lunch in the dorms

My first-day-of-class lunch break. Pesto and provolone with tomato on wheat bread.

Fraboni's

Winter break is over.

I survived 3 weeks in Stevens Point, WI.

Time to go back to school kiddies.

My dad drove me back down to Madison on Saturday and we stopped at his favorite old college deli, Fraboni's. It's a genuine Italian supermarket and they make incredible sandwiches fitting for a student's budget.

wintertime adventure to the capitol

Today, I awoke with an empty day. No work, no plans. excellent. So my friends and I decided to do a random car trip to Madison to shop for some New Years Eve apparel. I didn't buy anything, and mostly just went to try out my new camera. I love the snow in the pictures. Unfortunately, we were in a bit of a hurry to return home, so I had to walk and shoot, causing the blurriness above. (We also had a yummy dinner right on State Street at Queso)

Song of the Day: KIDS by MGMT

sweet parisian dreams

The other day, I awoke with a strong feeling that I should be in Paris right now. Aside from the fact that many people dream of living amongst the beautiful and all things pretty in the city of lights, I felt an especially strong longing after I awoke from my dream which, although I can't remember it, I'm sure had something to do with said City. I pictured what I would do that day if I were in Paris and I came up with this: there is nothing I would rather be doing than lining up at the patisserie early in the morning and arriving home to my Montmontre apartment with a beautiful box full of Lauduree or Pierre Herme macarons and spending the morning sitting by my flower-filled window with my black cat, who would be named, naturally, chat. Ah and then the regret came that I didn't actually eat a single macaron whilst I was actually in Paris this summer. So anyways, this weekend, I decided I would spend some time making my own macarons and being Parisian for a day. Oh la la.

I found a couple of recipes online so hopefully the day will be a success:
La Tartine Gourmande (Cardamom Wattle Seeds Macarons with Orange Filling)
Tartelette (Espresso Toffee Macarons)
Epicurious (Laduree Chocolate Macarons)
David Lebovitz (Chocolate Macarons)
Veronica's Test Kitchen (Basic Macaron Batter)

...also, read this article: Man v Macaroon from the Times and this slideshow on the art itself. Bon appetite and sweet dreams.

(photo from flickr here)

bread & honey

I found this inspiring food blog and thought i must share it with you. I think this weekend may be one for baking Christmas (yes, I still say Christmas) goodies and this blog adds to my inspiration. Enjoy- Bread & Honey

restaurant with a view

Imagine eating a meal 50 meters in the sky, surrounded by breathtaking views of the world's finest cities. Well, this is actually a possibility through events in the sky- a company specializing in elevating diners to incredible heights and serving the finest breakfasts, lunches, dinners, cocktails, or even poker nights. How amazing...

(found via lejeande blog)

are you Blushing?

Over the past few years, health news has exploded with reports of the health benefits of drinking both red and white wine, due to their high concentration of natural antioxidants. Now, First Blush grapejuice has bottled up the same antioxidants without the blush-inducing alcohol. It's been tagged as "grapejuice for grownups" and is made out of the same grapes used to make its cousin wine. It's now sold at Whole Foods Market and I can't wait to get my hands on some.

blog spotlight- La Tartine Gourmande

Food, Travel, Lifestyle reads the tagline for this adorably gourmet blog, La Tartine Gourmande. With plenty of photos of artfully-displayed food and recipes, what more could one ask for? Definately worth a read.

John Kernick

I love well-photographed food.; especially gormet food. The romantic lure of cuisine captured in a simple photo makes me want to learn the delecate process to prepare such palate-satisfying cuisine. I love paging through old cookbooks and international food magazines. I have literally spent hours looking through various bon appetite magazines and drool over the annual Christmas Cookie periodicals.
Check out photographer John Kernick, who has taken breathtaking photos of food, people, and places from around the world.

Song of the Day SHE MOVES IN HER OWN WAY by The Kooks

yum! food from the trip

Creme brulee trio- Pistachio, Vanilla, and Chocolate! Yum

Real french toast- with cheese marscapone instead of butter. Heavenly.

The best sushi in town.
First class lunch to San Francisco
The amazing coffee made in the free espresso machine in the first class Northwestern loungt- Swanky! I wish I could always travel that nice...

I just love taking pictures of food that looks nice- so hopefully you enjoy this as much as I do haha.

yum sandwich

This is one of my favorite sandwiches to make! It's super easy, healthy, and light.

Salmon-Salad Panini

1) Make the salmon salad (one pkg salmon, mixed with some mayo til you like the consistancy)

2)Spread salmon on a slice of bread

3)Add some veggies! I like tomato, spinach, and red onion the best- cucumber is good too

4)Panini-itize it. I have a panini maker, but i suppose if you just toast the bread to start and then stick it in the oven for a little while, it would be basically the same effect. (but you wouldn't get the cool stripes..)