Community Supported Agriculture

The wonderful world of CSA! 

Leaving NYC and heading to the suburbs has its perks such as joining a local Community Supported Agriculture (CSA). This a program that lasts from mid May through the middle of November, so approximately 26 or so weeks, and by paying for a share you are entitled to an abundance of fresh produce!

The farm that we belong to is organic, which is a huge plus, and they offer individual and family shares at different prices. I think we paid just under $400 for an individual share but we are only halfway through the season and have already made our money back! Yes, I am keeping a spreadsheet of what we get each week and average non-organic prices at the grocery store, so I can honestly say we have gotten our money's worth and then some!!

Here is what we got this week:

Amazing right! And this is just an individual share, a family share is DOUBLE that amount!

Ok here is the breakdown:

- 1 watermelon 

- 1 quart of raspberries

- 1 quart of snap beans

- 1 lb potatoes (red or white)

- 1 lb onions

- 2 lbs heirloom tomatoes

- 2 quarts plum/stewing tomatoes

- 1 quart tomatillos

- 1/2 lb grape tomatoes

- 3 lbs slicing (beefsteak) tomatoes

- 1 garlic 

- 1 zucchini 

- small bunches of thyme, oregano, sage (they have other but this is just what I needed this week)

- 1 bunch cilantro

- 1/2 pint ground cherries 

- 1 pint soybeans (edamame)

- 1 pint yellow cherry tomatoes

- 30 stems of fresh flowers (shown as an arrangement at the bottom of this page)

- 1/2 lb Swiss chard

- 1 bunch if kale

- 4 Italian sweet peppers

Yea, that's a lot!

Last week we got 5 lbs of heirloom tomatoes and I made this delicious heirloom tomato soup, don't worry, that will be the next recipe I blog about, it is just so good!

Our CSA does require some work on our part. We have to pick our own amounts of certain produce. This week we had to pick the berries, edamame, tomatillos, plum tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, snap beans, herbs, ground cherries, and the flowers. This took H and I just under an hour and a half but well worth the effort.

We were also supposed to get 15 hot peppers and sunflowers this week but they were over picked and unfortunately we got there too late. But I already have a ton of hot peppers frozen from previous weeks so it wasn't a big deal.

Even though it is some work on our part it is a great way to get outside on a beautiful day and do something different. The work is worth it because everything is just so full of flavor. You can't get produce any fresher than picking it yourself!

There are farms all over the country that participates in a CSA type program. Check your local produces farms or online here to find a farm near you!

Happy Picking!

JP

Vegan Creme Filled Cupcakes!

Yes, you heard me, VEGAN! And delicious!

My SIL has been a vegetarian for as long as I have known her and in the last year or two she has gone over to the dark side, I mean, become vegan : ) For those who don't know, vegan is defined as the elimination of ALL animal products. So no meat, fish, dairy, whey products, honey, you get the picture. Not the easiest task but when done right, while getting the correct amount of protein and nutrients in your diet, can be a very healthy lifestyle choice.

For my bridal shower, her gift to me was a few vegan cookbooks (secretly I think it was so she would have something to eat when she comes to visit). But in all honesty, I have fallen in love with one, Chloe's Kitchen. It is so well written and has some really great recipes. Many of which I will be posting here because they are all just that good. 

Now I am not vegan or vegetarian, nor is my husband, but we do try to live a healthy lifestyle so adding more veges to our diet, or even just a few vegetarian/vegan meals a week has really helped us to stay fit and healthy. I think it would be a great challenge for everyone to try planning one meal a week totally vege (vegan if you are daring enough); maybe you are already doing that, if so make it two! 

We have recently become a part of CSA (community supported agriculture) at our local organic farm and with the amount of veges we get every week, I find myself using those vegan cookbooks more and more!

So while I have been writing about healthy lifestyle choices, there is always room for a little chocolate! And I have to admit that when I saw this recipe I thought there was no way a cream filled cupcake could be vegan AND taste good but seriously, this one is a winner!!

Ingredients:

Cupcakes: 

- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

- 1 cup sugar

- 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

- 1 tsp. baking soda

- 1/2 tsp. salt

- 1 cup cold coffee (or you can use water)

- 1/2 cup canola oil

- 2 tbs. white or apple cider vinegar

- 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Creme frosting:

- 1/2 cup nonhydronated vege shortening

- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

- 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

- 1 to 3 tbs. soy, almond, or rice milk

Chocolate Ganache:

- 1/2 cup dairy free semisweet chocolate chips (can get these at Wegmans)

- 1/8 cup canned coconut milk, mixed well before measuring

- 1 tbs. canola oil

Note: The cookbook calls for double the amounts for the frosting and ganache, but because I had way too much left over I have actually halved them here. So if you think you want left over (great for fruit dips, then just double the recipe!)

Directions: 

To make the Cupcakes: 

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line two 12-cup cupcake pans with cupcake liners 

(recipe makes ~16)

- Sift together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl

- Wisk together coffee, oil, vinegar, and vanilla

- Add wet mixture to dry mixture and wisk together but do not over mix

- Fill cupcake liners ~ 2/3 full and bake for 15-18 mins (perfect for me at 17)

- Cool completely before frosting

To make Creme Frosting:

- Use a handheld or stand mixer and beat shortening until smooth

- On low, mix in powdered sugar, vanilla, and 1 tbs. non-dairy milk at a time as needed until it is a spreadable consistency

- Beat on high until light and fluffy (~2 more minutes)

To make Chocolate Ganache:

- Melt chocolate chips and coconut milk together in a double boiler (or a microwave which is what I did)

- Wisk in oil until smooth 

To Assemble Cupcakes:

- Fill a piping bag or reusable icing decorating bottle using a bismark tip with the creme frosting

- Insert tip into the center top of each cupcake and squeeze to fill cupcake with ~ 2-3 tsp. frosting

(Do not need to scoop out any of the cake)

- Spread the top of each cupcake with a thin layer of the ganache

- Pipe a cute design on the top with the remaining frosting - Get Creative!

Make Ahead Tip: The cupcakes can be filled and frozen up to a month in advance. Just thaw the prefilled cupcakes and top with ganache and design before serving. Or you can just make the creme frosting in advance. It can be stored in the frig for up to two weeks. Just make sure it it totally thawed before trying to use it. I made that mistake and broke one of my reusable piping bottles.. oops!

Enjoy!

JP

(This Recipe: "Chlostess Creme Filled Cupcakes" from Chole's Kitchen by Chloe Coscarelli)

100+ Shades of Grey

Grey. I have a love hate relationship with grey. It is absolutely gorgeous when done right but it is SO hard to find the right shade!

There are hundreds of shades, some with blue tints, some with brown tints, and everything in between. I went to Sherwin Williams the other day on my lunch hour just to pick up a few paint chips and walked out with over 50. Then, I decided it would be a good idea to go to the local Benjamin Moore store and get even more. 100+ paint chips later, I am overwhelmed. Luckily the guy at Benjamin Moore gave me the phone number of a paint specialist who does in-home consults for $50. When I heard that my eyes lit up! 50 bucks.. that's it?! She's hired!

So needless to say I had very high expectations for today. The woman stopped by with her 10 or so fan decks of paint chips and we went room by room deciding on a few colors for each. Apparently my type of granite (Santa Cecilia) is not grey friendly since there is so much gold. Awesome. Aside from that set back, I was able to discuss my concerns and my plans for future design in the house and within minutes she had about 5 colors for each room! Of course they are all in the grey family, some leading towards taupe some more true greys. But I think they will all work well. Now the tough part will be making a decision.

She also informed me that part of the consult was that she will order 5 large paint swatches in each color so I can place them around the rooms and see them in different lights, then decide on a color to purchase. Apparently this is the correct way to chose a color. Me, I have always just gone to a local store and said, "Oh I like that one, let's get a gallon!" But this is how we wound up with a purplely grey in our Master. Behr Porpoise - gorgeous on the chip, amazing in a little patch on the wall, and then turned purple when it dried. Very disappointing : (

Anyway, I am now anxiously awaiting these paint swatches and hopefully in the next few weeks we can start making some decisions and get this house painted!

Oh yea, this woman is also a window treatment specialist. So of course I had to ask her what to do with our breakfast nook. That is a whole different story, more on that later!

JP

Pizza Pizza

Who needs delivery when you can make pizza at home!

This is one of the tried and true recipes that is a staple in our household thanks to my wonderful Mother-In-Law. Though, we have tweaked her original recipe a bit to suit our taste. I love this recipe because you can make it any way you like. Usually I just see what is in the frig and say, "Hey lets throw some of this [insert random ingredient here] on the pizza tonight"and sure enough, it works!

Ingredients:

- 1 package or 1 tbs dry yeast

- 1 cup warm water

- 1 tsp. sugar

- 1/2 tsp. salt

- 2 tbs. vegetable oil

- 1 cup whole wheat flour

- 1 1/2 cup all purpose flour

- Cornmeal (optional)

- Shredded mozzarella cheese (or really any cheese you want; type and amount is up to you)

- About a cup of tomato sauce (I like marinara for this recipe)

- Toppings <- get creative!

Note: you can make this a white pizza dough if you prefer using all white flour but the whole wheat is really delicious and worth a try!

Directions: 

- Preheat oven to 425 degrees

- Dissolve the yeast in warm water

- Add remaining ingredients to yeast/water combo and beat vigorously

Note: I use a KitchenAid with the dough hook attachment and it works wonders! Just mix until the dough pulls away from the sides forming one ball and you are done.

- Allow dough to rise while you prep your toppings (about 15-30 mins, for a thicker dough allow the full 30 mins)

- Spray pizza stone with cooking spray and dust with cornmeal (optional) 

Note: I use a pizza stone, but you can substitute a large baking sheet just don't skip the cooking spray - you will thank me later!

- With floured fingers, start to stretch dough gently and spread onto stone

- Add sauce, cheese, and desired toppings

- Bake for 15-20 mins and Enjoy!

This past weekend we decided to double the recipe and make two different pizzas: pepperoni and a vege with green peppers, red onion, and tomatoes.

This is the before shot

And here is the after.. golden brown and delish!

We have made many many types of pizza using this same dough recipe. Buffalo chicken, pesto and fresh mozz, margarita,... the possiblities are endless. This is also a great recipe to get the family involved. You can even section off the dough to make individual pizzas and everyone can add their own toppings! 

Happy Cooking!

JP

New House, New Furniture?

I must preface this post by showing you where H and I came from. We lived in NYC for about 3 years and we spent the last year and a half in a ~ 400 sq. ft. apartment. Ok, maybe 450 with the closet and terrace combined, but that is being generous!! Needless to say we did not need a ton of furniture to fill the space.

Furniture is not to scale, we could hardly fit one couch, let alone 2!

I did love this apartment because we truly made it our own, very "city chic" decor and lots of IKEA furniture. Hopefully I can find some pictures of the decor and post them at a later date. Anyway, now just our Master Suite is larger than our whole apartment was in the city. Hence, we need more furniture.

We have a bunch of hand-me-downs and in combination with our NYC furniture we have enough to get us by, but it is just not our/my style. We have recently purchased a new bedroom set and a dining room table and chairs (posts on those rooms later) but currently, I am in the market for living room furniture.

I am deciding between two color schemes: Grey/Yellow or Grey/Purple. H is afraid the purple may make the room look too feminine (what does he know), while I think it would make it feel like a more elegant space. I also love grey and yellow together. A friend of ours got married about a year ago using grey and yellow as their colors. It was beautiful and modern, exactly what I am going for! So I am torn. I did happen to stumble upon a gorgeous grey couch in Raymour the other day which I fell in love with.

In this picture it looks really brown, but I swear it is more grey. I really love this couch and the fact that it already comes with so many different pillows is a huge bonus. It is part of the Cindy Crawford Fontaine line which includes an ottoman and I think accent chairs. Unfortunately I just found out the cushions are wrapped in a "feather blend" and for those who don't know, I am allergic to feathers. Womp Womp. I found out I was allergic a few years back and had to get rid of all my down comforters and down pillows, ugh, it was a sad day. But I have since replaced them with down-alternative and I honestly cannot tell the difference. Except of course that I can breath a bit easier. Anyway, my stupid allergies may keep me from getting this gorgeous couch : ( 

And the search continues...

A Closet Made for a Queen

The very first project I wanted to tackle in the house was the master closet. I thought it would be an easy project to get our feet wet. Wrong. It took my residential handy man a whole week to complete, but it looks gorgeous!

My neighbor had told me about going to Closet Maid online where you can design your own closet for only $5! All you have to do is input your (correct) dimensions and decide how much drawer space vs. hanging space you want and voila,.. closet designed! You can even check off how great of a DIYer you are, for us I think it was intermediate but you could be a novice and still create your dream closet. The best part is that it gives you a product shopping list, so all you have to do is go to your local Home Depot and pick up everything you need.

Check out the before and afters below:

So even though it took a while, I am so happy to have the closet finished. By doing this project not only is it more organized but we easily have tripled the amount of space. i.e. room for more shopping : )

(Disclaimer: my residential handy man (the hubby) was also working full time so it took a week to complete, but that was working at it a few hours every night. My guess is the average person could probably put it up over a long weekend)

Here are some tips for organizing your closet at home:
- try to keep types of clothing together (ex. long sleeve shirts vs. short sleeve)
- fold bulky sweaters instead of hanging them so they take up less space and don't stretch out
- get bins or containers to hold accessories (ex. scarves, chunky belts and hats)
- don't forget to use the wall space (H hangs his ties on a rack behind the door to save space)
- changing out for the season is also a good tip depending on how much space you have, or just pull the in-season clothes to the front for easier access

Enjoy!
JP

Life Under Construction

While my husband and I were planning our wedding, we were also building a our first home. We signed on the dotted line in February, then got married and closed on the house in October. It was such a long process, but well worth it. Choosing to get married and buying your first home are two of the largest and most important decisions of someone's life and having them both happen at the same time was beyond stressful.

We found a great neighborhood with tree-lined streets that was very family friendly. It was close to work and the price was right so although we were apprehensive about building while planning a wedding, we couldn't pass it up. Plus, the opportunity to select some of the finishes was a huge bonus, though it did come at a price. That was the hardest part for me, deciding what we wanted to do vs. what we could afford. We put most of our upgrade budget into the kitchen and had to forgo on some other features like upgrading the tile in the master bath. Here are a few pictures of our house during the process and what it looks like now.

The beginning of my Dream Kitchen.

Looking from the Kitchen to the Family Room fireplace. 

Here it is all finished! Gray siding, black door and shutters, perfect!

Check back for a House Tour and all the projects we are continuing to do to make it our own.

Here Goes Nothing...

Welcome to my blog!

I've been contemplating starting a blog for some time now just to have a creative outlet for everyday life. My mind is constantly moving, coming up with new projects and ideas. So I figured, why not share them with the world? Or at least those friends and family who might have some interest. Whether it be designing a new space, trying out a new recipe, or building my wardrobe (momma always needs a new pair of shoes), all the ups and downs will be here as my husband and I build a life for ourselves in our new home.

Enjoy!
JP