RAV-enous

Bonjour! Oh wait...that's not Italian.

Giada in all her cooking goddessness.  

Time to get down with the cooking side of this blog jawn.  One of my idols is Giada Laurentiis, I own every one of her cookbooks, carve out a solid hour to watch her on tv almost everyday, and am planning the best way to accumulate every piece of her new cookware and products for Target.  She just makes seriously good and easy food, PLUS she's classically trained, meaning she can talk the talk and walk the walk.

Last week on an episode highlighting food off the coast of Italy, she made ravioli from scratch filled with roast chicken in a basil and olive oil sauce. Sounds like waaay to much effort right? NOT.  The pasta is made from flour and water.  Chicken and tomato sauce makes me gag a little, so I did my own classic filling for these lil guys.  Not to mention I got to use a round cookie cutter that I picked up at one of the antique markets with my sister!

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups of flour (and extra for dusting)

1 cup boiling water

1 cup fresh basil chopped

6 or 7 tomatoes cut into small cubes

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1/2 onion, chopped

1 1/2 cups ricotta cheese

3/4 cup shredded parmesan

1 egg beaten

salt and pepper

The raviolis:

Combine flour and boiling water and mix, the dough should be firm and not sticky, set aside for 10 minutes.  Roll out on a floured surface until its very thin.

 Mix ricotta, parmesan, and 1/4 cup of the basil in a bowl.  Place a teaspoon of the mixture in the center of your dough, creating flaps for folding over the top.  Brush around each mound with egg wash, and fold the dough over towards the middle, pressing around each mound to seal.  Using a round cookie cutter, carve out the raviolis, pressing around the edges to seal in the filling.

Drop raviolis into boiling water until they float to the top.  This means they are ready.

The sauce:

Saute garlic and onions until translucent, add chopped tomatoes and stir, cooking on high heat until sauce  thickens slightly.

Add the remaining basil, and salt and pepper to taste.

 

With a slotted spoon, add raviolis from the boiling water directly to the sauce and toss gently.

Serve up with a sprinkling of parmesan cheese for extra deliciousness.

The finished product!

These raviolis made from scratch are so easy to make and will impress even the most discerning Italian.  Use wheat flour for a healthier pasta, and take advantage of the sweet and juicy tomatoes that grow like crazy in the Summer months.  This is a great way also to use tomatoes juuuust about to turn!

Ciao!

When my extraordinary sister moved to the Reading area a few years ago, my visits usually consisted of afternoon naps and sushi dinners (not a bad deal i'd say).  It was only in the past few weeks that I discovered a hidden gem that is quite plentiful around her home, antique markets!  No, these are not your run of the mill markets where you spend all day digging through crapola to come out with one cool trinket and smelling like rust.

These collections of chatchkes have everything from iron skillets small enough to cook one egg to piles of vintage jewelry that could make even the flashiest of bubbys swoon (i was in heaven obviously).  

So instead of celebrating my 21st with the usual frippery, i binged on baubles.

Some of the saweeeet selection at Shupp's Grove, don't ya just wanna pile every piece on?  Would that be too much?  Obviously a rhetorical question...

That's alotta coca cola...

If i knew anything more than how to sew a button, i would be all about this vintage sewing kit.  Peep the cool green case.

this baltimore woman, aptly named Coco had a gorgeous collection of gold pieces.  i was dying for one of her vintage engagement rings complete with wedding dates and inscriptions.  she was so sweet and i was so happy to catch her during closing at Renninger's Antique Market.

Seriously if you're looking for some unique pieces for absurdly low prices, check out these two antique markets, plus tons of others in the area. Post about my own purchases coming soon, gotta snap some artsy pics...not.  

and now I leave you with this...

My sister's raucous lab Bailey trying to escape the bathroom stall.  He was successful in case you were wondering.

Come on Irene!

So I have a personal vendetta against this Hurrican Irene chick!  I was supposed to go on vacation with my dad this weekend, but as Maryland is on a state of emergency, our trip had to be postponed :(

No worries!  We went to Kennett Square to walk around and I got some amazing Kelsi Dagger boots (will post a pic as soon as I get out of this brick fortress known as my humble abooooode) and some fruits and fresh baked wheat bread from the farmers market!  Plus I got seasons 2 and 3 of Sex and the City!! 

In the spirit of Irene approaching and the fabulousness that is Sex and the City, here are my hurricane essentials (some sensible, some obviously dreams).

1. Burberry Prorsum Trench (http://www.catwalkqueen.tv/2007/03/exclusive_to_ma.html)

2. Diptyque Feu De Bois and Figuier Candles

3. Trivial Pursuit! (fun even with the power on!)

4. Bat Torch *no batteries required! (http://www.thisnext.com/item/B96EF018/B7E14CC2/Bat-Torch) 

5. L.L. Bean Duck Boots, classic and functional

Welp, stay dry, hope you got your lifetime supply of powdered milk, canned peas and bottled water! Come on Irene!

A Side of Fries: A Biography

As much as I can't get enough of skinny blondes with California tans and Ray Ban aviators posing prettily in their Acne leather jackets and sky high Jeffrey Campbell chunky heels, I can't help but ponder WHERE HAVE ALL THE REGULAR GIRLS GONE!?

Do they not have style?  Are they too normal to be fabulous? Welp, not that I'm regular, but I like to shop just as much as the next shiny haired yet slightly aloof girl.  Not to mention my affinity for tearin' it up in the kitchen!

SO. This is a blog for girls like me...and you, broke students who like to look cute, eat, and be happy.  Hope you can appreciate that :)