February 20, 2015 by gn0mel0ver

Brown Butter Butterscotch Monkey Bread

That’s a mouthful!

My kids love monkey bread. They love when I buy it at the local bakery. I knew they would get a kick out of this easy make-at-home recipe.

This was the first thing I ever made in the kitchen. My grandma and I would make it all of the time. Then we moved on to a children’s cookbook. We rarely made monkey bread after that. This recipe brings back such memories of nostalgia, as only the tantalizing scents of cinnamon and sugar together can evoke. Has there ever been a more perfect pairing?

This recipe is fantastic to bake with kids. They love cutting up the biscuits and shaking the dough in the sugar. It is a quick and easy treat. Perfect for those of us who need immediate gratification.

This recipe was adapted from The Pioneer Woman and the butterscotch pudding part was courtesy of my good friend, Kerri. She once made the stuff and I dreamed about it for weeks. The brown butter part is strictly from my gluttonous imagination.

Need:

Bundt Pan

Ingredients:

3 large cans of refrigerated biscuits (I use 2 regular and one buttermilk)
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 cup salted butter (2 sticks)
1 3.4 oz. package of regular (not instant) butterscotch pudding

You can get crazy with this treat! Dare I say, if you monkey around with this recipe in the kitchen, the possibilities might be endless.

Groan.

Let me hang and scratch my embarrassed head.

On to the baking:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Generously grease bundt pan.

Cut biscuits into small pieces with a pizza cutter. I cut one can of biscuits into shapes of four, one can in shapes of six, one can in shapes of eight. I like a variety of sizes in my monkey bread. Let’s call them squirrel monkey, chimpanzee, and gorilla sizes. Because we can? We’re quite passed the point of should. We’re using two sticks of butter and over a cup of sugar here, peeps. Crazy names for biscuits are the least of our worries.

Combine the regular sugar and cinnamon. Add the brown sugar and mix. Place in a gallon sized bag. Or if you reach this step and realize you are completely out of gallon sized bags, call yourself a monkey’s uncle and mix the ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Primitive times are these, my friend.

Add cut biscuits in the bag of sugar mixture and shake. If you added it to the bowl, please do not shake, just mix. Of course, you knew that. But if a ~~monkey~~ child is reading this, I want to be specific.

In a small saucepan on the lowest heat on your largest burner on your stovetop melt the butter. Stir every minute or so. When the foam starts to turn a caramel brown (usually about ten to twelve minutes) turn off the heat. Your nose will be able to tell you when the butter is brown because it will smell like the most glorious nutty caramel. The foam will start to bubble up in a gluttonous display of brown surrender. This means it is done. Remove from heat.

Now pour the sugar-coated biscuit dough and all of that glorious sugar mixture evenly into the bundt pan (I have a vintage yellow one from Etsy. You can find them there for around $15. It won’t make your monkey bread taste better but it will make you feel better).

Mix the pudding mix into the brown butter. Edited to add: I do this with a fork. Beat it for just thirty seconds or so like you would an egg. It does not have to dissolve all of the way. It will do that when baking. If there is any bigger bits, just put it on the money bread. It will bubble up in the oven and become one gooey mixture. Oh, take a moment, if you must. This is the part where I get teary eyed. Pour brown butter pudding mixture over the top of all of the biscuit dough. Try to do this as evenly as possible.

And scrape up all of the decadent brown bits at the bottom of the pan and put on top of the dessert.

Place in the oven and bake for 60 minutes. Cover the top with foil after it has been baking for twenty five minutes so that it does not get too crunchy and brown on top.

Remove from the oven. Allow to cool for 20 minutes. Turn over on serving plate. It is easiest to hold the hot pan with a cloth kitchen towel versus the bulk of oven mitts. Say a quick prayer to the monkey Gods. Offer up a banana sacrifice, if you must. This part is tricky. The caramel in the pan will be hot, be careful not to burn yourself. Gently pull up on the bundt pan. If there is any caramel mixture on the bottom, scrape it up and put it on the monkey bread.

Whoooo! Whoooo! Heeee! Heeee! Haaaa!

The monkey bread will pull apart in yummy gooeyiness.

Scratch your underarms and scream in triumph at the magnificent success. And if some of the monkey bread sticks to your pan just place it back on the dessert. Or if it completely falls apart (happens to the best of us, rearrange the pieces in two loaf pans. No one will be the wiser. Besides it will be gone before anyone, or any primate for that matter, would ever notice, anyway.

Enjoy! I don’t mean to brag, but my ~~brain~~ thighs are entirely made of this stuff.

January 23, 2015 by gn0mel0ver

From India To Me

I love to shop Etsy for one of a kind pieces. I especially love embroidered pieces. But I am not picky. I’ll know it when I see it.

And I saw it.

But it was sold out, so I contacted Lisa from Madame Hall on Etsy to see if she would be making any more of the dresses I had seen on her site in a size medium. She did not have any but she sent me a few pictures of this dress laying flat.

And, of course, I loved it.

I bought it (with the help of a gift card from the sweetest lady ever. Thank you B!) and anxiously awaited its arrival.

It came in the coolest package about two weeks later. She sewed the package up with my address on the cloth. Inside of the initial package, the dress was wrapped in another gorgeous embroidered simple cloth bag. And she even sent me a beautiful embroidered scarf as a gift. Truly exceptional service. I would not hesitate to order from her again and to recommend her shop to others.

I was not planning on pairing it with brown boots. In fact, I was going to wear it with my black fringed booties. But the snow would have ruined those. I did need to quickly grab a slip for underneath this because of the length. It is almost more of a tunic than a dress but because it is made from wool, I would only wear this with tights and leggings in the wintertime any way.

The bright cheerful colors just make me so happy.

I feel like this dress was meant to be mine. Or I was meant for it. It only needed to find me half way across the world. From India to me.

Do you buy clothing items from Etsy? Do you ever feel a personal connection to an item of clothing? Does it speak to you?

Mine does.

I’m not gonna tell you what it says.

All right.

Just this once. I’ll spill the beans. Or beads as it were…

With a shimmer. A glimmer. A whisper, it breathes, “OHHHHHH YEAAAAAAHHHHHH.”

Or maybe that’s just me.

January 15, 2015 by gn0mel0ver

Zig Zags and Plaid

“I don’t really think that goes together,” my husband bravely said when I tried on my new popback score of The Draped Plaid Top (sold out but similar here and similar plus size here) with my zig zag skirt from 2013.

I was slightly disturbed by this because I had purchased the shirt with the sole intention of it going with this Waverly A-line Skirt (sold out, similar here).

“Well, I like it. A lot,” voiced my daughter from her spot on the couch.

“Thank you!” I exclaimed. “I like it, too!”

She studied it some more, “In fact, I don’t think that top would look good with anything else.”

I turned around and looked at it in the mirror.

“I don’t know.” I pondered. “I bet it would look amazing with a brown floral skirt.”

“Oh yeah!” My daughter agreed. “But you don’t own a brown floral skirt. I was just thinking of things that you all ready have.”

I almost completely agree with her. I could still wear this top with a black, denim or cream skirt but it would not have that “special” factor one looks for in an outfit.

I love this shirt and skirt together so much. I lived in my pajamas while my kids were on winter break and it was so nice to be able to dress up again.

Since I have been dieting since January 1st, I have to feel good during the day or I will fail. I will eat until I feel bad about myself. Then I will feel bad about myself and eat. It is an endless cycle. Putting on something that gives me more confidence is kind of like a food barrier.

Speaking of food, I wore this outfit out to lunch with my husband and the waitress was so complimentary about it. She yelled out the door at me, “Keep rockin’ your style! I love it!” Which is the sweetest thing to say ever. I will admit it put a bounce to my step as I skipped back to the car.

I am trying really hard to wear what I all ready own this year. I have so many outfit ideas swimming around in this head of mine that I cannot wait to try. I love this skirt. I have previously worn it here and here. I like that the plaid top breathes new life into it.

And I have a crutch. These boots. They were $50 almost four years ago at the flea market. The best $50 I ever spent. But since they go with everything, I tend to be lazy and pair them with an outfit without any thought to the other boots in my closet. And I have lots of other boots that I do not utilize enough.

But these are my favorite.

Plus they’re always out in plain sight so I don’t have to tear apart my closet looking for them.

Do you have an outfit crutch? Are you trying to break the habit or are you okay with it? I think I am a little of both.

P.S. I shared this on The Pleated Poppy and Reasons To Dress.

December 27, 2014 by gn0mel0ver

The Best Dress Of The West

I keep catching glimpses of folks claiming that this pattern (from here on called Ganado*) days are numbered in its trendiness. But it has been around long before the past few years. In fact, my favorite style, or decade as it were, was the seventies, and this print was all the rage back then. Thus, any time I wear it, I do not think of fads, but rather it being just a tribute to a period of style that I adore.

Besides, who cares about fads or trends any way? I wear what I want when I want to and never ever let what is in or out dictate what I wear.

Of course, this does not mean I claim to be a fashion expert. Ha! Hardly that. I just know what I like. And knowing what you like is most of the battle. Knowing what looks good on your body type is the other part. Mix that with your budget and the chemistry formula for your style is done.

Who knew I was such a scientist?

I purchased this Ganado print inspired dress from Modcloth many years ago. In fact, it was my very first purchase from that company. But you can find a similar style almost everywhere. In looking for a similar dress, I found this one, but honestly look at this whole page of these printed dresses from Forever 21. There are so many of them, and they also come in plus sizes.

I have a confession. Contrary to what you probably were thinking, I am not a gymnast any more than I am a scientist. I know, it is quite a shock. I will give you a moment to let that register.

I cannot believe I am sharing this “action” shot with you. My kids roll on the floor at how very high I can jump.

Let’s move on to something less embarrassing… Hopefully. I had a post up yesterday about the lip pencil products I am currently in love with. These pictures show more of the Iberico color I was terrified of. Whenever I am truly scared of something, I usually make myself do it. Whether that entails ziplining or trying on a lipstick, it is all the same. I do not, however, ever recommend going up behind a cop to ask for directions while he is arresting someone. Don’t ask how me how I know that, just trust me.

Also, stay away from people talking to trees.

Or urinating on them.

Let my past be your guide as to what not to do.

Except for lipstick, always have fun with lipstick.

Do you own any Ganado inspired print clothing? Do you care about following fads or not following them? And what is your stance on public tree affection? I don’t mind a quick hug, but those branches are a bit tough for me to handle.

P.S. Did you purchase anything during the after Christmas sales? I picked up this throw in the orange and green colors, some candles and a Christmas garland for next year. The trees told me to do it. And I cannot resist their call.

*When writing this post, I kept coming upon the terms “tribal” and “ethnic” to describe this print. This felt wrong to me. There are so many gorgeous and beautiful cultures and ethnicities that to clump them all together when stumbling upon a pretty pattern felt gross. However, it seems that some stores have not caught on to this and continue to group everything together. So, I googled the terms and found this article. I learned that the pattern on my dress is more aptly called Ganado, inspired from this pattern originating with the Navajo people.

Now, let’s all stop using those terms and peeing on trees… In that order, of course.

Gnome Lover

Stumbling through life while still having fun

brown

Brown Butter Butterscotch Monkey Bread

From India To Me

Zig Zags and Plaid

The Best Dress Of The West