Birthdays, Tornadoes, & Easter-- Oh, My!

I feel like I wasn't able to post as much as I would have liked to during the month of March. With two birthdays, the beginning of tornado season, being kicked out of our house because of severe weather damages, and trying to plan for Easter (& failing miserably), we've been pretty busy!

That being said, I did have a pretty fantastic birthday-- one that will greatly improve the quality of my cooking! My amazing man and daughter gifted me with my very first Le Creuset vessel, a 3 1/2 qt braiser in the color Caribbean, and a copy of Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking. 

I've recently become quite obsessed with obtaining quality cookware, so imagine my surprise when I realized that Mr. C&E had actually been listening the entire time! He even got the color right. Love that man. He just gets me. I have to say, cooking has been so much more enjoyable since receiving this beautiful pot. It's nice and heavy, beautifully made, and has even heating-- hallelujah! One of my favorite chefs, Michael Rhulman, said that it's hard to be a good chef while cooking on bad equipment-- and now I totally get it. They're expensive, sure, but they also have a lifetime warranty, and if you take care of them, they can be passed down through generations. I've already started telling my 2 year old that someday this will be her braiser! She doesn't care...

For my LC's maiden voyage, I made French Onion Stroganoff. You can find the recipe here. It was like a whole new experience from the last time I made it! The beef browned evenly, beautifully, and the pan held heat so well-- even on a medium-low setting. Clean-up was a breeze-- much easier than I had originally anticipated! Just a dab of Le Creuset's cleaner, a soft sponge, and some warm water did the trick! The very next day, I was itching to use my pot again, so I made a tradtioanl Persian stew called Ghormeh Sabzi. Needless to say, this braiser has been well worth it's price tag! & you better believe when those tornado sirens went off, my Le Creuset was down in the basement with us! :)

FRENCH ONION STROGANOFF

xoxo,

CHRISTINA

Sew, sew, sew...

I've recently become quite obsessed with making Emma's clothing. I mean really, have you seen what's being offered these days? Once she hit 2T my choices were to either dress her in glittered peace signs or deck her out in faux fur. I suppose you could always try Janie & Jack, but who wants to spend that kind of money on a dress their toddler will only fit into for one season? Not I, said the cat. Don't get me wrong, Baby Gap and Carter's still offer a reasonable selection, but I need originality! Something that makes my daughter look sweet and innocent, young and free-- which brings me back to my opening statement... Quite obsessed.

I've ordered way more fabric than any sane person should ever own, and I'm hoping to pump out an entire spring and summer wardrobe before the end of March. In addition to that, I've also been taking orders from friends that want replicas of whatever dress I happen to be working on at the moment! Wish me luck!

xoxo,
CHRISTINA