Nothing but Vegetables?

A vegetable garden in the beginning looks so promising and then after all little by little it grows nothing but vegetables, nothing, nothing but vegetables.

–Gertrude Stein

I haven't always been a veg freak.. Growing up I never strayed too far from corn and potatoes. But since becoming a Pescetarian 6 1/2 years ago, I had to teach myself not only to eat the veggies I feared growing up, but how to prepare and cook them. Which is where my deep appreciation of food, cooking, and baking began to blossom. So why bother becoming a veg in the first place, you're thinking to yourself? My reasoning is simple: I couldn't fathom why a living, breathing, mothering, emotion-feeling animal had to die in order for me to have lunch. Now, while I won't force my beliefs on those around me.. (ok, I try not to), I will on the other hand force my vegetable cooking on those around me.

You probably cringed, right? Zucchini bread? But anyone who loves a slice of carrot cake or spice cake, this is right up their alley. Except with summer squash. It was insanely good and devoured slice by slice for breakfast the whole week.

You'll find the recipe here. And please note it has 2,479 reviews with a 5 star rating and 74,000 people have saved the recipe. It's hard to dismiss the tried-and-true recipes. Why recreate the wheel, when there's already a fantastic zucchini bread recipe?

Let's blow this popsicle stand. or not.

Summers tend to feed trends. Several years ago, it was cupcakes. Literally everywhere. Popping up in restaurants, bakeries devoted to them, booths at farmers' markets.. you name it. From the looks of the food blogs this summer, a rising star is coming up in the distance from New Orleans, Tennessee, DC. Popsicles! Seriously, even the Washington Post has taken notice.

We're not talking about the Americana, sappy sweet, kid-friendly Bomb Pop either. I'm talking about those flavors you read and then think, "Really? That's a creative combo!" Like ginger-mango, cucumber-jalapeno, watermelon-black pepper, avocado, green tea, Tecate beer.. Curious, aren't you?

I decided to throw my hand in the mix with a few of my favorite flavors. Last month I picked up a thai basil plant from the Farmers' Market and have been waiting for just the right reason to pluck a few leaves. Give your own a try. You can pick up a mold from literally anywhere right now (Target, IKEA, Michael's crafts).

Basil Peach Frozen Pops

Ingredients:

few basil leaves

1/2 c sugar

1 c water

1 1/2 c peach puree / nectar

1 tbls lemon juice

3 tbls yogurt

In a small sauce pan bring water and sugar to a boil. Feel free to adjust the simple syrup ratio to suit how sweet you want your popsicles. Drop in basil leaves. Let boil for a couple of minutes. Cut the heat and fish out with a spoon your basil leaves. Let the syrup cool for a few minutes. Add the syrup to your peach puree (which I will admit was store bought. Check the juice aisle at the grocery store). Next add the lemon juice and yogurt. Stir to combine. I had trouble getting the yogurt to incorporate and not just float on top, so I used my immulsion blender. You're more than welcome to use a regular blender to combine everything. Then pour into popsicle molds or ice cube trays with popsicle sticks. Use what's on hand. Freeze anywhere from several hours to overnight. Run under hot water for a minute, if you have trouble getting the molds to let go of your hard-earned homemade treat. Enjoy, Darlings.

I heart Rhetoric

-Do we know each other?
-Why? Do you think we're going to?
-I don't know. How would I know?
-Because I already know an awful lot of people. And until one of them dies, I couldn't possibly meet anyone else.
-Well if anyone goes on the critical list, let me know.
-Quitter.



I'm shamelessly infatuated with language and the art of conversation. I blame it on my childhood upbringing with old movies. Without special effects to hold the attention of modern day moviegoers, classic movies relied on the script, the actors, and my favorite, the dialog. Which is why even living in the south, coming up on 27 years, I still pronounce the ending to my words while speaking. And also why all of my text messages are a paragraph long and will always spell out the entire word "you." Nonetheless, enjoy the video and tell me you wouldn't want to make snarky comments at Cary Grant while wearing sunglasses on a ski resort.

This Old Home

After a few months of waiting, couple weeks of painting the apartment from top to bottom, and several trips to the 3 different places where our belongings were stored, we're finally moved in and unpacked. There's such a sense of relief, feeling as if I have found home for the time being.

Our one bedroom, shot-gun style 1920s duplex is just up our alley. Bold in color, warm, kitchy. I can't help but think of the countless tenants over the past 90 years who have sat on the front porch playing dominos in the humid summer evenings and have baked cakes in our kitchen with the sweet smell of homemade goodness lingering. The laughter that has echoed from the high ceilings.. the lovers, the children, the women in high-heeled shoes clicking across the hardwood floors, the bachelors headed out for a night with the boys downtown, the forgotten who have passed through our doorways.. Their memories created in our home are in the air we breathe. And it's warming and inviting to know we're now apart of this house's story.

Last night I baked a version of Mark Bittman's banana bread and nibbled on it while I caught up about my grandfather's vacation over the phone. One night in the series of countless nights and conversations and baked goods in our very old, very cozy home.

Feel free to whip up your own banana bread using this version of the recipe. I opted for only all purpose flour, added blueberries instead of the coconut, sprinkled the top with a crumble of flour, sugar, cinnamon, and butter before baking. Enjoy darlings, and make it your own.

Hometown Vacationing

Sometimes there's just no need to leave the city. Sometimes the vacation comes to you, your home, and your hometown. In my case, Vacation visits in the form of my 2 favorite desert boys. With a week off, the sister cities were at our disposal.

Was there sweet tea? Why yes. How about margaritas? Of course. Cookout with neighbors, shop family, and friends? Indeed. Vintage shopping? Check. An alien head shaped cantalope from the farmers' market? We devoured half that monster. More puppy-dogs than humans? Sometimes. One long fabulous night being trainwrecks at the bar with vodka tonics, dancing, and fresh blueberry pancakes... This is how we roll.

[thank you to Marcos for the fancy-schmancy iphone pics.]