All wrapped up

If it wasn't for one blink-and-you-miss-it previous appearance on the blog (here), this wrap sweater/dress would have fallen into my 'island of misfit clothes'. It's a Sydney thrift store find, from an Australian label my roommates told me specializes in wrap dresses. Made from a very stretchy, lightweight wool, I love its warmth and the way it clings in all the right places.

I find my wrists look a little bare and I'm kind of wishing I'd thrown on some bracelets - agreed?

xx

  

Wrap top - Rebecca Ruby via thrift store

Belt - Salena's Collection via clothes swap

Tights - Gap

Boots - Geox

Bag - Leo Monk handbags

Earrings - Zellers

Creamy veal stew with artichokes, portobello mushrooms and lemon

I guess my lemon kick isn't QUITE over; I've found yet another use for it. If a stew can be described as luscious, this one would fit the bill. It's my own recipe and admittedly I kind of went to town with gourmet ingredients. Think portobello mushrooms, wine, veal, cream. Slow cooked in the crockpot, it tantalized with delicious aromas over the course of the afternoon.  Makes about six servings.

 xx

Dice four portobello mushrooms into 1" pieces. Finely dice two small sweet onions and four cloves garlic. Set aside. Pour 1/3 cup flour and 1/2 tsp pepper in a large Ziploc bag. Add 1-1/2 lbs of veal stewing cubes, patted dry. Seal bag and toss until veal is dusted with flour. Remove veal cubes and discard excess flour. 

Heat 2T vegetable oil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat (turn the vent fan on!). Working in batches, add veal and sauté for couple of minutes per side until well-browned, adding more oil as needed throughout. Remove veal cubes and set aside to drain.

Add a little more oil to the pot, then add mushrooms, garlic and onions. Cook, stirring, for a couple of minutes. Increase heat to high, and pour in 2/3 cup dry white wine. Boil until reduced by half, scraping browned bits with a wooden spoon. Add 3T Italian seasoning. 

Pour meat, vegetables and wine into slow cooker. Add two cans of artichoke hearts (not marinated), including the juice. Top up with chicken broth until the solids are about 3/4 submerged in liquid. Stir to combine.

Cook on low for 6 hours or on high for 3 hours. Once done cooking, stir in zest of 1/2 lemon and juice of 1/2 lemon. Add 1/2 cup heavy cream. Season to taste. Serve with crusty bread or broad egg noodles.

Fresh basil pesto

After years of crappy blenders, I decided the time had come to invest in a good one. Vitamix seems to be the undisputed king of blenders, but I wasn't willing to spend $500. I spent an hour researching options and decided to go with the Breville Hemisphere, which was on sale for less than half the price of the Vitamix, but seemed to offer good bang for my buck. 

I've only had it for a couple of weeks but so far I'm really pleased. It's got a solid motor, four regular blades plus two sweeping blades (no little chunky bits hiding at the very bottom of the jug). The blades are soldered to the jug, which I'm hoping doesn't cause any problems for cleaning; so far so good. On that note, I'm not sure if it's technically dishwasher-safe, but I've put the jug through a few times no problem. And I'm enamored with the smoothie button!

 It arrived in time for me to whip up some fresh pesto with basil from our garden before the first frost. My recipe is pretty classic but I felt I ought to post it, as I use this in, or on, everything - mashed potatoes, pasta, sandwiches, grilled salmon - you name it!

xx

To make, pulse 2-1/2 cups packed basil leaves and 1/3 cup pine nuts in a blender for a few seconds. Add 3 minced cloves of garlic and 2/3 cup of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, and pulse again. With the blender on low speed, slowly pour in 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil. Adjust the quantities to taste, then season with salt and pepper.

New favourite statement necklace

Is anyone else loving Banana Republic's jewellery collection these days? A few posts back, I was gushing about these turquoise earrings. Also love at first sight was this statement necklace, a gift for my 30th birthday in August. I knew I wanted to pair its purplish-grey hue with another fall colour, burnt orange.

I'm keeping an eye out to see if BR comes out with any jewellery in our wedding colours (blush pink, dove grey and ivory with gold accents) that would go with my dress. Fingers crossed!

xx

Skirt – H&M via thrift store

Blazer – Elie Tahari via thrift store

Blouse – Max Studio via Winners

Shoes – Aldo via thrift store

Necklace – Banana Republic
Earrings – Gift

Shrimp and kale salad rice paper rolls

I often wrestle with the types of recipes to post on the blog. I aim for a balance between familiarity and originality, difficulty and simplicity - and always, lots of variety!

This falls into the super-easy end of the spectrum. I think I put it together on a weeknight when I really didn't feel like mucking around in the kitchen.  

xx

I started with Eat Smart's Sweet Kale salad mix from Costco (which actually has chicory, green cabbage, broccoli and Brussels sprouts, in addition to the kale). If you don't have this, you could substitute coleslaw. I didn't add the little package of dried cranberries and pumpkin seeds, nor the dressing. Instead, I mixed in Wafu Original Sesame dressing. A good substitute for the Wafu would be a creamy Asian sesame salad dressing. 

I wrapped the kale salad with cooked shrimp in dampened rice paper rolls.  That's it! If you wanted, you could dip these in a sweet chili dipping sauce, or add fresh basil or mint to the rolls.

Lemon layered bars

What is it about moms and their collections of ingeniously easy, yet delicious, recipes? Unfortunately, I can't give the original author of this one credit, as I only have a photocopied page of an unknown cookbook. It came to me via my BFF's mom, who had a little handwritten note in the margin about how much her daughter had liked these. So sweet!

My only genius modification was to add a slice of lemon for decoration in the middle. I got distracted doing laundry and slightly overcooked the crust, but it actually made the lemon stand out more!  I also didn't have the right size of pan, so my bars were a little taller than usual. I brought them to a dinner with friends so I didn't get a picture of them cut up. But, I can saw they were a real crowd pleaser, and I kept sneaking back for JUST ONE more.

xx

In a large stand mixer, combine 1 package lemon cake mix, 1 egg and 1/3 cup melted butter. Beat on low speed until well-blended and crumbly. Reserve 1 cup crumbs for topping. 

Press remaining crumbs firmly into 13x9" greased bake pan. Bake at 350F for 12-15 minutes or until lightly golden. 

In a small mixer bowl, combine 2 eggs, 2/3 cup sugar, 1/3 cup lemon juice, 2 tsp lemon zest, 1/2 tsp baking powder and 1/4 tsp salt. Beat on medium speed until light and foamy. Pour over crust. Sprinkle reserved crumb mixture evenly on top. Bake 15-20 minutes longer or until set and golden. Cool completely on a wire rack before serving. Dust with icing sugar (not shown). Cut into bars. 

A refreshed layout, and a minor fashion miracle

I'm excited to present my new blog layout, designed by the wonderful Laura of The Blog of Worldly Delights. A second glance was sorely in need of a refresh, and I'm super grateful to Laura for helping me bring my ideas to life.

This week was also home to a minor fashion miracle - after something like five years, I found a pair of boots to fit my narrow calves. Hallelujah! I'd even tried and failed with an online order from a UK company that specializes in narrow calf boots. That pair fit through the calves, but was way too wide in the ankle.

The model I finally landed on was the Blondo Verga. My winter boots, the Blondo Snowtrails, are by the same Quebec-based company so I already knew the quality would be great. The shaft is elasticized waterproof rubber and the boot portion is a beautiful leather with a sturdy rubber sole. Good for Canadian weather! My only quibble is that the  inside back of one boot's been rubbing against my ankle; I'm going to try adding some cushioning.

xx

Leggings – Madonna via thrift store

Bronze tank – Sportsgirl

Cardigan – Tommy Hilfiger via outlets

Vest – Calvin Klein via Winners

Faux fur scarf – Thift store

Print scarf – Thrift store

Boots – Blondo 

Bag – Chloe via thrift store 

Earrings – Le Chateau

Cheddar-broccoli soup with turkey bacon

B and I will occasionally buy fresh soups from Costco but we're pretty conscious of how fat- and salt-laden they are. One day, I found myself with a lot of broccoli and cheddar to use up and decided to create my own version of broccoli-cheddar soup, which included adding turkey bacon. It was still creamy and cheesy and the broccoli stayed tender-crisp. I didn't measure how much this made as it disappeared too fast, but I'd guess 4-6 portions.

xx

Cut 2 lbs broccoli into bite-sized pieces, separating stems from florets. Dice 1 sweet onion and 3 cloves garlic. Cut 8 slices turkey bacon into 1" pieces.

Melt 6T butter in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, broccoli stems and turkey bacon, then saute for several minutes until onion is translucent and bacon browned, stirring regularly with a wooden spoon. Add garlic and 1 tsp paprika and cook for another minute. Sprinkle with 3T flour and stir rapidly to avoid burning. Once starting to turn brown, quickly add 6 cups chicken broth and 1 cup white wine. Increase heat, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium and simmer for about 15 minutes. 

Add florets and cook for another couple of minutes, until tender-crisp. Stir in 2 cups of sharp cheddar and 1/2 cup table cream, then immediately remove from heat and stir until cheese is melted. Season to taste.

Tip: This recipe would probably be delicious topped with sliced day-old baguette and extra cheese, then broiled, much like French onion soup.

A second glance at a tweed dress

Every season, I fall in love all over again with some piece from my wardrobe that I'd neglected the year before. Last year, I fretted that this dress was too sexy for work. It does have a relatively high slit up the back, not seen here. However, with pencil skirts inching back below the knee and tweed being all the rage this fall, right now I'm all c'mere sugar.

 On this dress's two previous turns on the blog, I wore it like a jumper, with a top underneath - here and here. This time I tried a different tack - a bright cardigan and a thin scarf in autumnal tones, and a print that's reminiscent of abstract peacock feathers.

xx

{The only shot we got with true-to-life colours}

Dress - RW & Co. (also here and here)

Cardigan - Talbots via Winners (last seen here)

Scarf - Thrifted

Shoes - Naturalizer via thrift store

Watch - Kenneth Cole

Bracelet - Toronto boutique

Earrings - Gift

Sunday prime rib roast

Growing up, roast beef meant a monthly Sunday dinner at my grandparents' house. There was the novelty of signing their guestbook every other time we went over. We'd sit in their dining room to eat, with the one wall wallpapered with a giant forest scene that often lured my attention away from the table conversation. We'd jostle for the last popover. My grandfather would start clearing plates as we were still chewing our last forkful. With his endless sweet tooth, he'd bring out the crisper drawer from the fridge chock-full of candy bars for dessert, while my grandmother would take orders for tea. They now live in an assisted living facility, where we've maintained the informality that defines our family, and that comes from having lived streets apart. It took B by surprise when we started dating that we call our grandparents by their first names, we speak our minds, and we engage in occasional black humour about ageing. My brother now lives in my grandparents' old home.  While the wallpaper is no longer, I hope he fills it with just as many memories. 

My grandparents came from an old-school style of cooking where roast beef is well-done and tough. I love them to bits, but I definitely lived for the popovers, vegetables, gravy and candy bars.  Then I met B and discovered his dad's succulent prime rib, slow-roasted on the BBQ. Since we share a communal BBQ in our condo building which we can't take over for hours at a time, I've had to try to recreate the results in the oven. The main purpose for me posting this dish was to link to an article about how to cook roast beef which impressed me with its logic. Sear at a high temperature then reduce heat? NO. Here's why.

xx