food » Her Daily Muse - The digital sketch book of designer Sierra Bailey

In celebration of winter…

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Dec 092010

I was all sorts of elated tonight when I came home from yoga as I did my first hand stand all by myself tonight! No spotter, just 1, 2...and up my legs went! Mind you, this occurred today and not Tuesday when it should of but did not as I freaked out and couldn't do it unless Rouben standing next to me...out of fear of what, I don't know. Today however, I took a deep breath and got my ass in the air. I was so excited that I yelled out "I DID IT!" right after I was finished...I couldn't help it. Thankfully there are only four of in the class and they all saw me Tues, so they understood.

You can imagine that I was therefore all sorts of happy when I got home and after I had a big cup of tea I was raring to go! I promised I would make a big batch of Venison Stew to bring to my favorite group of manly men for lunch tomorrow so I enthusiastically started chopping. I ended up getting into such a groove in the kitchen, that I whipped up a big batch of my ginger snaps for dessert. I am so happy I decided to do this for two reasons...

image by me

1. My apartment is now filled with aromas of stew and cookies. 2. Cookie dough. Ahhh, winter has arrived, and its its freezing out already!! You'll be happy to know that I was very well behaved and ate just enough cookie dough to make me happy and not too much that I want to lie down. Which is good news because I have oodles to do as so many wonderful peeps ordered jewelry today, yay! I am now off to play Santa...er...elf...er...trout?

I scream, you scream, we all scream for…

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Nov 102010

image from We Heart It

I have been very into ice cream recently. Only at work at the end of the night though and as we're only open Friday and Saturday nights, I figure its not so bad. Its Ronnybrook and already pre scooped on big trays so I just have to pop into the freezer and it takes seconds to fill my bowl up. I prefer mixing different flavors and just for kicks, I like to mix it up with Ciao Bella gelato and its soooo yummy. Strawberry ice cream and raspberry sorbet is my favorite combo right now, but I am sucker the double combo of ginger or coffee mixed with vanilla too. It must be as I have been wearing dresses without tights still so I have to realllllly want it to stand the chill it causes after!

Feeling fall with yummy treats and playful dogs

faye, food, friends, Ramblings, randomfacts Comments Off

Nov 032010

So, I always grocery shop and run errands on Mondays, is that weird? I love coming home and making that first meal with an abundance of fresh ingredients to choose from. This Monday I decided to bake Banana Bread as I had bananas left over that were perfect for bread. Plus, it smells sooooo amazing while baking and is so simple to make!

A peek at Monday's bounty

Monday is usually a late studio night for me but this was an exception as I had an unexpected visitor for the evening. I didn't get much work done as I was a bit distracted walking and playing with Faye and our guest for the evening, but I had so much fun. I also enjoyed a special late night dinner of the freshest Venison I've ever had. If you have been lucky enough to be treated to the tenderloin on the same night, you know how incredibly awesome it is. Yum!

Faye & Jane wondering why I am working instead of playing with them

Thank you to facebook and my love of cheeses, Shanley and Christine came over last night and I created a festive cocktail for them. I tossed a handful of pomegranate seeds (great instructions for cutting open the fruit) into a wine glass along with a few tiny ice cubes. Poured in a bit of Sancerre (or your favorite light white wine), a healthy splash of Pom Juice and filled the rest of the glass with Pellagrino. Was a complete hit with the ladies and went well with the cheese, pears, grapes & prosciutto!

Pomegranate Spritzer

Somehow I manged to get a decent amount of work in between all this fun and of course I voted! Tomorrow I have lunch with a friend and then have to chain myself to my desk for awhile as I am crossing my fingers that I will be eating remarkable lasagna for dinner...well its more like I am crossing my fingers that the lasagna will be remarkable anyway. I have been craving kick ass Italian food and after realizing that i have no idea where to find it, I asked around and think I may have found mecca...I'll make to let you know if I do...promise.

Enjoying the last of summer…

food, friends, OhThePlacesI'veBeen Comments Off

Sep 202010

As today's weather was perfect, I took the afternoon off and had took the birthday boy to lunch on the Hudson River. It was sunny and 70 degrees with a breeze...fantastic weather for eating outside.

You can see my favorite local art here too...a whale sculpture which I adore is embedded in the lawn in front of the river. Its kind of randomly placed on the grass, rather large and I'm not sure why they decided to put a whale next to the river. It is however covered in mosaic tiles and makes me smile every time I see it.

We had lunch at the River Station, and did I mention there was cheese involved?? A baked brie with raspberry coulis, walnuts and toasted pita...it was divine! The perfect way to spend a lazy end of summer afternoon.

Can’t get you out of my mind…

daydreaming, food Comments Off

Sep 172010

It all started the other night when I went to dinner for bbq. I got this craving for Blueberry Pie...which they did not have...or maybe they did and that was where the idea came from? I was too full to consider the notion of dessert and apparently, my brain cannot comprehend why on earth I made that decision. The next day I went on a mission for Blueberry Pie...and I came SO close to buying an entire pie as there were not slices of blueberry for sale. Instead I had a slice of Strawberry Rhubarb which was actually my second choice...and it was awesome. The only problem was that it just made me want Blueberry even more.

I've decided the only thing to do is make myself a pie. Making the Super Epic Rainbow Cake got me over that obsession! I however do not have the time until Tuesday. Which means that later in the day, I will look like this:

Does anyone have a favorite Blueberry Pie recipe that they could either direct me to or share?

*my mom just wrote on my facebook wall that she is serving TWO kinds of pie at her house Monday night, yum!

I did it!!!!!

food, friends, goals 3 Responses »

Aug 052010

I actually did it, I made the Super Epic Rainbow Cake that I gushed about earlier this week!!! My friend Shanley came over last night and we spent a very funny four hours together baking, impersonating Julia Childs and being are doofy selves...it was so much fun!!

I of course snapped a few images of the cake making, the dying was our favorite part. Shanley was the color master, deciding on ratios as I whisked them together...like spin art, but cooler. We decided that the cake colors matched the colors of the contents of my fridge....

Super Epic Rainbow Cake Chillin'

The layers were pretty on their own as I stacked them up with frosting...

Super Epic Rainbow Cake Layers

We were SO excited when it all came together at the end!!!

The Super Epic Rainbow Cake...Presented by Ms. Shanley!!

But nearly as excited as when we saw what it looked like inside...

Super Epic Rainbow Cake as demonstrated by Sierra

In case you wondering just how excited we were...I can SHOW YOU!!! Here is a video of the official unveiling of the Super Epic Rainbow Cake so you can share our enthusiasm as we cut open the cake and see whats inside:

A special thank you goes to Whisk Kid for her recipe and ingenuity to think up The Super Epic Rainbow Cake and of course a big thank you to Shanley...I couldn't and wouldn't have wanted to bake it without you SHAZAAM!

A cake worthy of obsession…

food, inspiration 2 Responses »

Aug 032010

Image of Whisk Kids "Super Epic Rainbow Cake"

I want to eat this cake so badly that I am pretty sure I'm going to make one tomorrow...do you see the amount of color (and SUGAR) in that bad boy???

So I was reading Hula Seventy today and saw this amazing cake that Andrea made...and read that the recipe was from this rather cool food blogger, Whisk Kid who was invited to make the cake on MARTHA!!! How cool is that? Anyway, the more I read about this Super Epic Rainbow Cake the more obsessed I became. I can pretty much assure you that I am going to attempt this cake tomorrow...if you're around, you should stop over for a piece. I have a feeling I could possible eat the whole thing if left alone with it and as there is a hilarious disclaimer with the recipe, I probably should not:

I'm adding a disclaimer here: THERE IS A LOT OF FROSTING/BUTTER IN THIS CAKE. I used a lot because I wanted the cake to be very striking visually. It is intentional. Put in less if you want. Also, I'm not forcing you to eat this entire cake by yourself, so - seriously - quit freaking out about the butter.

I'll let you know how it goes...