vintage goodness

Today, I received my snack plates from Little Owl Vintage.

I ordered them with my gift certificate from the Beauty that Moves June giveaway!

Aren't they precious?

I was fortunate to score a set of 8 in mint condition! Unfortunately, one of the cups broke in transit, but now I have a spare plate ;)

They're definitely some of my most treasured pieces of vintage goodness!

success

Alas! We will not be impressing our neighbors with a fancy TV delivery.

With a $90 part, Jeff was able to fix our behemoth of a television in under half an hour. The convergence amp was dead, so he replaced the convergence board and now the picture is good as new!

Sure beats plunking down cash for a new TV, plus we've kept this one out of the landfill for a while longer :)

tempeh marsala

Chicken marsala has long been one of my favorite dishes. When I stopped eating chicken, I invented this recipe which uses tempeh instead.

I usually serve it with mashed potatoes or brown rice, but I was out of both, so I served it with white rice.

8 oz tempeh, sliced

2 medium onions, sliced
1 lb baby bella mushrooms, sliced
2 garlic cloves, pressed
3/4 cup marsala wine
2 t oregano
olive oil
salt
pepper

Saute the onions in a bit of olive oil until they're golden brown and carmelized. Add the mushrooms and cook them until they darken. Remove them from the pan and set them aside.

Add the garlic and tempeh to the pan, and saute until the tempeh is browned and starting to crisp. Add 1/2 cup marsala wine and simmer until the liquid is reduced by half. Add the oregano, onions, mushrooms, remaining marsala, and salt and pepper to taste. Stir to combine and cook until most of the marsala is absorbed.

i've offended my television

I often wear a t-shirt that says, "kill your television". In a tongue-in-cheek way, it makes sense.

We haven't subscribed to cable since 1998 or so, and that's how I manage to do crazy time consuming things like gardening, sewing, reading, exercising, blogging, cooking from scratch, taking classes, etc. It's also how I manage to stay relatively checked out of consumer culture, thereby saving cash so we can pay off the mortgage and say "adios" to Citibank sooner rather than later.

It's not so amusing though now that our TV set has finally taken a hint and decided to become haunted by blue ghosts!

Everyone I've lamented to today had the same reaction...something along the lines of "now you have an excuse to upgrade to a plasma or a flat panel."

Our TV viewing is limited to our one at a time Netflix subscription and DVDs we borrow from the library. That hardly justifies dropping $1,000 or more on a new TV. Not to mention that I'm tired of things being manufactured with a finite life as part of a huge strategy to get us to buy new things instead of repairing our old things. It's wasteful and unnecessary. Heck, I still bring my shoes to be reheeled!

So instead of seeing this as an opportunity to impress our neighbors by having a fancy TV conspicuously delivered on block party day, Jeff has downloaded our TV's repair manual. If the issue is what we think it is, we'll be able to fix it ourselves for under $100.

Of course we'll still have a giant rear projection circa 2002 Samsung TV, but who cares? I'm not ready to part ways with the Samsung (or $1,000) just yet.

Please wish us luck, or send some good DIY TV fixing vibes our way :)

oatmeal raisin cookies

I never buy premade cookies anymore. I can even walk past the Girl Scout cookie table outside the grocery store without a second thought!

Why buy something along the lines of hockey pucks at worst, or filled with ingredients I don't recognize at best when I can bake a batch of delicious homemade cookies from scratch in under an hour for less than a pack of Chips Ahoys?

I'm slowly building my cookie repertoire and oatmeal raisin is my latest addition. This batch barely survived the weekend!

2 cups flour
1 t baking soda
1 t baking powder
1 t salt
1/2 - 1 t cinnamon (optional)
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed
2 eggs
2 t vanilla
3 cups old fashioned oats
1 1/2 cups raisins

Whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Set it aside.

Using an electric mixer, cream together the butter, sugars, eggs and vanilla. Beat it on high until it's fluffy and the color lightens. By hand, stir in the four mixture, until no flour is visible, then stir in the oatmeal and raisins, just until combined.

Drop the dough, about 2 T at a time, 2 inches apart onto greased cookie sheets. Bake at 350 degrees for 11-13 minutes, or until golden.

Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for a few minutes, then transfer them to wire racks.

I mix my cookie dough less than I think it should be mixed, and I get tender cookies every time! Overmixing creates tough cookies, and who wants a tough cookie?

favorite things - driving with the top down

Ever since I was a little girl, I wanted a convertible. Maybe I watched too much Brady Bunch, or maybe it was that Barbie convertible that did it. Who knows?

One impulsive February evening, I traded in my automatic Audi A4 for a 6-speed Audi TT without knowing how to drive a stick shift. I couldn't even drive it home from the dealer!

After many hours of making Jeff sick with my sloppy shifting in the parking lot of the elementary school near our house, I finally learned how to drive it.

I love driving with the top down, wearing a big sunhat and Jackie-O shades! (of course)

potato salad

Potato salad is one of my perennial summer obsessions. There are enough delicious variations that it's possible to go a whole summer without having the exact same one twice.

This is a traditional version, and it's the recipe I go for when I want a basic old fashioned potato salad. It doesn't have any fancy ingredients, and the generous amount of celery gives it a nice crunch.

2-3 lbs. potatoes (I like Yukon Gold)

1/2 cup chopped onion
3 stalks celery, diced
3/4 cup mayonnaise (or a little less)
2 T red wine vinegar
2 T yellow mustard
1 t sugar
1 t salt
3/4 t black pepper

Peel and cut the potatoes into small chunks. Place them in a large pot and cover with salted water. Bring to a boil and cook 6-8 minutes until they're firm, yet tender. Drain, and rinse under cold water.

Whisk together the remaining ingredients. Stir in the warm potatoes. Cover and chill, overnight if possible.

chocolate cream pie

The chocolate cream pie of my childhood consisted of milk chocolate pudding mix dumped into a premade pie shell and topped with Cool Whip.

That's no way to live!

Here's the real deal...a flaky homemade crust with a filling of sugar, cocoa, milk, butter, eggs, flour, and vanilla, topped with real whipped cream, and finished with dark (72% cacao) shavings. Bliss!

1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/4 t salt
9 T cocoa powder
3 cups milk
2 eggs, lightly beaten
6 T butter
1 1/2 t vanilla
1 pre-baked pie shell

In a large saucepan, mix together the sugar, flour, salt, and cocoa. Turn heat to medium and gradually stir in the milk. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until it's think and bubbly. Reduce heat to low and continue cooking another 2-3 minutes.

Remove pan from the heat and temper in the eggs. Return to heat and bring to a gentle boil, stirring constantly, cook another 2-3 minutes. Remove pan from the heat and stir in the butter and vanilla.

Pour it into the prepared pie shell, cover with plastic wrap, and chill for several hours. Serve chilled with whipped cream and chocolate shavings!

favorite things - abnormally attracted to sin

Way back in the summer of 1992, Tori Amos rocked my world when I heard Little Earthquakes for the first time. Over the years, I became disenchanted with her music, and eventually stopped listening to all but Little Earthquakes and a rare copy of Y Kan't Tori Read.

I usually listen to NPR during the 55 miles I drive to and from work, but since downloading Abnormally Attracted To Sin, my knowledge of current events is declining ;)

I've only fallen this in love with an album a few times in my life!

I commute with it, I relax with it, I groove with it, I cook to it. I don't even care if people see me singing in my car and dancing in my kitchen...the woman rocks it!!!

karma

Today, I won the first Friday giveaway at Beauty That Moves and I'm so excited!!! Heather is sending me 2 awesome totebags that she made out of vintage fabric, some vintage fabric (yay!) and a gift certificate to Little Owl Vintage. It's like Christmas morning over here :)

Could the universe be paying me back for my giveaway? The timing is certainly right, and this is the only thing I've ever won.

If you have a few extra minutes, please check out Heather's blog. She lives in my college town and has a wonderful sense of style and an appreciation for vintage things. She's actually the one who inspired me to start Sage & Simple.

chickpea wraps

By now, my love affair with chickpeas is well documented :) Here's yet another delicious way I enjoy these beloved beans...

1 T dijon mustard

2 T lemon juice
2 T olive oil
3 T red wine vinegar
2 garlic cloves, pressed
1/2 of a red onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 1/2 cups chickpeas (or one 15.5 oz. can, drained)

Whisk together the mustard, lemon juice, olive oil, and vinegar. Stir in the garlic, onion, and red bell pepper. Add the chickpeas, and stir to combine.

It's ready to serve immediately, but I prefer to let the flavors mingle in the fridge.

Tucked into a wrap and served with a green salad, this makes a healthy and filling workday lunch...it's one of my favorites!

broccoli - cheese quiche w/ rice crust

I love quiche, but the usual pastry crust, while delicious, isn't a good bang for the nutritional buck, so sometimes I make it with a rice crust that's every bit as delicious...

2 cups cooked rice

1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar, jack, or swiss cheese
4 eggs
2/3 cup evaporated milk or half & half
1/2 t salt
10 oz broccoli, cooked & chopped
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
paprika

While the rice is still hot, stir it together with 1 lightly beaten egg, and 1/2 cup of cheese. Press it evenly into a greased pie plate.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the remaining 3 eggs, evaporated milk , and salt. Stir in the broccoli, onion and remaining 1 cup cheese. Pour it into the pie plate and sprinkle with paprika.

Bake at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes, or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Let it cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes before serving.

I substitute dry milk for the evaporated milk, and use frozen broccoli. If I'm using a pastry crust, I bake it at 350 degrees for about 50 minutes, or until the knife comes out clean.

I had some leftover baby bellas, so I added them to this quiche, but I think it tastes better without them.

new headbands

Ever since I made my first set of headbands, I've been on the lookout for new and interesting materials for round two.

The top and bottom bands are made out of upholstery trim that I scored for 50% off at Joann Fabrics. Who knew you could make headbands out of upholstery trim?

These are a quick and easy sew, and exactly what I need as I recover from the great Argentinean hair fiasco of 2008 ;)