From my coast to your coast

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

captivating canapé

So as you've probably deduced from this blog, Stefan and I absolutely adore an aperitif. When we first started dating, our go-to night out was wine and cheese on one of our unreal roofs (which we discovered shortly after our first date, were only blocks away from one another). We'd often have so much fun chatting and munching and drinking and chatting, we'd skip dinner altogether.

The view from the roof at Stefan's old apartment.

But after a holiday break filled with a whole lot of cookies and not so many carrots, and with a fruit bowl that has looked like this since we got back:

Yep - that's right. A whole lot of Swiss-military-issued

chocolate courtesy of Stefan's stint in the Swiss armed forces last month.

...we decided to revamp our evening tradition with an eye towards our waistlines. So when we invited our wonderfully fun and fabulously French neighbor over for a drink, I made a few slight revisions.

First, in addition to our traditional classic French baguette, I bought a crunchy and delicious multi grain loaf cut extra thin - perfect for some smoked salmon and sliced onions.

Second, I concocted my own healthy version of a creamy curry dip - inspired by the beyond heavenly (and likely not low-cal) rendition at Larry's Market in Milwaukee. It's always one of my favorite treats to revisit when I head home.

2 cups plain yogurt, 2 tablespoons curry,

a few good dashes of Worcestershire,

and pinch of sugar and salt

While we still had a tad bit of cheese, smoked salmon with fruit and veggies (paired with my curry dip) were the event's centerpiece.

While we hadn't warned our French friend about our new health-conscience culinary commitment, she seemed to be on completely the same page. Along with the bottle of bubbly she brought, she came armed with a beautiful bowl of the creamiest, most luxurious mint pea soup I've ever sipped.

Just saute onions in a frying pan,

add chicken stock and bring to a boil,

add frozen split peas and cook for 3-5 minutes,

add mint and salt & pepper (and a bit of cream) to taste,

puree until smooth.

Enjoy!

The whole evening was positively lovely; I hardly missed the hearty helping of cheese at all.

But it wasn't the multi-grain bread or the melon or the curry dip that was mouth-watering (while I hate to admit it, my spread didn't hold a candle to Larry's fine concoction), it was the company that was delicious, the conversation that was scrumptious, the bubbly banter of our friend's new job and our new engagement and the San Francisco sunshine that made the evening delectable.

xoxo

Friday, January 13, 2012

favs from mom

In brainstorming my favs for this week, I realized that a lot of my current favorites - scratch that, almost all of my ALWAYS favorites - are courtesy of my fabulously stylish and tantalizingly tasteful madre. So in honor of her, I am sharing my favorites from the mothership - her fashion sense, her gifts, her recipes, her tastes, her habits, her words of wisdom. Enjoy!

For wearing:

Boutique-bought black and white sweater,

J. Crew Excursion Quilted Vest,

Joe's "The Skinny" jean,

J. Crew Booker Boots

(plus the red framed print behind me)

ALL gifts from my lovely mom

Ralph Lauren Merino-Wool Blend Dress

(plus leather chair gifted to Stefan)

(plus Alcatraz print gifted to me)

Again, ALL gifts from - you guessed it - MOM

For eating:

Her unbelievably delicious Caesar salad dressing

(6 tablespoons olive oil, 1 tablespoon Worcestershire, 1 egg,

3 tablespoons lemon juice and Parmesan cheese to taste)

To die for!
1

Her Chocolate Peanut Butter Rice Krispy Roll

We were always the coolest kids in school

when it came in with us a birthday treat

(you can find a close second to her rendition here)

For drinking:

She's got me head over heels for this divine bubbly.

Oh what a shame.

For writing:

Her emphasis on the value of a hand-written note

Sure, you can tell someone "thank you" or "I love you"

or "I am thinking of you" in milliseconds nowadays,

but somehow the extra few days in delivery

change the message in the most magical way

For rejuvenating:

Her uncanny ability to sleep just about anywhere

(me demonstrating my inherited skills on a road trip)

For saying:

If you know her, you'll know she LOVES to say this.

For the longest time, I thought it was the silliest of sayings.

OF COURSE, it is what it is.

But after awhile, I realized the true intention of the phrase:

what has happened is over and done with,

stop stressing/worrying/getting anxious about it,

accept it, and move on or deal with it. Pure brilliance.

Enjoy your weekend - it's gorgeous here and I am already salivating at thought of a trip to the ferry building farmer's market and a long run with Stefan on our favorite Pacific-lined trail. I'll report back next week!

xoxo

Thursday, January 12, 2012

surprised, pleasantly

I have a tendency to catalog things in my life within my very orderly, but somewhat rigid, mental filing system. I make a judgment about something - I like this food, I don't like that sweater, I enjoy spending time with her - and then I file.
Done and done.

Very rarely do I revisit my placements. I trust my judgment and don't want to waste time reassessing what has already been assessed.

But recently, there have been a few times where I've been forced to pull out an old, dusty file and reevaluate.

Take lavender for instance. For me - it was always a soup, detergent, or maybe a candle.

Perhaps the essence could be allowed to be added to an already existing and much-more-prominent food flavor (lavender lemonade or lavender peach jam), but I couldn't imagine lavender standing all on it's own for eating.

But then someone brought some delicious Boulange treats into the office.
And I bit into a purple macaroon.
And it was lavender.
Just lavender and nothing else.

1, 2

The second I realized it, my jaw clenched up expecting the soapy taste of a sud-soaking detergent bubbling up within my cheek, but instead I was pleasantly surprised. The taste was sweet, yet refreshing, calming and inviting, and all kinds of delicious macaroon goodness.

I admit it - I was wrong. I pulled out my file and relabeled. Lavender does have a place in culinary confection all to itself.

Or take young adult fiction - the day I graduated from middle school, I pronounced this file of literary genre over. I was an ADULT, not a little girl: I no longer read The Baby-sitters Club or Judy Blume.

But then I read the first chapter of The Hunger Games and my tune quickly changed. If you haven't taken the plunge yet, do it - regardless of your literary inclinations, you will love.

Then there's carnations. I've always despised these terribly tacky flowers. While I respect their positioning in a cheesy single-stem vase at a Denny's or equal-caliber establishment, I could never be happy with a bouquet of these blossoms for myself, especially when paired with babies breath - which comes in almost equally as awful.

But then while at the cheese shop picking up some essentials, I stumbled across the most gorgeous bouquet of blooms in their tantalizing display right inside their front door. As I stepped in closer to check out the name and price of these maroon beauties, I was shocked.

They were carnations. My mind was racing as I tried to place them in the correct category: did I, or did I not, like this species of plant? I liked it, but would I like it tomorrow? Did I have to reassess and refile immediately? Could I just keep this one file open for now?

But then I realized it's not just true about scents or books or greenery, it's amazing how often I place a person into a category where they may or may not belong. And even if they do belong, they might not a few years, weeks, or days later. I certainly am not the same category of person I was 6 months ago - how should I expect those around me to fit nicely into one mental file or another forever and ever?

They say "people don't change," but I actually don't believe that one bit. I can't make a person change, but people change all the time: I am changing right this very moment just like everyone else - I should give those around me a little more credit for that.
(I'll have you know: my mental filing cabinet has just been thrown out of our two-story window.)

xoxo
KK

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Do#2: Write Odes to Your Loved Ones (please read in limerick style)

A little treat to get you through the week. The east coast has been busy the past few days so hopefully this will be somewhat enjoyable or at least comical and endearing.

There once was a girl named KK,

Who knew how to take a great va-cay,

So she jumped on a plane,

And was never the same,

Because a marriage was much in the make-y,

The boy, his name was Stefan,

And believe me he was just no plain John,

He knew how to ski,

And had more than a key,

To KK's heart, the beautiful swan,

The rest, is yet to be told,

Her wedding soon to unfold,

It will certainly be sweet,

And a radiant treat,

To see them happily grow old.

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

travel by trace

A few days ago while at Cheese Plus on Polk picking up a few of Stefan's favorites to have in the fridge when he gets home (Appenzeller Extra, a vintage-aged Gruyere, and a creamy and complex blue), I decided to give their sandwiches a shot. I've heard nothing but unreal ravings about their creations and figured it was the perfect time to see for myself.

While they house a number of San Francisco-named specialities (the Nob Hill, the Chrissy Field, Castro's Cubano), their special of the day happened to be an Alpine Grilled Cheese complete with Raclette, Gruyere, and Morbier. I knew that if Stefan ever found out I passed that little master blend up, I'd pay the price, SO I ordered it and a lemonade and got myself a spot at their counter.

The second my nostrils caught whiff of this cheesy concoction's aroma, I was immediately transported back to Switzerland. I was no longer sitting alone starring out at the corner of Polk and Pacific; I was sitting next to Stefan, across from his mom and uncle, enjoying traditional Swiss raclette at their table.

Simply from the succulent smell.

Stefan pouring his perfectly melted raclette

over some warm potatoes my last night

in Switzerland (last Monday)

It's not just random that one tinsy sniff sent me Swiss-bound within seconds, olfaction is our quickest sense. Unlike signals from other senses which must first be processed in our brain's thalamus, smells go direct to our olfactory cortex and are directly linked with our limbic system and amygdala - where emotional memories are first created and then stored.

I started thinking about all the other aromas that have the power of time-travel for me.

With the scent of freshly baked bread lingering with a whiff of creamy, melted butter, I'm 10 years old and standing on a stool helping my Nana and Pops make breakfast for the guests at their beautiful B&B.

Then there's that unknown, but very specific industrial cleaning product that I'll smell in a bathroom every once in awhile that immediately takes me back to the Green Room at First Stage - home to my young adult acting career, which I adored with all of my heart (and not just because I had a massive crush on my co-star).

Me with B&B owners extraordinaries - Nana and Pops -

during intermission at one of my shows

Yeah, that's right: I played a bald zebra.

I didn't say that acting career was glamorous.

Maybe sometime if you're lucky,

I'll tell you about the time travel dance I did for one of my shows.

Then there's the elegant fragrance of Chanel No. 5 with a just the tiniest hint of moth ball that takes me to my fabulously stylish (and hole-free sweatered) grandmother's powder room. (I'm telling you - those little anti-insect spheres are seriously underrated - just wait 'till you find your favorite sweater missing part of its armpit - then you'll wish you'd been smart.)

Then there's that magical mix of wet weimaraner and heavenly hollandaise - with it I'm 16, sitting in Dickie Boy and Judy's unreal Aspen bungaloo pulling on my ski socks as DB makes the most delicious eggs benedict you've ever devoured.

DB with his many women

And then there's the putrid stench of rotten eggs that sends me back to the (sulfur-ridden) dorms at Space Camp, where my fabulous Aunt Jules and I piloted and commanded our first space shuttle mission.

And finally there's that first whiff after a champagne bottle pop that also puts me back celebrating something fabulous with my fantastically fun fam: Mom (who drinks only bubbly and Diet Coke), Dad, Gretters, Sam and now Stefan.

It never fails to captivate me - those little scented hints that remind me of time gone by.

What are the fragrances that fly you back in time?

xoxo

Monday, January 9, 2012

cookie cutter

Despite the absolutely gorgeous sunshine here this past weekend, I was feeling a tad bit under the weather. I was in one of those stay-in-your-pjs-all-day-and-cuddle-up-at-home type moods, SO (since I hate not doing something) I decided to utilize my new cookie utensils (courtesy of my fabulous future mother-in-law as highlighted as a new fav on Friday). I spent my Saturday being all domestic, baking up a storm of goodies to ship over to Switzerland as a thank-you to Stefan's mom and sis for their lovely gifts to me.

Using the new all-in-German recipe book I received from Stefan's mom, I picked out two Swiss cookie recipes: Vanillehornchen (her favorite in the collection) and then Spitzbuben (the pretty jam-filled cookies Stefan and I attempted last time around which would require me to use my new super cool cookie cutters).

After prepping and then chilling the dough (butter, butter, sugar, flour, and more butter), I rolled it out PERFECTLY evenly using my new Swiss-made, dough-thickness-measuring sticks.

Just another example of Swiss brilliance.

That, and opting out of the Euro.

I then moved onto cutting my cookie tops and bottoms using my new ingenious shapes.

After a quick 8-minute toast in the oven, I prepped my jams to fill these little babies up. While the recipe calls for a traditional raspberry or apricot, I decided to add a little KK-spice picking out a luscious lavender peach as well as my favorite wild blueberry jam.

It was then onto the Vanilla Horns - for these I utilized my hands rolling each cookie into a lovely little crescent.

Once these goodies were all cooled, it was all sorts of powdered sugar sprinkling happening here.

But I didn't just want to send them their own special sweets, I also wanted to send them a little bit of the good old US of A, and what's more American than a batch of gooey chocolate chip cookies.

At this point, however, I was a tad bit mixed-out, SO I used an old family recipe for home-baked chocolate chip cookies courtesy of my fabulous Nana.

You may have tried it before.

Are they serious with this warning here?

Do they honestly think that there won't be

at least four of these little guys that make

their way to my mouth while I place the rest of

their bake-bound brothers on the cookie sheet?

And let me tell you - Nana never lets me down. These guys came out even better than I remembered.

It was then time for packing:

And then sending!
But don't worry, Stefan - I saved a few for you.

xoxo
KK

Friday, January 6, 2012

favs to brave the cold

For those of you not on the east coast, the past few days have been more than chilly. Below, a few things to help you keep toasty and to brave the lifting cold front...Happy Friday!

To satisfy the sweetest sweet tooth: