Wednesday's..... not a write off this week!! - Getting the House In Order

I was so excited this morning when I realized that I didn't have to count down the hours until I went into the evening shift at work! Weeehooo!


So, once again, I made the most of my day! I was up at 6:30, home at 7:30 and got about my day! The first thing I did this morning was stamp a jar I had picked up from IKEA yesterday. This is my "Savings Jar" for a special 'purchase'.
















I made myself a "Grilled Egg Sandwhich" for brunch; Cheese Bread, two slices of bacon, a fried egg, couple slices of tomatoe, a heaping handful of spinach and last night's Lemon Tarragon Mayo


I read some blogs I follow, did some research, then pampered myself as I got ready for the day. After The View (which is a Wednesday must) I made it out the door to pick up a couple more ducks from Smokin' Iron, then I made a stop at the Antique Shop that's down the street from my house! I've wanted to check it out for the past few months, but Chickie's is only open Wednesday - Saturday 11-5... so pretty much she's only open when I'm working.

At the antique shop I found so many cute and unique things that I wanted, ranging anywhere from $10 - $2000+! But I did make it out with one piece that I couldn't live without. For only $15 I picked up this amazing pillow! It was perfect! It was just what I'd had my heart set on too. On Sunday I had picked out a pillow that I was going to go back for, it was really cool and about $40. But this one is a couple steps above that one! This pillow is unique, antique, and a piece of art!

I had intended for the Pier 1 pillow to go on the bench at the front door, so this one worked perfectly, actually better, to take it's place. And this bench was well worth the research and the wait! Only $39.99 at IKEA compared to $150-$300 anywhere else!



After I got home from running errands I put together some of the other pieces I'd picked up at IKEA yesterday. I finally found the the perfect pillows for our couch and they even matched the Owl Pillow I got from Urban Barn on Sunday! The polka dot pillows have brown, grey, beige and they same grey/blue color of the owl pillow. The brown pillows add texture and anchor the eye being as they are so dark (a tip I'm sure I picked up on City Line or something of the sort). And the Knit Pillow was one that I simply could not walk by. It's just warm and comforting and a bit "cutsie".





I put the final touches on the shelf above our bed. The intention with this is that it would create a nice ambience with the light from the candles glittering off the mirror. And these little green tea lights I picked up from IKEA smell amazing! Their kind of a green apple, a bit leafy and piney smelling, but they smell like the Anthropology store which smells AMAZING! Kind of like Christmas!




The ceramic birds were little treasures I discovered on sale at Urban Barn. Only $1.75 each! They go perfectly with the white & black theme of our bedroom (with pops of yellow).

I want our room to have a romantic but uncluttered feel to it so the black and white will keep it simple, while the "Victorian" styled accessories will keep it romantic. I'm still working on getting the bedroom finished.











I finished the day with my good friend teaching her what I have just recently learned about preparing duck confit. We used insiration from the Middle East and India for our spices. In the confit we put Black Cardamom pods, Bay Leaves and Whole Cloves of Garlic in the duck fat while we slow roasted the confit. For vegetables we did chopped parsnips, carrots, celery and onions, sauteed them in a pan and then slow roasted them in the oven with Cinnamon, Garam Masala and Fenugreek. Wow! Amazing flavors! They were deep and spicy, and so comforting!Here's to another good day!

Only On A Tuesday; Duck Club on a Baguette and Duck Fat FriedHomemade Potatoe Chips

I used the last of my duck today! But unfortunately this won't be the last you hear about it as one of my good friends wants me to show her how to make duck confit... I know she'll bring a swarm of inspiration to my kitchen, though, and I'm excited for our cooking date! And, I don't think the Hubs is quite sick of duck yet so he shouldn't mind either.

But tonight I had one confit duck breast left and I decided to make a quick BLT out of it since I had been out shopping all afternoon and was late starting my usual Tuesday dinner. But then I became inspired to make homemade Potatoe Chips fried in the duck fat...so that took a little extra time.

In all, this supper took me only an hour to prepare and cook, and, was well worth the time! Enjoy!

Before I got started I had to remove the confited duck breast from the fat. In order to do this I had to put the bowl it was being preserved in, into a hot water bath to melt all the fat therefore giving me access to the meat without having to tear it out.



I started by making a Lemon Tarragon Mayo; ingredients included: one egg, EVOO, a tsp dijon, juice of one lemon, dried tarragon (didn't have fresh), salt and pepper to season, I also added a little bit of ancho chili powder.



I used a hand held to blitz it together and added EVOO as it mixed until it reached a desired thickness.







This is the finished product.







Then I got started on the potatoe chips! I used a mandolin to thinly slice the potatoes...








...And fried them in duck fat. I had transferred the fat to a pot and brought up the temperature to a rolling boil.







After frying I rested the chips on some paper towel to soak up as much grease as possible.








After resting the chips I tossed them in some light seasoning. I used sea salt, ancho chilli powder, chipotle powder, and a bit of chilli powder for some kick!




Duck Club on a Baguette
While I was doing everything listed above, I also seared off the confited duck breast and then fried up a few slices of bacon. After all this was done I put together my Duck Club! I used the rest of last night's baguette, smeared some Lemon Tarragon Mayo onto the bread, topped with spinach, tomatoes, duck meat, two small slices of bacon, and some alfalfa sprouts! Mmmm!

Double Chocolate Cookies with Peanut Butter Chips
This morning I'd also made some cookies sowWe had milk'n'cookies for dessert! (Well, to be honest we had our dessert before supper tonight.) I made these with a bit less butter and sugar, and substituded 1/4 cup of the flour for ground flax seed which is good for women's health.

Monday - Let the "Vacationing" Begin! Kicking it Off With Lasagna

Today my "vacation" started at 4pm when I left work. I put vacation in quotations because I'm not going anywhere, and I'll be back at work after six days, but nonetheless I'm SO excited for some time to relax!

This time off is now officialy deemed my Home & Food Holiday! I plan to spend every second that I want, cooking, baking, and organizing/decorating my home. And to kick off my culinary vacation, I made lasagna with ceaser salad and toasted baguette. I made sure to take lots of pictures so less writing and more yummy photos for this blog post!

I must preceed this recipe by letting you all know that I am parting with a lasagna recipe that I feel I have perfected. If I wasn't in such a good mood about being on holidays, you may just be looking at pictures of delicious looking food wondering how it came to be. :) I've only shared this recipe in the past with two of my closest friends... and now I'm sharing it with all of you.

Jayme's Lasagne

Brown spicy italian sausage (my first secret)...
Strain the grease out of the meat (this is a crucial step, and if you don't you will surely regret it).
Sautee onions and garlic...
Add extra lean ground beef to onions and brown. Add cooked, strained sausage.
Add a small can of tomatoe paste...
And a jar of your favorite tomatoe sauce.
Slip in a couple glugs of balsamic vinegar (my second secret), and then reduce (my third secret; reduce out as much liquid as possible so that your sauce has all the rich tomatoe flavor without being runny. I've also found it easiest to add the tomatoe sauce bit by bit while reducing it down in between doses).
While I let the meat filling reduce I start on my cheese filling. One large tub of ricotta cheese...
And 3 large handfuls of spinach roughly chopped.
Grab a bunch of fresh basil leaves...
Chiffinade the basil and add to cheese mixture (chiffinade just means to roll it up and finely chop into strips).
Grate some mozzarella...
And add to mixture.
I then layered all the ingredients into two seperate baking pans in the following order;
-start with a very thin liquidy layer of the meat sauce
-then a layer of noodles
-then a thick layer of meat sauce
-top that with a good layer of cheese sauce
-then top it with noodles
-repeat until you reach the top of the pan
-add a final thin layer of meat sauce
-top with a generous portion of grated mozzarella cheese (I'll often blend cheddar and mozza for the top layer).
-cover with tin foil
-bake at 350 farenheit for 20-30 minutes (until sauce is bubbling and cheese is melted)
-remove foil and bake another 10 minutes until cheese is golden (I'll usually put on the broiler to speed this part up).
Once the lasagna is in the oven I (after cleaning up the pots and bowls) I got started on my Ceasar Salad. I started with washed a torn romaine lettuce.
I stumbled across these beautiful baby heirloom tomatoes and had to use them!
Tossed them together!
Since I've discovered homemade ceaser salad dressing I'll never go back to store bought! Actually, I love to make my own salad dressings now no matter what the salad is. It's a lot easier than what people might think, and the plus side is I know what is in my dressing.
I use two different types of oils in my salad dressings, mostly EVOO and a couple tbsp of the Omega3 Oil (flaxseed oil, grapeseed oil, and EVOO, the flaxseed oil is beneficial to women's health).
Add a crushed clove of garlic, fresh ground black pepper, fresh squeezed juice from one lemon, a quick dash of worcesteshire sauce (in place of anchovies), a whole egg and a couple tbsp of oil to a food processer (I use a handheld mixer in a tall measuring cup, came as a set). Blitz all ingredients until the egg emulsifies. Freshly grate in 3/4 cup parmigiano reggiano and blitz again quickly, add more oil as needed.
By this time the lasagna should be ready to take out of the oven!
While the lasagna rests for about another 10 minutes (to settle all the juices so it's not runny when you go to serve) I cut a couple slices off a baguette...
...and topped them with a drizzle of the ceaser salad dressing and some chiffinade basil. I popped these in the oven (still heated from the lasagna), and toasted for few minutes, then drizzled with EVOO.
Plate and serve! By the time I'm done cooking I just want to eat...sorry this picture isn't the pretties, but it did taste the yummiest! ;)