Nashville: 12th Avenue South

This post is a couple weeks late, but school has been very busy!
My mom and I took a trip Labor Day weekend to Nashville to stay with my aunt and uncle. They have a drum shop, Fork's Drum Closet, on 12th Avenue South, and every year they host a concert that they call Fork Fest at their farm in Springhill. My uncle's band The Midnight Riders played, as well as another band from Clarksville. It was a very fun and relaxing weekend, and I got to see some of my family, so that was nice. We also did a little exploring around the 12th Ave S area.  Here are some of my favorite places we checked out:

The Frothy Monkey

As cozy as it looks!

This was a sweet little coffee shop a few doors down from Fork's. It had a great atmosphere (we walked in to hear Mazzy Star's "Fade Into You" playing, so I was sold immediately), a nice selection of organic teas, bakery items, and coffee, and an interesting clientele. I had a cup of their seasonal tea blend, and Mom had the turtle latte, which she let me sample. Delicious! We'll definitely be back at our next visit to Nashville.

Imogene + Willie

I'm sure you've heard of this store from another blog already, but if you haven't, it's a denim company that makes all of their jeans in the USA (mostly regionally) and will custom tailor them to fit you in-store. The day I went in I tried on the high-waisted jeans but they were out of my actual size, so I'll have to try again when we go back in December for Christmas. But let me just say, they were a true high waist!  You don't see jeans like that very often. The dark wash that I tried on was beautiful.  Imogene + Willie also has home goods in the store, and they are a showroom for Warby Parker eyeglasses (and sunglasses). I tried on a few pairs that caught my eye, and since Warby Parker will send you five pair to try on for a week, I think I'll be testing them out at home soon. And only $95 for prescription glasses! Plus they give one pair of glasses away for every pair sold.  

Warby Parker "Crane" eyeglasses in Mallard Green shade

One last funny thing about our visit to Imogene + Willie:  the sales associate that helped me with the jeans was named Peggy Sue.  Can you believe that?

Burger Up

Located down the block from Fork's, I can easily see why this is my relatives' favorite lunch place. Burger Up sources all of their ingredients from local farms for a seasonal menu that beats any other burger place I've ever been. There are large communal tables inside and small tables on the patio, where we sat.  Since this was our third time there, we knew we needed to get the cheese plate. Mom and I shared the patty melt, but I've had their regular burger too and it's great. They also have a lot of salads and vegetarian options. I wish there were more places like this where I live in Dallas that cared about environmental sustainability.  

We also spent some time in downtown Franklin, about halfway between Nashville and my aunt's farm in Springhill. It's a really quaint city with lots of boutiques and antique stores and, most importantly, a new Anthropologie!

A couple bonus Nashville-related links:

-Local painter and blogger Rebekka Mann Seale just opened a new online yarn shop, Camellia Fiber Company.  She dyes all the yarns by hand with natural dyes! I have my eye on the Sea Glass and Spanish Moss yarns.

-The Gulch is the next up-and-coming neighborhood, according to my aunt and uncle. We had lunch there at the Whiskey Kitchen before they dropped Mom and me off at the airport.  

Do y'all have any favorite Nashville spots?  I'd love to hear about them.

Dachi

As promised, I'm going to share a treasured family recipe with y'all (yes, I have permission).  My Oma brought this recipe with her from Germany.  I have done countless Google searches to see if I could find out its origin, but I have yet to find anything.  I'm going to assume it's either a recipe exclusive to the region Oma is from (near Munich), or a recipe that Oma or one of her ancestors created and named themselves.

It is somewhat similar to strudel, but not really.  It's much simpler to make, and I would argue more delicious, too.  This is one of the easiest desserts you will ever make.  And probably the most addicting--just a fair warning.

This is a nice dessert to take to a party because it's good hot or cold, but it won't last very long.  Or at least at our family reunions it's gone within 30 minutes.  It's also great at breakfast!

It's a nice recipe to make with a friend or family member.  One person takes care of the dough, while the other slices the apples.

I'm not going to put a serving size here, because honestly, it just depends on how hungry you are.  Mom and I made three pans today at around noon, and we've already eaten one and half of another between us, my sister, her four kids, and my dad.  I fully expect the rest will be eaten by dinnertime.

My family named our first miniature schnauzer after this recipe (schnauzers are a German dog breed).  When I told my niece today that we were making dachi for dessert, she looked horrified.  In hindsight, maybe it was weird that we named her Dachi, but the name really does suit her somehow.

Here's the recipe!

Dachi
Makes 3 pans for sharing

3 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 cup Crisco
3/4-1 cup ice water
6 apples, peeled and sliced thin
Cinnamon
Sugar
1-1 and 1/2 sticks of butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Combine the flour and salt in a medium bowl.  Beat in the Crisco with a pastry blender.  Slowly add ice water and combine into a dough.  Do not add more than needed, or it will stick to the rolling pin.  Roll out the dough onto a flour-covered surface, and use a rolling pin to get the dough very thin.  You should cut the dough in half to make this easier, and work with one piece at a time.  When the dough is thin enough that it is almost translucent, carefully transfer it to a rimmed baking sheet.  Put a little flour on your hands and use them to mold the dough to the sides of the baking sheet.  If there is any excess dough, cut it off from the sides and add it to the rest of the dough.  Continue this process until you are out of dough.  It should cover at least two full size, standard baking sheets and another slightly smaller pan.

Layer the sliced apples in four columns lengthwise (see photo).  Sprinkle cinnamon and sugar generously over the apples.  Finally, drizzle the melted butter on top.  Place the first pan it the oven and bake for between 18-20 minutes, until the bottom of the crust is golden brown.  Repeat with the other pans.

Note:
The secret to this recipe is getting the dough and apple slices as thin as possible.  You will inevitably have some apple slices that are thicker than others, so try to alternate thick and thin ones while you layer to keep the pastry from getting too thick.

Enjoy!

DIY Picnic and a Family Trip

I am writing this post from my aunt and uncle's house in Tennessee!  Clarksville to be precise, where both my parents are from.  We're here for my Oma's 88th birthday/Stefko family reunion.  All nine of my dad's siblings will be here for the party tomorrow.

We went to visit Oma today for a few hours.  She was very surprised to see us, but I don't think she'll be surprised about the party we're all throwing for her tomorrow.  After having a surprise party every year for the past few, I'm pretty sure she's cottoned on by now.

We had some delicious dachi that my aunts Jane and Teresa made.  It's a German apple pastry recipe my Oma's taught us all to make.  She assures me that it's not a secret family recipe, so I'll probably share it here on the blog soon.  The secret is getting the apples nice and thin.

It's great seeing my relatives that I usually only see once a year, at most.  Even better, my sister is coming down from Indiana tomorrow with my niece and nephews for the party, and then they're coming back to Texas with us for a couple weeks.  I can't wait to see them!

Now for today's post.  I've had picnics on the mind lately.  The weather's not scorchingly hot yet, so now is the perfect time to take a blanket and a basket out to the park with some good food and a bottle of wine.  Here are some pieces that would be perfect for a picnic with your family, your partner, or a friend!

Top row:  A Perfect Day for a Picnic cookbook by Tori Finch // Circo cheese board at BB&Beyond //  To-Go Ware utensil set
Middle row:  Korken bottle from IKEA // Bamboo picnic basket from World Market // Center Border kitchen towels from West Elm (set of 4, comes with other colors)
Bottom row:  Queen hammock from Yellow Leaf Hammocks // Rustic European picnic blanket from Williams-Sonoma // Sangria from Llano Estacado

One thing I learned while researching picnic baskets:  THEY ARE EXPENSIVE.  This one, however, is a reasonably-priced and simple model from World Market.  A lot picnic baskets I saw online had pockets and lining and all sorts of nonsense inside, but I figure it's more fun to take a couple kitchen towels (like this one from West Elm) to line the basket yourself and keep food clean and protected.  I thought the clear bottles from IKEA would be great for bringing along some iced tea or water.  And if you're picnicking in the backyard, a hammock would be nice for a post-food nap.  Surely I am not the only person who takes naps after eating sometimes...

The sangria is from a Texas label (go local!) and it is delicious.  Highly recommended.

Anthropologie has a lot of great cookbooks (like the one I featured last post).  I saw this one the other day and thought it was pretty neat, because it has recipes for different themes (cuisine, occasion, etc.).  And I am pretty clueless about what foods are portable/fairly non-perishable for a picnic.

On that note, do y'all have any recipes that would be great to take along on a picnic?  Please share!

Summer Solstice Chicken

Let me introduce y'all to an excellent cookbook:

Chicken and Egg by Jessica Cole

I picked it up on a whim one day at Anthropologie because it was on sale.  It was a good decision!  Every recipe that I've tried so far has been delicious, and there are so many more that I still need to try.  

As you probably guessed, all of the recipes involve chicken and/or eggs as ingredients.  Those of you who know me in person know that I don't eat a lot of meat in general (not that I'm a vegetarian), but chicken is definitely my favorite meat.  The nice about this cookbook is that almost all of the recipes have common ingredients and are easy to make. 

The book also doubles as a memoir of sorts.  The author raises her own chickens in her backyard.  If you're interested in urban homesteading, you would probably enjoy that part of the book.  My sister has chickens on her farm, so I got her this book for her birthday last year.  

One of my family's favorite recipes to make from this cookbook is the Pan-Roasted Chicken Breasts over Roasted Potato Salad.  It's got radishes, green onions, and hard-boiled eggs in there too, and it's a great meal for summer days.  The salad is even good without chicken.  I would recommend this cookbook for that recipe alone.

The recipe my mother and I made tonight, which I am going to share with you here, was the Summer Solstice Chicken.  It was easy to make and extremely flavorful.  

You make a (very) bright green marinade (see below) with springy herbs and onions the night before, and then all you have to do the day of is grill the marinated chicken!  It's so nice for hot summer days when you don't want to use the oven and heat up the house.  

The recipe wasn't kidding when it said bright green.

We also grilled up some fresh corn on the cob, and my mom made these biscuits that have 7up in them (sounds weird, but they're surprisingly good).  

Mom was grillmaster for the night

And the end result:

The author also suggests slicing the chicken and serving it in pita pockets with sliced tomatoes, cucumbers, and onion, with sour cream and a lil' dill on top.  I think we had some leftovers tonight, so that'll probably be my lunch tomorrow.

Here's the recipe!

Summer Solstice Chicken (from Janice Cole's Chicken and Egg)

Serves 4

4 green onions (green parts only), coarsely chopped

3/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro

1/3 cup coarsely chopped onion

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh dill

4 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped

1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (about 1/2 lbs)

Combine all of the ingredients, except the chicken, in a blender container and blend until smooth and bright green in color.  Put the chicken breasts in a resealable plastic bag and pour the marinade over them.  Put in a shallow pan and marinate in the refrigerator for 8 hours or overnight.

Preheat the grill to medium.  Remove the chicken from the marinade and discard the marinade.  Oil the grill grate and grill the chicken, covered, for 8 to 10 minutes or until no longer pink in the center. 

Serve immediately.

Note:  We put the chicken in a casserole dish and poured the marinade on top to leave overnight in the fridge, then flipped the chicken in the morning so it would get coated on both sides.  It was less messy that way than using a plastic bag.  We also added a smidgen more garlic than suggested, because why not?  I personally would go a little lighter on the dill next time we make it, but my parents thought it was perfect as is.  

If you give this recipe a try, let me know how you like it!  

Spring Fever Pt. 2

Here's the second post in the Spring Fever series, Living.  Plus, a (very loose) smoothie recipe below.

If only vintage cars like that were fuel efficient, eh?
The washi tape is still available at Madewell; I saw it the other day when I was there.
I wish I had an occasion to make a fancy cake for!  That decoration is so beautiful.

Part 3, Design will be up some time after Sunday.  I'm in San Antonio this weekend for my Dad's birthday and therefore without Photoshop.   Luckily I don't have too awful much homework this weekend, so I'm mostly relaxing and enjoying spending time with my parents.  Sometimes I wish my college wasn't so far away from home.

My mother and I made pretty delicious smoothies tonight for dinner, since we had a big lunch out (Alamo Café, my favorite Mexican restaurant in SA).

Here's a quick and easy recipe:
1 cup Italian soda blend from HEB in Fruita D'Isola
1 Sambazon frozen açai smoothie packet (any variety will work)
1 cup frozen mixed berries (ours had strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries)
1 fresh kiwi, peeled and sliced
Just a smidgen of honey.

Blend and enjoy!
 
I'm hoping I can find the Italian sodas at Central Market in Plano too (they're owned by HEB) because it really was a nice addition.  If you are not lucky enough to live near an HEB, you could just as easily substitute vanilla soy milk and I'm sure it would taste great, just not as tart and fruity.  I'd also recommend any type of simple fruit juice, maybe orange or apple.

What are some of y'all's favorite smoothie combinations?  One thing I really want to try is incorporating greens into the mix.