Life – Page 6 – morestomach

cranberry swirl mini-loaves

Published on December 22, 2014December 22, 2014 by Lan | MoreStomach5 Comments

there’s been talk lately
about cancelling our cable.
and in preparation for it
we’ve been watching more netflix.
thus far,
i haven’t missed television,
not when most shows i enjoy
can be viewed in hd
and sans commercials.
so far, we’ve enjoyed:
spinning plates
sushi: the global catch
haute cuisine
repeats of: The Mind of a Chef, Bizarre Foods, Chopped, & Parts Unknown

what are some of your favorite netflix shows or online viewing pleasures?

cranberry swirl mini-loaves – vegan
makes 7 mini loaves + 2 muffins

these are a riff from the blueberry swirl muffins, making use of the season’s cranberries, and of course, making use of our new mini-loaf pan.

muffins/loaves:
2 cups cranberries, divided
a few sprigs of thyme (optional)
1 cup sugar
2 1/2 cups flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 flax seed eggs (1 egg = 1 TBL ground flax seed + 3 TBL water)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup mayo, i used veganese
1/4 cup almond milk

streusel topping:
1 1/2 TBL sugar
1 1/2 TBL brown sugar
1/4 cup flour
2 1/2 TBL warm coconut oil

Directions:

in a small bowl make the streusel topping by combining everything and mix evenly. set aside.

in a small sauce pan reduce 1 cup of cranberries (+ sprigs of thyme, if using), mashing with a fork and stirring. you want the berries to break down, the sauce to be thick. strain through a sieve if you’re not keen on the skin/pulp. set aside and cool to room temp.

prepare mini-loaf pan by greasing with coconut oil, or vegan butter.

preheat oven 425F.

in a mixing bowl whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt. in another bowl whisk flax seed eggs + sugar until thick and then add in the veggie oil, veganese mayo, and almond milk. now combine the liquid to dry ingredients, with the remaining cranberries. the mixture will be all sorts of fug, but try not to over mix. seriously, it’s a rather dense looking batter.

fill mini loaf pan a little over 3/4 way up, these will expand/rise. spoon about a teaspoon, more or less, of the reduced cranberry sauce on top of each muffin. use a toothpick or some stick-like kitchen tool and swirl the sauce into the batter. finally, top with streusel topping, amount at your discretion.

bake 17 – 20 minutes, i started hawking them around the 15 minute mark.

remove from oven, allow to cool for a few minutes and then remove from pans to cool completely.

will keep for a week, covered, in fridge.

BAM!

birthday | gingerbread cake

Published on December 15, 2014December 14, 2014 by Lan | MoreStomach12 Comments

the fact is,
it’s a year later,
approximately 365 days later,
a sun’s journey around the sun later,
and i’m a year older.
damn, 29 thirty-seven looks good.

without further ado,
36 random things i’ve done this year,
in no particular order:

|| walked with elephants!
|| celebrated my beloved gpa’s life
|| hosted our very first dinner party, sitting on the ground and all!
|| hosted our nephews for a week over the summer. can’t wait to do it again
|| honeymooned in Thailand
|| had oysters and lobster in Boston
|| stood among sunflowers
|| new eyes!
|| like grown ups that we are, we now have a dressing room to get dressed in
|| witnessed a drive by shooting, at a gas station
|| won people’s choice in a pumpkin carving contest, that dw carved and i did nothing. that is called WINNING.
|| saw a blooming cereus
|| thanksgiving in ny
|| skeeball champs we are not, but what a season
|| middle school AND high school reunions, in 2 countries and three cities
|| matt nathanson in baltimore AND dc
|| fireworks at the inner harbor
|| wore shorts to work, got suspended for a week, without pay. it’s a long, stupid story.
|| recipe tested for a blog friend and LOOK! her cookbook is out!
|| we went full share with our CSA. just the two of us
|| babysat a baby. like, fed her, changed her and then put her to bed. technically, dw did the last two, but i was there.
|| watched a break dancing performance
|| tasted duck eggs for the first time ever
|| walked to indianapolis. again.
|| finally invested in a proper pair of rainboots
|| came out of the closet about my lurve for this girl
|| fell in love with this dude
|| and this dude
|| featured on apartment therapy, even if some of the commenters are dicks
|| featured on today.com
|| packed up mi amor and saw her off to her new home state
|| spent 24 hours in dubai
|| voted 2x
|| found a new job, put my notice in, got countered, and then accepted the counter
|| became a member of the aquarium
|| learned how to properly cook dried beans

last year’s list.

Gingerbread Cake
adapted from ashlae warner (oh ladycakes for westelm)

*note: dw baked this. he’s too good to me.
**note: this cake is very molasses-y, i enjoy snacking on it. the original recipe calls for it to be served with a side of whipped coconut cream, which would likely cut through the acridness, but i didn’t mind it.

2 cups spelt flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
2 1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground cloves
6 tbsp sunflower oil
1/2 cup molasses
1/3 cup sugar
1 flaxseed egg (1 TBL raw whole flaxseed, grounded + 3 TBL water)
1/8 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup hot water

preheat oven to 350F. prepare a round 8″ can pan, grease and line with parchment paper.

in a bowl, sift the dry ingredients and spices. in a larger bowl, add in the oil, molasses, sugar, powdered ginger, cinnamon and cloves, combine with flaxseed egg. dissolve baking soda in water and then add to the wet ingredients. add in the dried ingredients and whisk until just comboned, don’t get crazy though.

pour into prepared pan and bake for 32 minutes. the edges will pull from the sides of pan just slightly.

cool completely. tastes even better the next day.

BAM!

crochet | viking hat

Published on December 8, 2014December 6, 2014 by Lan | MoreStomach8 Comments

despite my stance on children
i find myself falling
head over heels
for them often.
like: all.the.time.

these kids here:
i’ve never met them.
i’ve never met their parents.
their father & dw were
roommates in college.
that’s my connection.

that doesn’t stop me
from ~~going batshit crazy~~ squeeing
everytime their pic is
posted on FB.
yes. i friended their parents
so that i can see updates about them.
alas,
there’s about
4 states & 1 time zone
between us.

though they’ve never once
mentioned rooting for the
Vikings,
or if they even like football.
yet,
i went and made their kids
a Viking Helmet.

i used this pattern.

i will say,
like any new pattern,
my first attempt is always
garbage.
this is not a reflection on
the pattern writer.
also,
i have barely any patience
for making anything twice,
having to make 2 hats
and 4 horns
about did me in.

but the pix of them
wearing the hats made it all worth it.

other crocheted creations:
minecraft creeper hats
starburst baby blanket
ombre granny square baby blanket

kids’ photos used with permission, bb+sb

holidays & birthday | gift guide 2014

Published on November 24, 2014November 23, 2014 by Lan | MoreStomach3 Comments

friends:
if you partake,
it’s that time of year
where your wallet takes a big hit.
in case you’re looking for something
for someone:
friend
family
yourself
here’s a list of things
we purchased this year
that i recommend,
or things i really want.
they range from the
super frugal
to the super absurdly expensive.

happy shopping!

reasonable:
|| pocket notebook, $5: i keep this in my purse & i jot down to-do’s. mainly i like to doodle.
||The Original Folk and Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm: The Complete First Edition, by Jacob & Wilhelm Grimm, Translated and edited by Jack Zipes, $35: apparently, it’s the true scary stuff, none of the fluff we grew up with.
||jack white’s album “Lazaretto”, $9.99: as the bff says “I’m really enjoying it. It has a good mix of rock, funk and slow jams for baby making.”
||jar funnel, $15: i scoffed when dw got this. now i use it very often.
||kate spade stud earrings, $35: how blingy are these? i don’t even wear earrings much but these are so adorable.
||WOMEN’S MIGHTY LITE™ HOODED JACKET, $140: this is keeping me warm all winter long.
||WOMEN’S MIGHTY LITE™ III VEST, $90: for those in between days, perfect for layering too.

fancy:
||cage ring, $125: again with the accessories!
||Oral-B Precision Black 7000 Rechargeable Electric Toothbrush, $169.99: purchased on sale, and dw says “It buzzes me so clean”.
||vitamix 7500, $529: we have an older version that is getting old, and there was a scare this year…

ridiculous:
||wall table, $1348.86: if we ever lived in one of those tiny houses, i’d want this. how genius.
||birdsnest, $3K – $10K: i don’t even know where i would put this, and the getting in/out process is giving me a headache just thinking about it. but it doesn’t lessen my desire for it.

ultimate wishlist:
nikon d610, $1600
Nikon 35mm f/1.8G AF-S DX Lens: $196.95: i’d settle for this, if i can’t get the d610.

and of course, other gift lists. as the season progresses, more will be coming up. i just wanted to get this out there during black friday week, in case you partake in such activities:

goop
tasting table
cup of joe

last year’s gift guide

confab | current reads

Published on November 3, 2014October 28, 2014 by Lan | MoreStomach2 Comments

“poor boy. with a name like atticus, every word he utters ought to be inspired and wise, spoken with a voice that compels all within earshot to sit up and listen. i wonder how disappointed atticus’s parents must be. such a noble and lofty name full of great expectations, and they end up with a heavyset boy with a prominent brow and underdeveloped frontal lobe who says “um” a lot and scratches himself in the cafeteria.”
-steve brezenoff, guy in real life

“i may not be old but i’m too old to have this much nothing.”
-jonathan topper, this is where i leave you

“it is an impressively arrogant move to conclude that just because you don’t like something, it is empirically not good. i don’t like Chinese food, but i don’t write articles trying to prove it doesn’t exist.”
-tiny fey, bossypants

“he sighed. it was a long sigh, weary and worldly-wise. the kind of sigh you could picture god heaving after six days of hard work and looking forward to some serious cosmic r&r, only to be handed a report by an angel concerning a problem with someone eating an apple.”
-neil gaiman & michael reaves, interworld

“knowing what i know now, it is difficult to describe what it was like, loving Ray. years ago a recovering crystal meth addict spoke at my son’s school. she said that even after ten years clean, she still missed the way it felt to have that deadly substance in her veins. still, life without the drug felt, sometimes, like a lesser thing. a sad though necessary comedown. listening to her speak in that auditorium filled with my fellow concerned parents, sitting next to my good husband with whom i’d lived at that point for close to twenty years, the image of Ray’s face was all i could see, and a wave of grief and longing overtook me, so strong i had to cover my eyes. even after all that time.”
-joyce maynard, the good daugthers

notable online reads:
15 career tips from smart women
childless women
introverts unite!
anthony bourdain travel tips
how cooking for others is selfish
homecooking
Visiting Médoc, France: Where Vines Outnumber Visitors

what have you been reading?