Spring Hasn't Sprung

By Natalie

As rain continues to fall and temperatures refuse to rise, I've noticed that the residents of Jersey City and Manhattan are turning into zombies. Mother Nature had graced us with spring weather just about a week ago; sunshine streamed down through bare tree branches, brown grass blew in a breeze that had only a hint of a winter chill, dried brown leaves, long buried in winter's blanket, once again poked into view. Now we find that Mother Nature was only teasing. March is certainly going out like a lion, and so I remind myself of warmer weather by revisiting that amazing week where we all ditched our winter coats and lolled about in parks, pretending it was already June.

I find that when the weather first turns to spring, I am hard pressed to spend time in the kitchen cooking an elaborate meal. Without the luxury of a yard (read: grill), the thought of standing inside over a hot stove is enough to make me run screaming, or at least stare longingly out the window while my chicken burns and my pot boils over. Best to make something fast and light. And what is faster than pasta?

One of my favorite pasta dishes incorporates a blend of roasted veggies and hearty meats. Here's a quick and easy recipe that's sure to get you out and about in no time at all.

Start by slicing any vegetables you have on hand into big, chunky pieces. My favorites are red onion, acorn squash, eggplant, and peppers. Drizzle with olive oil, toss with minced garlic, coarse salt, and freshly ground pepper, and roast in a 450 degree oven for about 40 minutes. You'll want the vegetables to begin to pucker into themselves, and the edges should be nice and brown.


Meanwhile, remove some Italian sausage from its casing and crumble into a hot pan, cooking until all pieces are browned. (Cubed chicken will work for this, too!) Use the back of a wooden spoon to break up any large pieces. Add the roasted veggies and toss to combine.


While the veggies and meats cook, boil a pot of your favorite pasta, something short and thick works well for this type of dish. When it is ready, reserve 1/4 cup of the starchy water and drain. Toss all to combine, add the pasta water as needed, and top with grated parmesan cheese before serving.


You're done! Now hurry up and eat so you can go outside. Oh, wait...what's that you say? It's a torrential downpour out there? Okay, well. Better drink some beer with your pasta and hunker down until warmer days decide to grace us with their presence.

My First Chef Crush, Jamie Oliver

by Emi


I discovered the British chef Jamie Oliver when I was in high school. The Food Network used to air his show, The Naked Chef, at really weird hours so it was always a treat when I could catch an episode. I fell in love with him because he was just this young, spunky chef who seemed really unpretentious and just wanted to make some good food. Probably being cute, driving a Vespa, and having a British accent didn't hurt either. On my return from Paris my friend Melissa took me to Jamie's restaurant Fifteen in London for my 21st birthday dinner. I was sooo exciting. It was like a dream come true. We had dinner at the Italian trattoria style restaurant upstairs, rather then the more haute cuisine that was served downstairs. We enjoyed our meal so much that we came back the next morning for breakfast! Next time I'm in England again, I will definitely be returning. Jamie's restaurants are unique in that the majority of chefs that work in his restaurants are basically at-risk kids. There was a big TV special in England about it. Jamie basically takes poor and usually poorly educated kids in England with an interest in cooking, and trains them to become chefs in his restaurants. If your into cooking like me, it was a really interesting program.



My favorite Jamie Oliver book is Jamie at Home. The book is all about cooking seasonally, and is split up into four chapters each pertaining to, yup you guessed it, the different seasons. What's really great about the book is that each chapter contains information about what fruit and vegetables grow in that season, how to grow them, and then how to cook them. It's all about the farm to table, but in this case your farm. It really inspired me to starting growing some of my own veggies. My first attempt was last year and I grew some super sweet and crunchy sugar snap peas. I ate them right off the plant and they were awesome. This year I'm going to be more ambitious and grow tomatoes, sugar snap peas, pumpkins, dill, arugula, garlic, and lavender. I'm hoping I might have space for a couple of other things as well. I love the idea of just picking the food fresh from your own garden. Nothing tastes better than when its that fresh.


Jamie has grown up a bit since his early Naked Chef days, and now has a new show on ABC called Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution. It's all about trying to change the awful food culture prevalent in a large portion of our country. It's no secret that America is seriously over weight, and that American's eat tons of awful fatty, chemically, artificially produced foods all the time. Jamie's show is all about trying to expose the terrible food habits to a community called Huntington, the fattest city in all of the US. There have only been two episodes so far, but it's pretty scary, sad, and entertaining all at the same time. I hope Jamie can make a difference because there are a lot of people out there that need to change. Check out this clip if your interested.

Travel Diaries

I have never been a diary or journal writer. When I was a kid, I might have attempted keeping a journal once or twice, but it never stuck. I just didn't really get the attraction. To me it just seemed like an invitation for people to read things you didn't want to share in the first place. Travel diaries, though I would say are closer to scrap booking. They are more about memories, then sharing intimate details. My friend Melissa, whom I went to Paris with, is into scrap booking, journals, stationary, pens, and all the accouterments. As a result while we were on our trip to London and Paris she gave me the super nice gift of a Louis Vuitton carnet de voyage (travel notebook) for my 21st birthday. I remember when she took out the chocolate brown box with Louis Vuitton on it and this beautiful cream ribbon wrapping the outside, I was shocked! The Louis Vuitton carnet de voyage is a beautiful, thoughtful gift for anyone who likes to travel, and wants to remember it with style.


Inside there are beautiful watercolor illustrations of the city of Paris, and a series of postcards, and a little brown pencil. When I came back from my trip I immediately printed out some of my favorite photos and added them to the book as well as writing down what we did every day. As a result I am now able to look at it any time I want and can relieve my trip through my notes and photos in a beautiful little LV carnet.




Just in case you were wondering, they come in a number of other major cities like New York, London, Tokyo, Mumbai, Rio, Athens etc... And you can purchase them here.


If your on more of a budget, but still want a great travel notebook, I highly recommend the Moleskine City Notebooks. They come in most major world cities, and they are nice and compact. Inside they have public transportation maps, important phone numbers and things like local conversions, a little pocket to hold small paper items, tracing paper, a well organized address section to keep track of hotels, restaurants, shops, museums, and the super helpful index of all the city streets and maps on a grid. I bought one when I went to Barcelona with my friend Liv last year, and it came in handy. I was able to map out exactly how we were going to get from the airport on public transportation and how to walk from the subway to our hotel. Which was great when your exhausted from flying and don't understand Spanish. It took a lot of the guess work out of the first couple of days in Barca, and I really liked the idea of being able to write down and keep track of all the cool little places we found along the way during our adventure. P.S. I lost it after a first couple of days on the trip during a frantic flight check in on our way back to Barca from Italy (that's a story for another time). I will definitely be purchasing another one the next time I go abroad. They are cheap, so I hope to make a collection and can keep adding to them as I make return trips to each city.

Lemons

By Emily


I've had an obsession with lemons lately. I love the look of lemons, and their versatility; the way they can can enhance the flavors of a dish ever so slightly with just a few swift microplane movements, or how they can perfume your whole apartment when roasted with onions. They have very much become a staple in my kitchen...which leads me to my latest recipe:

Roasted Striped Bass with Onions, Brussel Sprouts and Lemon

Merely a combination of random foods left in my fridge, I loosely constructed this dish from the following recipe. First off, I never have a full fish just hanging around...but a decent sized filet was ready to go in my freezer. Second, I love how onions mix with lemons, so I omitted the garlic (which normally I would deem as sacrilege), and added one medium-sized onion. Lastly, for a pop of color, the brussel sprouts that were quickly becoming the most impatient of vegetables in my fridge, were thrown in, and proved to be an excellent additive for their heartiness and nutritional value.

The result:
My BlackBerry was very jealous that it was not absorbing as much attention as usual...

Roasted at 500 degrees for approximately 20 minutes or so, I removed the filet to allow it to cool and prevent it from overcooking. Placing the pan of lemons, onions and brussel sprouts back in the oven, I decided to keep cooking them for a bit longer, to really mix the flavors and give all ingredients their fair share of cooking.

A bit of chopped parsley later...

...Delicious. All thanks to the lemon.

Just For Kicks

by Liz

Dear Rachel Comey Ipswich Slingback Brogue Wedges,

If I had $330 to blow on a pair of shoes I know I'd only realistically wear a few times, you would be mine.

All mine.

Love,
Liz


If you happen to be rolling in it, these puppies are available for purchase here.

Weekend Project

by Liz

This weekend I'm hoping to get some sewing accomplished (fingers crossed). I have a bad habit of taking on too many projects at once so I am going to attempt to start tackling them one by one. I think that by chronicling them here, it will help me cross things off my to do list.

Next up: Sew Tessuti's Favorite Top

Tessuti is a fabric store in Australia that also has a really great blog. They post about the new fabrics that come in the shop, pattern reviews, and pictures of things their clients have created with their fabrics. Lisa and Colette both purchased the same shirt and immediately fell in love. They were kind enough to draft a pattern for it so we can all have one.

I tried making this top a couple months ago and neglected to read their instructions about the seam allowances. I tend to get a little over eager with projects and just dive in. There was nothing I could do to salvage the top, my arms didn't fit in the sleeves!


I've since read the instructions over a few times and am hoping this time will be more successful. Wish me luck! You can download the pattern here to try it for yourself. Check back next week for an update from me. Happy sewing!

(Photos from Sew Tessuti)

French Fashion

by Liz

I've always had a fascination with French women and the way they dress. After Emi's post about Paris, perhaps this blog should be about our desire to be chic and European! As someone who is usually drawn to bright colors and loud patterns, the simplicity of this style really intrigues me. French women always look effortlessly cool and all have a certain "je ne sais quois." My dad's side of the family is French, so its about time I fully embrace it, right? Below are some sources of inspiration I've found to aid in my quest to accomplish my Francophile makeover.

Charlotte Gainsbourg is one of my major style influences. She was recently featured on WhoWhatWear on their Style Spotlight. The great thing about WhoWhatWear is that they include links to get the look, which helps me get that much closer to achieving my goal.



Besides having super cool parents Jane Birkin and Serge Gainsbourg, her half sister Lou Doillon has a really great sense of style too. I also highly recommend you check out Charlotte's music. Her new album IRM is currently in my rotation.

I can't write about French style without mentioning Garance Dore, a Parisian street-style photographer, blogger, and illustrator.

Her photos are of stylish people from all over the world and she did a really great interview with Joanna about how to dress with French flair.

**spoiler alert**
Garance tells us the secret to Parisian perfect style - confidence!
You can read it all here.

Shortly before the interview, Joanna posted that her new year's resolution was to dress like a French woman. I hope Garance's advice helped!


But even with all the right clothes and attitude, there is still more to the look. How do I get that perfectly mussed hair? The "I always look this cool" red lips? Thankfully Lucky Magazine came to the rescue with a step-by-step guide on getting the classic French look.

Now we all just need to find the perfect striped t-shirt and we'll be on our way to looking French-girl cool!

(Photos by WhoWhatWear, Garance Dore, The Sartorialist, and Lucky Magazine.)

Bridge and Burgers

By Natalie

Have you ever ordered a burger at a restaurant and been served a sorry patty of something-or-other on two plain, lifeless buns? There's nothing worse, especially when you were expecting a heaping helping of burger surrounded by folds of crisp lettuce, sweet tomatoes, crunchy pickles and tangy red onion. Past experiences have schooled me well, and now I know that the best burgers are made right at home.

Lately, turkey burgers have been my thing. While I am still perfecting the cooking of the burger itself (I tend to overcook the patty no matter how hard I try - suggestions anyone?) I like to think I have perfected the art of toppings. It's most fun to create a topping bar of sorts, where you can pick and choose which veggies you want to load on your bun.

First, it's best to keep in mind if you are cooking for yourself or if others will be joining you. You'll be sure to make a fast friend if say, you lay out some sliced jalapeno for that friend who loves a spicy kick, or grainy mustard for your cousin who hates ketchup. Anything goes!

My favorite toppings are fresh avocado, red onion, tomatoes, lettuce, pickles, and a flood's worth of ketchup. My boyfriend loves to add jalapeno, and of course, a few generous shakes of Tabasco. If you happen to have good cheese (no Kraft singles, please!) and something salty like french fries on hand, it never hurts to throw those in there, too. For a change of pace, try shoving all of this into a whole wheat pita instead of the typical hamburger bun. Taking that layer of thick bread away from the burger allows all of the flavors to really shine through. Don't get me wrong though, I love a good bun. All depends on the day!

Picking all of this up to take a tidy, lady-like bite can be rather difficult. Extra napkins are a must, and if that still doesn't work out, a good old knife and fork will do the trick.


Above is my latest foray into turkey burger land, complete with wine, tossed salad, and no judgements here, baked beans. Yum! There is no better way to pretend it is summer in these very early weeks of spring!

After shoving this huge meal into my face in about five minutes, it was only fitting that I try to walk off some of the calories. This weekend, I walked across the Brooklyn Bridge for the first time ever, all the while annoying the other passersby by taking an obscene amount of photos. Some evidence that I actually made it to the other side:


Having made it that far, I decided to ruin everything by eating one of these:

Totally worth it. To get your own honkin' roast beef sandwich, mounded with sauted onions, cheddar cheese, mounds of tender roast beef, and crusty roll, all double dipped in savory au jus, head to Brennan and Carr's allllll the way out in the far-away land of Gravesend, Brooklyn. Seriously. You should go. Now.

One of my favorite memories in Paris was the day that Melissa and I went to Montmartre. Atop Montmartre sits the beautiful and unique Sacre Coeur, which is an amazing church at the highest point in Paris. After climbing up the many, many stairs to see the church and awesome view of Paris, we walked around Montmartre. There we found one of the many similiar, yet no less exciting, streets lined with food shops. We decided to pick up a snack and stopped at a little cheese shop, where we bought some cheese aux poivre and a camembert which we were told was "Tre Forte!" (the camembert was pretty forte, and it proceeded to get stronger on the trip back to London. Melissa's father ate it a day or two later for breakfast, and it positively reeked! Normally you would think it's because the cheese went bad without refrigeration, but French cheese is unpasteurized so it doesn't need to be kept cold. It was just seriously stinky, but tasted good none the less.). We also stopped to get some pain au chocolat, brioche avec sucre, dark chocolate covered orange peels, and a 3,50 Euro bottle of red wine with a screw top (because we didn't have a bottle opener) at the French wine chain, Nicolas. We found a serene little spot in a small park that lined the middle of a street in Montmartre, and sat down to enjoy our little "French" feast. Afterward we realized we had chosen a street that was was home to a large number of sex shops, which definitely explained some of the weird looks and the maybe sarcastic "Bon Apetite!" we received. It was still delicious never the less.

I think weird little memories like this are what make trips fun and exciting. I like not knowing where I am, and exploring some place new on foot. I hope Natalie and Ryan will have some good stories to tell. Knowing Ryan I know there will be.

Une Belle Ville!

This post I'm dedicating to my fellow blogger Natalie, who recently booked a trip to Paris for late May. It will be her first trip to Paris, and abroad in general! And I am super excited for her and Ryan, because I love Paris. I was there about four years ago for just 2 1/2 days, but they were magical ones.

My friend Melissa and I took the chunnel from London to Paris, and arrived at the Gare du Nord, which is a beautiful train station. Our little hotel was in an area near the Eiffel Tower, and when we exited the metropolitan for the first time, we got our first view of le Tour Eiffel. I'll never forget it. It was right in front of us peaking out from behind some buildings. Paris I think is one of the most beautiful cities I've ever been to. The architecture is amazing. I absolutely loved just walking around looking at everything. The city just drips history from everything. Every cafe, every metro station, every church is gorgeous. In Paris I think it's a 100% worth doing all the touristy things because they are all incredible. The Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, Musee`D'Orsay, Notre Dame, Sacre Coeur, Arc du Triomph, Champs Elysees, the list goes on and on. Amazingly I was able to do all that and more in just the span of 2 1/2 busy days.

There are so many things that I love about this picture, but basically when it comes down to it, I wish this was my life. I wish I was an endlessly chic woman, who spent her days lounging around various European cafes. I'd probably be drinking an espresso, cappuccino, or cafe au lait instead of water, but otherwise this seems about right. What you can't see in this picture is my red or sea foam green Vespa 150 that is parked near by.

It would seem that my biggest hobby these days is daydreaming about the exciting European life that I wish I was living. Over the past couple of years as I've done more and more traveling, I've become enamored with the idea of living in Europe, and enjoying all the special things Europe has to offer. The food, the culture, the art, the architecture, the music, and the people. I love all the things Europe has to offer. Don't get me wrong. The U.S. is a great, interesting place to live as well. New York City is undisputedly one of the most exciting and rich places on earth, but the history of the "old world" doesn't compare to me.

As a result of my preoccupation with all things European and traveling, I would say that a lot of my posts will be about traveling and all the things that go with it. I hope you enjoy it as much as me.

The Last of The Bloggettes: Emily

Hello friends! Welcome to Friday. Here's a bit about myself...

Name: Emily

City: NYC

Favorite Bands/Music: Everything, except country. I have a strange attachment/fascination with Céline Dion.

Color: Almost any hue of blue.

Foods: Vietnamese, Mexican, Thai, Chinese, Japanese, French...the list keeps on going...I'm very much in love with wine. And oysters.

Designers: I tend to be drawn to designers who actually understand how people are built, like Diane Von Furstenberg.

Stores: Crate & Barrel, MOMA store, Bloomingdale's, gilt.com

Movies: Amélie, Cruel Intentions, Revolutionary Road

TV: Mad Men, True Blood, Big Love, Barefoot Contessa, House Hunters

Hobbies: Perusing NYC-area real estate, walking faster than most people, playing with my cats, cooking delicious meals, generally being addicted to google reader. All that good stuff.

Blogger Intro #3: Liz

Hey Everyone! So excited to finally be posting. Here are some fun facts about me...

Name: Liz

City: Chicago

Favorite Bands/Music: This is constantly changing but I'm really enjoying the new Caribou album right now. I'm also a die hard Red Hot Chili Peppers fan.

Color: Chartreuse

Foods: Sweets (specifically cookies)

Designers: I really love Marc Jacobs and the Chanel collection with all the temporary tattoos was pretty great too.

Stores: Anthropologie (anyone surprised by that answer?)

Movies: Wait Until Dark. If you haven't seen this yet, I highly recommend it. Its so suspenseful and Audrey Hepburn is in it.

Books: The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Hobbies: Going to concerts, sewing, and thrifting.

Blogger Intro: Emi

Hi, I'm the second Ex 'Cuse Us blogger, ready to share some of my favorite things and interests. Here are some nouns that are important in my life...

Name: Emi

City: New York, NY (work in the city and spend the majority of my waking hours there) and Westchester County

Favorite Bands/Music: Pearl Jam, Bouncing Souls, Alkaline Trio, Kings of Leon, Rise Against, Arctic Monkeys, Muse, and lots lots more...

Color: Red

Foods: Italian, Japanese, and Bread (bread's a type of food right?)

Designers: Balenciaga and Chanel

Stores: Barneys, Fred Perry and Jcrew

Movies: Monty Python and the Quest for the Holy Grail, The Usual Suspects, There Will Be Blood, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Match Point, and Vicky Christina Barcelona

Books: Kitchen Confidential, The Golden Compass: His Dark Materials, David Sedaris, Lord of the Rings, Travel/Food writing

Hobbies: Music, Collecting Silkscreened Poster Art, Cooking/Eating, Tennis, British Comedy, and Traveling

Blogger Intro: Natalie

Hey Everyone,

I am excited and proud to be one of the four Ex 'Cuse Us bloggers! I wanted to share a bit of background on myself before diving into more details on some of my current projects and passions. Here we go...

Name: Natalie

City: I work in the Greenwich Village area of NYC, but call Jersey City home

Favorite Bands/Music: Everything! Current favorites include everywhere from First Aid Kit, James Blackshaw, and Andrew Bird to Gnarls Barkley, The National, and Patty Larkin

Color: Green

Foods: Anything tasty, and preferably full of carbohydrates.

Stores: Home Goods and Antique Shops

TV: The Office, Arrested Development, Six Feet Under

Books: Pride and Prejudice, A Walk in the Woods

Hobbies: Cooking, baking, knitting, singing too loud, writing cheesy music, reading, and lying about

Looking forward to next week when I will begin sharing some of my projects and loves with all of you.