Hosting A Salon

Does that sound as pretentious as I think it does?

I've been a part of some groups in the past that are all now defunct. Book clubs, Bible studies, service organizations. I always find good friends that way and it's one way I acclimate to a new city whenever I move.

I'm not planning on moving anytime soon, but some of my friends are or have already. Or their having babies. Or their diving into other groups I can't/won't join (hello marathon preppers!). I find myself craving the intellectual and emotional connection with peers that comes from regular, structured interaction.

So I've toyed with the idea of hosting a regular salon.

Salon: a gathering of people under the roof of an inspiring host, held partly to amuse one another and partly to refine the taste and increase the knowledge of the participants through conversation.

I'd make dinner for people once a month or once a quarter (seasonal dinners sound fun to me). I'd have vegan options and wheat-free options and low-sugar options for all diets. Think big pot of vegetable soup with toppings to personalize. Think soup kitchen for the vocal, educated, opinionated non-homeless.*

We'd either email the topic ahead of time or have a few news articles out on the table or a youtube video cued up to start the conversation. We'd have ground rules to make sure no one got too heated:

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Or we could make sure that all insults are dished out Martin Luther style.

And over paninis and crudite, we'd discuss music and current events and historical trends!

Or we'd end up inciting a riot, alienating our friends and having to freeze-n-heat 20 lbs of vegetable soup. 

Thoughts?

*Dear Lord this is pretentious!

Drunk Peaches and Low Self Esteem

Amaretto Peach Bread

Basically a muffin recipe that I totally jacked up and made in a loaf pan. Following recipes is for losers! J/k if you like recipes. I just happen to not. 

Peaches from the farmer's market, simmered with water, amaretto liquor, brown sugar and cinnamon. 

1/2 of the peaches in the batter, 1/2 on top.

This peach muffin recipe with coconut/almond milk and a tablespoon of vinegar in place of sour cream. And less sugar. And no nuts. 

'Twas Ok. I can see what I'd like to change next time. I'd also like to try to make it completely vegan. 

Next weekend is my nephew's 2nd birthday party. My mom called me yesterday to organize extra family time while they're in town and God-bless-it, I actually answered the phone. I didn't feel like it. I have been extra weird and moody lately. Not entirely sure what's going on. Every time someone asks me how I'm feeling or if the Mr. asks me "what's wrong" I give one of a few answers:

- I'm fine

- I'm feeling off

- I'm experiencing severe low self esteem and cannot seem to pump myself up enough to do anything. I get the sense that everyone is judging me and then I sweat/swear/drink too much in front of them and create a self-fulfilling prophecy of judgement. I'm also hyper-insecure about my forehead as someone said it was "large" months ago and now I can't help but bring it up in hopes that someone will say "Oh, you have a lovely, normal, elegant forehead that perfectly fits your face and compliments your hairline."

- You're annoying

Naturally this has lead to many fights, crying spells and social avoidance. I'm a big damn baby. 

On the phone with my understanding and relentlessly supportive mom I ended up rehashing a work issue that I thought I had dealt with. Apparently I am really good at repressing, but she is really good at pulling the thread on my sweater of self-lies.

"If you want to destroy my sweater, wo-ah wo-ah woah, pull this thread as I walk away as I walk away-ay"

So I went from being slightly hungover and reclusive to borderline depressed and full-on defeated about yesterday's news. 

So I baked a subversive baked good (recipe, take that!), cried on the toilet (at least you're getting all your private moments out of the way in one instance), plead with the Mr. to get order-in chinese and watched a happy lil murder-story called Fargo for the first time.

I think I want to be Marge for Halloween. 

Source: bbodysnatchers.tumblr.com via Billie on Pinterest

Marge Gunderson: Say, Lou, didya hear the one about the guy who couldn't afford personalized plates, so he went and changed his name to J3L2404?

 Lou: Yah, that's a good one.

Green Smoothie

I've never made a spinach smoothie before. The strongest flavors were that of fruit, but it was a bit more earthy from the spinach. Good earthy, though. 

This last picture shows the smoothie looking rather pink from the strawberries. I thought this was weird as spinach has a lot of chlorophyll. As I drank the mixture, though, it got greener and greener. I think the pigment from the greens just needed a chance to wash out the other colors!

Ingredients


Spinach- 1 cup, packed
Strawberries- 1/2 cup
Blueberries- 1/4 cup
Banana- half
Ice- 1/2 cup
Greek yogurt- 1/4 cup
Almond milk- (not pictured) 1/2 cup
Mint- 4 leaves

Directions
Blend

Let the Personal Integration Begin!

Dear Diary,

If I am going to integrate my blogs and only have one of them on which to dump my brain, you'll have to be prepared for posts like this - 

1) Coffee on the porch this past weekend at 7 AM, before the day got really hot. I'm reading my kindle touch. It was a birthday present. And the coffee is decaf french press. Decaf because that's what I have and honestly I don't drink as much caffeine as I used to. It's nice to know I am not dependent on it.
(Advice: Break habits or addictions when you can. Prove to yourself you are flexible.)
Beverage Pairing: Coffee, decaf.

2) Pasta salad (made by me) on a bed of organic spinach (grown by the neighbors - thanks Bob and Josie!). Their little daughter brought it up to me to share. I asked her if she like spinach and she said no. I assumed I'm getting her 2nd choice, but I'm not mad.
(Advice: Eat your greens. Or eat someone else's greens.)
Bev Pair: Green juice, like Naked's Green Machine.

3) I wore a fishtail braid yesterday. This is my first time wearing one and doing it myself!
(Advice: Get out of your hair rut by trying a new style before you cut it all off.)
Bev Pair: Water. Hydrate and your hair and skin will thank you.

4) I went to Home Depot yesterday to get some plant supplies. I love their garden section. It feels like a cheap thrill to walk around in the pallets of pansies. I texted a bit with my brother who is a landscape expert to get some free advice :) I bought:
- spikes and twine to hold up my tomato plants
- pots to re-pot a hosta
- marigolds to ward off bugs from my other plants (the poor massacred lettuce!)
- a succulent for my desk at work
(Advice: Take time to stop and smell the roses. Even if they are Home Depot roses.)
Bev Pair: Lemonade. I saw a lemon tree at the Home Deep and wanted to buy it badly. 

5) I wore a suit today (am still wearing it) because it was our company's annual meeting. Yes, the suit is cream. I feel like I'm in a 70's movie or I'm Chloe Sevigny.
(Advice: Always dress over the occasion slightly if you are are unaware of the protocol.)
Bev Pair: White wine. Don't you dare spill on that lovely white suit!

all pics are mine except this one.

Get ready for more integration, Diary.

Never Make Boring Mac and Cheese Again

I usually add hot sauce, mustard, onion and whatever veggies I have on hand to my mac-n-cheese.

Do you add anything fun? What about duck confit?! This chart makes me want to add beer to my macaroni and cheese!

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If you can't see the chart, click here to see the original.

Tipsy Tuesday: Whip It Good in the FP

My dear friend (and recently married woman), Chelsey asked me about the ways I use my food processor. She and her husband were rounding out their registry and Mr. Chelsey thought that an FP was unnecessary... pft!

Poor Chels was using an old blender (or was it an old FP) that didn't have a lid (messy) and smoked when she ran it too long (unsafe, smelly).

(swirly dreamlike holographic kaleidoscopic whatsits wisk you away to the land of FP.)

Something like this:

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Welcome to Food Processor Land. Where everything is possible as long as it fits into a 13 cup basin.

First possibility: Hummus. Chelsey has made this in an FP before, so maybe she'll comment and give us her recipe

My favorite food processor product? Pesto!

I've made pea pesto, Mulit-herb pesto, regular basil pesto and other veggie sauces in mine. All of them are fantastic when mixed into some carbs. Mmmm nap.

Here's my favorite pesto's ingredients (the pea kind)in order of quantity:

Pea Pesto:
Peas
Basil (dried can work here because its not the main ingredient)
Parmesan
Olive Oil (a good one... you wont be cooking it so the flavors must be top)
Nuts of any kind (traditional pesto uses pine nuts, but I've used walnuts before)
Freshly cracked pepper (and some red pepper flake if you're feeling spicy.)
Salt

Dump all into a processor (minus the oil) and start to pulse/blend. Add the oil through the spout at the top in a thin stream. One mistake of pesto-making is adding the oil at the start - the basil and peas have moisture too and can get the sauce going on their own. You add too much oil at the beginning and you end up making your pasta too heavy. Pour in enough oil to just combine the sauce, but not make it runny. Put the sauce over hot pasta and mix. If it's too sticky, add some of the cook water from the pasta to thin. Refrain from adding more oil. (Did I stress that enough?)

Here's a portion of some pea pesto with roasted cherry tomatos and seared scallops.

Via my Pinterest.

FP's can give you drinks too - but be wary of the liquid. Blenders may make a better bet for drinks because their basins are tall and slender and more likely to contain your juices.

But.

I made a smoothie in my FP and it worked out fine.

Smoothie:
Blueberries
Frozen Strawberries
Orange juice

Dump, whirl, pour and sip.

And if you must abide by the rules of Tipsy Tuesday, I'm sure this smoothie would be great with some vodka, rum or even some champagne (frozen champagne drink... it could work, right?).

Tipsy Tuesday: Sometimes You Feel the Need to Yee-Haw

I've revolted against the cow-patty-country way of some of my cohorts and vowed to be city-slicker-civilized-cynical against all things country.

But what the flip is wrong with pop music today? All the "shake that" and electronica is so abusive to my ears. Seriously, do the B.E.P. sing/rap/garbagenoise everything nowadays?!

The music. It turned me first and it has turned me again. Bands like The Band Perry, Lady Antebellum, and themanwiththebesthairI'veeverseenonamanorawoman: Keith Urban all do much to cross genres and please many of us.



The attitude. I have some difficult conversations and interactions coming up and instead of having my city blinders on, I should take a more relaxed approach and maybe put on the armour of "Bless 'er heart" to just fake my way through it. If it works, it works, right?


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The decor. My friend Maddison asked me which would I choose for her new studio: a gray rug and a cowhide rug. I told her the gray rug because I didn't peg her for country. But looking at the pics on her blog have me "woo-ing" over the hide one. What do you think? Head to her blog to see the comparison and leave a comment weighing in.



The food. Cook with butter. Because fat is flavor and Paula Dean looks beautiful (and happy)!



And the drinks. Food and drinks are separate, yep. I've always loved beer. S wanted to head to Maria's, a local hole-in-the-wall, for a beer last night. Alas, I had already swapped respectable clothing and contacts for my new RayBan glasses and and eclectic pj combo, so I told him I'd concoct something fun at home. I found The Kicking Cow cocktail on an app. that tells you what drinks you can make with what you have in your liquor cabinet/fridge.

Equal parts:
whiskey
cream
maple syrup.

A diabetic, lactose intolerant nightmare, but I liked it.



The hand is mine, the foot is S's. I'm a bad iPhone photographer and he's a comedian.

So I stand corrected. Get your country-on.

Wednesday: Common Sense on a Blogroll

Yes, I Googled it and didn't see "Common Sense on a Blogroll" as being utilized so I guess I have to get to use it!

And so unveils the new weekday themed posts: Common Sense.

Every (I'll try!) Wednesday I'll bring you a nugget of knowledge. One that is grounded in my noggin and should also be in yours. And in the spirit of blogrolling, I'll shout out to another blog on an either related (or unrelated) theme.

So let's get to it. Today's common sense:

When handling raw meat, paint or other goopy substances with your bare hands (like paper mache paste), remove your expensive rings.

I love Young House Love, but Sherry's gotta be crazy to get her hands messy with those diamonds on her digits!



Go check out this lovely lil family on their blog younghouselove.com. Two cute bloggers, a baby and a burger...