Monthly Archives: April 2011

{things I’m loving}

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I am starting a fun new weekly series called {things I’m loving}. Just a glimpse into my personal taste and some of the things that bring me joy. Enjoy!

Food: Glazed Lemon Blueberry Poppy Seed Bundt cake. Recipe from Cooking Light.


I made this cake for Easter brunch at the Hoss’. I love the combination of lemon and blueberries.

Style: White lace dresses, esp Lauren Conrad’s dress (middle).


Design: I love the idea of having a reading area in the kitchen. It is perfect for when you’re baking batches of cookies and need to be near the oven.  If I had one of these I would never leave the kitchen!


Inspirational: This week I am obsessed with beautifully decorated cakes. I don’t consider myself a decorator but I want to learn to decorare like this. I need to bake a cake ASAP.


Fun: Oui ring

I adore this ring. It’s from dior. I want it very badly.

Misc: No words.

Go see Water for Elephants. Movies are never quite as good as the book, but this one did a good job. Plus, the eye candy in almost every single scene is worth it.

Vanilla Lavender Macaroons

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I wanted to make coconut macaroons for Easter weekend, but like always, I wanted something more unique than the standard recipe. Suddenly lavender popped into my mind. Last summer I bought a packet of French lavender from a nice French man at Mill City Farmer’s Market. He told me to put the lavender in a glass jar and it would last forever. Lavender is so beautiful and fragrant, don’t you think?

My second wave of inspiration was vanilla bean paste.

This beauty is from William Sonoma and costs about $10. You can substitute pure vanilla extract for it.

The lavender and vanilla came together into these lovely macaroons.

Vanilla Lavender Macaroons

Ingredients:

3 1/2 cups shredded coconut
1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1/3  cup pure maple syrup
1 Tbsp  vanilla bean paste
1 tsp lavender
1/2 tsp salt

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 300°F. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
  2. In a food processor, process 2 1/2 cups shredded coconut for a few minutes until it is finely chopped.
  3. Add the remaining 1 cup of coconut, rolled oats, maple syrup, vanilla bean paste, lavender and salt. Pulse in food processor until well-combined.
  4. Using a small cookie scoop, scoop the dough onto the prepared baking sheet. Flatten each mound slightly.
  5. Bake for about 20-25 minutes, or until the bottoms of the macaroons are lightly browned. The macaroons will be very soft at this point.
  6. Allow the macaroons to sit at room temperature on the baking sheet for about 30 minutes, or until they firm up and cool down.

What I love about these is that they are not overly sweet. The lavender and vanilla bean flavor really shine through. I know lavender isn’t the easiest ingredient to find but it is worth it for these macaroons.

Lentil Soup

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Soup isn’t something you usually associate with spring, but considering it is snowing, soup fits perfectly. Obviously, this weather sucks so I’m not even going to talk about how sick I am of this cold . Last night I was in the middle of studying for a physiology test so I needed to make something easy for dinner with whatever ingredients I had in the pantry. It took me about 15 minutes to prep the ingredients and throw them in the pot. Then for 45 minutes I let the stove do it’s thing, while I continued to learn about cardiac physiology. Just as I was finishing the study guide, my soup was ready. I couldn’t have timed it better.  

Lentil Soup

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 celery stalks, chopped

2 carrots, chopped

1 onion, chopped

4 garlic cloves, finely minced

1 teaspoon dried rosemary

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon dried thyme

2 bay leaves

2 (8 oz) cans of condensed tomato soup

8 cups water

2 cups dried lentils

1 tsp salt

In a big soup pot, heat olive oil on medium high heat. Add chopped onions, carrots, celery and garlic. Let cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add spices and stir. Mix in tomato soup, water and lentils. Add salt. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to simmer and cover for about 45 minutes.

Top each bowl with Parmesan cheese and serve with warm crusty bread.