Urban Sparrow
It’s been a long year so far. Who am I kidding, it’s been a long 6 months. This week is the first week I have felt somewhat pulled together. The first week where everyone is healthy, my laundry isn’t overflowing, my bills are all paid and the house is clean.
After the Harvest Festival in October, the holidays pushed me into overdrive. I made 3,000 cookies in less than 10 days for some clients, it was Pixie’s birthday, Christmas, New Year’s and then I had to go on an iodine free diet to follow up on my never-ending past of Thyroid Cancer. For a month I couldn’t eat anything with iodine (aka flavor) which basically means I could eat tomatoes and steak (which are both a hundred times better with salt). Since I didn’t feel like I was eating really good food, I wasn’t inspired to cook. And what i did come up with, wasn’t worth posting as it would have been so much better with salt. Hence the lack of recipes on here. But my scan came back with great results and I was feeling healthy. For a short time. And then… my body shut down on me. I had a serious stress overload and I ended up having emergency surgery (we’ll leave it at that). That was about a month ago and like I said, I am finally feeling healthy, pulled together and ready to come back with renewed energy to Mommy Bistro.
While my life was unravelling, a wonderful company put a large smile on my face and brought tears to my eyes by making me a custom, beautiful necklace. They captured me SO spot on. They included my family, my past and my future all in a simple and elegant piece. I wear it almost everyday and as it hangs over my heart it gives me a little added strength to conquer everything I come up against. I am constantly stopped and complimented on the necklace and I thank Shawn and the Urban Sparrow team for creating this gorgeous piece of jewelry for me. It could not have come at a better time in my life. They specialize in tons of different hand stamped necklaces and bracelets. I suggest you click your way over to Urban Sparrow and place an order for your mom, sister, friend, or wife.
Here is some information about their company:
“We specialize in creating hand-stamped jewelry for women who have a sophisticated fashion sense. We firmly believe that the way to happiness is in celebrating our individuality.
We welcome you to join us on our wonderful journey, embrace the beauty of life and make a statement with Urban Sparrow!
All jewelry is stamped by hand and represents a unique piece of individual craftsmanship. Custom orders available upon request.”
You can also call them at:
805-732-8369 or
805-558-6245
Mediterranean Pita Pockets
What IS IT with Tupperware? Every time I put a piece away, I neatly stack it nestled from large to small and lids to the side. Then I close the cabinet door and I SWEAR to you, those plastic little lunatics have a good time, make babies and those babies throw themselves around in a deconstructive manner.
Harvest Salad
What a busy few days it has been! On Friday I had the pleasure of recording a little blurb for KEYT morning news out of Santa Barbara. I had so much fun! Granted I got up at 3:30 in the morning and my bleary and puffy eyed little self had to be in Santa Barbara by 5:30 but who cares! It was a blast. The lovely Lisa Carey who is handling all of the PR for the event was with me as well. You can see a clip of it here.
Harvest Soup
About five years ago, Jessica and I catered an Italian themed engagement party. We did a food test first with our hubby’s and then for the client to make sure everything was delicious. And to give us an excuse to get together and cook. And drink wine. One of the items we served was this Harvest Soup. Actually at the time we called it Tuscan soup. It’s so easy and so yum. A great starter for Thanksgiving. Or serve it in a shot glass with the crostini poking out. Or make a big ol’ whopping bowl all to yourself for dinner. That’s what I would do.
Bourbon Chicken with Caramelized Shallots
Sometimes I forget how to be an adult. I forget how to talk about life, love, and fears outside of them being associated directly with my children. You see, the moment Pixie was born my life changed forever.
Ventura County Harvest Festival
I am so very honored to be a part of this event! Please come down and visit me. On Saturday I will be making Bourbon Chicken with caramelized shallots and roasted garlic mashed potatoes. On Sunday, I will be serving up a Harvest Salad with arugula, oven roasted tomatoes, wilted mushrooms, burrata cheese and shaved parmesan with a truffle oil drizzled over the top. I will be hosting cooking demonstrations on Saturday and Sunday at 1:00 PM. I will also be handing out my thanksgiving recipes and tastes of my food. I hope to see you all there!
Portobello Mushroom Burger
Really? I mean really? 108 degrees in Los Angeles today? Hey, Mother Nature! Did you not get the memo? It’s October 1st. We are supposed to be cooling down now, not heating up! And there was no escaping this heat for me today as I was outside for most of the day.
Today I had the pleasure of going to a local farm with Buggies class on a field trip. Yes, I spent my day with tractor rides, pumpkin picking, tons of kids, corn mazes and working on my swassiness. Swassy: an adjective to describe the sweat and heat in your um….nether regions. Swamp + Ass = Swassy. Learn it and live it people.
Bacon Wrapped Jalapenos Stuffed with Gorgonzola Cheese
When we go camping, I’d like to be able to say I tone down my cooking and it’s all hamburgers and hot dogs but I just can’t do it. Food just tastes better when you’re camping. Maybe it’s the layer of dirt on your plate or the good company or the great outdoors. Whatever it is, it inspires me.
Balsamic Flank Steak with an Arugula and Shaved Parmesan Salad
For my birthday my mom and I went down to Hollywood and had lunch at Pizzeria Mozza. It wasn’t my first rodeo and knew that I needed the Bianca pizza and a Caprese salad. Stat. Leading up to the day, my girlfriend told me she had bought the cookbook that had all of the recipes from the menu. WHAT!?? How did I not know about this cookbook!?! We enjoyed a delicious lunch and finished it off with an order of the butterscotch buddino. And one order of the cookbook.
Chipotle Crusted Pork Roast with Sage Butter and Mashed Sweet Potatoes
I did it. I survived the first day of school!