Review: Home Wine Kitchen . STL

Home Kitchen and Wine Bar sits in the middle of St. Louis' up-and-coming dining neighborhood of Maplewood. This area is quickly becoming our restaurant go-to and Home Kitchen and Wine Bar is no exception.



Ambiance
The name "Home" feels right for this place, as tightly packed tables line a wood plank wall across from a bar that occupies the other wall. Chalked wine menus adorn the walls above the bar, but not in a cluttered fashion, making the place dark and cozy. If you eat here, chances are you are rubbin' elbows with your dining brethren at the tables flanking you. While they do have high chairs, my husband and I made the mistake of waltzing in (stumbled in, really) one weekend lunchtime and bringing our shrieking, butcher-paper-grabbing baby. The staff was friendly, but I am not sure this home is big enough for the diners it draws and our loud munchkin. We ate quickly and got out of Dodge. Lucky for me, I went another time with a few friends for a leisurely, adult lunch and it was heaven. The rest of this review is based on the heavenly trip as I am not sure what I inhaled the first time around.

Service
The place is small and doesn't require a lot of staff. I counted one server and the co-owner, which probably makes sense, but with our server running ragged over the lunch hour we had to request drinks a few times (simple drinks like tea and tonic water). She was upfront and friendly about being forgetful - perhaps the popularity warrants more servers to take the burden off?

Food
Two words: The burger. A few words more: The bacon, egg and CHEESEburger (with garlic aioli, bestill my heart!) that has graced the cover of a local food magazine. I say this after mooching a single bite off a lunch companion that won the 'best dining selection' for the day, maybe even for the week, month or year. Good thing it was her birthday lunch or I would have smacked it out of her hand and stuffed it in my mouth. I was so effusive in my immediate review of the single bite that she asked me if I was going to have a "When Harry Met Sally" moment. Yeah, that good.

Other selections at the table were the pain perdue salade and pork sugo. The pain perdue salade was an argula salad, laced with a ribbon of prosciutto, piled on top of Parmesan toast and topped with a fried egg (see picture for details). Seemingly the healthy choice at the table (don't judge). I ordered the pork sugo based purely off the sound of name and that it included pasta. Seriously, braised pork belly and pasta? A generous portion of pork and papparedelle were intertwined with a red wine sauce, ricotta cheese and lightly cooked tomatoes. Short of licking our plates, we all joined the clean-plate club. For dessert we opted to split the chocolate brownie with marshmallow and toffee (dessert one) and the crustless buttermilk pie (dessert two). The savory dishes set a high standard that the dessert didn't totally measure up to. Perhaps we were just too full?




Notes
Buzz online says 'No Menu Mondays' is the way to go for the adventurous foodie. This foodie also really liked ordering off the menu on a Saturday, but next time I am going all out for the burger...or wait for someone else to order it and smack it out of their hand.

Review: Cafe Osage (and Bowood Farms) . STL

Bowood Farms, located in St. Louis' Central West End neighborhood, is one of my favorite nurseries. I walk in the doors of the old brick building that was once a auto warehouse -- take in the plants, seeds and sundries on offer -- and breathe in inspiration. Just take a look at the pictures and tell me you don't zen out. And this place isn't just a summer draw - they brilliantly have seasonal items year round (terrarium plants in the bitter months of winter) and host weekend talks from all kinds of experts to rev up the home gardener. All this poring over products and contemplating garden design can take it out of a girl; fortunately, Cafe Osage is there to provide much needed delicious sustenance.



Ambiance
Unique architecture, massive windows and greenery everywhere...awesome (read that in a high-pitched vibrato, please). The cafe is in a different room from the main floor and the outside gardens and has a nice, cozy vibe. On warmer days the cafe sprawls into the outside courtyard and a green rooftop grows herbs for the cafe (this is periodically open for tours, though I have yet to take a tour).

Service 
I can say I've ever had a bad experience with the staff of Cafe Osage. They are friendly, informative and make the beverage rounds in a timely manner.

Food 
The totally yummy seasonal and local breakfast and lunch menus haven't failed me. They tout vegetables grown right across the street and bison meat from their farm just outside of St. Louis. For our latest trip Daniel and I ordered the two daily specials (him: potato and egg skillet with loads of cheese, sun dried tomatoes, bacon and topped with micro greens with toast and housemade jam, me: salmon flatbread with herbed cream cheese, onion and capers) and we split an order of berries with lemon curd yogurt that was tasty and surprisingly large.




If I had to have a complaint, it would be that I spend a lot of money at this place. I *do* need those seeds and plants and pots and soil amendments...and looking at all this tasty food has made me hungry.

*Linked list: Ways to Waste Time . #3

Just a few videos, articles and blogs I've come across that will help waste your time. No need to thank me. 

[+] Iconic black and white photos recolored. (Mark Twain, above)
[+] What really happens at night in a bookstore.
[+] Rapper/actor Ice Cube waxes poetic about architecture. [via]
[+] Citrus salt looks like something I need to make.
[+] Liquid bricks.
[+] Awkward Family Photos - an oldie, but a goodie. Prepare to spend the next few hours alternating between cracking up and shouting "what?!" at your computer screen.

Recipe for success: Raspberry Frozen Yogurt (à la Pinkberry)

Odd how my ice cream maker didn't see much action this summer, but now the temps are hovering around freezing I get the urge to churn out frozen treats. This hankering for some frozen yogurt was somewhat specific: I wanted Pinkberry's raspberry frozen yogurt. As I saw it, I had two options: 1) drive 260 miles to the nearest location or 2) make my own. Obviously I chose the latter. A brief online search yielded a good base recipe and I modified it just a touch.

1. Assemble the ingredients:
   

   • Frozen or fresh raspberries (I used a frozen 12 oz. bag) • 1/2 cup, plus 3 tablespoons sugar, divided • ~4 cups 2% Greek yogurt • 1/2 cup whole milk • 1/2 cup sugar • 1 cup half and half

2. Put the raspberries in a pot with 3 tablespoons sugar and heat up. Mash and cook the raspberries until you have a nice liquid.
3. While that's stewing, combine your yogurt, milk, 1/2 cup sugar and half and half.
4. Take your raspberries off the heat and strain into the Greek yogurt mixture.
5. Chill the mixture in the fridge.
6. Place the chilled mixture in an ice cream maker and spin until desired consistency. Freeze until served.

Note: Best served shortly after churning. If you plan on serving it on a different day, be sure to soften before serving - the large amount of liquids causes this yogurt to freeze pretty solid.

*Linked list: Ways to Waste Time . #2

Just a few videos, articles and blogs I've come across that will help waste your time. No need to thank me. 

[+] How to levitate.
[+] Speed painting by a street artist...mesmerizing.
[+] A real page turner.
[+] So true. Sad, but true. Ugh...sad and cliche, but true.
[+] I totally don't get this.
[+] These photos are beautiful. [via]
[+] Fast food ads vs. the real deal. Hilariously depicted in photographs, until you realize it is all true. [via]
[+] Looking into the past.

Photo.journalist: Snow Way!

Our first snowfall was just after Christmas and the snow was gone by 8:30 AM. Indio and I really hustled that morning and got out in the snow (or was it just fluffy water?) for the 5 minutes it lasted...



With 50 degree weather for most of this fall and winter, I totally forgot that we still had a few months of winter to survive. Which means I was daydreaming of spring and what plants I was going to get in the ground when it warms up for good. I think I even muttered "I can't wait for Spring" to no one in particular. And when you think and say things like that, its bound to get cold. Really cold, windy and inclement. Which is how I would describe today. So, our second snowfall* is in the books, but only the hardiest of youth really made the most of it.


*Full disclosure: I'm no meteorologist and an even less accurate historian, so we may have had more than just these two snowfalls this year in the metro St. Louis area.

Wherefore Art Thou?

I am very thankful these walls can't talk. If they did, they'd tell you tales of horrible beatings, of poorly hung pictures, of artwork hiding all the chips and gashes in the plaster made when hanging pictures. But I am working a campaign to change their minds (yes, I've personified my walls...and you thought cat ladies were bad). But the beatings will continue until morale improves. So in the meantime artwork is going up, down and moving all around:


So far, I'm pleased. We've had pictures and artwork lurking in corners, piling up in the basement and loitering against walls. In 2012 we've starting a strict no lurking/piling/loitering policy that I hope works out. More to come...


A colored pencil sketch of our house by Matt Boyle, complete with bunnies running rampant. His art is awesome, you should check him out.


Photos taken by me and framed in Crate and Barrel photo frames with magnetic plexi fronts, for easy change-outs.

Package Exchange Review

This Christmas I decided to try something new out and participate in a gift exchange organized by a blog I follow: Oh, Hello Friend. The blog is about brown paper packages tied up with string and other of my favorite things, so how could I go wrong getting paired up with another like-minded paper geek? I couldn't go wrong and, subsequently, I didn't. I love it when a plan comes together.

For the package I sent, I went into full-on cyber-stalking mode, reading my giftee's blog almost in its entirety. It turns out, I love her blog and now follow it (hope this doesn't creep you out too much, Ali). After collecting my intel, I went antiquing deep into the heart of rural Missouri to find some interesting stereocards from the turn of the (last) century and a completed history book with perfect penmanship and tissue paper maps from the 20s (it just refers to WWI as 'The War'). I topped it off with some vintage fabrics I'd been hoarding and then some modern day gift certificates to a local pastry shop and iTunes. Hopefully, it was right up her alley. I would have snapped a few shots if I hadn't been getting my act together at the last minute.

Anyway, when I got my package in the mail just a few days before Christmas, I was totally excited...



Seriously, home-girl combined a crazy, sketched wrapping paper pattern with a kraft and black primitive-patterned paper, tied it together (literally) with a velvet aquamarine ribbon. Genius. Along with a cute tag card were recipe cards (bundled with baking twine) on the outside and upon unwrapping the present I found...a...wait for it...wait for it...mortar and pestle for my collection!


Welcome to the family!

Wish.list: For the Professional Carpenter

You can't go wrong if you give your die-hard handyman (or woman) something off this gift guide composed by a professional carpenter. Bonus: almost all of this list can be picked up at your local Home Depot - they won't even have to know you waited until the last minute!





[1] Blue Framing Square
Blue squares are easy to read and find on the job site.

[2] Black Resin Tool Tote
A tool box that holds 2 drills, drill bits and anchors in the top removable section. And room on the bottom for a hammer, tape measure, knife and other tools.

[three] Steel Countersink set
3 sizes for detail trim work.

[four] 90 Piece Drill and Drive Set
Everything you need for a drill

[five] Heavy Duty Radio Charger
A radio that charges your batteries, will run on a battery and is iPod compatible.

[six] Cantilever Plastic Organizer
A bin with removable cups to hold all your screws, nails and anchors. Perfect size because it holds enough, but won't get too heavy to carry.

[7] 2.5 Amp Oscillating multitool kit
The newest tool in the "how did we ever manage without it" category. Many different brands available, but Bosch always makes a good tool.

This gift guide brought to you by our favorite carpenter, Mr. Kuhlrock. Just pray you don't meet him in a dark Home Depot aisle when he's got some gift card to spend.

So much time and so little to do...

Wait a minute. Strike that. Reverse it.  (--Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory)

December 22nd. So close to Christmas that not even rush shipping can save us now.

I find that my super top secret project (more on that, after it becomes unclassified) and vegging out in front of whatever Christmas movie is on Lifetime (no, I am not kidding) has put me behind on all the crafty projects I need to start and complete in the next few days. So, hold tight for the next few days while I battle crowds, traffic and a bemused husband to get all these little things done. Perhaps I will learn my lesson for next year, perhaps not.



[one] . Holiday photo props
How cute are these?!? I think I'm gonna have to make these and force everyone to pose for silly pictures. Free download available here.

[two] . Clever little hipster gift wrapping
Okay, our gifts are all wrapped and ready to go in plain, old cheap wrapping paper. BUT, this idea from Sweet Paul is just so dang clever I had to include it.

[three] . Oreo snowball truffles
One part easy: Grind up Oreos and cream cheese, roll into balls and then dip into almond bark. One part delicious: Oreos, cream cheese, almond bark. Need I say more? Picture and recipe here. For your carnivorous eater, fry up bacon until its crispy, and crumble it on top of the freshly dipped truffle. It is out of this world.

[four] . Hair bow
You can buy it here. But I want to make one and then run around with it in my hair on Christmas Eve. The model makes it look so cool...would I just look crazy?

[five] . Homemade marshmallow s'mores
I've been making homemade marshmallows lately and then we've been dipping them in melted chocolate, slapping some graham crackers on it and torching the top with a creme brulee torch. Indoor s'mores at a moments notice.

[six] . Treat bags for the neighbors
My time-savvy neighbors have baked their treats and brought them 'round to the neighbors. Not me. I've procrastinated and now I'm going to have to start a new tradition of offering New Year's treats since I think everyone has hit the road for the holidays. Oh well, it will go nicely with our Christmas cards that are going to be super late. Package inspiration from here.

[seven] . Silhouette ornament
Last year we made a cute hand print ornament for Indio's first Christmas. What does Indio get for his second Christmas? So far, diddly squat, the poor thing. But, I have plans to make a cute silhouette of him and put it in a ornament frame. Silhouette how-to here.

Wish me luck, I'm off to tackle a few of these before Saturday!