The Foodie Files

Contrary to what reality television would have you believe, there's a very real reason New Jersey is called 'The Garden State'.  The area where I grew up is part of that reason.  Call it nostalgia if you want (though I prefer to call it extremely good taste), but I firmly believe some of the best produce in the world comes from New Jersey.  Throughout my childhood- and even now as an adult- my favorite of that produce has always been Jersey sweet corn and tomatoes.  There's just nothing like it!  So when my roommate mentioned a recipe she came across for a savory corn and tomato pie, my ears perked up real fast.  Since I'll be up north for the first few weeks of July, I wanted to test kitchen it now so as not to waste valuable Jersey goodness on a sub par meal.  I switched out a few ingredients and changed up some of the measurements from the original recipe but the resulting pie was delicious!  It would be fabulous in a brunch setting but honestly worked great as the main dish when I whipped it up the other night.  It just tasted like summer to me...mmMmm....so good.  And bonus, it's completely vegetarian (which has become increasingly important to me as the number of vegetarians in my life keeps increasing.  Pray for them.  Kidding.  But seriously).

Ingredients:

6 medium tomatoes (I used an 'on the vine' variety)
3-4 ears of sweet corn (depending on size)
3 TBS fresh basil, chopped
1 3/4 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt
2 TBS fresh lemon juice

2 sheets pie crust (I used Trader Joe's Brand)
2 TBSP melted butter for brushing on the crust

Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  Whisk Greek yogurt and lemon juice together and set aside.

Slice the tomatoes into approximately 1/4 inch slices.

Cut corn off the cob.

Secure the bottom layer of your pie crust in place and add half of your tomatoes, corn, basil and cheese one layer at a time.

Salt and pepper to taste then repeat this process, adding the remaining ingredients one layer at a time.  Drizzle the Greek yogurt and lemon mixture over the pie, then add the top layer of crust.

Cut a vent in the center of the pie, then brush with butter.  Bake for 35 minutes at 400 degrees.  And there you have it!  Easy as pie.

The Amazing Race(Cation): Part 1

I've made quite a few references to the Amazing Race themed road trip I recently planned for Jess and I, but I wanted to go into a little more detail so you can see just how amazing it actually was.  I went all out on this one, folks.  Honestly, I'm not even sure what came over me but I hope it comes back soon cause this was- hands down- one of the coolest things I've ever put together.  Luckily I came up with the idea almost a month ago cause this isn't the type of project you can pull off at the last minute.  At least I couldn't of...I would've lost my mind.  I spent a little bit of time everyday planning our challenges, pit stops, and the logistics of the trip itself and then designing, printing and organizing the material I came up with.  By the time it was done, it was easy to see how a little time here and a there added up to 1) A lot of time and 2) Something exceptionally cool.  Here's the breakdown of what I did:   

After doing a bit of research on our route, I picked out a few cities that might be fun to stop in and looked into activities we could do there.  My criteria was simple...nothing more than a mile off the highway, nothing that cost much money, and nothing that would take too long.  Once I selected our stops, I got to work fashioning them to fit into an Amazing Race format, which first and foremost required awesome envelopes for each leg of the trip.  

Next, I made Route Info pamphlets to put inside the envelopes.  In short, those are cards that contained a clue about our next check point, a map of our destination, the approximate travel time and a few challenges for the road.

I had way too much fun coming up with road challenges...they varied from "Listen to this themed playlist I burned" to "Learn some Italian", the goal (of course) being to keep us entertained while the time passed.

Since I knew even the trickiest challenges would only hold our attention for so long, I included an "Additional Challenges" packet as well and explained that we had the entire duration of the trip to complete it.

Inside the packet I included a few games (Trivial Pursuit and Brain Benders), and a "Top 5-10" checklist we needed to fill out which was by and large my favorite activity.  Here's how it worked...first, I came up with an extensive list of favorites (favorite historical figures, favorite snack foods, favorite Halloween costume you've ever worn), goals (hobbies you'd like to take up, countries you'd like to visit, things you want to learn) and opinions/observations in general (nicest people you know, most influential mentors you've ever had, happiest moments of your life thus far).  I printed it off with an empty check box next to each and the goal of the game was to complete the entire page and write the corresponding answers in the included journal.  I called it "Top 5-10" because, while I wanted us to both give our top 5 answers, I knew some would overlap and I tend to get very technical...even in games where I write the rules.  It's the cross I must bear, I suppose.  I took the last two elements of the Additional Challenges packet straight from the Amazing Race show itself (more or less).  I included five "detours" (challenges), three of which we had to complete.

Lastly, I included a Fast Forward card that would allow us to skip any checkpoint if, for whatever reason, we wanted to.  While we didn't end up having to use it, I knew Jess would sooner fall asleep at the wheel and crash than allow us to somehow loose our own game...so this was an absolute necessity.  

Once I had everything printed out, I numbered each check point envelope and separated them into two larger envelopes...one for our trip there, one for the trip back.  After that, all that was left to do was to put everything in a handy dandy canvas bag for safe keeping and call it a day (or month, depending on how you look at it).

In order to keep this post from going on forever, I decided to breakdown the game itself today and tell you about our actual trip tomorrow (where we stopped, what we did, what challenges we were able to complete, etc).  It's gonna be a fun post so don't forget to check back in!   

If you're interested in planning your very own Amazing Race themed trip, let me know and I just might be able to help.  We offer a full set of design services and would love to assist you in your planning...just shoot me an e-mail! 

Mirror, Mirror

I'm not sure what deserves more blame for my recent lilac obsession...Pinterest, fashion magazines or the copious amounts of syndicated Friends I've been watching lately (it's the color of Monica's apartment, in case you didn't get that reference).  I used it pretty heavily as an accent color here, but I just love how feminine (and trendy) it is!  Also, this shirt is awesome.  Love it.  

1. Color Block Jersey Top, CLU $180  2. Round Plastic Sunglasses, Topshop $32  3. Do You Lilac it Polish, OPI $5.30  4. Low Rise Skinny Jeans, MiH Jeans $230  5. Color Block Purse, Topshop $15  6.  Triangle Earrings, ASOS $13.26  7. Cage Arm Cuff, ASOS $19.88  8. Circle Ring, ASOS $13.26  9. Platform Court Shoes, Topshop £35

Get It Together: School House Rock

1. Locker Baskets, Zinc Door $165  2. Carlyle Chandelier, Z Gallerie $229  3. Albers H. Pillow, Naomi Paul £140  4. Albers A. Pillow, Naomi Paul £140  5. Double Sided Throw, CB2 $49.95  6. 18 Drawer Storage Cabinet, Zinc Door $1,749  7. Geography Lesson Chair, Anthropologie $380

All Set: Father's Day

We have lots to catch up on.  Lots and lots.  But before I get to the Amazing Race themed road trip I planned or our time in Miami or Disney World (it was as fun as it sounds), I need to backtrack for just a second.  Yesterday was Father's Day and since I was gone all last week I didn't really get a chance to address it properly.  It's no secret that I adore my Dad.  I mean, I'm the Daddy's Girl of all Daddy's Girls...Queen of the Daddy's girls, if you will.  So I couldn't pass up the chance to do a Father's Day themed All Set (you didn't think I already forgot about our new monthly series, did you?).  I don't know if you've researched it lately, but there isn't exactly an abundance of inspiration out there for masculine place settings.  I suppose I see why in theory, but if something's worth celebrating it's worth celebrating right and I can't think of a single thing more impressive (especially in this day and age) than a great father.  I hope you put a pin in some of these ideas (figuratively speaking...or literally I suppose, hello Pinterest) for your belated Father's Day celebration, your Dad's birthday, or just a random night you set aside to appreciate any strong male figure in your life.  My favorite touches were the cigar boxes, the match books and the tie-like fabrics we used for the tablecloth and napkins.  Did you get to do anything special for your Dad yesterday?  Do tell!

Design Musings

Happy Friday!

The week (and consequently, my vacation) is coming to a close.  Which is kind of a bummer for me but definitely awesome for you so I won't get all pouty about it.  I wanted to jump on here really quick before the week ended to say a big thank you to Patricia from Condiment Magazine, Kate from Undeniable Style and Rin from Papered Thoughts for guest posting for me this week.  They did a great job, don't you think?  I'll tell you all about our trip this Monday (it was too fun...good heavens) and we'll resume our usual editorial calendar (including, of course, Working For The Weekend) next week. Can't wait!