Monday, February 27, 2012
Pumpkin, Chorizo and Chickpea Soup
Europe Part 2: Rome
Continued from Part 1 ...The train from Menton to Ventimiglia was short and sweet (although late). Ventimiglia to Genoa was ok but we missed the train from Genoa to Rome and had to buy new, first class tickets (when we got home we were able to refund our original tickets because it was the transit system's fault we missed the train not ours). First class was lovely, we relaxed and watched the Italian countryside roll by while eating some pretty decent prepackaged ham and mozza sandwiches we bought on the train. We arrived in Rome around 6pm at the main train station, which feels a lot like an airport/mall. We took a taxi from the train to our hotel, the sun was setting and although the driver drove like a maniac I really enjoyed the ride. We checked in to our hotel (which was perfectly comfortable and not too far from the city centre, I would recommend it if you want a hotel in Rome) and had some german beer and roman pizza at the hotel bar before passing out in the room from exhaustion. Little did we know that exhaustion we felt was nothing.
Rome. Kicked. Our. Butts.......
BUTTS.
Each day we would go out into the blistering heat and run all over the place seeing things, trying to find somewhere to eat, taking busses, subways etc. On our first full day we saw the Colloseum, The Roman Forum, Palatino and Ostia Antica. The trip to Ostia Antica (an old roman village ruins that are really well preserved) involved taking a filthy, graffittied, stiflingly hot train devoid of electric lighting, but it was worth it. That day we ate sandwiches from a street vendor and dinner at the hotel restaurant (minestrone, cantalope wrapped in proscuitto, etc.). On our second full day we saw The Pantheon, The Trevi Fountain, The Spanish Steps and Piazza Navona. We ate delicious pasta at a wine bar, had gelato by the Trevi Fountain and dinner near Piazza Navona. In Piazza Navona they have this light/music show on each night that blares opera, shoots lasers and projects images of the Virgin Mary and other italian stuff on the side of a building. This was at first enchanting, hello Italian opera being played during an open air dinner, but soon became obnoxious and embarassing. On our final day we got very ill and MISSED SEEING THE VATICAN while we hid in our hotel waiting until it was time to catch our overnight train to Paris. However, the last day was not a waste. I ventured out into the neighbourhood surrounding our hotel to get a few supplies and I learned a few things. First, I learned that while a woman travelling in Rome with a male companion is 100% safe from Italian catacalls the second she ventures out alone she will be hit on. Second, restuarants in Rome are expensive and grocery stores are mind bogglingly cheap (and they sell super cheap wine, like $2 CAD a bottle!) If you plan on visiting Rome try to stay in a vaction rental with a kitchen and cook food yourself, not only will you save money but you will probably get a much more authentic culinary experience.
Now for photos...
Foundations from the old town left intact in Ostia Antica
Crowds at the Trevi Fountain
Rome. Kicked. Our. Butts.......
BUTTS.
Each day we would go out into the blistering heat and run all over the place seeing things, trying to find somewhere to eat, taking busses, subways etc. On our first full day we saw the Colloseum, The Roman Forum, Palatino and Ostia Antica. The trip to Ostia Antica (an old roman village ruins that are really well preserved) involved taking a filthy, graffittied, stiflingly hot train devoid of electric lighting, but it was worth it. That day we ate sandwiches from a street vendor and dinner at the hotel restaurant (minestrone, cantalope wrapped in proscuitto, etc.). On our second full day we saw The Pantheon, The Trevi Fountain, The Spanish Steps and Piazza Navona. We ate delicious pasta at a wine bar, had gelato by the Trevi Fountain and dinner near Piazza Navona. In Piazza Navona they have this light/music show on each night that blares opera, shoots lasers and projects images of the Virgin Mary and other italian stuff on the side of a building. This was at first enchanting, hello Italian opera being played during an open air dinner, but soon became obnoxious and embarassing. On our final day we got very ill and MISSED SEEING THE VATICAN while we hid in our hotel waiting until it was time to catch our overnight train to Paris. However, the last day was not a waste. I ventured out into the neighbourhood surrounding our hotel to get a few supplies and I learned a few things. First, I learned that while a woman travelling in Rome with a male companion is 100% safe from Italian catacalls the second she ventures out alone she will be hit on. Second, restuarants in Rome are expensive and grocery stores are mind bogglingly cheap (and they sell super cheap wine, like $2 CAD a bottle!) If you plan on visiting Rome try to stay in a vaction rental with a kitchen and cook food yourself, not only will you save money but you will probably get a much more authentic culinary experience.
Now for photos...
View from the train of the Italian countryside
Gladiator on a smoke break outside the Colloseum
"Colloseo"
Black cat who appeared to live in the Colloseum.
In the Colloseum
Walking across the road from the Colloseum to the Palatino, it's probably about 10:00 am and we are already sooo hot and tired.
Roman Forum
I couldn't get enough of the olive trees!
Gardens inside the Roman Forum
Beautiful
At a Roman theatre in Ostia Antica
Foundations from the old town left intact in Ostia Antica
Passageway from one room to another grown over with ivy.
Bath house in Ostia Antica
The Spanish Steps (not nearly as busy or filled with Romans as usual because we were in Rome around august 15th which is a holiday when everybody vacations outside of the city for two weeks or something. It was kind of eerie, just a bunch of tourists wandering around.)
View looking back after reaching the top of the Spanish Steps
The Pantheon, we went inside later but when we got there at first there was mass going on. It all sounded very lovely in echoey Italian.
The Trevi Fountain
Pasta at a wine bar!
Sitting in the hotel lobby after checking out, killing time, missing the Vatican, staying near free bathrooms...
We got on the overnight train to Paris around 7 that evening....I thought nothing could be worse than our complex, delayed and exhausting trip across the Atlantic, but I was wrong. Nothing could have prepared me for an overnight train ride with a stomach bug.
If you have any questions about visiting Rome, feel free to comment and I will try to answer them!
Up next: Europe Part 3: Paris (a very short story)
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Cutting your own bangs...Not always a mistake.
Make sure you leave some longer bits at the side so the bangs taper off softly.
They can still be worn side-swept too!
Happy (and careful) cutting!
Friday, February 3, 2012
DIY Word Art For Your Valentine
This project could be a wedding present for a newly-wed couple, a gift for your spouse for an anniversary or Valentine's Day or you could customize it for any occasion (birthdays, baby showers, etc).
I made mine a while ago just because I wanted some personal art for around the house....
DIY Word Art
Materials
1.Start by opening a word document on your computer, set it in landscape mode and set the margins to the smallest you can.
2. Write or copy and paste vows, song lyrics, inside jokes, sweet nothings, promises etc. Anything meaningful for you or the recipient of the gift. Fill the whole page and choose different fonts/boldness and sizes to add visual interest and break up the phrases so that important ones stand out.
3. When you are done filling the page print in out and use the glass of the frame it will go in to trace around the area you want shown with a pencil. (Up to an 8''x11'' frame will work, I used a simple, white 5''x7'' frame.)
4. Now, take your pencil and within the traced area free-hand draw or stencil an initial. It could be you and your Valentine's first name initials or your shared last name's initial if you are married. Draw the initial(s) large so it really stands out, the fill it in with your sharpie.
5. Cut along the rectangle you traced using the glass and put the finished product in the frame!
Like I said this project can be done for any occasion just change the initials, colours and phrases! I will try to make another example and post it soon. Comment if you have any questions and share if you make your own!
I made mine a while ago just because I wanted some personal art for around the house....
DIY Word Art
Materials
- Printer Paper
- Pencil
- Black Sharpie Marker
- Scissors
- Picture Frame (4x6 to 8x11)
- (Computer, Word Processor, Printer)
1.Start by opening a word document on your computer, set it in landscape mode and set the margins to the smallest you can.
2. Write or copy and paste vows, song lyrics, inside jokes, sweet nothings, promises etc. Anything meaningful for you or the recipient of the gift. Fill the whole page and choose different fonts/boldness and sizes to add visual interest and break up the phrases so that important ones stand out.
3. When you are done filling the page print in out and use the glass of the frame it will go in to trace around the area you want shown with a pencil. (Up to an 8''x11'' frame will work, I used a simple, white 5''x7'' frame.)
4. Now, take your pencil and within the traced area free-hand draw or stencil an initial. It could be you and your Valentine's first name initials or your shared last name's initial if you are married. Draw the initial(s) large so it really stands out, the fill it in with your sharpie.
5. Cut along the rectangle you traced using the glass and put the finished product in the frame!
Like I said this project can be done for any occasion just change the initials, colours and phrases! I will try to make another example and post it soon. Comment if you have any questions and share if you make your own!
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Here's yummy stuff for you (because it's been a while...)
Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, Have a great Robbie Burns Day and Gung Hay Fat Choy...
Yes. It has been weeks since I posted so to make it up to you (I'm talking to you Victoria) here is a delicious recipe for soup and crackers from my latest Style at Home magazine. Andrew has made the soup twice (sooo good) and the crackers once (literally as addictive as I imagine crack to be, delicious crack!).
Roasted Red Pepper and Totamto Soup:
(Serves 4-6)
3 red peppers
2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil (evoo)
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 cup diced sweet onion
1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
1 28oz can San Marzano whole tomatoes, with juices
1 cup water or veggie stock
1 tsp Maldon sea salt
1 tsp granulated sugar
Roast the red peppers. Heat evoo in large pot over med heat, add garlic, onion and rosemary and sautee for 10 min until all softened and fragrant. Add the roasted peppers, tomatoes and their juices, the water or stock and the sugar and salt. Cook for 20 min, stirring occaisionally. Puree the soup in small batches in a blender or food processor until smooth. Serve hot with chedder crackers!
Cheddar Crisps:
(makes 4 dozen)
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp each Maldon sea salt and smoked paprika
1/4 cup cold, unsalted butter, cubed
8 oz aged cheddar cheese, grated
3 tbsp cold water
Preheat oven to 375*F. Place flour salt, paprika, butter and cheese in bowl of a food processor. Pluse several times until mixture in crumbly and resembles cornmeal. Add the water and process until mixture forms a ball. Wrap the ball of dough in plastic wrap and chill for at least 1 hour. Divide the dough in half and roll out on a lightly floured surface to 1/8" thick. Cut into 1" squares. Bring excess dough together and re-roll until all the dough in used. Transfer squares to a parchment paper-lined baking sheet, placing about 1" apart. Bake 20-22 mins., until beginning to brown at edges. Cool completely and store in airtight container. (Eat them with the soup soooo good!!)
Andrew says to start making the cracker dough ahead of time due to the hour needed chilling, to make sure you roll the dough really thin and to cut the crackers like a grid not individual squares at a time.
Yes. It has been weeks since I posted so to make it up to you (I'm talking to you Victoria) here is a delicious recipe for soup and crackers from my latest Style at Home magazine. Andrew has made the soup twice (sooo good) and the crackers once (literally as addictive as I imagine crack to be, delicious crack!).
Roasted Red Pepper and Totamto Soup:
(Serves 4-6)
3 red peppers
2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil (evoo)
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 cup diced sweet onion
1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
1 28oz can San Marzano whole tomatoes, with juices
1 cup water or veggie stock
1 tsp Maldon sea salt
1 tsp granulated sugar
Roast the red peppers. Heat evoo in large pot over med heat, add garlic, onion and rosemary and sautee for 10 min until all softened and fragrant. Add the roasted peppers, tomatoes and their juices, the water or stock and the sugar and salt. Cook for 20 min, stirring occaisionally. Puree the soup in small batches in a blender or food processor until smooth. Serve hot with chedder crackers!
Cheddar Crisps:
(makes 4 dozen)
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp each Maldon sea salt and smoked paprika
1/4 cup cold, unsalted butter, cubed
8 oz aged cheddar cheese, grated
3 tbsp cold water
Preheat oven to 375*F. Place flour salt, paprika, butter and cheese in bowl of a food processor. Pluse several times until mixture in crumbly and resembles cornmeal. Add the water and process until mixture forms a ball. Wrap the ball of dough in plastic wrap and chill for at least 1 hour. Divide the dough in half and roll out on a lightly floured surface to 1/8" thick. Cut into 1" squares. Bring excess dough together and re-roll until all the dough in used. Transfer squares to a parchment paper-lined baking sheet, placing about 1" apart. Bake 20-22 mins., until beginning to brown at edges. Cool completely and store in airtight container. (Eat them with the soup soooo good!!)
Andrew says to start making the cracker dough ahead of time due to the hour needed chilling, to make sure you roll the dough really thin and to cut the crackers like a grid not individual squares at a time.
Happy cooking!
Soup image via
Chedder Cracker image via
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