Motivation to...

Clean & Organize! Thanks Katie!

I have really been wanting to get on track with organizing our apartment - so I was so excited when Katie decided to create this challenge. I got a bit of a late start this week because of my obsession with the election coverage and a few meetings after work, but I'm on track now!.

Our apartment is definitely a temporary housing arrangement, so we have not done much of anything to the place, but the bathroom looks so nice and clean and organized after I finished today's tasks. I even spruced up our seriously ugly medicine cabinet with some cool paper :) You can check out a few after photos here - nothing groundbreaking, but better than before!

Back with a good fall dessert recipe this weekend!

Ice cream, Elections & Updates :)

In the few weeks that I have been a non-blogger, I have been collecting a few random thoughts/photos that warrant posting, but maybe not their own post...so here we go!

First - I'm on the east coast - we have only just been exposed to the amazingness that is Pinkberry! Green tea frozen yogurt + fresh mango = amazing. Forget Cold Stone Creamery and get your $5 out to get some. You won't be sorry :).

Tim and I bought some of the super-expensive, elusive, on the "omnivore-100" list :) Jamaican Blue Moutain coffee randomly one day at Citarella. I don't drink coffee, but Tim LOVES coffee, so we bought enough to try it out. Some quick thoughts from Tim:

• Needs to be brewed properly to reach full potential. The first pot he made was a little weak. Ended up reading some of the proper brewing methods for this type of coffee and it came out substantially better, but we're still working on it.
• Overall opinion - super delicious coffee, but not really mind blowing yet (remember, this coffee is $50/lb!)
• Not sure if the home brew really brought out the full potential of the coffee. We bought 1/4 lb. and Tim only brews on special occasions :).

I photographed a 1st birthday party a few weeks ago and they had the cutest cupcakes!! Check them out - turns out they were from Sam's Club. I think they are easily done at home - the flowers were plastic, but you could also make them out of chocolate. So cute.

I'm definitely back to putting my glitterati pumpkins around the house! I did a post on them last year and they are super cute for fall decorating (not just Halloween). I like doing other colors - not just orange, but reds and browns too. Here is a pic from last year, I'll post some updated fall decorating pics soon.

And finally, Happy Election day! I hope everyone voted. I did and it felt great. I'm ecstatic over the outcome and I think it was my cookies that did the trick (what's more American than chocolate-chip cookies, right?:)! I hope this country can come together now, look past the election and transition into something better together.

Back without a vengeance :)

Hi all!

I'm not even going to waste time discussing my MIA status, because...I'm back! Just in time for the holidays too :).

In an effort to depict exactly whats going on in my kitchen, I'm going to post a complete disaster. I have made this focaccia recipe dozens of times - its my go-to recipe when I want fairly quick, not-too-labor intensive fresh bread. I don't want to deter anyone from trying this recipe because its really delicious and great this time of year with soups, salads, or for a good sandwich. Here is the link to the original recipe.

So, bread bakers out there - what did I do wrong!? I definitely changed it up a little bit this time because I wanted have a bit of a different flavor.

Here are my changes:

• Swapped out half the AP flour for whole wheat flour
• Omitted the rosemary and used an Italian seasoning blend instead
• Add mini-grape tomatoes to the top

Here is what I got! yuck.

• Did not rise properly (or barely at all)
• Tasted completely awful - inedible
• Middle totally doughy and disgusting.
• And yes, it was that nasty yellow color.

I have never posted such an awful result on this blog! Was it the whole wheat flour? Maybe you guys can laugh and forgive me for being gone so long. That's what I get!!

Hope everyone is having a great fall so far - I'll be back with better recipes and updates asap!

Apple Streusel Coffeecake

Apple-picking is seriously one of the highlights of my whole year. We always go one of the last Saturdays in September, early enough to make sure that there are apples left, but late enough to get pumpkins the same day :). My mom has totally perfected the organization of the apple-picking day - we are serious about apples around here!

Here are a few shots from the day --

I always buy a ton of apples (if you pick them, you buy them!) so I'm always looking for new apple recipes. Last year, I made apple bars, apple crostata, and apple butter. The first recipe to get my interest this year is this Apple Streusel Coffeecake - I was a little nervous making this recipe because I didn't have all the ingredients that I needed, but it was my first Sunday morning with no plans in a long time and I didn't feel like hitting up the grocery store for just a few things, so I used a few substitutions. The results were great! Besides tasting good, it also makes a beautiful presentation would be great with coffee for your next brunch or dinner.

Apple Streusel Coffeecake (adapted from Women's Day Magazine)

Ingredients
Streusel
1 1/4 cups packed light-brown sugar
3/4 cup flour
1 stick cold butter, diced
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 cup walnuts & pecans, coarsely chopped

Cake
3 1/4 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
16 ounces low-fat sour cream
2 Golden Delicious apples, diced

Glaze
Powdered sugar
Water or milk
Splash of apple wine or apple cider (optional)

Steps
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a bundt pan.

2. Make streusel first: stir brown sugar, flour, butter and cinnamon with a fork or rub together with fingertips until crumbly and butter is completely incorporated. Stir in nuts.

3. Cake: mix flour, baking powder and baking soda in a small bowl. Then beat the butter and sugar in a 2nd bowl with a mixer until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add in eggs one at a time, beating well after each; add in vanilla and sour cream.

4. With mixer on low speed, beat in flour mixture just until blended, scraping down bowl as necessary.

5. Add approximately 3 cups of the cake batter into pan, spreading evenly. Sprinkle with 1/4-1/2 cup of the streusel, then apples, then and additional 1/2 cup of the streusel. Add the remaining batter and spread evenly to cover apples and streusel.

6. Sprinkle batter with remaining streusel, pressing down lightly so it sticks to batter (the streusel will completely cover the batter).

7. Bake approximately 45-55 minutes or until a pick inserted in cake comes out clean. Cool in pan on rack for 15 minutes before inverting. Remove pan and cool completely.

8. The glaze is optional, but I think it added a nice little bit of sweetness to the cake. I chose to make mine very thin, but if you made it a bit thicker (added more sugar, less liquid), the white glaze would also look very pretty on the cake. Anyway, to make the glaze, I added a bit of water to powdered sugar and stirred until it had an even consistency. Then I added a splash of apple ice wine that I happened to have in the kitchen - I think apple cider or even another dessert wine/extract/liqueur would have the same effect. I strained the mixture and then poured it over the cooled cake. After it seeped in, I also added some sifted powdered sugar to the top.

I'm submitting this recipe to Joelen's Tasty Tools monthly event. I love the theme this month -bakeware! I can't wait to see all the recipes - fall is the perfect month for a baking theme!

Sandi - I'm sending the below photo to you as my COTM - apples everywhere! My tip is, when you pick them, to leave a bit of the leaves and stems attached. They dry nicely and look beautiful as a fall (edible!) centerpiece.

End of Summer Picnic

I have been so behind on my blogging these past two weeks, but hopefully my schedule will be opening up a little this fall. Not that I don't love being busy with my photography business (its awesome!), but fall is my favorite season and I'm psyched to get back to regular food blogging too! Today's post has been in the queue since the end of August. I was going to skip it, but I had to just drop you guys a quick note to recommend this recipe. This focaccia is easy, delicious and perfect with the homegrown tomato crop that I know you have in your kitchen right now :)!

I made this recipe for a picnic a few weeks ago; paired it with a salad and some other things like wine, sparkling lemonade, and some cold shrimp with fresh lemon juice. It was delicious. Enjoy the photos and promise to try this recipe soon! It would work great as a party appetizer too if you cut it into smaller wedges or as a great lunch with a salad or some soup.