A Few of My Favorite Things...

At the rehearsal dinner a few weeks back, I met with the most divine mushroom soup I've ever tasted. Ever since, the only things I've cooked in my kitchen have been attempts to copy that elusive soup... with Portobellos, with Chanterelles, with White Button mushrooms, even leeks... but nothing made a soup so mysteriously rich and creamy as the "creamless" mushroom soup I had there. I did finally remember that the description on the menu promoted asparagus as a key ingredient, so I finally added that, but the result was, well, stringier than I'd hoped. And of course, my poor little Cuisinart has a tendency to leak when the liquid content starts to outweigh the solid, and the whole thing basically exploded on me in the kitchen. So there I was, mushroom-covered kitchen, broth and stringy asparagus leaking down the sides of the (new) countertops, Jason heroically trying to catch the drips... I was a shade of blue away from turning into Bridget Jones! Needless to say, I still haven't found my perfect, smooth creamless mushroom soup... but something tells me maybe I need better tools!

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When you move, somehow, everyone seems to automatically find out about it - except for the post office, of course; all your catalogs are instantly re-routed and you get promotional offers from just about every home-related industry. Anyway, a couple of these coupons were too good to waste, and spurred me on to the hardware store to put them to good use. I picked up a few nuts and bolts first (to reconstruct some pieces of furniture for which we'd lost parts in the move), but also found my new favorite kitchen toy - a plastic strainer that hooks onto the lip between two sinks! I have only had this about a month and I cannot tell you how useful it has been! One of my pet peeves when cooking is having to hold a strainer over the sink so it doesn't touch the bottom of the sink and get contaminated with raw chicken juice or whatever while avoiding dripping vegetables all over the floor as I transfer them over to a pot or bowl. Well, problem solved! I can leave vegetables straining here until they're dry and better yet, I can even point the faucet at them and have them rinse while I'm doing something else! Ah, modern conveniences, how I love you!

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For his birthday this year, I bought my dad an organic cotton t-shirt with a Hummer on the front that read, "Bummer." Well, nothing's more of a bummer than having one of these vehicles riding your tail when you're driving a Mini... We recently decided to simplify our lives a bit and consolidate to a single car (no more street parking, horray!). We purchased a used Mini for our new shared vehicle. Jason and I are in an ongoing debate about how much we collectively like our new ride - it's such a great, compact, sporty little car; ideal for driving and parking in the city and keeping costs low. I even learned how to drive a manual shift for it! But on the other hand, it's a totally different experience being on the road in such a small car. While driving on the highway, you really feel the presence of these larger vehicles two-fold, particularly when their owners are driving poorly! Then again, it's clear that there's a revolution of little cars starting... maybe there's hope for us yet!

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And now I want to talk about my hands-down favorite room in this great big old house! A sitting room that later that evening hosted one of the many reception bars, this tiled paradise served as a passage between the main entrance and the brick floored greenhouse that you can see at the far end. Apparently, this mega mansion used to be inhabited by a single family! In the sweltering summers, I bet this spot was just the place to lounge around (in piles of money, of course), with bare feet touching cold tile, taking in floral breezes from the next room.

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Okay, just a few more pictures of Steph's beautiful wedding... I can't help myself. Here was the toile covered bridal suite, with Steph's dress in waiting to experience its own moment to shine! As you can imagine, the bride looked radiant (and the dress wasn't bad either)! I loved all the heavy wood touches in the venue, a "chateau" with more rooms and secret passages (and wet bars) than I could count!

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Despite my improvisational tendencies, it never before occurred to me that you could cook a pizza on the grill! But Jason's dad is one of the most creative chefs I know - always devising new ways to re-create things he's seen or read about. And last week was no different! He rolled out dough, cooking one side first to create a structured surface for the toppings. Then he threw the pizza back on the grill again with the tomatoes, cheese, and fresh basil. Delicious! Is there anything better than tomatoes that have been out in the sunshine?

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On our way home from New Jersey, we stopped in Connecticut to see Jason's parents. They made us a spectacular lunch and we wandered out into the breezy heat to admire all the herbs and plants springing up in the back yard. They've collected some great garden fixtures over the year - I especially like this little round bird bath. What a great way to break the journey, see friendly faces, and gear up for one of my first adventures behind the wheel of a stick-shift car! 

Posted by plehar at 09:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

What a luxury it is to have a dude around who builds things with his bare hands! In a weekend, Jason constructed this gorgeous, custom-built wine rack above the refrigerator. The kitchen is coming together, and it's almost time to peel the cardboard away from the floors completely and reveal our before and afters!  

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We just went to the most beautiful wedding in New Jersey. Every detail was thought out, down to the parted set of luncheon forks in the get-ready room for the wedding party. Weddings are always full of beautiful things, but it's amazing how much more you think about the little details when you're planning one! It was so fun to be a guest at this one anyway - the bride, Steph, and her friends and family are so genuine and warm that despite the ballroom and the five-foot floral arrangements, the flowing champagne, overflowing buffets, and the cascade of fabulous (catered) events, you felt remarkably normal and at home with everyone!

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