Full Circle Farm

I guess I never shared the farm that is supplying my CSA box. I ended up going with Full Circle Farms. It seems like a reasonable price, delivers to my door and I can change/preview the weekly selection online. They also allow me to swap out any of the fruits/veggies that I don't want. I even had a service rep call me after my first box to see how things went and if I could give them some feedback. My next box is this coming Monday and this is what I have coming:
Spinach, Arugula (which I swapped out for green onions), fingerling potatoes, carrots, tomatoes, lettuce, bell peppers, cucumbers, mangos (which I swapped out for pears), white peaches, strawberries (which I swapped out for green beans) and valencia oranges. It's going to be great to get my new box on Monday. I am excited for my peaches!

I'm taking off tomorrow

for SFO! I'm so excited! It's only my 2nd time there but this time around, I'll have a local tour guide who has also graciously hosting me until Sunday. I won't be taking my trusty dslr with me since I want to travel as light as I can but I'll still take plenty of pictures. See you when I get back, readers :)

SIFF

Starting next Thursday, The Seattle International Film Festival aka SIFF starts. Last year, I was encourage to go by a friend and ended up loving the 2 movies I saw. The Swimsuit Issue is on Comcast On-Demand if anyone wants to check it out. It's about a group of men starting their own synchronized swimming team and it's hilarious. K and I have been trying AGES to find this movie on dvd so you can imagine how shocked I was when I saw it on On-Demand.

This year, I am volunteering! Mostly because I can get free tickets to movies. I'm all about the free stuff :) I can't wait for the film festival to start.

Sperry topsiders...are MINE!

I totally love them even though I call them my 'frumpy old man shoes'. No joke, ask my friends at work. It's how I described them and one of them proceeds to tell me that it's cute and all the kids at local high school are wearing them. Like Kate, said, they really do look better when they are all broken in. I will be rocking these all summer long so outfit ideas/suggestions will be much appreciated!

Tortellini Salad

I found a decent salad to use up my vegetables from my CSA box on Apartment Therapy. I like how there is tortellini in the mix to make it more of a substantial meal. I've had it for lunch the past 2 days and I'm not tired of it yet! I used broccoli/radishes/mushrooms instead of the ones listed in the recipe since that was what I had on hand and it worked out just fine. The dressing is a little bland so on the 2nd day I mixed in mustard with a bit more olive oil. I think I can probably find a better dressing for the salad but now now, it works.

picture from Apartment Therapy.

Williams-Sonoma

I don't know if it's just me but I get excited when I receive the glossy W-S catalog in the mail. I love browsing and imaging what else I can shove into my kitchen that already has no more storage. Last summer, I gave in and brought the Cuisinart Ice Cream maker. I made about 5 batches of ice cream that summer before I put it away. I am determined to bust it out again this year and at least make 8 different types of ice cream. The year before that, I brought the Cuisinart Griddler. I use that sucker at least 2-3 times a week! It has earned it's spot on the counter next to my rice cooker. I really like the fact that the plates come off for easy cleaning. I think I'll be good this year and not get anything from the catalog but if I could, I would totally get this badass blender!


I got sucked into watching the infomercial on tv and now all I think about is the different smoothies I can make all summer long....with the HOMEMADE ice cream that I make.

why I jumped out of bed at 6am

Today I got my first shipment from a local CSA! I got inspired by K who is getting one from her BIL's farm. I'm getting it every other week (delivered on Monday) and I was surprised how big the box was!





It's got a nice mix of fruits and veggies. I got 4 apples, 5 oranges and a MANGO! The mango is a little random and I had to double check my list to make sure I wasn't going crazy...Veggie wise I got, lettuce, carrots, radish, mushrooms, tomatoes, purple tomatoes, spring onions and broccoli.




Notice that I subbed in the tomatoes? I originally had strawberries and since I'm not a huge strawberries fan, I'm glad they allowed me to change it. They also give a couple recipe suggestions which I appreciate!

Sperry topsiders

It might be because I see these on my fellow employees at Crewcuts and in the J.Crew catalogs but I've been bitten by the boat shoes bug. I keep waffling over if I will really wear them. I think they may be one of those, "looks cute on others but I won't wear them" things. We'll see though...they are on sale this week at Nordstrom.

The countdown has begun!

15 more days and I'm off to San Fransisco! I am so excited! This time I am going for longer than just 2 days and doing more of the touristy stuff (plus visiting a close friend!)

sorry blog!

for not posting in ages! I haven't done anything blog worthy lately (or at least I think so) so I'm sharing a few things that I've bookmarked but never posted about. One of them is a blog called They Draw and Cook.

Here is a recent example of the type of stuff they post on there.

I just love this illustration! It reminds me of the drawing style of the Little Golden Book series that I read when I was growing up. In case you have no idea what I'm talking about, here is a cover of one of the books.


I am also crazy addicted to Design*Sponge. Specifically the before and after pictures. I wish I had the design eye that others have. It's hard to tell that it's the same room! I think everyone has the same dream of buying an old run down house and flipping it to something amazing.

chocoate cupcakes

Everyone needs a go-to chocolate cupcake recipe and I decided to test one out by Ina Garten. I got mixed reviews from the people that I gave them out to. Some felt it tasted chocolately enough and some said it was too sweet. It definitely isn't a fancy cupcake since it was made with hersey's chocolate syrup but it definitely was chocolatey enough for me.

Ingredients

nocoupons

• 1/4 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 4 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
• 11 fluid ounces chocolate syrup (recommended: Hershey's)
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup all-purpose flour

For the ganache:

nocoupons

• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 8 ounces good semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 teaspoon instant coffee granules
• Candied violets, for decoration, optional

Directions

Line muffin pans with 12 paper liners. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, 1 at a time. Mix in the chocolate syrup and vanilla. Add the flour and mix until just combined. Don't overbeat, or the cupcakes will be tough.

Scoop the batter into the muffin cups and bake for 30 minutes, or until just set in the middle. Don't overbake! Let the cupcakes cool thoroughly in the pan.

For the ganache, cook the heavy cream, chocolate chips, and instant coffee in the top of a double boiler over simmering water until smooth and warm, stirring occasionally.

Dip the top of each cupcake in the ganache. Decorate with candied violets, if desired. Do not refrigerate.