Archives for April 2015

red sox in april.

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Sweet Caroline! The trees are finally starting to bloom in this city and my mood and energy are literally bursting through the roof. Vitamin D, you luscious luxury, you. Last night we were ever so lucky to be treated to some Red Sox tickets— a sure way to kick off spring if I ever knew one. We spent the night at Fenway with Zan’s brother Erik and his girlfriend Emily and are so thankful they brought us along for the ride. Even though it was DANG COLD! But still! Red Sox in April means spring is here and summer is so close I can almost taste it.

{A L M O S T.}

We watched that grey sky turn cotton candy pink and we sat in the bleachers and sang along with Neil Diamond and cheered with the crowd when the Sox won in the bottom of the ninth. Wahooo, Boston!

You are the only only onlyyyyyyy.

magnolia tree // shakespeare’s garden

spring!spring!spring!spring!spring!

Last weekend while I was visiting New York City we took a walk through Central Park to Shakespeare’s Garden, the loveliest little oasis you could imagine. This tree was right in the center and I could hardly take my eyes off the blooms— they were like heaven! I have about 30 photos just like these and it took all my strength not to post them all.

Happy sigh.

It seems as if spring has really sprung. Let the earth rejoice and be glad!

making mayo.

making-mayo!

It has been a solid 2 weeks since I last posted here but watch out, world. I’m about to come back with gusto.

1) I made a recipe and photographed it.

2) I broke out the Wacom Tablet.

{It’s my spring vacation and things are getting CRAY-ZY over here.}

Now I know that this post is going to totally gross some people out but I don’t even care because I’m a mayonnaise lover and I hope the whole world knows it. For me, mayo is the sauce of life. Last year when I did my first full-on whole30 I tried making my own mayo and since then I have never looked back. It is so completely easy and UNPROCESSED! And to me, it tastes better than store-bought. Win, win, win. Every time I go to make it I find myself scrolling through the internets to find the one I like best and so I decided to share it here on my blog so that you kind people can try it too, but also, and mostly, so I don’t have to search the internet any longer. Hallelujah!

TO REMEMBER
Anna’s Favorite Homemade Mayo Recipe:

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Ingredients:

1-1/4 cup of light olive oil
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon mustard powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 to 1 lemon, juiced

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Also!

1 hand blender

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You could use a food-processor, also.
I’ve used my Vitamix as well but the hand blender is the easiest clean-up.

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Step one:

Place the egg, 1/4 cup of olive oil, mustard poweder, and salt into a mixing bowl. {I just put it all into the Cuisinart blender container and it works great.} Mix the ingredients til blended together.

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Step two:

While the blender is running, slowly ever so slowly drizzle in the remaining cup of olive oil. I usually add it in 1/4 cup increments until my mayo is the way I want it. {hint: it may seem thick enough after even just 1/2 a cup or so, but keep adding the full cup! If you add slowly it will continue to thicken just fine.}

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Lastly, after you’ve added all the olive oil and the mixture is thick and emulsified, add the lemon juice to taste. Stir it in slowly with a spoon or spatula to mix it in just right. I like mine lemon-y so I add the juice from the entire lemon. YUM.

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Add your mayo to a jar for long-term keeping and voila! Easy easyyyy peasy.

{LEMON SQUEEZY.}

:)

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Tips and tricks:

Light olive oil is important! It truly helps with the taste.

Make sure all your ingredients are at room temperature, specifically the egg and the lemon.

I pour the olive oil in SUPER SLOWLY for the right thickness.

Wait to add the lemon juice til the very end. The mixture will become less thick as you add more lemon, but for me the taste is well worth it.

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ENJOY with egg or chicken salad, homemade aioli sauce, or whatever your mayo-loving heart desires!

xo

easter weekend 2015

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Just a few photos of our weekend in New York. We drove to Syracuse on Friday night and spent Saturday in Skaneateles, finalizing the dinner menu and wine tasting with our caterer. I want to remember the fun we had wine tasting at 11:00 in the morning before we’d had a proper meal. I want to remember walking through our venue again— and imagining how different and exciting it will be in June. I want to remember spending a relaxing weekend with Zan and my family— Blue Water Grill for lunch, and take-out from our favorite pizza spot for dinner. I want to remember walking on the pier, still cold and snowy while I thought to myself— Soon it will be summer. Soon our day will be here!

I want to remember this weekend as the time we went home for Easter and even though I’m done with winter, and even though I’m desperate for spring— I want to remember that it was a little bit like magic when it snowed. ♥