Dinner tonight...

Morrocan Lentil Soup

Recipe: http://aliceinparislovesartandtea.blogspot.com/2010/10/morrocan-red-lentil-soup.html

On a crisp fall night, this soup was perfect for dinner. The spices created a delightful flavor that definitely warmed us all up! I served it with some garlic naan, which tasted great dipped in the broth. I forgot to add the peas, which I am sad about because I love peas, but it still tasted fine without them!

happy colors

I love this artist. Her name is Polly Apfelbaum. I absolutely adore the colors and designs she uses. Just looking at her work makes me happy. One day, when I am not poor, I am going to own a piece of her art. Until then I will view her work on her website. Check it out!

pumpkin pancakes

I made these for breakfast this morning. So yummy.

Pumpkin Spice Pancakes

1¼ cups all-purpose flour
2 tbsp. brown sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
¾ tsp. ground cinnamon
¼ tsp. ground nutmeg
Dash of ground ginger
Dash of ground cloves
1 cup milk
½ cup pumpkin puree
1 large egg
2 tbsp. vegetable oil or melted butter

Preheat the oven to 200˚F. Set aside a baking sheet or oven safe serving platter.

Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and spices in a medium bowl. Make sure to blot out any chunks of brown sugar. In a separate small bowl, combine the milk, pumpkin, egg and oil or butter. Stir into the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. The batter may still be lumpy.

Heat a greased skillet or griddle over medium heat (325˚F for the griddle). Pour the batter on the griddle or skillet in 1/3 cup portions. Use the back of the spoon or measuring cup to smooth the batter into desired circle shape. When bubbles start forming on the top, carefully use a spatula to flip to the other side. Let cook for a few more minutes until golden brown. Transfer the pancakes to the baking sheet or oven safe platter; place in the oven to keep warm until serving. Repeat with the rest of the batter until it has all been cooked, regreasing the pan as needed. Serve with cinnamon sugar, maple syrup, and/or whipped cream.

Source: http://penniesonaplatter.com/

pretty.

I meant to blog about these photos a long time ago, but never got around to doing it. And now it has been so long that I forget where I found them from... possibly somewhere on Design*Sponge, one of my favorite blogs. But I figured I would share them with you anyway!

Idea: I used one of these photos as my desktop background using the tile setting and it fit beautifully

Cranberry Weekend 2010

This Columbus Day weekend Allie and I headed down to Carver, MA to visit my dear friend Chris and to make our annual appearance at the Edaville Cranberry Festival. We had a fabulous time in Edaville and we able to actually see the cranberries being harvest... a BIG treat! Take a look at Allie's post to hear more about it and see some beautiful pictures of our exciting day.

Every year after the festival we are all invited to Chris' mother's house for more fall festivities. A little background information on Susan... she is the closest I have ever come to meeting Martha Stewart (which is a dream of mine). She is full of the most creative ideas and treats. Her house is always decorated with handmade decorations for every holiday. We told her she should start a blog. If that ever happens/if Chris ever helps her start one, I will let you all know about it! Every time I go she has some sort of craft planned for us. This year we made cheesecloth ghosts and Halloween cookies. After crafting and snacking, we all enjoy a delicious meal. This year we had Cincinnati Chili and Skeleton Brownies for dessert. Here are some pictures from this year's lovely visit...

Because of the beautiful weather we began with cider and treats outside on the deck

Bread sticks shaped like bones in a witch's cauldron

To make the cheesecloth ghosts we draped cheesecloth over a balloon and sprayed it with lots of starch. Then you let it dry and pop the balloon. Add some black felt eyes and tie some fishing line at the top to hang them and you have an adorable ghost!

Here are some ghosts Chris' mom made and hung from the chandelier (and Allie being cute in the background)

When the sun went down we headed inside to decorate Halloween cookies... These are the final products

Chris's mom is in the middle of carving this beautiful pumpkin

For dessert we had "Skeleton Brownies"(the brownies were frosted with dark chocolate frosting and crushed Oreo was piled on top to look like the skeletons were coming out of the ground)

The xx

On Sunday I went to see The xx at the Orpheum in Boston with Jess. The xx is an indie pop band from London. After listening to their self-titled album a lot this summer (thanks to Jess), I was attracted to the singers' raspy voices and how they fit together. I really enjoy bands with both male and female vocals like The xx. The band sounded just as good in concert as they do on their CD! In addition, the lighting during the show was awesome. I have never really noticed lighting at concerts before, which should say a lot about this one. If you get a chance, take a listen!

the perfect meatball

Last week was Allie's birthday and it is tradition in our apartment to have a birthday dinner of whatever the birthday girl wants. So, naturally, Allie requested spaghetti and meatballs. My first thought was "great! what an easy thing to make!" But then I thought about it some more and wanted to make it special. After searching through our many cookbooks and cooking magazines, I came across an article in this October's issue of Bon Appetit. With Jackie's assistance we whipped up a delicious red sauce and made beautiful "golf ball-sized" meatballs. We also made garlic bread to accompany the spaghetti. We all ate and ate and ate! And for Allie's birthday cake I made a Caramel-Swirl Brownie Ice Cream Cake that had a Nutella layer in between the brownie and the ice cream!! I vote Allie has her birthday more often :)



Here is the Spaghetti and Meatball recipe (I highly recommend trying it!):

Spaghetti and Meatballs

For the best texture, don't overwork the meat mixture and use Parmesan that's ground to a fine powder (use the processor or the rasp side of a box grater). For more heat, add 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper to the sauce.

6 main-course servings

PREP: 1 hour 30 minutes

TOTAL: 2 hours 45 minutes

Ingredients

Sauce

• 2 28-ounce cans whole peeled tomatoes in juice, drained, juice reserved, tomatoes finely chopped
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 2 medium onions, peeled, halved through root end
• 1/2 teaspoon (or more) salt

Meatballs

• 1 cup fresh breadcrumbs made from crustless French or country-style bread
• 1/3 cup whole milk
• 8 ounces ground beef (15% fat)
• 8 ounces ground pork
• 1 cup finely ground (not grated) Parmesan cheese
• 1/3 cup finely chopped Italian parsley
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 large eggs
• 2 large garlic cloves, pressed
• 1 pound spaghetti
• Freshly grated Parmesan cheese (for serving)

Preparation

Sauce

• Combine tomatoes with juice, butter, onions, and salt in large wide pot. Bring to simmer over medium heat. Reduce heat; simmer uncovered 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Discard onions. Using immersion blender *, process sauce briefly to break up any large pieces of tomato (texture should be even but not completely smooth). Season sauce with more salt and freshly ground black pepper. Remove from heat.

* We don't have an immersion blender, so we used a Cuisinart to break up the tomato. It worked well. We also kept 1 onion in the sauce, which ended up being a great idea!

Meatballs

• Combine breadcrumbs and milk in small bowl; stir until breadcrumbs are evenly moistened. Let stand 10 minutes.
• Place beef and pork in large bowl and break up into small chunks. Add 1 cup ground Parmesan, parsley, salt, and pepper.
• Whisk eggs to blend in small bowl; whisk in garlic. Add to meat mixture.
• Using hands, squeeze milk from breadcrumbs, reserving milk. Add breadcrumbs to meat mixture. Using hands, quickly and gently mix meat mixture just until all ingredients are evenly combined (do not overmix). Chill mixture at least 15 minutes and up to 1 hour.
• Moisten hands with some of reserved milk from breadcrumbs, then roll meat mixture between palms into golf-ball-size balls, occasionally moistening hands with milk as needed and arranging meatballs in single layer in sauce in pot. Bring to simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until meatballs are cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes. DO AHEAD Can be made 2 days ahead. Cool slightly. Chill uncovered until cold, then cover and keep chilled. Rewarm before continuing.
• Cook spaghetti in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Drain.
• Using slotted spoon, transfer meatballs to platter. Add pasta to sauce in pot and toss to coat. Divide pasta among 6 plates. Top each serving with meatballs. Sprinkle meatballs with freshly grated Parmesan cheese and serve.