DIFFA’s Dining by Design

Tonight I was able to attend Design Industries Foundation Fighting Aids (DIFFA)’s Dining by Design, featuring dining table exhibits created by design industries (furniture manufacturers, interior design firms, commercial design, construction, etc.). The tables were completely outside the box. I especially liked the one my company created with a commercial design firm and construction company:

However, the other tables were pretty amazing…

The appetizer stations were provided by local restaurants, and almost as beautiful as the table exhibits.

I washed it all down with a banana, strawberry and nutella crepe from the French café’s station. Now I’m tucking myself into bed after a big second day of work.

Pumpkin Soup with Apple, Balsamic & Parmesan

I deeply appreciate how much Trader Joe’s embraces pumpkin. They sneak it into everything. A long time favorite of mine is the pumpkin soup.

There are endless possibilities for this pumpkin soup: stir into oatmeal, mix into pasta or quinoa, eat by itself with chunks of blue cheese on top. My most recent combination made for a fall-tastic lunch. Stir in a pinch of nutmeg, cayenne and curry powder, add chopped apple, balsamic and Parmesan then microwave for 2-3 minutes. Serve with some chopped veggies and pumpkin and cranberry pita chips (another TJ specialty).

A big bowl of this pumpkin soup goes really well with a college football game, a cozy sweater, a steaming cup of apple cider – or any of your favorite fall activities.

Pumpkin Soup with Apple, Balsamic & Parmesan
(1 serving)

1 cup TJ’s pumpkin soup
pinch cayenne, nutmeg, curry powder, tumeric
1/2 Honey Crisp apple, diced
1 tablespoon Parmesan, shaved
drizzle balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper

Pour soup into a shallow bowl and microwave for 2 minutes. Stir in spices and top with remaining ingredients. Microwave 1 more minute, until hot.

Campbell’s Soup: Revisited

If most 20 something’s are like me, they own a lot of random artwork that is simply on the walls to be on the walls. You inherited it along the way, you saw something you didn’t hate at Target, it was left by a previous tenant. Decent art isn’t cheap, and it isn’t exactly functional. But how depressing are blank walls? We need it, so we settle.

But at some point, the art in one’s home should speak to the personality of the inhabitants. The classic Warhol Campbell’s Soup can jumped out at me. Taking an image from Pinterest to a poster on you wall is a few clicks away.

• Download the image onto your computer (at least 100KB)
• Upload image to Kinko’s website
• Determine poster size, locate nearest location and pay
• Pick up the next day!

But why not make it my own? I added some flare.

I love soup. I make it all the time. It deserves recognition on my walls. Voilà!

Frame + glitter = Target.

And so begins the process of making my walls make sense.

…Changing with the Leaves…

This has been a big week in my world. I accepted a new job, turned around and quit my current job, and jumped on a plane pointed for DC.

We spent the weekend in a lake house on Deep Creek Lake in Maryland, surrounded by a rainbow of leaves. It was a great reset button, preparing me for the transition into a new routine. I’m thrilled about the new position. I’ll be staying in furniture (which I’ve become obsessed with over the last year and a half) but I’ll be working more with clients, designers and bringing in new business, with less focus on the back-end details.

While on the topic of transitions, I’ve hit the 3 year mark of China’s Plate (!!!) I love this little blog, but I want it to encompass more of my interests. Aside from food, I’ve taken an interest in interior design and décor – partially influenced by my work in furniture. In preparation for a move into my own apartment, I want to start working on home design projects, and blogging has always been a motivator for me to actually DO the things I PLAN.

Therefore, this is my warning that soon - in addition to food - I will write about different aspects of planning for and decorating a home (realistically, a small SF apartment) that I’ve been dreaming about since I first moved out of my parents house and into the dorms. My home environment until this point has been transitional, mismatched, rundown and temporary. That is just the nature of the game when you live with roommates (most of whom, I’ve loved and enjoyed living with!) But the time has come to start building a real home.

…As if I wasn’t obsessed with Pinterest enough.

Kale, Goat Cheese, Apple & Sausage Stuffed Delicata Squash / Olive Oil & Sea Salt Brownie Cookies

We made it to Friday, team. Great work out there. Do you ever wonder if you might not make it? It’s kind of a silly fear, but every Friday there is a unanimous feeling of relief. This makes Friday evening the perfect time for a “treat yourself” meal (read: healthy and filling dinner, glass of wine and decadent dessert).  

My homie, Quin and I discussed the menu during our lunch break, while walking through Nordstroms in the zoo that is Westfield Mall. Look who found me and needed a home in the purse section:

Plus, a 25% off Tory sale doesn’t happen every day.

But I digress. Dinner had to be fall themed, as we are both obsessed with all things fall. For dessert, the chocolaty goodness of Something Swanky’s brownie cookies topped with TJ’s pumpkin ice cream (To. Die.)  For wine, Merlot.

Cheers to making it to the other side!

Kale, Goat Cheese, Apple & Sausage Stuffed Delicata Squash

2 delicata squash, halved and seeded
olive oil
salt and pepper
½ cup quinoa
1 spicy Italian sausage, removed from casing, crumbled and cooked
1 onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
½ teaspoon dried sage
pinch cayenne
pinch nutmeg
1 Honey Crisp apple, diced
1 cup kale, chopped
2 tablespoons white wine
2 ounces goat cheese
red pepper flakes
¼ cup panko crumbs
2 tablespoons parmesan

To prepare squash, preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place halved and seeded squash on a baking sheet and drizzle with a touch of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast in a preheated oven for 25 minutes.

In a small sauté pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add turkey sausage and onion, cooking until sausage is cooked through and onions are soft about 10 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 minute more. Stir sage, nutmeg, cayenne, salt and pepper into the sausage mixture. Add chopped kale, apple, and white wine. Give a good stir and then cover pan with a lid for 3-5 minutes, stirring a few times, until kale is starting to wilt and most of the moisture has evaporated. Remove filling from the stove and let cool 10 minutes.

Lastly, stir in goat cheese until mixed through and add salt and pepper to taste. Divide mixture among 4 halves and top with panko crumbs and parmesan cheese. Bake for 20 minutes until squash is cooked through.

Recipe inspired from Mountain Mama Cooks.

Mussels in Butter, Wine & Red Pepper Flakes with Toasted Baguette

Tuesday night’s dinner was a very special dinner. Not only because we had a guest chef appearance by Kristian who made us delicious, butter soaked mussels, but because it was my sister’s first time visiting me in San Francisco. We haven’t spent any real time together in over a year, so we have some catching up to do. We kicked off the visit with 2 huge pots of mussels swimming in butter, wine and Parmesan, next to toasted baguette and a salad nope, no salad.

Kudos to Kristian on a delicious meal. Apparently it isn’t hard to make mussels, though I’ve never made them myself. The scrubbing/debearding/alive or dead mysteries have kept me away. But here goes Kristian, makin’ it look easy…

5 pounds mussels (kept chilled, but not covered – or they suffocate)

4 sticks of butter

1/3 cup red or white wine

4-5 leaves basil, torn

Crushed red pepper flakes

Shaved parmesan
salt and pepper

1 or 2 French baguettes

Olive oil – for drizzling

1 lemon, quartered

To clean the mussels, put them in a large bowl with 2 quarts of water and the flour and soak for 30 minutes, or until the mussels disgorge any sand. Drain the mussels, then remove the "beard" from each with your fingers. If they're dirty, scrub the mussels with a brush under running water. Discard any mussels whose shells aren't tightly shut. 

In (2) large pots, melt (2) sticks of butter in each. Stir in wine and add mussels. Cook over medium to low heat, stirring mussels gently, then cover until mussels open- about 8-10 minutes. Sprinkle basil, parmesan and red pepper flakes. Shake pan with lid on to make sure mussels don't burn on the bottom, and get covered with the sauce. Serve immediately with baguette and lemon slices. 

Heirloom Tomato & Feta Quinoa Tabouli

Being a member of Scribe Winery has been the gift that keeps giving. This weekend I took my friend Leslie, who was visiting from Charlotte, to pick up my third quarter shipment. Not only did she get to see the beauty that is Scribe with a complimentary glass of wine in hand, but we got to take home heirloom tomatoes from their garden.

Alanna and I strategically have wine club memberships near each other, so we made the rounds…

There is really only one way to eat homegrown, ripe heirloom tomatoes: raw. Maybe paired with cheese. Dinner was obvious.

Heirloom & Feta Quinoa Tabouli

1 cup quinoa
1 tablespoon + 2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves + 1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 red onion, chopped
1/2 bunch kale, chopped
1 can garbanzo beans, rinsed
1 heirloom tomato, diced
2 ounces feta, cubed
1/4 cub fresh mint, chopped
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
red pepper flakes
salt and pepper

Add quinoa and 2 cups water to a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce and cover for 12-15 minutes, until fluffy. In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil and add 2 cloves garlic and onion. Once onion start to soften, add in kale and stir. Sprinkle a tablespoon or two of water and cover to let steam for 3-5 minutes.

Dump cooked quinoa to a large bowl.Top with kale mixture, garbanzo beans, tomato, feta and mint. In a cup, whisk 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 clove minced garlic, red wine vinegar, and lemon together. Pour over tabouli and toss. Season with salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Serve or chill until ready to serve.