Spanish Tortilla

When you think tortilla you normally think something made out of flour or corn that you make a burrito or quesadilla with, right? Well for the Spanish, a tortilla is something a little more magical.

It is basically a frittata, at least to the Italians, and for the Americans, maybe it is best to compare it to a crust-less quiche or an omelette of sorts.

Traditionally a Spanish tortilla is served with every meal in the center of the table and is made from eggs, potatoes, and onions.

It is one of my all-time favorites. It is simple to make and I always have leftover for breakfast the next day. YUM! It is also great served at room temp, so it is great to bring to a pot luck get together.

Here's the recipe:

1 potato (medium sized) peeled and diced
Half an onion, sliced into thin half moons
6 eggs
A splash of milk
2T of oil (I like the light flavor of canola oil for this, but you can also use olive oil)

In a 9-in non-stick skillet start sauteing the potatoes and onions in about 2T of oil. Keep covered and on medium-low heat. You don't want to vegetables to brown, but you want the potatoes to be soft. Cook for about 15 min.

In a mixing bowl, crack the eggs and whisk together with a splash of milk. Once the potatoes have softened take of the heat and mix with the eggs. Turn the heat back to medium and add the egg mixture to the pan. You want to cook the eggs slowly so a crust forms on the bottom. After about 10 minutes, run a spatula around the edge of the pan. If the tortilla easily comes free it is ready to flip. I like to put a dinner plate over the pan, flip it, then slide it back into the pan. Cook the second side for about 5 minutes, or until the tortilla is firm in the center.

That's it. Easy, easy, easy. Once it is done I slice the tortilla in to 8 slices and usually enjoy with a nice salad. I love a spring mix of baby greens with herbs. And for the dressing, I love Annie's Lite Raspberry Vinaigrette. Makes for a light, healthy and satisfying dinner.

Should I mention that after dinner tonight we went to Sonic to get milk shakes? Gotta keep it real. :-)

Grilled Summer Fruit Cobbler

Why waste hot coals? Right?

This recipe is easily adaptable to any fruit that is in season and is super, super easy to make. I made mine gluten free, but you can easily glutify this recipe if you so choose. And, it's a great way to keep those hot coals working for you.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup butter
1 cup Bisquick (I used GF bisquick, but use whatever variety you prefer)
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup milk
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 nectarines, sliced*
1/2 pint of blueberries*

*Fruit can easily be substituted to any fruit you like, or better yet, any fruit that is fresh and in season at the farmer's market.

To Prepare:

In a mixing bowl combine Bisquick, 1/2 cup sugar, and milk. Mix and set aside. In a separate bowl combine the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar and cinnamon.

Place a 9-in. cake pan on the grill with 1/4 cup butter. Once butter has melted pour in the batter. Then top the batter with sliced nectarines and blueberries. Sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar mixture on top. Cover the grill and cook for about 30 minutes.

I know, it looks like a lot of butter...

The finished product.

I love this recipe and hope you will too!

Buon appetito!

Long time, no blog

Well, I can't believe it has been since April that I've blogged. We both have been so, so busy.

I am loving my job at Auburn University working for the International Hunger Institute doing communications and social media for Universities Fighting World Hunger. I've also been ramping up my jewelry design business, spending 15-20 hours a week in production and pitching lots of different boutiques and galleries around the southeast to carry my line. I've been making jewelry since I was about 10, and officially started my business when I was 16, but my jewelry had to take a back seat during our time in Italy. I so missed my creative outlet.

Last week I was in Houston for the NAFSA 2012 conference. UFWH has a booth in the expo hall every year. It was an exhausting week. 10-12 hour days talking to thousands of people. I didn't get to see much of the city, but I did have a great view of the skyline from the hotel and loved being back in the state I used to call home.

I also got to hear my favorite travel companion, Rick Steves, speak. It was a great talk about the importance of travel and how it helps with our world view and understanding of different people, places and cultures. I love travel and believe firmly in exploring as many places as you can. I'm so thankful to my parents for encouraging me to travel and letting me go to Haiti when I was just 15 to help me start understanding that the world is a beautiful and diverse place worth seeing.

Other than working, we've slowly been finishing up the house. And I mean slowly. I've had a serious case of unpackitis, so the last few boxes are just lingering. Before we moved to Italy we only had about a month to prepare with a wedding and honeymoon in the middle of that month. So our packing method was just to get everything in a box and stuffed in the storage unit, not worrying about sorting or going through anything. So now, we have to go through everything and it is a more than daunting task. We also got rid of most of our furniture before we moved, so we had to start over with only a bed and a dresser. We've purchased a few pieces and had some great hand-me-downs we inherited from the family. But we're still lacking a few key pieces. Our dining room table, for example, is a fold up card table. It totally does the job though, and doesn't look too bad with a table cloth over it. :-)

In other news, this is a big month for Libby Loo, she is turning 1 on June 22! We just love that little dog. She is such a blessing in our lives. And yes, I'm totally planning a party for her. 

Earth Day Craft Project

Happy Earth Day!

To celebrate I decided to use items I had around the house to make a decorative wreath for our front door.

What you need:

• 1 wire hanger
• about 2 yards of fabric (I used an old mosquito net sheer curtain I had from Ikea)
• Scissors

To make the wreath start by re-forming a wire hanger into a circle. Then cut lots and lots of strips of fabric. The beauty of this project is that the fabric strips don't have to be exact. I cut mine into 8-in.x2-in. strips, approximately. Then, just tie the strips on and fluff them around the hanger.

This couldn't have been easier, or cheaper, or better for our precious planet. It took about 2 hours, but I think it was worth it.

Here are some step by step pictures:

Happy crafting.

The Beautification

I love a good outdoor space to enjoy in the spring and summer. To me there is nothing better than having a glass of wine on a perfect spring evening being surrounded by beautiful plants. I just love it. So, when we moved into our new house we knew one of the first things we would do was to spend working on beautifying our outdoor space.

Last weekend we had the perfect combination of beautiful weather and time to spend the weekend outside. Well, I should clarify, Jim spent a lot of time beautifying the the yard. He trimmed, he weeded, he dug and he planted a lot of plants. We bought confederate jasmine (a plant we fell in love with in Rome and had on our patio), bougainvillea, herbs (basil, thyme, rosemary, mint and cilantro), ferns, and many more. We also used quite a few amazing trellis pieces that are handmade by my uncle, Noah. His work is so beautiful and adds a special touch to any outdoor space.

Here are a few pictures:

Before

Cute owl statue I found at Target

Table and chair (Thanks Debbie!) and a fire pit

Confederate jasmine

Bougainvillea

Herbs - basil, rosemary and thyme

Front porch (plus Libby)

Life these days

I've been back from Nepal for about a month now and boy how life has changed. In that month Jim and I have both started working, we rented a house, and we're in the process of unpacking the storage unit and getting all our things under one roof.

Our house is on my favorite street in Auburn - Payne Street. It is in the historic downtown area and is just 2 blocks from Toomer's Corner. The house was built in 1936. It has lots of charm and we love it.

Here are a few pictures, and there will be more to come as we make it our own.

Our home

Back of the house.

Kitchen

Kitchen

Kitchen

Living Room

Other side of the living room that enters into the front bedroom/jewelry studio.

Master bedroom, corner view.

Sunroom

Main bathroom

Front bedroom

Fireplace in back bedroom.

Endless shelving in the dining room.

Now for work.

Jim and I are both working and loving our jobs.

Jim is working for his dad's hotel development business. Right now he is doing a little bit of everything to get to know the ins and outs of the hotel business.

As for me, I'm working for Auburn University. The International Hunger Institute was just recently approved and they hired me to handle the communications, social media, and to manage the website. I'll be doing a lot of work with Universities Fighting World Hunger, serving as the unofficial coordinator of sorts to help bring some organization to what has already been done and get some momentum going to build the movement. This is the perfect job for me. It is challenging and fun, and I'm working with amazing people.

Libby is adjusting well to her new home. She's had a lot of changes this month, but she's doing well. She also got spayed a few weeks ago and she has made a full recovery. Tomorrow morning we're going to Doxie Palooza. Libby is really excited and she's looking forward to making some American friends!

Ciao for now!

Not even pictures...

...could do this place justice.