Rain.

Today is my Monday. Yesterday was a holiday in France so John was off for a long weekend. Don't get excited. We didn't do anything fun this weekend. It rained. And rained. And rained. I don't think I have ever seen it rain like this here. John, Sadie and I were all completely stir crazy and it's France so OF COURSE nothing was open. My biggest pet peeve about this country, besides the lack of public restrooms, is the fact that nothing is open on the weekends!

Anyways. Since we didn't have anything to do, I cooked.

Saturday: I made bread pudding and a chickpea curry. ( not sharing that recipe..I will be finding a new one! But the bread pudding... oh man. It. Is. Gooooood.) 

Sunday: Nothing too special.. some homemade biscuits. 

Monday: I was really running out of things to do.. So, I made Chocolate Chip Nutella Cookies, Corn chowder, and Cheddar and Chive quick bread muffins.(Recipe for both later!) 

Today: No rain!
Tomorrow: More about our trip! All pictures are edited so get ready!

Happy Halloween!

I hope everyone has a wonderful, full-of-candy Halloween!

A Preview

I am working on pictures this morning.. and afternoon.. and tomorrow.. and the next day... until they are finished but thought I would give you a little preview of what we saw and did. More later!

The Market in Nice. 

Sadie thought about buying some spices... 

My wonderful family! 

We had some crazy weather while Mom and Dad were here. This is in Antibes- just down the road from Nice where the waves were around 8 feet tall. Incredible!

I hate it when Vacation ends..

Well everyone, I'm back. I am not sure how excited am about that though... For the past two weeks, my parents have been visiting. The first week was spent in Nice and the surrounding areas. Last week we all went to Venice and then hopped on a boat to sail around the Mediterranean. It was WONDERFUL. Mom, Dad, John and I all had a wonderful time and saw some amazing sights. 

This morning, my Mom and Dad hopped back on a plane to the US, John went back to work, and now.. all I have is my laundry (oh MY is it a lot of laundry), photo editing, and trying to get back into a routine. 

It's a lonely day. :-) 

Be looking for pictures in the next week! It's going to be a long process- there are a lot of them!

Hiatus

Sorry everyone! I will be taking a blog hiatus for the next 2 weeks. 

I'll have lots to tell you about when I get back though! 

Make this!

It will make all of your salads taste better. I promise. 

This is the other recipe that I knocked out of the "To Try" folder on Wednesday. My basil was starting to look a little crazy and I had a couple of shallots that needed to be used as well. It is so good. That's all I can say for it. If you don't believe me... make it and prove me wrong. Or, believe me and make it. The point here is that you must try this salad dressing. 

I am already dreaming of my next salad.

Basil Vinaigrette
 And I didn't change a thing, it's just that perfect Simplyrecipes.com

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 Shallot, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh Basil leaves
1/4 cup White Wine Vinegar
3/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil


Mix all ingredients well and allow to sit for at least a couple of hours in the fridge. So good. Enjoy! 


- This can be mixed in a food processor. I don't have one of those, so I didn't use it.
 

Lime Mascarpone Blondies!

I have a huge folder of recipes in our online bookmarks. John has made me divide them into categories because they were becoming.. unruly. (And everyone thinks I am the organized, ocd, neat-freak. HA!) They are currently divided into Baking, Dinners, To Try, and To Try When We Get Back to the US. (Ok. So maybe I am all of the above things.. but he is too! Only about different things.) Unfortunately, my "to try" folder just won't shrink. It keeps growing and growing and growing which means that I just have to keep cooking. Rats. I just hate that. 

This morning I decided to knock a couple of recipes of the list. 

Really, I had too much time on my hands. When that happens, I cook. or bake. or clean. or walk the dog. Today, I chose the bake option. I had a lime and some marscarpone cheese that needed to be used soon so I pulled this recipe out of the folder and tadaa! Oh My Word, good. Make these immediately. It will make your Wednesday much better.

Lime Mascarpone Blondies
adapted from Simplyrecipes.com 

1/2 cup butter, melted
2/3 cup light brown sugar
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
8 ounces mascarpone cheese
zest of one lime
juice of one lime
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt
1 cup all-purpose flour


- Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly grease and flour a 9x9 baking dish. 

- In small mixing bowl, whisk together butter and sugar. 


- Add egg and vanilla, whisk to combine. 


- Add lime juice, zest, and mascarpone cheese. Mix well, making sure there are no lumps of cheese. 


- Add remaining ingredients- flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt;stirring well to combine. Batter should be smooth. 


- Pour batter into prepared baking dish. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.