Category: Food
CITY SPOT / HOMESTEAD ON THE ROOF
Nick and I love trying new places to eat, especially when it’s nice out and they have an outdoor area. A friend told me about this restaurant Homestead on the Roof so we went to check it out on Saturday night. What an awesome experience! Homestead is a literal farm to table restaurant that’s only open during the summer months since it’s almost all outdoors. The patio has a great vibe – gardens filled with fresh herbs and greens, reclaimed wood tables and hanging lights.
Now time for the food. If you know me at all you know I kind of have a bread obsession. One of their starter plates is a bread sampler with pickled vegetables, honey butter and chili oil – it was amazing. We also got the clam bake, octopus and tomato salad . All of the plates are shareable size which we love since we get to try a little bit of everything. As for drinks, they have a great selection of craft beers and spirits; I got the Mescal cocktail with a huge raspberry ice cube, it was nice and smokey and a drink and slushy in one 
Nick and I look forward to making it back there this summer – it’s a great spot to take friends or go just the two of us.
VISIT TO GRANDMA’S
This weekend before heading to NYC I spent the day visiting my family in New Jersey. Right from the airport we headed to my Vo’s (grandma in Portuguese) for lunch. Whenever I go over there I always have to come with a very empty and hungry stomach – she prepares the most delicious lunch with several courses involved. It usually consists of homemade empanadas (with hot sauce of course), caldo verde (a potato soup with chorizo and colllard greens), salad, fruit, bread and wine. No matter how much I stuff myself she never thinks I eat enough, which always makes me laugh.
I definitely attribute my obsession with empanadas to her. I’ve grown up eating them filled with either beef or shrimp, and now I’m constantly on the lookout for new and exciting combinations.
Along with my love for empanadas also comes my love for pasta, which I can thankfully attribute to my Italian grandma, my amazing Nana. As you can tell, there’s never a shortage of food in my family, we LOVE to eat.
On my way out she gave me this cute little succulent to take back to Chicago. She has tons of them in her backyard, I’d love to work up a collection like her someday.
IN OUR KITCHEN / CHICKEN PICCATA
I always try and cook dinner Sunday nights; I usually have the most time to prepare a good meal and don’t feel rushed. It’s also a nice way to end the weekend and (hopefully) have leftovers for a few days! This Sunday I made chicken piccata. I don’t know why I’ve never made it before, it’s one of Nick’s favorites and super easy to make.
I followed this recipe, but instead of chicken stock I added 2 tablespoons of dry white wine. I also added mushrooms at the end with the capers. It was really good and I have leftovers for the week
04 / ASSEMBLED : NATURAL KITCHEN ACCESSORIES
Today’s Assembled features some great kitchen products. I love the simplicity of these pieces and the fact that they are all well-made with quality materials and ingredients.
gift tags, Mignon Kitchen / Cotton & Flax tea towel, Pennyweight / wood cook’s tools, West Elm / Castile Soap, Haven / wine barrel cutting board, Terrain
INSPIRATION BOX : FLORENT TANET
I came across this fun series by Florent Tanet and absolutely love it. Florent takes every day fruits and vegetables and creates unique and playful compositions. I always find it so inspiring when something so ordinary can be turned into something extraordinary just by looking at it differently.
You can find more from this series here!
