love | Nuria + Jesse

it is february already. in fact, valentine's day is in a few days. if you're anything like me, you're wondering where the days have gone. the slumberous hours of winter have gone with nary a sign of slowing down. soon it will be spring and with it, the day this young couple will join hands and become husband + wife. it's beautiful, isn't it? their love. they're beautiful, in love.

for their wedding invites, they asked me to snap a few shots. on a cold, very blustery december afternoon we met at the johns hopkins campus. i gave us 30 minutes to make magic. these images were what came of that.

ain't love grand?

happy weekend lovies.

vietnam 2012

it has been quiet around here. i've been in a funk. a post-vacation funk. i'm only just now surfacing from my shallow wallow of self pity as i try to get back into the daily grind. dw & i spent 8 days in vietnam. it was a whirlwind, punctuated with a beat down sun, permeating heat that held onto your body & would not let go, no matter how vigorous you tried to shake it off.

at first, our days were spent traversing saigon, dodging motorbikes carrying whole families, grandmothers, babies & all, seeking food stands that i scoured the internet for. alas, due to the lunar new year and basically not knowing how to navigate the map, or speak the language well enough to be understood, we didn't find a single food place on our list. don't rub it in, i'm still bitter over it.

for the rest of the trip we traveled to Nha Trang, my hometown. a coastal city by the water, with a cooler climate. for this leg of the trip, we met with cousins who were also vacationing there. we walked the beach, hiked to the temples, even rode a cable car to a neighboring island.

if you're wondering about the food... i will confess to a feeling of disappointment. vietnam is a beautiful country, but it is poor. the water system is not the best. as much as i hated to, i avoided the fresh fruits and veggies -- you just don't know how they're washed. the times i wasn't careful & consumed any herbs with my meals, the hours after were tinged with worry & belly aches. i bonded with pepto bismol pills on this trip. further, everything just seemed less in flavor, watered down. as someone who has embraced the organic and whole food diet, this was hard for me.

this is not to discourage anyone from going, nor will this be our last trip there. we would love to visit the northern part of the country, eventually. in the meantime, these pictures will tide us over until we can make the long trek again to the other side of the world. i am not yet ready to open the vietnam photos for public viewing on flickr, dw has only just uploaded his 800+ photos, so please enjoy the ones i've shown here.

please note, the swastikas on the bottom of the buddha's feet are not nazi-related. interesting background on that symbol before it got bastardized.

The dish pictured is actually my fave of the trip: steamed snails with lemongrass & ginger.

additional information:

hotel we stayed at in Saigon, thanks to cathy for the reco.

Thien Thao Hotel - extremely clean and efficient, the staff was wonderful.

Nhat Thanh Hotel - in Nha Trang. this was actually paternal grandparents' home before it was converted into a grand hotel. the room we reserved was big. the hot water was tempermental. it was a bit too local for our liking, the rooms not very sound insulated. we did not stay the entire time we booked it, i begged dw to go to a resort instead.

diamond bay resort - we spent our last night in nha trang here. clean and beautiful, but still the hot water situation was driving me crazy. however, the staff was very accommodating.

City Hotel - we did not spend the night here. our last day in Vietnam was in Saigon and we had a full day there. being as it's so hot there, we wanted to shower before our flight out later that evening so booked a room to freshen up before we trekked it to the airport. it was dw's favorite, due to the super cleanliness of the place, as well as the location, just a mere half block from Cho Ben Thanh.

pop tarts on a stick ~ this year so far

january has been lovely so far. seriously lovely. i mean, blustery winds and frigid cold aside. warm blankets. crocheting. knee high socks. eskimo kisses. and birthdays.

celebrating birthdays are always fun, uncomplicated family time, time well spent in my opinion. for a beloved cousin one weekend we gathered together, capturing moments of unbridled laughter, maybe even some good natured ribbing, but mainly for sweet moments shared.

as a gift, a token of my affection for kim, i made pop tarts on sticks. anything mini or bite-size are instantly adorable and these were no different. super easy to make, especially, when you buy the pie dough (!) and use already in the fridge staples like homemade nutella or making use of just that last tidbit of jam that's not quite enough for a piece of toast but just the perfect amount for miniature sweet treats like pop tarts. i made use of the last of my bluebarb jam & gingered rhubarb jam with honey. once baked and slightly cooled, slather with a smidge of milk-icing and top with colorful sprinkles. adorable much?

Pop Tarts on a Stick

as originally featured on the Kitchn from Babble

lollipop sticks, the round white ones or if you can find, the flat wooden popsicle ones

1 prepared pied dough, i used immaculate baking co. pie crust

filling: used jam and nutella

glaze: 1/4 powdered sugar (more or less) with splash of milk

sprinkles

egg wash, as needed

preheat oven to 400F.

make sure the pie dough is at room temp, makes for easier unrolling and handling.

lightly dust counter top with flour. place dough on top. using a biscuit cutter of size & shape of your choice, cut out pieces. i used square and circles.

on cookie sheet, place first layer down, not too close. place sticks about 1" on the dough, lightly tapping to indent. put in a small glob, maybe about 1/2 tsp of filling, of your choice, in the middle. around the edges, dabble with a bit of egg wash. put on second layer of dough on top. press edges to seal, with a fork create a border around shapes.

bake for 8-10 minutes, until lightly golden.

allow to cool before transferring, gently to wire rack to cool completely.

in a bowl, add the powdered sugar with splash of milk. you want a nice thick consistency, not too watery. slather on top of tarts and sprinkle with jimmies. allow to harden before handling.

i ended up with about 20 pop tarts and leftover dough was turned into a gallette that served two.

other sweet treats on sticks:
hello kitty cake pops
harry potter cake pops
smurf cake pops

Purple Peruvian Bonbons

over the weekend i spent time cleaning ~ the abode, the fridge; the type of frenzied cleaning that occurs prior to a big trip. a big pot of homemade chicken stock simmered gently on the stove, a bowl of soaked spelt flour in the corner quietly sat, while the outside temperature dipped to a chilling 20F. the kitchen window fogged up from the sink-full of hot dishwater, the counter top speckled with a light dusting of flour as i roll pie crust, the kitchen table housing half-prepared wontons, the wrappers drying around the edges. see, this is what happens when dw is gone for the day, at a class, and i'm left to my own devices.

i had a list of things to prepare for the coming week. it was done, albeit messily, quite counter productive of the whole cleaning thing. but it got done. and when i sat down for a breather, with a cup of tea, sliding supper preparations aside, i nibbled on these gems. reminiscent of that little chocolate treat, but without the manufactured aftertaste, it's perfect as a warm up to dinner, a sweet appetizer if you must put a label. or simply put, a lovely bite-size dessert treat. and with the use of the purple peruvian potatoes, the color is just so fitting right now, what with the ravens on the road to the super bowl, yes?

Idaho® Purple Peruvian Bonbons

Makes about 2 dozen bonbons

4 smallish, Idaho® purple fingerling potatoes

¾ cup powdered sugar, to taste

½ cup unsweetened, organic coconut flakes

½ cup soy creamer

8 oz chocolate, combo of bittersweet & semisweet, chopped in small chunks (chips can be used in lieu of bar chocolate)

Milk or dairy alternative, like almond, coconut or soy milk, optional

Cocoa powder, optional

Kosher salt, optional

Wash & peel potatoes. Put in pot and add in cold water. Bring to boil, cook thru. Use a fork or knife to pierce for doneness. Drain water. Mash with masher or fork, until smooth, or reach preferred consistency. Add in a pinch of salt.

Add in powdered sugar, ¼ cup at a time. Add more or less according to how sweet you want it to be.

Add in coconut flakes. Make sure the mixture is incorporated, not too dry or wet. If too dry, add in a tablespoon of milk (or dairy alternative) for added creaminess.

Form into small bite size balls, and store, covered with plastic wrap, in refrigerator while making chocolate ganache.

In a small saucepan, heat up soy creamer, gently. You want it to be hot, but not scalding. In a bowl, add in the chocolate chunks or chips. When soy creamer is heated through, pour over chocolate. Whisk until smooth.

Take out potato balls and dip into the chocolate. Coat all over and put on parchment paper, or on wire/cooling rack over a sheet pan to allow excess chocolate to drip down. Allow to harden at room temperature.

You can double coat with the chocolate & sprinkle with kosher salt on top, or coat with cocoa powder.

To store: keep in air tight container in the refrigerator. Keeps for 3-4 days.

disclaimer: this is a sponsored post by the Idaho® Potato Commission to celebrate February being Potato Lover's Month. All opinions expressed are mine (because listen, everyone is entitled to my opinion). I was compensated for joining in the fun.

Vegetable Stir Fry with Banh Canh Noodles

when i sit in the kitchen, whether it is to do a bit work on the laptop or listen to NPR while dw brews my cup of tea, i almost always prefer the back door open, no matter the temperature outside. not that the cold weather makes much difference, thru the tiny cracks and edges of the door a brisk wind flows thru to caress & lift the hair from my neck or send shivers up my legs as it touches my ankles. despite this, i love the light that filters thru the windows, bright golds and pinks of the morning, turning bronze and lengthening shadows in the early evening. it is my favorite room in our humble dwelling.

lately, my eating habits have altered. nothing drastic, just different - better. slowly, very slowly, but surely, i have embraced winter's heart and bounty, savoring the robust vegetables that are in season. i can't always get organic or have the best picks, but i do what i can; and with what i had handy, this noodle stir fry came about.

this is my contribution to Taste & Create, a monthly blog event that pairs up bloggers who then recreate something from their partner's blogs. my partner this time around is Always Eat on the Good China. And for good china, there are Macys coupons available for tableware.

Veggie Noodle Stir Fry

as inspired and slightly adapted from Always Eat on the Good China

banh canh noodles

knob of ginger, thinly sliced

2 zucchinis, chopped

small onion, diced

2 carrots, diced

2 cloves of garlic, diced

a bundle of baby choy, washed & rough chopped

two portabella mushrooms, halved and then cut into bite size pieces

oyster sauce, to taste

splash of rice wine vinegar

cornstarch slurry (small bowl of cold water + 1-2 tsp cornstarch mixed in)

to prepare the banh canh, heat up pot of water. add the noodles when water comes to a boil, allow to loosen and separate from bunch. drain & set aside.

meanwhile, working quickly, heat up a frying pan (or wok) with a bit of canola or veggie oil. add in the onions, garlic, carrots & ginger, until fragrant & onions are translucent and carrots have softened some. add in the zucchini, mushrooms, and bok choy and cook thru, with the zucchini still al dente. put noodles into wok, mixing quickly. coat with the oyster sauce. don't add too much, just enough to coat the noodles and veggies in thin layer. add in the cornstarch slurry and heat thru. if you think of it, add a splash of rice wine vinegar to taste. serve immediately.