Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Knitting


My pretend best friend, she is just so cool... I know we would be fast friends, has claimed that this is her year of Zimmermann, so off I was to investigate. After doing some research, I agree, this too might be my year of Zimmermann. I now own Knitting Without Tears and Knitter's Almanac and can't wait to dive right in! Both books offer wonderful patterns- Knitting Without Tears offering great beginning directions and Knitter's Alamanac is filled with knitting ideas and projects for every month of the year! Now, I am no fast knitter, so one project a month seems very daunting to me... but what better way to become a better knitter than to practice, practice, practice and dive in with both feet, or needles in this case. I will be sure to keep you posted in regards to my projects. Here's to a house filled with wool!

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Happy Valentine's Day

Just thought you might want to see what Valentine's Day looks like around the Cozy Little Cottage.... I love vintage post cards and was lucky enough to have been gifted an entire shoe box full of them! I have them organized by holiday and always enjoy looking back on the notes that were written way back when.







Our Valentine celebrations were held in California where we had the wonderful, and rare, opportunity to spend time with David's family. We flew down Saturday morning and were back in Portland by Sunday night... what a trip! We so enjoyed it, even though it was so short! Most of David's family does not live in Oregon, so to even spend a couple of days with them was a treat!

Here is a little peak of what I made for David before we left. I filled it with all the letters we have written to each other over the past 9 years. He loved it and we both enjoyed re-reading all those long lost letters! I also made him that little card you see posted on the bulletin board in the back... he added it right to his new little letter satchel! The satchel is made of vintage red and white ticking and lined with a tan rose print. I also added two little embroidered hearts on the front. I gave it to him on our trip, along with a new magazine to read on the plane. And, he even hid a treat for me in his suitcase... the new Jamie Oliver cookbook Jamie's Food Revolution. I have always loved Jamie Oliver's philosophy about food, as it is very similar to my own. He is a firm believer supporting your local food sources and cooking, really cooking, at home.

While Valentine's Day and seeing family was wonderful while in California, I think my favorite part was seeing and picking my very own citrus fruits! (This was not really my favorite part, as family always trumps for me, but I was thrilled to be there during citrus season!) This Oregon girl was amazed to see citrus fruits galore in everyone's yard and even in David's grandfathers back yard... we picked and brought home an entire bag of oranges, mandarins and lemons (oh my)



Monday, February 8, 2010

Super Bowl Sunday

What did Super Bowl Sunday hold in store for the Cozy Little Cottage? We settled in a for a nice day of heavy lounging. While the game was on I very busy knitting away at my first sock (it's can't be socks yet as I am not sure it will turn out, so as of now it is just sock) and perusing all my favorite blogs for some new crafty ideas. And then...


I made us some clam dip that we enjoyed with chips, kettle of course, and vegetables from our favorite little market.

After half time we moved on from the delicious dip to David's special request. When asked, he let me know that his game time food was to be chicken strips and fries. So, I did my best to recreate it in my own home-made way. I sliced up some chicken breasts, dipped them in a butter and dijon sauce, coated them in panko, parmesan and parsley and served aside garlic and herb roasted potatoes... He loved it all!

And he loved the trio of dips that came along with! Ketchup, Honey-Barbecue and homemade ranch... oh my!

Saturday, February 6, 2010

Saturday Night Pizza


Tonight is pizza night and oh are we looking forward to it! Last night's date night chat lead David and I to figuring out, "Just how long have we been having pizza night?" After counting back the years we figured that we have been noshing on this same pizza for about 7 years... and counting, that's how much we love it! We have tried different toppings and different dough recipes but we always come back to our old standby.

I like it with pesto and David likes it with roasted tomatoes as the base. We have often dreamed that if we were ever to open a restaurant that served pizza, we would offer guests the option of having their pizza David style, with tomato, or Allison style, with pesto... we always talk of opening a restaurant, something I don't think either of us really wants to do, too long of hours, not enough home time, but restaurant talk sure is an entertaining conversation to have over dinner!

As of now I have the dough, pesto and sausages thawing on the counter, ready to be made into our little pizza later this evening. We will enjoy our pizza with a very simple side salad of mixed seasonal greens topped with Mimi's Dressing.

Saturday Night Pizza
1 recipe pizza dough (from the book Bread Machine Baking, it makes enough for two pizzas, with just the two of us I always freeze half the dough for our next pizza night)
1/2 c. homemade pesto or roasted tomatoes
2 italian sausage links
3 shallots (or 1 leek or onion)
3- 4 cloves of garlic... we like lots of garlic! (if I have extra time I roast a whole head of garlic... a special treat)
1/2 lb mushrooms (whatever is local and available at the farmers market)
goat cheese
pine nuts

Pre-Heat your oven to 400-425.

Remove sausage from casings and brown in a skillet, breaking into bit size pieces. Remove from pan with a slotted spoon just before it is all the way cooked through (it will finish cooking in the oven). Using pan drippings, saute sliced shallot until limp. Add minced garlic and saute one minute more (if using roasted garlic, do not saute, simply place roasted garlic atop pizza before baking). Set onion and garlic mixture aside and saute sliced mushrooms, adding additional oil to pan if needed.

Roll out dough and place onto pizza pan or board if using a stone. Build pizza by layering all ingredients starting with a base of either pesto or roasted tomatoes. Crumble goat cheese and top with a sprinkling of pine nuts.

Bake for 12-15 minutes, until crisp on bottom and bubbly-browned on top.

Once the pizza has been removed from the oven I like to top it with a sprinkling of Fluer de Sel and let it rest for about 5 minutes while I mix up a simple salad.

Slice and enjoy with a side salad and local brew... or home brew, which is what we love to do!

*I salt (and pepper, if applicable) between each step in all my recipes. It adds a depth of flavor that cannot be replicated when simply salting at the end of a recipe.

Added after dinner...

To accompany our pizza I just knew we needed a little something sweet so I mixed up a batch of these....

They were delightful. I am not into anything overly sweet and these little hand pies were just the ticket. Over the summer I had stashed away a few pounds of rhubarb from the market. I guess I was saving it for a raining day because we love rhubarb around here and I was surprised that it had staying tucked away in the freezer for so long! The pink color was perfect for an early Valentine treat!

And, well David must have been experiencing a little sweet tooth himself because he came home with this slice of tiramisu from Elephants. Tiramisu will always hold a special little spot in our hearts... it was our wedding cake!

Apparently we were both feeling like we needed a little winter
pick -me-up. You would think that we chose just one treat to have for our after dinner nosh, but no! We shared the tiramisu and a hand pie.

David said that he even stopped by our local Good Will in search of special record for me on his way home from work, but all he could find was Neil Diamond! We laughed because everywhere I look seems to be over flowing with Neil Diamond albums... what's a girl got to do to find some Van the Man at a Good Will price?

Monday, February 1, 2010

Roasted Vegetables over Rice



As we are in the deep of winter, I continue to love it. Winter has always been my favorite season, well I do love fall as well... and spring, okay and summer. But really I do love winter. The way it gets dark early and you are forced to get right home and snuggle under a blanket. The way the rain pounds on the windows, reminding you it is time for another cup of tea. The warm and bundley clothes we get to wear... ahhh winter. But what makes me love the season of rest most of all is the comforting food that cooks away on my stove and in my oven and warms the whole house.

Last night David and I enjoyed one of our favorite winter meals, Roasted Vegetables over Rice. The wonderful thing about this recipe is that I change it with whatever we have it that little crisper drawer of ours or whatever is lurking in our root basket. Some weeks we have a large piece of bright orange squash from the market, other weeks kale makes a showing or even brussels sprouts!

This week our roasting pan was filled with an acorn squash, beets, a parsnip and a sweet potato. In addition, I always make up a batch of our favorite salad dressing to drizzle over the roasted vegetables. The dressing recipe is one from my grandmother, we call it "Mimi's Dressing".

Roasted Vegetables over Rice
Pre-heat your oven to 400-425.

Roastable Vegetables (squash, beets, potatoes, parsnips...)
Leafy Vegetable (1 stalk brussels sprouts, 1/2 head of cabbage, 1 bunch of kale)
Onion or Leek, sliced
1 Carrot, sliced
1 Celery stalk, sliced
*all of the above ingredients are called for in amounts to feed your own family. For the two of us I use 1 acorn squash, 2 beets, 1 sweet potato, 1 parsnip (this leaves lots of leftovers for lunches)

1 1/2 C. brown rice
1 Leek

Saute 1 leek, or 1/2 an onion, in olive oil until limp. Season with salt and add brown rice. Toss rice to cover with oil and toast a minute or two. Add 3 c. water, bring to a boil, cover and simmer 40 min.

Meanwhile, slice acorn squash, remove seeds and place cut-side down on baking sheet. To baking sheet add potato, quartered beets and parsnip (drizzle a little olive oil over vegetable and top with salt and pepper). Roast 35- 45 minutes (I check it throughout the cooking time and remove any vegetables as they finish to my liking). About 10 minutes before the squash is finished flip it over and add a pat of butter and some honey.

While vegetables roast, heat a large skillet with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, or reserved bacon drippings from a previous breakfast, and saute sliced carrot, leek and celery. Season with salt and pepper. Add sliced onion or halved brussels sprouts. Add a splash of white wine or rice wine vinegar. Once wine or vinegar has become almost dry, add 1/2 c. water and cover. Simmer 15 minutes.

When ready to plate, slice any larger veggies and lay atop a bed of rice. Mix squash with butter and honey and place beside vegetables. Squeeze in cabbage or brussels sprouts on the side. Top roasted vegetables with Mimi's Dressing.

Mimi's Dressing
1-2 cloves garlic, minced (we love garlic, so 2 it is!)
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
1/2 tsp dijon mustard
1/8 tsp freshly ground pepper
6 Tbsp olive oil

Add everything to a small jar and give it a good shake.
*I like to spoon it over our salad or roasted vegetables so we get all that minced garlic goodness.