Beemster Graskaas, sounds like someone needs their mouth washed out with soap!! Beemster is actually a Dutch cheese company and Graskaas is Dutch for “grass cheese!” This seasonal, super creamy cheese is created every Spring after the Beemster cows leave their barn and feed on the fresh, Spring grass. Only their first milk is used to make Graskaas!
The village of Beemster is the only co-op left in Holland in which cheese curds are stirred and raked by hand! The CONO cheesemakers co-op has been making delicious cheese since 1901!
Only 2,000 wheels of Graskaas are produced in Beemster, Holland, and only 1,000 are shipped to the US! So it must be really expensive, right? Nope! Your average $13.99/lb! Less than my Parrano for sure!
How did I find this cheese? I was having a dinner party and searching for something new! Carol, the Pittsburgh legend Dear Heart of Pennsylvania Macaroni Co. in Pittsburgh’s Strip District, had me taste it and told me the Graskaas story! I enjoyed telling the story and having everyone sample the cheese!
A seasonal treat, Beemster’s Graskaas is sold mid-May until it’s gone!
Get your Graskaas today!
Graskaas and Date Salad Recipe!
Click link for the recipe!
http://www.pennmac.com/items/4471//beemster-graskaas-cheese-holland
Our guests enjoyed the cheese and the story!
Graskaas has a very mild and creamy flavor. Aged for only one month before being sold, it is the opposite of my usual pungent hard cheese taste. I give my new soft cheeses the Grilled Cheese Test! And Beemster’s Graskaas got an A+ for meltability and creaminess!
I hope I love it, too! My stylist: Darien!I waited two long, excruciating days to open my first Stitch Fix so I could share this fun, new experience with some girlfriends!
Here are the basics:
What is Stitch Fix? Stitch Fix is an online personal styling company for women!
1. You fill out your style profile online.
2. Your personal stylist sends you an assortment of items.
3. You try on at home and keep what you like and send back the rest!
What does it cost? $20 styling fee.
If you buy anything the fee is removed! Plus, there are no shipping or return charges.
Keep the entire fix and get 25% off the total!!
I will use any excuse to have wine, good cheese, try new recipes, and laugh with the girls!
My first Stitch Fix was the perfect excuse to try some new recipes!! I made a garlic kale tomato white pizza, feta and onion mini fillos, and asparagus and bacon quiche!And of course a spectacular cheese platter of Parmesan Reggiano and Parrano!
I have never had a stylist or anyone for that matter choose clothing/accessories for me. I style myself. I love to shop, especially a great sale!
So my expectation for Stitch Fix is to have someone choose clothes for me that I would never pick for myself and wow me!! My goal is to keep the entire box and take 25%off!!
I couldn’t wait to hear everyone’s opinions!!So I opened the box!
[caption id="attachment_1241" align="alignnone" width="243"] We couldn’t believe the box was so small!! 5 items including accessories!
Item #1
Kut From The Kloth
Marquis Striped French Terry Dolman Sweater
I have to admit I was totally bummed! A sweatshirt-y looking, big looking, jail looking striped top was NOT what I had in mind!!!
So I tried it on…
Super cute! I was totally surprised! I asked the girls “how much how much is it?” They decided not to tell me to make this more interesting. They asked me to make decisions to keep or send back with cost out of the equation! Ok, fun!
I put this top on the keep pile!
Item #2
Liverpool
Carolyn Colored Cuffed Denim Short
Pastel purple shorts? Oh, Darien… I would only wear pastel purple at Easter, but I haven’t since the late 80’s.Of course the girls loved the shorts! I couldn’t get over the pastel purple.
Love this blouse! I love this style of blouse so much I have 5 more just like it!!
I put the printed blouse on the keep pile because if it is inexpensive…I want it!
Item #5
Pomelo
Lydia Faceted Stones Long Necklace
Nope, nope, nope…no photo needed. Brassy yellow gold with big fake blue stones. I think my camera would have broken!
The Price Reveal:
My entire merchandise total is $240.00.
If I keep everything? $165.00
My keep pile?
$68 tulip printed blouse
$38 striped sweater
$106!! Just for those two items?
I didn’t LOVE them and LOVE the price so I sent the entire box back!!!
This experience cost me $20. It was so fun!
What we loved…
EVERYTHING FIT ME PERFECTLY! This is bizarre, right?
Stitch Fix included this cute styling card to give ideas to dress up and dress down the items! To see them in outfits!
What we hated…
The items didn’t go together. No outfits were created with these items.
The box is really only worth the money if you keep the whole fix and get the 25% off!
I hope you enjoyed sharing my first Stitch Fix experience with me! I will get another!! Darien figured me out! He sent me 2 items I already have in my closet!
I encourage you to totally try it! Why not? Worst case scenario is $20!
Here is the link:
Http://stitchfix.com/sign_up?reffer_id=3691311
Please share your experience, too!
The kids and I were shopping at H&M Saturday and look what I found for $17.95 What a coinkydink ; )
Ciao!
This Stitch Fix post was entirely the opinions of ParmesanPrincess and friends! Stitch Fix did not reimburse me or give me any free clothes for writing about their company!
The boho chic Coachella style channels a modern Woodstock vibe with cutoff jean shorts, crop tops, floral and braided headbands. For those of you who don’t know, the Coachella Music and Art Festival is held annually in Indo, CA, and consists of two weekend-long concert line ups! Celebrities flock to the hip collision of music, art and food!!
Kendall Jenner, Selena Gomez and Justin Bieber Coachella- ing their own personal ways. Photo courtesy of peoplestylewatch.Bella loves Coachella style! Ruffle bottom pants, halter tops and head wraps are her favorites!
Ok, What about the food? Well, I hope you aren’t thinking all hotdogs, hamburgers and funnel cake! Coachella food style is also chic, and like the fashion, trend-setting. “Foodie heaven” is the term used by the LA Times. The food vendors cover everything from vegan, kosher and gluten free to pop-up restaurant fare, fine dining and international staples.
Fried vegan, anyone? Photo courtesy of latimesblog.
Papaya salad! Photo courtesy of latimesblog.
The Coachella food trend we will see on hip and trendy dining menus are Arepas! Eaten daily in South American cuisine, arepas are a flat bread made with ground corn flour and are eaten as bread or stuffed with cheese, avocado, jelly or jam. The Coachella favorite? An arepa stuffed with mozzarella and grilled…a Venezuelan grilled cheese!
Arepas are already finding their place on high end restaurant menus in San Francisco, New Orleans and New York City! Bobby Flay likes his stuffed with octopus and lobster salad! Ok, let’s start simple.
Here is an arepa recipe adapted from Tyler Florence’s Food network recipe! I like this one because it is simple with only 4 ingredients and other than being lightly browned in a pan, the Arepas are baked!
Arepas are stuffed with meats and cheeses! The most popular filling in cafés and food trucks? Pork with avocado and salsa!
Coachella Mozzarella Arepas
Makes 4
Ingredients:
1-1/2 cups Arepa flour (Precooked corn flour found in Latin American grocery stores or sub white cornmeal)
1-1/2 cups warm water
1 tsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. olive oil, for pan when cooking
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix flour and salt in a mixing bowl.
Slowly add water and tsp. oil and mix until dough forms.
Cover and let rest for 5 minutes.
Remove dough and knead, make sure the surface and your hands are moist with water.
The dough should be moist and easily malleable, but not sticky.
Separate dough into 4 balls.
Form flat round cakes 3-4 inches in diameter and 3/4 inch thick.
Add oil to the pan on medium heat and lightly brown both sides.
Place Arepas on a foil lined cookie sheet and bake 15-20 minutes or “until they make a hollow sound when tapped.”
Slice in half or cut a slit in one side and stuff with mozzarella while hot!
Nothing beats grilling outside in the warm air! Yay, it’s that time of year again!! I have been grilling for the past few weeks and trying new Spring side dishes!
This sauté is amazing ! The sunflower seeds add a nutty flavor to the mix!
Have you ever tried cooking with sunflower seeds? Like pine nuts, sunflower seeds have incredible health benefits! They are a great source of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants!
Here is one of my family’s favorites!
Be careful not to overcook the broccoli! Keep the crunch!
Sautéed Broccoli with Sunflower Seeds
Ingredients:
1 lb. broccoli, peeled and chopped
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 garlic cloves pressed
1 small onion chopped
1/4 cup raw, shelled sunflower seeds
Salt and pepper
Directions:
Warm oil over low/medium heat.
Add garlic and stir. Be careful not to burn! No brown!
I think I use garlic in every recipe!!
Add onions and cook until tender.
Add broccoli and sunflower seed.
Mix well to coat all.
Make sure your heat is at a low/medium temperature! You don’t want to brown the broccoli just heat through and mix the flavors together.
Add sunflower seeds salt and pepper to taste and mix well again.
Let it cook 10 minutes or until broccoli is hot but crisp!
Serve with your favorite grilled entree! Enjoy!
Tiny baby green peppers! Awww so cute but I don’t want to find them inside my pepper!
Lately, many peppers I have cut open contain tiny baby peppers growing inside of them! I just throw them away while cleaning out the seeds! Do people eat these little peppers? What are they? Are peppers safe if they have these parasitic twins inside?
Apparently, the scientific term is “internal proliferation.” The way it is formed is called “parthenocarpy” the formation of fruit without fertilization. Botanists have seen these abnormalities since 1891!
Image from “Bite-sized Biology” as this issue was discovered in the 1891 “Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club.”I have seen green and yellow mini peppers inside of red, orange, yellow and green peppers! Even in jalapeños!
As for its safety, nobody really knows! Some say they are perfectly safe to eat and others say they are alien babies placed in peppers to attack our brains…what??????
Plant breeders and USDA researchers consider this abnormal mini pepper undesirable, so I do, too. Throw them out! For now!
Oh yes, the chili connoisseur. We all know one if we are not one. Religiously making chili for every Penguin and Steeler game because they (or you- wink, wink) know it is the best! Secret ingredients on total lockdown…seeking the ever so close dangling chili cook off championship medal! Yes, the gratification! And to be simultaneously supporting a life changing, lives saving organization like the Sarah Heinz House, priceless!
Pittsburgh’s Sarah Heinz House provides leadership, gymnastic, swim, sporting, robotics, dance, and many other after school and weekend programs for kids preschool age through high school age. With Heinz’s countless club and gym activities and a staff of program directors like Maggie Martone, it is no surprise that most kids exceed enrollment requirements and consider the staff at The Sarah Heinz House family!
I met Maggie on a beautiful, warm and sunny afternoon at Allegheny Coffee and Tea Exchange in Pittsburgh’s Strip District! (Wonderful Coffee shop!) You could see her genuine enthusiasm for her work as she explained her role in the organization and invited our family to volunteer in the Comcast Cares Spring Clean Up event! So we went! All four of us!
The kids enjoyed helping so much! It made my heart melt!
Nestled in Pittsburgh’s North Side, the Sarah Heinz House’s campus encompasses the meaning of their mission. Traditional morals and values shaping Pittsburgh youth for generations and generations.
The architecture and detail create a sacred space for the work that happens here.
Amazed by the members and volunteers’ stories, my faith in the spirit of people was resurrected that day.
Inside and outside volunteers worked to spruce up the place!Meet my Heinz family! Love these fabulous girls!
Mom, Melissa, and her girls Marleighna and Miranda volunteer as needed because they are so grateful for the advantages the Sarah Heinz House offers them. As a nurse, Melissa needs to streamline her girls extracurricular activities into blocks. With her husband Clint’s crazy schedule, the girls would never be able to be so immersed in gymnastics, swimming, as well as learning club activities without the Sarah Heinz House.
Did I mention that it costs $25? And includes dinner?
Future leaders, astronauts, fashion designers and scientists! These kids are learning life skills that will catapult them to the top!
Ok, so back to your prize winning Chili…and a refreshing beer! Rivertown Brewing, Penn Brewery, The Church Brew Works and Four Seasons Brewing Company will all be there! The Sarah Heinz House is holding a BrewFest Event including beer tastings, apps and a chili cook off to fund their Science and Technology Programs on Saturday May 3 4-8pm!!
Enter your prize winning chili here!
http://www.sarahheinzhouse.org/support/events/brewfest/index.php
Other ways to support the Sarah Heinz house in May…
Day of Giving May 6
www.pittsburghgives.org
Highmark Walk May 17
http://hcf.convio.net/site/TR/Pittsburgh/General?pg=entry&fr_id=1177
For more information visit
www.sarahheinzhouse.org
My eyes welled with tears as my new, unsteady walker Brady struggled to carry my Mother’s Day gift across the room. I was excited to see the recognizable jewelry store logo. A gift was completely unnecessary to me, my Brady was the perfect little present, but Kevin purchased something special this year. After all, I had been a stay at home mom for one whole entire year! Previously swearing this lifestyle was so “not me,” I think Kevin was showing his appreciation of my new found talents- homemade dinners, desserts, endlessly entertaining family and friends, etc. That year had definitely marked the birth of the Parmesan Princess!!
My tears of joy immediately turned into real tears as I peered at the contents that were so carefully placed inside the beautiful box. A pearl, sapphire and gold necklace blinded me with its overdone gaudiness and, pearls?? Bright yellow Gold??? How could God have let him be so off? Does he even know who I am??
My face said it all. Unfortunately, I’m not one of those people that can fake it. Kevin was devastated. Ok, there was still another box in the bag. Redemption time? Nope. My worst nightmare, matching earrings! With one shiny pearl dangling from each one! Poor Kevin, he tried! Massive, massive gift fail.
I ended up getting a great pair of diamond studs and we laugh about that Mother’s Day now! What we have learned, I mean Kevin, of course.
1. Mother’s Day Best Bets are homemade, DIY gifts from the heart. From the kids!
2. Reserve jewelry, apparel items, handbags and shoes for birthday, Christmas, anniversary. Consult my best friend before purchasing anything.
3. A gift where I have mommy time sans the family, although I love them all dearly, is awesome!
Super cute Chalkboard necklace! http://www.henryhappened.com/diy-chalkboard-necklace-guest-gal-cat.htmlhttp://www.everythingetsy.com/2012/05/diy-ombre-painted-utensils/Etched Dish by Make It Love It http://www.makeit-loveit.com/2010/06/glass-etching.html
Mommy Time
Spa certificate, Starbucks card and a book, hair salon appointment, enrollment in a special exercise or hobby class.
How about Grandma? Spoil her! How many times does grandma help with the kids so you can go out? And saves you a $60-80 babysitting fee? The grandkids will make something sweet, but chances are grandma would love a splurge! Buy her something she would never buy herself. A classic, beautiful handbag. Maybe a Tory Burch cuff bracelet or a fun Spring scarf!
http://www.toryburch.com/lucite-cuff/50005964.htmlThis cute Kate Spade bag is under $200! http://m.katespade.com/flatiron-nylon-maryanne/PXRU4224%2Cen
2 12oz. Bags dry Slaw Mix
2 tbsp. rice vinegar
1 small onion, chopped
1 8 oz. package of baby Bella mushrooms, chopped
4 tbsp. cumin
2 tbsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. garlic powder
Salt/pepper
1 package (24)thin spring roll shells
Directions:
Add rice vinegar to a deep frying pan.
Mix in onions and cook until softened.
Add slaw mix and mushrooms.
I used a broccoli slaw mix this time!
Add spices and mix well.
Let it cook only until warmed and coated.
I tasted it 2-3 times and added more cumin and cinnamon! What a great flavor combo! (I also thought about using ginger? Maybe next time!)
Taste and add more spices as needed.
Remove from heat.
Gently peel off one Spring roll pastry.
Here is an expert! Susan?? Showing us how easy it is to roll the spring rolls!
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3Abqjo5A7rI
Spoon. 2-3 tbsp. of filling in center of square.
I bought the frozen spring roll pastry and let them sit at room temperature to thaw. The woman at the store warned me about buying the dry ready made shells. Apparently, they crumble when rolled. She mentioned I could keep a bowl of water and swipe water across to make them more pliable. However, mine were great ! Very bendy!
Fold in right and left triangles first and then roll.
Secure By tucking in end.
My rolls were not perfect! I will watch the YouTube video next time before I attempt it!
Place rolls on stoneware baking sheet or jelly roll pan.
Brush with vegetable oil.
Bake at 350 degrees for 20 mins.
Rotating at 10 mins.
Watch for desired color and crispness.
Yummy! They were all gone in about 15 minutes!! My family loved them!
