A lovely visit.

On Tuesday, my mom came to visit us! She wasn't able to come with us when we moved, so it was wonderful to have her here for the last several days. We were happy to introduce her to Shorewood and Milwaukee, and it was great to be able to cook, chat, go for walks, and catch up together.

I'll write more over the next few days, as I was on a blogging hiatus during the visit. We had so much fun exploring our little neighborhood, cooking up different recipes, and taking photos along the way. Even though we're still new to the city, I think we did a good job of playing MKE tour-guides. 

It has been a lovely week, the perfect way to end September and usher in beautiful October. The leaves on the trees in our part of Shorewood are all turning shades of gold, bright orange, and deep red (MN Gopher colors!); I love this time of year! 

Have a wonderful start to your weekend, friends! 

MN Mondays: Pine Tree Apple Orchard.

The air is crisp this morning, and the sky is that brightest of blue shades that you see only in the fall. This reminded me of one of my favorite places in Minnesota during autumn, which brings me to our third installment of MN Mondays: Pine Tree Apple Orchard! Located in White Bear Lake and nestled in between ridiculously ornate mansions and golf courses, this orchard holds many memories for me and my family. Every fall, we would drive to Pine Tree for apples, turnovers, hayrides, and pumpkins. 

While Pine Tree is open all year (you can pick your own strawberries in the summer!), I think the best time to visit is in the fall, when it's just cool enough to really enjoy some warm apple cider. There are plenty of family photos of us bundled up with coats and mittens on cold afternoons, waiting in line for the tractor ride up to the top of the orchard. We've visited Pine Tree on field trips during elementary school, on quiet and grey days during the week, and on busy Sunday afternoons when there's been no place to park. Each and every time, I've found something more to love about the orchard, and the views are just the loveliest. 

Inside the shop, visitors can see the orchard's apples being trimmed, cleaned, and prepared to be sold by the bushel. There is also an on-site bakery that sells the most amazing apple treats; my favorite is their apple butter, which tastes incredible on homemade pumpkin bread or pancakes! I could really go for some this morning...

During fall weekends the orchard hosts all sorts of family-friendly events, including corn mazes, pumpkin patches, and pony rides. The pumpkin patch is, by far, the best I've ever seen. Pumpkins dot the fields everywhere you look, and it's just the sweetest seeing all the little ones picking out which one they want to take home. 

I've been trying to find an orchard to visit near Milwaukee; any suggestions from those who've been? I know that our next visit home to the Twin Cities will have to involve a trip to Pine Tree, even if only for the apple butter! 

Happy fall weekend!

Tomorrow is the first day of fall! If you haven't figured it out yet, this is my favorite season. The colors are gorgeous, the weather is never too hot or too cold, sweaters, scarves, and boots are new in stores, and all those wonderfully rich fruits and vegetables that have been growing all summer are ready for harvest. And, maybe best of all, pumpkins are back in full force! I'm currently indulging in a pumpkin spice latte, the most autumnal drink around. 

While it's almost officially fall, there was a hint of Christmas morning-like anticipation around here this afternoon, as Andrew was waiting for his new iPhone 5 to arrive. We are now a happy Apple family of four: us and two little iPhones. 

We're going to thoroughly enjoy this first fall weekend of the year; we are, of course, watching Chelsea (a win, please?), and are really looking forward to meeting up with good friends for drinks! What are you up to? 

Happy fall, friends! 

The return of Must-See-TV.

Ah, Thursday night, you always had the best TV shows when I was growing up. From Friends, to Will and Grace, to E.R., no matter how much homework I had, I knew that Thursdays meant that the TV would be on for most of the evening so I could watch the best of NBC. 

Arguably the shows on Thursdays now will never compare to what was on in the 90s and early 2000s (to us 20-somethings, some of the best sit-coms and dramas ever!). Whenever new fall episodes of Thursday night shows come back after the summer, I feel like I'm in high school, coming home from piano lessons, ready to watch channel 11, and chat about all the new shows the next morning with my friends at our lockers. Hilarious, and hard to imagine that The Office, which is in its last season this year, was just starting out as we graduated from high school!

Tonight, I'm looking forward to the return of Parks and Recreation (because I'm cool like that), and will be watching SNL's prime-time show. It's usually pretty good during election years, and gets really good right after the presidential debates; remember this classic?

Any favorite shows you're looking forward to watching? 

For the kitchen: flowers.

It's cloudy, windy, and a bit gloomy here today, so I figured, what better way to bring some sunshine into the kitchen than flowers? I love how just the tiniest bouquet can brighten up the entire room. A colorful and happy way to decorate and easily changeable with the seasons? Yes, please! 

*Photos via apartmenttherapy.com

Beautiful borshch.

Борщ. There is nothing better on a cold day than a big bowl of borshch, the traditional beet soup that's a staple in many Eastern European kitchens. A few days ago we had wandered over to the Shorewood library, where we found a surprisingly large section on Russian/Eastern European cookbooks. A combination of factors lead me to today (flipping through the familiar recipes, the chill in the air this morning, and a touch of homesickness), when I decided I was going to make my mama's borshch. 

Like most Ukrainian kids, my siblings and I had borshch quite often when we were growing up; however, I know for a fact we didn't appreciate it then. Instead of happily eating bowls of the glorious beet soup that our grandmother made for us, we longed for pizza, burgers, anything "American." After we grew up and started to understand exactly what we were missing, borshch, bliny (these incredible jam-filled crepes my grandfather used to make), and pyrishky (dough crescents stuffed with anything, from meat to rice, to sweet cherries) all became special treats. Now we talk about them often, discussing our favorite fillings and reminiscing about past holiday meals where these traditional dishes took center stage; for whatever reason, though, we rarely ever make them. 

Today I was determined to make my mom's borshch as close to hers as possible, but as with most Ukrainian recipes, the ingredients are always listed as "на око," which means "to the eye." Basically, it's a little of this, a little of that...nothing precise, ever. Thankfully, a few summers ago I made sure to write down what my mom was doing as she made her borshch, but making it myself this afternoon, I found that I, too, was adjusting certain measurements "to the eye."

At a fabulous crossroad of modernity and tradition, I was checking Twitter as the borshch was simmering. I happened to come across this beautiful New York Times piece on cooking to preserve your heritage. How fitting, as my borshch was bubbling away on the stove! For so many immigrants, cooking traditional meals is the best keepsake of their past, with their dishes acting as reminders of family gatherings, holidays, favorite places, home. I imagine that's how my family felt many years ago, and was so moved and humbled by this article. 

Ukrainian cooking is not particularly complex or sophisticated, but it's homey, rooted in deep tradition, and full of warmth. There's definitely something special about continuing to make a dish that's been shared over generations and continents. I don't know if my borshch came out exactly the same way as my mom makes hers, or if my grandmother would've approved, but for tonight, it was absolutely perfect. 

Ukrainian fashion, vintage.

Isn't this gorgeous? I found it yesterday while browsing The Sartorialist, a highly entertaining (and time-draining) site: photographer Scott Schuman takes pictures of men and women from New York to Paris, to Beunos Aires, to Florence. Focusing mainly on street-style and fashion shows, the website also features older "vintage photos," like the one above.

I simply adore this picture. Not only is it fun to admire their outfits, the couple is working some serious Ukrainian fashion. I love that you can just tell from the shot, and particularly by their expressions, that style was important to these people. Look at her embroidered capelet, the purse, and her hat, tipped just perfectly to the side; his neatly pressed suit and tie look so elegant. And she's wearing gloves! The photo reminded me of my grandmother a bit, a lady who, like the one above, was also all about fashion. One time, when I was little, she showed me a pair of her shoes she used to wear in Brazil: heeled leather sandals with straps that went all the way to the ankle and laced around it. So fancy, and so unlike what I was used to seeing her wear! I would LOVE to have a pair like that today (she had very small feet, so unfortunately the shoes were much too small for me)! It's fun to see that what was trendy and stylish a long time ago comes right back and is at the top of fall's "must-have list;" plaid pattern pants, anyone (1969 Vogue and Michael Kors Fall 2012 Runway)? 

Can you tell I want to go shopping? Fall fashion is just too hard to resist! 

MN Mondays: bike share.

Today on MN Mondays: the beauty of bike share. Nice Ride came to Minneapolis in the summer of 2010; we started using it on a regular basis a year later. The program was a perfect fit for an already-bike friendly city; just last year, Minneapolis was named the best bicycling city in America (we were number 2 in 2012, with Portland, OR taking the number 1 spot)! Playing a major role in cities like Montreal, Washington D.C., Denver, and many European cities, the bike share system in Minneapolis was quickly embraced by downtowners (and near-downtowners), so much so that the program expanded beyond Northeast and Uptown into the St. Paul neighborhoods.

How it works: riders first buy a subscription lasting a day, a month, or a year (there are student discounts on the year-long rate!). The day subscription provides you with a code; you get a key with the longer memberships. Your subscription code (or key) unlocks a bike, and as long as you check-in your bike at any Nice Ride Station within 30 minutes, you don't pay any fees for your trip! You can either leave the bike checked-in and explore a near-by cafe or restaurant, or you just take out another bike, and continue on your way. Super easy!

The distinctive lime-green bikes have really become part of the city life in Minneapolis, and we certainly loved being able to take advantage of them. We used them to get to all sorts of places: to classes and work, to Target Field to watch the Twins play, as part of our workouts along the Mississippi River, to the bars on East Hennepin. We loved the bikes for so many reasons, not to mention the money they saved us on parking anywhere downtown! I knew that Nice Ride was certainly something I was going to miss after our move to Milwaukee.

The other day, though, I was in the car and heard a Radio Milwaukee discussion on expanding bike share in Wisconsin. Madison has a program, called B-cycle, that two Milwaukee residents are working to bring to our new city by 2013 (New York City is also planning on starting its own bike sharing program this March)! I was so excited to hear this! It would be great to have bike share back, I hope the city approves and gets to work installing the docks. There are so many positives to the program: fewer cars on the roads, green transportation, health benefits...plus, it's just so fun to ride a bike! I imagine that it'd be the perfect way to spend an afternoon on the paths along Lake Michigan.

Until MKE brings out its bikes, I'll have to live vicariously through all the nice-riders. So, Minneapolitans (and St. Paul-ites): get out there and explore with Nice Ride! Invite your friends from the suburbs and check out some bikes along the river. It's true what they say: you never forget how to ride your bike!

*Photo credits: livegreentwincities.com, at one of our regular bike stations, and Andrew, from earlier this spring.

Summer, meet fall.

The Sussman brothers succeed, yet again (see our past meals using This is a Cookbook: Recipes for Real Life here and here)! Tonight for dinner, we made roasted corn soup with tomato using this recipe. It was a perfect blend of summer and fall flavors. Some comments:

1) Use low-sodium chicken broth, as in the lowest you can find. That way you can adjust the seasonings without the soup tasting over-salted. Plus, it's just better for you. Period. 

2) If you like spice, feel free to add cayenne, chili, or jalapenos. We added some red pepper after blending because we're big fans of spicy flavors. Some of the comments on the recipe site suggested the amounts of chili powder were overpowering, but we definitely didn't think so. It's really all about what you want to do to your soup! 

3) Immersion blenders are essential tools in any kitchen. Making soup is ten times easier with one because you don't have to transfer it from pot to blender. 

What are you up to this weekend? We are going to explore a farmer's market near our apartment, watch Chelsea FC (go Blues!), and enjoy some gorgeous weather on the lake.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Pizza!

Last night, we made a deep-dish pizza with an olive oil and cornmeal crust. 

A bit more than a year ago, Andrew started making bread at home using Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois' recipes in Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. We loved how easy the recipes were; we could quickly make a batch of dough to keep on hand in the fridge and then pull off what we needed to have fresh bread ready in minutes. And few things make an apartment smell better and instantly more homey than crackling bread as it comes out of the oven. 

Then, last fall, Jeff and Zoe came out with Artisan Pizza and Flatbread in Five Minutes a Day. While we had started to play with pizza dough recipes using the original AB in 5 instructions, we were excited to experiment using their new cookbook, particularly because of our love for deep-dish pizza (actually, we love all kinds of pizza). There wasn't really a great deep-dish place in Minneapolis, and we were craving the heartier, saucier, "Chicago-style" pizzas; at one point, Andrew even considered having the pizza shipped to us from Lou Malnati's! 

We decided, though, that our pizza would probably taste better if we made it in our own kitchen instead of having the frozen version delivered from Chicago. Many pizza pies (and plenty of smoke alarms, thanks to our old apartment's poor ventilation) later, we've become fanatics. The AB in 5 method works just as well for pizza dough as it does for baguettes and pita bread! 

In the past, we've made mini-deep dish pizzas using our little staub cocottes, but last night, we went all out and used the biggest cast-iron pan we have. We have found that the olive oil and cornmeal dough works the best for deep-dish, as it gives the pizza a thick and crumbly crust. 

We stuffed our pizza with eggplant, pepperoni, red pepper, garlic, and mozzarella, topped it with homemade tomato sauce (crushed tomatoes, onion, butter, fennel pollen, and red pepper flakes - so, so good!), and set it to bake for about 45 minutes. We tried letting it rest for the recommended amount of 10 minutes, but couldn't wait that long so we cut in after about 5. Topped with fresh basil and a sprinkling of pecorino cheese, this was one of our best pizzas to date. I'm getting hungry just thinking about it - thankfully we still have most of it for leftovers! 

Do you make pizza at home? If you don't, definitely check out AB in 5 for pizza - it's so easy, and actually quite inexpensive to make the dough in your own kitchen! 

I love Style Me Pretty.

I just had to take a second and post about Style Me Pretty's new book! I visit this website daily to daydream and swoon over gorgeous wedding gowns, flowers, and parties. It was something I did even before getting engaged (yes, I'll admit it), because I've always, always loved weddings. Andrew has, thankfully, accepted this about me and allows me all the wedding shows and bridal magazines I could want.

Per SMP's website, the book is available for pre-orders; I can't wait to check it out! Happy planning (and wishing, hoping, dreaming...)!

PS: Cup of Jo's most recent post about veils: lovely!

A rainy day.

Paris Street, A Rainy Day; Gustave Caillebotte. 

I love this painting; it's on display at the Chicago Art Institute and the photo is from our visit last fall. It reminds me of our weather today: chilly, grey, and wet.

While we're experiencing the not-so-nice side of fall at the moment, this weather makes me crave comfort foods: warm bread out of the oven, hearty stews, and pizza (yes, pizza is the ultimate comfort food!). We're making a deep-dish pizza tonight, with eggplant, pepperoni, and red pepper. Pictures to come later.

Having dinner covered, I was browsing for new ideas for fall breakfasts, and stumbled upon this recipe: baked pumpkin steel-cut oatmeal. I cannot wait to try this, as I love pumpkin-flavored anything; it also reminded me of mornings when I was little and my mom would make us kasha, or oatmeal in Ukrainian. She would stir in dried cherries and maple syrup to make it sweet. It was so, so good!

I'll be trying the pumpkin oats in the next few days, on a crisp fall morning. What are your favorite comfort foods? Is there a fall favorite you'd like to share?

For the kitchen: chalkboard.

I love the idea of using chalkboard in the kitchen. It evokes charming bistros and sidewalk cafes, bringing some of the fun of going out for dinner right into your own kitchen. Besides being versatile, it allows you to make your kitchen space truly unique and personal. From grocery lists and menu options to daily reminders and little love notes, having chalkboard in the kitchen lets you get creative. The best part: you can erase and start all over again! 

 Photos via apartmenttherapy.com

Who's for the gnocchi?

Remember the other day when I said I was going to make gnocchi? 

I used this recipe from Bon Appétit and they turned out great (one change from the recipe: before adding olive oil, I tossed the gnocchi with salt as they came out of the water. It made a huge difference and really heightened the flavor!). I love the hint of nutmeg, which really draws on the tastes of fall and is so comforting and warm. 

We had them with oxtail ragu that I braised in crushed tomatoes, red wine, and fresh herbs (after the oxtail lasagna we ate at g.e.b. in Chicago, we knew we had to try to cook with oxtails at home!), and carrots with thyme and butter. Making gnocchi is easy; it just takes a bit of time to roll them out. Solution: get your friends/little ones/husbands/girlfriends/siblings to help out! Cooking, like eating, is usually best with others in the kitchen. 

The art of hanging art.

So far, most of our walls in the living room are completely blank, except for my goddaughter's drawing that she gave us before we moved. It's called Ferris Wheel, and I absolutely adore it. But because we have lots of wall space throughout the apartment, there definitely need to be more pictures hung up. Hanging art helps any space feel more inviting and complete, but I find that I'll often leave frames on the floor for weeks, trying to figure out where they'd look best. 

Hanging art is something I've never, ever liked. Frankly I'm surprised that we have anything up on our walls, considering it's only been about four weeks since we've moved. Commiserating with friends who have also recently moved, I discovered that hanging anything seems to be a common enemy for us. Not only do you have to make sure every piece is even, angled correctly, and fills up the appropriate amount of space on the wall, you must also hammer in that nail in exactly the right spot or risk everything looking lopsided and mismatched (and not the cool, fun mismatched in these photos, but the really messy, not-at-all-meant-to-go-together mismatched).  Plus, we haven't had the greatest record when it comes to hanging pictures in the past; plenty of holes in rented apartment spaces aren't likely to make landlords happy. 

While browsing for inspiration (and help), I found these lovely shots from Domino. I could get lost on that site, there are so many beautiful ideas for the home. Also, this one from Apartment Therapy. 

But one of the best hints I found was this, also from Apartment Therapy, which just might help me get over my aversion to hanging pictures. I will be trying this out in the next few days (or, let's not pretend, weeks...), it's genius!

What do your walls look like? Are they filled with favorite photos and family memories? Do you have one giant frame, or do you hang eclectic art pieces that mix style, color, subject matter, but match just enough? Pass along any ideas, I'm curious to know!

MN Mondays: a visit home.

This weekend, we decided to head back to the Twin Cities to see our families. One of the beauties of this move is that we actually didn't move that far away. Driving time from Milwaukee to the Cities is about five and a half hours (or five, thanks to our new WI plates that allow us to blend in with the other WI drivers...). 

It was a weekend filled with family. Lots of cooking, eating, drinking, walks on the bridge (that skyline view will get me every time), and time spent with those we miss most. It was too short of a trip, because there is no way to do everything or see everyone we wanted to. 

On Friday night, we had our parents over to dinner at my mom's house. It was starting to look and feel like fall, much more so than in Shorewood, but we wanted to do one more summer cookout session before the seasons really turn. We grilled brats and vegetables outside and had homemade potato salad and char-grilled green beans on the side. All simple, fresh, and so summery. 

For dessert, we made another recipe out of the Sussman brothers' cookbook - the s'mores! The original recipe called for bourbon, but we made them with rum instead. Considering neither Andrew nor I really love marshmallows, we were both pretty impressed by these! We had a good time making them (I was really excited to use my mom's stand mixer; we don't have one, but want one badly!). The recipe was easy to follow, and it was so fun to see how the marshmallows, which started out as pure liquid, puffed up to become these lovely, pillowy, gooey squares!  

 I'm posting the recipe we used below, as adapted from the Sussmans' This is a Cookbook: Recipes for Real Life. 

S'mores with maple-rum marshmallows.

From This is a Cookbook: Recipes for Real Life (available at Williams-Sonoma - check it out!) 

Vegetable oil cooking spray

Powdered sugar for dusting

2 Tbsp unflavored gelatin

1/4 cup rum, plus 3 Tbsp

1/4 cup maple syrup (get the good kind - trust me!) 

1 1/2 cups extra-fine sugar

4 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped

1/2 cup heavy  cream 

Graham crackers, halved. 

Line the bottom of a 9-inch square baking dish with parchment paper. Coat lightly with cooking spray and dust with some powdered sugar. 

Pour 1/2 cup warm water into a small bowl; sprinkle in the gelatin and stir to dissolve.

In a saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the rum, maple syrup, and sugar; bring to a boil. Continue to cook and stir often, until the temperature reads 240 degrees F on a candy or frying thermometer. Pour into the bowl of a stand mixer, and add the dissolved gelatin and remaining rum. Beat until stiff peaks form, about 10-13 minutes. Note - it will take much longer if you use a hand mixer! 

Scrape the marshmallows into the prepared baking dish and spread into an even layer. Let cool at room temperature until firm, about 4 hours.

Once the mixture has hardened, remove the marshmallow from the pan and take off the parchment lining. Cut into even squares, and toss with powdered sugar in a bowl to coat. 

Put the chocolate in a heat-proof bowl. Heat the cream in a small saucepan over medium-high heat until just boiling, then pour over the chocolate and whisk until smooth. 

Assemble the s'mores: graham cracker + marshmallow + chocolate + graham cracker. Serve and enjoy! 

So tasty! If making this with little ones, obviously omit the rum or bourbon. 

Making s'mores, we just had to have a bonfire. We tried heating the marshmallows over the fire, but because they were basically made out of sugar only, and didn't have any of the "other" processed ingredients like the marshmallows you buy at the store, they just melted instead of turning nice and golden. Oh well, they were perfectly delicious as they were. It was a beautiful night for a fire - chilly, with a definite feel of fall coming on. Andrew, my sister, and I sat around the fire on our patio with a few pyvos (as Andrew says, "beer" just sounds better in Ukrainian!). All in all, a great night. 

It was a lovely weekend home, and it has inspired a new series on the blog: MN Mondays! MN Mondays will be all about the land of 10,000 lakes. What are your favorite things about MN? What do you love to do in Minnesota in the fall? I'll share some of mine if you tell me yours!

I'm off to finish dinner for tonight - stay tuned for more on gnocchi and oxtail ragu! YUM!