Karma Correction

Admit five things embarassing about myself to make up for talking shit in the last entry.

1.Favorite Genre of Music: Christmas
2.My leg hair is pretty much 1/4 inch long right now (gross)
3.Our house is like 800 sq. feet and we have 5 mirrors
4.I call my dog Kenny-Binny-Boom-Bah (very ridicilous)
5.I throw pizza boxes in the recycling bin even though its against the rules

Shit Talkin'

People who don't pick up after their pets
George Bush
Gizzards
Losing Lottery Numbers
BOSTONS FLORAL EXCHANGE

This isn't the first time I've wanted to see a florist pushin' up daisies. Liar liar pants on fire.

Confession

So, you know about this?

( Sam is my favorite. Until Alcede shows up.)


Well, I've read Dead Until Dark, Living Dead In Dallas, Club Dead and Dead to the World in less than a week. I've never read so much so fast in my life. I feel a little weird about this. I feel like now that I know I can read this much, I shouldn't be reading vampire trash. I have been to the bookstore twice in the last 4 days. I have 4 down, 4 to go. And the ninth comes out in May of next year. This is worse than Harry. I didn't know it came worse than Harry.

Making Stockings

Baby steps to make stockings out of an ol' Goodwill pile. Can't wait to finish them.

Snowman.
(made with American Apparel leisure shirt, H&M red denim, H&M pin stripe vest, Rural t-shirt, Lux wool skirt)



Elf.
(made with American Apparel t-shirts, American Apparel bandeau dress, Lux wool skirt, H&M red denim).

Clementine & Blood Orange Juice

I got this bad boy at the Peddelers Mall across the river for under thirty bucks. It's a brand new hundred fifty dolla' Williams Sonoma juicer and it's radddd. Since the Clementines are flush this time of year, why not juice 'em and drink 'em.

This guy +



These "lil' cuties" =


Not a lot of juice. But it was raw and refreshing.

Spoon Mixin'

Yukon Gold Mashed Potatoes, Butternutt Squash Granny Smith Soup and Cranberry Orange Chutney. One bite. Yumm tumm tumm.

Our Thanksgiving

We stay home on Thanksgiving. It's nice.

On Thanksgiving 2008 we made a delicious mess in the kitchen,


Dressed Mary Jane up super cute,


Recreated our favorite meal at INO in New York City,



Listened to some of this,


And also ate waffles, asparagus mushroom risotto and apple pie.

Self indulgence is my speciality. I am thankful for my skillzz in the kitchen.

Keep 'Em Going.

It takes love, time and money to create a magazine. They have love. They make time. Give them money. Come party for Bejeezus 'cause they deserve it.

12twelve12twelve12

Read a 12.

Brookefast Sandwich (I am so corny. I love it.)

So we only had one egg left on Saturday morning and I wanted to make my man a delicious breakfast. I scanned the fridge and saw some habanero cheese, whole wheat english muffins and some sriracha. Solution: Spicy Ass Egg Sandwich. We bought these little egg circles (totally not the right name for the utensil) at Williams Sonoma last year and, man, did they come in handy last weekend.


Ingredients:
One Egg
Whole Wheat English Muffin
Cheese
Sriracha
Cracked Black Pepper


Yum Yum Tumm.

Bloggin' for Butchertown

So I know I mention Andy and Alicia a lot lot in my blog, but that's because they're like our siblings. We all live under the same roof, drink from the same wine bottle, have the same BFF's and walk the same dog (dog might be plural soon.... . .. hint hint). Well I'm not sure if I mentioned that Andy is the President of The Butchertown Neighborhood Association, which means that Alicia must be First Lady and also means that we live in the equilivalent of the White House. Anyway, he's all for removing the stink, cleanin' it up a bit down here and throwin' a big ass Butchertown Fesitval to raise funds toward neighborhood development and to bring more attention to our humble hood.

Since this week was the official blog launch, I'm asking you all to visit the blog and add yourself as a follower. There's not much to see right now but we're hoping it to be the start of something collaborative and beautiful. Also, if you are a Butchertown resident (Williary..hmhmhmhm) and want to guest blog at some time, please let us know. Community involvement is encouraged. So please, click here

Cornelius looking Presidential

Excited for Our Mantle!

So J and I have these friends in Indianapolis, Tom and Sheri Battista. Aside from being amazing people and philanthropists (side note: Tom was the tour manager for the P-Funk and now tours with his pal Jimmy Buffet) they have a collection of personal portraits that overwhelms any house guest! For every year that have been married, they have had an artist/friend do a portrait of them. When J and I were delivering his Battista portrait, we were inspired to do the same while eating Tom's homemade pizza in their portrait/dining room. (I wish I had a picture of their dining room). Even though it seems somewhat egoist to have a bunch of portraits around, it was quite touching to see such a personal one-of-a-kind collection. It not only documented their life together, but each portrait is a memory and a story of a friendship (tear, sniff sniff).

So our first portrait was from our buddy Kyle Ragsdale in Indianapolis. We did an art trade with him for our first Vaughn-Pierce portrait:



The second year of our marriage was a blur with us moving to three states in less than 7 months, but I'm thinking that Hillary Harrison might need to revisit the "Ketchup and Mustard" photos if she's up for it! But alas, here is portrait number two! Thanks Dobson Family, we love it and we love you!

Anniversary Brunch

(This tastes a whole lot better than it looks)


It's been 3 years since the little Asian woman announced us married by haiku in downtown Seattle. We're flying to Chicago in two weeks to really get down and celebrate the occasion, but opted to have a comfortable fall day at home this October 14th. First meal of the day is Vegetarian Biscuits & Gravy on Whole Wheat English Muffins with Cheesy Potato Casserole and some Jackson's in our french press. Although this isn't the most healthy of choices, the meal was fucking wonderful. Now I'm sitting here, completely satisfied with life and love and I blog.



Cheesy Potato CasseroleIngredients:
I bag of shredded potatoes
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
3/4 cup organic sour cream
1/2 yellow onion (diced)
1/2 stick unsalted, organic butter (melted)
1-2tbsp. cracked black pepper
8 oz. shredded organic cheddar

Directions: Preheat oven to 350. Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Put mixture in a casserole dish and back 45min-hour.




Vegetarian Biscuits & GravyIngredients:
1 cup green lentils
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 of yellow onion (diced)
1 small red bell pepper (diced)
1/4 cup carrot (diced, but shredded works too)
2 cloves garlic (minced)
1/4 heaping cup of unbleached all purpose flour
1 -2 tbsp. ground black pepper
1 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp ground yellow mustard seed
1+ tsp red pepper flakes
1/8 tsp dried sage (crumbled)
2 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup ranch dressing (I use my extra ranch from Puccinis when we order take out, use whatever)
3-5 tbsp. sriracha (depending on your love for the hotness)

2 whole wheat english muffins (or you can do the whole biscuit thing, but my way is healthier)

Directions:
Bring lentils and 3 cups water to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer just until tender (30 min). Drain, and set aside.
Heat oil over medium in large skillet. Add onion and cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add bell pepper, carrot, and garlic, and cook 5 to 8 more minutes. Whisk in flour, black pepper, paprika, mustard, red pepper flakes, and sage. Stir constantly for about a minute. Add half the milk. Stir until it is well combined (2-3 min). Add the rest of the milk and do the same. Stir constantly until gravy comes to a gentle boil. Remove from heat. Stir in ranch dressing, sriracha and drained lentils.

Split and toast the whole wheat english muffins. I prefer to spoon the gravy on top, but you can pile it and eat it like regular ol' b&g if you want.

Lettin' You Down

So, I have to apologize. I've been cooking up a storm for the last month but our new crib has shitty light. Shitty light means shitty photos. And who wants to look at shitty food photos. The whole point of posting food pictures and recipes is so that I can share the goodness. And maybe, just maybe, some one will want to come over and visit and let me cook for them (residents at 806 E. Washington excluded as I cook for them whenever I'm feelin' it).

Recipes I have had recent success with :

Spaghetti and Meatless Balls (vegan)
(this one is awesome. no meat supplements either. the balls are made with chick peas and they taste kinda amazing)
Pumpkin Walnut Bread
Biscuits & Gravy (vegetarian)
(made with lentils. this dish is pretty much the best vegetarian breakfast item i have ever had)
Black Bean Chili
(spicy and contains soba noodles)

I'm sorry that there are no photos to tease you with. I'm not sure what this means for the future of my food blog. But I can tell you that I have a cook book coming out in early 2009. And that my food is awesome so you should come eat some.

Turtle Power: Why I love Alicia Pahl

We were all sitting down watching the presidential debates last night, having some wine, eating some cookies. And as Andy makes a comment as to how weird John McCain's arms are (something about being joystick operated), Alicia says "he has baby hair." It's fucking true, John McCain's hair looks like the hair my 9 week old daughter's; thin, fine and forcefully combed to the side. Shortly following that brilliant observation, she remarked that he also resembles a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle. J followed this with an astute "have you noticed how many times this dude blinks." Real life humor, right here. I'm pretty sure he sets some kind of world record for most blinks per second in a Presidential Debate. I don't think I can take this man seriously. And I'd rather have a pizza fueled "hero in a halfshell" as a president than straight lipped, blinking Mr. Robotto. Just sayin'... . .. .

Fuck Disney, Who Wants to Grow Up?

So I am one of those people who believe children have a right to a childhood. And fuck Disney, Pixar and such for treating children like adults. Although sarcasm and humor has its place in life, I would much rather my daughter learn it from her family than from some computer generated image with doe eyes. Yes yes, I own a few Disney classics: Lady and the Tramp, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White. But believe it or not, I have some sexist beef with even those films. Always a woman as a villan, we've all heard it before.. . . .blah blah.

But this was supposed to be a post about how excited I am about molding my daughter's mind. For those of you who don't know, film was my concentration in college. I've been planning a viewing list for my children for over 5 years; I haven't even been married that long. I have to admit, I'm much more of an academic than a romantic so my excitement always came from disecting a film, rather than indulging in the audiences perception of it. Nonetheless, I am truly excited to treat little Mary Jane to the images of Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin and Shirley Temple.

Andy Shines in the Dark

When we arrived back home on Monday night (we thought for sure that the power would be on within 24-48 hours; we live in Louisville not Houston, right? ), we opted for a candle lit game of Scrabble. Andy kicked our asses.

Indianapolis Hard Core Refugees

Once the news hit that over 270,000 people in our county were without power, J, Andy, Mary Jane and I decided that we would rather eat well than fight for tea lights and ice bags at the only grocer in town with power. So we all packed up Sunday night and went to Indianapolis for dinner at Yats and breakfast at Taste. Not knowing what to do with ourselves and our spare time, we opted to play dress up.

Family Debris

So, the power was gone from Sunday thru Thursday. The Ohio looked like a swarming sea as we crossed the bridge back home. Butchertown didn't smell like the sweet mixture of meth, burnt bacon and bleach for quite a few days; We actually were able to open the windows!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

There is this lovely bakery in Indianapolis, Indiana called Rene's. Albert, the owner, is a great guy with some amazing desserts. I fell in love with his fruit tarts a few years ago and he gifted a few hundred of them to us for our wedding reception! They were perfect little treats tucked in between the large cupcake and orchid centerpieces....mmmmm. Well once I moved past the fruit tarts, I found that just about everything he makes is as delicious as the fruit tarts. But by far my favorite item in his kitchen are the Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins. I have never asked him for the recipe, but here is my own attempt.

Ingredients:
3/4 cup vegan cane sugar
1/4 cup organic canola oil
2 free range eggs
1 cup canned organic pumpkin
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 cups unbleached flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 - 1 tsp ground ginger
1 -2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 - 1 tsp fresh ground nutmeg
Pinch of salt
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
( I didn't have clove, but that might be a great addition 1/2 -1 tsp of ground clove)


Preheat the oven to 350. Grease large muffin tin. Whisk sugar, oil, eggs. Add pumpkin and water. In separate bowl whisk together the baking flour, baking soda, baking powder, spices and salt.. Add wet mixture to dry mixture (like you would when making Chocolate Chip Cookies). Do not over mix. Stir in chocolate chips. Fill large muffin cups 3/4 full with batter (should yeild 6 muffins). Bake in preheated oven for 35 to 45 minutes. Let cook for 15-20 minutes. Turn out and eat!

Bejeezus 12 Tease: Pac Man Ghost

Well, think I'm going to make this one with sugar crystals as decor instead of icing. The colors are right, but they look sloppy. I can bake but I'm not too great at the decorating part. MIght help if I had an icing kit.....hmmmm, something to add to the Christmas list. Oooo, I am proud to say that we did make our own cookie cutters. Overall, this is a cute idea but not an ideal cookie. Trying with colored sugar crystals soon.

Bejeezus 12 Tease: Spooktacular Pumpkin Roll

So, the theme of 12 is "Ghosts". My PacMan Ghost Iced Sugar Cookie is coming soon, but for now you are left with the Spooktacular Pumpkin Roll (adding a make-believe adjective qualifies this sweet treat for the ghost category, right)? I'd like to give you the recipe, but you sorta need to just buy Bejeezus 12 when it hits the stands. And you know I'll let you know when it hits the stands!




This particular roll is not vegan, but the vegan version of this recipe will be posted soon. Since I am not including the vegan recipe in Bejeezus 12, I feel no obligation to hold it back. I just need a little time to perfect it. Hold those horses!

Butchertown Yikes

Kennedy, Mary Jane and I were on our morning walk around the neighborhood and we saw this.



I've seen, smelt and heard quite a few creepy things around Butchertown... but this might top them all. There was the zombie cyclist with a cocked head and unblinkable bloodshot eyes, the 'special', cross-eyed man who lives at the blue, corner Meth house that walks his trash 5 block away to dispose of any evidence, and the wife-beater wearing kid who beats on his woman in the 1300 block (he has silver balls attached to his ol' truck). Oh Butchertown, how I love your color.

Not Bloggin'

So, there are a few reasons that I haven't been prioritizing my blog: First reason being Mary Jane Rebel, Second reason being the early August move to The 806, Third reason being our new booth at Crazy Daisy Antique Mall.

Since there's not piles of cash laying around the house, we decided to work our ass off and make some. Our booth at Crazy Daisy is the kick-start to our daughter's travel/college fund. We want to make sure she has enough money to do what ever her heart desires when she is 18. So, we're buying crappy old furniture and making it look a whole lot better. Forgive us, the booth is a little skimpy right now but it'll be filling up with more vintage goodies real soon. Whoo who!

But I solemnly swear to go to the grocery and cook something wonderful next week that I can share with my readers. Who knows, maybe I'll bake some goodness too.

Bejeezus Issue 11

Hey hey, Bejeezus 11 has hit the stands. And to be honest, it is the best looking one yet (thank you Mperfect). If you want to buy one from J or I, holla. Or you can subscribe here. It's cheap, it's local and it's radd.

Awesome

Our daughter is amazing. This shit is exciting. (Your money shot, Jessica).

Home and in Good Company

Alicia and the babe.

Sam and the babe.

We're home! We have to administer IV drugs for a few days, but at least we're all home. Thank you Sam and Alicia for doing our laundry, making us meals and being amazing and supportive friends. J and I are running off of 6 hours of sleep in the last 48 so forgive us if we aren't on top of returning phone calls or e-mails. Goodnight Blog.

Mary Jane Rebel Pierce

She's here! We can't believe it's a girl! But we're pretty stoked. There is some fluid in her little lungs and she has to spend some time in the NICU before she can be released to the public. But she's strong and we're hoping to have her home by Saturday.

Raspberry Nectarine Pie

J's favorite dessert is a Raspberry Pie. He asked me for one this weekend. This never happens so I obliged speedily. But I, of course, had to mix it up a little and add some nectarines in the mix. The real Raspberry Pie is baking today, but the Raspberry Nectarine was last night's masterpiece. J picked up some Vanilla Gelato from Cafe Glace and we (the inseparable four who share a common goal of 806 E. Washington Street) snarfed it down while watching "Not Francy" get stuck for $15,000 on Weeds. It was a good night. (Might have been better if I would have had a baby).

Recipe: (For Crust)
2 1/2 cups Organic, Unbleached Flour
1 1/2 Sticks Unsalted Butter (cubed, cold)
1/2 Stick Earth Balance Shortening (cold)
1/2 tsp salt
5 tbsp (+) cold water

Put all ingredients into a mixer or food processor and mix/pulse until the mix is mealy with some pea-sized buttery lumps. Then add the 5 tablespoons of water and stir or mix until just combined (do not over mix). The dough should stick together. If not, add another tablespoon of water and mix a little. Repeat if you have the same issue. Once dough sticks together (but isn't sticky) separate it into 6 parts on a piece of large wax paper. Push in a forward motion on all six parts to spread the fat out a little. Then mix all parts back together into one ball. Last, separate into two balls, wrap each ball in wax paper and let chill in fridge for an hour.

Filling:
3 organic nectarines (cut into 1/2 inch wedges)
2 cups of organic raspberries
1/2 lemon squeezed for juice
1/8 cup granulated quick-cooking tapioca pearls
1/8 cup corn starch
3/4 cup sugar

Throw the nectarines and raspberries in a large bowl and toss with the lemon juice. Whisk the tapioca, starch and sugar in another small bowl.

Preheat oven to 425. After an hour of refrigeration, pull out the dough balls and roll them out on a lightly floured piece of parchment with a lightly floured rolling pin. Once you roll your pastry balls out, mix the fruit with the sugar mixture and have ready to go. Put one rolled-out piece of dough in the bottom of the pie pan. It works well if there is about 1/2 inch of dough around the edges after you fit it in place in the pie pan. Pour fruit filling in dish. Cut the other rolled-out pie dough disc into long strips and weave it on the top of the pie filling. Mush all the dough that hangs over the edge with your fingers into some kind of orderly shape.

Bake the pie on a piece of foil for 20 minutes at 425. Then turn the oven down to 375. Lightly cover the pie with foil so your crust doesn't burn and bake for another 40-60 minutes. You know what a pie looks like. So, when it looks done you should pull it out. Let it cool for an hour or two. Serve warm with Vanilla Gelato. Yum.

Like a Kid in a Candy Store

Beautiful knobs look delicious.

Striking
Candy
Milky

Mesa Remodel

I'm getting pretty crafty. I'm almost getting so crafty that I deserve my new nickname, "Ready Made" (thank J for that one). But mostly I'm happy that I'm finally knocking out my to-do list.

Paint ugly, peeling orange table in bathroom - check.

Aunt Jemima No More

So my brother and I grew up making this stuff at least once a week. It's easy.
You simply pour all ingredients into the bag,
knead the plastic bag and pour contents
into the included baking pan.







But recently I haven't been able to locate this nostalgic treat on the grocer shelves. Normally I would avoid box products and opt to make my own anyway, but pregnancy brings on nostalgic craving in full force and I've wanted this particular Coffee Cake a few times over the last nine months.

It seems that my brother and sister-in-law have recently had similar cravings and found themselves "lucky" when they discovered one of these mixes in my mother's pantry. (Side note: My Mom and David travel for a living + Mom doesn't cook + David, being the Minnesotan he is, hordes food for years = Pantry full of good intentions). Poor Ryan and Heather; It should have come to no surprise that said Coffee Cake mix was possibly older than our youngest brother.

So, as an Ode to Ryan and Heather, I created this:

But I have to be completely honest here. I also first attempted these:
These were my attempt at making a Vegan Coffee Cake. I was a little let down with the overall flavor (as I am craving a specific taste) and so I then created a homemade Coffee Cake with regular ol' ingredients. I have to say, I am rather pleased.

For the Vegan Crumb Cake Recipe I used, click here .
I will be making another Vegan attempt at this breakfast treat. I just need to do some research.

Recipe:
(For Cake)
1 cup unbleached flour
1/2 cup vegan cane sugar
1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt (I used kosher, but I think granulated salt would be better)
1 stick unsalted butter (room temperature gooey)
1/2 cup soy milk
1 large egg

(For Crumbs On Top)
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
Pinch of salt
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons unbleached flour


Preheat oven to 400. Grease a 8x8 or 9x9 baking dish. Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Mix together butter, soy milk, and egg with whisk attachment in mixer. Then mix in flour mixture until just combined. Pour batter into greased cake pan of your choice. Then make your crumb topping. Whisk together butter, sugars, cinnamon, and salt until smooth. Add flour. Mix with your fingertips until looks like a crumb topping. Sprinkle crumbs over top of cake. Bake cake until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Cool in pan on a rack 5 minutes. Eat.