Kimberly Michelle

being on safari in your own home

kimberly michelle — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0000

..
.
In my wild imagination, I’m a safari photographer. If I had the right tools when I was a teenager, I would have saved my pennies to go on safari with Franz Lanting, but settled for visiting his studios and soaking in his art instead. Today I know my limits as a photographer, and can only dream of capturing transformative images of exotic places…

My latest photographic idol… Nick Brandt. I don’t need to say anything… simply take a look at these photos and you’ll see why my jaw is on the ground.
.

.
While the ability to buy one for exhibition in our home is out of reach, he does have photograph books for the rest of us to enjoy on our coffee tables:

A Shadow Falls

On This Earth

inspiration vs. reality

kimberly michelle — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 21:00:00 +0000

Sometimes Christmas doesn’t need to come directly from Pottery Barn… just use the pages as inspiration and improvise with goodies from the Dollar store .

would you like some sugared cereal with your chicken?

kimberly michelle — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 16:00:00 +0000

.
Someone asked the other day about the Cap’N Crunch chicken. Well, if you’ve never tasted the original restaurant goodness (which just happens to be the only redeaming quality of Planet Hollywood), then you are truly missing out. My mom used to humor me and remake the recipe back in my high school days… which sadly involved quite a mess of cooking oil and spattering. My craving of random sugared cereals consumed in college (come on… you so had Fruit Loops for dinner some nights, didn’t you?) reminded me of this recipe, so I pulled it out again but made some modifications of my own. In other words, this recipe is without the frying… but with all the same goopey mess of the original.
.

.
Ingredients: 1.25 lbs boneless/skinless chicken breasts (cut into strips), 2 eggs (beaten), 1 cup of Cap’N Crunch cereal, 1 3/4 cup of cornflakes, flour, garlic salt, pepper

Crush up the cereal together in any way you choose: food processor, blender, smooshing by hand, etc. Then create your assembly line of breading materials. Place some flour on a small plate/bowl and mix in some garlic salt and pepper to your liking. Heck, add in any seasoning you’d like for your chicken to be savory… don’t be too afraid. Then follow the line: dip the chicken in the flour, then dip it in the egg mixture, and then roll it around in the broken cereal bits. Continue until you’ve used up all the cereal or exhausted your chicken breast pieces… whichever comes first!

To cook your chicken, place a baking rack on your normal cooking sheet – this will help get the top and bottom nice and crispy! Then bake for 18-20 minutes at 350 degrees until the pieces are just turning golden brown.

Enjoy with your favorite chicken dipping sauce or just plain! If you’re afraid of the amount of sugary taste, then rework the ratio of Cap’N Crunch to cornflakes to make it more to your liking!

making my indoors the tropics

kimberly michelle — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 02:30:00 +0000

I have a confession. I walked into a Tommy Bahama store this afternoon… and I was immediately intoxicated by the smell in the store. It was the perfect blend of happy and tropical… and it contrasted greatly against the heavy spices in every other store. I was hooked…. and sold instantly on it. And I brought it home with me tonight.

I can only hope my “Pinapple Paradise” diffuser lasts 5-6 months and I can still enjoy it in June…

my coffee is beginning to look a lot like….

kimberly michelle — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 16:00:00 +0000

Don’t worry… my morning cup of coffee is nicely decaffeinated and is limited to one single cup a day. I’d have to say that I wouldn’t be tempted to indulge each morning if it wasn’t the chilly season, or if there wasn’t something equally amazing to plop into my Senseo brew. It must run in the family, because I got a silly email from my Mom with a very simple title, “Peppermint Mocha creamer is in the stores!”

That’s right — holiday edition Coffee-mate is here! My favorite, of course, is Peppermint Mocha, but I love the eggnog and gingerbread flavors as well. For some, the change of the seasons comes from the monster known as Starbucks. I, too, was hooked on their version of the same drink, but with many more calories and much more burn on my wallet. It’s quite nice being unable to tempted this holiday season… as I’m sure it’d kick the baby into crazy action in a VERY bad way. Instead, I’ll settle for my refrigerated goodness… and my 40-cent cup of coffee that I make in the office.

Is anyone else a HUGE fan of this time of year just for the beverages???

monday night dinner: thai peanut turkey burgers

kimberly michelle — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 23:00:00 +0000

[source: made by mel]

Monday nights during the fall are usually reserved for comfort food and homemade pizza… in other words, food that goes well with football/HIMYM/Castle watching. It’s definitely our night of TV indulgences from 6pm on… and not really a sit-down and enjoy a difficult meal kind of night.

I happened upon this recipe via Cara’s Cravings (who modified it from A Good Appetite) and figured it would be a nice switch in the routine from the previous weeks. Mr. M was disappointed that I wasn’t making pizza (”Tomorrow night honey!”), but once he took a bite, his disappointment seemed to fade away quickly. I have to say that I get annoyed when anything with peanut butter/sauce is usually labeled as “Thai” but this recipe incorporates enough unique flavors to deserve the title. The recipe was insanely easy and quick to put together and only required about 8 minutes of grilling time. It wasn’t spicy at all (despite the chili garlic sauce) but was definitely more satisfying than a normal hamburger.

I’ve already prepared my menu card for printing… which means this will probably be a popular menu item for a while to come!

Thai Peanut Turkey Burgers
Slightly Adapted from A Good Appetite

8oz ground turkey
1 medium carrot, shredded
1 large scallion, minced
1/4 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp chili garlic sauce
2 tbsp natural peanut butter
freshly ground salt & pepper
1/2 tsp ground ginger

2 tbsp light mayonnaise
handful of cilantro, finely minced
1-2 tsp chili garlic sauce

hamburger buns of your choice
mixed greens

Combine burger ingredients a mixing bowl and combine thoroughly. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Form the turkey mixture into two patties. Cook for about 7-10 minutes per side, until cooked through. Serve on buns with cilantro-chili mayo and greens.

Nutritional Info, Burgers Only (does not include hamburger bun or cilantro-chili mayo)
Servings Per Recipe: 2
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 276.1
Total Fat: 16.7 g
Cholesterol: 80.0 mg
Sodium: 212.1 mg
Total Carbs: 7.9 g
Dietary Fiber: 2.1 g
Protein: 26.1 g

11.09.09 – what’s for dinner

kimberly michelle — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 04:00:00 +0000

french aspirations in november

kimberly michelle — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0000

I’ve decided to take on a cooking goal for this month of Parisian proportions: crepes and macaroons. I keep saying how I’d like to perfect my cooking techniques for both – as they my versions of both may taste good… but they aren’t exactly culinary delights to look upon.

I know that Mr. M won’t tire of my macaroon attempts, as witnessed by his taste-testing on Saturday of all flavors available at Ginger Elizabeth. But I’d really like my “feet” to rise properly, and my colors to look amazing… if I can.

So if anyone has any hints at mastering either of these two culinary delights, please let me know. I’m dusting off my crepe pan and almond flour as I type this!

idiy4u: a holiday gift for the bibliophiles

kimberly michelle — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 19:00:00 +0000

I’ll have to whisper about this gift, but I’m pretty sure I can see a couple of them headed back east for certain people. The tutorial at Living with Lindsay makes this project even easier than it appears to be!

kimberly michelle’s super splendid handmade holiday card swap-a-roo: 2009 edition

kimberly michelle — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:00:00 +0000

This year… in order to really get into the holiday spirit, I’ll be hosting a handmade holiday card swap here on the blog! Participating will be really quite simple! Just create a batch of homemade holiday cards in any DIY-way that you’d like, send them off to me en masse, and I’ll send back 10 cards from other participants in the swap! It’s the perfect way to get some extra crafting in before the holiday rush, perhaps even spur you to create your holiday cards early, and also receive unique cards to send to extra special people over the holidays!

To keep things simple and uncomplicated, I’ll ask that you stick to a “Happy Holidays” non-denominational theme in any way that you’d like to convey that (i.e. Seasons Greetings, Happy New Year, Spirit of the Holidays, etc.). That way we can all receive wonderful cards that we can exchange with everyone! Sound like something you’d be interested in??? If you are… just read the guidelines below and then click the link to sign up!

Please create standard sized cards (A2, A6, A7, 5.5×5.5) with envelopes (you may decorate the envelope to go with the card if you like, but it’s not necessary)
Create and send in 10 or 11 cards, and in return you will get 10 back, each from a different artist! The 11th card, if you choose to send one, will be sent to the “Holiday Mail for Heroes” program through the Red Cross. Simply title it “Dear Service Member, Family or Veteran” and sign the card – exclude any personal information like a home/email address. I’ll mail those cards out in bulk on your behalf!
You can choose to make your batch all the same or different.
Feel free to be as creative as you like with your card designs! Use fun materials, glitter, stamps, wood postcards, hand drawings, etc.!
Please include a SASE (large manilla envelope) with the same amount of postage it took to mail them to me. Also, include two loose stamps just in case, I will return them in the envelope if not needed. (I will not re-use the envelope that you sent me, please send a separate envelope for the return trip)
Cards should be mailed to me by the 27th of November, and I should get them no later than December 1st. I will sort and mail them back out on the 5th of December.
Please identify yourself someway (name/blog/twitterID/email/etc.) and place it on a sticky note on each of the cards. It would be lovely to know who each card came from!
No need to worry about privacy or sharing your address… I will receive and redistribute all cards so your information will never go beyond me!
At the end of the swap, all participants will be thanked and acknowledged on the blog (along with links to your blog if you provide them). I will also take a photo of each card that is submitted and share them in a flickr gallery as well for all blog readers to enjoy!

Sound like something you’d like to do?

Simply click here to sign-up for the swap by November 20th!

(and be sure to pass the word on to your friends!):

http://bit.ly/CardSwap