Delightful Outdoor Fireplace

It is amazing with you can do with some scraps from a nearby construction site and a little imagination. This outdoor fireplace designed by architecture firm Haugen/Zohar is beautiful, even more so when it gets dark and the firelight creates a warm inviting glow. The whimsical form, based on traditional Norwegian turf huts, is intended to be a place to enjoy a fire, tell some stories, and play. I love the organic shape of the door and the way the top tips to one side. We need a place for smores making on the property, so I guess I better start saving our wood scraps. via

Baby Porcupine

I am a sucker for baby animals so it is really no surprise that I find this baby porcupine ADORABLE! Sadly this little guys is sold out, but you can check out some other amazing animal prints here. via

Craftacular

I heart craft fairs. I especially love craft fairs in NYC. They are filled with unique materials, inspirational ideas, and people who are doing what they love and making a living doing it. So this morning I dragged my but out of bed hours before it was necessary to attend the Bust Craftacular. Now every other time I have attended there has been a short wait to get in but I figured I as getting up early enough to avoid the crowds. HA! Silly me. I am not sure which is more insane, the fact that the line is about two blocks long or the fact that I am waiting in it. Probably the latter. I ended up with a free tote made with a combination of the Yudu printer (which I am not so secretly coveting) and the cricut (which I am not especially coveting only because you can’t make your own patterns), as well as a letterpress calendar from Rachael at Pistachio Press. I was really close to buying some adorable ninja stamps but didn’t have cash on hand.

Chocolate Idiot Cake

As David Lebovitz says  “…any idiot could make it…and only an idiot could screw it up.” Fingers crossed, let’s hope I am not an idiot.

Chocolate Idiot Cake
One 9-inch (23 cm) cake

10 ounces (290 g) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
7 ounces (200 g) butter, salted or unsalted, cut into pieces
5 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup (200 g) sugar

Preheat the oven to 350F (175C).

1. Butter a 9-inch (23 cm) springform pan and dust it with cocoa powder, tapping out any excess. If you suspect your springform pan isn’t 100% water-tight, wrap the outside with aluminum foil, making sure it goes all the way up to the outer rim.

2. Melt the chocolate and butter in a double boiler (or microwave), stirring occasionally, until smooth. Remove from heat.

3. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar, then whisk in the melted chocolate mixture until smooth.

4. Pour the batter into the prepared springform pan and cover the top of the pan snugly with a sheet of foil. Put the springform pan into a larger baking pan, such as a roasting pan, and add enough hot water to the baking pan to come about halfway up to the outside of the cake pan.

Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes.

You’ll know the cake is done when it feels just set, like quivering chocolate pudding. If you gently touch the center, your finger should come away clean.

5. Lift the cake pan from the water bath and remove the foil. Let cake cool completely on a cooling rack.

Serve thin wedges of this very rich cake at room temperature, with creme anglaise, ice cream, or whipped cream.

Storage: This Chocolate Idiot Cake can be wrapped and chilled in the refrigerator for 3-5 days.

Phoenix Commotion

While recovering from tryptophan overdose this weekend and visiting family I accidentally caught the evening news. Thank goodness I did, otherwise I would never have found out about the Phoenix Commotion. Started by Dan Phillips the Phoenix Commotion strives to provide affordable housing to those that would otherwise not be able to have a home of their own using salvaged and donated materials in Huntsville, Texas. These tiny, beautiful homes are whimsical with mismatched roofing, wine cork floors, picture frame sample ceilings, and crystal plate windows. Materials that would otherwise have made their way to the landfill instead get a new life in one of Dan’s small homes. Anything and everything is fair game for Dan, his crew of 5 “unskilled” workers, and the future homeowner. Not only do these houses reduce landfill burden, but touch the land lightly with their small footprint and ecologically minded design. I might have to move to Huntsville to work with Dan and get the skills I need to build my own salvaged treasure. You can read more about Dan and see some amazing pictures of his work here.

D Minus

I think I am a pretty good cook. I am able to follow a recipe, I am getting a feel for when I can make substitutes and when I shouldn’t. That said, I am a downright terrible baker. Horrible. Especially when it comes to chocolate cake. For some reason I can never get a chocolate cake to turn out right. Today I attempted this cake and I really out did myself. Horrible, terrible mess. I managed to salvage it, but it is still not something I want to show off. I hope it at least tastes good. I guess I should stick to pies and cookies. They are much harder to screw up.

Turkey Day 2009

This year M&I decided to it would be nice to spend thanksgiving at home. We made an over the top meal that could have easily fed six people but every bite of it was wonderful, if we do say so ourselves.On the menu:

• a turkey breast from the farmers market with butter and herbs
• roasted maple yam salad with cranberries and pecans
• mashed fingerling potatoes
• sourdough stuffing using a modified version of this recipe
• cranberries made with apple cider instead of water, sweet for M and not sweet for me
• green bean casserole using the recipe from the Trader Joe’s fried onion pieces can with fresh green beans
• who can forget the sweet gherkins and olives
• for dessert we have sweet potato pie with fresh whipped cream.

M was responsible for everything potato and I took care of the rest. He is also on clean up duty, just in case you thought he got away easy. I had the brilliant idea of freezing two whole meals so that we aren’t eating leftovers until next week.  I am thankful that I didn’t have to camp on the property at all this year thanks to our 10×10 and M is thankful we aren’t pounding the pavement looking for jobs. I hope that your Thanksgiving was at least as good as ours.

I Do Not Heart the F Train

One of the reasons I  moved to NYC was because I didn’t want to be stuck in traffic every day to and from work and I wanted to live in a city. I have to say that lately I would welcome LA traffic if it meant I didn’t have to deal with the F train anymore. I get it, yesterday there was a tragic reason for service to be so screwed up. But what about all the other days? And don’t get me started on the weekends. Shuttle bus? Seriously? Thank you Meredith for saying what we are all thinking.

Eating the Road

Way, way, way back in 2002 I had the brilliant idea that I would escape from NY to Santa Fe. This was pre-marriage but M decided that it would be a good idea to join me and since we were making such a big physical move we should just go ahead and get engaged as well. That is a story for another time. So we packed up our stuff and drove our black Accord along I-40 to get to the land of Enchanment. This was back in the day when you still went to AAA to get guidebooks and paper triptiks with your route highlighted. There were very few side trips and almost no stopping. We were on a mission to get where we were going. We tried our best to make our home in Santa Fe, but it didn’t quite take and we packe up all our stuff and made our way back to Brooklyn. This time we decided to take a different route through Dodge, along I-10 (getting to New Orleans and seeing the coastal road mere months before Katrina wiped much of it away) and without eating at a chain restaurants. We did a pretty good job. We avoided national chains of every kind and didn’t have any bad meals. I wish I had a blog then because I can’t remember many of the places we ate. I also wish there a blog like Eating the Road around then. Each review has detailed information about the restaurant, what they are known for, a weblink if available, a rating, and lots and lots of pictures. I may have to plan another cross country trip just to check a few of these places out!

C is for Cookie

Maybe it is because I have been in a baking mood lately, maybe it is because every store I walk into has holiday music playing, or that Santa is already in the mall but I have Christmas cookies on the brain. I have been seeing a parade of cookie recipes in my rss feed and this year I am excited to try something new. I figure if I get started now and freeze the dough I can be a cookie making machine by the time the holiday season rolls around. Family, I hope you are ready to eat some cookies!