Army Coats

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So I have what you might call a coat fetish. For some women it's shoes, for others it's handbags...for me it's coats. I LOVE coats. When I told my parents we were moving to Vermont, I think both of them immediately responded with something along the lines of, "Oh good, now you can justify all your coat purchases." It's a problem.

Anyhoo, lately I've been obsessed with finding an army coat...or military parka...whatever you want to call them. I saw one on a woman last year and she just looked so cute and cool and I've been on the hunt for one ever since. By the time I started looking last year, all of the cute affordable ones at Zara, ASOS, etc. were long sold out, so the only models left were either only available in like XXS or XXXL or were designer-level $$$. 

This year, I have found 3 very cute, very affordable versions. I realize none of these is going to take the place of my everyday, heavy-duty Vermont winter coat, but I can see this coat being great on some of the "warmer" days here (ha!) and during the weird transitional fall-to-winter weather and winter-spring A.K.A. mud season weather.

First up is this guy from J.Crew Factory. It appears to be selling out quickly online, but I have found that both J.Crew and J.Crew Factory will go to great lengths to find it in a store for you if it's sold out online.

Next up is this guy from Gap. This one is my favorite (it's the only one with water-resistant fabric) and a little bird told me that I may be receiving it as a gift (thanks, Mom!) because it is on sale right now, which also makes it the cheapest of the bunch.

Then we have this version from Zara. Probably the most fashion-y of the bunch, not surprising given the source.

Any other coat fanatics out there?

Menu Monday

Pasta Ponza (Giada At Home)

For all my talk of how much I dislike Giada, I seem to be making a lot of her recipes lately. I have found her pasta recipes involving breadcrumbs to be a bit disappointing, so I was nervous about making this, but it was lovely. I used some of the last local cherry tomatoes I could find, so it kind of felt like a summer's last hurrah meal. I used Grana Padana in place of Pecorino Romano, although I bet the Pecorino would be better. The only change I would make is to use more capers. I loooooove capers and they were only noticeable every couple of bites. Otherwise, this was a great, quick, and easy Meatless Monday.

Taco Salad (family recipe)

Or as I like to call it, White Trash Taco Salad. This was a childhood favorite of mine and last week I just had the urge to make it, so I asked my mom for the recipe. Here is the recipe straight from her:

 

Combine:

1 1b browned beef or turkey

1 packet of taco seasoning
 1 can kidney bean (drained and rinsed)
1 sm onion, chopped
4 diced tomatoes
1 cup shredded cheese
1 head lettuce (original recipe calls for iceberg which I think works best)
1 bag doritos, crushed

toss with catalina dressing

 

My changes: I use ground turkey. Instead of raw onion, sauté the onion with the ground turkey, along with the taco seasoning. (I always use Budget Bytes' recipe for taco seasoning instead of buying packets; this time I left out the cornstarch and added a 1/2 tsp. each of garlic powder and onion powder.) We used Nacho Cheese Doritos (hence the white trash name). I made Kitchen Simplicity's homemade catalina dressing. And I only put dressing on what I knew we would eat that night. This makes a ton and if you toss it all with dressing, the leftovers are soggy and gross.

 

And shout out to M, because he actually made this while I was at a volunteer meeting.

Apple Cider Pork Tenderloin with Cheddar Grits (Jenny Steffens Hobick)

I should start by saying this tasted a lot better than it looked. I followed Jenny's advice to only use one pork tenderloin for our little family. Also I used my own recipe for grits; I will not use a Midwesterner's recipe for a Southern food. This was really, really yummy but I would make a few changes the next time around. I found that the pork was a bit overcooked in the cooking time allotted, but that apple/onion mixture actually needed more time. Not exactly sure how I would go about remedying this...maybe start the apple/onion mixture on the stove separately from the pork, add it to the pork, and then reduce the cooking time in the oven by about 10 minutes? It's worth playing around with. This would be a great meal for company if you made the full amount of tenderloin.

 

Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes, and Brussels Sprouts Lardon (Barefoot in Paris)

I forgot to take a picture at dinner time, so here is what remained the next day.

We had a few of M's players over for dinner on Thursday, so I made a lot of food. In the interest of full disclosure, the mashed potatoes were made by the Bob Evans refrigerated section of our grocery store. Those things are friggin' delicious. The only change I made to the meatloaf was to use half ground chuck and half ground sirloin. Judging from the amount of fat that was on the pan after baking and the fact that the meatloaf was still moist, that was a fine substitution.

Also, MEATLOAF SANDWICHES. So, so good.  

 

Last week's meals were on the heavy side, so hoping to get back to more figure-friendly dining this week :)

 



Five on Friday

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1. I had big plans last Sunday for doing some fall decorating at our place, but ended up spending the day watching a 7 hour marathon of 'The Killing' and nursing a painful hangover. That little project has been moved to this weekend and I'm kind of leaning towards a white vibe. White mums (although I am majorly digging the dahlias here) in the window box planter and white pumpkins flanking the door. I will probably chicken out at the last minute and stick with the more traditional autumnal palette. Martha makes this look tres chic, but I'm afraid it will just look tres boring and uninspired.



2.  We are just few hours away from Quebec City and I am DYING to stay at the Hôtel de Glace. There's something very James Bond-meets-Dr. Zhivago chic about ice hotels. They just seem so cool (har dee har har).

3.  I once read an interview with Ina Garten where she mentioned her favorite cookbooks and immediately added them to my never-ending Amazon wishlist. I am a bit of a cookbook collector (my husband would probably use the term 'hoarder') so I'm always curious to see what is on other people's shelves. My sister-in-law gave me this particular tome for my birthday this year and it is delightful. As the weather has started to get cooler here, I've been cozying up with it on the couch the past few evenings. I have yet to cook anything from it, but Sarah Chase's tone is kind of hilarious. She's endearing and quirky, but also a bit of a snob. Somehow it just works, like she's one of those friends who is a bit ridiculous and you roll your eyes at, but love anyways because they're just so genuine and darn likeable. Also, I can see why Ina is a fan. Girlfriend is not afraid of butter and cream.

4. I bought all of the materials necessary to try my hand (again with the puns) at galaxy nails this weekend. I am thinking this is going to be a disaster of epic proportions.

5. Totally reasonable to spend $800 on this guy, right? I mean, he is just so charming and fun, I'm sure Sallie Mae won't mind if we skip a month of payments to buy an impractical, yet adorable home accessory.

Burlington Farmers' Market

Every Saturday morning from May - October, the Burlington Farmers' Market is held in a park downtown. It has become one of our favorite things to do here. When we first moved to Burlington, M had to hit the road 2 days later for work and I went to the farmers' market all by my lonesome a few times. I kept telling him how great it was and how I couldn't wait for him to go with me. He was skeptical at first, but once he went, there was no turning back.

To start, there is a hot sauce stand right as you enter the market. M is a hot sauce fanatic. At any given time, we have at least a half-dozen different hot sauces in the fridge.

Then there's all of the delicious food. 

These gorditas are probably our favorite thing to get. The butternut squash hot sauce just adds something really groovy to the flavor. So yum.

If you had told me 3 years ago that I would ever hear my husband say the words, "Let's go get a kale juice!", I would've laughed in your face. Joke's on me. This is M's favorite stand at the farmers' market.

There's an adorable lady next to the juice bar who sells amazing Greek food. This was a spinach and feta borek with tzatziki and some ridiculously amazing red pepper yogurt sauce that I need to find a recipe for and recreate at home ASAP.

 

SO. MUCH. CHEESE.

 

Yes, those Von Trapps. The Oma is one of my favorite local cheeses.

 I really dig this wood nettle cheese.  

Their gorgonzola is ridiculous. I just want to eat it with a spoon.

I could go broke buying flowers...

And of course, all of the gorgeous seasonal produce.

Half Pint farm is my favorite stand. Their radishes and tomatoes are divine and they are so sweet and knowledgeable.

The farmers' market moves indoors in the winter and while it's still nice to be able to go and get local produce and foodstuffs, it's just not the same. The summer farmers' market is always on the list of places we take out-of-town visitors. Easy to see why, right?



Menu Monday

Panera Stove Top Mac and Cheese (Smells Like Home)

If you can bring yourself to actually purchase and use American cheese, please go and make this right now. It was so, so good. Some notes:
*I used all 2% milk and I warmed it on the stove before adding it. My béchamel sauces have a tendency to seize up and get lumpy if the milk is straight out of the fridge or room temp.
*Next time I would only use 1 tsp. of Dijon mustard. I loooove Dijon mustard so I went whole hog and added between 2 tsp. and a tablespoon. It was still yummy, but I think reducing it to 1 tsp. would be the difference in "Yeah, this has mustard in it" to "What IS that delicious flavor that I can't quite put my finger on".
*Don't leave out the hot sauce. I was skeptical, not because I don't like spice, but I just couldn't imagine it would taste good. I was wrong; it was delicious.
 

Baked Eggs and Tortillas in Creamy Tomato Sauce (Martha Stewart)

 This was a surprise two thumbs up from both of us. I tore this out of Martha Stewart's Everyday Foods magazine many moons ago (RIP...I'm still recovering from that cancellation. It was the BEST.) I just couldn't imagine how this was going to come together, but I was pleasantly surprised. Meets our his and hers weeknight dinner requirements of minimal clean-up/dishes and easy to make. Notes:
*I'm so glad I read the reviews. The original recipe says it serves 4 but several reviews commented that the original recipe could easily serve 6-8. I'm not sure how great these leftovers would hold up over a few days (although I had a small amount reheated in the microwave the next morning and it was still good), so I halved everything except for the cheese.
*I forgot to add the flour. Next time I make it, I'll add it to see if it makes a noticeable difference, but we certainly didn't notice anything off in the texture.
*Mine was set with about 16-17 minutes of bake time. I would watch it starting around the 15 minute mark, because I can't imagine this taking 25 minutes to fully set the eggs. 

 

Zucchini Pizza (Rachael Ray)

As I said on Instagram when I posted this on Friday, this is one of only two Rachael Ray recipes you will ever see me make. I can't find the recipe online, but it's from her 365: No Repeats cookbook. Since I make a decent number of changes anyways, here is my version:

*1 ball of pizza dough (I use Smitten Kitchen's Lazy Pizza Dough and use all white whole wheat flour)

*8oz ricotta cheese

*3-4 garlic cloves, minced.

*1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

*2-3 zucchini, sliced into thin round

*coarse salt and pepper

 

Preheat oven to 500F. Roll out pizza dough into desired shape and prick all over with a fork. Bake pizza dough for 3-4 minutes. While dough bakes, mix together ricotta, minced garlic, and salt and pepper to taste. When dough comes out of the oven, top with the ricotta mixture and most of the mozzarella and return to oven for 8 minutes. While dough bakes, sauté zucchini in a dry nonstick skillet over medium high heat until just tender. When the 8 minutes is up, arrange the zucchini on the top of the pizza and sprinkle with remaining mozzarella. Bake for 5 minutes, or until cheese is melted and crust is browned.

Five on Friday

I realized that most of these posts are really more like 5 random thoughts on Friday than they are 5 favorite things.  Last week, two of the things were things I actually dislike, so it seems that Friday Favorites is a misnomer. We're sticking with Five on Friday from now on.

1. No explanation needed.

 

2. It's supposed to be gross and rainy all day tomorrow, which I'm secretly excited about. I have a TON of stuff I need to do around the house that I've been putting off because it's been so glorious to be out in the fall sunshine the past few weekends. I'm feeling a major closet purge coming on. Actually, just a major life/home purge in general. We have moved every year for the past 4 years, so I've had to do a purge regularly. This year no move (three cheers for that!), so I am feeling the itch to donate, trash, and organize all of our junk.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. Speaking of gorgeous fall weather, these are some pictures from our street I took on Wednesday. We've started to hit peak foliage in some parts of the state. Vermont is absolutely unreal in the fall!

 

4. I made homemade apple butter last weekend using this recipe. The only change I made was instead of using a teaspoon of nutmeg, I used a 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon, a 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg, and a 1/4 teaspoon of cloves. Some of the reviews said that they thought it was too sweet, but I thought this was one of the best batches of apple butter I've ever made. I say that as someone who does NOT have a sweet tooth. I used a variety of apples (McIntosh, Paula Red, Gala, and Granny Smith). We've been enjoying this on muffins and breakfast sandwiches all week.

 

5. Postseason baseball fever has officially hit our house. Let's go O's!