vie a la table

i am not sure why i chose to be inspired by polaroids after the film officially announced being taken out of the retail market. good timing on that one, kris. but i can’t help love the coloring, nostalgia, and instant gratification. maybe one more fan added to the mix will help the so-called ‘impossible project’ be able to follow through (people banding together to start manufacturing it again)…we’ll see.

either way, the more i contemplate wil’s and my phase of life right now, the more i realize it needs to be documented. i have a feeling this will be the only time in our lives where we have this lifestyle…the urban downtowner, in a small apartment, no kids, with one car we try to use sparingly. and while it sounds glamorous, it’s also very simple and plain at times. but i like it.

after too much pilfering around the internet and being inspired by fellow polaroid users, i decided to take on a project. i found one man who took one polaroid a day…from 1979 up until the day before he passed away from cancer in 1997. i don’t necessarily have any intentions of do this for 20 years, and i definitely don’t have enough film to last more than a month and a half or so, but i like the concept of recording something significant or insignificant of the day in that little 3″ square. i may or may not choose to put them all online, and i’m trying to not put pressure on myself to make each image an ansel adams. life is not a series of magnificent moments…most are mundane and normal, with a few bright ones that stand out.

i know i’m not so good at starting these type of creative projects…but i am hoping the instantaneous outcome will help me to keep up with it. the thought of taking one picture a day on my dslr haunts me because i’ll end up taking 10 of the same shot, and then have to choose, upload, and edit, and bleh. hey, maybe by the time i run though my stock of 40 or 50 photos on hand, they’ll be manufacturing the film again, so i don’t have to blow 40 bucks on a box since it’s basically like gold right now…

hello saturday morning.

Filed under:
art/architecture, kris, life, photos by kris

a study in bread this week. can’t wait for wil to teach me, and for us to pass along to you, but that won’t happen for a few months… needless to say, our freezer is stocked.

basic scone with raspberries and slivered almonds

pain originale, as classic french baguette

fennel & black pepper crackers & pain originale as french batard

traditional focaccia with fleur de sel and parmesan

simple white french loaf

challah bread, as traditional braid and dinner rolls

Filed under:
food, kris, photos by kris

winter is synonymous with hearty stews, pot roasts and comfort food. as much as i look forward to beautiful summertime tomatoes and berries, fresh salads and grilled meats, i am just as happy to sit down with a warm bowl of hearty goodness. winter also goes hand in hand with staying inside, keeping cozy, and for me, justifying why i don’t need to leave the house for a grocery store run.

now, i know it’s not blizzarding out right now (quite the opposite with it being 54 degrees outside!), but i still love the thought of being creative with what we’ve got in the pantry for a meal and keeping ourselves in… it makes me feel fiscally ’savvy’ i guess. it just doesn’t make sense to go to the grocery store every day (or two) to purchase ingredients for each meal. keeping things simple and learning how to utilize foods in different ways really has a positive impact on the budget.

something we (and i would guess most people) have on hand at any given moment are potatoes – they’re cheap and versatile. i can easily get bored with potatoes, clinging to the two simplest ways to cook/eat them (mashed and baked), so kris and i thought we’d try something we’ve never made before…gnocchi. we also had some marinara left over from a catering event from a bit ago, so it was a perfect addition to complete this hearty meal in a bowl.

i remember going to my grandparents house as a kid, watching grandpa making pasta. he had the perfect ‘rolling’ technique. a simple flip of his thumb and a perfect plop of potato would form. shaping the dumpling is simple enough.. once you get a feel for it.  it’s as simple as pursing the dough between the side of your thumb and the back of a fork. the ridges that are created helps the sauce cling to the gnocchi.

it’s an easy process… bake some potatoes, scoop ‘em out, roll and form, briefly boil and then drop into your sauce! it only takes one or two potatoes for a couple servings, so why not do a big batch and throw them in your freezer next to that marinara for a quick meal mid week? this will be great for us since i just got a full time job at a cafe and often don’t have time to cook at home. we’ll have some days where we will only see each other in passing and need some hearty sustenance without the time and labor.

Potato Gnocchi with Basil
2 russet potatoes
2 egg yolks
3/4 cup ap flour plus more for bench
1 tb chopped fresh  basil
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. bake potatoes at 400 degrees for 40 mins to 1 hour (until fully cooked). remove from oven and scoop out of skin into sieve. using wooden spoon, press potato through sieve into bowl for mixing.
2. lightly fluff potato with fork, mix in egg yolks being careful not to clump potato, try to keep the mixture as light and fluffy as possible. mix in salt, pepper and basil in the same fashion
3. add 1/4 cup flour mixing until dough starts to clump and bind. switch to spatula and fold in another 1/4 cup flour. mix remaining 1/4 cup flour lightly kneading with hands. (amount of flour will vary depending on the water content of your potatoes)  dough should be… doughy but soft and easily knead-able. sprinkle flour over workspace and from dough into rectangular block – slice into 4 pieces.
4. take 1 piece and roll from center outward until you have a long tube-like shape that is roughly 1/4 – 1/2 inch thick. chop dough tube into 1/2 inch ‘pillow-like’ shapes. using the edge of your thumb, roll each piece down the back of a fork onto the work-space leaving ridges along one side of the dumpling.
5. roll, cut and shape remaining dough.
6. in a large pot, bring salted water just to a boil.  drop gnocchi in and let cook until they float, once they float, let cook for exactly 14 seconds.
7. transfer into your favorite sauce and serve hot.

Filed under:
food, photos, wil by kris

sometimes it’s refreshing when there is nothing on tv, and there are no new blogs to catch up with….because it forces me to choose a better way to spend my time when i’m holed up in our apartment while wil is at work or school. usually, baking is the next on the list as a guaranteed time-passer.

but wil has taken that role from me this week, and for the next two! he is currently in his first of two baking classes…he has been in class for four days, and you would be disgusted to hear what he’s already brought home. i am in no way exaggerating this list:

• an entire apple pie
• entire chipotle berry pie (i already wasn’t digging the flavor risk he took, and then he ended up throwing too much chipotle in. oops)
• entire quiche
• one savory ‘hand’ pie (a turnover of caramelized onions, mushrooms, cheese, yums!)
• entire peanut butter & ganache tart
• a dozen large chocolate chip cookies
• 2 serving banana cream pie
• 2 serving vanilla cream pie
• 6 cream puffs
• 7 or 8 eclairs

what in the world?! it’s a life saver that we both walk a couple miles a day to our respective jobs/classes and work on our feet, but come on, i don’t know how we aren’t going to gain some weight. as bad as it felt to throw out some of the berry pie as a waste of food, it was kind of a relief to know we had one less thing to consume. and even though we are able to freeze some of this for later, he’s handed some cookies to homeless guys (they know he’s carrying food when he has a big pink bakery box in hand!), and we’ve thrown some stuff together to ‘gift’ our landlord. ; )

so, i don’t plan on passing the time with doughs or cookies for a while…this is what i am doing this afternoon instead. the next thing on my time passing list! i’ve also got going right now a playlist on last.fm based on christopher o’riley. i really want his music…he is a classical musician who has recorded ‘classical’ arrangements of radiohead, elliot smith, etc. they are, in my opinion, brilliant.

les mis is an ultimate, all time, hands down favorite of mine. i thought it was about time i actually gave it the honor of reading the actual book.

* i cannot wait for the latter half of wil’s class, because he will have moved on to the yeast doughs and breads….bring on the baguettes and peasant loaves!!!!

** yes, i am a slight bit jealous that wil gets to learn and make all these things i’d love to try my hand at. i’m not complaining that i get to sample and eat everything though. : )

Filed under:
food, kris, life, wil by kris

we are on an inexcusable hiatus right now. what the heck? i have no idea why we can’t pull it together to put a post up here. wil did start a job that will have him scheduled 30 to 40 hours plus school… it’s weird to jump back into that working lifestyle we had in nashville…often spending days where we just say hi and bye each morning and night.

maybe you could give us some inspiration, people! or a kick in the blogging pants!

Filed under:
Uncategorized by kris