Lauren Does Gumbo...Sorta

So last night I was "cooking for one." We had plans to watch The Dictator with friends and because my husband gets off work quite late, he planned on going straight to the movie theatre from his office to meet me and everyone else. So after running around doing errands all day after work, I got home and realised I had about 40 minutes to cook, and eat, dinner...as well as take my Bug out ("Bug" being my dog Bugsy).

As hinted at in my previous cooking post, deep down I think I secretly thrive on the rush of doing things last minute. In college I literally crammed 26 hours worth of "life" into every day and loved every second of it (even though I would then come home during Christmas or Summer break and sleep for two weeks straight...literally). So, in the kitchen, I love having a plan, but I also love the challenge and the rush of last minute "thrown-together" meals!

I opened my fridge determined to make something tasty, easy, quick, relatively healthy, and something that would let me use up a number of random left over items we had laying about the fridge. This is what I scrounged up:

We had some left over brown rice, some turkey sausages, a jalapeno, half a red onion, roma tomatoes, green onion (from a local farm), Indian pickled garlic (I am ADDICTED to this stuff - dangerous), paprika, red chili flakes, salt and pepper. Now for whatever reason "gumbo" jumped to my mind. Now calling what I ended up making "gumbo" would probably get me slapped in New Orleans. So I'll just say instead that the "concept" of gumbo was my very broad muse.

First step was to heat up two teaspoons of EVOO over medium heat and toss in two turkey sausages that I had sliced at an angle into half inch pieces to brown. I then deseeded and finely diced the jalapeno, and medium diced about half a cup of red onion and tossed that all in.

You want to get a good brown on the sausages, so cook this for a good 3 to 5 minutes. Then I threw in the green garlic diced up (green garlic is like a hybrid of spring onions and garlic) and sauteed for another minute or two. I added a good helping of paprika, chili flakes, salt and pepper, then cranked the heat up to medium high and added two roma tomatoes roughly chopped up. You want to saute this mixture until the tomatoes start to break down and the ingredients just start to stick to the bottom of the pan.

My "gumbo" and my fancy wine bottle that I just had to show off

When the pan is nice and hot, it's time to throw in about half a cup of white wine...or a splash more, and let the heat incorporate and cook the wine down so you have a some-what-mushy consistency. Turn the heat down to medium low, add a bay leaf, or any other seasonings you think it is lacking after tasting the mixture, and let simmer for a few minutes.

All that's left to do is stir in the brown rice to heat everything up and finally...dish up!

I put a small (ish) dollop of sour cream on the top to balance out the heat that I had built and it really was delicious! This meal was so quick and easy that I had time to enjoy a glass of wine with my dinner AND there were so few dishes used to make it that after I cleaned my bowl and my glass, I cleaned the kitchen before having to walk out the door. To top it all off, there was enough left for lunch the next day...now that is a "win, win, win situation" in my books.

Thanks for reading! Do you have any favorite meal memories that have come from the "what's in the fridge" ingredients list?

Neon Yellow and Lessons Learned - My First DIY Project

One of the many blogs that inspired me to start DIYing my own fashion utilized neon fluorescent spray paint to create a one-of-a-kind bright neon yellow necklace and the styling of it I thought was just incredible! You can check out my Neon DIY Project inspiration here: "Glitter 'N Glue" Blog: Neon Yellow DIY

I had tickets to go see Collective Soul with my husband last night and thought that it would be a great piece to wear to the concert - however time was a bit of an issue...keep reading to find out why...

On a quick side note - there is definitely a neon color craze going around and I am right on that bandwagon! Interestingly enough, my craze started when I came across the DayGlow Tour which came to Raleigh this past April. If you haven't heard of it...check it out! Day Glow Tour Website

Essentially it's a paint rave and a DIYer and Neon Lover's dream! You show up in all white and neon clothes that you don't plan on ever wearing again (trust me) and proceed to dance the night away while watching amazing "Cirque du Soleil" type performances on stage AND all this while getting sprayed with tons of neon paint...crazy...I know...it was awesome!

Before

After

Needless to say this is not an every day fashion look. But I took it upon myself to pick up some fluorescent paint from the hardware store and decide on two items I would experiment on. I couldn't find a necklace like the one in "Glitter 'N Glue" post so decided to just find something in my jewelry mish-mosh that I wouldn't miss too much if I destroyed.

Glass bead necklace

The second thing I decided to spray paint was a belt that I found at Good Will for $1.39, again, something I would not cry over if destroyed.

Thrifted grey and pink striped cotton belt

So I grabbed my spray paint, a ton of newspaper, and went to town...and learned some very valuable lessons.

1) Ventilation is key, I think I killed some of my, and my poor dog's, brain cells before I realised that the space in my kitchen was not cutting it and moved to our small back deck. Now to my defense, I was in a rush, and was really frustrated that I hadn't been able to attack this project sooner and with the time frame I wanted due to the crappy weather we had all weekend long and it was super busy with Mother's Day etc. So I attempted this in doors first because it was dark out and still raining. Obviously this was not a good idea.

2) You CANNOT be in a rush...when they tell you to do multiple thin layers and let them dry in between, they mean it, it quickly pools and creates drips and just does not create a good even coverage.

3) Glass beads are not a great medium for neon spray paint - lesson learned - I will fork out the extra $6 next time for PRIMER!!

My first neon DIY project

Tackling the belt

After doing a few coats on both the belt and necklace I slowly had the realization that these were not going to turn out the way I had hoped and so left them out over night to dry and would face my failure in the morning.

When I came home during lunch to let my dog out, I was not surprised to see that the necklace just did not take to the paint...and it was overall not the right type of necklace in the first place to use in this capacity.

However, when I went to the belt, I was suprised to find that it actually worked out pretty well! Granted it was not nice and smooth and shiny, and was pretty rough, but overall it didn't look half bad.

It doesn't go with this outfit, but it shows off the bright contrast

So I decided to proudly, and bravely, use it to pump up my work outfit yesterday and was quite pleased that no one pointed at it and laughed at the office and actually didn't notice it's DIYness until I pointed out that I had spray painted it myself!

You can't see it great in this picture, but it definitely made the outfit I think

So I've learned some lessons, gotten my feet wet, broken the DIY seal, and am ready to move on to bigger and better and BOLDER DIY projects!

Stay tuned and share any DIY failures you've experienced...I definitely believe that you learn just as much, if not more, from your failures as your successes!

Simply Delicious

So my first food post is about a meal I made for dinner that, while simple, I think is the perfect example of everything that I love about food and cooking. I know it's been said by every good cook before, but it's really the truth...when you have good ingredients, there's no need to mess with them that much!

I also think the worst thing you can do is take beautiful meat and vegetables and cook them to death - what a waste - and also I have always believed simpler = delicious AND easier!

This meal was made up simply of good steaks, corn on the cob still in the husk with lime and chili powder butter, and asparagus with grilled red onion.

The trick to this meal (like most of mine) is that you keep it simple and then throw in a few special tricks to "spice" things up.

None of these ingredients take long to cook so it's about being prepped (and in my case moving quickly). I secretly pride myself of having "organized chaos" in the kitchen, moving at light speed, looking like I know what I'm doing but really "winging" about 40% of it ;)

The first step is the corn on the cob (or mielies as we call them in South Africa). Soak it, husk and all, in a bowl of water for about 5 - 10 minutes. The best cooking method for these is on a grill and we had two of them left over from a BBQ (braai in SA) for Mother's Day the day before. But you could easily do them in the oven at very high heat, having soaked them in water in the husk will protect them from burning.

Once those are cooking move to the steaks. Now having steaks like these on a casual Monday is rare for us...pun intended. I simply did salt, pepper, and EVOO that you want to massage in.

Massage, massage!

Then it's all about a hot pan, and only ONE turn, that's it! The two other tricks I use to ensure our steaks come out the way we want them (which is medium-rare by the way) is #1 You wait until you see juice start to rise to the top of the steak, then you turn (again, only ONCE) #2 My mom taught me the cheek, chin, and forehead method - this simply means if you push on the steak and the resistance feels like your cheek (aka not very firm - squishy) then it's rare, if it feels as firm as your chin, it's medium, and if it feels as firm as your forehead then it's well-done. For these steaks it was about 3-4 minutes per side.

One turn!

Once the steaks are done, turn the oven down with the corn still in (or even off, it'll stay quite hot) and put the steaks in the oven and make sure to remove both the steaks and the corn about 10 - 15 minutes before you eat.

The next step is to saute some sliced red onions and diced garlic in EVOO for about 4 minutes and then toss in the asparagus. Toss for 2-3 minutes, add salt and pepper, and a squeeze of lime juice.

Pull the corn out, it's ok if the husk goes black, as I mentioned before, because of the husk being soaked in water the inside will be protected. If anything, the blacker the better, it gives the corn a great roasted and smokey flavor.

The 'Piece de Resistance' for this dish is the butter for the corn. Take out about 1 tablespoon of butter per person and let it go soft at room temperature (or just microwave it for 5-10 seconds), squeeze lime juice and put in chili powder and mix to taste (I like ours pretty tangy so for about 2 - 3 tablespoons I did half a medium lime of juice and about 2 - 3 teaspoons of chili powder).

Voila! Your meal is done, make sure your steaks have rested at least 10 minutes, de-husk your corn and top it with a big dollop of the chili-lime butter, and dish up your asparagus and you have a delicious meal - that's healthy too! ;)

Enjoy and see you for the next meal!

Greetings!

So, just like myself, this blog (I'm sure) will continue to be a work in progress!

Regardless of what is going on in my life - good or bad - I have always found joy and comfort in two seemingly simple experiences. The first being a GREAT outfit and the second being a GREAT meal.

Now in the past this meant a shopping trip (that was often followed with shopper's guilt) followed by reservations to a swanky restaurant downtown (which was also usually followed with sticker shock at my bill).

This pleasure, combined with studying abroad in the UK, earning my Master's degree, and getting married (all within a relatively short amount of time) definitely took it's toll on my bank account!
Needless to say I realized I would have to pull back on these "splurges" and find a way to get the same thrill without the heart palpitations at the end of the month!

Thanks to my mother, I learned the basics (and not so basics) of cooking at an early age and really enjoy (and am pretty damn good at, if I don't say so myself - which I just did, so there) making a great meal at home, something I wish to expand on as I experiment with grander ingredients, and trickier recipes. Now fashion on the other hand? That's something I have a love for, but also something I've only ever though could be PAID for, not made, and I want to change that.

So, after being introduced to the world-wide-web of blogging thanks to some amazing people (i.e. Molly Buckley - check out her great blog here: http://www.themollybuckley.com/) I realised just how many people out there are in the same situation as me! They see a great new style they want to try, but can't just rush out everytime they see something in a magazine they love and drop who knows how much on it...so, they just make it (or a version of it) themselves!

I want to keep my first entry relatively short and sweet, so I'll just say that this blog is my attempt to push myself for bigger and better and more creative when it comes to my cooking and now my clothing by taking the things I see, love, and want...and making them myself!

I already have a MILLION ideas and I hope you'll follow my journey into the world of DIY Food and Fashion.

Me and the Hubs

PS. I am the MOST unphotogenic person I know (no, seriously, my friends finally admitted this to me) so I decided to end this post with some of the only good pictures I have - my wedding photos (seeing as I am coming up on my 2 year anniversary) but moving forward lower your expectations :p

My Mom and I

My Dad and I