Weekends!

From sun drenched days of weeding, cleaning and reading















To the pastel haze of deep summer nights

Lately, this is how I feel: Attempting to rest and re-energize while trying to keep one eye to work and life. This summer has been filled with long hours at work, graduation parties, family visits, planning for future trips and work retreats, and thankfully a recent week long vacation to the Outer Banks, North Carolina.

While away with family I read a Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. I would not recommend this book if you are looking for something uplifting and peaceful. It is a wonderfully told story of tragedy, heartache, loss, and poverty in Afghanistan from the 1970s to the present. Although not non-fiction, this book really opened my eyes to the struggles of growing up a woman in Afghanistan, and the ongoing tensions that exist there. If you liked the Kite Runner, you will surely like this book.

Upon returning from a restful week at the beach I was excited to find that our tomato plant finally yielded one tomato. We also discovered that we have a peach tree and grape vine in our back yard. All very exciting!

I hope that you all are having a restful summer catching up on that reading list, preparing new summer dishes, and dreaming of projects for the fall.

Cape May

Last weekend Tim and I visited Cape May, New Jersey. It was the perfect DC getaway. We ate some fabulous food including lunch at the Blue Pig Tavern. Our lunch was absolutely heavenly! We started with asparagous soup or clam chowder and then moved on to a gorgeous pear and gorgonzola salad or mozzerella, tomato, basil salad. All of these starters paired nicely with either a glass of champagne or the signature Blue Pig Ale.



That evening we went rustic and grabbed two steamer pots (topped full with 2 lobsters, littlenecks, mussels, and from the Lobster House. After adding a beer and cooking on the stovetop for only 25 minutes, the seafood was ready. The pots were incredibly satisfying.

Pippin and Biergit don't quite know what to do with the lobster.

The rest of the weekend, if we weren't eating, was spent on the beach chasing our dogs, or walking around town. There were some much needed nap time snuck in there as well.

Oh, and Pippin had his first dunk in the ocean.

Capitol Hill Roses- our front yard

I think I was about 11 years old when I received my first gardening book. It has always been my dream to own a little plot of land that I could sow. My mom used to give me a small piece of grass and dry dirt on the far side of our house where I could do whatever I wanted. It is kind of funny to look back on it, because I don't really remember ever planting anything. I just remember clearing the area of weeds and staring at it, scheming up what I would plant and where if I had the money and the means to drive to the nursery and buy flowers. I only had to wait 15 more years to have it all come true.
And once again, I find myself staring at our front and back yard and staring at the plants at the nursery. I have been furiously reading my stack of gardening books, and they make every plant sound brilliant and unique. But when I get to the nursery it all becomes muddled.

So my plan is to go slow: buy a few plants at a time, figure out what works aesthetically with our house, figure out what can grow in this awful rocky DC soil, and keep reminding myself that gardening is a process and a means to a beautiful end.

Eastern Market Ashes

* Photo taken from DCist

For those of you who have visited us in DC, I am sure that you went to Eastern Market. Unfortunately earlier this week Eastern Market caught fire, destroying the inside and roof but not the structure. This is very sad news for those of us who often splurged to buy the pricey meats and veggies from the vendors. Furthermore, the fire has once again sparked conversation over the controversial ownership and use of the Eastern Market building. Mayor Fenty has vowed to have Eastern Market rebuilt in 24 months. We shall see...

Before and After

Edinburgh, Scotland

We just returned from our trip to Scotland and England. We had such a wonderful time with Matt and Abi, exploring Edinburgh, and seeing Bury St. Edmunds (where Matt and Abi live).

Edinburgh is such an edgy city. It is certainly a blend of old and new: old cathedrals, monuments, and castles with new hip clothing stores, Starbucks, and updated museums. A view of the city shows the clash of deep rich stone with the lime green of Salisbury Crags, Arthurs Seat, and the Princess Gardens.



The daffodils and hyacinths were out in full bloom. The weather was temperate. What a neat, neat place to explore.



We stayed in a great flat right on the Royal mile, in Advocates Close. My favorite part about Edinburgh is all the different Close's - or alleys leading down the royal mile to apartments, streets, or beautiful gardens. I could spend all day exploring each close. It is said that Sir James Stewart once lived in Advocates Close.


We have made some great memories in Edinburgh, Scotland with Matt and Abi- memories that we will always be able to look back on. Abi posted a bunch of pictures of our visit at 1000 Days in Europe.

It's Spring!

Barefoot Contessa has her new spring recipes up on her website.

Finally! The weather has started to ripen and the air is a little more dense, doesn't quite knock the air out of you as soon as you step outside. The last couple of weeks Tim and I have spent cleaning up our front yard so that we can brick it. This involved clearing away the pond, fish, and a million other gross things that happened to live under the soil.

We have also been dealing with some plumbing issues that we pretty much expected were going to happen in a 1902 house with some handyman past owners. I often wonder and hope that we are not in this alone, that other old DC houses have the same issues.

This time of year has me feeling very cluttery. I am not sure if that makes sense, but I look around at my house, my clothes, my life and just want to clean everything out. Start fresh. This could be lent. This could be spring. This could be that the sun does that to you. There is something so simple, so pure, so non-cluttery about the first buds of spring. Crocuses, daffodills, and soon cherry blossoms. They are so crisp.

I was talking with my sister the other day and we were complaining about the weather this winter. She said, "You always forget how great spring is, and then every year you remember how wonderful it feels."

Capitol Hill Snow

Dog Lover, Who Me?

At the risk of being perceived as an obnoxious obsessive dog lover and owner...




Pippin had his first major trip to the park today. Lincoln Park is a large park in between 11th and 13th Streets, a few blocks from our house. As we approached the park Tim said to Pippin, "You may now enter heaven." And that is exactly what Lincoln Park is for dogs: heaven. Pippin played with every dog who would play with him for 2 hours...his longest outing yet. We met our friends at the park to introduce our dogs. They have a large Swiss Mountain dog. Pippin didn't quite know what to do with him since he couldn't even reach his neck jumping. He also got in a scuffle with a boxer that was interesting to say the least. Tim had to wrestle the boxer to the ground and unclench his jaws which had Pippin's neck in their grasp. I never realized the dog sub-culture that existed on Capitol Hill. We met a ton of new people today, and Pippin met their dogs. We will definitely be making this a weekly event.

Rustico

I know, I know, this blog was going to be about DC, but I can't help it. There is a great restaurant, Rustico, in one of the oddest places in Virgina. If you take the GW Parkway south toward Alexandria and turn right on Slaters Lane you come to a Trumanshowesque sort of town. There you have streets of condos and townhouses, a couple boutiques, a creamery, and Rustico. Once inside however, you forget about your odd surroundings. Rustico is dark yet large and airy. The high industrial ceilings are paired with the comfortable bar seating, several fireplaces, couches, and leather booths. But really, the best part about Rustico is its pages and pages of beer selection, and its wonderful food. We recently learned that Bells Two Hearted Ale is powerful, hoppy, and not for the faint of heart. I decided to stick with the much lighter Brooklyn lager.

The menu is small, but every dish I have had there has been excellent. My first time at Rustico I had the duck confit pizza with brie and arugula. It was superb! Their soup trio is also very suprisingly tasty. This time around at the urging of my friend I had the mussels and a caesar salad. Again, both delicious. In fact, the mussels were some of the best I have had. So, if you every get the random urging to cross the bridge and venture out of DC stop by Rustico, but don't stay too long!

Daily Candy's write up on Rustico: click here

Beef Bourguignon

On Friday night my friend Kristen came over to cook. It was the end of a long work week, and what better way to cap it off with an evening of cooking. DC sure has a lot of great restaurants, but sometimes it is so wonderful to just stay at home and cook. I am not sure if there is anything much more relaxing to me than having a glass of wine while cooking with friends.

We set about making Ina Garten's beef bourguignon (I have been wanting to make this ever since my Aunt sent me the recipe). It is a challenging recipe, so a perfect one to make when you have an extra set of hands helping out. The beef bourguignon turned out perfectly! The sauce is incredibly rich, and Ina's suggestion of pouring the sauce over toasted garlic bread was fabulous. You can get to the recipe by clicking on Ina Garten above. I would highly suggest it for a large dinner party.

While the beef bourguignon simmered we practiced how to actually pronounce "beef bourguignon" and also made Ina's hummus. One recipe makes plenty, so there is no need to double this. Add more garlic and hot sauce for a kick.

We were all so full and happy from the yummy meal, but had enough energy after dinner for several rounds of Hearts.

Despite the warm weather we are having lately, there is no pretending that January and February are hard months to get through. The holidays are over, and the lighter longer days seem very far away. Sometimes, I would just like to hole up in a corner (like our puppy has been doing lately), surrender, and let the time pass. However, that would not be following the mantra that I chose for my blog's header. There must be some good in every season, something redeemable. So, to honor the season I am surrendering to the difficult recipes I have always wanted to cook and to the stack of books by my bed.

I read a quote today by David Viscott. I am not really sure who he is or what he is all about, but his words gave me chills as I long for the dog days of summer.
"To love and be loved is to feel the sun from both sides." Ahh, what a wonderful feeling that is.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Eastern Market Christmas

This Saturday my childhood friend Katie and her husband Jake came to visit. (I have actually known Jake just as long as Katie, we all went to elementary, middle, and high school together, so we have great memories). It was so wonderful to see them and spend time with them. Katie is in her second trimester, and is such a cute pregnant woman. They brought along their ultrasound pictures, and we had a great time trying to find the face, back, arms and legs of their precious little baby.

After feasting on yummy sandwiches made on crusty french bread from Bagels and Baguettes (located at 3rd and Massachusetts), we headed over to Eastern Market (located on 7th Street, SE). There we walked through the vendors, sorting through maps, tiles, and photographs. Jake found a map of Genoa, Italy where his cousins live and Katie and Jake got to visit last year. It was really neat! Then we went into the market and sampled all sorts of soups (the thai shrimp was my favorite) and gouda parmesan cheese.





The Pasta vendor sold DeCecco pasta, and I found out that Jake's cousins work at competing pasta factories in Genoa, Italy. In that one town there are two pasta factories, DeCecco and another one (the name slips my mind). When asked which pasta is better, his cousins replied that DeCecco is best for dried pasta, and the other one is best for fresh. I thought that was a great response and I am sure I will be picking up a couple boxes of DeCecco at the store.



We ended up leaving with olives and the cheese for starters, and then artichoke and spinach raviolis with a pink vodka sauce for dinner. Katie's eyes lit up when she saw the hamentoshens at the bakery, and she just couldn't resist. Katie and I used to walk over to Scandia Bakery in Havertown, PA every Saturday morning to get blueberry (my favorite) and cherry (Katie's favorite) hamentoshens. The Eastern Market bakery sells them for $1.50 each. Of course in Pennsylvania we used to get four for a dollar.




As we were leaving, the sky turned a tremendous shade of blue and pink. It looked incredible against the bare trees. I tried to capture it here, but don't think I have done it much justice.



Capitol Hill was definitely in the Christmas spirit yesterday. Wreaths, christmas trees atop cars, and carolers and a nativity scene were set up in Lincoln Park. What a wonderful time of year!

First Snow on Capitol Hill

I was just sitting in our front room and happened to look out our window..the skies are clear, but it is snowing. The first snow of the season.

The Argonaut

Every Monday night at the Argonaut is half priced burger night. This great bar is only a few blocks from our house and we have spent the past three Monday's eating there and catching up with friends. Everyone says the burgers are delicious, and their sweet potato fries hit the spot. I would also recommend their black beans and rice, and the grilled cheese with tomato and bacon.

The interior of the bar is canvassed with dark wood and a smattering of chairs and tables. In a corner rest games like scrabble, checkers, and a deck of cards. It feels a little like the old bars in the fishing town of Gloucester, Massachusetts. I love the old eclectic chairs and wish that I could take home one of their aged tables for our kitchen.

I hear the Argonaut is getting outside seating for the spring. I hope they do as they have a great spot on the corner of H Street...a perfect spot to enjoy a brew and view the changes taking place in the Atlas District.

Well, as soon as I published the last post I started eating my words. A full week of home cooked meals led to a full week of eating out. The next couple of posts will be about some of my favorite places to eat on Capitol Hill.