A rainy day is the perfect time for a walk in the woods. ~Rachel Carson
A rainy day is the perfect time for a walk in the woods. ~Rachel Carson
How about lunch? Want to try that Pho place?
This month I’d like you to meet Tracy Benjamin the blogger, pod-caster, photographer, and cook behind the truly excellent website Shutterbean.
She never fails to inspire. I highly recommend checking out her blog!
And Spring arose on the garden fair,
Like the Spirit of Love felt everywhere;
And each flower and herb on Earth’s dark breast
rose from the dreams of its wintry rest.
~Percy Bysshe Shelley, “The Sensitive Plant”
I mentioned a while ago that we got a subscription to Julibox. It’s been so much fun! Once a month we receive the fixings to make a new seasonal cocktail dreamed up my their genius mixologists.
Last month we tried cocktails that were mixed with wine. This one I sipped and was astonished to note it tastes very like Sangria, but fancier! Let’s get mixing.
Juli’s Sangria
In a shaker full of ice add:
3/4 oz. fresh Orange Juice
1 oz. or the juice of half a Lemon
1 3/4 oz. Licor 43
2 oz. Cabernet Sauvignon (the cheap kind)
3/4 oz. Brandy
Shake until very cold
Serve in a coupe glass or wine glass
If you’re making a large amount for a party, up the measurements from ounces to cups. Combine and refrigerate.
Pomme de Terre Tarte
3/4 lb. Fingerling Potatoes
1 tablespoon Olive Oil
1 tablespoon Butter
Salt & Pepper
1/2 cup crumbled Blue Cheese
1 sheet frozen Puff Pastry
1 tablespoon fresh Thyme and Rosemary
Egg Wash (Whisk: 1 egg + 1 tablespoon water)
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
Thaw the puff pastry and place onto a piece of parchment paper, then pop it back into the fridge to stay cold until time to bake the tart.
Slice the potatoes into 1/4 inch coins. Heat an oven safe skillet with a lid on the stove at medium heat. Add the butter and olive oil.
Add the potatoes in a single layer into the pan and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Cover with the lid and allow the potatoes to steam and cook through, about 7-10 minutes. Stir occasionally so they brown evenly.
Test with the tip of a knife, when they are soft in the middle, take the pan off the heat.
Sprinkle the cheese over the top of the potatoes and add half the herbs.
Lay the puff pastry over the potatoes and cheese and, tuck in the overlapping corners into the skillet. Brush the top of the pastry with the egg wash.
Place the skillet into the oven and bake for 20 minutes.
Remove from the oven and allow to rest for about 5 minutes.
Place a piece of parchment paper onto a sheet or pizza pan.
Turn the tart out onto the sheet pan by placing the pan upside down on top of the skillet and carefully (remember your skillet is still hot) flipping the whole thing over. The crust side is now on the bottom and the potato side is facing up.
Sprinkle with the remaining herbs.
If you’d like to crisp up the edge of the crust or melt more cheese over the tart you can place it under the broiler for 2 minutes.
Serve in wedges with a green salad.
Animals are such agreeable friends – they ask no questions, they pass no criticisms. ~George Eliot
15 month old Kaden experiences rain for the first time. Heart melting, beautiful.
Hollow City by Ransom Riggs
“Some truths are expressed best in the form of myth.”
“Strange, I thought, how you can be living your dreams and your nightmares at the very same time.”
Concealed in Death by J.D. Robb
“In a decrepit, long-empty New York building, Lieutenant Eve Dallas’s husband begins the demolition process by swinging a sledgehammer into a wall. When the dust clears, there are two skeletons wrapped in plastic behind it. He summons his wife immediately—and by the time she’s done with the crime scene, there are twelve murders to be solved.”
How To Be a Woman by Caitlin Moran
“We need to reclaim the word ‘feminism’. We need the word ‘feminism’ back real bad. When statistics come in saying that only 29% of American women would describe themselves as feminist – and only 42% of British women – I used to think, What do you think feminism IS, ladies? What part of ‘liberation for women’ is not for you? Is it freedom to vote? The right not to be owned by the man you marry? The campaign for equal pay? ‘Vogue’ by Madonna? Jeans? Did all that good shit GET ON YOUR NERVES? Or were you just DRUNK AT THE TIME OF THE SURVEY?”
Don’t knock the weather; nine-tenths of the people couldn’t start a conversation if it didn’t change once in a while. ~Kin Hubbard
Kathleen Rear 