Shades of Blue – Apartment Accents

Jul 1, 2012 by Gina Mueller

The littlest decorations around the apartment are always my favorite.

I love finding pieces with a lot of character or  a story.  When not shopping in my families basements or at thrift shops, my favorite place to find fun apartment pieces is Anthropologie. They always have an assortment of fun, sometimes silly, accents for the home.  It is quite easy to get carried away there so I try to stick with items that have a purpose in the house and are not just a decoration.  Here are a few of my favorite new additions to the apartment:

I am obsessed with these rock coasters

Every tea lover needs jars to hold their loose leaf tea.

 This is currently my favorite piece at the apartment, however I’m not entirely sure how to make it useful.  My uncle gave me this amazing peanut container when he discovered my obsession for jars and antiques.  I was originally planning on using it as a flour jar, but it wont fit in my pantry… So until i figure out what to use it for it will sit above my kitchen cabinets for all to see.

 

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Chocolate Almond Biscotti

May 24, 2012 by Gina Mueller

My love for coffee and tea led me to a curiosity around their ‘best friend’ biscotti.  I can’t remember when I first tried biscotti- or if I ever have.  Why eat biscotti when I could have a muffin or some other rich, moist treat?  I began investigating this foreign food online and landed on this particular recipe because a. I had all the ingredients, and b. the combo of chocolate and almonds is the perfect way to get me to try anything new.  I must say Wow! I can’t believe I didn’t try this dessert sooner!  A quick dip in your warm drink and the combo between soggy and crunch leads back to my days of dunking Oreos in milk – yet with a much more grown up feel!  My roommate and I indulged on biscotti and decaf tea/coffee at night the rest of the week — yes I felt like a queen.

Ingredients
Adapted by Joy of Baking

• 3/4 c blanched whole almonds
• 2/3 c white sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp pure vanilla
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 3/4 c all purpose flour
• 2/3 c semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate

Directions

Blanched Almonds – Place almonds in boiling water for 1 minute. Drain and place in ice water.  Peel off the almond skin with your fingers. Bake almonds in a 350 degree F ( oven for about 5-10 minutes, or until almonds are dry, but have no color.

Chocolate Almond Biscotti — Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Toast blanched almonds for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned.  Let cool and set aside.

In a mixing bowl beat sugar and eggs on high speed until thick and fluffy (approximately 5 minutes).  Beat in the vanilla extract.  In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking powder and salt.  Slowly add the dry ingredients to the eggs mixture and beat with a bread hook until combined.  Chop chocolate and almonds and fold into the dough.

Place dough on a well flowered counter and shape into a log, around 12 inches long and 3.5 inches wide.  Transfer log onto a baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes, or until firm to the touch.  Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes.  Using a serrated knife, cut 1/2 slices in the log.

Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees F.  Place biscotti slices, cut side down, on the baking sheet.  Bake for 8-10 minutes, turn slices over and bake for another 8-10 minutes – or until golden brown.  Let cool and store in an airtight container.

I was a little intimidated in making blanched almonds.  But, it was like cooking tiny potatoes– boil, ice, peel, toast.  Easy-no need for fear!

Stir together dry ingredients.

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