Cellllllllaaaaaaaaabrate good times......come on!

So, I got a job yesterday. Yea to that! But boooo to the fact that this happened 3 weeks and 2 days into what has been a blissful unemployment. I was hoping to have a whole job free summer and pretend I was a kid again. Yeah well. It was an opportunity I couldn't pass up. No worries though. I have vowed to keep the momentum going on my little project here.

So with that said.....I whipped up these after I got the offer call yesterday. I had been meaning to use that leftover lime from the meltaways last week so here ya go...

Strawberry Basil Mojitos
Makes 2 drinks



4 oz light rum
1 1/2 oz simple syrup
3 large strawberries sliced
1/2 lime sliced
sprig of mint
4 or 5 basil leaves
club soda

Muddle the strawberries, lime, mint, basil and simple syrup in a cocktail shaker. Add light rum and ice. Shake until well-combined. Pour into a highball glass about 3/4 and top off with club soda. Stir and enjoy!



I'm a bit of a garnish junkie so I sliced another strawberry in half and cut a notch in the top to make a little heart. Awwww....

Oh and I should mention that this was attempt to copycat a similar drink I had at some pretentious local restaurant. I was there with some girlfriends for a happy hour and guzzled 3 of them. They were so delicious but also cost like 10 bones a piece. Ridiculous, I know! I think my version turned out well except that it could have had more basil taste. Next time I think I'll add a few extra leaves and julienne them so they dispurse more evenly in the simple syrup.

Lime Meltaways

So yesterday was a craptacular day. And by craptacular I mean that rainy, gloomy, cold kind of day where you just wanna stay under the warmth of your covers and watch Cash Cab. Unfortunately, I had some things to tend to so an afternoon in bed was not in the cards.

However, if there's one thing I can't stand, it's being cold and my house was freezing. Sure I could have cranked the heat but the stubborn part of me said "It's freakin' May. People should not be running heat in MAY!" So I did what I always do to warm up. Took a screaming hot shower....the kind where you're like just shy of giving yourself 2nd degree burns. And then I decided to bake something. It's gotta be more efficient to warm up the house with the oven rather than the furnace, right? And the furnace doesn't make cookies either.

So yeah, I decided on Lime Meltaways from Martha Stewart. I've had it in my "recipes to try" folder for a while and it sounded like a perfect summer-y kind of dessert to make me think of warmer weather. I stuck to her recipe except I increased the amount of zest and juice. I read reviews that the original was a little lacking in the lime taste...

Lime Meltaways
adapted from Martha Stewart

Makes 3-4 dozen

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temp
1 cup confectioners' sugar
Zest of 3 limes
4 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt

Directions:

1) Put butter and 1/3 cup confectioners' sugar in a bowl and mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy. Add lime zest, juice and vanilla, and mix until fluffy.

2) Whisk together flour, cornstarch, and salt in a bowl. Add to butter mixture, and mix on low speed until just combined.

3) Divide dough in half. Place each half on an 8x12 sheet of parchment paper. Roll in parchment to form a log 1 1/4 inches in diameter. Refrigerate logs until cold and firm, at least 1 hour.

4) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove parchment from logs and cut logs into 1/4 inch-thick rounds. Space rounds 1 inch apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake cookies until barely golden, about 13 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Transfer cookies to wire racks to cool slightly, 8 to 10 minutes. While still warm, toss cookies with remaining 2/3 cup sugar in a resealable plastic bag. Cookies can be stored in airtight containers at room temperature up to 2 weeks.


Lemme start out by saying that the original recipe claimed it made 10 dozen. That's a load of crap. I even measured my logs with a ruler so I know they were the right size. They must use magical flour or something in the Martha Stewart test kitchen because I only got about 40 cookies out of it.

Anyhoo, I love that my camera has a food setting on it. I'm so happy with how these turned out.....

I only used 2 of the 3 limes I zested to get the 4 tablespoons of juice. No worries though...I have big plans for that naked lime in my produce drawer...

I use a cheapy Proctor Silex hand mixer that I bought when I moved into my first apartment. The thing is a beast and still works like a charm 12 years later. Still, I dream to own this one day...

Woah...what's that you ask? It's HOMEMADE vanilla extract given to me by one of my most favorite people ever. I hope to do a collaborative blog post with her at some point because well, she's awesome!

See Martha, I measured. What gives?

Oohhh, pretty :)

They're not much to look at but wait....

Tah Dah!

The verdict? Very easy to make and they are pretty delish....and cute looking too. I can totally see Martha serving these for afternoon tea with her lady friends.

Yeah, it'll be a cold day in hell before I host an afternoon tea. I'm thinking more like reggae show in the park with my girlfriends tomorrow. Yeah mon!

Gardening, Phase 1

So after several days of cold, gloomy weather, the sun finally reappeared yesterday. It was a nice surprise because the forecast was calling for more of the same. My initial plan was stay in and mix up a fun cocktail to post. But instead, I took advantage of the nice day and got some planting underway....

geraniums

new guinea impatiens - one of my faves!

snapdragons

Not quite sure how the snapdragons will do because they like full sun and most of my yard gets part sun. I try to plant what'll work best but these were just so damn pretty and free, I might add. Thank you mommy!

So...next step is planting my veggies and herbs. I've done an herb garden for the past 6 years but this will only be the 2nd year planting veggies. It's definitely a learning process. Last year my tomatoes got hit with blight (like much of the northeast) so I'm hoping for a drier spring so I can get a full crop. Also planting lettuce and peppers. I started all my veggies from seed...much cheaper that way and it's really not that hard. Herbs are another story. I bought my plants this year after having bad luck starting from seed last year. They are just too finicky. And since lettuce and herbs are like bunny candy, my handy husband was nice enough to make me these super awesome boxes to grow them in...

I'll leave you with a few shots of the garden I took yesterday. I'm really trying to hone my photography skills...which is my case is just trying to figure out all the settings of my new Nikon P90.

Oh and there's a lot more to come. I have a crapload of recipes to review and I plan to take this whole blog train to my own domain name in the near future. In the meantime, I'd love if you'd sign up to follow me :) Have a lovely weekend everyone!


we've named him jimmy hosta





1st bday present I received from my husband

Mother's Day Bouquet Cards

When I can sit down and devote some serious hours to a project, paper crafting is definitely tops on my list. As a little girl, I was obsessed with paper and stickers. I used to ride my bike to the local stationery store all the time and just gawk at the gigantic rolls of stickers and racks upon racks of beautiful printed paper. Pretty much every cent of my allowance was spent at that store. I didn't really do anything with my stash of treasures other than just stare at it once I got it home. Back then, my funds were pretty limited so I didn't dare peel any of those precious stickers from their backing paper and gasp...actually make something with them.

Nowadays, ummmmm...things pretty much haven't changed except that I'm trying to keep the hoarding in check. I've gotten to the point when I only go to the craft store if I have something specific to buy. I've gotten myself into too much trouble when I stop in "just to look around". My goal is to try and use what I've got.

Well, I'm proud to say I created these cute mother's day cards and didn't have to spend a cent! And I think they turned out pretty well. No stickers on these but I just love the glittered daisy embellishments. It gives the card a whole 3D effect.













And there you have it...simple yet beautiful. The daisy embellishment came with these pretty fugly looking fasteners so opted to just use a little tacky glue to adhere them to the card and covered the hole in the flower center with a mini rhinestone.

I can't wait to give these to the special moms in my life tomorrow. It's pretty much in mom DNA to appreciate anything handmade....even those gross ashtrays that we all made in art class. Happy Mother's Day Everyone!

In the beginning...

So here I am.

After 2 new years resolutions and many, many promises to myself, I'm finally starting this blog. It's timely that I'm beginning today because it's also my first day of unemployment. That's right...after 11 years with the same corporation, I became another victim of corporate downsizing.

When I found out I was losing my job 6 weeks ago, I started on a path of self reflection. I think anytime something stressful happens, it's a natural reaction to reevaluate this journey that you are on. Let's face it. I was unhappy with what I was doing...sitting at a desk all day crunching numbers with zero creative outlet. Sure, the pay was nice. The benefits were good. But I was miserable. I would be so mentally drained at the end of the day that there was no energy left to do what brings me joy. Sure, being unemployed is scary as hell but I have to admit, I woke up this morning with a surprisingly clear head. Instead of letting life dictate me, this is my chance to rewrite my story. At this point, I don't have a path mapped out but what I do know is this: I have taken the safe route most of of my life. Now is my opportunity to explore my talents and dreams and find success in my true passions.

So what are my passions? Well, there's a bunch. And I intend to use this blog to capture all of it. In short, I guess I'm what you would call a creative type. I love design, crafting, cooking, entertaining, sewing, gardening...you name it. I do it all. And if I don't know how do it, I'll learn. It's hard to describe just how much pleasure I get out of expressing myself creatively. I read dozens of blogs every week related to art, food and design. I'm blown away by the level of talent out there and I've always had the attitude of well I can't possibly do that. Well, why the hell not? My intention is for this to catalog my projects and if I educate, entertain or inspire you along the way, then that'll just be the cherry on top.

So with that said, this is the first official blog post of The Amused Bouche. At some point I'll explain how I decided on that name. It's kind of complicated and definitely for another day. In the meantime, it's time to get to work.....