Recipes, Thoughts and Travel – Life in and Out of the Kitchen
For so, so, so much this year. For my family, my friends, my boyfriend, good health, my job, this side project of And What I Ate, the ability to travel, future possibilities and opportunities, focusing on patience, presence and gratitude. This is my favorite holiday of the year.
We’re still figuring out how to not have our entire house smell like whatever we’re cooking. In the meantime, this requires only 3 “ingredients” that you definitely have around your house right now, works fantastically well in covering up cooking smells, and makes your home smell totally delicious.
DIY ROOM FRESHENER
– 1 lemon, cut into pretty thin slices
– couple of springs of rosemary
– approx. 1 tbsp. of vanilla extract
1. Fill a saucepan with water. Add the lemons, rosemary & vanilla.
2. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down to a simmer. The water will evaporate in a cloud of amazing smell over the course of the next 2 hours or so. Keep an eye on the pot every now and then so the water doesn’t completely evaporate. Breathe deep and enjoy.
Chelsea Handler is hilarious and apparently the world’s greatest liar. Her coworkers and friends – who wrote this book together about the times she’s full-blown made up the most ridiculous stories ever, which they believed 100% – seem like they love her despite this. And “Lies That Chelsea Handler Told Me” is just another in the series of Chelsea Handler books that made me laugh out loud.
In a small paragraph written by Chelsea’s coworker and panelist Heather McDonald about her breakfast, though, I read: “You slice the bagel, scoop out all the carb-infested middle, then toast what’s left, and pile on light cream cheese, tomatoes, and cucumbers, and a hint of fresh lemon juice. You get all the crunch and flavor with half the calories!” This, of course, spoke straight to my heart.
My parents had this gorgeous dinner party last night, and Brendan and I slept over afterwards, and for breakfast this morning I came down to the bagels and coffees for us from my dad. My parents had everything for these Heather McDonald bagels in their fridge, so there you go. I wasn’t feeling great so I made these, got a glass of fresh-pressed OJ and went upstairs to have breakfast in bed, which was exactly what I needed. When’s the last time you had breakfast in bed? Make this and Treat Yo’ Self.
BAGELS A LA HEATHER
– Bagel
– 1 tbsp. capers, chopped
– 2 tbsp. cucumbers, chopped
– 2 tbsp. tomatoes, chopped
– thin layer of cream cheese
– squeeze of lemon
1. Scoop out the “carb-infested middle” of the bagel. Toast.
2. Add a thin layer of cream cheese, cucumbers, tomatoes and capers. Top with a squeeze of lemon and enjoy.
I’m finally back after nine days of one of the best vacations of my life. This is the second summer in a row that I’ve gone up to Cape Cod, and I hope that this is the beginning of an awesome summer pattern. It is so unbelievably gorgeous up there, so relaxing and just so charming. Here’s what I did for the past week and a half:
– Read 3 different books and 1 new screenplay
– Ate some of the best food I’ve ever had and did not cook a single thing
– Went bike riding, much to Brendan’s delight
– Saw JAWS on the Cape but didn’t see any sharks in real life, luckily
– Had at least one lobster roll a day
– Averaged 13,000 steps until my goddamn fitbit battery ran out of juice (obsessed)
– Slept until about 10am most mornings
– Spent EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. on the spectacular beaches of Chatham
– Got to have some serious quality time with my mom, dad, little sister, boyfriend and family friends – and what’s better than that? I love you guys – thanks for a wonderful vacation!!
