Owl Mittens

Well I felt a little silly when I asked my sister if there were "supposed to be little creatures" on the mittens she knit me... because clearly, they feature these amazing little OWLS.

My sister tends to be a little tardy when it comes to gifting... These mittens came a month late but just in time for some very strange and chilly March weather. Hello rainbows, snow, and sunshine.

The way I see it, owls are the new cupcakes and I predict foxes will be the new owls. Any one else feel that?

English Muffins & Chansons

It somehow seemed appropriate to listen to pretty French melodies while "baking" English muffins yesterday morning, especially this one.

My former (but current in spirit) roommate has a lovely tradition of waking up early on Valentine's day and preparing home made English muffins for her roommates. She's done it every year... except the year she lived with me! Yesterday we remedied that little blip.

English muffins are surprisingly easy to make. I wrote "baking" up there because you don't actually bake them. Instead, after the dough rises you place the muffins on a skillet. I don't have the exact recipe because she found it in a magazine... but I hope to get a copy of it soon. (Did you read that, Molly?)

These were so good loaded with jam and brie. It was a delightful little morning and over much too soon.

Supergrain Salad

I met a friend for lunch yesterday at Vita Cafe in northeast Portland. It's super great serving mostly vegan and vegetarian food... I'm not sure why they don't just bump the one or two meaty choices off. Maybe they are going for the reverse of most restaurant menus? (All meat plus one vegetarian option.)

I had the Supergrain Salad which is a toss of quinoa, lettuce, guacamole, currants, pumpkin seeds, tempeh, and I don't even know what else with a carrot ginger dressing. Tasty.

I also really like that the back of their menu explains their philosophy in a non-threatening and understandable way. You can read it here.

Chickies

So this is a condensed version of the saddest thing ever.

Olive Bread

Maybe I should start a tradition of bread baking over 3 day weekends.

Today I was ultra giddy to make olive bread. I was inspired by my new vintage cute as a button sifter. A lovely birthday gift from Molly.

I used this recipe. It's pretty good but not fantastic. I think I might substitute some of the water with olive juice if I make it again. I think that would give it a little extra bite. And I'd put in more olives. I was shy of the recommended cup.

V-Day

Happy V-Day!

8 Dozen. In Keith's Face.

Or just one. I've been looking forward to making more of these all week. More to come.