- sidewalks & sea salt -

Treats for Holiday Giving

2009-12-21T22:01:00.000-05:00

Ginger Pear Jam courtesy of the Vegetarian Times.

bone machine

2009-12-20T09:03:00.001-05:00

http://www.myspace.com/bonemachinesound

and then there was music

2009-12-12T14:26:00.001-05:00

bone machine

Keep an ear out.

This Tart Takes the Cake (by Gluten Free Storm)

2009-10-10T15:51:00.002-04:00

An apple recipe, as promised. I have never made my own crust before. You will NEED a food processor for the crust and filling portions of this recipe.

I really felt quite proud of this one. I am including my personal Gluten Free flour blend that I use for most recipes. I don't like buying the pre-mixed package.

Enjoy!

Gluten Free Apple Cream Cheese Tart

CRUST Ingredients
1 cup gluten free flour blend (add 3/4 tsp. xanthan gum if not in mix)
*1/2 cup brown rice flour
*1/3 cup sweet sorghum flour
*1/3 cup tapioca flour
*1/3 cup almond four
*1 cup powdered sugar
*20 gluten free gingersnap cookies (I used Mi-Del brand)
*1/2 cup COLD unsalted butter, cut into small pieces.

FILLING Ingredients
*1 8oz package of cream cheese
*1/4 cup sugar
*1 large egg
*1 tsp vanilla

TOPPING Ingredients
*1/4 cup sugar
*2 tsp ground ginger
*1 tsp "pumpkin pie spice"
*1/2 tsp cinnamon
*2 tsp candied ginger, finely chopped
*4 cups Gala apples (about 4 apples) peeled and cut into 1/4 inch slices
*1/2 cup sliced almonds

DIRECTIONS
** Preheat Oven to 400F

CRUST
1. In a food processor pulse together gingersnaps, flour and powdered sugar until it reaches a flour-like consistency (no big cookie chunks!)
2. Add the COLD butter pieces slowly and pulse until blended well.
3. Press crust mixture, evenly, into a tart or pie pan (press into all the edges.)
4. Cover with plastic wrap and toss in the fridge while making the filling.

FILLING
1. With the food processor, blend together the cream cheese and sugar
2. Add the egg and vanilla and blend until creamy, smooth.
3. Evenly spread the filling evenly across the crust (hello rubber spatula!)
4. Cover with wrap again and put the filled crust back in the fridge

TOPPING
1. Mix sugar and spices in large bowl.
2. Add apple slices and mix til apples are evenly coated
3. Add candied ginger and mix till evenly dispersed
4. Pour over the filled crust (I swear it will look pretty even if you don't make a pretty apple spiral... just pour it on there!)
5. Sprinkle with sliced almonds
6. Bake at 400F for 30-35 minutes
7. Let stand 20 mins then put in fridge for 15.

SERVE IT UP!

Here is my all time fave gluten free blog:
http://glutenfreegirl.blogspot.com/

Happy weekend!

Pb&j: it's NOT kid stuff

2009-10-09T16:00:00.003-04:00

Alright! I saw at least 8 of you people on Facebook posting about the delicious PB&J you had for lunch the other day. THIS is the stuff that makes me happy. I'm all for embracing the inner kid... its good for us, for lots of reasons, but THIS is really GOOD for us, skin to bones, does-a-body-good, GOOD! (for wallets too!)

I will, however, ask you to skip the Skippy, Smuckers, and Wonder White... hear me out!

Here is my NEW classic PB&J recipe:

-Spelt Bread (though a form of sprouted wheat, lots of people with wheat/gluten allergies can tolerate Spelt aka ME) $4.59
-Trader Joe's Organic Creamy Peanut Butter (Salted please): $1.79
-Nature's Promise Organic Concord Grape Jelly (I'm talking NO High Fructose-Schmuctose): $2.29

$8.67 for more than 9 sandwiches!

The Facts
Calories 290 (!!)
Total fat 7.5g (!!!)
Carbs 45.5g (Balance people! Carb-counting sucks! It's LUNCH-get over it and have a salad for dinner)
Sugar 14g
Dietary Fiber 3g (yes!)
Protein 10.5g (This will naturally help your body breakdown and assimilate the carbs and sugar!!!!)

The break down:

2 slices of bread is 140 calories, 0.5 fat grams, 30 Carb grams, 2 grams fiber (whoo-hoo!), 2 grams sugar, and 6 protein grams.

Peanut Butter: Let's assume you put 1 table spoon of peanut butter on your sandwich (that's a fair amount for a good pb to j ratio... though I have been known to want to glue my mouth shut with pb and beg for soy milk). That's 100 calories, 7 fat grams, 3.5 Carb grams, 1 gram fiber (double whoo-hoo!), 1 gram sugar, and 4.5 protein grams.

Jelly time: Slap 1 table spoon of jelly on there (for balance's sake) That's 50 calories, ZERO fat grams, 12 Carb grams, 12 grams sugar, and 4% of your daily IRON!

So do it! Say hi to that kid in there and have a delicious and healthy lunch. Think of it this way: no one is gonna try and steal your lunch money when you bring a brown-bag-lunch!

Keeping Time in Keep sakes

2009-10-07T17:54:00.000-04:00

A gift that came from Farewell Antiques in Tyngsboro, MA

I am loving it.

A Birthday: Let Them Eat Everything but Cake

2009-10-07T13:37:00.003-04:00

I don't know when I decided it, but FOOD was to be the central focus of my birthday this year.

On my Birthday's Eve Ryan and I ate a delicious 7 tapas spread at Dali in Somerville.

Here are the highlights:

-Gambas al Ajillo | Garlic Shrimp
-Vieiras al Azafrán | Scallops in Saffron Cream
-Alcachofas Salteadas | Sautéed Artichoke Hearts
-Queso de Cabra Montañes | Baked Goat Cheese w/Tomato & Basil

Usually a gluten free girl, I threw caution (and concern of a major belly-ache) to the wind and ate at least one slice of bread with each dish. Well worth it. I blame their Red Sangria and the genuinely warm and gracious atmosphere.

We each had one desert item:
-Me: Tarta de Chocolates (Like I would get get anything other than chocolate!)
-Ryan: Lauren's Budin de Pan | Lauren's Bread Pudding w/Rum & Cherry Sauce

It was a romantic and satisfying meal with no singing... it was perfection.

We followed up on the day of my birthday with a trip to visit friends in Tyngsboro, MA and pick some apples. Little did I know that my lovely friends Jebb and Suzanne were going to offer me bounty from their fantastic garden as well! Radishes, squash, tomatoes, corn, cucumbers, and a stunning bouquet of pale yellow and black sunflowers.

We apple-picked at Parlee Farms. I stuffed a peck ($17 for about 15 lbs) full of Honey Crisps, Macintoshes, Fortunes and Empires.

We fed some goats.
We watched some bunnies.
We pet some sheep.
We crowed with the roosters.
We walked in the flowers.

Perfection... Again.

Recipes to come for apple crisp, apple tart, and carrot-apple muffins (ALL GLUTEN FREE).

I am STILL eating the benefits of a birthday well spent.

There was no cake... but it was one of the best birthdays yet.

Friends are for Favoring

2009-09-30T15:37:00.001-04:00

When I was kid and would go to a friend's birthday party, I would inevitably come home with a bag of goodies. Inside it could be candy, stickers, magnets, some small, strange sticky thing that's supposed to glow in the dark. Not only did little Jimmy invite me to his party... but LOOK what I had to SHOW for it.

Then I grew up (sort of) and will attend a wedding and inevitably bring home a memento: some chocolates, a bag of sea shells, a bird-feeder, a small candle that's supposed to resemble some object and smell like chamomile. Sentimental sap that I grew into, I appreciate a token from such happy occasion.

But what about all the parties in between?
What do I have to show for them?
I move to BRING BACK THE PARTY FAVOR! Full swing!

Came to my dinner party? Here is a pretty notecard with the recipe to tonight's dish.

Attended my Halloween Party? Here is skull shaped bar of soap.

Had a blast at Sunday's ladies bruncheon? Here is a satchel of lavender for your sock drawer.

Come on! Let's get creative and thank our awesome friends for making our happy days happier.

parapluie.

2009-09-27T21:35:00.007-04:00

I have always felt that the umbrella was something very special. Simple and useful. An accessory with an elegance, with lift. It carried Marry Poppins from chimney to chimney. And while is possesses a feminine charm that I find alluring (a reminder of the days when ladies wore proper lingerie) it is its allusion to our anatomy that intrigues me most.

Our ribcage. With its curved and rounded bones carefully closing in, it protects that thing that pumps our blood. That place where we feel from. It is: the heart's umbrella.

So underneath it I keep things that are closest to my heart.

Fall: A Time for Repel Picking?

2009-09-05T22:25:00.008-04:00

The mourning for a summer gone is natural (especially such a fickle, north-east one). Global warming does afford us some warmer days into October, but that does not change the movement of the sun, the length of the days and the back-to-business attitude. The leaves are changing, the wind smells distinctly different, and coffee houses everywhere are stocking up on pumpkin spice. You may even be wearing a scarf in the mornings. This year in, New England; however, one inglorious sign of summer is taking the autumnal trip with us. Expect this basterd buzzing in your ear:

Thanks to a rainy, rainy June and July, followed by a sweaty August, a higher number of mosquito eggs are hatching later. Being a mosquito magnet myself, I have to say, this plainly sucks. To make matters worse (warning: alarmist moment coming up) the Boston Public Health Commission announced on August13th that a mosquito pool in Jamaica Plain tested positive for West Nile Virus. Woo hoo!

Pending pandemic aside, no one likes a mosquito bite. AND dried, pink Calamine Lotion splotches on bare legs will earn you no street cred points at the office or at the fall wedding you are attending. So let's make it easy on ourselves and keep some bug spray next to our deodorant.

Now, let's be even EASIER on ourselves. Deet, an ingredient found in most OTC insect repellents is not so good for you and is no Chanel No. 5. Here is a simple recipe for a natural mosquito repellent that will do the job and make you smell like the 'at home aisle' at Whole Foods.

*10-25 drops essential oil (lemon balm, eucalyptus, or clove)

*2 tablespoons vegetable oil (olive oil is fine)

Use any combination of the oils you like. Dab the mixture on your wrists and neck and lightly over exposed areas.

Or you can switch from coffee to chai, and hope the clove on your breath will be enough to keep these bloodsuckers away until the real cold creeps in.

In any case, good luck.

Saddle up and be a man about it.

2009-09-04T11:55:00.000-04:00

Some girls like lace. I like laces--on two-tone, brown saddle shoes, to be exact. I am on to my third pair (in 4 years) of Bass oxford style saddle shoes. My first pair, as some will remember, were christened: my magic shoes (and still cast spells from deep within my closet.)

Though the classic, black and white saddle shoe often brings to mind giggling girls named Joan in poodle skirts, drinking malted-milkshakes and watching a How to know if Bobby likes you video, the brown oxford style is more like something Bobby, himself, would have worn.

Something magical happens in that small step over the gender line. It's flirtatious androgyny and man, does it make me feel good. While, yes, I too fawn over the dresses in Mad Men, I feel I am at my best in amalgamated, boy-meets-girl style.

because...

2009-08-27T11:57:00.000-04:00

The hues that color our walks, the smells of neighborhood blocks, the food we eat, the music we listen to, the words we read, the time we spend alone, the faces we choose to see again and again: these are the things that garnish our lives.

I dedicate this blog to the muffin I ate for breakfast, this morning's intangible sense of Autumn, brown saddle shoes, table cloths and friends.

We are what the seas have made us, longingly immense.-- Lorine Niedecker