Hot Toddy Recipe

It's been rainy and soggy here in Vermont for the past week.  It looks as though Friday might clear up, but for now, it's gray.  Seemingly in sync with the weather, I managed to get a sore throat/cold thing a few days ago.  It's been lingering, and by the end of a long work day yesterday, my throat was in need of something warm and soothing.  Enter: the hot toddy.

I'd heard about these for a long time, but I'd never actually had one.  I read a few recipes online and then did what I usually do, which is come up with some amalgamation of what I read.  A lot of the recipes just use hot water with honey and lemon, but that sounded gross to me... so I used tea (a lot of recipes do).  Many say to use whiskey, but I didn't have any.  What I did have was maple rum (I know, I know - I'm on a real maple kick lately! But to be fair it is autumn in Vermont), which worked rather wonderfully.  Spiced rum would probably be good too.

My recipe is below.

Hot Toddy Recipe

You will need:
-  Tea (black tea, herbal tea, or green tea would probably all be good. I didn't want caffeine, so I went with ginger peach)
-  Half a lemon
-  Honey
-  Rum (or whiskey)

It's all pretty simple.  Brew your tea in a mug.  Leave a little room, since you'll be adding more liquid with the rum or whiskey.

Squeeze in the juice of half of a lemon - you can do more or less if you want.

Stir that up with a teaspoon of honey.

Add your rum or whiskey and stir it really well.

Sip and enjoy!  This was really soothing and didn't taste overwhelmingly like any one of the ingredients.   I enjoyed sitting by the fire and sipping away, and it really did make me feel better.

Of course for the work day, I'll just have to settle for tea with honey and lemon!

Maple Balsamic Vinaigrette

Yesterday was one of those rainy, cool, October-is-tomorrow kind of days.  Garret and I spent Friday and Saturday at my mom's in Albany, so Sunday was our only Vermont weekend day this weekend.  We had aspirations to drive a little, grab some chicken wings and a beer at a pub, and watch football.  We don't really watch football, per say... but on a rainy Sunday, I like the experience of it.  It reminds me of home.

Anyway, that was our aspiration.  When it came time to actually go out and do all of this, we realized that a) we didn't really feel like eating chicken wings, we both wanted something healthy. And b) we didn't really want to do the drive that would be required of us to get to the place with the good wings.  But I was still craving a seasonal-inspired afternoon that embraced the coolness in the air. So, instead, I decided to make a autumn "lunch out" at home: homemade maple balsamic vinaigrette over a salad with a pumpkin ale sprinkled with a cinnamon sugar mix.

I like to make "special" seasonal meals at home.  It's easy to do, it just takes a little creativity.  In the end, we got the same satisfaction we would have by going out and getting these seasonal foods at a restaurant, but we also got the warmth of our fireplace.  Plus, we got to hang out with Murgs.

The recipe for maple balsamic vinaigrette is below.  I highly recommend it -- it's not too sweet.  Actually, the maple just offsets the acidity of the balsamic enough to make it just an all around more delicious version of normal balsamic vinaigrette.

Maple Balsamic Vinaigrette 

You will need: 

1/2 a cup of olive oil

1/4 a cup of balsamic vinegar

3 tablespoons of maple syrup (serious maple syrup, not my beloved Mrs. Butterworth's)

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1/4 teaspoon of pepper

1 clove of garlic, pressed (or minced)

Making the dressing is easy: just throw it in a bowl and whisk away.  I had a little bit of trouble getting it all to mix at first, so have patience.  If all else fails, throw it in a bottle or jar and shake it up.

❤Lauren

Ladies and Gentleman... Meet Anoush!

Anoush being written on at NYC's Fashion Week
in September.
Photo by Meena Sajwani Appleton.

I'd like to introduce you to my friend, Anoush Froundjian.  Anoush and I met in college; where we were in a tiny screenwriting program together (we had all of our classes with the same 15 writers for all four years!).  Recently she has embarked on a new project, "I Got Written Up".  I love this project and think it's awesomely awesome that Anoush is doing it, so I wanted to share it (and her) with you.

"I Got Written Up" is an interactive project where Anoush covers herself in paper and goes to different places to get written on.  She asks everyone a question and allows them to answer (on her) with the sharpies she provides.  Previous questions have been "What do you want the most?" "What's your superhero name?" and "What do you think about when you're on the train?"  Anoush starts the day completely blank and at the end it's, as she puts it, "the noisiest thing you've ever seen."  

Anoush Froundjian is a writer, illustrator, and performer, who wants answers. She lives in New York City.

My interview with Anoush regarding "I Got Written Up" is below. 

L:  Hi!  So, tell me about your project. What are you up to? 

A:  Hi Lauren!  I've been doing a series of experiments where I go to different parts of the city while completely covered in paper.  I walk up to people, ask them a question, and ask them to write their answer on me.  The idea is to offer each person a blank slate to make it their own.  The whole experiment becomes this big, interactive project. 

L:  What was the biggest/scariest thing you overcame to actually take to the streets and turn this idea into a project? 

A:  The first time I did this, I was in Union Square and I was scared out of my mind.  I pinned all these papers to an extra large men's undershirt and wore a loose button-up shirt to cover it all.  I planned to show my "costume" at 2pm, and was waiting for my friend to be there to document it.  She was running late (L train) and couldn't answer her phone.  So I was on my own.  I realized there'd be a chance that this idea would not be absolutely, totally, fucking awesome, and that I'd have to face that reality while also looking like a dumb paper-idiot.  I stood there playing with my top button, and I started to tremble.

Photo by Meena Sajwani Appleton

I called a friend, who is also an improviser, and she gave me advice that made sense.  Something along the lines of "You have to just do it." Advice that sounded good on paper (Hah! Anyway...)  but I needed more than that.  The back of my neck was really hot and I was trembling even more.  She reminded me that I have to be okay with looking stupid.  If I'm not okay with looking stupid, I'm doing it wrong. 

I thanked her for the reminder and unbuttoned.  The shirt came off, and I started talking to people, and the writing started.  The L train finally brought my friend to Union Square and she started snapping pictures while people were already there.  Her not being there in the beginning was actually a very, very good thing. 


L:  What was your biggest fear? 

A:  First, people thinking I'm crazy.  Second, People thinking I'm just some artsy person trying to get unearned attention.  Thirdly, people not thinking anything.  Well... the people thing, pretty much.


L:  What's been the most exciting thing that has happened as a result of this? 

A:  Something really great happened on my way home after the last time I did this.  When I got to my floor of my apartment building, the elevator door opened, and maybe a nine-year-old girl ran up to me.  She said she saw me on the street and had to take my picture.  I didn't want to have my picture taken of me by myself because I didn't really think me alone with the paper all over me was all that interesting.  So I asked her if she would like to write down something she really wanted to do and she said: 

"Yes! Do you have a marker?" 

(Yes, my child - I have a MILLION of them!) 

She smiled and said while she wrote, "I really want to be famous."

I said, "Oh, you totally can.  Just go and do a lot of stuff.  GOOD stuff." 

"Yeah," she said.  "Good stuff." 

"Are you a dancer, or...?" 

"I like acting.  I'm going to start taking classes when I move here." 

"Oh, great. Yeah. Just go and do it.  Wherever or whenever you want." 

"I'm going to"

"It was really nice meeting you."

"You too!"

"Now, go be famous!" 

While I turned the key to my apartment, I thought - that was a good thing that just happened... 

Anoush at Grand Central.
Photo by Meena Sajwani Appleton

Another was when a woman on the subway, on my way home, asked if she could write something down.  She told me that I was doing something very new and the it moved her to see someone create something that had to do with everyone else. 

L:  A lot of artists struggle with identity - who they are, what they do.  You and I met at school for writing, and you've always had some performance mixed in, too.  How do you introduce yourself at a cocktail party?  What do you say you "do"?  Do you put yourself in one category, or are you open to whatever happens? 

A:  I can't really afford to categorize myself - my name is already "Anoush Froundjian".  Giving more information than that at once might cause an explosion (figurative!).  I need to be patient and figure out how to relate to people first and then take it from there (and then bring up comedy).  But I think if I go around telling people who I am and what my purpose is, (which I'm still figuring out), I'd never make any new discoveries. 

That being said, if anyone has any questions about Armenia you know I'm always here to help. 

L: What is the biggest thing you've learned through this process? 

A:  That I can talk to anyone about anything!  Except sports...! And I was also surprised to learn how much people like being approached.  I've also learned that when you're entertaining a group of people, sometimes it is better to let your audience do the talking (writing).

L:  What's the next step for this project?  What do you want to do but haven't done yet with it? 

A:  My plan is to create a bigger project from all of this with each physical piece of writing. 

So far, I document everyone's responses here: http://igotwrittenup.wordpress.com.  The photos were taken by Meena Sajwani Appleton, who has been accompanying me on these adventures.  

Also, please go to my Facebook page and become a fan (or if you're just curious): http://www.facebook.com/pages/Anoush-Got-Written-Up/528229813869545?ref=ts. 

I hope to get you to write something soon! 

L:  Any new projects or other pursuits we should look forward to? 

A:  I do a few things in addition to this.  I have a web comic called "Anoush talks to stuff at http://anoushtalkstostuff.tumblr.com.  It's about me and the inanimate objects I live with and talk to. 

I also design t-shirts called Monster Eats T-Shirts.  About different foods that hate people.  That's over at: http://www.cafepress.com/monster_eats

I also have a collection of monster drawings that I post here at: http://teethandeyeballs.blogspot.com.  It's a lot of teeth and a lot of eyeballs. 

L:  Thank you for doing this!
A:  Thank you for asking me to do this!  This was fun.  I have a question -- do you still do voice impressions, when you're not writing movies?  I remember your English accent being really, really good.  I was just curious.  You can leave this part out if you want.  Actually... don't :) 

L:  Sometimes... I do... [talks in a British accent for the rest of the day].

Anoush being written on in Union Square.
Photo by Meena Sajwani Appleton

Cheerio :) 

(Successful) Food Experiment: Peanut Butter & Banana on Pumpernickel & Rye

It's rainy today. I don't mean just rainy I mean like, the Hollywood version of a rainy day.  It's dark - so dark I need to have lamps on in every room - and there's a delightful pitter-pattering outside that's providing a nice soundtrack to my work.

One thing that I can't avoid on a day like today is a desire for warm and hearty food.  Mid-morning, I got it in my head that I should make a warm grilled sandwich.  It was too early for grilled cheese; I wanted something sweet.  And so my mind immediately turned to one of my old favorites: grilled peanut butter and banana.

I discovered grilled peanut butter and banana sometime in high school.  There's a cool little restaurant in a town near my house that makes it.  It quickly became a staple in my life  - a warm cozy blanket I rely on three times a year or so to deliver a delicious serving of satisfying comfort.  Usually, I make it like a grilled cheese - white bread, butter, peanut butter, and bananas.  But today I didn't have any white bread. Once I get an idea in my head though, I have to go for it, so instead of giving up the dream of this sandwich, I decided to experiment with what I did have: marble bread - rye and pumpernickel.

This was actually quite delicious.  The flavors of the rye and pumpernickel actually undercut the sweetness of the banana and peanut butter in a way that was rather perfect.  I'd definitely suggest trying this, regardless of whether you have some white bread in the house!  This really added new depth to an old classic.  And it somehow felt a little more "grown up", too.

Instructions for this sandwich are below.

You will need: 

-  Two slices of rye/pumpernickel marble bread

-  1 banana (less ripe can be better so it's not too sweet)

-  2 tbs of peanut butter

-  A tiny bit of butter

-  A frying pan

Heat your frying pan to medium.  Don't go any higher - it may cook faster, but slow and steady wins the race here.  

Put your butter in the frying pan and melt it.  While that's melting, assemble your sandwich by putting the peanut butter on the bread and cutting the banana into "chips".  Put the banana chips in the peanut butter and put the other slice of bread on top.

Throw your sandwich into the butter and let it grill slowly.  It should take about three minutes on each side.  There's nothing to really cook here - it's all about the bread toasting and the peanut butter melting. 

Enjoy! I like to eat the leftover banana chips that didn't fit into the sandwich on the side.  A nice cold glass of milk is also a nice accompaniment. 

What's your favorite rainy day food? 

❤Lauren

Penne a la Vodka Receipe

So, years ago, when Garret and I first moved to Brooklyn, we lived in a "small town" within Brooklyn called Bay Ridge.  Brooklyn has many neighborhoods within it, and Bay Ridge has a very tucked away feeling.  It has streets with brownstones and avenues with shops, restaurant, bakeries, and meat markets.  It also has parks and baseball fields and rows of normal houses with yards.  It really does feel like a secret little small town within the greater space of Brooklyn.  And parts of it - certain streets, corners, and shops - almost feel frozen in time.  I'd go for walks in the morning there and at certain points within my walk, I could have been 2010 me, or I easily could have instead been a much more stylish 1960's version of myself, headed to my job at Sterling Cooper.

[P.S. I am obsessed with Peggy Olsen (the character) and she (the character) is from Bay Ridge!]

Anyway, on the corner near our house was this very frozen-in-time catering place:

This picture is weird because I did Google Street View to find it
and then took a screen cap. HEY, technology!

I have no idea what the story is with it (but trust me, I made up plenty).  Nobody ever went in and nobody ever came out.  There were usually garbage bags out front as pictured above.  Most of the time, it just sat there and let my imagination run wild, inventing all sorts of [creepy] scenarios for what could be going on inside.  But sometimes - like, three times a year - the most delicious smells would emanate from this place.

One crisp fall day I could smell penne a la vodka being cooked.  I'd never actually eaten penne a la vodka, but I'd seen/smelled it plenty and I knew it was delicious.  So I became obsessed with eating it and looked up a recipe and made it.

Delicious.

I made that recipe for a while, but this was years ago and I lost track of it.  The last few times I've wanted to make it I've spent fifteen minutes or so scouring the internet for the recipe, and I haven't been able to find it.  So, I've come up with my own version, which I thought I'd share!

Penne a la Vodka Recipe

You will need: 
-  2 cans of crushed tomatoes
-  1 can of tomato paste
-  1 can of tomato sauce
-  1 vidalia (sweet) onion
-  5 cloves of garlic, pressed or minced (pressed gives you more flavor!)
-  salt and pepper to taste
-  5 or 6 fresh basil leaves
-  3 oz of vodka
-  3/4 a cup of heavy cream
-  1/2 a stick of butter (oh, by the way - this sauce isn't exactly healthy)
-  1 box of Penne

Here's What to Do: 

I should say that this recipe takes a while: 3-4 hours from start to finish.  So it's not great for a weeknight dinner, but it is perfect for one of those cold winter days when you just want to stay in the house and be embraced by delicious smells.

So, first slice your onion so that you have a lot of thin onion rings.  Throw a bit of olive oil in a pan and cook the onions over medium/medium-low head (depending on your stove).  Cook them for about ten minutes, until they begin to become translucent.

Add your garlic to the pan and cook it for a minute or so, until the scent of the garlic is released into the air.  Turn the heat down to low.

Now add your tomato products - two cans of crushed tomatoes, one can of tomato paste, and one can of tomato sauce.  Stir it all up and let the mixture get warm.

When your sauce is reaching the "warm" point, rip up your basil leaves and stir them into the pot.  Use salt and pepper to season the sauce now, too.

Now you're going to simmer the sauce for a long time.  Like, three hours.  Stir it every thirty minutes or so and if it's starting to bubble, turn it lower.  For me, the last hour is usually spent cooking on the lowest setting possible.

Once the sauce has been cooking for three hours, you have about an hour to go.  Now is the time to stir your vodka in so that it has time to cook off.

Let the sauce with the vodka cook for 45 minutes.  Next you're going to cube your butter and throw that in, stirring it up.  The sauce will get a shimmer to it once the butter is added.

Once the butter is stirred in, it's time to add your cream.  Stir it in - this is what gives the sauce its signature orangeish pink look.

While that's cooking together (twelve minutes or so) cook up your pasta according to the package directions.

Enjoy!

Ripped up basil in the sauce.

Hurry Up and Give it a Go

Last night I couldn't sleep.  I mean I couldn't sleep in a serious way.  I spent several hours watching old talk show interviews on YouTube, I started re-reading The Scarlet Letter (and didn't get very far, because apparently when your English teacher isn't assigning that text... it's easy to put down) and then I clicked on a PDF that I had forgotten I had downloaded a while back: The Greatest Writer In The World by Dallas Clayton.  Then, my sleepless night became my can't sleep but this sure is wonderful, night.

Dallas Clayton is a writer and artist.  His website's bio reads:

My name is Dallas Clayton. A few years ago I wrote a kids book for my son. That book changed my entire life. Now I spend my days writing stories, drawing pictures, having big ideas and traveling the world sharing them with people of all ages.

Dallas Clayton seems like an all around awesome guy.  I love that such inspiring and wonderful words could have been born out of something so simple -- he wanted to write a book for his son.  Now he shares ideas and inspiration with kids (and grown ups) all over the place.  You can view the text of his books on his website, and he shares daily pictures, ideas and thoughts, too.

One of his poems in particular really stood out to me as I was reading last night, so I thought I would share it with you here.  Here's how it looks in the book.



In case you can't read it above, the text reads:

POINTS

Did you win the Superbowl yesterday?

If so
congratulations!

If not
let's work on that.
You've got an entire year.

Unless of course
you are not eligible
because of your age,
size,
determination,
or the fact that you don't like or play football.

If that's the case,
let's find something else to win.

There are plenty of things:
Games
Awards
Lotteries
Hearts
Life

Just pick something,
whatever it is,
and hurry up and give it a go.

So this time next year
the rest of us can cheer you on
and possibly dump beverages on you
because we are so happy
that we can't control ourselves
and that is the only thing that makes sense to do
to celebrate.

Here are some of my other favorites from Dallas's website.  You should really go check it out for yourself, though -- www.dallasclayton.com.

Source: www.dallasclayton.com

Source: www.dallasclayton.com

Source: www.dallasclayton.com

Source: www.dallasclayton.com

❤Lauren

Finding Beautiful Announcements That Fit Your Style

My twenty-something years have been filled with good news.  Engagements, weddings, babies,  new jobs, graduations, new homes.  It seems like new chapters are always unfolding for the people I love.  It's nice to have so much fun, exciting, good news in the air! 

One of my favorite parts about fun life moments is the opportunity to send out an announcement (and receive them!).  A save the date on the fridge is a constant reminder that something fun and exciting is coming up.  And, because they accompany our biggest and most intimate life moments, announcements are a perfect thing to infuse with your own personality, style, and character.

When my fiance Garret and I got engaged, we knew that we wanted to design something that was very "us".  Garret and I are both artists, and art has always been something we share.  So, it makes sense that when it came time to announce something together, we wanted a card that was a reflection of our shared artsy minds.  Even more exciting was that it could be something we created together.

We ended up designing these announcements/engagement party invites: 

Our engagement announcements/party invites. Garret drew us,
and then I tweaked me to look more like "me". We designed the
back of the card together.

Even if you aren't a designer yourself, though, there are tons of options out there for finding announcements that fit your particular personality, style, and that reflect the moment you're experiencing. 

Here are some tips for finding announcements that embrace who you are: 

1.  Pay attention to emotion and humor.  How do you want people to feel when they get your announcement?  Light?  Happy?  Proud?  Humored?  Different styles say different things - embrace the feeling you want to evoke.

 2.  Fonts are key.  I'm obsessed with fonts.  They add so much character information to a word!  Since an announcement is largely about the words on the page, you'll want a font that fits your character. 

3.  Say what you want to say how you want to say it.  Most designs on the web are really customizable.  You don't have to stick with the old stand-bys ("Together with their parents...") if you don't want to.  There's nothing better than getting beautiful correspondence from someone and feeling like they themselves created it.

Most of all: have fun!  Announcements are a reflection of the fact that something really fun and exciting is happening in your life.  Let them be as happy and elated as you are!

❤ Lauren

How To Make One Glass of Lemonade

Sometimes, there is nothing better than a glass of fresh lemonade.  Particularly on an afternoon when I'm feeling kind of sluggish, pure citrus like lemon is refreshing and rejuvenating.  Usually I'll rely on a slice or two of lemon in a glass of water, but every now and then I want to go all the way with a tall glass of lemonade.

Of course, making a whole pitcher is time consuming and I don't always want that much.  Until recently, my solution was to make one glass using the powdered stuff.  Then I started experimenting and found out using one lemon, some sugar, and some water, I can actually make delicious fresh-squeezed lemonade one glass at a time!

To make one glass of lemonade you will need: 

1 Lemon

4 ounces of water

2 tablespoons of sugar (to taste)

Ice cubes

What to do: 

It's simple!  Squeeze your lemon into a glass.  I have a great citrus juicer that I found a thrift store, but you could do it by hand or use another tool too.  You'll end up with about 1/8 a cup of juice. 

Add water to the juice.  You're only filling your glass about halfway with water - 4 oz or so.  I use warm water for this part so that my sugar will dissolve better.

Add the sugar to the lemon/water mixture.  I use two tablespoons of sugar. It's a lot, but I very rarely drink sweet drinks, so I don't mind.  You may want more or less depending on how sour you like your lemonade. 

Stir away!  Next, add ice until the cup is full. 

Enjoy!

P.S.: For a particularly refreshing twist, rip up some basil leaves and throw them in the lemonade. Delicious! 

❤Lauren