Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Sunday, July 26, 2009

switzerland happenings...


About a week ago, I got back from a nine day trip to Switzerland. My sister lives there, in this true, Swiss village. She moved there after meeting her German husband in Tennessee. Yes, I know, sounds a little crazy. She's lived all over the world and on three different continents, and she's settled in a beautiful small town/village. It is very cute, her daughters (my nieces) are very cute, and the house is literally the best house in the world for taking pictures. There are huge windows everywhere and light just pours in!

I mean, look at this:

These are eggs. Normal, hard-boiled eggs. And they look like the most delicious, picturesque eggs you have ever eaten. Is this heaven? No. It is my sister's kitchen, which is a pretty awesome place anyway.

Apples look like they could be in a painting by Cezanne:



We ate lovely meals outside and enjoyed some really great weather. My brother-in-law and sister are both pretty trendy and artsy for Switzerland, so we of course had gourmet, whole-flour thin-crust pizza with adorned with fresh veggies and olives. My brother-in-law is of the shellfish eating sort, so he put prawns on it.


Overall, it was a lovely trip to visit my awesome family!

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Spinach Salad with Grapes


This is not really a recipe, but more of a technique my friend Lindsay showed me a few years ago that makes any salad look instantly gorgeous.

Instead of chopping long vegetables like carrots and cucumbers, one peels shavings off each. As in, you peel long strips of carrot and leave them like that! Seriously, it always looks beautiful and instantly aesthetically elevates any salad.




Spinach Salad with Grapes

1 6 oz bag Spinach, chopped
1 Carrot, peeled into long strips (see above)
1 medium Cucumber, peeled into long strips (you may use less depending on how watery your cucumber is)
1/2 One medium red onion
bunch white or red grapes (to taste)

Combine ingredients above.

DRESSING
zest of one lemon
juice of one lemon
grated ginger (about 1/2 inch)
one or two garlic cloves, minced
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil

Combine all ingredients except for oil. While whisking ingredients, slowly stream in olive oil (probably about 1/4 cup, to taste) until mixture emulsifies.