weekend warriors

i bought overalls. i really didn't have an option, did i? how do you live on a farm without them? (how do you have a pee emergency with them?) i broke them in this weekend while standing at the stove, drinking coffee out of a mason jar, and cooking eggs that were laid the day before in a cast iron pan. i know, i am grabbing this farm girl thing by the balls. but i guess my brooklyn days trained me well.

the only downside about living on the farm so far has to do with the plumbing not allowing us to have a garbage disposal. we had to make the adjustment from french press back to pour over because throwing away coffee grounds by lifting them out with the filter is way easier than scraping grounds out of the bottom of a french press.

perhaps one of the most eventful moments this weekend was when eggboy asked me, "do you want to do yard work today?"

no one has ever asked me that question before.

...because guys, i've never done yard work.

between growing up in a suburb where it was just protocol to hire the same lawn mowers that our neighbors hired, having a mum who loved gardening so much that she hogged all the work, and then living in apartments for all of my adult life until now... nope, no yard work for me.

how do i do it? is there a cute yard work outfit that i can buy to make this all go down easier? perhaps a rosemary scented sunscreen?

other weekend highlights: we bought a science box, i discovered a magical patch of rhubarb growing in the backyard, we stole a bite of almond cake every single time we passed through the kitchen, we ate from a chocolate fountain at an egg cousin graduation party, we had arts and crafts night in preparation for mothers' day, we discovered that there exists a really amazing burger place in our town (thanks to brad and danielle, who also brought us those eggs from their own chickens!!), and i had my first attempt at choux, which came out splendidly! 

how were all of your weekends??

-yeh!!!

p.s. if you're looking for your very own overalls, i am in love with the mavi ones i got from one of my new favorite stores, fowler's heritage company, in fargo. dare i say it, but with the discovery of that store, being zillions of miles away from the closest anthropologie is suddenly not that bad.

za'atar pizza with dukkah labneh and purple onions + friday links

our first friday pizza night at the farm was a frozen thing that we smothered in mascarpone and topped with salami. we ate it on the floor. it was good, but more of a soft opening pizza night than a big wowee zowee fireworks included grand opening pizza night. so tonight, i'm pulling out all of the stops, including overnight pizza dough, homemade labneh, and a party of spices, and we're gonna eat it on our new couch in front of episode v. i've always dreamt of having the best couch in all the land, and i failed miserably picking out couches for both of my new york apartments, but this hand-me-down from eggboy's granny is top notch. so top notch that i'm going to have to think of another place to put the doghouse for when eggboy is in trouble. (he doesn't actually ever get in that much trouble... knock on wood.)

za'atar pizza with dukkah labneh and purple onions

makes 3 individual pizzas

inspired by the likes of ms. sarah's za'atar flatbread and jeanine's dukkah yogurt dip... 

ingredients

one batch of kesté's dough*

on batch of labneh (just steps 1-3)*

1 purple onion

olive oil

the juice of 1/2 lemon

about 1/2 c za'atar

a few good pinches of dukkah

black pepper

sliced radishes, optional

*plan ahead: both of these need to be prepped  about 12 hours in advance

clues

when your dough has an hour left in its second rising, place your pizza stone or baking steel (my new toy!) in your oven and heat it to 500. slice up the onion and heat it over low heat in a little olive oil so it slowly gets soft and caramelized. place the labneh in a bowl and mix it with the lemon juice.

when your dough is done rising, flatten it on a floured surface and brush it with olive oil. coat the thing in za'atar (like, a ton of za'atar) and stick it in the oven for 6-10 minutes.

immediately spread the thing with labneh and top it with some onions, a giant pinch or three of dukkah, a drizzle of olive oil, some black pepper and radishes, if using.

enjoy!!!

friday links

...speaking of dukkah, i think i'll best be having some with avocado next

recipes i made this week and loved included: a cake inspired by beth's cake ratios, lindsey's fattoush salad with socca, and whitney's baked falafel

i've long had a dream to make piñatas in the shapes of controversial political figures, but i think this taco piñata would be a good first one to try

that pretty blue towel in the above pictures is a naturally dyed beauty from maggie!

eggboy asked me the other day why i never make pancakes and i almost bit his head off because his gluten freeness is the reason but with these i have no excuse.

this is a very good and insightful post on sponsored content

i'd like to reach into my computer and grab one of these brioche donuts, this entire porchetta, a breakfast samosa (!!), this rhubarb panna cotta tart, and this "meat salad"

all week i have been listening to the owen pallett iTunes radio station and i love it

fact: baking in miniature is better

i legit almost started crying at the sweet comments on this interview. you guys are the best and i wish i could give you all real life hugs.

have wonderful weekends, everybody!!!

-yeh!!!

meat n nuts + giveaway!

i have all of these really hilarious college memories of strolling through the hallways on the way to class or rehearsal when suddenly i'd find myself face to face with my friend john who would be carrying news like,

molly! i know what juilliard needs and it's a rooftop garden. we should probably definitely build one, right?

or

molly! did you know that a guy in i.t. makes his own beef jerky? here, i got you some.

or 

molly! let's make a concert series!!!!!

always a ray of sunshine, always a good idea, and to hear it all spoken in his big baritone voice was the cherry on top. i'm pretty sure i remember the exact moment when he came to me with the idea for meat n nuts. trail mix with jerky. i was so caught off guard by how simple it was, but then intrigued because i never done heard of a thing like that existing before?!

and so began months and months (years, now) of planning and testing. he'd deliver me nuts, he'd have samplings at my salons, i saw him in california where he told tales of the cow farm he had just visited. i've tried prototype after prototype and eggboy has devoured prototype after prototype, because while i love snacking on and savoring the honey sriracha and black pepper flavors, eggboy sees all of the flavors as delicious and easy manly calories that will make him all big and beefy. (idk, is that how boys think?)

needless to say, i am proud of john and his partners, tyler and michael, and it has been really fascinating to see the development of this yumminess. i also had a ton of fun with eggboy and egg sister doing some publicity shots for them!

today they are launching their kickstarter to raise funds so that they can really take this thing to the next level. to celebrate, they're giving away a sampler pack to one of you people!!! to enter, please leave a comment with the snack mix of your wildest dreams (it can even be like... cupcakes and pork buns...) and then if you'd like to get another entry to the giveaway, share a link to their kickstarter on any of your social media accounts! (this giveaway open to u.s. residents only.) i'll pick a winner at random next week!

-yeh!!!!

this morning

we woke up this morning to our new neighbor, mister woodpecker. i think his jump-off is the electrical pole across the gravel road. i can deal with that, especially when his peck peck pecking has such a nice earthy tone that's so in tune with his birdie friends.

it feels like we're on vacation was the first real thing eggboy said when he woke up.

i think this is why people like farms, was my thought as i headed to the kitchen to capture the delicious light that pours in on a cloudy day like today. it's supposed to snow later.

-yeh!