Frabjous Finds - Metrode

I never tire of excellent leather goods. for that matter, I never tire of excellent. And, I ask who does? Yeah, well, cruising the internet one day I came across a Seattle based company called Metrode that sells amazing leather bags and such. In perusing their media, I came to notice they have all kinds of amazing things. Since I'm eyeing this grey tote, I thought I should share.

Of course you need a new wallet to go with your new satchel.

If you know me, you know I love love love a clutch!

It's a woven leather basket.

Sweden

After the US, I have the highest readership in Sweden. Ironically Sweden is at the top of the travel list. I wish the husband was on that page with me. He's quite interested in Spain. I could take it or leave it.

We are leaving for Turkey on the 11th of July and I am in full on travel mode. Trips to Marshall's for little gifts for everyone. Travel size everything. Stocking up on sunscreen because in Bodrum it's $50 for a 6oz. bottle and washing the clothes figuring out what wont wrinkle and deciding whether I care if it does or not.

So next year, for our 5 year anniversary...Do we do Spain? I would much prefer Sweden. In fact, an entire Scandinavia trip would be exceptional. Romantic fantasies of vikings and the sound of a sweetly touched Swedish language and tall blonde men are a real draw for me.

I would love to stay at Treehotel and bask in the summer sunshine with a good Swedish drink.

I want to see Sarek National Park. The naturalist in me finds sanctuary in open spaces and peaceful environments. This is one of the natural wonders of the world I would venture to guess.

Photo: Johannes Jannson

Photo: Johan Assarsson

When I was small, my mother would take me to a wonderful store. It always smelled like spiced tang and had an air of wood nymphs and a spirit of Gnomes (although Gnomes are actually of Swiss origination). In any case this store was called The Orange Horse. It was a little proprietorship of all things Swedish especially the beloved Dala Horses. I want to bring back several of the little orange horses as treasures. 

Simple Virtues

And let's face it. The Nordic cultures are ancient and creative. They've had to be since they have survived harsh winters for millennia but these elements have provided for great art and antiques. I would love to go to a Swedish art and antiques auction at their famous (and very old) Auktionsverket.

Sweden sounds very appealing, doesn't it? Perhaps we can cross our fingers in hopes that the husband will concede to a trip to Scandinavia!

Cinnamon Seed Protein Bars

As most of you know, I have been dieting since February. My low carb lifestyle can be daunting and boring even when I am extremely fortified. As boredom sets in, I seek out new foods and this is where a diet in the past has always caused me to run into trouble. I think I've devised some save tactics and this is one of them.

I really like foods on the go because I, myself, am always on the go. For instance, it is 11:30 AM right now and we have already been to a tire store, a garage door store and Home Depot. I drank a protein mocha for breakfast and now I'm off to Marshall's and Ross in preparation for our trip to Turkey. I know I'll get hungry but I'll want a snack not a full on meal. For busy run around days like today, I like a protein bar. The problem is that I have yet to find a protein bar that is both low in carbs/sugar and calories and high in protein.

My usual is a Kind + Protein bar. Very tasty but clocks in at 210 calories and 15 grams of fat. I keep them handy though because they are also only 11 grams of carbs and have a good punch of protein at 10 grams. I thought I might be able to do a little better without sacrificing taste so I invented the Cinnamon Seed Protein Bar.

Despite the fact that this is not a food blog, I have yet another recipe to share with you.

Cinnamon Seed Protein Bars

Ingredients

• 1/2 Cup rolled oats
• 1/4 Cup currants
• 1 Cup Protein powder of your choice (I use Bob's Red Mill Whey Protein Concentrate)
• 1/2 Cup puffed Quinoa
• 2 Tbs Pumpkin seeds
• 1/4 Cup sunflower seeds
• 3 Tbs flax seeds
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 egg white 
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tsp poppy seeds

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Prepare an 8x8 baking dish with cooking spray
3. Mix all ingredients together except cinnamon and poppy seeds.
4. Pour batter into baking dish and smooth flat.
5. Sprinkle top with cinnamon and poppy seeds.
6. Bake 10-15 minutes.
7. Let cool and cut into 10 bars.
8. Enjoy!

Notes

10 Servings

150 Calories, 5 gms fat, 15 gms carbohydrate, 11 gms protein

Frabjous Finds - Wood Camera App

Sooooo.....

Everybody knows about Instagram. And heck, I am guilty of loving that thing. But sometimes I like to keep my photos breasted as I don't always want to share everything. for instance, if I take 7 pics of the same thing sometimes I like using them in a montage. If I have to adjust them using filters and tilt-shifts, then they have to be doctored and why would anyone want to see the junk in between?

Enter Wood Camera app for the iPhone. I learned about the Wood Camera app on Instagram because I follow it's creator, John Barnett. You can do nearly everything on this one app and when the final stage of awesome appears then you can share it on Instagram sans all the goopy errors before the final product.

Wood Camera has tons of lenses and fx to choose from and it's surprisingly user friendly. You can import several photos at a time and choose a number of frames and papers. My only criticism is that I wish there were more light effects. Big deal. Not much of a criticism really and I can use another app for that. With Wood camera, anyone can be a photo pro! It blows Hipstamatic out of the water and includes all the fx that I would usually do using two separate apps, PicFx and BeFunky.

Photos using the Wood Camera app for iPhone....

All photos by John Barnett and can be found @ John Barnett

A Big Hit! Trix Krispies...

It's been a big food week here at P&P. A dinner party on Tuesday and Book Club on Thursday warranted yummy food.

I made these special little delicacies (a treat I found on Pinterest - go figure) on both Tuesday and Thursday.

Trix Krispies: I'll be adding pics soon!

Trix Krispies

A fun twist on a classic!

Ingredients

• 1 1lb bag of mini marshmallows
• 1 box Trix cereal
• 1/4 cup butter

Instructions

1. Place the butter and marshmallows in a large pot on medium heat and stir to melt.
2. Turn off heat.
3. Mix in your trix and stir making sure the cereal is well coated
4. Spray a 9x13 in pan with cooking spray.
5. Pour into greased pan and press down with a spoon.
6. Cut into squares.
7. Serve to a cheerful crowd with a twinkle of moxie and mirth.

Notes

You can use wax paper to press down Krispies or spray cooking spray on the back of the spoon you are using. It's a handy trick. Also, I use a 1lb bag of marshmallow (I am brand loyal to Jet Puffed) because I like a marshmallowie treat - feel free to adjust!

Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps

This little recipe I made up because I was tired of my low carb lifestyle being un-fun! And let's face it, any kind of food that requires assembly is pretty fun. For instance, when you get yogurt, places like Big Spoon and Yogurt A Go Go let you choose your toppings and apply them yourselves. At Rice Noodles they have rice wraps that come with a host of ingredients and a bowl of hot water all for your assembly.

My Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps are the same: assembly required!

Ingredients:

1 pkg. boneless, skinless chicken thighs (you can use breasts but the results are very dry and gritty)
1 diced whole yellow onion
4 Tbs sesame oil
2 Tbs soy sauce
3 cloves garlic, pressed
1 can water chestnuts, diced
3 Tbs roasted sesame seeds
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp white sugar
1 Tbs brown sugar (I know this sounds weird, but it's the key to the addictive nature of these!)
Salt and pepper to taste
1 head of iceberg lettuce
1 bunch cilantro
Bottle Mae Ploy chili sauce

Directions:

Put chicken thighs in a food processor and pulse several times until ground. In a large frying pan, heat 2 Tbs sesame oil on medium heat. Add onions, garlic and salt and pepper and sweat until opaque, 7-10 min. Add chicken and stir together until meat and onions are combined. Add water chestnuts, soy sauce, sesame seeds, ginger and brown sugar. Stir and simmer on low heat for 5 minutes stirring constantly. Add the remainder of the sesame oil. Remove from heat, cool and serve with lettuce, cilantro and chili sauce.

Fancy Adult Beverages

"Misbeehaving" 

Ingredients:

Honey Oat Vodka (pictured on the right and recipe here), Lavender simple syrup and the peel of an orange (for garnish). You also might want to get some edible flowers, just for the fancy factor!

"The Hustle"

Ingredients:

Vodka, bloody mary mix, Porcini Mushroom Salt, stewed mushrooms and Frog Balls (pickled Brussels sprouts) Mix two parts vodka with 2 Tbs mushroom consomme and float 1 Tbs BMM. Garnish glass with salt and skewered brussels sprout and a fresh cherry tomato.

Sometimes I get sort of daydreamy. I'll doodle the day away thinking of all kinds of goodies - gardening, painting, pinterest...

Three days ago I found myself daydreaming about 42 Below's Manuka Honey Distilled Vodka! It's my all time favorite alcoholic beverage. So I got out of bed, worked out and drove myself to BevMo. I walked to the aisle where the 42 Below is and...GONE! There was no Manuka Honey Vodka there, much to my chagrin. I asked the store manager when they might get some in stock. Shock and horror...according to him there has been a manufacturers discontinuation of the product.

I became obsessed and sought out a way I could recreate a similar taste. I followed a recipe on Chow and made my own. The difference is that this is Honey Oat Vodka.

And then I concocted a refreshing cocktail. For the "Misbeehaving" you'll also need to make your own lavender infused simple syrup.

Lavender Simple Syrup:

2 tsp lavender buds
1/2 C water
1/2 C sugar
cheese cloth
fine mesh sieve

In a small sauce pan bring mixture to a boil. Turn heat off. Cover and steep 30 minutes. Strain  until there are no bits and refrigerate. Best used within the week.