what should a couple of santa barbarans do in nyc?

The Husband and I are heading to NYC in September to visit friends and explore. I've never been before, and it's been years since The Husband has. Any recommendations for things to do and (most importantly) eat? I basically plan on munching my way through the city. And buying some jewelry here.

PS. An eloper's guide to NYC. We may splurge on a dinner or two at places on this list. And another NYC guide from the contingent of evil hipster brides.

a great recipe + poached egg tip

This past weekend, The Husband and I made this delicious chard and white bean stew. We followed the recipe to the T, minus using large lima beans we already had around, adding extra veggies, and using rainbow chard for extra color. We served it upon toasted french baguette rubbed with garlic and with a poached egg on top.

It was really, really hearty and soooo good. It's definitely been added to our recipe rotation. Poaching eggs is not easy, though! I am definitely going to purchase an egg poacher tray thing. If The Husband can't pull it off (he is beyond talented in the kitchen), there's no way I will be able to.

I was a little leery of eating a poached egg, since I contracted mild food poisoning a couple weeks ago for the first time. Not. Fun. A poached egg is not cooked thoroughly enough to eradicate any possible salmonella that may be present in the egg, which is of major concern to anyone who is in ill health, pregnant, etc. We turned to Harold McGee's On Food & Cooking book to see if he had any tips on cooking a safe poached egg, and he did!

McGee recommends that, after poaching the egg in a pan, transfer it to a pot of water heated to 150 degrees. While keeping the temperature steady, allow the egg to sit in the hot water for 15 minutes. This will safely eradicate any bacteria that may still be lurking in the runny yolk. We tried this, and it did not affect the integrity and tastiness of the poached egg at all. So, if you've been told by a doctor to avoid poached eggs because of food-borne illness concerns, fear no more!*

*not that I think I'm better than your doctor or anything, so don't be stupid about this.

artist: bruno catalano

(source)

Bruno Catalano is an artist from southern France whose sculptures are blowing my mind. This series of sculptures, called "Les Voyageurs," are all of people with their suitcases in hand and the middle of their bodies missing. Maybe that is what they are setting out to find in their journeys...

(source)

These sculptures are each one whole piece, delicately wrought and connected. You can currently check these out in person if you travel to eastern France.

Thanks to The Husband for sharing this with me!

our anniversary trip!

The Husband and I celebrated one wonderful year of marriage with a day trip out to Santa Cruz Island, part of the Channel Islands National Park off the coast of Santa Barbara. Santa Cruz Island has an amazing history. The Channel Islands have never been attached to the mainland, so there are many native species found nowhere else in the world. Santa Cruz had also been used for ranching, sheep raising, grape growing, and a ton of other functions in the 1800 - 1900s, before the island was purchased by the NPS. It is currently being restored to its original / native state.

around here...

Oh hey! It's been a while. Things have been a little crazy around here lately. Stay tuned for a real post soon...we went to the Channel Islands for our wedding anniversary and we have lots of great photos and tips to share.

Until then, check out what a shower repair project looks like in our house:

(yes, it was exactly as annoying as it looks)

things we love: grill baskets!

Have you ever used a grill basket? Someone gave us this one as a gift a while back, and we finally used it this past weekend. It was amazing!

The Husband has a tasty and incredibly easy kebab recipe (recipe after the jump), but we don't make it as often as we should since skewering everything takes some time and I don't like touching raw meat. Yes, I am a princess. The Husband reminds me of this every day. So we decided to bust out the grill basket and see what happens.

We love the basket because all we have to do was dump all the veggies and meat into the basket, stick on the grill, and let it cook. The basket has a very long handle so The Husband didn't get burned. It was also much easier to turn the basket and get everything flipped at once instead of turning each skewer and hoping you don't lose a mushroom in the process. That being said, we still lost some stuff. Next time, we will use it for cooking larger items, like corn or fish.

Check out The Husband's super lazy kebab recipe after the jump.

words on marriage

A dear friend gave me a card celebrating my first wedding anniversary, and I was touched by the wisdom and poignancy of his words. Though they are certainly directed at me, I think the perspective and advice is universal.

Your first year of marriage has almost passed and no doubt you both are reflecting on where the time went. Building a life together is done piece by piece, day by day, through the ups and downs. I'm so happy that you found your soulmate and such a wonderful one at that! Behind the sometimes "tough" exterior you put forth is a person who pours her heart and soul into what matters most: love and relationships. It's the greatest thing for me to hear your stories about you and Reed, and it reminds me of a simpler time in my life with [my wife]. Always keep the love and passion alive and support one another no matter what the cost. I truly believe there are big things in store for you both and a sweetness that is genuine...

recipe: quinoa stuffed bell peppers

(the husband really loves making decorative flourishes with Sriracha)

Stuffed bell peppers have been done time and time again, but when I stumbled upon a recipe that used quinoa and feta cheese, I was majorly intrigued. After making this a couple times and adapting it to my tastes, I think I have perfected the recipe. Though this is a meatless dish, it is packed full of complete protein from the quinoa and very filling. The cheese gives it a nice flavor but is honestly not necessary, if you're super lactose intolerant or vegan. I'm lactose intolerant but the small amount of cheese in this dish did not bother me in the least. Enjoy! Recipe after the jump.

happy birthday, husband!

(isn't the husband handsome?)

Happy birthday to The Husband! You are my favorite person in the entire world. I am so glad that we are so  in love and happy together. You understand me better than anyone else, you are my partner in crime, and my closest confidante. I don't know how I lucked out with you, and am so happy to celebrate you turning 32. Remember when we first started dating and you were 26 and I was 21 and I would (and still) call you an old man? Yeah, never going to stop doing that. I love you.

on patience (earned)

I used to be an incredibly impatient person. For as long as I could remember, I had always been anxiously awaiting something, anything. It's a stressful and exhausting way to live, honestly. I don't recommend it.

As life progresses and I grow older, I am finding myself capable of patience and acceptance, in ways and in circumstances that my younger self would never have been able to handle. Part of this change stems from a changing perception of time - it's no joke that the older you get, the faster time seems to go by. Sorry to my mom and dad for all the times I rolled my eyes at them when they said that sort of thing to me. 

Another part of this comes from the time and effort I have invested in creating a happy life and healthy environment for myself. The happier and more at peace you are to begin with, the easier it is to maintain that peace and positivity in the face of difficult moments. Prioritizing my own happiness seemed like a selfish and petty thing to do at first. Shouldn't I be more worried about saving the world / changing my community / helping others? Well, I have learned being happy makes it much easier to do all those things; happiness is the root of a good life, it impacts things both great and small. The younger me would have scoffed at my excitement about finding the perfect nail polish color - isn't that such a trivial thing and wouldn't my time be better spent reading ____ or ruminating on the existence of _____? But now I know that, while the nail polish itself isn't important, those little bits of happiness really are. They add up to a well-rounded perspective. Volunteering at the animal shelter brings a different kind of happiness than laying on the grass in the sun at the courthouse; helping others is certainly the more honorable action, but both are important and necessary in their own ways. Life is not exclusively grand gestures and great accomplishments. Neither is love, or happiness. It is the sum of the whole.

(fresh flowers...another little thing I enjoy so much)

The final great contributor to my level of patience is faith. That the journey will never be too long or too hard for me to handle. That life will never be completely without some sort of pain or struggle, and that is okay, because I am stronger than I think. That everything is temporary, nothing is permanent. Things are always changing, and that means that even if things are bad right now, they won't be in the future. I may not know when or how, but I know things will get better. The good and the bad are always changing, always fluctuating, and you either learn to ride those waves and stay afloat or you drown. To me, being patient is choosing to believe that things will be wonderful, maybe not on your own timeframe but that they truly will be...