Tim Burton

Now that it's only two days till Halloween, we carved our pumpkin!

We decided to carve the classy Jack Skellington from the Nightmare before Christmas due to his simple lines and because we just saw the Tim Burton exhibit at LACMA.

 

Inflatable Tim Burton piece at the LACMA

The Tim Burton exhibit was really interesting, creepy, and fun! We loved seeing his point of view and would recommend seeing this exhibit before its' doors close at midnight this Halloween! Tim Burton Exhibit Info

Romeo and Juliet by Tim Burton

This is probably one of the sweeter paintings by Tim Burton, which I adored!

Warmly,
Jamie

Quiche

Quiche is one of my favorite dishes to make ahead! So the night before I cooked all the veggies and grated the cheese. Then in the morning, I assembled the quiche and threw it into the oven while I got ready!

Below is the recipe I used, but really you can substitute what vegetables and cheese you prefer or have in your fridge.

Photo taken by mom

Vegetable Quiche

1/4 cup chopped yellow onion

3 cups of raw spinach

1 package of crumini mushrooms

1 large Italian squash

1 cup of cheddar cheese

1 cup of jack cheese

2 slices of bacon

1 frozen pie crust

5 eggs

3 tablespoons water

salt and pepper to taste

Turn oven to 350 degrees. The crust will be need to be par-baked to avoid raw dough in the middle, so first poke holes into the crust to let air escape and cook for 7 minutes. Place a layer on cheese on the crust.

Cut the onion and mushroom into bite size pieces and saute till golden, season with salt and pepper, place into pie crust and layer cheese on this. Repeat with squash, spinach, and bacon. **This part can be done the night before and place into fridge.

Combine eggs with water, salt, pepper and beat with whisk, then pour on top of the veggie/cheese mixture. Cook for 40 minutes or until the eggs are fully cooked!

Enjoy!

JB

The Getty

This weekend we had company in town, so visiting the Getty was a must!

The only fee is to park your vehicle, then you take a tram up the museum.  Most of the buildings were made of these large white stone blocks with clean edges, very bright inside, and quite expansive.

 

My favorite part about the museum is their gardens! Here is a photo of the stream that runs through their shaded garden.

Then the stream empties out into a pond below the geometric hedge. The bottom of the pond has pennies in it, where wishes were made! I did throw a penny or two in..

These metal sculptures with bougainvillea are very striking in person! I am able to weld, so this project is even more impressive to me--knowing the time it would of taken to build these and them being able support the weight of the plant too.

You can find out more information about the Getty here.

Warmly,
Jamie

Herb Box

Ryan and I have have a cozy roof top deck that's great to entertain on and gets ample sunlight, so a few succulent pots decorated the patio in no time! To ensure it didn't get too crowded, we added hanging herb boxes instead of having them on the ground.

Home Depot had everything to make this work--the planters are supported by the metal box that clips onto the balcony and no screws were needed to mount it.

We planted rosemary, lettuce, basil, parsley, fennel, and mint and they have made their appearances in a few dishes too!

Maybe we will plant some seasonal fruits and vegetables this spring!

Warmly,
Jamie

There's no place like home?

Over the past few months, I have seen these sparkling ruby heels hanging from telephone wires across LA and they were recently hung up two blocks from me!

I first assumed it was a tribute to Wizard of OZ or marketing for Wicked coming back to LA, but I was wrong. After some research, I found out it was artist Manny Castro promoting his new show "This Hollywood Life." The whole story and more photos can be seen here.

I do enjoy spotting theses shoes while stuck in traffic and reminisce about one of my favorite movies while growing up...

Warmly,
JB

Chicken Stew w/ Biscuits

In the midst of craving everything yesterday, Ina Gartner's chicken stew with biscuits recipe came to mind and I had to make it that night!

I usually alter most recipes, since I'm cooking for fewer people than the receipe calls for or use what I have in the kitchen or cut down on cost and time.

So here is my take on Ina's chicken stew with biscuits and it would comfortably feed four with a side salad.

Chicken Stew with Biscuits

1 large chicken breast

3 tablespoons EVOO

3/4 cup chopped onions

3/4 cups chopped carrots

3/4 cups frozen peas

2 1/2 cup chicken broth

1/8 cup half and half

1 teaspoon lemon zest

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon dried mustard powder

1/4 teaspoon white pepper

Salt and black pepper to taste

4 tablespoons of flour dissolved into 4 tablespoons of water

Pre-made biscuits

Directions:

-Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cook chicken breast for approximately 25 minutes in oven with EVOO, salt, and pepper. Cool, cut chicken into cubes and set aside. **Would be great to use chicken leftovers or a roasted chicken from the store. 

-In a stockpot, add EVOO and saute chopped onions until clear. Then add the carrots, chicken broth, spices, and bring to a boil. Add half & half and dissolved flour/water mixture, stir until thickened, and lower the heat to a simmer. After simmering for 5 minutes, add peas, chicken, then pour into a oiled casserole dish. 

-Turn oven to 400, then place pre-made biscuits on top of the chicken stew and cook for 15 minutes in oven.

Enjoy!

JB

Mushroom Soup

I am big fan of LA Restaurant Week, where you are able to dine at restaurants for a fixed price.  The restaurants participating in restaurant week can be seen here. Ryan and I treated ourselves to a lunch at Fig and Olive, which is where Obama ate at when he visited LA.

One of the many dishes we enjoyed was their mushroom soup, so I tried to see if I could recreate it. I altered a Wolfgang Puck recipe and it tasted very similar to the original and was delicious!

  

Photo taken by Katelyn

Mushroom Soup Recipe

1 lbs total of fresh portabello and crumini mushrooms

1 medium lemon

1 tablespoon EVOO

2 tablespoons of minced shallots

1 medium garlic clove minced 

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon pepper

1 1/2 cup of half and half

3/4 cup of white wine

1 3/4 cup of chicken broth

1 tablespoon of flour, dissolved in 1 tablespoon of water

Parsley, truffle oil, and baguette to garnish

Directions:
Combine mushrooms and lemon juice in a food processor and mince. Depending on the size of your food processor, this may need to be done in phases. 

In a stockpot, saute the shallots, mushrooms, garlic, thyme, salt, pepper in EVOO over medium heat until all liquid disappears approx. 12 minutes.

Then add chicken broth, wine, and half and half to stockpot, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes.

Dissolve flour in 1 tablespoon of water and once mixture is smooth, add to soup to help thicken. Simmer for 5 minutes.

Garnish soup with parsley, truffle oil and plenty of baguette to dip!

Enjoy,

Jamie

Trading up

To preface, most of my family gardens from succulents beds to English gardens to Mediterranean landscapes and I believe I have a green thumb as well!

I always have plants around the house and at work to help purify the air and they adds that je ne sais quoi to the space, but one of my house plants didn't do so well after I moved...

I swear it was the move, not my neglect! Luckily I bought this plant at Home Depot and if you save the receipt and it's in the same container, they will give you store credit for the dead plant! So my friend Fran and I meandered over to Home Depot and used the store credit towards a new indoor plant and container.

Currently this plant happily lives on my desk and I give it plenty of TLC, but I keep the Home Depot receipt in a safe place just in case....

Warmly,

Jamie

Lush

First time I discovered Lush was in Scotland and since they weren't in the states yet, we thought we needed to stockpile their products! We bought a few bath bombs, massage bars, dusting powders... 

Now they have stores across the US and counters at Macy's too. Lush has products for males and females and everything I have tried has been great. I am a sucker for face masks--the below smell fresh and minty and makes me look like the Wicked Witch of the West!

Lush's URL

What I love about Lush is that their products  are organic, no animal testing, minimal preservatives, smells amazing, and a decent price! Their staff is very knowledgeable and you're able to test most of their products in store!

Have you been in a Lush store?

Warmly,

Jamie

Barley & Almond Pilaf

Fall is nipping at my toes a.k.a almost 75 degrees in LA... A recipe I enjoyed when growing up was barley & almond pilaf, so I decided to see if I still liked it! I accompanied the pilaf with lemon wine chicken and roasted squash. The pilaf was great with its' depth of flavor and made me nostalgic of being young and would go great with a Thanksgiving feast! You could easily alter this recipe for guests with dietary restrictions like vegans, vegetarian, gluten free, etc.

Recipe courtesy of my mom:
1 cup dried pearl barley
3 T EVOO
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1 small onion chopped
1/2 cup chopped parsley
1/4 cup chopped green onion
3 cups of chicken broth or veggie broth
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Lightly brown almonds in EVOO, then set aside. Saute onions until clear, then add barley and lightly brown. Place browned almonds, onion, barley, parsley, green onions, salt, & pepper in a oiled casserole dish. **This can in advance and placed in the fridge overnight.

Pre-heat oven to 375. Heat broth until boiling, pour over barley mixture, then stir. Cook uncovered in oven for 60 minutes and enjoy!

Warmly,
Jamie