Gougères Délicieux...aka Cheese Puffs

My copy of The Little Paris Kitchen by Rachel Khoo arrived and I made the most delectable and scrumptious recipe today. Gougères...these little cheese puffs are as light as a cloud, and wash down so smoothly with a cold pinot grigio {ok a bottle, a bottle of pinot - there, I said it}. I {heart, heart, heart} this book so much - from the photography right down to the soft white stock of the book - il est magnifique!

Want a little mid-day getaway? Check out Rachel's blog for some lovely inspiration...

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Just For Me?

Coco picked a perfect bunch of daffodils for me today.  Left a nice bare spot in the flower patch but that's beside the point!  I'm so glad to see flowers starting to bloom {smile} and warm weather is just around the corner {smile even bigger}.  Thanks Coco, these posies made my day!

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I {Heart} DIY

FINALLY!!!...Thank you Lord for letting me finish these projects, AND, they actually aren't half bad. First off, my weapon of a cutting board - this thing has more glue than all of the elementary schools in town put together. It's beautiful, delightfully heavy, and the contrast of the walnut and purple heart woods came out better than I thought. I cannot wait to take out all my vegetable aggressions on this thing. And, it can always double as a self-defense device in a pinch.

Lastly, my little 50's table with hair pin legs - oh, how I love you. I didn't love you when I was making you...um, and cussing at you...but the end result, sweet! Definitely a labor of love as many times as I had to redo cuts on this table but worth it...I guess. OK, yes...worth it!

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Chop House

So it's been awhile since I've posted about my woodworking journey.  My infamous 50's side table is basically done but I'm waiting on an unusually warm day to put the poly on outside so that I don't kill myself with the fumes inside {then I wouldn't get to enjoy my table so what would be the point}? Finally, I will be able to put the lovely hairpin legs on and {voila!} - it will be done - then I'll post the pic...stay tuned.

My current project is the lovely 2" thick end-grain cutting board crafted from walnut and purpleheart.  My hearing has almost returned from running these hard-a*# boards through the planer - I think everyone in a 30 mile radius heard it.  What?  Did you say something?

I've almost plucked all the splinters from my fingers too - so basically, I can't hear and my fingers are polka-dotted-red from digging around with a needle.  This is so much fun.  Anyway, next class, I'm looking forward to gluing more than 20 strips of the wood and clamping it to form the actual cutting board.  So, let's recap - I can't hear, I have needle marks on my fingers from splinters, and it's likely I will have to peel a gallon of glue off my hands and arms, of course the skin will come with it.  Did I mention this is really, super, some kind of big fun?

It's going to be a beaut when I'm done - I may not be, but my cutting board will...

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J'aime la petite cuisine de Paris

My new obsession...no not really...well actually yes, I think I may stalk her - Rachel Khoo from The Little Paris Kitchen. Rachel is a professionally trained chef as well as a writer and lives in a teeny tiny flat in Paris. Did I mention she always wears crimson lipstick {I heart her}.

By chance, I caught her show on the Cooking Channel {by way of BBC, where all good shows start} and she's been my DVR's favorite ever since! Mademoiselle Khoo brings quirky English mannerisms right through the tv as garlic is flying around the kitchen and she's crawling on the floor to access her one and only kitchen outlet. Her kitchen is completely amazing to me because it's the size of her arm span - she can pretty much touch wall-to-wall. It's outfitted with a portable 2-burner gas hotplate, a small toaster/convection oven and a sweet little icebox...and let me not forget her vintage white enamel bowl that she simply cannot do without. Parisian magic comes out of that pint size kitchen - it's really unbelievable! Her recipes are all classically French {Julia Child would be so proud} but with a Rachel Khoo twist - AND - they are super easy with few ingredients.

The Little Paris Kitchen cookbook hits shelves in the U.S. at the beginning of February - yes, I've pre-ordered mine and will be waiting impatiently by the door for the mailman on its scheduled delivery date - as a matter of fact, I may go down to the end of my street and wait at my neighbor's house because the mailman starts his route there. Good idea...weird...but good.

Est-ce que tout bruit n'améliore pas en français de toute façon ?

video courtesy of You Tube; Choquettes - The Little Paris Kitchen

Putting the Fun in Fungi

Nothing says party like fugi.  I think this is so FUN {get it?...ok, I'm making myself sick with my stupid puns}.  Anyway, Williams-Sonoma {heart them} sells these logs that are inoculated {love saying that...inoculated} with shitake mushroom spores.  So you can order this log from them for under $30, soak it in water and you can harvest these delicious mushrooms every two to three months, for two to three YEARS {yes people, YEARS}!  It's the gift that keeps on giving.

Do you think they had this in the 60's and 70's....party!  I'm just sayin...

image courtesy of Williams-Sonoma

Doin' A Little Jig

After many weeks, tears, scrapes, bad words and therapy my 50's side table is coming along. This picture is actually from a few weeks ago but it's still relevant being that I've been cutting box joints, or shall I say, fixing the box joints for weeks on the table saw. There is now a light at the end of the tunnel because I'm ready to sand and glue next week...hallelujah! Whoever said woodworking is relaxing is dead wrong...I'm just sayin...

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Face Time

What were your two favorite words in grade school? Snow day? Yes, but no. No homework? Yes, but no again. FIELD TRIP {oh yea}! Coco's class was lucky enough to go to the Renaissance Festival yesterday and she came home with a lovely colorful mask on. Her spending money was burning a hole through her pocket but was well spent on not only face painting, but she scored two pairs of earrings and a pepsi...and came home with a whole 4 bucks in her pocket. That's my girl.

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Torture Chamber

No, this is not some sort of torture device eventhough it looks like it! What you see is the progress of my woodworking project, duh. Just a recap, I'm making a 50's inspired side table out of walnut with hairpin legs, exciting isn't it? I have successfully cut down the wood, ran it through the jointer, and glued the pieces together to form the top/bottom and sides. Tonight, it's all about planing the wood and cutting it into the proper sized pieces to form the actual table. Oh the pressure! The hairpin legs are also on their way so it looks like my little project is coming together...I wasn't sure it would happen.

However, there is still treacherous territory I have to cover - making a jig tonight to cut the box joints to attach the top/bottom to the sides. I'm shaking in my safety glasses here! God speed.

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My Sweet

What a better way to spend a cold and rainy day then going to get Hot & Now's from Krispy Kreme.  The Hot & Now light is like a shining beacon that possesses some magical force that literally makes you pull into the parking lot and run through their door knocking down anyone that gets in your way {or is it just me?}  Nah, Krispy Kreme has it going on...since 1937.

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