Get Excited!

“One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.” 

[Virginia Woolf]

We are so looking forward to MAY 29th's dinner! 

Are you ready to reserve your spot? 

Details coming this week!!

Save the Date!

The Evening of Wednesday, May 29th. 

NYC Chefs at The Empty House Studio! 

More info to come.

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The bathroom is finished!

We're finished!!! 

Well, mostly. I have to frost the window and get the lights fixed... but we're back in business, ladies and gentlemen! 

That IS the same bathroom. 


More pics to come! 

Dinner Shares

"Potlucks" are beautiful times of sharing and community. Everyone who comes is part-host, part-participant: the perfect combo for an interactive evening. It gives people ownership, it starts conversations, it gets people thinking about the evening before the evening even starts... 


But is that really what you think of when you hear "POTLUCK"?? I don't. 

What in the world does "potluck" mean?! Really. Potluck? It makes me think of someone being lucky enough to get the good pot of food out of all the 1970's Church Lady casseroles (not to knock all of those as a group... there might be some good ones). Or being lucky if there is any food left in the pot once you get through the line. The etymology claims that the first use meant "food provided for an unexpected or uninvited guest, the luck of the pot"... and perhaps faded into a mesh with the term "potlatch" which is a gift-giving ceremony. While potluck food is most definitely a gift, luck doesn't seem to connote the right atmosphere. Not only that but the historical term holds this unfortunate equation with faded jello based Betty Crocker amalgamations. Thus, we have changed the term to "dinner-share." 

The Empty House Studio dinner-shares have been fabulous. Whether we cook it together while sipping wine or bring it all prepared, the time of community and making is treasured by all who come. If you don't have enough money to host a full out menu for guests, perhaps this is a way you can open your home? Invite friends to participate while you host. Share in creating and eating together. 

We'd like to share a little with you all as well! Here are a few recipes (with their personalities attached) from friends at our recent dinner-shares:

GF Dumpling Soup (R. Anderson)
Here's a fairly bad scan of the chicken and dumpling soup. I followed the recipe for the most part, though I sub'd all purpose GF flour for the regular in the dumplings, and used "buttermilk" coconut milk instead of milk. Also I used probably double the broth (but I like broth!)--I added the extra at the end to achieve the desired consistency. 

Beef Tongue Stew (A. Clevenger)

(yeh, thats right... whens the last time you ate a tongue?!):

http://shesimmers.com/2010/12/beef-tongue-stew-recipe.html

Celeriac Slaw with Apples and Onions (M. Perry) 

Peel a celeriac and cut into matchstick. Boil is salted h2o for 10 min till tender then throw in ice bath. 

Celeriac Slaw/ GF Dumpling Soup

Meanwhile Caramelize the onions. I used a red onion. Add the raisin at the last minute to get them a little softer. 

Toast the almonds in the oven (or buy toasted ones).

Toss everything together with a homemade vinaigrette (2 parts olive oil to one part acid -- sherry vinegar, tarragon vinegar, lemon juice, but balsamic is too strong) and salt and pepper to taste. 

I think that's what I did. I don't gave measurements though. I'm not that kind if cook. 

Kale Apple Salad (E. Lavigna & M. Schultz)

K, here is the "recipe." Don't be mad but I have zero idea about the dressing proportions.

Salad:

Kale ("massaged" by Meredith, which is BS)

Shredded brussel sprouts (I buy these in a bag from Trader Joes, or you could just roughly chop)

Almonds

Goat cheese

Craisins

Apples

Dressing:

Orange juice

Olive oil

White wine vinegar

Honey

Salt

Dried thyme

You honestly just mix it up, more oil than OJ, more honey than salt. 

Guacamole (P. Rabinowitz)

3 avocados, mashed

1 medium-large onion, diced

1 medium tomato, diced

1 lime, squeeze 1/5 sections at a time to taste

cilantro, finely chopped (optional & to taste…I just use a pinch)

salt and pepper to taste

cumin to taste (start with 1 tsp if you’re sensitive to spice)

cayenne pepper to taste

When avocados are exposed to air they brown very quickly, so cover tightly if not eating right away. This is why some recipes say to put the pit(s) in the bowl of guac; the guacamole touching the pit is sealed off from the air.

Cheese and Appletizers

Brie and Appletizers (K. Maria)

Stack the following:

Cracker or crostini bread of choice

1/2 tablespoon of Brie or Soft Goat Cheese

Topped with a thin slice of a crisp/sweet apple like a Fuji. :)

Anna's Hummus (A. Goist)

I always double this recipe and make one big batch at a time (i.e.: 2 cans chick peas, etc. but usually stick to one lemon) - but here's the single version:

One 16oz can chick peas/garbanzo beans
1/4 c. (liquid measure) tahini
1/6 c. olive oil
juice of one lemon
3/4 tsp salt
1-2 cloves garlic

Drain but save water from chick pea can(s). Mix chick peas, tahini, garlic, olive oil & 1/6 cup of the chick pea water in a food processor & blend until slightly chunky. Stop and add the lemon juice. Begin processing again and gradually add saved water until desired consistency.

APRIL 5TH!

http://lowlandhum040513.eventbrite.com/

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Drab to Fab

Address available upon registration. We are in Alexandria, VA. 

Preparing for the Worst...or just fixing it.

So what about the house?!

I am excited to bring you fresh tales of the new home-liver... wait, that doesn't quite sound right. But, if you've read our "The Story" tab, you know that part of this venture involves readying the house for the wonderful and generous home owners, my cousins, who made this alternative arts space experiment possible. So, yes, I am a 'new home-liver' not a 'new home-owner.' I am working out the kinks for them before they get here.

There is a non-working vent fan in the attic with loose metal strips. In certain winds, they flap and bonk. I didn't know about the flapping and bonking.


One windy morning at 4am, I woke with a start... Someone with a box of metal torture devices? The Terminator? Robocop? I thought my time had come. This was it. And metal was going to be involved.

Imagining that someone had just set down a large metal object at the base of the attic stairs, I sat up, stiff as a board. After hearing it a few more times and doing some 4am deductive reasoning, I fell back asleep. The next morning, while dressing, I heard the blasted sound again and traced it to the loose metal vent flaps. 

They are dirty and gross and extremely inconvenient to get to. After talking to H., I wove twine between the blades, bending one fan blade and knocking out one vent flap in the process... I also stuffed material in there and wrapped it up with duct tape. Right. It doesn't dare make a peep anymore. After telling Cousin and Husband, they suggested replacing the awkward gaping hole in the side of their house with a porthole! Like from a ship! How fun are they?! So, after looking at porthole's on Ebay (who knew?!), we are in the process of finding a wiling carpenter to tackle the project. We have one willing soul, I believe. A Baltimore based contractor who does beautiful work. More on that later. 

The first BIG project that Cousin and Husband are tackling is the family bathroom. The only full bath is a cute, cramped space. The awesome claw foot tub is a keeper but possibly for a bigger space. The lack of storage space is made up for by two different cheap cabinets that fill too much space. Here is the bathroom as we found it... 

From the entrance... 

The two cabinets cramping the toilet and window. 

That cute bathroom mirror is, unfortunately, not actually one unit. Its a mish mash of left over wood turned into a built-in vanity. I saved the hardware but it will be replaced.

Notice the 'fish shelf' behind the shower curtain...Left for us by the previous owners... Any takers?

No wonder they painted... faux (thin plastic) baby blue marble? Bleh. But painting it fleshly peach? Not sure they improved the situation... 

Oh, and a faux bright blue marble border. 

So, we have a contractor coming in to redo this bathroom into a family friendly and bungalow appropriate little space. After one contractor estimated an exorbitant amount for the redo, Cousin went with a contractor whose work she's seen and liked. He and his brother are coming in to make beautiful things happen!

Meanwhile, the bathroom must be 'readied' for its makeover. Clean the canvas! It was pretty satisfying taking out some of the STUFF. More to come...

Cabinet: gone!

Both cabinets gone! 

Don't worry! I saved the awesome hardware from this!

I love these little nubs for some reason! The shelf holders from the vanity mirror.