This German Girl's Kitchen Staple

I love this stuff.  Words cannot express how much I really and truly love Altmeister Seasoned Vinegar.  It used to be this stuff was insanely difficult to find, and I can remember when I was younger that if anyone in the Thummprints crew stumbled upon it somewhere multiple bottles would be purchased.  Now it's a little easier to find, either at the global food market or the neighborhood grocery; though I must admit that I sometimes have to suppress the urge buy multiple bottles and hoard them away like a squirrel does walnuts.

It gets used a lot in all of the different Thummprints homes - for everything from marinading flank steaks to dressing up sliced tomatoes.

Marinade for Flank Steak

Ingredients:

Altmeister Seasoned Vinegar

Olive Oil

Salt

Pepper

Shallots

Flank Steak

Directions:

1. Lightly score flank steak and then place steak into a Ziploc bag.

2. Drizzle in some olive oil and then some vinegar, toss in some shallots and BAM! you're done.  (Making a marinade, at least in my home, is all about eyeballing it.  I'm sure there's a ration involved - but I just keep adding until it looks right.)

3. Let marinade for at least an hour (the longer the better).  Sprinkle steak with salt and pepper before grilling to your preferred level of done-ness (well, medium well, medium rare, rare).

Dressed Up Tomatoes

Ingredients:

Altmeister Seasoned Vinegar

Olive Oil

Ground Pepper

Maggi Wurze (another Thummprints household staple) or Worcestershire Sauce

Directions:

1. Get a little Tupperware container (or a bottle that you mix salad dressing in) with a tight lid.  This recipe is all about shaking things up.

2. Reader's choice:  you can peel your tomatoes and then slice them, or just slice away at them.  They're better without the skin - but I find the whole process of peeling a tomato tedious (but worth the reward).  However you slice them make sure the end up in a wide bottom bowl (you want the tomatoes to lie as flat as they can).

3. Pour a little olive oil into your Tupperware container, add some Altmeisters, ground pepper and a two dashes of Wurze (or Worcestershire sauce).  Cover with tight lid and shake the heck out of it, until everything is blended.

4. Drizzle over sliced tomatoes - there shouldn't be enough dressing to cover the tomatoes because you still want them to taste like tomatoes . . . just more fancy.

Naked Delight

How's that for a title?  Has everyone out there enjoyed a Naked 100% juice smoothie?  If not, I have no idea what you're waiting for.  They're fantastic.  Beyond fantastic; basically they're "to fantastic and beyond!"

I must admit I do have my favorites, and if I were more brave I'd try some of the ones that make me a little squirmy.  I've always been a "try something once" kinda gal when if comes to new food experiences . . . but if I'm honest sometimes it takes quite the wind up for me to succumb and try it.  I'd really like to say that I've tried ALL the different smoothies put out by Naked, but there's a HUGE hitch in my plan and it goes by the name Green Machine.

I really think my whole "fear" of this smoothie has everything to do with its color and the scene from the 1999 remake of The Thomas Crown Affair where Catherine Banning pours a green smoothie out of a bottle and it's lumpy.  I think it scarred me for life. *shudders* Rationally I know Green Machine will not be lumpy and that more than likely it will be wonderful . . . and yet.  One of these days I'll get over it and enjoy all that it has to offer.  Just not today.  Or tomorrow. 

The only thing that Naked doesnt' have going for it is the price per bottle.  They're not exactly cheap.  It's been on sale as of late at my local grocer - so I've been indulging.  It's summer.  It's hotter than hot - so cold perfectly blended fruit juice smoothies hit the spot. 

I should probably go ahead and make me own smoothies . . . but that would require me to get a better handle on my morning routine.  Maybe I'll give it a whirl after I get some pointers from my good buddy Marenarunner about all the different smoothies she makes over on Meredith Eats Weird Stuff.  I'm very interested in the coffee/chocolate/banana smoothie she ends the post with.  I ♥ me some coffee.

ps - eventually there will be an actual food/recipe post. I'm still getting used to my new kitchen and my lack of natural light (unless I go out on the balcony).  My photos have been a little . . . off, but I think I've got it figured out. 

Bruschetta ala Julie & Julia

If you've seen Julie & Julia you know all about the above scene, and more than likely it sparked a need to not only have bruschetta but specifically the bruschetta featured in the movie.  It looks mouthwateringly good - not to mention fresh and light.  The perfect thing for those of us in United States who are trapped under the "heat dome."

It is oppressively, horribly, sickeningly and outrageously hot outside.  The heat index has been in triple digits for days.  My air conditioner has been running a lot; this month's bill will be a hard pill to swallow.

It's so hot I can't bear the thought of cooking a hot meal after I get home from work.  Heating up the house just to eat seems unnecessary and cruel.  My grill has been dormant for days and will remain so until Mother Nature's fever breaks; honestly the thought of grilling in this weather makes me want to weep.

Enter my need for food that doesn't require me to slave over a stove (or grill) all the while heating up my humble abode.

After scouring the web for the "perfect" Julie & Julia bruschetta I stumbled upon an article over at The Atlantic about how to make the bruschetta featured in the movie.  My heart sang.  Let me tell you - it's as every bit as delicious as the picture makes it out to be.  It's juicy, messy, tangy, fresh, crunchy and lovey.  It's really the perfect summer meal or appetizer.  If you love tomatoes you will absolutely die when you eat this.  Trust me.  As a former tomato hater (remind me to tell you the story about me, a tomato, and my highchair) this is one fantastic dish.

Bruschetta ala Julie & Juliet (originally found at The Atlantic)

Ingredients:

1 Red heirloom tomato
1 Yellow heirloom tomato
Plenty of fresh basil
Salt
Fresh ground pepper
Garlic clove, peeled
Bread; a rustic loaf with a stretchy, hole-y interior and a crisp crust
Olive Oil

Directions:

1. Cut the tomatoes into chunks, tear basil leaves into medium-small pieces (plenty!), and toss with olive oil. Let marinate for a while, and season with salt and pepper. Only use salt about 1/2 hour before using, as it will make the tomatoes release their juices, which you want, but not too much!

2. Heat olive oil in a skillet and fry the bread, or grill or toast it in a hot oven (400 F). Either way, try to get it crunchy on the outside while retaining some softness in the center.

3. Then rub it lightly or heavily, as you wish, with a whole garlic clove (the garlic will disintegrate into the bread since the coarse bread will act like a grater) and drizzle with the best extra-virgin olive oil (ONLY if you haven't fried it) and sprinkle with good sea salt and freshly ground pepper.

4. Spoon tomatoes over bread (I usually drain the tomatoes in a mesh strainer to reduce the amount of juice, just my personal preference). If the bread is really crunchy, let the tomatoes sit for a few minutes before serving to soften the bread.

The Tale of LindaG and the Wrong Bookcase

I think this all started because I was in a bad mood. Grumpy. Stressed out. A real Debbie Downer. I'm not really sure what sparked my grump-fest, but I doubt it had much to do with trying to figure out where I wanted to hang some pictures. My lovely, lovely mother was over and other than riding out my mood, she was trying to help me get some things done before she flies off and joins my father out in B-Ham for the rest of the horribly hot summer (here, not there). When it became apparent there would be no hanging of pictures, the subject turned to my stacks (and stacks, and stacks) of books . . . I needed yet another bookcase.

Seriously - it's an issue. I probably should have turned my second bedroom into a library and not a guest room. Who needs guests anyway?

So off we went to Weekends Only (a furniture outlet store) to see if we could by chance purchase a twin to the bookcase I'd purchased there earlier this summer. Somewhere around 45 minutes later (there was a lot of calling around and grumbling by the sales guy that waited on us) we had our answer: the only store in The Lou that had the bookcase I wanted was in Fairview Heights . . . Illinois. So against our better judgment, and racing the clock, we piled into my mother's car and set out across the river. You know, just a typical Sunday
evening drive.

Forty minutes and 34 miles later we were watching the crew in the loading bay open up the box so we could inspect the bookcase before we hauled it home. When it was unveiled my mother, quicker at blurting things out, announced "That's oak . . . it's the wrong shelf." There was some scrambling around, a quick look out on the showroom floor and a check of the computer told us that they only had the floor model (but they had it). My mother and I checked it over and deemed the bookcase in not that great of a condition - the front was pulling away from the sides (biggest concern) and there were some scratches.

Then the bargaining began.

Note: retail businesses aren't good with the idea of haggling. They have a buyer. A captive one. One that really wanted to leave with a bookcase. I gave my terms. It wasn't worth what they were asking - not in the condition it was in. They wanted me to pay the full price and then give me a $30 gift card. Ah, what? No deal. The long and the short of it is I left without a bookcase.

Then, mainly because it was dinner time, and possibly so the whole adventure wasn't a waste of time, LindaG and I had dinner at Casa Gallardo . . . and the saving grace of the whole night was the Avocado Ranch Dressing that came with the Ensalada de Casa. Seriously if you live in The Lou - go and have a salad at Casa, you'll love it! I also recommend the Chunky Chicken Quesadilla Platter.

After dinner we zipped back to The Lou - purposely going by Busch Stadium in the hopes of catching a few notes from the U2 concert; again no dice. 

All in all our Sunday night was a bit of a misadventure and as my mother took the turn into my parking lot she said, "You know, we could've spent all that time in the pool."

Moving Announcement

So - I moved a bit ago (like a few months) and I picked this cute key announcement to, well announce, that I've moved.  I love the skeleton key (I used to collect them when I was younger - I have no idea why), but I especially love the fact that not only does this post card have my address, but I can include my phone number, website and email. Genius!

If you like what you see and you're moving sometime in the near future, or you just want to see what else you can find in Snap Pea Imaging & Design's Etsy.com shop, click here.

Star-Spangled Fruit Tart

My coworkers don't have to twist my arm too hard to get me to bake something and bring it in.  Usually it's centered around a holiday (just like the Cinco de Mayo Cupcakes) and this time was no exception, 4th of July is right around the corner you know.  Like Monday.  Can I just ask - what happened to May and June?

My co-workers really, really, really LOVED this tart, as denoted by the "mmmmm" sounds and the marriage proposal I got.  Noreen and Stephanapolis really liked the almondiness of the cream cheese . . . not sure I'm completely sold.  I like almonds but for some reason the almond flavor in this reminded me of marzipan - you know the strange German candy that is shaped into fruits, pigs and whatever else you can think of.  It is not my favorite.  It gives me goosebumps, and not in a good way.

If you're looking for something light and delicious that will sure be a crowd pleaser this weekend, I highly recommend this.  You'll bowl people over, not only with the taste but with the presentation (I mean, ain't she a beaut?).  It's a snap to make; once you're finished arranging the berries how you want, just pop it in the fridge and forget about it until it's time to serve.

Star-Spangled Fruit Tart (originally found at Taste of Home)

Ingredients: 

1 tube (18 ounces) refrigerated sugar cookie dough, softened

1 package (8 ounces) Neufchatel cheese, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 cup fresh blueberries
1 cup fresh raspberries
1 cup halved fresh strawberries (I had to quarter some of mine)

Directions:

1.  Press cookie dough onto an ungreased 12-in. pizza pan (I used  a tart pan and it worked wonderfully).

2.  Bake at 350° for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.

3.  In a small bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar and extract until smooth. Spread over crust.

4.  In center of tart, arrange berries in the shape of a star; add a berry border. Refrigerate until serving.