Wine Purse

Tell me this isn't the greatest box of wine you've ever seen?

Hamper Turned Trash Can

A friend of mine was having a terrible time trying to find a trash can that was functional, yet stylish. So, she bought a black clothes hamper and found a trash can to put in it.

Homemade Amish Soft Pretzels

Soft, buttery, delicious Amish pretzels are our Thursday special treat that we get from the Amish market that's only open Thursday though Sunday. Since I've been on a quest to eat clean for the past seven or so years and have been eating rather healthy for twenty or so, I thought I would try my hand at making them. I'm assuming the ones made at the Amish market are from real ingredients and don't contain anything that I can't easily pronounce, but I still thought I would see if they were any good and easy to make.

The thing about anything that you make from scratch is that it only seems to last a few days. This is also true of the pretzels from the market. Which again, makes me think that they are made from real stuff. I found a decent recipe on Pinterest (of course). And while they were pretty good. I have to admit that the ones from the market are better. Is it because anything that someone else makes is always better? Is it the type of flour they use? Is the butter they dip them in, that much richer? Who knows, maybe it's because they make a gazillion of them every weekend and they are professional pretzel makers. Anywho, mine were good and they did get eaten up rather quickly, but I'll take the Amish ones from the market any time. Also, I'll admit it, making them was a bit time consuming, but my three year old did have fun rolling the dough.

Here's the recipe I used. These are the ones from the Reading Terminal Market in Philly. I've never had these, but I think I need to make the trip over the bridge to try them out. They look tasty.

2 tablespoon yeast

1 1/2 cups warm water

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon brown sugar

4 1/2 cups flour

2 tablespoons baking soda

1 cup cold water

Coarse salt

Melted butter

Dissolve yeast in warm water. Add salt, sugar, and flour. Mix well and let rise 15 minutes.

Divide dough in balls; roll each ball into a rope. Twist into pretzel shape.

Dissolve baking soda in cold water; dip each pretzel into the soda water. 

Place on well-greased baking sheet. Sprinkle with coarse salt. 

Bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes or until golden brown. Dip in melted butter. Serve warm with mustard or cheese sauce. Makes 12-18 pretzels.

St. Peter's Cathedral

This picture was taken with a dinky little point and shoot camera in 2004. It was always my favorite shot from that Rome trip.

Super Simple Bresaola Salad

When I lived in Italy I totally fell in love with this fresh salad. When I moved back to the States, I was thrilled to find all of the ingredients at Trader Joe's. I so wish there was one closer to my house. Love that store. Of course now I hardly eat meat and when I do it's almost never beef. So basically I eat this salad once a year if that now, but it's still good and really easy to make.

Ingredients:

Bresaola
Arugula
Parmigiano Reggiano - not that nasty stuff in the green can
Lemon juice - from a lemon
Olive oil

Spread the arugula on a plate. Top with torn bresaola and parm cheese. I like to shave mine with a vegetable peeler. Squeeze a little lemon juice on top and drizzle with olive oil. Eat!

How do you like my super classy paper plate? I wasn't in the mood to wash dishes. :)

Love it!

I saw this in a storefront window in Philly. I'm in love with signs that say "Love" and marque letters and marque signs. I thought the pic turned out pretty good considering I took it with my iphone at night.

All Aboard the Cow Train!!

I recently took my son to a local farm and they had a cow train. My son didn't want to go by himself, so I sat in the car in front of him. What a cute idea and a lot of fun. These were made out of plastic barrels. A great way to upcycle a plastic barrel.