I think I found it.
But first, thanks to eveyone for their two cents. It has really helped me to evaluate what we (I) want in our new coffeemaker.
There were a few responses in regards to the Cuisinart Grind & Brew's performance, and neither were 100% encouraging. Most of the problems were with the grinding mechanism and clean-up. Maybe a leaky carafe was involved?
The suggestion was made that since I don't grind beans-nor do I want to-to get a regular Cuisinart coffeemaker. One without the grind feature.
I went back to Cuisinart, and while they did have one, the thermal carafe wasn't an option.
Le sigh.
As an all day coffee drinker, a thermal carafe really would make all the difference.
Lo and behold! Williams Sonoma offers just what I was looking for. It's the stainless with a thermal carafe. And? It makes 12 cups instead of ten.
Wonderful, wonderful find! Goodness knows why Cuisinart's own site doesn't carry it.
It's still nice and compact and has exactly what I'm looking for.
There is one thing, however. Feel free to call me picky-because I would too-but the design of the Grind & Brew appeals to me much more. There is a grind off option as well so I wouldn't have to use the grinder.
But the goopy mess and clean-up would still be a problem. I find myself torn.
Of all the dilemas to face, right?
I'll weigh the options with husband and see what we come up with. As long as the answer is coffee, all's well.
Toodles!
There's a delicious spinach ravioli-lasagna from a back issue of Southern Living I want to share with you. It's now one of our Friday night must-devour's during Lent. But first I'd love your opinions. Or your thoughts and suggestions.
With our Tokyo move date creeping up, we pretty much have all of our needs taken care of. Husband has done an outstanding job of furbishing our apartment-even if it is a man cave.
What we still need though-and what I've been hunting for-are necessities for the kitchen. We don't need much. We really don't. This is a good thing considering we have only a little area to cook in.
This is one side of it.
It's a very stylish little area with advanced, top of the line appliances that husband is still trying to figure out (it's all in Japanese or German. I can't remember which). But very tiny nonetheless.
What we need are a few basics: a new coffee maker (hello!), and a blender as my 13 year old one decided to stop working two weeks ago.
I've been drooling over the Cuisinart 10-Cup Thermal Grind & Brew with thermal carafe for several years. It's just...lovely, not to mention perfect for our tiny kitchen. It's compact, brews a mean cup of joe, and husband and I both love the stainless finish.
Did I mention it has a "grind-off" feature so I can use my own coffee and not use beans?
For the blender I've been eyeing the Waring Pro Classic Blender with chrome finish.
There aren't any bells and whistles, yet this remains a real blender favorite for it's efficiency and sleek build. I've seen it in many a kitchen pro's cooking space, so I'm willing to trust it.
I'm also willing to trust Southern Living and their recipes. I've prepared very few that weren't winners.
In the August 2008 issue there was a spinach ravioli-lasagna that we tried this past weekend. We fell completely in love with it, and have since then been ring-shopping at Tiffany's, hoping to woo it back to our table top as a permanent guest.
This lasagna was just what I was looking for: simple, scrumptious, and chock-full of bright and healthy looking spinach. It was a win-win recipe for a Lenten Friday night!
I did not take this picture-it came from Southern Living. What can I say? I was too busy inhaling this dish to even stop and give a thought to where my camera was.
Totally worth it!
After trying this yourself, I'm pretty sure you'll agree as well.
Spinach Ravioli-Lasagna
Ingredients
1 (6-oz.) package fresh baby spinach, thoroughly washed
1/3 cup refrigerated pesto sauce
1 (15-oz.) jar Alfredo sauce
1/4 cup vegetable broth*
1 (25-oz.) package frozen cheese-filled ravioli (do not thaw)
1 cup (4 oz.) shredded Italian six-cheese blend
Garnishes: chopped fresh basil, paprika (optional)
Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 375°. Chop spinach, and toss with pesto in a medium bowl.
2. Combine Alfredo sauce and vegetable broth. Spoon one-third of Alfredo sauce mixture (about 1/2 cup) into a lightly greased 2.2-qt. or 11- x 7-inch baking dish. Top with half of spinach mixture. Arrange half of ravioli in a single layer over spinach mixture. Repeat layers once. Top with remaining Alfredo sauce.
3. Bake at 375° for 30 minutes. Remove from oven, and sprinkle with shredded cheese. Bake 5 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Garnish, if desired.
For the pesto and Alfredo sauces, I used what was already on hand-Bertolli. The cheese ravioli came from the refrigerated section of our market and it worked out beautifully. Also, as I suspected it would be a waste, I did not add extra basil at the end, but the paprika was a nice burst of color.
We enjoyed our lasagna with a nice loaf of garlic bread (Cole's), a small salad, and giggle-filled conversation.
Mommy may have also enjoyed a more adult beverage while the children drank their milk. Mommy may have needed it.
It's funny how you don't truly crave something until you're told you cannot have it. But that's what Lent is about. In part. Avoiding temptations. I was happily surprised that this dish left us feeling so full, and more importantly, that both children enjoyed their leafy greens so much.
I highly suggest you prepare this for your family, Lenten observer or no. There's something elegant about this effortless meal and its unfussy ingredients. It presents itself as something much more than the ingredients lead you to believe-and that's because it is.
Feel free to put it on your fine china and use your pressed table linens. Or put it in a soup bowl and eat it in front of the fireplace or your favorite television show as you wind down from the day.
Either way, you can't go wrong!
Enjoy this recipe, and please, if you love it, let me know.
More to come soon with the big reveal!
When you have a home that is going on the market, the familiar, and somewhat comforting presence of your cluttered countertops and tables become your greatest foe.
You may spend more time than you'd like trying to dispose of things or find new homes for them.
My daughter's room is no exception.
Her chest of drawers is a host to many things that don't belong there-with the exception of her school items.
Yes, that is a Santa hat.
I'm sure it was a jumbled mess to only my eyes, but to eldest, the whole shebang made complete sense. She knew where everything was and what it was for.
But it all had to go. Our agent is a wonderful woman, and encouraged us to keep our home looking like one for a family, but I suspected keeping the clutter as it was would be pushing it.
So in the middle of our weekend filled with glorious sunny, warm days, not only did we make time for fun, finishing school projects, and making delicious dishes, we also finished eldest's room.
And it is now ready to be seen by all who will want to buy our home.
Come and see, won't you?
Let's remind ourselves how eldest's chest of drawers looked before:
And now:
What a difference! All that remains are her camp picture, the French lamps (which we've gone ga-ga over), and my favorite piece: her fish art from first grade. I love decorating with her artwork.
Her closet is neat, organized, and purged of all too-small clothes.
Some were donated, some were sold. Each article of clothing has been hung according to item: school uniforms, shirts, pants, skorts-now they all hang in their appropriate place.
Her cameo backed chair Mother and I found in a Mississippi (and I say this with complete affection) junktique store for $25 is devoid of extra sleep friends and toys.
God bless the child for emptying the room of her most cherished possessions.
This weekend as we cleaned her room it was time to wash sheets as well. This is one chore both children thoroughly enjoy.
Who doesn't love the feel and smell of sheets fresh from the dryer?
While they washed and I re-organized the closet, the children took the time to play on top of a very un-made bed.
They romped and jumped and they laughed with delight.
But finally eldest's sheet were clean and dry and once again, the bed had to be made. It, too, is ready to be seen and shown!
My heart just melts at the sight of eldest's bedding. My mother and I made it together-mother doing the more laborious work such as the bedskirt and drapes. She's a very talented seamstress and I didn't want to mess up the silk fabric.
We combined eldest's favorite colors and the most wonderful fabrics from Calico Corners. We wanted it to be young, but something she could easily grow with. For these reasons we gave her duvet cover two sides.
The top is a colorful, playful Asian motif.
Considering she is Chinese, we knew eldest would love it.
The flip side covers her white matelassee. When she's older, if she decided the top of her duvet is too "little girl" for her tastes, all she has to do is flip it over to this cheerful yellow and white check.
These may not be things that potential homebuyers will see or even appreciate, but they mean alot to me and to my sweet girl.
What means even more are the touches my daughter has made. She's made her room uniquely her own with things that she loves. They still remain even with the cleaning that's been done.
The fish art is just one piece. There's also her bedside table. It holds some of her faovrite and personalized things.
It has her books,
her favorite family photo and her Hello Kitty clock.
She doesn't like it, as in, really doesn't like it, so she jazzed it up with some Spiderman stickers. Hey, that's how my girl rolls: feminine on the outside, complete tomboy on the inside.
And of course, her favorite thing in the entire room, her white tiger Zuzu.
It would not be eldest's room if Zuzu were not present.
I'll show you the wee one's room next-and a few more as the weeks pass. Not only will it be fun as I like to share, I think it will give husband peace of mind knowing the house is actually in good shape to be shown.
I can't wait to show you more!
Also this week: meatless meals. It's Lent, which means if you observe it, Friday's can can cause meal dilemas. I'm going to show you how it can be done quickly and deliciously!
I'll see you soon. Happy Monday, all!
I am guilty of encouraging my children to play outdoors when the temperatures finally spring up into the mid-forties.
I am guilty of dressing my son in plaid and stripes. It was a complete accident-I promise! At least the colors are complimentary. And speaking of colors...
I am guilty of dressing my children in co-ordinating colors. Again, completely unintentional.
I am guilty of encouraging my children to run on the dead grass,
and roll around in the dead grass so their clothes pick up every piece, only to let them drop all over the recently vacuumed hardwood floors.
I know, sweetheart. I'm right there with you. What was I thinking?
I'm guilty of encouraging my children to play "football"-even though no one is really running after the person carrying the ball, or trying to tackle them, or even trying to receive it.
And I'm completely guilty of encouraging my color coordinated, stripe and plaid wearing, breathless with delight from playing football, grass-covered children to stay outside and enjoy themselves until the sun begins to set and dinner must be eaten.
Who says being guilty has to be a bad thing?
Have a lovely weekend, all. Coming soon-The Big Girl Desk.
You won't want to miss it!
And so begins our Lenten season.
Do you partake in Lent? Have you chosen a sacrifice? Or perhaps, have you chosen to take something up as Jesus did with his cross?
We will not be separating ourselves from technology or our love of sports.
There will be no sacrificing of artistic endeavors either.
The wee one is still very wee, so once again we'll simply show him through our examples how to live and refrain from certain things during this time. Eldest and I, however, have sacrificed our sugary foods (very predictable, yes, I know) which is going to kill us.
But as they say, what does not kill us...
Fare thee well, Amelie's. We'll see you after Easter! Be sure to save us both a vanilla and chocolate eclair.
We've also decided to use these next 40 days to work on goals. Picking up our own personal crosses, you might say. Eldest wants to work on bettering her sportsmanship and attentiveness to others, and I want-need-to work on compassion and understanding. Patience wouldn't be too bad either.
We're each other's support system, so I believe that with God's ever guiding hand we will not fall off the wagon as much as we did last year. It was darn near pitiful.
I'll let you all know how we fare over the next few weeks.
Until then, day one with no sugar begins....
Now.
I've heard some of y'all have been wondering where we are. Well, we're here and we're well.
We've just been celebrating many wondrous things.
The Saint's victory,
our second batch of fluffy white snow.
Those herringbone wellies are getting around, aren't they?
We celebrated eldest's great accomplishments in Academic Games,
and the joy seen through young eyes.
We've been celebrating Valentine's,
my mother's visit,
Mardi Gras,
and someones birthday.
Yes, mine.
We've even been enjoying the ability to create and upcycle in the children's playroom.
Always a beautiful thing-but more on this project later.
It's been a lovely visit with my mother. We're going to beg and plead with her to stay a little longer when she has to leave tomorrow. We've thoroughly enjoyed her company, and on a more selfish note, it's been a delight having another adult around. I cannot tell you how nice that has been.
We'll mope a bit tomorrow-maybe I'll fix some delicious strawberry-chocolate milkshakes to soothe our spirits-but we're looking forward to the celebrations of the future. Particularly those in the beginning of April when we fly down to New Orleans!
Projects and pictures to come, stories to tell, and recipes to share.
Enjoy your everyday celebrations! I'll see y'all soon!
