happy hour: tasty ideas

Woohoo! We made it to Friday! I don’t have a recipe to share, but I do have a little inspiration. Last night our neighbors, Kyle and Larissa invited us over for some very delicious infused beverages that I think you’re going to like. Drinks included a Jalapeno Margherita, Buttered Rum and Coke (!!), Bacon Infused Bourbon and 90 years of aviation (gin, maraschino liquer and lemon juice). Do those sound tasty or what? All of the infusions took 18 hours or less, so you could make them tonight and have them ready for tomorrow’s happy hour. Thanks Kyle and Larissa for some tasty beverages and inspiration!

I have some exciting things in the works for next week that I’m eager to share with you. I hope you all have a fantastic weekend! Cheers!

Filed under happy hour by kelly. . 0 Comments

tomatoes + peppers: week 16

Holy Smokes! Are my plants growing or what? I can’t believe it, especially if you take a look at where they were two weeks ago! Between constant rain and putting fertilzer in my pots these things have turned into green giants. I even added more dirt to the pots but it doesn’t even look like I did. I’ve also figured out that two of the plants in my big white pots are pepper plants, so I’m down to two tomato plants, four pepper plants, one rosemary plant and the new addition of a sage plant. But now I have another question. Should I trim some of those leaves off the tomato plants? They’re feeling a bit bushy.

I’m feeling much better about my garden and I owe much of it to you out there who read my posts and give me advice, so thank you, thank you, thank you!

Filed under gardening by kelly. . 7 Comments

garlic scapes + sugar snap peas

A few weeks ago I came across these crazy green vegetables at the greenmarket and was instantly intrigued. I asked my favorite vendor what they were and she explained that they are garlic scapes, which are basically the shoots of young garlic. They don’t yet have the full garlic flavor but instead have a bit of a spice to them and a little bit of garlic flavor I love so well. Well, she had me at garlic, but when she mentioned spice I practically ran home to start experimenting. A few dishes later, I have a super easy, tasty and simple introduction into the world of scapes. Let me introduce you to my favorite market find, the lovely garlic scape.

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Filed under eat and sides by kelly. . 7 Comments

a little love and some salted black pepper crackers

Thank you to everyone who sent happy thoughts my way yesterday. You are all so lovely! We had the most delicious dinner at the good fork here in brooklyn. As soon as I tasted the butter I knew we were in for an amazing meal and oh boy, was it.

Two things, isn’t that bouquet that Aaron had waiting for me at the restaurant bueatiful? It’s complete with cotton blossoms (cotton is the traditional second anniversary gift). It was created by the lovely folks at saipua. So dreamy. Also, please check out a little guest post I did over at Ofifteen. Mmmm, salted black pepper crackers.

Filed under read by kelly. . 2 Comments

strawberry coffee cake

You may have noticed that I’m a fan of strawberries. Perhaps more like a fanatic, but that’s beside the point. Every weekend I go to the market and every weekend I come home with pint of strawberries that are better than the previous week’s bounty. Sometimes we just eat them up as is, but this weekend I was tempted by a recipe for strawberry coffee cake I saw over on Joy the Baker. Doesn’t that sound like the perfect way to start your Sunday? Yup, it was.

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Filed under breakfast and eat and sweets by kelly. . 5 Comments

k&a

Today marks two whole years since Aaron and I got married. I feel so happy and lucky to have such a supporting and hungry man as my husband. I love you Mr. Carambula! Cheers!

Filed under events by kelly. . 11 Comments

chickpea patties

I’m a late convert to the awesomeness that is the chickpea. After the success of this little recipe though, there are sure to be more chickpea experiments in my future. I know I probably say this a lot, but this recipe is so simple. Simplicity is one of those things that makes me really happy… I don’ t need it all the time but if something is simple it definitely gets bonus points. Of course that only goes so far, because flavor is the factor that will keep me coming back and oh boy, do these little chickpea patties pack a punch.

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Filed under dinner and eat by kelly. . 14 Comments

san francisco goodness

Today’s happy hour is extra special. It’s not the usual cocktail, but more a recipe for how to eat yourself silly in San Fracisco. On our recent trip out west I fell in love with San Francisco. The food, the coffee, the people… I just loved everything about it. I’ve compiled a little recap of some of the highlights of this awesome city.

Chez Panisse
As soon as we booked our flight to San Francisco I knew we had to make reservations at Chez Panisse. I dutifully called the restaurant exactly one month before the day we wanted to dine and secured a reservation. We arrived in Berkeley early and wandered the quaint streets, even happening upon a little farmer’s market.

The restaurant is small and comfortable, intimate without being intimidating. Everyone was extremely nice and helpful. The menu changes daily and there aren’t any choices, you simply get what the kitchen is making that evening. Each course that came out was simple, yet full of flavor and each topped the next. From the most amazing, fava bean, fennel and spinach soups to a pork entreé topped peas and turnips to a mouth-watering meyer lemon and passionfruit ice cream dessert, I was in a happy, happy place.

To top things off, if you ask your waiter, you can tour the kitchen and meet the people who make your food. It was definitely a dreamy place and most certainly worth a trip to Berkeley.

Chez Panisse
1517 Shattuck Avenue
Berkeley, California 94709
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Filed under read and restaurants/shops and travel by kelly. . 9 Comments

food inc.

Last night I was lucky enough to attend a screening of Food Inc. held by the awesome folks over at Brooklyn Based. I’m not going to lie, it’s a bit depressing, but it’s a movie that everyone should see. The movie features interviews with Eric Schlosser of Fast Food Nation, Michael Pollan author of Omnivore’s Dilemma and superstar farmer Joel Salatin along with in depth looks at the industrial farm system. If this doesn’t make you want to hug your local farmer, I don’t know what will.

Food Inc. opens in New York, LA and San Francisco June 12 and even more cities June 19.

Take action here.

Filed under events by kelly. . 3 Comments

graham crackers


The other day as I was browsing through smitten kitchen I saw a recipe for graham crackers they looked so tasty. Graham crackers were always a favorite snacks as a kid but one of those things that I would have never thought to make. I couldn’t get that recipe and the thought of grahamy goodness out of my head, so I set out to make them this weekend. Continue reading »

Filed under eat and snacks by kelly. . 12 Comments