Turkey Hummus Sandwiches with Black Pepper Honey

Yep, this is definitely my Summer of the Sandwich.  And not just any sandwich...the open-faced sandwich. And not just any open-faced sandwich...open-faced sandwiches made with bread that has been toasted on the grill for that fabulous, just a tiny bit charred taste.  For some reason I've gotten fixated on them and they are showing up on my supper menu almost once a week. Not only is there the whole grilled bread thing going on, but there's nothing like the feeling of walking in the door at the end of the day and getting that merry Sandwiches-For-Dinner feeling...oh yes!

And in this particular case, it was another excuse to whirl up the millionth batch of that Five Minute Hummus I am also fixated on lately.  Hey, there could be worse vices to have, right?  And if you are not the hummus-whirling-up type, your favorite supermarket brand will work just fine.

So, once you have walked in the door and are all in a good mood due to it being Sandwich Night, here's the drill.  Slice up some nice thick slices of whatever hearty bread you like.  I like the sourdough bread at Panera...it's fresh and has that scrumptious sourdough tang to it.  Brush your bread with a little olive oil and pop it on the grilled just long enough to get those delicious char marks going.

Once it has cooled a little, slather on some hummus.  Don't be shy, slather it on thick.  Now drape some thin-sliced deli turkey on top...and here comes the best part, the part that takes this from regular sandwich status to Superstar Sandwich Status.  Put about 2 tablespoons of honey in a microwavable measuring cup and nuke just until it is melted - this probably won't take more than 10 seconds.  Now grind a generous amount of black pepper into it, swirl it around, and then drizzle it over your turkey sandwich.  The sweetness of the honey and the snap of the black pepper are going to make beautiful music with the rest of this sandwich.

Sandwich Night!  It makes you feel this good:



Almost, anyway!  Here's the recipe.

Turkey Hummus Sandwiches with Black Pepper Honey

• 4 slices hearty bread, your choice
• Olive oil
• 1 cup hummus
• 1/2 pound thin sliced turkey
• 2 tablespoons honey
• Fresh ground black pepper

1. Heat grill to medium high.  Brush both sides of bread with olive oil and grill until both sides are toasted to your liking.  Remove and cool slightly.

2. Spread each slice of bread with 1/4 cup hummus.  Divide turkey among sandwiches and lay on top of hummus.

3. Heat honey in microwavable measuring cup until liquid, about 10 seconds.  Grind a generous portion of black pepper into honey and swirl to mix.  Drizzle over sandwiches and serve.

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Fire

Lots of flashing lights and the street blocked off.

A real fire on 23rd Street!

 I'm pretty sure no one was injured. So, that worry out of the way,

 all the excitement of vast trucks,  complicated equipment....

 and lots of people hanging round being important and cheerful.

Some people do useful stuff like open the fire hydrant

and unload the truck. 

Henry (aged 19 months) would have been overjoyed to see it all.

In fact, provided nothing tragic occurs, it is rather thrilling.

I could stand and look at it for hours.

ps. A Fortunate Child, my novel, based on a true story, set in England and Germany in the last century is now available on Itunes here.  Such are the wonders of technology!

3 Long Years

Three years ago today I bought my house!

Sometimes looking at an old picture reminds you just how far you've come.

pray for rain.

pray for rain by sandy carson.

pray for rain.

pray for rain by sandy carson.

Grilled Chive Potatoes

I think this just might be the easiest way I've ever cooked potatoes, and with the possible exception of Aligot Potatoes (which are so insanely good there aren't even words to describe), these also might be the most scrumptious.  It almost doesn't seem fair, but it's true.

This is a great side dish to make when you have the grill cranked up anyway...say because you are making Grilled Steak with Chimichurri Sauce....but it's also well worth firing up the grill even if whatever you are making to go with these babies is not something grilled.  They are that good.

Here's the scoop: you boil up some nice red-skinned potatoes.  Pick medium sized ones for this, not those teeny baby ones, because you don't want a single one to fall through the grill grates.  Boil for a 25 minutes or so, until they are tender.  Scoop them out of the water and cut them in half, and then brush them with a concoction of melted butter, chopped fresh chives and lemon peel.  Now pop them on the grill, cut side down, for about 10 minutes or until you get those gorgeous char marks. 

Now all you have left to do is drizzle the rest of that butter mixture over your potatoes and dig in.   You might forget to eat whatever else is on the plate due to the grilled chive potato goodness.  Here's the recipe!

Grilled Chive Potatoes, adapted from Epicurious

• 6 red-skinned potatoes, scrubbed
• 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter
• 6 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
• 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon peel

1. Cook potatoes in large pot of boiling salted water until tender, 25 to 30 minutes. Drain. Cut potatoes in half; place cut side up on rimmed baking sheet.
2. Stir butter, chives, and lemon peel in medium saucepan over medium heat until butter melts. Season with salt and pepper. Brush some chive butter over potatoes.
3. Grill potatoes over medium high heat, cut side down, until cut side is crisp and brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Rewarm remaining chive butter. Transfer potatoes, cut side up, to platter. Drizzle with warm chive butter.

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So Many Lighting Options

I've never been good at making up my mind. I'm so bad at making up my mind that I put off making a decision until the very last moment and then end up with whatever is left or easiest, not always what I would have wanted.

I want to break that cycle. So, knowing that I will soon have to choose a lighting fixture for my living room, I started looking early. I even thought I had narrowed down my options to just two lights from Lampsplus.com, even then I couldn't commit. . .

Then I started poking around a bit more. . .

Lampsplus.com

Home Depot

Lowes

Now I'm really screwed. My style is all over the place and I have no idea which one the pick. . . HELP!

Jonathan Darlington in Ottawa

Wondering what VO's Music Director Jonathan Darlington does when he's not conducting on VO's mainstage? One of his many projects this year is working with the National Youth Orchestra of Canada.

The ensemble includes 92 talented student musicians from across the country, chosen by audition from a pool of about 500. These lucky students received intensive training over the summer from veteran professional players and conductors and are now on a 11-performance tour through Quebec, Ontario, Nova Scotia and New Hampshire. Jonathan will be conducting the ensemble in Mahler's Symphony No. 5, Richard Strauss's Suite from Der Rosenkavelier, and a new piece by Ottawa composer Brian Current.

What's it like to work so closely with Jonathan? Violinist Jolani Domitrovits says

“He’s so good at forcing us to produce the sound he wants, that he makes our calibre of playing significantly higher. The program we will play in Ottawa is hard stuff, both physically and mentally. There is so much detail packed into each score. I’m starting to learn to incorporate all the detail necessary to make the music stellar. I know I’ll carry that onto each consecutive score I study.”

And bassoonist Darren Hicks describes him as 

"...one of the most exciting and energetic conductors I’ve ever worked with” 

Read more about the tour in this story from the Ottawa Citizen, and find out more about the NYOC at their website.  (There's also a tour blog on the site so you can get the latest news as it happens!)

Bravo Maestro and all the talented members of the NYOC!

knoll textiles.

kelly and i had an opportunity to visit knoll in manhattan last week and learned of the knoll textiles exhibit at the bard graduate center. we only had the day and didn't have enough time to visit but dorothy cosonas, the creative director of knoll textiles, gave us a copy of the catalog and wow. if you're in that neck of the woods, make sure to check it out and if you're not, the catalog is available!

knoll textiles.

kelly and i had an opportunity to visit knoll in manhattan last week and learned of the knoll textiles exhibit at the bard graduate center. we only had the day and didn't have enough time to visit but dorothy cosonas, the creative director of knoll textiles, gave us a copy of the catalog and wow. if you're in that neck of the woods, make sure to check it out and if you're not, the catalog is available!

Don't envy happy photos

EVERYONE has problems, so don't envy happy photos. No one snaps pictures when they're sad and depressed...

Outfits worn by Emma Stone in The Help on display...

In The Help, Emma Stone wears a fantastic variety of 1960's inspired costumes and ArcLight Sherman Oaks cinema had these three outfits used in the making of the film on display on July 26, 2011.

Original costumes worn by Emma Stone in The Help on display

In the movie based on Kathryn Stockett's bestselling novel of the same name, the actress plays 'Skeeter Phelan', a young Southern society girl returned from college in Jackson, Mississippi during the 1960's. No longer able to ignore the racism surrounding her, the aspiring writer wants to give the African-American maids that work for her white friends and family a chance to voice their experiences, by writing a tell-all book from their perspective.

Dress worn by Emma Stone in The Help

Included in the costume exhibit is the dress (on the left) that I believe Emma Stone wears in the promotional posters for the movie.

The Help movie billboard

Outfit worn by Emma Stone as Eugenia Skeeter Phelan

Sharen Davis was responsible for bringing the fashion look of a small 1960's Mississippi town to life in the movie.

Emma Stone wears this two-piece outfit below at the start of the movie for her interview with the Editor of the Jackson Journal.

Actual costume worn by Emma Stone in The Help

If you like these, be sure to check out another outfit worn by Emma Stone, plus Jessica Chastain's costume from The Help on display.

Finally enjoy this short video of the three outfits on display.

The Mango Maker

One of the things that made me fall in love with my house was the giant old mango tree in the backyard. . .

The tree is probably 50 years old, is well over 40 feet high and produces 1000s (yeah, you read that right) of mangoes in the summer. . .

. . . and I'm thinking about cutting it down. . .

Yeah, it doesn't feel good. . . but I have my reasons -

• it is so large and so close to the house that it could cause major major major damage in a hurricane (it is south Florida, after all)



• it produces giant 2 - 3 pound mangoes which fall from up to 40 feet high making it dangerous to be near in the summer (there are craters in the yard from where they land)



• 1000s of mangoes = 1000s of rotting mangoes

I can't really afford to do anything right now anyway, but I need to decide if I should start saving for it or if I should just let it be. . .

I'm really torn about what to do, what do you all think?

Treasure Box Wednesday: Hull Haul

There wasn't a ton of time for thrifting this past week, but I was able to grab a happy thrifty moment prior to a hair appointment on Saturday, where logistics sent me straight into the Salvation Army Superstore out by Century III Mall in West Mifflin.

It was there, just as I was leaving, I happened to spy two pink-and-blue beauties I recognized immediately: a pair of matching Hull Pottery 8 1/2 inch Magnolia pattern vases.

Now, Hull can get incredibly expensive, and while I like many of the pieces, I simply can't justify buying them... unless they show up at a thrift store with shining beams of light on them. I had found a few unusually inexpensive Hull vases at thrift stores and antique malls-- only by sheer luck in the past. And it was sheer luck once again that found me with this lovely haul of Hull. You can see my Hull pieces here (though I think one pink piece is hiding behind the second new vase).

 Anyway, one vase is absolutely perfect, no chips, cracks or anything. The other one does have a chip at the top, but I couldn't leave it there when it's companion was going to be a guest at my house.

Amusingly, when I was at the register paying for it, the cashier commented she'd figured no one would ever want to buy those vases.

I guess they are entirely too pastel and frou-frou for many of today's modern tastes. But I personally love the soft matte finish to them, and the gentle spring colors.

Ah, there's something for everyone at the thrift store! You just have to take the time to treasure hunt.

Hope you all are finding yourselves more comfortable this week after our steamy summer so far.

Treasure Box Wednesday: Hull Haul

There wasn't a ton of time for thrifting this past week, but I was able to grab a happy thrifty moment prior to a hair appointment on Saturday, where logistics sent me straight into the Salvation Army Superstore out by Century III Mall in West Mifflin.

It was there, just as I was leaving, I happened to spy two pink-and-blue beauties I recognized immediately: a pair of matching Hull Pottery 8 1/2 inch Magnolia pattern vases.

Now, Hull can get incredibly expensive, and while I like many of the pieces, I simply can't justify buying them... unless they show up at a thrift store with shining beams of light on them. I had found a few unusually inexpensive Hull vases at thrift stores and antique malls-- only by sheer luck in the past. And it was sheer luck once again that found me with this lovely haul of Hull. You can see my Hull pieces here (though I think one pink piece is hiding behind the second new vase).

 Anyway, one vase is absolutely perfect, no chips, cracks or anything. The other one does have a chip at the top, but I couldn't leave it there when it's companion was going to be a guest at my house.

Amusingly, when I was at the register paying for it, the cashier commented she'd figured no one would ever want to buy those vases.

I guess they are entirely too pastel and frou-frou for many of today's modern tastes. But I personally love the soft matte finish to them, and the gentle spring colors.

Ah, there's something for everyone at the thrift store! You just have to take the time to treasure hunt.

Hope you all are finding yourselves more comfortable this week after our steamy summer so far.

fabric circles fresh green.

fabric circles fresh green by bookhou.

fabric circles fresh green.

fabric circles fresh green by bookhou.

Long Island Postcards

My last post was sort of depressing, so I went to Long Island to visit a friend who gardens --when it's not too hot.....

collects china with a hint of pink

and other quirky old china....and lots of other things too.

We went to a garden center where they had one of my dreams: 

a teeny weeny barnyard with chickens

and a duck and a goat and so forth.

We bought some flowers to plant in her son's garden since we've handed the passion for flowers off onto the next generation.

ps My other, quirkier, New York blog is here.