Peachy Pink

January 19, 2011

Today was gloriously sunny in Dublin for the second day in a row, so I went for a walk to soak it all up. Guess what I saw?



These lovely peachy pink flowers - in January! I don't think spring has really sprung in Dublin yet, but hopefully the rest of the flowers and trees will get on board sooner than later.

In the meantime, here are a few peachy pinks (from a site that can actually ship to Ireland!) for your Wednesday. (To be worn separately, of course.)

Enjoy!



Oasis Sheer Sleeve Blouse



Nixon The Time Teller Watch



Carvela Bow Front Court Shoe



Blush Cropped Trousers

Nooks and Crannies

January 18, 2011

Hello everyone!

I'm trying out a new recipe today - English muffins. Turns out you can't get them in Ireland. So strange since we're so much closer to England. I came across some similar muffins this weekend at Mark's and Spencer's, but they were called All Butter Muffins. They weren't terribly unhealthy, but they didn't have the nice nooks and crannies that an English muffin should have.

So, here we go!



I'm going to use this recipe, because it's the only one I could find in my bookmarks that didn't use a started, and I draw the line at complications like starters.

English Muffins

2 1/4 cups flour
1/2 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/4 tsp instant yeast
1 Tbsp shortening or butter (at room temperature)
3/4 – 1 cup milk (at room temperature)
cornmeal for sprinkling

In a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, salt and yeast. Mix in the butter and 3/4 cup of the milk. Add the remaining milk if the dough is too dry.

Transfer the dough to a floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes (Emily note: There's no way I'm kneading for 10 minutes. We'll give 3 minutes a try and see how we do!). Place in a lightly oiled bowl and roll to coat. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rise for about an hour.

Divide the dough into 6 equal pieces and shape into balls. Lay parchment paper on a baking sheet and spray or lightly coat with oil and sprinkle with cornmeal. Move the dough balls to the baking sheet evenly spaced apart (giving them room to rise more). Cover the pan loosely with plastic wrap and allow them to rise for another hour.

Heat the oven to 350 F and heat up a skillet on medium heat on the stovetop. Brush the skillet with oil and gently transfer the dough balls to the skillet a few at a time. Allow them to cook on the skillet for 5-8 minutes, until the bottoms are nicely browned. Carefully flip and cook the other side for about 5-8 minutes more. They should flatten as they cook.

When the muffins look as if they are about to burn, remove them from the skillet with a spatula and transfer quickly to a baking sheet. Bake at 350 for 5-8 minutes. Do not wait until all of the muffins have been cooked on the skillet before moving them to the oven – as the first batch is baking, move the second batch of muffins to the skillet.

Transfer the baked muffins to a cooling rack and let cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing or serving.

If the first batch turns out like it should, I'm going to make a few extra batches to put in the freezer. I may even try adding a little whole wheat to a batch or two. Yum!

{Original recipe from Peter Reinhart's The Bread Baker's Apprentice. Image and recipe from here}

Monday Visits: Cork City

January 17, 2011

This weekend we went to Cork. Not so foreign, but it was a lovely day and a half. In fact, it was so lovely that I managed to take all of zero photos. Given, the first day it was misting and blowing wild wind, so I wasn't too eager to get the camera out. Day two was just flaky on my part. I swear, I'm going to get better! But let's see what we can work up.

We stayed in the Ambassador Hotel, which I think used to be an old hospital. We've stayed there before - and if you can get a room with one of the balconies overlooking the city, I highly recommend it. We didn't snag a balcony room this time around, but I can't complain - it was one night sleeping in a bed that isn't 6 inches too short for Michael's legs. A+ for that!



On Saturday night, we ate at the Strasbourg Goose, a quaint little cafe (and one of the only restaurants in Cork with a table for 6 with no reservations!) with a great prixe fixe menu. They had duck on the specials menu. Michael was a happy camper.

Sometimes it's a little hard to find great food for good value in Ireland, but the Strasbourg Goose was a great find. It was warm and cosy, with a fire blazing and the staff was so friendly and attentive.

On Sunday for lunch, the widowed wives and girlfriends of some of Michael's teammates went out for lunch at Amicus. Yummy food, great chats. Only wish I'd taken a photo.

We watched this guy (in the orange)



and this guy (bro-in-law, again in the orange)



kick some butt and take some names (67-56). Bring on the Cup final in two weeks!

And I even had some time to get some new makeup at Debenham's at the Benefit counter. A lovely girl named Leona (who had the most beautiful, milky skin) spruced me up and sent me on my way with some of this:



It's lip and cheek tint in a fresh, rosy color and way easy to use. It comes just like nail polish with a little brush. You just brush it on and then smudge it in. So easy and makes you look rosy and cheerful all day long!

I also picked up this eye makeup:



It's essentially all you need for pretty eyes for people who have no idea what they're doing. It comes with an instruction booklet that shows you exactly how to use the palette. So helpful.

So, that's your Monday Visit in a nutshell! Look, I managed a few photos for you after all! Next week I promise we'll take a whack at leaving the country. Well, we won't really, but we'll pretend to!

Dublin's First EatMagazine

January 13, 2011

Just saw a neat free online magazine with great review of Dublin restaurants (thanks, Sarah, for posting this to your facebook!) .

Check it out by clicking on the (giant) button below!

Now, those of you who aren't from Dublin, check it out, then store it away in your bookmarks so when you do come to visit you've got a great, accessible guide ready to go!

And for the record, they are spot on with their review of the Exchecquer. I could just about live on their chocolate platter. Won't even share. Just saying.

Open publication - Free publishing - More restaurant

And one more thing...how on earth does that image get to be giant and I can't figure out for the life of me how to make my photos any bigger than tiny?! Grrrr....

Vegan Cake Review: Wacky!

January 12, 2011

I got an email from my mom the yesterday saying she was going to wait to hear from me the verdict on the Vegan Orange Sticky Cake before giving it a try.

Um, oops! I forgot to let you know how it turned out!



Well, it's deadly. How's that for a review?

Really, though, there's no need to be scared of the vegan factor with the cake. It turns out it's just a Wacky Cake. Wacky cakes were a kind of cake common in the Depression Era because they didn't use eggs and butter, which were prohibitively expensive. Instead, they used cheap old baking soda and vinegar to give the cake lift. Pretty tricky!

My mother in law is nearly famous (at least among my husband's friends) for her chocolate wacky cake. I had no idea until I was researching for this post that it wasn't just her wacky name for the cake, that it's an actual category of cake. See? It has its own category. Not so scary.

The only suggestion I would make if you try the Vegan Orange Sticky Cake is to make sure you grease the sides of the cake pan before you bake it. I even did the whole thing with the parchment paper on the bottom but forgot the sides and one of the cakes did not look so hot.

The cake bakes quite quickly, so keep an eye on it. Might not want to go help your brother-in-law master the SAT for an hour and nearly forget about it.

And want to know one last secret? I un-Vegan'd it in the end. I didn't have marmalade for the glaze, so I made a regular vanilla frosting (with butter! gasp!) and topped it with some pretty confetti sprinkles. Totally yum. Okay, now go on. Make it. Quit being a wimp!

Here's my recipe for regular Vanilla Frosting:

Ingredients:

1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
4-5 cups powdered (confectioner's or icing) sugar

With a mixer, whip up the softened butter (I usually put it in the microwave for 5-10 seconds to soften it up) so it's not lumpy. Then add about a cup of powdered sugar and beat that together. Add the milk a couple tablespoons of the milk and another cup of sugar and beat together. Then add the vanilla extract and beat that in. Now you just want to add enough sugar so that you either have enough icing or you have the consistency you want. Just don't go adding too much liquid at once - a little goes a long way.

Sometimes I make this icing cream cheese icing by adding cream cheese and subtracting some of the butter - great for carrot cake!

***

Photo Note: Wouldn't it be great if I had a cute little photo of the Vegan Orange Sticky Cake I made to prove I actually made it? I totally agree. I know it would be way more fun and satisfying for everyone if I would post more photos of what I actually do bake, but I'm a bit worried that the photos won't do the food justice and then you'll never make the recipes I suggest!

My excuse mostly boils down to needing to upgrade my camera to something that can deal with the *extremely* low light in our house (heck, in Ireland in general!). Fingers crossed that upgrade will happen in the next few weeks and you'll see a lot more of my own photos on this blog.

Aversion to Prints

I'm off to start my new little job this morning, so here's a little quickie for ya!

Looking over my grown-up wardrobe over the last couple weeks I realized I have hardly any clothing with prints. I think I'm a giant wimp.

So here are a couple prints that don't make me run the other direction.



{Sparkle print blouse}



{Flower print blouse from Vero Moda}



{Sweet birds from Asos}



{Check print top from Vero Moda}

There, not so bad, huh?

And I just realized I totally forgot about yesterday's Monday Visit, so expect that later today! Better late than never!

New Routines

I have a little bit of news. I got a new job, and I start Monday. Eek!

I'll be working part time, for this organization.

I think it's going to be great, although I've no real idea what I'll be doing yet!

And don't worry, I should still be right here every day on my blog! It even means you'll probably see more stories I collect on my commute to and from the poshest post code in Dublin - just a bit different from my last position in the hood!

And in honor of having to begin dressing like a grown-up again, here are a few grown up clothes I'm contemplating investing in over the next few weeks.



{Suiting from Banana Republic - not too stuffy, huh?}



{Lovely Mac from JCrew - I think great for the rainy commute}



{Booties from Banana Republic - not sure if suede's a great idea, but might not be able to help myself!}



{Dress from Gap - would be very versatile}



{Cardi from Banana Republic - what a cheery color!}

Vegan Orange Sticky Cake

January 10, 2011

I don't think there is a category I skip over more than vegan recipes. I admit, I equate vegan with icky, grainy, tastes-like-sawdust. Just generally eww. And I'm not sure why, since I'm not sure I've actually had a vegan recipe before.

So I apologize to the vegans out there, I may have judged your entire category a bit too hastily.

Because this cake is vegan. And it looks delicious. It has regular flour, regular sugar, even vegetable oil. Who knew vegan recipes had normal ingredients?!

I'm making it today and I'll let you know how it turns out.



Sticky Orange Cake with Marmalade Glaze

(makes 2 9-inch round layers)

Cake
3 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar, lightly packed
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 orange, zested
2 cups orange juice
2/3 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Glaze
1/4 cup orange marmalade
1 tablespoon rum or vodka (or water)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease two 9-inch round cake pans. Line the bottoms with parchment paper and lightly grease the paper.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugars, baking soda, salt, and orange zest. Whisk until thoroughly combined, crumbling the brown sugar with the tips of your fingers if necessary.

In a separate bowl or large measuring cup whisk together the orange juice, vegetable oil, vinegar, and vanilla. Quickly mix the wet ingredients into the dry mix and whisk thoroughly. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pans and bake for 30 to 35 minutes.

Let the cakes cool for about 20 minutes in the cake pans, then run a knife around the inside of the pan to release each layer. Turn the cake layers out onto cooling racks. Glaze while the cakes are still warm, but not hot.

To make the glaze, mix the marmalade and rum or vodka in a small saucepan. Warm over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes, until the glaze is bubbling and hot. Turn off the heat and immediately glaze the cake.

Place one cake layer on a cake plate. Pierce the top with a toothpick a few times. Using a slotted spoon, lift out the solid bits of the marmalade and set them aside in a small bowl. Pour about half the liquid in the saucepan over the first cake layer. Place the second layer on top of the first, and repeat. Spoon the solid bits of marmalade peel on top of the cake.

{recipe and image from The Kitchn}

We're headed to see friends for dinner tonight (I'm bringing that cake!) and as a little hostess gift, I usually like to bring something for our friends to have the next morning for breakfast.

So the mushy bananas in the fruit bowl are getting a transformation into this recipe. That way the hosts have a little treat the next day to remember us by!

Crock Pot's Maiden Voyage

I finally got a chance to try out my new crock pot earlier this week. For it's first recipe, I decided to go with a classic crock pot staple - chili. For the gray, damp day it was the perfect choice.

I used this recipe but added several extra ingredients to it. The best part about crock pot chili? The smell that greets you when you open the door and it's been cooking all day!

Crock Pot Chili

(recipe from here, slightly modified)

Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef
1 can (15 ounces) chopped tomatoes
1 cup dried beans, rinsed
1 medium onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1 carrot, chopped (weird, I know, but it added a nice color!)
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon cumin
1 teaspoon oregano
2 cups chicken or beef broth
3 tablespoons tomato paste
Coarse salt and ground pepper
Creme fraiche or sour cream for serving

Put everything in the crock pot and let it cook on high for 6 hours. I used cannellini beans for the dried beans and they need some extra time. I think smaller beans would have been done in the 6 hours, no problem.

And it most closely resembled this chili, only with a few green peppers sprinkled throughout. I swear, my own photos, soon!



We serve our chili over potatoes, is that common in America too? It always seems novel to me. We cook potatoes in the microwave in a covered bowl. And I get the baby potatoes so they take barely any time at all to cook!

Enjoy!

{Image from here}

New Series: Monday Visits

Happy Monday, friends!

It is dark, wet and dreary in Dublin today. Michael said to me earlier, "Now this feels like winter in Dublin." And I think he's right. No snow, no bright sunshine like we've had lately. Just dark and wet.

We've been attempting to plan a few quick weekends away to spots in Europe. We're having some scheduling issues. I call them basketball and a master's. Neither of them are mine, but I'm not too keen on traveling without my best navigator.

So until he's a little less busy, I thought I'd start a new series: Monday Visits. Each Monday I'm going to pick a fun, foreign place and give you a quick glimpse of things either from that place or inspired by it, and maybe even a few travel ideas of what to do if you ever get there. Hopefully some day in the next few months, they might be real accounts of what my weekend DID look like.

So here's a mini version for you.

Monday Visit: Paris.

A few shots from our trip to Paris a few years ago





And a few Paris-inspired Etsy finds.



1: Paris street scene print. 2: "Choose Joy" print. 3: Eifel Tower tea towel.

And in other important news, my blog is in the process of getting a makeover as we speak. Guess what's going to be different once that's done? The photos won't be so darn tiny! Yeah!