Dinner Last Night: Peanut Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Another new dinner victory - peanut chicken lettuce wraps!  I halved the chili garlic spice on my kids' portion as it was a little too much heat for their palates, but for us adults - it was perfect!  The spice of the chicken paired nicely with the soy-peanut sauce.  We served with tamari roasted broccoli and coconut rice.  Yum yum!

Dinner Last Night: Crockpot Tuscan White Bean & Lemon Soup

This soup is beyond easy, dump everything in the crockpot and hours later, voila!  My favorite kind of dinner - set it and forget it!  It was flavorful, filling, and healthy.  A new favorite to kick off 2019.


Quote of the Week

"What I want to say is
that the past is the past,
and the present is what your life is,
and you are capable
of choosing what that will be,
darling citizen.

So come to the pond,
or the river of your imagination,
or the harbor of your longing,

and put your lips to the world.
And live
your life."
- Mary Oliver, Mornings at Blackwater

image/bloom

Weeknight Baking: Cranberry Crumble Pie

This may not be the most aesthetically pleasing, beautiful pie, but it suuuuure was delicious!  After it almost caused two kitchen fires, I'm thankful it was tasty, as I certainly hoped it would be worth the effort.  

I received Sister Pie, the cookbook as a gift this season. This cookbook shares the same name as the flagship Detroit bakery, which is changing the game and part of the reason for the recent economic flourish in Detroit.  They consider themselves a "triple bottom line business," working to support their employees, environment, and the economy.  Run by two sisters, featuring an all-female staff, it's been on my list of places to visit upon our next trip to see family back in Michigan.   Their cookbook is absolutely gorgeous, heartfelt vignettes and beautiful matte pages of how-tos and mouthwatering recipes.  I mean...Squash Tahini Cardamom, Apricot Raspberry Rose, Sour Cherry Bourbon...one will be baking pies for days after reading this one!  This Christmas, I opted for the Cranberry Crumble Pie - I'm always a sucker for cranberries, as they usually get pegged as being purely a Thanksgiving food, when really their flavor has so much potential.  

The kitchen fires were mostly my fault, turns out when you're baking a butter-rich crust, you ought to have a baking sheet underneath the pie dish.  A lesson I learned when blind baking the crust prior to adding the filling and crumble.  A memo which somehow did not get relayed to my mom when we baked the actual pie at her house.  Hence, almost two kitchen fires.

Thank goodness it was delicious and worth all the hassle, and oven cleanings that ensued.

Quote of the Week

  • Cooking is like love;
    it should be entered into with
    abandon or not at all.
    -Harriet van Horne
    image via prosecco & lemonade

Last Great Book I Read: A Place For Us

This book.  There are very few books that I could say "took my breath away," and this is one of them.  Undoubtedly in my top 5, up there with Gone with the Wind and The Fountainhead.  I listened to the audiobook, which is excellent! It is narrated by Deepti Gupta, who reads Fatima Farheen Mirza's words with a soothing, gentle grace.  Also probably the best audiobook I've ever listened to.  I found excuses to run errands just so I could pop my headphones on and keep listening.

I first learned about this book on this podcast episode, A Place for Us is the first novel from Sarah Jessica Parker's new imprint, SJP for Hogarth.  The story chronicles an Indian-American Muslim family, as they reconnect for the oldest daughter's wedding.  The story is told throughout a series of flashbacks spanning decades and offering perspectives through the lens of different family members.  Perhaps what captured my attention most about this novel was the intimacy of a family Mirza is able to capture.  The thoughts we think but do not say aloud.  The wonderings had after challenging conversations. The worry parents carry for their children and hold close to their chest.  Every nuance of this story is told with such poise and clarity, honoring the devotion parents have toward their children and children toward their siblings.  If there ever was a well told story, this is it. I have nothing but good words.  I can always justify a good book if I'm still thinking about it days, weeks, even months after reading it...which I am.

Read it.  Trust me.

Friday Fun

Countdown to Christmas is on!  What are you up to this weekend?  My sisters are flying home from their respective cities, families in tow, and we're got a Christmas concert on the agenda for tomorrow, and a baking day with friends on Sunday.  Looking forward to enjoying holiday cheer with family and friends.

+ officially obsessed with these two new cookbooks

+ holiday foods I want to try making this season: lefse and latkes - ever made either before?

+ and maybe these brownies...I've mostly dairy-free except holiday sweets are my kryptonite, and who can resist salted caramel?

+ loving these family photos (loved this other photo shoot of theirs from years ago)

+ can't stop thinking about this NY Times article

+ middle school misfortunes, this is a heartbreaking but necessary read

+ love the white on white, hardware, and clean lines of this kitchen


+ ever had pie for dinner?

+ this soup sounds ideal for cold winter nights

+ have you watched the second season of mrs. maisel yet?  the first episode disappointed but the season recovered - p.s. enjoying Zachary Levi as the newest cast addition


image/bakedbree