in our house lately (no implication of gardening skills there, but rather, a good samaritan who regularly drops grocery bags of his harvest off on our doorstep), I have taken to making snacks like this on the weekends. It's amazing what you can do with bread, onions, tomatoes, and olive oil. I think there are a few other things in there two, but this is a great whatever-you-have-in-the-refrigerator type recipe. Broil for 5 minutes - presto!

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