How did my sister get so cute??
I made her test out my new POP Booth app before we went out last weekend – so fun! We saw Motion City Soundtrack perform and ended the night with strawberry milkshakes and fries. She just got a new job down the street from my house and we’re talking about her moving into my spare bedroom!

When is that last time you hung out with your siblings?

P.S. I couldn’t resist this hoodie for Slayer when I was out buying dog food the other day =)

Last night my sister and I went on a little date to Saved by the Booze – a ’90s themed night at a venue downtown. The bar was fairly empty except for the crew of kids I used to hang out with. I haven’t seen them all together in years and it was great to catch up! At one point my sister goes…do you know everyone here?

A few friends formed a ’90s cover band just for that night. It was AWESOME! They played Sponge, Candlebox, Blur….and for only practicing a few times, they sounded damn good! By the end of the night everyone was singing along. During Lisa Loeb’s “Stay” the singer managed to procure nerd glasses from someone in the crowd and wore them during the whole song.

After the show we headed back through Greektown which has amazing powers to make one instantly starving. But we didn’t want pizza or saganaki…no, we needed Sonic! A bucket of tots and two grilled cheese later we were both ready to pass out!

P.S. Can you spot Slayer sneaking into one of my pictures up there??

[ An outfit that didn't make the cut ]

I settled on black & white stripes with red, which was the vision I had, but had totally missed the mark with the outfit I ordered online.

After my performance outfit was settled, we met up with my parents for dinner at Bastone and had amazing pizza with mushrooms, goat cheese and truffle oil. When we were sufficiently stuffed I dropped Kate off to work at the street fair and then met up with Jenn again to walk over ourselves.

I somehow managed to have a crazy fun night without spending a dollar. I made gin and juice for Jenn and I to take to the street fair, got handed a couple beer tickets and then the beer-pourers ended up being so drunk themselves they stopped noticing if we handed over tickets or not.

We decided, due to the massive crowd, it was the perfect time for a musical moment and breaking out into song. We got our wish when The Silent Years led everyone in a 4 Non Blondes sing-a-long. We hung out with my sister at her post on the outskirts of the fair, bringing her beer and keeping her and the passersby entertained. I managed to drunk text someone and scored a date – with only one spelling error I might add! I saw some old friends and met a few new ones. And at the end of the night, everyone piled into the Loving Touch and The Summer Pledge brought down the house. We were all crammed around the tiny stage, arms in the air, clapping and singing.

Around 1 or 2 Kate and I stumbled home, the streets empty of booths and fair-goers, my feet aching and so ready for sleep.

Burrito for breakfast

Somebody is hoping for a bite

We spent the afternoon at John King books in Detroit. As we approached the entrance we both let out a “whoaaaa!” as we were engulfed in the strong scent of used books – one of my favorite scents. With four floors jammed with books, it’s the largest used and rare bookstore in Michigan. It’s a great place to get lost for a few hours. I even ran into Mandy and her bf in the lobby. After looking at titles until my head was spinning, I ended up with Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God.

After dinner, Back to the Future III (has anyone ever seeing this one past the 80s Cafe-hoverboard part???) and a nap, we walked over to the festival to hit up the beer tent and watch a few bands. It was crazy packed, really good people watching and prefect weather for hanging outside.

First you make the batter and take a super cheesy picture while piping it onto sheet pans.

Then pop them in oven for 30 mins and high-five each other because they turned out perfect!

We made chocolate mousse and I crammed each pastry full (aka made an enormous, yet delicious mess) while my sister made the chocolate topping.

The chocolate for the top didn’t come out as thick as it should have, but I’m blaming that on my mom’s stove.
They tasted amazing anyway :)

Paula Dean’s Chocolate Stuffed Eclairs
via Food Network

Pastry:

1 cup water
1 stick margarine or butter
1 cup sifted all-purpose flour
4 eggs

Filling:

6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups milk
3 eggs, beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla

Icing:

2 (1-ounce) squares chocolate
2 cups sugar
1 cup whipping cream

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Heat water and margarine or butter to boiling point. Add flour and stir constantly until mixture is smooth and forms a ball. Remove from heat and let cool. Beat in 4 eggs, 1 at a time and once incorporated, place into a pastry bag. On a greased cookie sheet, pipe out dough in thick lines that form eclairs. Bake for approximately 30 minutes or until light brown. Set aside to cool.

In a medium saucepan, prepare filling by whisking together the flour, cocoa powder, sugar and salt. Whisk in about 1 cup milk and cook over low heat, stirring often, until thickened or the consistency of mayonnaise. Add the rest of the milk and then temper in 3 beaten eggs and continue to cook until mixture is even thicker. Remove from heat, cool and add vanilla.

With a serrated knife, slice pastry puffs lengthwise, but not all the way through. Pipe custard mixture into the center. (I opted to jam the pastry tip into each end and pipe it in that way instead of cutting them.) Melt chocolate for icing, add sugar and cream. Cook over medium heat until soft ball stage. Let cool and beat until smooth. Ice tops of the eclairs.

Sunday, my sister, brother and I squeezed into the backseat of my parents car and headed north to celebrate Father’s Day at my grandparents house. We spent the day playing ladder ball, bocce and croquet and eating (veggie) burgers and bumpy cake. We had to Google the rules for croquet and the guys spent most of their time try to hit each others balls out of play.

I spent much of the weekend hanging with my sister, Kate. Friday night we went and saw Sex and the City 2, mostly because we saw the first one together. I had hoped people were being overly dramatic with claims that it was terrible, but they were all correct. The fabulous shoes, clothes, and Carries hair (I want that color!) were no match for the almost three hours of a boring rambling “plot.” If it hadn’t been so funny I’m not sure I would have made it to the end.

On Saturday, we grabbed subs at Jimmy Johns and ate in the car on the way to my aunt’s house for a garage sale. Kate was the featured item model – Oprah called, she wants her dress back. I got two huge gold brooches, which I will be turning into rings very soon.

We planned to go roller skating, but after not sleeping well and circus class in the morning I was ready to pass out. Kate bought me a giant black tea + lemonade from ‘sBucks and we went back to my parents house. We ate Middle Eastern food while watching Jaws and It’s Complicated, which was actually really good.

Sunday she came over and I paid her to cut my lawn (yay broke college student!) while I trimmed bushes. I never want to do yard work, but once I’m outside working in the sun I kind of enjoy it. Except then I find a ginormous icky spider and it’s all over.

I made the smartest move ever by throwing brownies in the oven before I started cleaning the house. When I was done I had a delicious reward for all my hard work.

Peanut Butter Brownies
Recipe from lindsey yeo, blog.

1/4 cup unsalted butter
4 ounces semisweet chocolate
2 tablespoons water
2 eggs
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons milk

Preheat oven to 350°f. Butter an 8″ square baking pan. In the microwave on low power melt the chocolate & butter with 2 tablespoons of water. Whisk together the eggs, vanilla, salt & sugar. Let chocolate cool slightly then add to eggs. Fold in flour until just combined.

In a separate bowl mix together peanut butter, powdered sugar & milk. Pour brownie batter into the pan. Drop the peanut butter mix over the top and swirl with a knife.

Bake 25 to 35 mins or until a toothpick picks up a few crumbs, but no wet batter.

Makes 16. (or if you’re like me, 4)

Saturday, I took my sister, Kate, on a date. We cruised downtown for the Detroit Roller Derby championship bout. It was exciting to see so many people downtown supporting the derby girls. Kate has been talking about joining the derby in her city for a while, so we’re planning a roller skating date soon to improve her skills on wheels.

[ Derby girls warming up ]

[ The D-Funk All Stars took home the trophy ]

After the derby we went out to dinner at Pronto. I ordered a huge slice of toffee bumpy cake for dessert.

Sunday, after getting up early to cut the lawn and then going into work for five hours to continue building the new site, I headed to my aunts for the LOST finale. The baking obsession runs in the family – my aunt made an amazing lost cake. Yes, it was as delicious as it looks!

She also made LOST-themed cupcakes. I took home Sawyer of course. Mmmmm mmmmm!

My thoughts on the finale – it was beautiful and heart warming, but too predictable. I was hoping for something a little more mind-blowing as that has been the draw for me throughout the show.

I really should have thought ahead and brought some cake to work because I now have a mad craving after posting all those pictures!

Every year we make pierogi for Easter. This was the first year I was in charge w/out help from my mom or aunts. We use my great-grandma’s recipe, which is for saurkraut/cottage cheese pierogi. It’s kind of an aquired taste, but I’ve been eating them since I was little, so they are my fave.

We started yesterday afternoon and prepared by eating some oranges and taking pictures of ourselves.

Aprons are an important part of the process – don’t want to get our outfits all floury!

First I made the dough and then rolled it out nice and thin.

Then we made the filling and formed the pierogi.

I taught my cousin how to make them while my sister started boiling. I don’t know how she made it to 23 without learning how to make them. I remember being taught by my mom and aunts in my early teens. Good thing I showed her or she’d get kicked out of the family.

After about 5 hours of making and boiling 4 dozen pierogi, we stopped to eat an enormous pizza. It’s a Big Benito w/ mushroom, feta, peppers and black olives. The leftover slices in the fridge are calling my name.

Today my sister stood in front of the stove for about 3 hours to fry them all. We made potato cheese as well for those who aren’t into sauerkraut.

At 4 we were finally done cooking! My mom and grandma seemed very impressed, but we had good teachers – them!

Now I’m home in bed – everything hurts and I’m so tired, but I did manage to do my taxes.

She and her boyfriend made recipes from PostPunkKitchen.com for dinner.

Jerk Tofu

prep time: 15 minutes | cooking time: 16 minutes | makes 6

Ingredients
1 lb Extra Firm tofu, pressed for at least an hour*

For the marinade:
1/2 large white onion, roughly choppped
4 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons fresh ginger, grated
juice of 2 limes
zest of 1 lime
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon dried thyme
2 teaspoons allspice
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped (or one if you don’t want it too spicy)

Directions
Puree all ingredients for the marinade.

Slice the pressed tofu into long triangles like this:
Slice into eigths width-wise
Slice each eigth in half into a long triangle

Marinade tofu in a bowl for an hour covered adjusting slices once.

Prepare the skillet with a thin coat of olive oil and turn heat to medium high. When pan is hot, lay tofu in a sigle layer. Cook for 8 minutes on each side.

Serve!

*To press tofu, wrap in paper towels or a clean dish towel and press under the weight of a heavy object, such as a skillet with a heavy book in it. Turn over after 1/2 hour. This will get the water out and allow the tofu to soak up more of the marinade.

Ginger Roasted Winter Vegetables

prep time: 20 minutes | cooking time: 45 minutes | makes 6 – 8 servings

Ingredients
1 lb parsnips (about 2 average sized)
2 large carrots
1 butternut squash
1 lb sweet potatoes (about 3 medium size)
2 heaping tablespoons grated ginger
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1/3 cup olive oil
pinch cinnamon
pinch allspice
1 teaspoon salt

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 F.

Wash and peel all veggies (get the seeds out of the squash), cut into 3/4 inch slices. Line baking sheets with tinfoil and lightly grease them.

In a large bowl combine all ingredients, and make sure all veggies are coated. Doing this with your hands works best.

Line veggies on the baking sheet in a single layer. If there is any extra liquid pour it over the veggies.

Put one sheet of veggie on the middle rach and one on the upper rack of oven. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and flip veggies. Return to oven, but put the one that was on the lower rack on the upper rack now, and vice versa. Bake 20 or so more minutes, until veggies are tender inside.