dance with me

 

(by jovivebo)

It takes two to tango.

Skillet Spaghetti and Meatballs

Who doesn't LOVE spaghetti and meatballs? But they are such a production, right? Browning the meatballs, warming the sauce, boiling the pasta...it takes every pot in the house. Right?

Nope.

This recipe makes a FABULOUS spaghetti and meatballs, but here is the beauty part...all in one skillet. And, because everything is cooking up together, the spaghetti soaks up a lot of the gorgeous sauce and meatball flavor, so instead of one sitting on top of the other, all three components are beautifully, harmoniously, delectably, delightfully intermingled. Sounds too good to be true, right? But I am here to tell you, it can be done. And without overloading your dishwasher, on top of everything else.

The basic premise is this: you sear the meatballs (which are made with that beef/pork/veal meatloaf mixture you can get in the supermarket, adding even MORE flavor) quickly just to brown the outside. Then you cook the pasta in a mixture of your favorite marinara sauce thinned with water, and when the pasta is halfway done, you nestle those happy little meatballs into the spaghetti for the second half of the pasta cooking time. 8 minutes later there you have it: perfectly cooked pasta and meatballs, imbued with tomato sauce and ready for the plate.

So if you have been longing for spaghetti and meatballs but have been exhausted by the very thought of it, this is your lucky day, because 30 minutes from now you can be sitting down to this super dish. Pass the parmesan cheese, please!

SKILLET SPAGHETTI AND MEATBALLS
Adapted from Cooks Illustrated

• 2 slices sandwich bread, crusts removed
• 1/4 cup buttermilk
• 1 pound meatloaf mix (the combo of ground beef/pork/veal)
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 minced garlic cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano
• Salt and pepper
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 cups prepared marinara sauce
• 2 cups water
• 8 ounces spaghetti, broken in half
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

1. Tear bread into small pieces and mix with buttermilk in medium bowl until it forms a paste. Add meat, cheese, egg yolk, garlic, oregano, salt and pepper and mix. Form into meatballs, using 2 tablespoons of meat mixture per meatball.

2. Heat oil in large skillet over high heat. Sear meatballs on one side for one minute. Turn meatballs over to cook very briefly on the other side and transfer to plate lined with paper towel. Wipe out skillet.

3. Add sauce and water to skillet, add pasta and turn heat to medium high. Cover and cook, stirring often, for 8 minutes.

4. Nestle meatballs into spaghetti, seared side up. Reduce heat to medium low, cover and cook for 4 more minutes, stirring from time to time. Uncover and cook for 4 more minutes or until spaghetti is done, stirring gently from time to time.

5. Transfer to plates and sprinkle with basil and more Parmesan cheese.

Click here for printable recipe!

Treasure Box Wednesday: Rainy Days and Roses

On Saturday, the sky was a relentless gray and rain fell in a straight, half-hearted drizzle... but the insides of the thrift stores and antique malls were warmly lit and dry.

It would have been pleasure enough just to wander around the various aisles. But it turns out some great sales were on, and Lady Luck was in a giddy mood.

My favorite find for this week was this 1960s still-life rose painting from the L&L Fleatique-- which, in a fortunate half-off sale, was $20, framed...
The painting was originally from a gallery in southern Florida, where I rather doubt the painting sold for 20 clams the first time around!...

I'm particularly pleased the way the artist did the glossiness of that vase.

And speaking of vases, how about a little jadite?

Fans of jadite know it doesn't come especially cheap, given it's popularity. But at $9, I thought I could afford this one.

Speaking of both roses and vases, I found a Victorian transferware jug at the Salvation Army Thrift Store...
Okay, so, yes, they aren't roses printed on there... But you get the gist.

At fifty-cents a piece I got these framed tapestries at the Goodwill...

And last, a couple of collector's books on some American pottery of interest...

What's the price of knowledge? Well, apparently a fiver will do ya. :)

• And speaking of American Pottery, if you missed Sunday's post on McCoy pottery and how pricing has changed since the 80s, click here.

For the rest of you, I hope you enjoy a little sunshine this week, even if it's only the warm glow of a pleasant day.

Treasure Box Wednesday: Rainy Days and Roses

On Saturday, the sky was a relentless gray and rain fell in a straight, half-hearted drizzle... but the insides of the thrift stores and antique malls were warmly lit and dry.

It would have been pleasure enough just to wander around the various aisles. But it turns out some great sales were on, and Lady Luck was in a giddy mood.

My favorite find for this week was this 1960s still-life rose painting from the L&L Fleatique-- which, in a fortunate half-off sale, was $20, framed...
The painting was originally from a gallery in southern Florida, where I rather doubt the painting sold for 20 clams the first time around!...

I'm particularly pleased the way the artist did the glossiness of that vase.

And speaking of vases, how about a little jadite?

Fans of jadite know it doesn't come especially cheap, given it's popularity. But at $9, I thought I could afford this one.

Speaking of both roses and vases, I found a Victorian transferware jug at the Salvation Army Thrift Store...
Okay, so, yes, they aren't roses printed on there... But you get the gist.

At fifty-cents a piece I got these framed tapestries at the Goodwill...

And last, a couple of collector's books on some American pottery of interest...

What's the price of knowledge? Well, apparently a fiver will do ya. :)

• And speaking of American Pottery, if you missed Sunday's post on McCoy pottery and how pricing has changed since the 80s, click here.

For the rest of you, I hope you enjoy a little sunshine this week, even if it's only the warm glow of a pleasant day.

Operation Lopitoff complete

Well Operation Lopitoff has been completed and I now have a one legged mumborg.

Waiting, waiting and a bit of waiting.

Although I knew that the operation would most likely be on the Friday just gone, it was not for definite. So on Thursday, the triumvirate finally made the decision that the leg would be lopped off on the Friday. I am nicknaming the three surgeons the 'Triumvirate', because it sounds cool and there are three of them. The gruesome thrusome, didn't quite work or sound evil enough. Even though to all accounts they are all lovely and have just fallen victim to my artistic license.
Anyhoo back on track, things were scheduled to kick off at around 11am on Friday morning. I think waiting around for word from the hospital is quite possibly one of the most difficult things about these types of situations. You are literally helpless. If you have flown recently, you may have noticed the flight tracker thingy on the little screen that lets you know the flight progress, one of those would be great for surgery. Although if things started flashing and suddenly went blank, that may cause some concern...
You try not to let your mind wander 'there', my there is the death type of 'there'.  The thought of the mumborg dying on the operating table is a nightmare of mine. But like every surgery, there is that tricky thing of complications and possibilities, so I would rather be armed with the worst possible outcomes, than blind to them.
After sevenish hours of waiting, we finally heard that she was out of surgery and had ended up straight back on her ward. I was expecting HDU at the very least, maybe even ICU time, but for her to be back on her ward was good news. At first when I heard she was back on her ward, I actually hoped that they hadn't done the operation or had somehow fixed the leg. I went through all those thoughts in my head, because I didn't want any disappointment to show in my face. The dad went to see her first, they needed a moment just for themselves. Then a while later, Heather and I went in.
My eyes went first to the large space where the leg and bits once were, in that moment it seemed like a huge chunk of her was missing. It is hard to put into words how it feels in that moment, because as you are looking, your mind is already adapting. I suppose I would go with 'weird', it just felt weird. Then the mumborg speaks and the weirdness fades a wee bit, because it is still her.

It doesn't grow back

As far as the surgeons are concerned the operation went well, even though they are still upset that it came to this. I think they are relieved that things are healing well and mumborg came through the operation in as good a condition as one could expect.

Where is the leg?
The Mumborg was hoping that they would be able to do something useful with the leg, at least study the epic fail of a limb that it is, but alas no. Due to the very heavy restrictions on all things in regards to infection control, the leg had to go straight to the incinerator. I guess that could be classed as a funeral of sorts, well at least a cremation. Unfortunately we don't get the ashes, so when she does pop her clogs in the far far distant future she will be missing a bit.

One Legged Mumborg

I found a earlier model of the one legged mumborg here - One legged hopper

Once the relief kicks in that the mumborg made it through the operation, the realisation that I have a one legged mumborg sets in. You know it is going to happen, you talk about it happening, but then it actually happens. Quite frankly it is rather shocking, a large part of a person you love is missing. Tis not the outward that makes up the essence of a person, so whilst she is incomplete on the outside, inside in a soul like way she is the same person. Does that make it easier to get your hand around? Yes to some extent it does.

What next?

Let us leave that morbid stuff behind and focus on the positive stuff, which is basically wrapped up in one neat package called 'Mumborg'. The mumborg is already 'up' and about, in regards to being allowed in her electric wheelchair, but that is causing some pain, not that she would admit to it. The wound is dry (no ooze or blood) and she may even be allowed off the antibiotics soon. I thought she would be on IV antibiotics for months, but looks like this wont be happening, which is great.
The next challenge is physiotherapy and the question of will she be able to walk on crutches? Considering that her shoulders dislocate all the time and the other leg is not exactly fantastic, this possibility is still very much up in the air. Although the mumborg is determined to walk again, so who am I to discourage that. If things go really well, then she could be home soon and back to being the pain in my arse, hooray!


Random thoughts
Time flies when you are not having fun! Can't believe it has been nearly two weeks since I wrote anything on here. It has been a roller-coaster of emotions, that has left me feeling a bit nauseous and very bloody tired!


If you have only recently joined in on the mumborg adventures just click the 'mum' to find out more.

BLT Salad

I should start by saying that the major item that I have in common with the dog is a deep and abiding love for bacon. I totally feel her pain when I am cooking up a skillet of bacon and then don't turn around and put it in her dish. She always looks like she can't quite believe I'm not making it all for her. In my next life I think I will invent a completely bacon-flavored kibble and make a million bucks.

In the meantime, I always pause on any recipe that has bacon in the title. And of course, if the title also has the word "salad" in it, I feel like it is a healthy bacon recipe. This is my own little fantasy world that I have created, so please don't try and talk sense into me. So when I saw BLT Salad as an entry in Mark Bittman's new book KITCHEN EXPRESS, it was only a matter of time...a very short amount of time...before it ended up on our plates. As with all dishes in this book, there is no actual recipe, so I put together my own. It's a nifty little salad with a scrumptious avocado dressing, and since the book doesn't tell you specific amounts for all the ingredients, MY version goes a little heavy on the you-know-what.

This is probably a good time to tell you that I gave the romantic Southern husband chocolate bacon truffles for Valentine's Day last year, and oh, my my. Take a look:

Bacon and Chocolate


But if you want to stick with bacon health food, try this salad.

BLT SALAD, adapted from Kitchen Express

• 4 slices thick bacon, cooked until crisp and cut into bite size pieces
• 1 avocado
• 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 lime
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• 1 head romaine lettuce
• 2 ripe tomatoes

1. Puree avocado, basil and garlic in food processor until smooth. Juice the lime and add to the avocado mixture.

2. With the processor running, slowly pour in the olive oil until blended in. Season dressing to taste with salt and pepper.

3. Tear up lettuce and add to salad bowl. Chop tomatoes and add to bowl along with chopped bacon.

4. Add dressing and toss. I like to add the dressing gradually and taste as I go along to make sure the salad is not "over-dressed."

Click Here For Printable Recipe

marimekko + design research.

design research (d/r), the famous retailer that used to occupy the design research building in cambridge, massachusetts, recently lost its most recent tenant however rather than stay empty, a new exhibit of classic marimekko fabrics and pieces are now the new inhabitants. wee!

...jane thompson, wife of the late architect benjamin C. thompson, who founded d/r, has together with a team of d/r alumni created window displays for the momentarily empty design research building. the displays feature both classic and new marimekko fabrics as well as vintage dress designs from the 1950s through the 1970s, loaned from collectors, mixed with current marimekko fashions. the beautiful window displays celebrate the 50-year anniversary of the beginning of the partnership between d/r and marimekko.

marimekko + design research.

design research (d/r), the famous retailer that used to occupy the design research building in cambridge, massachusetts, recently lost its most recent tenant however rather than stay empty, a new exhibit of classic marimekko fabrics and pieces are now the new inhabitants. wee!

...jane thompson, wife of the late architect benjamin C. thompson, who founded d/r, has together with a team of d/r alumni created window displays for the momentarily empty design research building. the displays feature both classic and new marimekko fabrics as well as vintage dress designs from the 1950s through the 1970s, loaned from collectors, mixed with current marimekko fashions. the beautiful window displays celebrate the 50-year anniversary of the beginning of the partnership between d/r and marimekko.

case study house #2.

case study house #22 by julius shulman.

case study house #2.

case study house #22 by julius shulman.

Outfits worn by Rosamund Pike and Carey Mulligan in An Education...

These fabulous original costumes on display at ArcLight Hollywood cinema in L.A. were worn by Rosamund Pike and Carey Mulligan in the movie, An Education.

An Education movie costume exhibit

at ArcLight Hollywood cinema

The film is a coming of age drama for a teenage girl in 1960's suburban London, who finds herself in a whirlwind romance with a dashing, yet much older playboy.

An Education movie poster

These outfits, designed by Odile Dicks-Mireaux (The Constant Gardener), were photographed on September 28, 2009.

Actual costumes worn by Carey Mulligan

and Rosamund Pike in An Education

The film is based on part of the memoirs of British journalist Lynn Barber and has a screenplay by About a Boy's Nick Hornby.

Actual dress and jewelry worn by Rosamund Pike

in An Education as 'Helen'

Actual outfit worn by Carey Mulligan

in An Education as 'Jenny'

An Education movie poster

Original costumes from An Education

An Education movie billboard on Sunset Boulevard

Visit Jason in Hollywood for a movie review of An Education.

Buy the book by Nick Hornby in the USA: An Education

Pumpkin Pie Bars

Tis the season for pumpkin - pumpkin pie, pumpkin soup, pumpkin bread, pumpkin muffins. I heart pumpkin. And so whenever a new recipe for pumpkin anything comes my way I will give it a try, especially in these early fall days when the frost is on the...pumpkin.

This recipe comes via my favorite baking site, Joy The Baker, and tastes like a cross between an oatmeal cookie and a slice of really great pumpkin pie. She says you can use either butterscotch or chocolate chips on the top - I made mine with butterscotch because them seemed more pumpkin-ish to me, but since I will definitely be making these another thousand times or so, I will try them with chocolate as well. As with most bar cookies, these are best if you cut them into pretty small squares (an inch or so). Plus that way you can eat ten of them at one time and still feel like you are having just a small bite. Right?

Happy autumn everyone, and bring on the pumpkin...

PUMPKIN PIE BARS, adapted from Joy The Baker

1 1/3 cups flour

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 sticks butter

1 cup old-fashioned oats

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1 8oz package cream cheese, softened

3 eggs

1 15oz can pumpkin

1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Handful of butterscotch or chocolate chips

1. Preheat oer to 350. Line 13x9 inch pan with foil, with ends extending over sides, and grease with cooking spray.

2. Combine flour, 1/4 cup of the sugar and all the brown sugar in medium bowl. Add butter and mix with 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. You can also do this by pulsing in the food processor. Stir in oats and nuts

3. Reserve 1 cup of the oat mixture and press the rest into the baking pan. Bake 15 minutes.

4. Beat cream cheese, remaining sugar, eggs, vanilla, pumpkin and spice until well blended and pour over crust. Sprinkle with remaining oat mixture and chips. Bake 25 minutes at 350.

5. Cool 10 minutes and use foil ends to transfer to cooling rack. Cool completely and then cut into squares.

6. Store in refrigerator.

Click here for Printable Recipe!

Top 12 Sci Fi Movies

I found this video on You Tube that is creative and fun to watch and while I do not agree with the Top 12, I sure do enjoy the clips and am reminded of some classics that I love like Logan's Run, Westworld, and Close Encounters of a Third Kind. It was a nice touch to add a montage of a lot of interesting sci fi movies made throughout the years despite time limitations because we could have a video that goes on for hours.
Enjoy the video!

timecode t-shirt series.

timecode t-shirt series by build.

alongside graphic design [and his wife and his cats] one of michael c. places other greatest loves has to be music; and if you think about it- even more so than a great piece of design or print- music can move you like no other medium, this series of t-shirts aren't just homages to what makes it onto studio builds "most played" list on i-tunes, neither is michael solely doffing his cap to the songs which have inspired him in his work or his life but also, they are an observation on the ever changing way that we listen to music today in the digital era.

timecode t-shirt series.

timecode t-shirt series by build.

alongside graphic design [and his wife and his cats] one of michael c. places other greatest loves has to be music; and if you think about it- even more so than a great piece of design or print- music can move you like no other medium, this series of t-shirts aren't just homages to what makes it onto studio builds "most played" list on i-tunes, neither is michael solely doffing his cap to the songs which have inspired him in his work or his life but also, they are an observation on the ever changing way that we listen to music today in the digital era.