Food: A wedding cake that tastes as good as it looks?

Inconceivable! But true. Here is a picture of the deliciously simple and elegant wedding cake my sister ordered from Oak Mill Bakery for her recent reception. Each layer was a different treat: yellow cake with chocolate custard and banana filling, chocolate cake with raspberry filling, and yellow cake with strawberry filling. The frosting on this cake was Last Supper worthy. It was light, it was creamy, it didn't have that lard-coating-the-inside-of-your-mouth after effect. It held up to the heat of a gorgeous June afternoon. Even those beautiful peach roses tasted great, and that's not always the case.






And here is a picture of something that I now know is called a Croquembouche. The name is derived from the French words croque en bouche, which translates to "crunch in the mouth." These puff pastry morsels bursting with delightfully airy vanilla custard were a hit with the guests. The entire tower is covered in a sinful caramel coating that adds the perfect crunch to every bite.

One thing about croquembouche: it is a bitch to tear off those balls. There is nothing graceful about obtaining your little piece of this dessert heaven. I was pawing at it for a bit, trying to rip off a dainty mouthful, and I ended up taking a whole chunk of tower with me. Which was great, I could have polished off that plate on my own. But at a wedding, where I do try to exhibit a modicum of decorum, striding away from the sweet table with a fistful of destroyed custard puffs isn't exactly en bonne forme. But hey, it was my sister's wedding, so I got carte blanche to do whatever the eff I wanted, right? Right.

Please don't get the wrong impression about croquembouche, though. I'm just inept. This was evident when I tipped over the top layer of the wedding cake later in the evening during a well-intentioned attempt to discover whether the bottom layer was hollow in the center.

I would highly recommend the Oak Mill Bakery for any special occasion, and plan to use them for all of my own events in the future.

Oak Mill Bakery
http://www.oakmillbakery.com/

Interiors: Ashley's Sewing Classes

So I took the piped pillow class. My pillow turned out great, but man was that class hard! Who knew a little piping around a pillow could be so difficult. I've already made my second piped pillow to match the first. The second one took me almost two hours to make. I'm not sure if my pillows really need piping . . . I like my regular pillow just fine! That's it for my sewing classes as of right now. I think I'm going to continue practicing the various techniques I've learned, and try to perfect my skills.

Food: Whole Foods on a Serious Budget

I quit my job a little over one month ago. Needless to say, I no longer have a paycheck. To continue shopping at a grocery store bitterly referred to as "Whole Paycheck" seems...well, stupid. But what can I say? I'm a sucker for the little bursts of millet in their Seeduction Bread, the spot-on Birthday Cake gelato (holy Jebus), and can I get an amen for the bulk bins? Kamut and Quinoa and chocolate covered cherries, oh freaking my.

So my mission of late has been to buy groceries for two people, breakfast, lunch, and dinner, on a budget of $150 a week. If I actually cook three meals a day for seven days, that comes to just over $10 a day per person for food. Now, I rarely have the culinary gusto to timely prepare three meals a day, but that's the idea.

For the past two weeks I've managed to stay within budget (and I bought Sunflowers for the house). The key to budget shopping is to buy sale meats. More often than not, at the South Loop store at least, the Wild Alaskan Sockeye Salmon is on sale for anywhere between $12.99-$14.99 a pound. Another good, cinch to cook, and budget friendly fish is the filleted Tilapia.

For those who like their protein to have legs, ground bison is a cheap ($5-6.99 per pound), healthy (http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts/lamb-veal-and-game-products/10628/2), and tasty choice for anything from chili (use the Frontera Chili Starter in any variety) to cheeseburger macaroni (Annie's organic makes a good one for $3.99 last time I checked). Want chicken? I always get the split breasts, bones, skin, and rib meat attached. Not only are these babies cheaper than your boneless, skinless variety, but food always tastes better when you cook off the bone!

Breakfast is essential, and, thanks to my lovely boyfriend who has it down to a science, a methodical treat. Bulk bin oats, fresh blueberries (get them frozen and you'll save mucho dinero), Wallaby fat-free vanilla yogurt (non-fat Fage greek yogurt for me), a little ground flax seed, a pinch of cinnamon, and voila. Scramble up a couple eggs with some spinach ($1.99 for a bag of pre-washed baby spinach) and you are set for the day without spending a fortune. Need a little variety and have a couple minutes extra? Add some chopped green peppers, mushrooms and shallots to your eggs, and give yourself a treat with the oatmeal: a little skim milk and brown sugar instead of the yogurt should do the trick. This breakfast, after a couple tries, takes under 10 minutes to make. That's less time than walking over to and ordering at your local Starf*cks. It's also way better for your wallet.

Whole Foods will really punch you in the debit card with the meats and produce. All my meat shopping will amount to nearly $40-50 of my weekly budget. Produce can be surprisingly expensive if you don't watch your poundage. Take apples and grapefruit for example. You see the sign, it says organic gala apples on sale for $2.49 a pound. You think, great! Then you fill your bag with 6 of those puppies and you're at 10 bucks before you know it. Don't even get me started on grapefruit.

To sum up: Buy on sale. Buy bulk. And watch your produce. Have a couple cheap add-ins like the Frontera Chili starter or the Annie's organic cheeseburger macaroni, and you have dinner and lunch for at least three days. Prioritize where you're willing to spend a little extra (fresh vs. frozen fruit) and where you're willing to cut back (learn to love chicken bone).

Here is one of my favorite go-to recipes. It's healthy, inexpensive, takes about 20 minutes to prepare, and hits the spot.

Broiled salmon and avocado salad with ginger, cilantro, and garlic dressing

1 pound of fresh (or frozen) salmon fillets
1 avocado
5 cloves of garlic, minced
3 T fresh ginger, minced
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
Soy sauce to taste (a little sesame oil is optional)

Rinse the salmon and pat dry. Rub a little olive oil on the fillet and cook directly under broiler until cooked through and the top is golden brown. About 7-10 minutes.

While salmon is broiling, prepare garlic, ginger, and cilantro, and place ingredients in mixing bowl. Add soy sauce slowly and stir to create a nice salad dressing consistency. Drizzle in a little sesame oil if you prefer. Slice the avocado. Set dressing and avocado to the side.

Remove salmon from oven and, with a fork, flake salmon off of the skin. Take the flaked pieces of salmon and place in serving dish. Place sliced avocado in dish. Pour dressing over avocado and salmon and gently toss. Add a couple sprigs of cilantro to the top. Enjoy!

You can also add a little sugar, mirin, and crushed red pepper to the dressing as well for more flavor and kick.

Interiors: Ashley's Sewing Classes

Awhile ago my girlfriend and I came upon a post on one of our favorite websites, design sponge, on how to make a duvet. We thought this would be the coolest thing to learn to make. Unfortunately neither of us knew how to sew. We soon made it a mission to find a sewing class in Chicago. We found a great place called The Needle Shop over in Bucktown. We immediately signed up for class, and soon enough I made my first pillow. Having NEVER used a sewing machine, let alone sew on a button, I was extremely impressed with the results.

Needless to say I became hooked. I bought a machine, and got to work. My latest class was a mitered blanket class that The Needle Shop offers. It was fabulous! I decided to make my girlfriend a baby blanket because she is due with her first baby at the end of July. I thought my blanket turned out great, and I hope the new parents and baby boy enjoy it!

I hope you guys enjoy the pics! I absolutely love the classes at The Needle Shop. The instructors are just wonderful, and they offer tons of helpful tips. Most classes are four hours, and range around $70 (materials excluded), but it's well worth it! The store also carries wonderful fabrics. I love the Japanese linen line, which I used on the baby blanket.

Check out The Needle Shop's website at www.theneedleshop.net; and check back for my upcoming post on my piped pillow class. Soon I'll have so many pillows and blankets, I won't know what to do with myself . . .