South African Bobotie

This "Bobotie" recipe (find it here) I made the other day is delicious. I saw Martha make it after her trip to Cape Town in South Africa and I thought it looked so exotic and interesting. It has so many different flavors and textures going on. A mild curry ground lamb dish that you then pour a custard over and top with bay leaves and bake...it has some sweetness with apricot preserves and apples added, slivered almonds for crunch and you serve it with basmati rice and garnishes like banana (sounds weird unless you have had Caribbean cuisine, but its great with it), cilantro, lemon, unsweetened coconut, raisins....like I said, pretty exotic. One thing I loved about it is you make your own curry with all of these great spices so it has great flavor, you don't just use one "curry powder". (I happened to already have these spices in my cupboard but if you don't, it might cost you a bit of $$). I look forward to making it again in the future!

chez lulu

Have you seen Julie and Julia? I loved it. I loved the kitchens Julia Child (Meryl Streep) works in too. I saw these pictures on Design Sponge a while back, I love the French kitchen style!

Tonight I realized I am getting pretty decent at cooking. Usually my meals are only great if I follow a recipe I have researched, but tonight I just used what I had around the house and it was so so delicious and satisfying. I admit I did have some good things around the house though! : )

I had one chicken breast so I pounded it very thin to make 2 pieces, seasoned it and browned it in a very hot skillet with some butter and oil. I then added chicken broth and lots of lemon juice and lemon zest and pressed garlic, I let it simmer for a bit-it had GREAT flavor. I boiled some potatoes and whipped them nice and creamy and then topped it with the chicken and all the lemony broth. I sauted and browned some zucchini wedges and flavored them with dill and fresh basil and topped them with goat cheese. For dessert we had some very sweet and juicy clementines.

Flavia #1

I just finished this adorable book. The main character, Flavia, is hilarious. Don't you just love it when you find a great series? My wind down routine at night lately is hot bath + great book. I've been sleeping much better.

Rubie Green

Rubie Green

I have been seeing these Chevron Stripes a lot lately, they are growing on me.

I need, I NEED

Have you seen the new April issue of Anthropologie???

Its perfection. I was practically hyperventilating.

Ketti Handbags

I am obsessed with these bags! See more here. They are too much $$ for me right now, maybe at SOME point I could sew something like this myself?!