Sunday, October 30, 2011

Happy Halloween! Almost...

Halloween falls on a Monday. Boo. So we celebrated all weekend by watching Halloween movies and for breakfast today I made Pumpkin Waffles.


Seriously, maybe the best waffles I have ever had. They're a little sweet once you get the whipped cream and syrup on top but that's why you make ham and eggs to balance out with some saltiness right?


I don't know what I'd do without my ipad! Its the best cookbook.


Everything's all mixed up, egg whites folded in and the waffle iron is hot!


If you're interested in making them here's the recipe with my additions in (parentheses).

Best Ever Pumpkin Waffles

INGREDIENTS
makes 4 round “Belgian” style pumpkin waffles or 8 small square waffles

• 1/4 cup light brown sugar
• 3 Tbsp. cornstarch
• 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 3/4 tsp. cinnamon
• 2 tsp. ginger
• 1/4 tsp. cloves
• 1/2 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg*
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup whole milk ( I subbed in Vanilla no sugar added almond milk)
• 1 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin

(• 1 vanilla bean scraped in (add to the milk/egg/pumpkin mixture).........)

• 4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted and warm

*Grated and lightly packed into the spoon, use 1/2 tsp. Grated and loosely scooped, this is about 1 tsp. of nutmeg. If you have to use pre-grated, dried nutmeg, use 1/4 tsp.

DIRECTIONS

1. Lightly oil the waffle iron with vegetable oil, and set it to the desired temperature.

2. Combine brown sugar and cornstarch in a large bowl. Whisk together to break apart the cornstarch. Add the remaining dry ingredients, and whisk to blend.

3. Separate eggs: yolks go in a medium sized bowl and whites get set aside in a smaller bowl.

4. Add pumpkin and milk to the egg yolks. Whisk to blend and set aside.

5. Whip egg whites with a hand mixer on high until stiff peaks form – about 1 1/2 – 2 minutes. Set aside.

6. Pour melted butter into the yolk/milk/pumpkin mixture. As you pour, whisk to combine.

7. Add the pumpkin mixture to the dry ingredients, and mix them together until just combined. A little lumpiness is fine. That will smooth out when the egg whites are added.

8. Slide the whipped egg whites out of the bowl and onto the mixture you just prepared. Gently fold them in until no white bits are obvious.

9. Once the waffle iron is heated, you’re ready to pour the batter! I continued to cook them until they were a nice golden brown color and a little crispy. They are much more moist and do take a little bit longer.

Yum.

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Wedding Venue

We've finally picked our wedding venue! It took a lot of going back and forth but in our hearts we knew we'd only be happy having our wedding at the Marvimon in Downtown LA.

It is exactly what I have always envisioned for what my wedding would be!

Beautiful greenery and exposed brick walls but with lots of kitschy areas.


*all pictures borrowed from all over the web



Monday, October 10, 2011

Weekend Round Up

I might have had the laziest weekends of weekends. I did manage to make it out of my house for Zumba, a manicure and the farmers market but that is about it. For some reason I needed to catch up on some major z's. It was actually really nice to relax at home for once!

This picture is the only proof I made it out! Taken in front of our favorite little french restaurant having an iced latte while waiting for a friend to hit the Mar Vista Farmers Market! I'm stoked to go to this farmers market! They have organic, sustainably farmed seafood, beef, poultry, goat, lamb, eggs and raw milk! Plus lots of organic/sustainable fruit and veggie farmers! It feels good to shop local and support my farmers.

Friday, September 30, 2011

Friday!

Today is Friday and I can't wait for the weekend!


Also, a big Happy Birthday to my best friend in the world! I wish I could be celebrating your birthday with you in SF but I'll be sending lots of good wishes your way from LA!

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Elderflower Soda

Last week when we had out of town visitors we went to the Galco's the soda pop store. Its a store dedicated in its entirety to soda and old fashioned candy (and a little bit of boozey). I've been there a bunch of times but its always fun to go and pick up a few new flavors. I tried the Elderflower Soda because recently I've discovered I'm a huge fan of St. Germain which is made from the elderflower.

via. exp. realm:wurstkuche

Here's a great little music video that Greg Laswell filmed in Galco's. At the 1:10 mark you can see the owner walk by in his apron!



Last night I cracked open the Elderflower and thoroughly enjoyed it!


Wednesday, September 28, 2011

The Addam's Family

With Halloween only a month or so away all fun things of fall are showing up again - pumpkin lattes, fall leaves, pumpkins, and fun movies such as the Addam's Family! Who doesn't love little Christina Ricci who was in that movie at 11!

I need to dig out my Halloween Movie collection today - Sleepy Hollow, Edward Scissorhands, The Addam's Family and I'm sure there're more! Any suggestions?

How fun is this fashion based off the Addam's family movies?


How sexy is Morticia! I love her eye makeup and long red nails.
*All photo's via weheartit.com

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Vanilla, Pear and Fig Jam

I had one last batch of fresh figs to use so I made another batch of jam. I walked around the grocery store with a bunch of different types of fruit but nothing caught my eye until I saw the crimson red pears and knew they were meant to be together.



My recipe was basically the same as the one for my rhubarb and fig jam except I had only 13 cups of fruit rather than the 16 cups I had before. I just followed the directions loosely again from pomona pectin and when the jam was almost done I added to big gluggs of vanilla to the pot and stirred. I tasted a couple of times to see what level of vanilla I wanted. Not to perfumey but enough to add another layer to the flavor.

My favorite way to eat this is over some vanilla bean ice cream. Yum.