something beautiful for your saturday

Thought of You from Ryan J Woodward on Vimeo.

Punch Salad

(I never got a chance to take a picture... I found this online here.)

If you are ever in Minnesota, you MUST try Punch Pizza. It is seriously good stuff! It is amazing thin-crust Neapolitan style pizza. I love the simple Margarita or Napoli varieties, but they have MANY other kinds.

Another thing I love to get at Punch is their Punch Salad. Yum! It is really easy to re-create at home.

Punch Salad at Home

Add as much of each of the ingredients as you wish:

Spring Greens

Prosciutto, torn into small strips (I use about 1 1/2 strips per salad)

Pine Nuts, toasted (do not be afraid... let them get golden!)

Parmesan, freshly grated (I occasionally splurge on the real Parmegiano-Reggiano... so good).

Balsamic Vinaigrette (Homemade, or one from the refrigerated section at the grocery store.)

Enjoy!

The King's Speech

I went to see The King's Speech with my friend Melissa on Saturday.

It. was. amazing.

I enjoyed every minute of it, but of course the speech therapy scenes were of particular interest. One doctor attempts to cure Albert's stuttering by having him talk with marbles in his mouth (a treatment Demosthenes, an ancient Greek, used to "cure" his stuttering). Lionel Logue (his speech therapist played by Geoffrey Rush) uses a record player to record his speech during a session. It's amazing to think that nowadays I use an iTouch to do the same thing.

Go see it! Seriously!

Zuppa Toscana

I am making Zuppa Toscana for dinner. It's a copycat recipe of the Olive Garden's sausage, potato, and kale soup. Extremely yummy and freezes really well (even the kale!)

A few things that I do differently from the recipe linked above are:

* Instead of bacon bits, I cook 6 slices of bacon in the microwave. After they cool I finely chop them.

* I use a big bunch of kale, finely shredded as well!

* It is very important to drain the sausage on a paper-towel-lined, rimmed cookie sheet. Make sure to spread it out, so that as much grease is released as possible.

Sometimes (or let's be honest, a lot of times) I have grabbed this frozen from the freezer and turned out the frozen soup block into a sauce pot. Then I heat it over low heat. It seems to handle this process fairly well, and doesn't turn to mush.

Favorite Turkey Meatballs

For lunch today I made up a batch of Giada's Turkey Meatballs. I had made her marinara sauce before I went home for break, and then frozen it in 1 cup portions. This morning I simply pulled the marinara out of the freezer and let it thaw until I needed it.

This is one of my favorite quick recipes (not counting the time to make the marinara, which is also easy to make, but requires a long time to simmer.) I mix together the meatballs and throw them in a 350 degree oven for 25 minutes. I am too lazy to saute them, and baking them also reduces the amount of oil used. They don't get quite as brown, but still taste AMAZING. In total it maybe takes 35-40 minutes to assemble.

I ate a serving and the rest got dealt out into individual serving containers destined for the freezer. Now I can just pull one out for lunch or dinner and all I have to do is boil the pasta. Super simple.

** I somehow misplaced my camera when I went home... so unfortunately no pictures. **

27 Before 28 Project

Here are 27 things I hope to accomplish in my 27th year.

1. See WICKED. *

2. Take a workshop. *

3. Visit Kentucky.

4. Cook one new recipe per month.

5. Complete 100 snatches in 5 minutes with a 12kg kettlebell.

6. Read 12 new books.

7. Run a 5k.

8. Knit something.

9. Take a hike on the Superior Hiking Trail.

10. Go on a picnic.

11. Throw a party.

12. Go to the library.

13. Dress up for Halloween. *

14. Decorate my bedroom.

15. Bake a fancy dessert.

16. Take more pictures.

17. Sew something.

18. See a Twins game live.

19. Take a yoga class.

20. Try a new restaurant.

21. Perfect a signature cocktail.

22. Refine my makeup collection.

23. Write and mail real letters.

24. Snowshoe on Lake Minnetonka.

25. Organize my kitchen.

26. Find and hang artwork.

27. Document this list.

Welcome MMVI!

For me... today is about new beginnings. After a few years of unsuccessful attempts at consistent blogging, I am making another go at this venture. I have deleted old posts and am starting fresh.

One issue I have struggled with in the past is a lack of a focus for this blog. What do I want to write about? What is important or interesting enough to share with the internets (or let's be honest, for Rachel and Melissa, my only readers)?

I am not making any monumental resolutions for 2011, that has already been covered with my 27 Before 28 Project (an idea I got from the lovely elise). I will share those goals in a separate post. But my one "official" resolution is to post on here a few times a week.