WAKE UP : Chocolate, Almonds, & Chai

I absolutely adored living in Hampden. It celebrates its history with Honfest and the what it's becoming with Hampdenfest. An entire block bursts with Christmas spirit every November and December (okay, and with people and traffic). It's also extremely walkable. My favorite thing to do on weekend mornings was walk to the avenue and grab a breakfast sandwich and peanut butter-banana-chai smoothie from Common Ground.

Lexington actually reminds me a lot of Hampden. The streets of Lexington are a decorated a bit better than 34th street in the 21211. But the streets are lined with locally-owned and operated stores and restaurants. Instead of the Charmery, we have Pronto- and Pronto sells WINE. You may not be able to get kangaroo tartare like at Corner BYOB (seriously so good), but you can get a lamb trio with Mindoro blue polenta and kalamata olives at The Red Hen. 

Eventhough I am quickly developing an obsession with the breakfast and smoothies at Kind Roots, they don't have chai smoothies.  Recently, I tried Arbonne's Chocolate Protein Shake mix and I loved it. It also packs 20 grams of vegan protein, 20 essential vitamins and minerals, and a low glycemic index! 

As good as the mix is plain, I knew it could be better. The addition of chai spice and almond milk make all the difference. It the perfect morning wake-up and keeps me feeling full until my lunch-break. It's also so creamy that you would swear it was mixed in a blender with ice cream. The best part is you don't actually use a blender, which means you don't have to clean a blender!

To make your Chocolate-Almond-Chai shake, put 9 ounces of almond milk in a pot over medium heat.

Add two chai tea bags or 1.5 teaspoons of loose tea to the almond milk. I use a mixture of Samurai Chai Mate and Maharaja Chai Oolong from Teavana. Heat the tea mixture, stiring occasionally, until fragrant.

Remove the teabags (or strain the tea), let cool, and store in the fridge in an airtight container.

Once the tea mixture is cool, add the protein mix to your favorite shaker.

Next add the almond-chai tea. You can also add a scoop of almond butter, peanut butter, chia seeds, or any supplements like fiber or calcium. 

Once you've added everything you want, screw on the top and shake it up like Daniel Craig just ordered a martini.

Enjoy your delicious shake and start your day!

If you are interested in purchasing the Arbonne Chocolate Protein Shake mix, reach out to your independent consultant.

I buy my products from Stacey Molli and you can too at www.staceymolli.arbonne.com! 

Thanksgiving Game Plan

This will be my first year hosting Thanksgiving dinner. I'm a little nervous, and not just because my kitchen currently does not have a floor. Really. All of the baseboards in my kitchen are being ripped up. Hooray for water damage.

As excited as I am to share my new home with my family, I'm really worried about is cooking the turkey. I've been told it's easy, but my main Thanksgiving duties are usually limited to pies and Brussel sprouts. 

This year's menu may be a bit ambitious, especially when you consider that I'm only cooking for five people...

R E C I P E S : Bresse-Style Turkey | Brioche Stuffing | Potato Gratin | Sweet Potato Casserole | Green Bean Casserole | Lemony-Cherry Salad | Rum Pie | Pecan Pie | Pumpkin Pie .

You may be thinking, girl has no idea how much food is too much food. But you are wrong. I know this is waayyyy too much food. My goal is to have enough leftovers for at least a week. So I'm about 92% sure that I know what I'm doing. 

For the other 8% I'm taking a few short cuts and making a game plan.

Living in Lexington means even buying shortcuts need a game plan. I'm buying the cranberry salsa, gravy, whipped sweet potatoes (so all I have to do is spice and top with marshmallows), mac & cheese, and the rum pie's graham cracker crust pre-made. Since I live over an hour from the closest Fresh Market, that's a good amount of travel time to work into Thanksgiving prep, but TFM is totally worth it. Sorry Kroger.

For the things I may not be able to find at Kroger or TFM, there's D'Artagnan. I've recently become enamored with D'Artagnan after receiving their duck confit legs from Plated.  I bought their Duck & Veal Demi-Glace, Duck Fat, Duck and Armagnac Sausage, and Wild Boar Sausage for the big day.

I am also buying the Rye Whiskey Caramel Sauce from Terrain, because making my own caramel is certain to set off the smoke detector. 

Lastly, I'm asking my favorite local cheese shop, Cheese to You!, to curate a charcuterie plate for the big day. It will be amazing without a doubt, my only concern is that I'll eat it all absentmindedly throughout the week.

With all my shortcuts in place, here is my game plan for a successful Thanksgiving day!

Monday: Make pie crust dough for pecan pie and pumpkin pie. Make and freeze rum pie. You can also make (and devour) a practice pie. Don't forget to pick up charcuterie fixins (unless, of course, your favorite cheese store is restocked on a regular basis). 

Tuesday: Grocery time! Pick up preordered items (Turkey, Cranberry Salsa, Mac & Cheese, Cornbread, and Sweet Potatoes) and rest of grocery items. Fry shallots and make the mushroom mix for Green Bean Casserole. 

Wednesday: PIE DAY!! Bake all the pies, make the salad (dressing and all), then make the stuffing (but leave out any liquids), blanche the green beans, and par-cook the turkey.

THE BIG DAY: Mull cider (which will make your home smell lovely) and add bourbon. Finish making stuffing and stuff the turkey. Preheat oven to 375 and cook potato gratin and sweet potato casserole; raise oven temp to 425 and cook green bean casserole; raise temp again to 475 and roast turkey. Cover all dishes with foil to keep warm after removing them from the oven. When carving the turkey, return other dishes to oven and turn the oven on to warm dishes. 

Now I'm at 100% confidence for hosting Thanksgiving. After all, where could a turkey covered in duck fat go wrong?

DIY : The Everything Leash

I've had a lot of fun making leashes recently.  But Dixie is a monster. She wants to run around constantly, go everywhere, and do everything. So I wanted to come up with a leash that would help me keep up with my ferocious little teddy bear.

I developed my  "everything leash" based on our life in Lexington. Every Friday, I take Dixie to Law School Flag Football where they have beer and we occasionally bring wine. I can't have Dixie darting away to see her furends and pulling her leash that I happen to be holding in the same hand as my drink. Nobody likes a spilled drink. 

She LOVES her furends and the W&L campus! The hands-free leash comes in handy when obsessively taking pictures too.

Dixie and I also go for a long walk on Sundays with two other dogs. One of the dogs is a black lab named Ace and Dixie will follow him everywhere and copy everything he does. This means I can usually let Dixie off leash and she and Ace will happily trot ahead sniffing all that can be sniffed. For longer walks or hikes, when I need to bring a backpack, I still like to have both hands free in case I trip, which happens quite often, but also want the leash to be longer so she can have a bit more freedom.  

Pin It! The "Everything Leash" by Hello Darlings

The "everything leash" is my perfect solution!   It can be worn around the waist, cross body, hooked to a purse or backpack, and, yeah, as a normal leash (boring). I also use it as a slip leash after Miss Dixie's bath while she's drying off and doesn't have a collar on. And as soon as the boyfriend lets me get another dog, I can use it as a double walker! 

To make your own, you'll first need to decide how much rope to use.

Begin by measuring 4 to 6 feet (depending on how long you want your leash to be) plus 6 inches of rope and mark it with tape. Then measure how much rope you will need to go around your waist (in addition to the 4-6 ft & 6 ins), add two inches for comfort, and mark that with tape as well. Next, add 1 foot and mark it with tape. Finally add 6 more inches. This is where you will cut your rope. I've marked what each section of rope means on my leash below, except for the extra 6 inches on each end. That will be folded back under the clasps.

The tape marks you previously made are where the rings will go. Use industrial glue to connect the ring to the rope. I like to open the braid a bit and stick the ring in the middle of the braid. Next, use cotton rope (and more industrial glue) to secure the ring. 

For the rest of the instructions, check out my original DIY Dog Leash post!

Happy DIY-ing!

Butternut-Bacon Soup

Crisp air, falling leaves, and the holiday season are upon us. It may be too early for Christmas music, but it's never too early for cozy dinners with friends and family. A couple of years ago, I wrote about how French onion soup was my favorite comfort food. Okay, maybe it was my senior year of college, and maybe it was four years ago, and maybe I'm freaking out that I've been out of school that long. 

French onion soup has cheese, bread, and alcohol. It's hard to beat. But it can also leave me feeling heavy. That's why this bacon-butternut squash soup is my favorite feel-good food. It has all the comfort of soup and will fill you up without so much hearty-ness. Is that a word? Probably not.

It also has bacon in it. And bacon is everything. 

In the warmer months, the last thing I want to do is be stuck in the kitchen making a long recipe. Once the temperature drops below 60, that's all I want to do. Even though this takes less than an hour to make, there's something oh so comforting about hanging out in the kitchen on a cold day (preferably in leggings, an oversized sweater, and camp socks that Dixie hasn't chewed a hole in) and having the entire house smell delicious.

There you have it. A delicious smelling home. Good feels. Bacon. Why haven't you already started making this?

Did I mention the bacon?

 Ingredients 

• 1 butternut squash (2.5 - 3 pounds)

• 1 white onion

• 1 red bell pepper

• 1 pack uncooked bacon (at least 8 slices), divided

• 2-3 tablespoons cooking oil, divided

• 3 cloves garlic (or 3 teaspoons minced garlic)

• 2/3 teaspoon dried thyme

• 32 ounces chicken stock

• crumbled goat cheese, optional

• chopped chives, optional

Directions:

1. Prep for cooking. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Peel, seed, and chop your butternut squash into 1-inch chunks. Roughly dice your onion and red bell pepper, and discard the pepper seeds. Divide your bacon in half. Roughly chop 4 slices into 1-inch squares and chop the other 4 slices more finely. Mince garlic cloves (or just buy minced garlic because mincing garlic is terrible).

2. Toss the Butternut squash, onion, and red bell pepper in a bowl with 2 tablespoons cooking oil (I like to use hazelnut oil).

3. Lay the 1-inch slices of bacon in a single layer of your baking dish, the pour the squash-onion-pepper mixture in the baking dish over the bacon.

4. Roast the squash-onion-pepper-bacon mix until the squash can easily be squashed (or mashed with a spoon if you aren't into puns). This will typically take 30-45 minutes. After 13 minutes, check to see if the bacon is good and crispy. Once it is, stir the mixture so the bacon is mixed in and the yummy bacon grease coats the other veggies.

5. While the veggies are roasting, heat a bit of oil in a Dutch oven or stock pot over medium-high heat. Cook the remaining bacon. Set the bacon aside on a paper towel when it's good and crispy. Try not to eat it all while cooking or feed it to your dog like I did. Reserve 1 tablespoon bacon grease from the Dutch oven/stock pot.

6. When the veggies are done, heat the reserved bacon grease over medium heat. Add minced garlic and thyme. Cook until fragrant. Optional: while the garlic and thyme are cooking, mash the squash mixture with a spoon in the pan.

7. Add squash mixture to the Dutch oven and stir to combine garlic and thyme. Gradually add chicken stock and blend with an immersion blender.

8. Once all the chicken stock has been added and the soup is blended and smooth, turn the heat to high and bring it to a boil, stirring occasionally.

9. Once the soup has thickened a bit, remove it from heat. Serve with goat cheese, reserved bacon, and chives.

10. Enjoy with a cozy blanket by a fire.

Enjoy darlings! 

Spooky Martini

The best part of Halloween isn't the costumes. It's the candy. I actually think having to come up with a costume is the worst part. But the candy is more than worth it. 

I know we probably won't get a lot of trick or treaters, but that doesn't stop me from buying bags on bags of candy. I try to think of creative uses for all the candy, but I just end up sprinkling it on cupcakes, stuffing it in cookies, or mindlessly eating twelve twix bars while watching SVU. Twix bars are my favorite.  

But a girl can only eat so much candy before she starts having nightmares about cavities. It was only logical to start putting candy in my drinks. I had everything I needed at the Lexington Cafe & Bar.

Okay. The Lexington Cafe & Bar is just the bar cart in my living room. But as soon as I figured out how liquor stores in Virginia worked, it became a pretty well stocked bar cart. I'm willing to argue that's it better stocked than some of the bars in town. What bar doesn't stock Ginger Beer. In 2015! AFTER the Moscow Mule and copper mug craze! No excuses. 

you will need: 

To make your martini, fill a shaker with ice, and add two part vodka and one part lychee juice. For one drink, I use two shots vodka and one shot juice from the can.  if you want something stronger and not as sweet, you can use three shots vodka to one shot lychee juice. 

Give the shaker a good, virgorous shake unil it is cold and frosty. Pour a bit of vermouth into your glass. Swirl it around so the vermouth coats the inside of the glass and pour out the excess. Strain your lychee martini into the glass. 

To make your spooky lychee eye balls, stuff one gummy in the center of each lychees. Blueberries also work well in place of gummies. 

Poke a cocktail stirrer through the your lychee eyes and sit the stirrer on the rim of your glass. You can also just drop the eyes into your drink. 

Enjoy your delicious adult beverage responsibly and eat the eyeballs when you're tired of your drink staring back at you. 

Happy Halloween darlings!