Farmer's Market #12

I have quite the inner sadness: our farm share is coming to an end. Not only does this mean a loss of fresh veggies, but it marks the end of summer. To me, summer always ended when the garden stopped producing. My tiny backyard garden is just about over. On the whole, this year it wasn't amazing. I had lots of tiny yellow tomatoes but none of the bigger variety. Basil and banana peppers were successful while the squash, cucumbers, and okra proved a failure. Steve and I even tried planting hops this year. We knew they wouldn't produce much the first year, but we expected at least enough for maybe one batch of beer. Alas, we got not even one bloom. I know that I should have devoted more time to the garden. I kept it watered and weeded when I could. I even added nutrients to the soil at the beginning of the season and turned over both beds. I promise that next year, the bounty from my garden will be better.



Despite my personal failings with vegetables, the farm share never disappoints. We got some lovely okra that didn't last very long before hitting a frying pan. The butternut squash this week is about twice the size of the one we got a few weeks ago. This should at least provide a side dish for two people. And did you notice the bonus bread? This is a very hearty compact bread. I lot thicker than what I'm used to, but it has good flavor. It went particularly good with some strawberry jam.

And those dark beans? Can anyone give me some tips? They are dried and I think I'm supposed to pull out the seeds and boil them.... but I'm not sure how (Steve picked up this basket and directions got lost in translation). I would appreciate any help- since you guys are a wealth of knowledge!

Review: Little Black Bag

There are few things I love more in this world than coming home to a package waiting at my door. It's like getting a present, even if it means it's a present I picked out and paid for. I was extremely happy when my Little Black Bag arrived almost 4 days ahead of shipping schedule. I have no idea how that happened- but they get an A+ for that! The way the products were delivered was very nice. Everything was wrapped up in black tissue paper and closed with a sticker, making it even more like a present!

The first product was the free gift. I'm a fan of benefit and I really like this mascara. I guess I didn't realize just how tiny this free gift was. It is a very small, like tiny sample size. I think it might only last me a couple of weeks, but I'll use it until it dies out.

I was able to trade away the dark necklace, earrings and clock that were originally picked out for me. Thank goodness, because they were pretty off the mark. I took their style quiz, and picked the loudest and most obnoxious options. Loud does not equal monochrome. But this is where the trading system comes in. Lots of people wanted what I had, so I was able to swap it out for things that I really wanted! Like these adorable Betsey Johnson octopus earrings. I have a pretty substantial collection of Betsey jewelry and I'm always happy to add to it.

I was also able to get my hands on this sweet floral Betsey necklace. It makes the sweetest jingling noises when I walk, like little bells. The little bee in the center is adorable. Since I normally go for huge necklaces, this is now one of the most tame in my collection. It's good to have something that's just a tad bit more demure.

And finally the wonderful bag. This was my first pick and I'm very happy with it. The bag looked tan and yellow online, but the tan is a soft pink in person (bonus). The bag is well made and has a pink and leopard print lining. It came with a long shoulder strap which I didn't attach yet, but makes this purse much more usable.

Overall, I really liked my Little Black Bag experience. A good friend of mine did it with me and she was also really pleased. LBB, you get a thumbs up.

Chattanooga Polka Dots

Happy Monday! I hope you all had a great weekend. I have to say, I had one of the busiest yet. I love being hyper-scheduled so it felt right at home with me. On Friday, Steve and I enjoyed another restaurant week offering (you will hear about this for sure- totally tasty). Then we went down to the Exit/In to see Built to Spill. Those guys are still one of my favorites and put on an amazing show. Saturday we went to the Tennessee State Fair in the morning so I could enter the hula hoop competition. I lost to 5th graders but had a good time doing it. The fair itself was pretty lame compared to the Wilson County Fair. Later in the day we went to watch the Nashville Roller Girls in their final home bout of the season. It was a bittersweet affair, because the lovely Hildabeast is retiring. Good thing they went out with a bang and totally slammed the Quad Skate Terrors! Then we rushed on over to the 5 Spot to see a secret Wanda Jackson show! That lady is still the Queen of Rock 'n Roll at any age. She came out all big hair, red lips and fringe shirt and blew my mind. Sunday was less exciting, consisting of a 10 mile walk, some bridal crafting with a friend who is getting hitched next weekend and a huge elaborate dinner that I decided to make.

This is the outfit I wore on our day trip a few weeks ago to Chattanooga (there were some slight peeks of it here).  I spent a good chunk of the day in the car so I wanted to make sure I was wearing something really comfortable. I'm not really one to sacrifice comfort for fashion, ever. Most of these pieces are fairly old and are good standbys.

Dress: Forever 21 (from like, 10 years ago)

Tights: Forever 21

Shoes: Blowfish

Necklace: Super Old

Ring: H&M

What did you all do this weekend? 

xoxo Lauren

Nashville Food Friday: fEASTival

Last weekend amidst the perfectly wonderful weather, Steve and I decided to walk down to 5 points to enjoy this year's incarnation of fEASTival. It is billed as a food festival with more, like craft vendors and entertainment. I remember going to last year's fEASTival and being disappointed. There weren't that many food trucks, very few vendors and the streets were empty. This fEASTival was bigger and clearly better put together than the last, but the same problems followed: not enough food trucks for what I would think of as a FOOD festival, not a lot of vendors, pretty empty streets, and no "entertainment" that I could find.

In its two years of existence this fest hasn't taken off like some others. Nashville loves their festivals and there are few every weekend. It just seemed to me that fEASTival didn't have a distinct vibe; they weren't offering anything new. To me it seemed like a much smaller Tomato Arts Fest with less people wearing red. Also, you couldn't just purchase food from the vendors. You had to go to a little booth, purchase food tickets and buy your food with those. Ok, we get it. Making things different. But, some vendors took cold hard CA$H and had signs with number of dollars/number of tickets. Whelp, not being properly labeled, I confused cash for tickets and we wound up with more tickets than we needed. Plus, I had to spend CA$H on a milkshake instead of the tickets. I felt silly, until the super-nice Moovers & Shakers Man told me customers had been making that mistake all day and the tickets are kind of silly. Agreed, Milkshake Man.

Biscuit Love was there, but we didn't eat from them

So was the Grilled Cheeserie. I passed because I knew my stomach could not handle a massive quantity of cheese.

Before Steve and I figured out the whole "ticket situation" we decided to eat at I Dream of Weenie. The Weenie is always there and wasn't an official part of the festival. But who cares. We were craving a hot dog and I haven't had one from them in years. Also, they took CA$H.

They serve the weenies out of an old school bright yellow VW bus. It's kitschy as all get out and I love them for it. I Dream of Weenie was popular all day long. The staff was friendly and they had quick service.

We got a pack of cookies for later!

Look how cute this is! Plus, they provide blankets so you can sit and eat on the lawn next to the bus. Everything about this place is crazy colored. Just the way I like it. I match!

I forgot the name of the dog I got, but it had mustard, chow chow, onions and jalapenos. It was tasty and thankfully not insanely spicy. I love chow chow and I think it's really hard to make any dish with it that I won't like. Thumbs up, I Dream of Weenie!

One hot dog was not enough for Steve so we went on the quest for additional sustenance. The Jonbalaya truck had some interesting cajun food and some really funny guys working there. I've never seen this truck around before, but I hope it stays. They took tickets, so this is where we had to get involved in the whole money-ticket conversion scheme.

Steve got the Cajun Meatball Po'boy and it was a huge delicious mess. It was basically massive meatballs cooked in jambalaya sauce with rice, broken up and put on a bun with tomatoes and pickles.  We couldn't even figure out how to logistically get this thing near our mouth. We attacked it with forks first and after making a dent, it was able to be treated like a sandwich. This was probably the best taste/quantity for the value at fEASTival.

All this savory made me crave some sweet. I headed over to Moovers and Shakers for some Ice Cream goodness. See the sign... 4 or 6? And with my bad eyesight, this is where tickets messed me up. But it was all good. We got to spend those 4 extra tickets on yummies.

I had the french kiss milkshake. It was vanilla ice cream with cinnamon and a maple syrup sauce. The quality of the ice cream was really good. So good that I had a hard time sharing it.

With our leftover 4 tickets we headed to the Boutique Burger Bar. We needed one more ticket ($0.70- REALLY?) to get a mini burger.

Since I was full at this point, Steve ordered the Original Burger (Caramelized onions, arugula, blue cheese, bacon, Swiss cheese and sauteed mushrooms). It looked so pretty and smelled so delicious I had to take a bite. Yum!

I certainly ate enough at this food festival. But, overall there weren't that many choices. I really like the idea of a East Nashville food festival- but that would require the buy-in of local restaurants willing to set up catering tables at this type of event. I think there was only one brick and mortar who set up a table (Pad Thai Kitchen). I have hopes that this festival will grow again next year and work out some of the kinks.

That, and get rid of those tickets.

Food Tutorial: French Baked Eggs

I am happy to present my first food tutorial. Not only do I enjoy eating food made by professionals, I also enjoy my status as a pretty decent amateur chef.  Lately, I've been obsessed with making baked eggs for breakfast.  They are pretty simple to make- using stuff I already have in my refrigerator and leftover bits from other meals. It is basically the best omelet for people who love runny yolks.  I first had this treat at Fabiane's back when I was living in New York. I became obsessed with this dish immediately.

This is the basic recipe. But, there is a little finesse to these breakfast darlings.  Remember to oil or spray your bowl before you put anything in. This will prevent the eggs and other goodies from sticking to the sides. Once you crack your eggs, adding a couple of tablespoons of cream on top will add to the flavor and the overall runny-ness of your eggs. Also, remember to watch the eggs carefully when they are in the oven. You don't want them to get over cooked and every oven is different. Keep an eye out to make sure you aren't over cooking (I think the yolk needs to be like a river of GOLD)! Also, serve this with toast sticks for yolk dipping.

Looking for some ideas? Cut up some fresh tomatoes and cook them until soft. Add fresh basil and garlic to make a basic tomato sauce.  Put that sauce at the bottom of your dish and crack two eggs on top.  Add some cream and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake and enjoy.

This delicious treat has some lox on the bottom. If you have capers, add them on top of the lox. Then crack your eggs and add your cream.  Perhaps add a dollop of cream cheese on top if you wish!

Cook fresh Kale, tomatoes and onions.  Add eggs and cream. Top with goat cheese for a decadent treat.  Goat cheese really bakes up nice on top.

Some other options 

1. Chorizo, Salsa Verde, and Queso
2. Tomatoes, olives, artichoke hearts and Feta Cheese

Any other suggestions for ingredients? What would you make? 

Cooper tested, Cooper approved

Farmer's Market #11

Oh what a great fall bounty we got last week. Thank you for all your comments about the spaghetti squash. We actually got another small one in this week's share and it was enough that I was finally able to try out a dish. I took your recommendations, found a basic recipe, and made my tummy happy. More on that later. Really, I would be lost without you helping to identify my food!

I was really excited to get kale again. I thought we might be done with that for the season but here it is, surprising me. The okra we got this week were huge and fat. Perfect for sautéing up in a pan. It kept its star shape nicely and didn't get all mushy. Those little peppers were ridiculously sweet and made a nice pizza topping. 

Right now I'm cooking up a butternut squash because I'm feeling ready for fall. What is your favorite fall food?

Tuesday Interweb Roundup!

Hello! Welcome new followers and friends. It's been a while since I posted what I've been lurking on the internet.  Here is a little roundup of pretty things:

I'm still loving anything with cats on it. But cats and astronomy? I'm sold. This shirt is available at Threadless. I'm a size Small FYI.

This necklace/collar thing from Locketship. Bling Bling kitty ice cream cones.

These amazing kitty leggings. I love everything about this down to the neon/pastel color palette. I cannot describe how much I love these leggings. Considering I've been swept up in the fancy legging trend lately- this would be a perfect addition to my collection.

This lovely blue dress. I love the flower desgin and I especially love how it's centered on the front. I'm also always a fan of baroque style.

This pretty pumpkin color dress from Modcloth.  Makes me feel ready for fall. Also, I feel like I could take on a serious work meeting in this dress. It can be my power dress. Also, get $20 off your first purchase here.

This poster of Nashville. The etsy store has tons of other cute skylines for your cities!



And finally, the most addicting YouTube video I have seen in awhile.  Besides being adorable, the beatbox is pretty addicting and I find myself saying Boots, Cats and Beef instead of real words.
A LEATHER BEEFY BISON

<3 L