Remembering



Reflecting Pool at the World Trade Center Memorial


Yesterday marked the 10th anniversary of 9/11. Yesterday we remembered not only the innocent people who were killed in that awful attack, but the innocent who have, since then, been killed in response. I listened to a moving story from two women this morning: the first lost a brother in the attack on U.S. soil, and the second lost 19 family members in the U.S. retaliation in Afghanistan. It is important to remember that the same horror we experienced on our shores has also become a reality for tens of thousands of innocent people across the world. I hope you listen to this interview. It's incredible to hear people who have suffered the most take the highest interest in reducing violence and revenge.
image via {here}

Serendipitous Sweet Potato Muffins

We have had brisk weather here in SF for a week now. Sometimes the sun breaks through, but sometimes the clouds are too fluffy to be moved aside. Either way, it feels as if fall is fast approaching and I must admit - I am a bit excited...! I love summer, I love fall, I love winter, I love spring; every season has something wonderful to offer and it is exciting when a new one arrives. Or maybe I just needed an excuse to make these muffins.

I used to be a fan of the boxed Krusteaz Pumpkin Muffin mix. Around this time of year, Starbucks would also begin selling their Pumpkin Cream Cheese muffin. While both were super tasty, neither were terribly nutritious and left me feeling "meh" afterwards. I was so excited to discover this recipe for a healthier, from-scratch Pumpkin Muffin from Gourmade at Home. I made a stop at Trader Joe's on my way home yesterday to gather a few needed ingredients. Call it serendipity, but they have yet to stock their shelves with pumpkin puree, so I grabbed a bag of fresh sweet potatoes and set off on my own adventure. I roasted the potatoes last night (350° for 90 minutes or until soft) and left them to cool on the counter. We enjoyed these healthy, not-too-sweet fall treats with our french press coffee this morning.

Serendipitous Sweet Potato Muffins

1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. ground clove
1/2 tsp. freshly ground nutmeg
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup fresh, mashed sweet potato (not pureed)
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup canola oil
1 tbls. vanilla
2 eggs
3/4 cup buttermilk
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 tbls. confectioners sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 and prepare muffin tins with a light coating of oil.
2. Mix cream cheese and confectioners sugar; set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, combine flours, baking soda, baking powder, clove, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt.
4. In a large bowl, mix together sweet potato mash, sugar, oil, vanilla, and eggs.
5. Add 1/2 of the flour mixture to the wet ingredients; mix until barely combined. Add 1/2 of the buttermilk and mix. Repeat with remaining flour and buttermilk.
6. Divide the mixture into the muffin tin. Top with a small dollop of cream cheese mixture.
7. Bake 20-25 minutes or until knife comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes. Enjoy!

makes 12 regular muffins

Photo Crush

image via {a place for twiggs}

I am currently crushing on this lovely shot and wanted to share... you're welcome.

Around the House

I worked from home today... a great day for the city, a bummer day to be inside. Oh well, at least my sweetheart was here with me. We had leftover Turkey Bolognese for lunch... and a little vino rosso!

This is a collection of glass that I gathered off the beach on the Island of Capri, Italy. It was everywhere and made the beach seem as if it were covered in beautiful jewels.

I have been "planting" herbs in cups of water as I bring them home from the store. My basil has lasted weeks! It sprouted roots and even began to flower, which makes for cute little finishing touches to dishes. To be honest, I didn't even think this green onion sprouting would work, but it has! We'll see how big they grow :)

Happy Hump Day!

It takes a community to raise a blogger.

What I adore most about the blogging community is the camaraderie, support, and friendship that abounds throughout. It is a place where one can express themselves freely and find an overwhelming response of support and encouragement. While I love to read blogs from people all over the world, most whom I have never met, I particularly favor those who I call friends; it's like rooting for the home team. Here are my lovely peeps who I follow and adore:

Simply Blythe - a beautiful blog full of the lovely pictures and the simple joys in life
Melissa Jean Photography - amazing photography and fun, everyday musings
Open R(h)oads - "The semi-transparent adventures of city-girl-meets-country-boy"... well said!
Kona Jill (Jill T's blog) - a prolific writer who has been around the globe.. no, really!
Boiled Tomatoes - a clever and witty blog from a sassy(fras)-kinda-gal
Out of the Loop - "This is the record of a woman who, with some luck and moxy, is going to remove herself from the loop"

Who are some of your favorite buddy-bloggers that you follow?

At the Market: Tomatoes

I was so excited to see beautifully ripened Early Girls overflowing at the market on Saturday. I grabbed a bunch, but I should have loaded up all I could carry (like Gus-Gus in Cinderella, balancing an overwhelming stack of cheese between his little mouse hands and his front teeth). I decided to highlight this lovely fruit (oh, and they were so sweet, I was convinced of their category!) with a simple tart.

salt and pepper crust

put a layer of cheese on the bottom, top with zucchini mixture

layer sliced tomatoes

the crust was beautifully crisp

Tomato Tart

1 1/2 cup zucchini, sliced in rounds

1 tbls olive oil

3 garlic cloves, sliced

3 tbls whole milk

1 tbls cream cheese

1/4 tsp oregano

1 cup parmesan

1 1/2 cups tomatoes, sliced

1 1/2 tbls basil chiffinod + more whole leaves for topping

1 salt and pepper crust

salt and pepper to taste

Saute the zucchini and garlic in olive oil until just tender, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and add the milk, cream cheese and oregano. Layer the bottom of the tart crust with 1/3 of the parmesan cheese. Top with the zucchini mixture. Layer the basil chiffinod and tomatoes. Top with the remaining cheese. Cook at 375° for 20 minutes and until the cheese has melted. Let cool for 5 minutes. Top with the remaining basil leaves and serve.

*these are rough estimations of quantity... feel free to improvise! This would also be amazing with goat cheese between the zucchini and tomato layers.

Labor Day Weekend!

This is how I typically spend my Friday mornings: with the weekly newspaper section of Food & Wine (which comes out on Wednesdays, but this is the first day I have a chance to relax and read). I grab my scissors and tape, enjoy the local (well, somewhat... Sonoma County) articles, peruse the upcoming events, and clip any irresistible recipe for my collection. While my sweetheart and cat enjoy a little more sleep, it is my quite morning time to savor a cup of coffee and ease into the weekend ahead... in this case, a very LONG weekend.

I am going to spend this Labor Day weekend enjoying the beautiful sunshine we have slated for SF (spent an hour reading an old issue of Gourmet on the roof and have already begun a bit of a suntan!), making a trip to the Farmers Market, and reading the books that my sweetheart ordered for me (The Oxford Companion to Italian Food and The Oxford Companion to Food). Bry completed a website for his professor who has published a book on Oxford University Press. They could not afford to pay him too much for the awesome website he built, so they gave him credit towards books from the Press. Really, that is what we would have spent the money on anyway, so it worked out just fine... and I LOVE my new books!

I hope you all have a safe, fun, and FOOD-tastic weekend!

xoxo