Cold weather cooking

Today when I woke up, I intended to do a regular Sunday outfit post, but it was snowing.  In Colorado, the weather can change within the hour, so I went to the grocery store hoping that by the time I was finished, it may have turned sunny.  My mistake!  When I came out of the store, the snow was coming down in big, heavy, wet clumps that felt like spit balls hitting you in the face.  It was hard to see and my hair and clothing were wet and matted within minutes.  I changed my mind about the photos, and instead spent the day cooking and relaxing with my family.  I made one of my favorite cold weather meals, Tom Ka Gai.  It's super fast and easy, and has quickly become one my favorite meals to make.

   My recipe for Thai Coconut Soup (Tom Ka Gai):
Take 2 frozen chicken breasts, cut up into bite size pieces and boil them in 4 cups of chicken broth for 10 minutes.
Add 1 can of coconut milk, 2 squeezed limes, 1 chopped red bell pepper, 1 package of washed and sliced shiitake mushrooms, 2 minced garlic cloves, 3 Tb of fish sauce, 1/2 tsp to 2 tsp of red chili paste, 1 tsp of sugar, and 1 inch of peeled and grated fresh ginger
let boil for another 10 minutes, then serve!

It couldn't be more simple...and delicious!

Enjoy

Bond girl (outfit #42)

Another one of my beloved wiggle dresses...a blue silk number, in a watercolor floral pattern.  The dress, corset belt, and teal enamel, clip-on earrings were all thrifted.  As you can see, I've been working on the bee-hive!  I can get some decent height (about four inches) without ratting or hairspray.  It's a work in progress :)

xox, Hannah

Olive juice (outfit #41)

Wow, I've really fallen behind with these Sunday outfit posts!  No more excuses though, I'll post another outfit tomorrow to get all caught up.  This is a 1960s wiggle dress in an olive colored sweater material.  This was an ebay purchase I made, after a Mad Men  marathon.  When I first started watching the show, I was totally smitten with Joan. I immediately recognized Christina Hendricks as Saffron,  a character on Joss Whedon's short lived (but brilliant) Firefly. I'm a total Whedon-nerd, so I instantly liked the actress.   I'm not sure if it's the fact that she's a confident red-head, or simply because she's oozing with sexuality, but I completely fell in love with her look.  I bought a whole mess of wiggle dresses, which I love, but it made me realize that I am really more of a "Betty" style-wise. 

Corset belt: thrifted

Handmade feather fascinator: birthday gift from a sweet friend

xox, Hannah

Chicken Korma NOM NOM NOM

One of my goals for the new year, was to master making Indian chicken korma, preferably in the crock pot.  I've tried about six recipes now, all of them tasty, but none of them perfect.  It's amazing how many variations there are for the same dish on the interwebs.  I finally found one that fits the bill!  
   Indian Chicken Korma recipe:

step 1. Combine the following ingredients into the slow cooker, and cook for 4 hrs:

4 chicken thighs ( I recommend skinless and boneless; as picking out skin and bones from the sauce is one of the most repellent tasks!)

1 large potato, peeled and cut into chunks

1 large onion, coarsely chopped

1 (14.5-ounce) can stewed tomatoes and juice

1 garlic clove, minced

1 teaspoon curry powder

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon salt

1 cinnamon stick

When it is finished cooking, remove and discard the cinnamon stick! Remove chicken thighs and potatoes with a slotted spoon and set aside on cutting board.  Pour contents of the crock pot into a blender with 1 can of coconut milk, blend.  (Hold the lid of the blender down when you begin blending, because the heat of the sauce can cause the lid to "pop"!)

Slice chicken into bite size pieces.

Add chicken and potatoes back into the blended sauce.

 Top with chopped cilantro (optional)

Serve over cooked rice & (optional, but highly recommended) naan bread!

This was absolutely delicious!  My bff actually tasted it, and told me I'm a genius.  I think that means this recipe was a success.  Let me know if you try this out and what you think of it.

xox, Hannah

Orange Creamsicle (outfit #40)

I'm running late this week with an outfit post, so please excuse me while I play catch up.  My husband received a Governor's award for his work in Historic Preservation on Wednesday.  He's been working on some aspect of this project for roughly the last seven years, which included many night and weekends attending neighborhood meeting, writing grants, etc.  Our town now has written histories of nearly every major neighborhood!  It's such a cool way to garner neighborhood pride and get future landmarks.  He's such a hard worker, and really passionate about what he does.  I couldn't be prouder!  Needless to say, we've been really busy preparing for the awards ceremony which took place in Denver.  He was also preparing for speaking at the Saving Places Conference, which happened over the next few days.  He's a city planner rock star! :)
    I found this coral, 1950s sundress at a thrift store.  I love the button details at the waist.  My patterned cardigan is vintage Jantzen knitwear, also thrifted.  My Lucite and rhinestone bangle is from an antique store.  My beaded handbag is from a garage sale. My lipstick is Revlon's Blase Apricot, introduced in 1962.

 

 Happy Saturday!

      

Black velvet (outfit #39)

Every once in awhile you get lucky...really lucky!  I found this black velvet, 1940s frock at a thrift store in the Halloween dept!  The beading on the cuffs and collar are nearly perfect.  The velvet covered buttons are all intact, and it is perfectly my size.  I paid something like $12! The tag reads,  "New York Creation,  N.Y. Dress Institute," which is a design guild that started in the 20s.  My hat has a huge iridescent coq  feather and was thrifted.  My gold beaded pumps echo the beaded design on my collar. How serendipitous.

An ad from 1941 for the New York Dress Institute

Happy Sunday!

Fall leaves (outfit #38)

I'm trying hard to deny the seasons, it is NOT winter, I swear!  This dress has all the perfect Autumn colors; pumpkin, mustard, olive, sunflower yellow, and tomato bisque red.  This rayon, late1940s dress came from an estate sale.  I initially thought the dress was later, because the pattern seemed late 60s and the colors are so saturated.  I love it when I get to meet the people who know the history of a dress and give me the accurate details.  It's by a maker called Pornette... no, seriously!  It has a really interesting tri-split collar and a matching belt.  My mustard colored gloves are from a different estate, and my multi-colored t-straps were thrifted.  I have accomplished one of my 2013 goals, and am wearing my first ever bullet bra.  I purchased it on Etsy as vintage deadstock, and am totally loving it!

Happy Sunday!