summer squash & zucchini lattice tart

This beautiful savory tart was adapted from a Martha Stewart recipe. I made this for a Fourth of July BBQ and have been meaning to write up the recipe for awhile now. This is not really a particularly complicated tart to make. It really looks much more labor intensive than it is. The squash and zucchini for this particular tart were courtesy of Heather Q's garden.



Here is what you need:
1 sheet of puff pastry (or pie dough would also work!) - thawed
2 medium zucchini
2 medium yellow squash
1 medium onion
1 large egg
1/4 cup of cream
1/2 cup goat cheese
1/2 cup feta cheese

Start by laying out your pastry crust on a tart pan and pressing up the sides. If you don't have a tart pan, you can also use a pie pan and only fill to about half way if you're using a pie pan. Poke a few holes in the bottom to help it ventilate and stay flat in the pan. Prebake the crust in a 375 degree oven for 7-10 minutes.
Remove the crust from the oven and allow it to cool a bit.

Meanwhile, use a vegetable peeler to collect a few long thin strips of the zucchini and the squash...you want enough of each to be able to lay flat across the top of the tart pan. Once you have your strips, pat them off between two paper towels and put aside. Chop the remaining squash and zucchini as well as the onion. Sauté the chopped veggies (not the strips) in oil and salt and pepper to taste for about 5-7 minutes until softened. Take the vegetables off the heat and mix the goat cheese and feta in until everything is well blended. Transfer this mixture to the crust. Whisk the egg into the cream and pour over the vegetable mixture.

Now, you can either make an open face tart and just throw it in the oven now if you don't want to fuss with the lattice top, but I think the beauty of the lattice top makes it completely worth the effort! To make the lattice, you will do it just like you would a pie (see this link for instructions) and squash has your horizontal stripes and the zucchini as your vertical stripes. Once you weave them, you will get this lovely effect. I obviously didn't have perfect shape and length on all the strips, but it's easy to overlap strips and just make it work. Brush the top with olive oil.

Loosely cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30-40 minutes. Allow to cool slightly before serving.

honey roasted plums!

Yesterday was farmer's market day! Well, I guess every day is usually farmer's market day somewhere in Portland when it's summertime, but I love to stop at the market next to overlook park on my way home from work. This is just the perfect time of year for the market and there is so much in season. I bought some fresh eggplants, cucumber, zuchinni blossoms, plums, and some other wonderful bounty so I can cook up a storm in the next few days.

Last night, I made some amazing honey roasted plums that I cannot seem to get enough of...



This addiction to the honey roasted plums started last summer when Summer made a post on her blog that rocked my world. A very simple way to make late summer plums into a masterpeice. I reworked her recipe a little to fit what I had in the cabinet and combined 6oz of honey + 2 tablespoons of butter + 1 tablespoon of lemon juice + 1 teaspoon of vanilla + 1/2 teaspoon of almond extract. The almond extract helps to work with the vanilla to make the plum flavor pop.


I also made a really basic cream cheese topping

4 ounces of cream cheese (1/2 package)
1 cup whipping cream
3 tablespoons powdered sugar (or to taste)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Just combine all these things in a blender (or you can use a stick blender) for a few moments until the cream starts to froth and thicken. i make this topping all the time because it is so basic and so wonderful. It also makes perfect side for dipping fruit (like strawberries!) or adding to sweet crepes.

new tattoos = home made cat & dog treats!

Last week, I got a pair of new tattoos that I am really excited about. They are the paw prints of two of my favorite things in the world : my cat (Milo) and dog (Ellie). In honor of my new tattoos, I thought it might be time for a pet themed blog post!

My pets are my kids and as much as I love to bake special treats for my loved ones, sometimes it is also nice to bake some little treats for my furry loves. Also, most comerical pet foods and treats are made from sub-standard ingredients and a lot of chemical fillers and perservatives that are not exactly the best things for our pets to be eating, so it's nice to make something and know exactly what you are feeding your animals.

Peanut Butter and Parsley Dog Treats

The addition of parsely in this is completely optional. I added it because I happened to have it on hand and parsely is a safe natural breath freshener and my dog has some STINK breath, so I figured it was worth throwing in there!

2 cups whole-wheat flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup skim milk
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

Mix all your ingredients with a wooden spoon in a medium mixing bowl. Roll the dough out to about 1/4" thickness and cut the treats out to a size that fits your dog. I used a tiny little heart cookie cutter because I have a 7 pound min pin with a tiny mouth, but you can use a bigger cookie cutter or just cut a few rectangles out for a more no fuss approach. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes until brown.


Tuna & Nori Cat Treats

My cat's favorite thing in the entire world is nori (seaweed). I buy little boxes full of nori strips at the asian market and he goes comepletely insane for them, so I decided to attempt to make treats using nori. You can skip the nori part if you don't have it readily accessable.


6 ounce can of tuna - undrained
1/3 cup nori (dried seaweed)
1/4 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup whole wheat flour

Tear your nori up into tiny peices or pulse it in the blender for a moment. Combine all your ingredients in a medium bowl and mix with a spoon untill well blended. The dough for these is rather gooey, so I suggest using a silpad or spraying your pan with oil before you bake. You can roll these out and cut them up, or just grab little balls and flatten them as you might with people cookies. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes until brown.

I won't lie to you, Milo the cat is a picky eater, so he was not super pleased with these. I think he just perfers his nori straight up and he has never been too fond of crunchy little treats of any kind, but I think most normal cats would go gah gah for these!

Makeup Basics

For a long time, I had no interest in makeup. I felt like it was something people wore because of shame or to hide their flaws and feel shame, but I have recently made a new relationship with makeup and I want to share that with you. Makeup is about art and color and enhancing the things you love about yourself.

I do not think anyone should be made to feel like wearing makeup is the only thing that will ever make them "enough", but I do think if you want to wear makeup for yourself and no one else, then you should do it and not worry about the "right" and "wrong" ways to do it.

In the past year or so, I've done a lot or research to unlock the mystery of makeup application. I've read countless blogs, tutorials, and product reviews...and it is kind of complicated when you have so many different products on the market and you are trying to separate a good ad campaign from the product. My make up collection has become vast and honestly a little out of control and I have tried the dollar store brands and the high end pricey brands and I have learned a few things that I would like to share with you.

Decide what kind of things you want to achieve with makeup. Set some goals and decide what you like and don't like. If you don't like wearing mascara or putting it on, then don't buy it...sure, it's an "essential" to most people, but it is worthless if it doesn't make you feel good and you can always change your mind and try it out later. Don't let other people's rules about make up (including mine!) dictate your experience.

Here are a few of basic things I live by when it comes to make up:

+If you are going dramatic, try to pick either the eye or lip...doing both can be overwhelming. it's nice to do a subtle eye with a dramatic red or bright pink lip or a dramatic colored eye with a glossy simple lip.

+There are a few drugstore things that you don't have to spend a fortune on and then there are some items that are worth the extra money. I will try to go over a few of those things in upcoming posts. Always trust your gut, only buy what fits your budget that you think is really worth it, but also don't be afraid to splurge a little on yourself!

+A makeup collection takes time to build, don't get frustrated or break the bank all in one week. Pick a few things you want to learn about and collect those things over time. I personally decided to start with eyes...I wanted to master the eye make up first, so I collected a whole bunch of shadow colors to play with, then liners, mascaras...then I moved to learning about other things like new lip products and face products. It was a gradual process for me.

+Shop the sales! Drug store brands have a lot to offer and usually there are weekly specials like buy one get one free and that is a great time to try some things out.

+If you are not used to wearing makeup, bright colors might scare you at first and that is ok. The colors probably do not look bad on you, it can just be weird do see them on your face at first, so give yourself some time to get used them before you decide you hate them. And if you decide bright colors are not your thing, that is ok too...neutral colors can be used to make your face pop in different ways and really enhance the things you love about yourself.

+Makeup is not permanent. Take some time on a causal night in a fool around with it. It's easy to clean off.

+Get yourself the right tools. Brushes really are just as important as the products you are using...maybe even more important in a lot of cases. If you want to make some fancy eye shadow magic, it's just like a painting, you need some brushes that will make the look. They don't need to be fancy brushes, just get yourself a cheap set and learn about which brushes work best for which looks.

I am not sure if this is very interesting to any of you because it's not exactly the kind of thing I normally write about, but I would like to make a short series of posts in the next few weeks about make up tips, thrifty tricks, and general information. Is there anything in particular you are dying to know about?

I have not left you!!

I did not forget about this blog, I promise. I've been thinking about it. It's just been such an overwhelming summer. Good overwhelming, but overwhelming nonetheless.



I spent a lot of time making a new zine! 2 actually. The zine is a lot like this blog, so I maybe that is why I have not had the energy to update this blog AND write a zine. The first zine is called "New Wave Domesticity" and it is full of of recipes, tips on pie making, craft projects, how to can, how to remove stains, and lots of other nerdy domestic-ness. The other zine was a collection of cupcake recipes and it is called "Cute as a Cupcake". The zines debuted at the Portland Zine Symposium which was lovely. I will have both of these up for sale online in the next few weeks, I just have a busy summer in store!

Other wonderful things in the past two months:

+Portland is amazing in summer. It's full of so many events and sunny day plans. I have a lot of photos and things I will slowly be uploading. Lots of wonderful food and crafts that I will be updating and sharing with you soon!

+I got a promotion! Starting in Septemeber, I will be the "Cultural Director" at my work. This basically means planning events for my lovely coworkers, maintaining the office, working on in office and customer facing campaigns, and lots of other things. It's kind of a dream job and I am so excited to start!


+Our kickball season just ended! It has been a total blast playing sports and drinking beer with my awesome friends and coworkers. I have often been really apprehensive about team sports (I haven't really played anything since

+I bought my tickets to Philadelphia for next month! I will be taking my best friend, Katy, home with me to visit my family and eat a ton of east coast foods that I have been missing like crazy! A much needed vacation in on the horizon.


+I have so many more updates coming soon! <3

sweet and savory grilling! grilled asparagus and peaches.

it's officially summer in portand. i don't care that the sostice is not until late june. the sun is shining, i have sunburn, and everything feels like summer, so it's summer! i've been busy trying to take care of things around the house before i get to caught up in the summertime. this much needed 3-day memorial day was spent going to yard sales and cleaning house mostly, but we also made a lovely dinner on our tiny grill.

here are two super simple grill recipes we used yesterday and they both turned out wonderfully. if you do not have a grill, these would be great in the oven as well. you would just want to cook them at about 400 degrees and check in on them every few minutes since they are both fast cookers.



grilled asparagus


1/2 bundle of asparagus
marinade:
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 teaspoon rosemary
1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke (optional)


combine marinade ingredients in a jar and shake.
trim & wash your asparagus and the skewer through the thick part of the stem (you don't need to use a skewer, but it just makes it a lot easier to flip them and make sure they don't fall into the grill). i put about 10 spears per skewer and that seemed ideal.
lay asparagus skewers on aluminum foil (a little more than twice the length of the asparagus - about the length of a cookie sheet) pour half the marinade onto the first skewer. flip and make sure all the spears are coated. wrap the foil around the asparagus and refrigerate for about 30-60 minutes before grilling. grill each side for about 3-5 minutes until the asparagus gets tender.

and

grilled vanilla peaches


2-4 ripe peaches
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
vanilla ice cream (optional)

wash and cut the peaches in half or quarters. remove the pits.
in a small bowl, mix sugar, cinnamon, almond extract, and vanilla. rub this mixture onto the peaches and coat on all sides. put the peaches on a piece of aluminum foil cut side down and curl up the sides a bit to avoid sugary syrup dripping all over your grill. put the foil and peaches on to the grill and allow to cook covered for about 3-4 minutes until the sugar melts and starts to caramelize. using tongs, remove the peaches from the foil and place directly on the grill for about 4-5 more minutes until desired tenderness. they turned out amazing! so easy, nothing too fancy involved, but they are just such a lovely treat for a cookout! you can eat these right off the grill, but i thought they were especially good with some ice cream on top!

7 things

i was tagged by the lovely jen at classic catastrophe, so here it goes!

the rules are simple. you're supposed to link to the person who tagged you and write 7 things about yourself...

01. i go through phases. for a few weeks, i will be really into home decorating, then a few weeks of zines, or a few weeks of crafts and sewing. i always love all these things, but i just get super fixated and stoked on certain things one or two at a time and then move on and move back to them eventually. this leads to a lot of unfinished projects sometimes.

02. i love my pets. a lot...in a kind of nerdy way. i am really not interested in the whole baby thing, so the dog and cat are my kids and i kind of treat them as such.

03. i have lived in 3 states: pennsylvania, new jersey, and oregon. i've been in portland for almost 6 years and i am completely in love with the city i live in. one of my biggest dreams is to be able to purchase a house here.

04. bryan and i have been dating for almost 3 years. it's my longest relationship to date and i'm still really smitten. we live together in a cute duplex in northeast portland with previously mentioned dog and cat that we treat like children.

05. i started a kickball team at work and i am pretty excited about it. we are called the "ruby death squad" and our season starts in late june. i'm mostly excited for matching outfits.

06. i have always dreamed of writing a book. i don't think now is the right time for me to actively work on that, but i hope to be a published author in my lifetime.

07. i cannot stand fashion ponchos. i think they were an awful, awful trend and i like to think of them as my fashion nemesis.

Then tag 7 people and let them know so they can write 7 things. 7 people I would love to learn more about:

01. Amanda @ Amanda Kenney
02. Jen @ Saving Cents in the City
03. Krissy @ Pony Boy Press
04. Anelnina @ Angelnina's Cottage
05. Bryan @ Draw Damn you
06. Nikey Robo @ Fashion Ration
07. Summer @ Design is Mine

roasted tomatillo salsa verde!

tomatillos are the cutest things ever. they are little tiny green tomatoes wrapped in leaves. i found mine at a winco supermarket, but if you have trouble finding them in the supermarket, you may want to try a mexican market if you have one in your area. i have always wanted to do something with tomitillos, but they are a bit intimidating to me for some reason, but a flickr contact gave me this recipe and i needed to try it. this was actually a super easy salsa to make and it is so good! it's a very mild salsa, but it's easy to pump up the spice with a hotter pepper. and i have a passionate love for cilantro, so anything with a mess of cilantro involved and i am totally sold.

roasted tomatillo salsa verde

1/2 pound tomatillos
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup cilantro leaves
1 tablespoon lime juice
1/4 tablespoon sugar
2 jalapeno or serrano peppers (i used one because i am a wuss, but adjust to the heat you'd like) - stemmed, seeded, and chopped

broiler to high. remove papery husks from tomatillos and rinse well. cut in half and place cut side down on a foil lined baking sheet. cut peppers and place on baking sheet as well. roast in the broiler for about 4-6 minutes untill skins start to blacken. once they are roasted, allow them to cool for a few moments and place all the ingredients in a food processor or blender and pulse until ingredients are chopped and nicely mixed up together. add salt to taste and cool in the fridge before serving.

makes about 3 cups

i plan on trying out a few more recipes for salsa verde to see if i can get a high enough acidity for safe canning and storage but still keep the fresh flavor. more on that soon.

veggie empanadas!

a few weeks ago, my coworker brought these little gems in for a potluck and i knew i needed to make them again. there was never really an official "recipe" for this so i did my best to document it as i made it...



vegetarian empanadas!

1 package of puff pastry (available in the freezer section)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/4 cup chopped onions
2 cloves minced garlic
1/2 cup chopped peppers (i used a combination of green, red, and a bit of serrano)
1/4 cup corn
1/4 cup cilantro
1 can black beans
1/4 cup of salsa or enchilada sauce
1 tablespoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon oregano
1/2 cup shredded cheese



preheat oven to 400 degrees.
heat oil in a large skillet. add onions, garlic, and peppers and saute for about 5 minutes until onions are translucent. add corn, salsa, cilantro, and dry spices and simmer on low for about 5 more minutes. allow mixture to cool. add the cheese once the mix is cooled (basically you want to let the cheese melt in the oven instead of in the pan).
follow directions on the puff pastry box to thaw (probably about 40 minutes on the counter). once the pastry is thawed, roll it out on a floured surface to about 1/8". use a cookie cutter or a glass to cut little circles out of both sheets of puff pastry. add about a tablespoon of the filling to the center of each circle. rub a bit of water around the inner edges to help the sides stick and press with a fork around the edge to seal. prick the top a few times with a fork or toothpick to vent.
place the empanadas on a non-stick baking sheet and brush with egg wash (1 egg mixed with about a tablespoon of water). bake for about 10-20 minutes until brown.
makes about 9 small circle empanadas.

these came or really tasty and they were also adorable. next time i would make the pastry from scratch (though they may not be as flaky and puffy) , but i was making these for a friend's birthday party and i just wasn't feeling like all the fuss of making pastry dough too. shortcuts can be wonderful & yummy friends.

the bins

something strange has happened to me. i have been posting to this blog for 2 months now and i realized that i have never even mentioned the bins. i tend shop there pretty often and i get a lot of great gems. i've been a little obsessed with it every since i first visited portland in 2002.

perhaps i need to explain, if you are not from portland, then "the bins" not immediately strike a chord with you. "the bins" is a term lovingly given to the goodwill outlet centers. goodwill stores essentially are always trying to turn over their stock so that there is always room for new items, so after about 6 weeks, they remove the items from the store and send them to the outlet for their last chance to be sold before they are recycled, turned to industrial rags, sent overseas, or sold to salvage brokers.

the glory of the outlet is that the clothes and housewares items are sold by the pound. one pound is $1.59. glass is .39 per pound. this price is for less than 10 pounds, however there is a bulk discount, so the more you buy, the cheaper it is per pound. the items are not neatly sorted and laid out for you, so there is a little bit of work that needs to be done to cash in on such a great deal. the items are dumped into huge movable plastic bins and laid out in aisles. each aisle is changed out ever few hours to constantly cycle the stock. usually a bin is filled with like items because that is how it came from the store, but not necessarily. there are textile bins, shoes, books, and "hard good bins" (aka everything else). there is also a section for bikes and furniture that are individually price (but priced cheaply and they are marked down in price each day they do not sell) the textile bins are not really any collection of a certain size or style, so little girls dresses are mixed right in with men's jackets. this just basically means you are in for a hunt.

i don't think my love of the bins comes out of my frugality so much as it comes from my love of a treasure hunt. there is something intoxicating about not knowing what you will find there (and the added bonus that it will cost next to nothing when you find it!). it does take some effort and you really need to be in a certain mood to be able to put in the energy, but i find the pay off to be worth it. there are actually a lot of people in portland that make their living by going to the bins and scoring amazing things for little money (the 50+ pound discount is much to their advantage) and then reselling the items. these people can be a little intense and get a bit wild when new stuff comes out.

portland is not the only place with a goodwill outlet. check this list for some places near you.

here are some quick tips if you decide to check out "the bins":

+ you might consider gloves if you are germphobic. remember that this is a collection of other people's donations and there could be some "undesirables". just proceed with caution. also, sometimes glass and things can break when they get thrown around on trucks and loaded into the bins or sharp edges can poke out, so be mindful before you throw your hands into the housewares sections.

+i tend to take the "take now, think later" approach for efficiency. if i find someone that looks mildly ok, i will throw it in the cart. then, after i'm done shopping, i stop and take a moment to carefully go through everything and check for stains or holds, make sure it would actually fit, and of course ask the important question "do i REALLY need this?"

+that being said...i won't lie, i am a totally scavenger. i do my best around the edges of the store or close to the registers because of other people doing the "take now think later" approach. someone else may have found some really cute things but realized they were not their size or they just didn't have a place for them, so they tend to leave a discard pile of some pretty awesome things.

+leave the kids at home. i see a lot of...umm...let's go with "disappointing" parenting going on at the bins. if your child can reach up and stick their hands into the bins, they might not really realize what they are grabbing at and could end up getting hurt. it's a pretty consuming shopping experience, so it seems it is just really hard to shop and also keep your attention to the children. i don't even want to tell you how many times i have seen a child grab something from a bin that has been who knows where and stick it in their mouth. gross. it is definitely a great place to get toys and clothes for your kids on a tight budget, but it is probably best not to take them on the trip.

+oxyclean is a gift from the heavens. seriously. get some at target and it will change your perspective on what is a salvageable item and what might be trash. i just got a cute pink vintage dress there on friday, but it had a little dinge to it (which just happens to a lot of vintage clothes) and i soaked it in the sink with oxyclean for an hour then threw it in the wash...now it is just as lovely and bright as they day it was purchased 40 years ago!

so, now that you know what the bins is...let me show you my amazing find from friday...

BEST BELT BUCKLE EVER for $1.50! much love to katy for bringing it to my attention! she rules. it needs to be attached to a new, longer belt but wow! so amazing and perfect! i also got a lovely dress, some fabric, a cake plate, some books on canning, and a few other gems...but this crafty belt buckle is one of my favorite finds to date.