A Recipe for Monday: Spinach Balls

I would like to share my go-to party recipe that my friend Gina requested I bring to her place on Saturday night.  Spinach balls are freakishly easy and such a crowd pleaser.  Some might say a good cook never reveals her recipes, but I say, let's spread the spinach ball love.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 (10 ounce) packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
• 2 cups bread crumbs (the chunky kind, not the fine Panko kind)
• 1 cup coarsely Parmesan cheese (not finely grated)
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 4 small green onion, finely chopped
• 4 eggs, lightly beaten
• salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F
2. Mix all ingredients. 
3. Shape the mixture into 1 inch balls.
4. Arrange the balls in a single layer on a large baking sheet. Bake in the preheated oven 15-20 minutes, until lightly browned and sizzling.
5. Serve with spicy mustard.
6. Consume.

Makes about 100 balls, always at least double the recipe since people will likely eat them pretty quickly.  Stay tuned, during the holidays I'll also share my other favorite finger food: cheddar olive balls!

Happy Halloween

I shopped my closet for a Halloween costume and came up with this ... a beat poet of course.  All things considered I was quite happy about it and fit right in at a Halloween house party where everyone simply culled clothing from their own wardrobes.  That's JM as Paul Bunyan.  I am not a candy person, but night was made by the presence of pigs in a blanket (and a good amount of wine).  HAPPY HALLOWEEN.

Week in Review

Via the Brick House Tumblr via Andrew Cloutier Blog

It feels great to have been back into blogging this week! I confess I've really missed it, but the first quarter of this semester has been absolutely crazy busy. One class just ended however and things will be a bit calmer for the next two weeks until I start picking up a bunch of holiday hours at one of my jobs. This weekend will consist of house cleaning, homeworking, trekking to the post office to pick up a package, and a stop at a Halloween party for which I don't really have a costume (JM is going to be Paul Bunyan).  The party's hostess has also requested that I make my famous spinach balls and bring them for an appetizer, so I'll be working on those Saturday evening.  Some things that have caught my eye recently ...

A pumpkin smoothie?

Love this gem via Swiss Miss.

I am all for art and natural births, but not so sure about this.

JM has already been to see it, but for now I'm checking out our friends Joe & Amy's house renovation here.

Woohoo, more NA chic.

Wouldn't you like to just drop everything and open an oyster truck?!

And once again, we were here, it was awesome.

Movie Alert: My Week With Marilyn

It's no secret I have a bit of a girl crush on Michelle Williams and I loved learning more about Marilyn Monroe last year in Vanity Fair ... so, needless to say I'm excited about this movie!  (PS. If you can believe it, I have not been to a movie theater since I saw Harry Potter 7, Pt. 2 in Kampala, Uganda in August. Gotta get on that.)

via - via

Fashion Aid

I saw this over on Refinery29 this morning and thought it was awesome: Threadless, a t-shirt company and Justin & Christine Gignac, two artists, got together to create a line of shirts to benefit UNICEF and the work it does in Africa.  The price of each shirt is the price of the humanitarian aid item on it and 100% of procedes go directly to UNICEF. While the cargo plane for supply drops is going for $300,000, an insecticide-treated mosquito net is priced very reasonably at $18.57. Kind of more fun than trick-or-treating for UNICEF with those little orange boxes, isn't it? (I would always put mine at the bottom of my candy bag and forget about it until the end of the night.)

via Threadless

And a Wonderful Time Was Had by All

We could not have asked for better weather during our quick jaunt to the Bay Area.  On Saturday JM and I did the spectacular Land's End hike with my mom and my sister.  Next time you're in San Francisco and it is not terribly foggy I highly recommend checking it out.  We followed up our hike with both a picnic AND dim sum on Clement at one of my favorite places, Good Luck Dim Sum where no matter how much you order (it's one of those places where you just point at what you want) it's never over $13!  This time around I ordered about 30 various pieces of dim sum and it was $12.50. Already looking forward to my December trip back to Cali. 

The trail head.

Admiring the view.

The remains of Sutro Baths.

Golden Gate Bridge is far away and on the right.

Photos by Oh MG.

Hello Fall

A chill is in the air and this weekend I've got to get my winter clothes out of the basement. Until then, I'll just be day dreaming about the things on fall wish list.  Methinks my winter uniform will be simliar to last year: oversized sweaters and shawls, skinny jeans or leggings, an outdoorsy jacket, and utilitarian boots.  It is after all my last winter as a student and I had better do up the casual cool look while I can.

Top: Penfield

2nd row: Madewell, Urban Outfitters

3rd row: Penfield, Levis

Bottom: LL Bean

This Was Amazing!

What a weekend!  JM and I got back last night from a whirlwind trip to the Bay Area. The highlight?  Attending the 25th Annual Bridge School Benefit Concert with all our pals. Everyone who played was amazing, but Arcade Fire and Mumford & Sons were particularly on it. Above check out Arcade's whole set - skip to 27:27 for a performance of Helpless with Neil Young himself - it took our breath away! Also, below is a preview of the 25th Anniversary DVD set and more about The Bridge School. It had been 10 years since I last attended, but my friend Amber told us, attending this year has set a dangerous precedent - looks like we're going to have to make it out there next year too.

Rock and Roll Reminiscence

photo (c) Carinthia West, via

Check out Carinthia West's awesome rock and roll memories and photos - like this one of her then-boyfriend Mick Jagger and Ronnie Wood walking to Diana Ross' daughter's 4th birthday party in Malibu in 1976.  No big deal.

What To Be For Halloween?!

Halloween 2009 - As Cleopatra

Halloween 2010 - As Sloane Peterson

The inspiration just isn't there this year, whereas I've known exactly what to be the last two years.  This weekend I bought an aqua-marine 1970s style evening dress for $14.99 just for the heck of it.  Um, what could I be in that?!

Have You Heard the Story About the Guitar?

Image via

By no means am I a big Sonic Youth fan, but I've always admired Kim Gordon & Thurston Moore from afar. I mean, come on, they are an awesome rock and roll couple. Or I guess I should say were. I was totes bummed to hear that they announced their separation last week. I have always loved the story about how the met and the first time they hung out.  Kim invited Thurston up to the place she was staying to see and play a guitar she was borrowing from someone, and Thurston happened to already know the guitar. Small musical world. As he once told it:

She seemed to really like me. I definitely liked her, but was scared, as always, to make a move. I was afraid to kiss her. We walked around a couple of times. One night, it got late and we were eating at Leshko’s, and I think she wanted me to ask her over. I only lived up the street. So we parted. She would take the subway, staying at gallery owner Anina Nosei’s place. Before she split, she actually touched my arm (!) and said, “See you later.”

She moved into a raw railway apartment on Eldridge Street, below Grand Street. The artist Dan
Graham lived upstairs and had acquired the place for her. She invited me over one evening and I played this beat-up guitar she had. I knew the guitar because it belonged to an associate of the Coachmen gang, who left it at Jenny Holzer’s loft, where Kim had stayed, and somehow it was passed on to her. All she had was the guitar and a foam-rubber cushion for sleeping. That night was the first time we kissed. [via]

I wonder what ever happened to that guitar.

Bridge School Concert Countdown

Photo by Erika Carrillo.

The countdown has begun to the Bridge School Benefit Concert!  JM and I cannot wait to attend.  Check out my friend Erika's photography site for images from the last few years.  Oh so very sadly, Jenny Lewis had to cancel her appearance this year, but don't worry, Neil Young, Mumford & Sons, Arcade Fire, Eddie Vedder, Beck (the list goes on), will be there.  See you a few days California.

So Much to Cook, So Little Time

via

It's no secret that I have a bit of a culinary crush on Jamie Oliver.  Remember this darling little thing?  Despite all my admiration of him however, I didn't have a JO cookbook until this week when I couldn't resist getting a used copy of Happy Days with the Naken Chef for crazy cheap on Amazon.  Can't wait to make a little something from the book, I've got my eye on Broccoli and Anchovy Orecchiette (pg. 134) and Chicken Breast Baked in a Bag with Mushrooms, Butter, White Wine, and Thyme (pg. 47).  YUM!  So much to cook, so little time.  If all goes well I might invest in these other JO titles.

"I Knew That Elmo Should Represent Love"

Thanks to A Cup of Jo for blogging about what looks to be an amazing documentary - it's about the voice and creator of the Elmo character!  Full disclosure: as a lifelong Elmo fan this brought tears to my eyes.  Can't wait to see it!  Elmo really does represent love, cheerfulness, and true happiness and joy at just being yourself.

A recent favorite moment was when Michelle Obama visited Elmo.

via

Playful Times

via Awesome People Hanging Out Together

The new Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial was dedicated in DC today!  Recently this photo on APHOT caught my eye.  It's fun to see such a playful image of someone who was generally photographed in much more serious situations.

Food for the Week

Left: weekly meal plan, right: Sunday night's dinner.

Over dinner at Pisticci (so good!) on Saturday, Sarah B. asked how I've managed to cook so much lately. Two answers: 1) meal planning (above left) and 2) prioritizing it (other things - like blogging - have taken a hit).  Above right is Sunday's dinner - Corn, Zucchini, and Orzo salad (recipe from last month's Everyday Food) with salmon.  For the salad I made a few modifications like adding spinach and sautéing the onions, jalapeno, and zucchini for about 10 minutes before adding the pasta.  So good!

Also on this week's plan: two other recipes from Everyday Food - has the Martha bug finally hit me?

Cutie Clog Booties

via No. 6

Among the many things I am coveting from Bird are clog booties by No. 6.  If nothing else these shoes make me excited to get out my boots, sweaters, and jackets.  So long summer ....

Happy (Busy) Fall

Image by via You are the River via Desire to Inspire

Oh MG, where did September go?  The saddest part of the quick passage of last month is that I've been too busy to blog!  At least I'm not the only one.  Apparently Hilary is feeling it too and others are struggling with time management.  Alas, we're all busy.

So what have I been up to ... going to school, being a teaching assistant, hanging out over the the Annie's (and guest blogging over there), cooking a lot (thanks to this month's issue of Everyday Food from which I have made four meals in the last week), trying to exercise, and catching up on Boardwalk Empire.  I've also been too busy to read, which in my life is just plain wrong.  Maybe one day I'll get the chance to curl up with a book in a lovely room like the one above.  

Here's hoping October will calm down a little bit - and that it will stop being so damn humid in New York City and that all the mosquitos will die.  Happy Fall.  

Will be posting sporadically for now.