Rosemary Roasted Almonds

Hello!  I am on the road to recovery (yay!).  While I'm not 100%, I'm just happy to not be stuck on the couch all day.  With me out of commission, our house had begun to look a mess, so today is going to be a tidying and laundry-filled day :)

Today, I have a recipe that I got from a friend.  She gave me a small jar of these, and I ate them up in one day.  They're just too good not to share with you!

You will need:

• 1 tablespoon of butter
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh (or dried) rosemary
• 2 cups unsalted almonds
• Salt
• 1/4-1/3 cup Tamari soy sauce (depending on taste- if you like salty, go for 1/3 cup!)

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Melt the butter in a large nonstick skillet over med-high heat.  Add almonds and salt to taste and stir until the almonds are shiny from the butter. 

Add in your rosemary and cook 1-2 minutes.

Pour in the tamari sauce and shake the pan vigorously.  Allow the excess tamari to boil almost entirely off, stirring occasionally.

Pour the almonds onto a foil-lined baking sheet and bake until nuts are toasted and fragrant, about 8-10 minutes. 

Let cool before serving.  The almonds are little chewy when they first come out of the oven, but they become crisp after cooling.

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Pie Brulee

 

Hello!  I am as sick as a dog, readers, and frankly there isn't a whole lot that sounds particularly appealing to eat except popsicles and ice cream.  However, this pumpkin pie brulee recipe might just be enough to push me back into the world of the living.  In the meantime, I'll be parked on the couch with Inga watching too much Criminal Minds in between naps.

For my pumpkin pie brulee, you will need:

• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar, plus an extra 8 tablespoons for topping
• 1 can Libby's pumpkin
• 1 can evaporated milk (you can use whole, reduced fat, or skim)
• 1 7/8 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice (ours is a family secret, do you have a special blend?)

Beat 3 eggs and add brown sugar, white sugar, pumpkin, evaporated milk, and spices.  Stir until well blended and pour into standard sized ramekins.  There should be just enough for 8 servings.

(The other two are in another pan)

Place the ramekins into rimmed baking pans, add water to the pans, and place them into a 350 degree oven.

Bake for 35-45 minutes until a knife comes out clean.

If you want, you can serve while the ramekins are still warm.  Otherwise, you can refrigerate overnight.  When you are ready to serve, top each dish with 1/2 to 1 tablespoon of white sugar.  Torch with a kitchen torch until the sugar begins to brown.  Use a gentle touch or you can quickly have a burnt top that isn't pretty or tasty.

If you look at the left hand corner, you can see an example of the not pretty, not tasty torching

Enjoy!

Vintage Jewelry

I love vintage jewelry.  I think it's absolutely beautiful, and I love the fact that each piece has a story behind it.  I got to wear my grandma's wedding jewelry (above and below) at my rehearsal dinner last year.

I recently acquired some more vintage jewelry from her and from my mom as well!

Earrings from my grandma- I love the malachite, and all the sparkles :)

Brooches and a classic watch

Three bracelets from my mom for Christmas.  The top charm bracelet has a profile, Capitol record, mustard seed, and a cute little I Love You charm that spins.  The other two bracelets are ID bracelets and I love them!  The bottom ID bracelet was a gift from her high school sorority big sister, and has "Little Sis" engraved on the back :)

Do you have any vintage finds that you work into your wardrobe?

DIY Puppy Bows

 

Our dog, Inga, is not a very girly dog.

 

Nor is she very lady like...

In fact, she usually is mistaken on walks for a boy dog, even though she has a pink collar and leash.  So, I thought it would be cute and maybe solve the gender ambiguity if I made some bows for Inga's collar.  I wanted to be able to change them out occasionally, and for them to be a little durable.  If you don't have a dog, these bows would be so cute on barrettes for little girls instead!

You will need:

• Ribbon (I found mine in Target's dollar bins!)
• Dog collar for measuring (or barrettes, etc.)

First, simply loop the ribbon to make your bow shape, pinning it in place.

Trim the excess once it's pinned

 Then, stitch the bow shape to secure it.

Next, you'll want to take the excess scrap of ribbon and measure it around the largest part of the dog collar (for Inga, this was the clasp).  Pin the loop to secure it and stitch the loop closed.

Finally, stitch the loop to the bow!  And, you can make the bows in whatever shape your heart desires!

Just slide the bow onto the collar and voila!  Inga is now a girly girl. 

Okay, not really, but she sure looks cute! :)

Grilled Chicken and Havarti Sandwich with Basil and Sun Dried Tomatoes

This is a yummy yummy sandwich.  And, like all my favorite recipes, it is super simple.

You will need:

• Deli sliced chicken breast
• Deli sliced havarti cheese
• Oil packed sun dried tomatoes, rinsed and patted dry
• Fresh basil leaves

Simply stack up your ingredients between two slices of lightly buttered (or margarined) bread and grill over medium heat until both sides are golden brown.

Yum!!

January Book Club

Another book for book club!  This month, we're reading Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy.  It's a long one, so we thought it would be the perfect pick since we didn't meet in December- a little extra time to read!

I'm rereading this book, and really enjoyed it the first time through.  I'm also VERY excited to see the movie with Keira Knightley.  It looks beautifully done.

What are you reading this month?

DIY Memory Tin

With the start of 2013, I wanted to start a new project to help give me perspective over the new year.  I decided to combine two of my favorite Pinterest ideas into one: a tutorial on upcycling old tins, and a jar to put notes of all the good things that happen.

To make it, you will need:

• An old tin
• Fine sand paper
• Spray paint
• Paper
• Pen

Simply give your old tin a light sanding and spray with paint, keeping the lid on.

I added a little "good times" label with rough edges, glued down with plain old white glue to cover up the Lindt label.

Then, put paper and a pen inside for easy access to jot down all the good things that happen during the year.

I'm planning on reading all these scraps of paper on new year's eve to remember all the good things that happened. :)