Tuesday 5 May 2009

A Dedication to Little Brown: MIGAAAS!

For dinner tonight I made Migas à la The Pioneer Woman! 

Migas belonged in my life way before tonight and I shall long mourn those days that we were parted.

To summarise, migas consist of: lightly scrambled/fried/omeletted egg, red onion, bell peppers, tomatoes, cheese and crispy fried tortillas!


I would post some pictures from The PW's website, but if you don't click on that link and see them for yourself I will force death by asymmetry on you (ask Little Brown how this works).

The great thing about the recipes on that site is that they're so easy to follow and adjust to your tastes or quantities. And you shall always be guided by Ree's stellar photos!

Some English-student-ifying notes:

I already had some tacos so I didn't buy tortillas. I fried them quickly anyway to up the crispiness and the saltiness. Little Brown and I reckon you could use tortilla crisps too. 

The recipe calls for 10 - 12 eggs (!) but I would just halve the amount you usually put into scrambled eggs. I used 3 and, by the halfway line, was too full to finish. 

I also didn't have a jalapeno at hand (being deathly afraid of them and all) so I just sprinkled in a very cowardly amount of chili flakes. It needs the jalapeno. Since giving up meat I've been more and more taken with spiciness.  Do not let me skimp next time. 

Ummm what else? If (when!) I make this for my carnivourous beau I think I will include some cubed chorizo. It doesn't need it, but if you're going to miss meat then a bit of chorizo would be a hit.

Other recipes I urge you to try:

Italian bacon drummettes - These are, yeah I'm gonna say it: DIVINE. Seriously! Please please please make this dish. I no longer can due to my current situation of self-inflicted meatlessness. But I can still peer and sniff over your shoulder while you stir it. Oh yes.

The Best Lasagna Ever - That's PW's title, but I am inclined to agree. My attempt involved too much mozzarella in the end - just a warning. It supposedly requires something called Jimmy Dean's pork breakfast sausage. Geh? I did some sleuthing and substituted it with the second recipe on this page.

Twice Baked Potatoes - soft, billowy cheesiness polka-dotted with spring onions and bacon, encased in crispy, starchy goodness. 

The PW will often use Lawry's Seasoned Salt. Again: geh? I fear this is a USA-bound product. Just get an empty spice jar, fill it with the following and mix it up good: 2 tablespoons salt, 2 tablespoons sugar, 1/2 teaspoon paprika, 1/4 teaspoon turmeric, 1/4 onion powder or onion seeds, 1/4 garlic powder, 1/4 teaspoon cornstarch. Season away folks!

This ended up being a love letter to The Pioneer Woman. Go make those migas and you'll know why.

Monday 4 May 2009

Heart-coloured treats from Tartelette!

Today I was shown a link to tartelette.blogspot.com! I could hardly stay on my chair as picture after picture of delicate, feminine sweets appeared on the screen.

Go and have a look! Make one of the recipes! And then....um, give one to me?

Here is a sample of the delights that await your eyes (and hopefully later our tastebuds, yes?):














Sunday 3 May 2009

How To Wear a Fringed Dress

Option 1:



Option 2:



Option 3:





Skipping ahead..4. Kefalonia, Greece

I may later go on to fulfill my intention to muse on each of the ten locations below, but From Here to Eternity entered my mind and I feel the need to post another beach outfit..meaning all the land-locked "idyllic" listings have been skipped through for now!


I'm so far gone in love with this bikini from Hayden-Harnett:



Of course I wouldn't for a second imagine that it could be anything but an unrequited love. Ruffles + high waist + child(of a substantial size)bearing hips = "you're gonna have a bad time".

All the same..once I keep up my workout and healthy eating regime (HA!) and lose enough weight to flaunt the bikini I shall (HA HA!) wear it with:




Saturday 2 May 2009

Rome, Italy




Dresses the colour of marble, draped and pleated...always with Madame Grès in mind:





Taking the toga as inspiration is hardly inventive, but I've been looking for an excuse to post something from Alix Grès.

For more contemporary inspiration I always find myself thinking of Prada circa 2004 (the origin of my weakness for dip/tie-dye stems) or 2005. Seeing these collections again after so long has made me realise what an impression they had on me back when they were released:









2005's collection somehow looks more outdated than its predecessor. Still..a few photos:






More Prada...2005 and 2006 (posted mostly due to the feature of some kittehs) campaigns by Steven Meisel:








And finally, to make up for turning a post titled "Rome" into a Prada-fest, some token gladiator(ish) sandals. When in Rome... (Oh man, pinch me. Did I really just write that?)


They are from Surface to Air. Swoonswoonswoon zoopzoop!

Oh, but I did manage to avoid any mention of Audrey Hepburn or Gregory Peck! *pats self on back*......*looks around sheepishly having just patted own self on back*......

Deia, Majorca



A village with a rock star past on an island renowned for its beaches...


Friday 1 May 2009

Let's get out of this country



With 5 exams to go I'm still searching for a sense of urgency to motivate me towards revision.

Let's Get Out of This Country - Camera Obscura:



Forbes recently shared their list of Europe's Most Idyllic Places to Live
Right now, a simple, rustic existence would be...well, ideal.

10. Deia, Majorca




"Artists, including Mick Jagger and Mark Knopfler, played regularly at the local bar, Sa Fonda, in the 1980s."

9. Rome, Italy



8. Sibiu, Romania


7. Budapest, Hungary



"It has no fewer than four world heritage sites, including the second-oldest underground railway in the world."

6. Burford, England


Gateway to the Cotswolds, twee getaway of the rich and famous..

5. Ljubljana, Slovenia



"The queen of England recently visited this quirky capital city on a royal visit to Slovenia, where she was given a rare Lipizzaner horse." I did a Google image search of a Lipizzaner and am sad to report they don't resemble Dr. Seuss characters AT ALL.

4. Kefalonia, Greece


3. Copenhagen, Denmark



2. Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, France (for which it was not easy to find a picture that represented it in all its chic leafiness..I did not succeed)


1. Gaiole in Chianti, Italy



It may be quite ambitious, but I would enjoy following this with an outfit for each location..