Presto Pesto!

Pesto is amazing. You can use it for so many different things. Since we have started growing basil it is all I've wanted to make. It turns out it's actually pretty easy to make. The key ingredient is basil and it should be fresh either from your own garden or from a farmers market or something.

*This recipe is for about a half a cup of pesto which is about enough for 2-4 servings of pasta depending on how large the serving is. If you want more double or triple the recipe)*

What you need:
1 cup fresh basil
1/4 cup olive oil
1/8 cup pine nuts
1 cloves garlic
salt and pepper to taste
*1/4 cup Parmesan cheese optional

What you do:
Mix all of the ingredients together (except salt and pepper) in a blender or food processor.
If you don't have either of those things mince all of the ingredients then add olive oil. It won't be as creamy.
 Put on pasta or garlic bread or baguette or sandwiches or whatever you'd like! Enjoy!

Music obsessions #7

Alright, here for another music update. Chris and I are about to head to a wedding on Friday and because my AUX cable is broken in my car (and has been for several years) we either listen to NPR or CDs. Since the wedding is in the Poconos the radio service might not be great, so I'm on a mission for new music and a new CD (we have been listening to the same 1 hour CD for MONTHS), so here is what I've got:

1) George Ezra
Super fun. It's the kind of music that you would listen to while driving with the windows down. I don't know if you know what I'm talking about, but it's not crazy dance music, but it really makes you wanna sway.

Band website

George Ezra is a songwriter from England (you can hear a hint of the accent in his singing). He's had a couple of EPs, but his first full length album was released this month and includes the song Budapest which is predictably my favorite song from the album.

2) Spoon
Alright, who else didn't know Spoon had a new album? I was checking out iTunes top 100 and saw a Spoon song and found their new album. Lots of fun. Typical Spoon album. Mostly upbeat songs which I enjoy.

Band website

Spoon is a 5 person band from Austin, Texas. They fit well into the Rock genre. They have been around since the mid-nineties. Their songs have been used in a ton of T.V. shows and movies. Their new album is called They Want My Soul and honestly I like all of the songs. I'm not sure I can really make a list. Definitely check out the song Do You.

3) Alt-J
All you really need to know is that they are British and indie rock. Need more convincing? They are chill with the right amount of beat to make you wanna dance, but they aren't crazy.

Band website

The band has one album, almost 2. The second album is coming out in late Sept. They do have a single out from their upcoming album called Left Hand Free which is awesome. Be sure to check that one out. Highlights from their first album include: Breezeblocks and Something Good.

4) The Bleachers
Pretty strongly cemented in the alternative genre. This band might not be for everyone, but give them a try even if you just listen to the samples on iTunes. iTunes and I classify them in the alternative category, but I feel it's important to note Wikipedia puts them in indie pop. If you still need convincing they have a song featuring Yoko Ono, so that's gotta at least be worth a try.

Band website

Interesting little factoid the lead guitarist from Fun Jack Antonoff started this band and it is his current project. Which is probably why they only have one album. Highlights include: Wild Heart, I Wanna Get Better, Rollercoaster, Wake Me.

5) O.A.R.
Alright, don't give me shit for revisiting O.A.R. Honestly a lot of bands we used to listen to as teenagers are doing great things now. O.A.R. released a new CD called The Rockville LP. It's actually pretty good. The sound is a lot of the same just better than they used to be.

Band website

These 5 boys have a special place in my heart because they are from Rockville, MD where my best friend grew up and where I went to school from kindergarten through eighth grade. Highlights from their new album are: Peace, Two Hands Up, The Element.

6) Ingrid Michaelson
As I'm writing all of these I probably should have mentioned most of these bands/people are not new discoveries they just have big things happening for them right now. Ingrid Michaelson has a new album. I knew of her single Girls Chase Boys, but had no idea the album had already dropped.  It's called Lights Out. Super cute and feminine. I just love her voice.

Band website

In case you didn't know of this lovely indie pop singer, Ingrid Michaelson is based in NY and has 6 albums. Her latest, Lights out is amazing. Highlights are: Girls Chase Boys, Warpath, One Night Town, Over You.

7) Ed Sheeran
Another English singer/songwriter. He just released his second album. He has pretty slow music as he doesn't usually play with a band it is just him and his acoustic guitar. I will say, he has a song name Nina on his album, so I may be biased toward him.

Band website

I didn't listen to his first album, but after hearing his second it seems like he has his sound down. Highlights of the album X are: Don't, Nina (obviously haha), Runaway.

8) Echosmith:
I hadn't heard of them before and they seemed a little too electronica for my taste at first, but I gave them more of a listen and I think it actually works for them.

Band website

This 4 person band are ALL SIBLINGS (I can't imagine the fights they must have). They are an indie rock band from L.A. They released their first album, Talking Dreams last year and I assume they are going to release a new one. The highlights from that album are: Come Together, Cool Kids, March Into The Sun, Ran Off In The Night.

That's all folks!

Day at the Museum

A while back I wrote a post about different styles of painting.  I thought I would follow up with a few more ideas. I spent all day yesterday painting which doesn't happen often, but the creativity was really flowing yesterday and these were the results!

Number 1: Painting with doilies 

I recently got some doilies for various art projects, so I thought it would be fun to paint with them.  They have such a pretty pattern. I started with a large blank canvas. I picked about 6 different colors I wanted to use for the background. I smeared them all over with a brush. I set it aside and let it dry. When it was dry I placed a doily down and painted with black paint then removed the doily to see the pattern underneath.

 Number 2: Credit card painting

Very similar to a technique I used in my last painting post, you start with a blank canvas and put little dots of paint all over. Since I was mimicking sky, I used mostly blue paint. Once all of your globs of paint are down, use the flat edge of a credit card or something else to smear the paint around. Since I was going for a really textured look I took a paint brush and dotted it against the paint to form little peaks in the paint. I was going off of a picture in my phone of a rainbow boat kite from the beach.

 Number 3: Nature painting

The key to painting nature scenes its getting the right amount of texture in your paint. My recommendation at least for a sunset is to start dark for the ground mixing brown and black. Use long brush strokes to make overlapping lines mixing colors of the previous lines with the next darker color so that everything blends nicely for example, the sun is yellow, the next line is yellow and orange mixed, then a little more orange mixed in and so on until the color is actually orange, then mix in a little red, then a little more, etc. To get the textured lines dab the brush against the paint it creates little peaks. Let it dry before you paint your nature scene.

All around the blueberry bush

There are times you are invited to a brunch or you wanna make something nice to bring, but you don’t wanna wake up super early or do anything too complicated.  This blueberry coffee cake is a great option if you wanna do something special, but also want something easy.

What you need:
2 1/2 cups bisquick
1 cup cup sugar
1 cup blueberries
1/2 cup sour cream
2 eggs
3 tbsp milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup flour
4 tbsp butter (plus more for greasing)

What you do:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease pan (original recipe calls for 9x13, but I used 9x11)
In a large bowl mix 2 1/2 cups bisquick with 1/2 cup sugar.
Add 1/2 cup sour cream, 2 eggs, 3 tbsp milk, 1/2 tsp vanilla.
Mix until combined.
Mix in 1 cup blueberries by hand.
Pour into greased pan.
Drop the pan from about 2-3 inches above the table to get the air bubbles out.
In medium bowl mix 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour and 4 tbsp butter (cut into cubes).
Mix together until the mixture is nice and crumbly…it should not be smooth.
Crumble on top of the blueberry batter in the pan until it covers the surface.
Bake for about 35 mins or until toothpick comes out clean…if you used a smaller pan your bake time will be longer.
Serve hot with coffee!

When life gives you leftovers

The first thing I do when I find a recipe I wanna try is check the ingredients for anything that I either don’t like or would want to sub out.  When I checked this recipe for lemon roasted chicken there wasn’t an ingredient I saw that I wanted to change (although the original calls for chicken thighs and I used chicken breast).

What you need:
Bone in, skin on chicken breast
1 tbsp olive oil (plus more for pan)
1 tbsp whole grain mustard
3 tsp lemon zest
1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1 1/4 cups chicken stock
1/4 fresh lemon juice

What you do:
Preheat oven to 375.
Make the chicken rub by combining 1 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp whole grain mustard, 1 tsp lemon zest, 1 1/2 dried oregano, 1/2 tsp dried thyme, 1/4 tsp kosher salt. Mix completely.
Rub or brush all over the chicken.
Cover the bottom of a large oven-proof skillet (I used the cast iron) with olive oil and heat over medium high heat.
Place chicken skin down in the hot oil.
Cook for 3 minutes then flip and cook for another 3 minutes.
While it is cooking, combine 1 1/4 cup chicken stock, 1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice, and 2 tsp lemon zest in a medium bowl and whisk until completely combined.
When the chicken has cooked 3 minutes on either side, remove from heat and add the chicken stock mixture.
Place in oven for 45-60 minutes (until the juices run clear and internal temp is 165 degrees).

I served with corn on the cob and salad. It was absolutely amazing.  The other good thing about this dish is that it makes GREAT leftovers. The chicken breasts are huge and most of the time you won’t finish it. The leftover meat would be great on sandwiches or on a salad or in a quesadilla.

Good show, old chap!

Just wanted to say sorry for only one post last week, BUT I was pretty busy and I promise to make up for it this week. Starting now. I'll start by covering my weekend. It was a weekend of absolutely fantastic shows. You'll see what I mean:

Chris and I kicked of an amazing weekend on Friday night with the Arcade Fire concert at the Barclays center. The tickets/website had almost no information about the show so we had no idea who the openers were or what to expect since the last time we saw Arcade Fire was at Bonnaroo in 2011. The Unicorns were the first opener which was absolutely fantastic as I hadn't listened to them since high school. They played a fantastic line up and finished it off with I Was Born a Unicorn which made me very happy. Next up was Dan Deacon. He kicked it all off with a dance off of all of people in the GA floor section. There was a big circle and people going crazy it was really fun. He then had two people lead each side of the circle in an interpretive dance contest. He played for about a half hour after that before Arcade Fire came on.  They were absolutely fantastic and played everything you could have asked for. They have such a good vibe it is just fantastic.  They had a man dressed in all mirrors During one of their last numbers they showered the stadium in glitter As part of their encore Bust Poindexter joined them for "Hot, Hot, Hot" which was so much fun I don't think a single person was sitting/standing still. AND the rented out the Barclays center an extra hour so that everyone who wanted to could stay and dance with them. It was an absolutely fantastic evening.

 I also received the edible glitter that I ordered, so get ready for some amazing looking baked goods.

 

On Saturday Chris and I and our friend Ben went upstate for the day. We started it all out in Woodstock, NY. We met up with our other friends Lily and Shawn at Woodstock Pizza Company. They have FANTASTIC pizza, a good beer selection and they are super inexpensive. Then we walked around, went to a flea market, stopped into a few stores before making our way to Peace, Love, and Cupcakes a CRAZY good bakery in Woodstock. I also highly recommend Taco Juans's homemade salted caramel pretzel ice cream. We then made our way to the World's Largest Kaleidoscope on Mount Tremper. If you are ever in the area I HIGHLY recommend it.   It's a lot more built up than in the picture on the website above, it's part of a hotel/spa now and it has a big store and everything around it. Chris got a Star Wars kaleidoscope in the gift shop. After that we went to a monastery up in the mountains. It was beautiful, but there was an event going on so we couldn't really walk around. The day was great and the perfect escape from the craziness of NYC. 

Sunday Chris and I went into New Jersey to get some shopping done and we also decided to go see Guardians of the Galaxy in IMAX 3D. Shopping was highly successful and since I am doing DIY Christmas gifts I got ahead of the game thanks to a trip to Michaels. The movie was great. I really recommend it.  It has something for everyone and was pretty funny. 

Anywho, check back this week because I will be making up for my one post last week with a bunch this week. Enjoy!

It's raining cats and...pigs mouses?

It's actually a beautiful day out today, but since I'm going to be posting about DIY cat toys I figured the title was appropriate. Oh, and the pig mouses thing you will understand later.

For those of you who know me, I love cats, and I especially love my cat Wedge.  He is the best most adorable cat, and Chris and I couldn't have asked for a better pet. We keep lots of toys around for him to play with: felt mice (specifically the pink ones), ping pong balls (a favorite), feathery toys, and toys that make lots of noise.  He has so many toys in fact that we had to start a basket of them. So, when I was on Pinterest and saw a DIY cat toy, I knew I had to give it a try. This project was a lot of fun although it was also tiring and requires some amount of patience. It is supposed to be a cardboard mouse, but in an attempt to make something a little more his size I made one that looks more like a pig than a mouse as you will see from the pictures haha.

What you will need:
Cardboard (enough to make 10-15 different sized circles from)
Scissors (or better yet an exacto knife)
Yarn/string
Kabob stick (or some other kind of pokey stick)
Catnip spray

What you do:
Cut 10-15 circles out of the cardboard. Start with the biggest circle, mine was about 5 inches in diameter, but you can obviously make it smaller. Next, cut the two circles that will go on either side of the biggest circle.  Make them slightly smaller than the original circle. Continue that pattern until the circles come to a point and form what is supposed to be a mouses body. It might be helpful to draw them out ahead of time.
OPTIONAL: You can rip off the side of the cardboard so it gets that ridged look or you can leave it the way it is.
Use a kabob stick or some other kind of sharp stick to poke holes through the center of the circles. OPTIONAL: I had blue and pink yarn, so I poked 3 holes: 1 for the nose and 2 for the eyes, but you can poke just one it is definitely easier.
Cut a piece of string to the right length (you should be able to tie a knot on one end for the nose, hold it the length of the mouse AND have a tail).
Knot the end of the yarn with a big knot.
Pick an end to start with and thread the circles onto the yarn. Spray each one with the catnip spray(or every other one if your cat gets insane with it).
String all of the circles together and tie a knot at the end to make a tail.
You can also add ribbon, more string, etc. to make it more fun for them. I added burlap ears (which didn't help it looking like a pig).
And you're done!

Butter me up!

For a while Chris and I had a little market on our street that sold THE BEST homemade herb butter. They also happened to sell the best homemade marinara sauce and the best dark homemade chocolate espresso covered malted milk balls. Unfortunately they moved on from selling homemade goods to sell craft beer. I only say unfortunately because we live in Brooklyn and if we want craft beer we can find it, but you DEFINITELY can't find their herb butter, tomato sauce, or malted milk balls anywhere else. Anyway, since they got rid of their herb butter I have been hoping to make my own, and finally I had the time to do it.

I made two different kinds of compound butter. The first was a sage, rosemary, thyme, tarragon, and garlic.  The second was a copycat recipe of Texas Roadhouse cinnamon butter. I've never actually been to a Texas Roadhouse, but I hear from MANY people that the butter is to die for, and having tried my own I say it is amazing.

Garlic herb butter:
What you need:
2 sticks salted butter- at room temperature
4 cloves garlic- chopped
1/4-1/2 cup sage- chopped
1/4-1/2 cup tarragon- chopped
1/4 cup thyme- chopped
1/4 cup rosemary- chopped
Wax paper
Cling wrap

What you do:
While you are waiting for butter to be at room temperature chop the garlic, sage, rosemary, thyme, and tarragon.
Mix room temperature butter with herbs.
Wrap in wax paper.
Label and wrap again in cling wrap.
Refrigerate and use as needed!

Texas Roadhouse cinnamon butter:
What you need:
Two sticks unsalted butter (at room temperature)
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup honey
2 tsp cinnamon

What you do:
Mix all ingredients together and whip until mixed completely.




















These butters are super easy and make cooking easy because everything is already mixed together. I used the garlic herb butter for pasta primavera for dinner last night. I'm going to keep trying different ones, but until I do here are a couple websites with compound butter recipes:

29 compound butters savoury and sweet
5 herb butter recipes

Somebody put a finger on my butterfinger

Butterfingers are probably my favorite candy, so when scrolling through Pinterest trying to figure out what recipe I was going to try this week I knew I HAD to try this Butterfinger Puppy Chow.  It may be named puppy chow, but it is definitely for humans and it is DELICOUS. There are tons of different kinds of puppy chows and they make great holiday treats! Check out the links below the pictures for a few other puppy chow recipes!

What you need:
6 cups Rice chex cereal
1 cup chocolate chips (I used semi-sweet, but you can use milk chocolate)
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/3 cup finely chopped Butterfinger (about a bag of mini ones or 4-5 large bars)

What you do:
Measure out 6 cups of rice chex cereal into a large bowl.
Chop Butterfingers into tiny pieces until you have 1 1/3 cup of Butterfinger.
In a medium sized bowl put 1 cup chocolate chips, 1/2 cup peanut butter, and 1 tsp vanilla extract.
Heat chocolate peanut butter mixture in microwave for 45 seconds, stir, then heat again for 15 seconds.
Pour over rice cereal to cover completely.
Coat chocolate rice cereal evenly with Butterfinger crumbs in the bowl or in a large ziplock bag if that makes it easier to coat evenly. 
Let cool and enjoy!

Other puppy chow recipes:
Funfetti puppy chow
Cookies and cream puppy chow
Pumpkin spice puppy chow
Nutella puppy chow
Twix puppy chow

It's in the pot

A couple of weeks ago I mentioned in my roasted chicken post that everyone should know at least one recipe by heart. This basil breaded tomato topped spaghetti is also a good one to learn and takes less time than a roasted chicken. And in my opinion you could have this recipe in the bag (or pot I should say haha) very quickly.

What you need:
For the tomatoes:
1-2 Roma tomatoes (depending on how many breaded tomatoes you want or how many people you are serving...account for about 2-3 tomato slices per person)
1 cup panko bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese 
2 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic
1/4 cup fresh basil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground pepper

For the spaghetti:
1/2-full box of spaghetti (depending on how many people you are serving I used 1/2 a box for two people and had left overs)
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese 
3 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
3/4 cup fresh basil
Salt
Pepper

What you do:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Boil water with a little olive oil and salt
While water is boiling slice tomatoes into 1/4 slices
Lightly coat baking sheet with aluminum foil with oil
Place the slices on the aluminum foil
In a small bowl place 1 cup breadcrumbs, 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, 2 tbsp olive oil, 1 clove garlic (chopped), 1/4 cup fresh basil (chopped), 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp ground pepper and mix completely
Sprinkle tomato slices with breadcrumb mixture until thickly coated
Put in oven and bake for about 10 mins until breadcrumb browns slightly
When water is boiling add spaghetti (I break mine in half so they fit nicely into the pot and to avoid clumping)
Follow the cooking instructions on the box (usually about 10-11 mins)
While everything is cooking take a medium pan and put 1/4 cup olive oil, 3 cloves garlic (chopped), 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper, salt, and pepper
Heat over medium heat for a few minutes until the garlic smells fragrant
Remove from heat and stir in 3/4 cup basil (chopped) and 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Stir until sauce is pretty creamy
Strain pasta and pour back into the pot or into a serving bowl
Add sauce and mix completely
Serve onto plates or bowls and top with two-three breadcrumb tomatoes

Pocket full of posies

These aren't quite posies, but they are definitely flowers. Paper flowers.  I did a post a long time ago with 3 kinds of paper flowers that turned out very nicely, this time I thought I would throw a few more techniques into the mix.

So the first two are pretty similar:

What you need:
Tissue paper (I used a bunch of different colors, but you can use the same if you'd like)
Pipe cleaners
Scissors
Washi tape (optional...I used it because I didn't have green pipe cleaners)

What you do:
Pick out 6 pieces of tissues paper (can be all one color or mix it up)
Line them up and cut 6 x 6 squares (you can make them bigger or smaller depending on what size you want your flower to be)
You should now have 6 6x6 squares of tissue paper
Accordion fold them with about an inch-inch and a half folds
Wrap the pipe cleaner around the accordion folds and twist tight

Here is where the techniques differ

Technique 1:
Cut each end of the tissue paper into half circles
Cut about an inch and a half in from the edge of the circles
Separate the tissue papers and fluff them
Be careful not to tear as you separate

Technique 2:
Cut each end of the tissue paper into a point
Cut about an inch and a half in from the edge of the point
Separate the tissue papers and fluff them
Be careful not to tear as you separate

The next one is a little more complicated, but also has a big payoff.

What you need:
Tissue paper
Ping pong ball or other similarly sized ball (I used a cat toy haha)
Scissors
Pipe cleaner
Tape

What you do:
Pick 5 pieces of tissue paper
Line them up and cut 6 inch by 3-4 inch (depending on the size ball you have) rectangles
Make sure that the tissue paper fits mostly around the ball, but leaves a gap
Place the ball in the middle of one of the pieces of tissue paper and twist both sides so that the ball is tightly encased in tissue paper with long tightly twisted things coming out of both ends
twist one of the ends so tightly it curls (but be careful because the tissue can tear), and cut the end
Leave the other end twisted, but leave it long
Gently remove the ball so you have a puffed out petal
Repeat 4 more times until you have 5 petals
Using the long twists tape them to the pipe cleaner and push the petals down so they look like a flower

The other ones (the rose and the frilly one) in the bouquet below are in this post if you are curious.