Monday, August 30, 2010

Secrets From a Stylist

It's no secret that I love two things: HGTV & Anthropologie (new catalog today! but I diverge...). So you can imagine that during my diligent viewing of Design Star I was rooting for Emily from the beginning as her design aesthetic was exactly what I see and covet everytime I walk into Anthropologie. When she won, I said to myself, "Lauren in design form!" YES! Thank you HGTV!

I hope this show never ends and she comes to my house next.

Friday, August 27, 2010

Short Guide to Life

I read this post on Zen Habits today, and something about the simpleness struck me.

So here you go, the short guide to life:

less TV, more reading
less shopping, more outdoors
less clutter, more space
less rush, more slowness
less consuming, more creating
less junk, more real food
less busywork, more impact
less driving, more walking
less noise, more solitude
less focus on the future, more on the present
less work, more play
less worry, more smiles
breathe

My favorite (maybe because I just happen to be at work as I was reading this) was "less busywork, more impact." Short and sweet. I am making this my new motto.

Friday, August 13, 2010

Zucchini Crostini

In addition to watching Project Runway with Chelsea on Thursdays, we've also taken to trying new recipes for fun. She stumbled upon this one from Yum Sugar, so we had to try it!

Zucchini Crostini
Zucchini Crostini

Ingredients

3 medium zucchini (about 1 pound)
2 teaspoons salt, plus more to taste
2 garlic cloves, minced
¼ cup shredded basil
½ cup marcona almonds, toasted and finely chopped
1 tablespoon thyme leaves, chopped
½ cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
½ teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
Freshly ground black pepper
1 loaf ciabatta bread, cut into ¼-inch slices (about 12 slices)*

Directions

  1. Using a box grater, coarsely grate the zucchini. Place the shredded zucchini in the middle of a clean kitchen towel and sprinkle with the 2 teaspoons of salt. Let sit for 5 minutes, then squeeze the towel to remove excess moisture. Repeat until as much liquid as possible has been released, then transfer the zucchini to a bowl.
  2. Add the garlic, basil, almonds, thyme, Parmigiano-Reggiano, lemon juice, lemon zest and 3 tablespoons of the olive oil to the zucchini; toss to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper and refrigerate for an hour.
  3. Just before serving, drizzle the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil over the bread and grill or broil the bread until toasted, then let cool.
  4. Top each slice of bread with about 3 tablespoon* of the zucchini pesto and serve immediately.
Let me say, these turned out DELICIOUS. They were easy to make and we paired them with some pre-made gazpacho from Whole Foods. All in all, it was a great light summery meal.

And to see how pretty they looked when we made them, here's a photo!