It Ain't Too Hard for Me to Jam

Now I realize that when a new year starts you're supposed to flip the switch from indulge to cleanse, but I've been a little reluctant to let go of the month o' carbs. I figured there must be a way to ease off the good stuff without total deprivation.

Enter the Jam Dot.



Part cookie, part health-food, I find it to be the deliciously perfect compromise! You can even make them with whole wheat or spelt flour and cut back on the sugar for an added health boost.


images via souvlaki for the soul

Or throw a chocolate chip or two in the center because good chocolate makes everything better (and did you hear, it's a health food too)! I'll let you know how my version turns out.

Happy eating in 2011!

JAM DROPS RECIPE by Souvlaki for the Soul
125g butter, softened
100g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
200g self-raising flour
115g (1/3 cup) strawberry or raspberry jam


Pre heat your oven to 180 deg C and line two baking trays with baking paper.
Using an electric mixer, beat the butter, sugar and vanilla extract until very light and creamy.

Proceed to sift the flour into the creamed butter mixture and fold everything together until you have a soft but useable dough. If you find it’s sticky add some flour a little at a time until you reach the correct consistency.


Using floured hands shape a teaspoonful of dough into a ball and place on a baking tray a few cms apart. Using your floured index finger pierce the center of each ball to make a well. Spoon half a teaspoon of jam into each biscuit.

Bake in the oven for 15 mins or until the jam drops are nice and golden (shouldn’t be more than 15 mins).


Serve with milk, tea, coffee or eggnog.

Tasty Tuesdays {The Best of 2010}

Since launching Tasty Tuesdays last summer, I've been thrilled by the response from fellow foodies and I've so enjoyed sharing recipes, gorgeous food photos and the random taste treats I find with you.

Good food plays such a significant role in my daily life and I hoped that talking about food on Apartment 34 might inspire others as well.

So when I looked back to pick my favorite tasty post for 2010, I just had to go to where the inspiration all began ~ the experience of eating decadently through our entire European honeymoon. There are so many meals that I still remember vividly - food memories that I hope will last a lifetime.

I hope you've found some good recipes, kitchen ideas and maybe even a bit of style inspiration from this series. I plan to find and share even more deliciousness in 2011!

Best of Tasty Tuesday 2010

I talk about a lot of different things I love here - fashion, style, design, decor, travel...but one passion I've yet to delve into is...food! I am an out and proud foodie and take this love very very seriously.

It's gotten to the point where I just had to share some of my favorite eats with you. So I give you a new Apartment 34 feature ~ Tasty Tuesdays! Since talking about food could easily overtake everything here, I knew I had to limit it to just one day a week (at least to start!). 

To kick it all off, I thought I'd share a few of my favorite honeymoon meals.

I judge most things by the number of good meals I had, so I made a point to make sure we ate very well throughout our honeymoon travels. Whether it was old Amsterdam cheese, apfelkuchen and beers by the city's canals, or lovely lunches of polenta with squid ink sauce paired with an excellent Valpolicella in Venice we made sure to savor each and every morsel.

1) tortellini in Borghetto 2) traditional Dutch seafood in a modern way at Spelt 3) Venetian cicheri 4) beet risotto at Spelt 5) polenta with black ink sauce 6) Dutch breakfast  at Gartine 7) dessert on the Amsterdam canal 8) black ink spaghetti 9) pumpkin tortellini with amaretti

We tried to sample the local speciality of each city we visited. It ranged from fantastic handmade tortellini outside of Verona, to a beautiful beet risotto (in Amsterdam no less and it was divine!). Feel lucky I didn't take pictures of every gelateria we sampled because those posts would dominate Tasty Tuesdays for weeks.

Now back at home, I'm still hankering for those amazing dinners. I highly recommend my italian speaking readers check out La Cucina, a stunning italian cooking magazine. Every recipe makes me drool all over my keyboard.

Sunday-Supers, the Brooklyn-based cooking school on which I have the biggest foodie crush, also recently held an all italian dinner with delicious recipes. You can check it out here.

Bon appetito luvies!

*Mrs. E 

Last Summer Sunday

My dears, I can't believe it's the last Sunday in August! Am I the only one who's noticed the shift in the air?


via creative inspiration

I'm planning on taking advantage of the fading summer rays with a trip to the farmers market, dinner with friends and hopefully some time in the sun.

I hope you get some too!

Cheers luvies,
*Mrs. E

I've Got a Crush

On all things lovely. Things such as lovely and super-stylish carpet (!) ads,



on incredibly lovely bikes and their accessories,



on the lovely decadance of glam book covers,



on the lovely ease of this house,



on the lovely shoes for both summer and for fall,



on the always lovely Lonny,



and on wholeheartedly enjoying a lovely summer!!



Cheers my dears!
*Mrs. E

Tasty Tuesday {A Fresh Fete}

Even though the drizzle returned this weekend I cannot fathom giving up on summer 2010 without at least one more outdoor feast. Especially after I spy such divine inspiration as the likes of Food&Wine's homage to southern cooking.

Charleston, Savannah and Chapel Hill have long been on my list of coveted destinations. And now I can replicate a sweet southern gathering.




photography by fredrika starjne via food and wine

How much would you love donning a daper hat, cozing up to a backyard picnic table and noshing on such refined items as stufffed squash blossoms and double peach tart.

I for one am going to try the Lemon and Orange Glazed Pound Cake before summer's end, party or no party. Happy eating luvies!

*Mrs. E

Lemon and Orange Glazed Pound Cake

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
3 1/3 cups sugar
1 teaspoon salt
10 large eggs, at room temperature
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup heavy cream, at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon finely grated orange zest
1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice


Glaze
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated orange zest
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
 
Complete directions are here! I hope you can enjoy a party of your own very soon!!

Tastey Tuesday {Orange You Delicious}

As we enter into August (really, August?!), it's time to start relishing every soothing and satisfying summer moment before they all slip away. That's why I just loved these brilliantly simple "orange bowls."



photo via fee amore and domino kitchen spotted on dress design decor

The orange scooped clean and filled with sweet vanilla ice cream becomes your very own homemade creamsicle! Can't you just see a candle-lit picnic table peppered with little citrus balls? If you ask me, a table for one, particularly in that kitchen, would do just as nicely!

Here's a yummy milk sorbet that I'm going to have to try for my next summer party. Bon appetit my dears.

Vanilla Bean and Milk Sorbet via Cannelle et Vanille

500 grams organic whole milk
125 grams sugar
3 vanilla beans, scraped
150 grams heavy cream, soft peaks


In a medium saucepan, bring the milk, sugar and vanilla beans to a boil. Remove the pan from the heat and let the vanilla beans infuse in the milk for about 30 minutes. Strain the milk and reserve the vanilla beans for another time. Refrigerate the milk for at least 4 hours.

Churn the sorbet in the ice cream machine. In the meantime, whip the cream to soft peaks. When the milk base is almost done churning and forms ripples, add the whipped cream to the machine. Let the machine mix it all together but don't mix it too much otherwise your cream might turn to butter.

Tastey Tuesday {Frozen Treats}

As predicted, summer arrived in Seattle on July 5 - a long standing tradition in the Pacific Northwest - but this year it came in with a roar. We went from 50 degrees to 90 degrees in less than 48 hours people! I loved it, personally. For one, I finally had the excuse to break out our new ice cream maker!

I won't deny that being gifted cool gadgets was an added bonus of getting married and I'd wanted an ice cream maker for ages. It's a favorite summer treat but store bought just hasn't been cutting it. Let's face it, Breyers isn't what it used to be. So for this Tasty Tuesday we are focusing on frozen desserts.






all images via cannelle-vinelle

I have discovered using an ice cream maker is a bit of an experiment when it comes to finding the perfect flavor intensity and texture but I'm going to keep at it. I think I'll try this recipe by David Lebovitz, being that he is the ice cream afficienado!

Strawberry Frozen Yogurt


About 1 quart (1l)


French yogurt is astoundingly good and I suggest you use a good-quality, whole milk or Greek-style yogurt for best results.


1 pound (450g) strawberries, rinsed and hulled


2/3 cup (130g) sugar


optional: 2 teaspoons vodka or kirsch


1 cup (240g) plain whole milk yogurt


1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice


Slice the strawberries into small pieces. Toss in a bowl with the sugar and vodka or kirsch (if using) until the sugar begins to dissolve. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature for 2 hours, stirring every so often.


Transfer the strawberries and their juice to a blender or food processor. Add the yogurt and fresh lemon juice. Pulse the machine until the mixture is smooth. If you wish, press mixture through a mesh strainer to remove any seeds.


Chill for 1 hour, then freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Tasty Tuesday {Dining}

For me, where you eat is just as important as what you eat. We've (attempted!) to ban couch eating at our house. And now that it's summer I'd love to have every single meal al fresco if I could. 

I'd be just as happy with a light and airy sunroom. A fun and funky dining space would also do just fine.  

images via automatism, moodboard, dress design decor, & rebecca june

I would just like to put as much thought into where I sit to dine as to what's on my plate! 

Tasty Tuesdays {Because You Are What You Eat!}

I talk about a lot of different things I love here - fashion, style, design, decor, travel...but one passion I've yet to delve into is...food! I am an out and proud foodie and take this love very very seriously. 

It's gotten to the point where I just had to share some of my favorite eats with you. So I give you a new Apartment 34 feature ~ Tasty Tuesdays! Since talking about food could easily overtake everything here, I knew I had to limit it to just one day a week (at least to start!). 

To kick it all off, I thought I'd share a few of my favorite honeymoon meals.

I judge most things by the number of good meals I had, so I made a point to make sure we ate very well throughout our honeymoon travels. Whether it was old Amsterdam cheese, apfelkuchen and beers by the city's canals, or lovely lunches of polenta with squid ink sauce paired with an excellent Valpolicella in Venice we made sure to savor each and every morsel.

1) tortellini in Borghetto 2) traditional Dutch seafood in a modern way at Spelt 3) Venetian cicheri 4) beet risotto at Spelt 5) polenta with black ink sauce 6) Dutch breakfast  at Gartine 7) dessert on the Amsterdam canal 8) black ink spaghetti 9) pumpkin tortellini with amaretti

We tried to sample the local speciality of each city we visited. It ranged from fantastic handmade tortellini outside of Verona, to a beautiful beet risotto (in Amsterdam no less and it was divine!). Feel lucky I didn't take pictures of every gelateria we sampled because those posts would dominate Tasty Tuesdays for weeks.

Now back at home, I'm still hankering for those amazing dinners. I highly recommend my italian speaking readers check out La Cucina, a stunning italian cooking magazine. Every recipe makes me drool all over my keyboard.

Sunday-Supers, the Brooklyn-based cooking school on which I have the biggest foodie crush, also recently held an all italian dinner with delicious recipes. You can check it out here.

Bon appetito luvies!

*Mrs. E 

Halloween Redux

I don't regularly reveal my foodie side on the blog, but it is certainly alive and well. After having enjoyed a local foodie event yesterday evening I'm still hungry for more.

That's why I couldn't resist sharing this amazing Halloween dinner from Jewels of New York. 

Black linguine 

with chocolate hazelnut crepes

and roasted radicchio with blackberry vinaigrette.

via paper tastebuds

This takes sophisticated seasonal decorating to a whole new level!