Kanelbullar and brick paths

I've been listening to a bit of autumn-themed music lately. Blue skies are gently turning to overcast; wind gusts take fleeting breaks in exchange for calm.
What is your favorite autumn music? Magnolia Electric Company has always been a favorite, but lately I have been enamored with the Swell Season.  So good :)

Below, a photo taken with my phone while taking a coffee break (fika!) from work. The coffee shop is on a corner of a street in a small town where we live, and for some reason we chose a busy time to sit outdoors, as so many cars were moving about and people were driving like chickens with their heads cut off. It was a bit stressful to watch!

This week has been incredibly busy (worked through the entire weekend, putting in 12 and 14 hour days in a row) and it's finally starting to calm down a bit.

 The photo below is of kanelbullar, a Swedish coffee roll. Sadly, they were made from a box, not from scratch. But we bought the mix at Ikea, and when we made them it smelled just like Ikea. So perfect for a fall day. They were very good, especially with a cup of strong coffee, sitting by an open window with a sleeping dog warming your feet.

I think there is a theme starting on this blog: coffee and food. And autumnal things. Oh, if it could be autumn all year round, I would die happy.

A recipe and a picture.

Recently at home we have been experimenting with new dishes to make our meals more interesting. Yesterday we received 10 pounds of organic soba noodles from Amazon (about fifty percent cheaper than buying it in the store) and were surprised to see that they came loose, in a thick plastic bag. It was funny especially since I joked prior to opening the package that we had received one giant 10 pound soba noodle. After divvying them up into 5 - 2 pound ziplock bags we decided to make yakisoba that evening for dinner. I could pinch myself for not taking a photo of the end result, but let's just say it was really delicious! The soba are meaty and satisfying, and the vegetables we used were perfect crunchy additions to the dish.

Here is the basic recipe:

2 carrots, julienned
1 onion, diced
1/2 bell pepper, julienned
1 cup chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 generous handful of romain lettuce leaves cut crosswise in 1/2 inch wide slivers. (We substituted Cabbage for this. It was great!)
1/2 cup sauce (see recipe below)
8 oz. cooked soba noodles

For the sauce:
We actually used a homemade soy-ginger dressing that I had made the night before for a salad. It was the perfect blend of flavors: (And please note: this makes a lot of sauce. You could use it as a marinade for chicken; for salad dressing; for another few nights of yakisoba, etc. OR you could halve or quarter the recipe.)

3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger root
3/4 cup olive oil
1/3 cup rice vinegar
1/2 cup soy sauce (I used Tamari)
3 tablespoons honey
1/4 cup water


In a 1 pint glass jar or larger, combine the garlic, ginger, olive oil, rice vinegar, soy sauce, honey, and water. Cover the jar with a tight fitting lid, and shake well. Remove lid, and heat jar in the microwave for 1 minute just to dissolve the honey. Let cool, and shake well before serving. Store covered in the refrigerator.

(Source for dressing here.)


Cook Soba as per instructions, to al dente. Rinse with cold water and drain.
Meanwhile, saute the vegetables (sans lettuce) in a bit of neutral oil such as canola till softened. Add sauce, stir and cook a minute or two. Then add lettuce and wilt for a few minutes.
Finally, add the soba and stir till warmed. Serve hot or cold (the next day it's great too!). This serves two hungry people for dinner.

Since I haven't shown you any photos of the final product (again, my apologies), here is another picture of an entirely different meal. Definitely not as tasty, but serves as a very enjoyable lunch: hard-boiled eggs and ramen with tamari, brown sugar, garlic, ginger, sesame oil. So good.

here.

Im here, I promise!  Things have been hectic but I really want this blog to continue.  So a few things:

1. I really really really want to subscribe to this magazine.  I think I have to start saving my pennies.

2. We've been cooking. A lot. Last night we had a "mini thanksgiving" that was delicious. No pictures of that (too hungry!!) but here are some photos of things I have made recently.  I like how autumn-y they feel. 

Deliciousness.

And what do you know? I'm back!  The threat of impending rain and thunderstorms has made it a bit cooler around these parts, so I'm happily typing away as the fan is directed straight at me.

So let's get to the point of this post: I have a fantastic recipe to share.  A few weeks ago I found the amazing website Farm House Table which, along with amazing photos, contains some of the best recipes I have ever made + eaten.

My husband (Mr. W) and I decided to try the zucchini paparadelle recipe one night a few weeks ago.  It was one of the easiest meals to put together, and it was so delicious. I am relatively new to using goat cheese in recipes, but now I am hooked.  Definitely give this recipe a try if you want a wonderful late spring/early summer type dish.

Also, a cute side note that has nothing to do with the above - this morning after my run I saw a bunny lying on its side relaxing in the cool grass! We scared him with our footsteps, but it was adorable! I've never seen a wild bunny like that before!




Photos above by me.

Dinner and drawing.

A deviation from the norm today; a photo with food as the subject. Let me tell you, this is one of the best dinner combinations I have tried as a person with a non-dairy, meat-free (almost) diet. It consists of roasted brussel sprouts (a little oil, salt and pepper, 400 degrees for 10-15 minutes, stirring once midway through cooking time), Vegetarian sloppy joe mix (I use fantastic brand, and I follow the recipe for "Mama's Sloppy Joes" which is the following (from their website :

1 package Fantastic World FoodsTM Sloppy Joe Mix
1 Tbsp butter or olive oil
½ medium white onion, chopped
¼ cup chopped fresh basil (I didn't have any so this ingredient was omitted)
¼ cup diced tomatoes (I used diced tomatoes with chipotle peppers from Whole Foods)
2 Tbsp Woodstock Farms® Organic Brown Sugar
3 Tbsp chili powder (I used 1 Tbsp.)

1. Prepare Fantastic World Foods Sloppy Joe Mix according to package instructions. 2. In a sauté pan, heat 1 Tbsp butter or olive oil. 3. Add chopped onion and let caramelize for approximately 2 minutes at medium heat. 4. Add brown sugar, chili powder, basil, and prepared Fantastic World Foods Sloppy Joe Mix. 5. Place mixture on buns of your choice.

We didn't use typical buns as they contain dairy, so we used soft tortillas. So, so good.

The final piece to this meal was vegan potato salad. I simply used small baby red skin potatoes that I parboiled for 10 minutes. In a bowl I mixed 1/2 cup veganaise, 3 tbsp. apple cider vinegar, 1 tsp (appx) sugar and salt and pepper. I also cut up part of a red onion and 2 stalks of celery. Mix all ingredients together and let sit in the refrigerator for 4 or 5 hours, or overnight.

So that's my spiel on the food that makes my stomach growl, in a good way. On to the drawings:

I have recently established a routine for myself to follow daily. I think I have discovered I work best with structure (as most humans do, I assume) and in order for me to be successful I have to chart out what my day should look like so that I actually get things done.

So far, it is working out well. The above is what drawings I did this morning. Most of what I work on is based off of photographs I have taken, but I want to try to get away from that and make art that is more imagination-based.