Musings on last night's episode of The Bachelorette

So last night Ali took the guys (and Chris Harrison!) to Turkey. Three random thoughts on this and that's all I've got:

*I am in love with her necklaces. Cute? Always!
*I never wanted to go in a Turkish bath before, but that was pretty freaking cool. Too bad if I ever went to Turkey, only Mr. Paco would get to go in. And share it with a bunch of dudes. Ick.
*They wasted all that precious olive oil for wrestling? Noooooooooooooooooo! The cook in me shrieked in horror at that sight. However, Kirk in olive oil? Not bad.

More Add-Ins for the Peaches and Greens Salad

No, I will not talk about the Peaches and Greens salad everyday, HOWEVER, I would be remiss if I did not share that I added a few things to it today and it is so LOVELY that I must include them here:

*Fresh basil leaves, hand torn and sprinkled on top
*A tablespoon of dry roasted sunflower kernels

This salad is so light and summery! I'm in love!

Tomorrow I will post my spin on Tosca Reno's recipe for Lentil Dip. Delish, healthy and a nice alternative to hummus.

MORE Recipe O The Day: Whole Foods Peach Walnut Salad Dressing

Okay, just sampled this and it is delish. It is fresh tasting and works AMAZING with fresh cucumber! So here's a super simple salad dressing, with NO oil, compliments of the Whole Foods website.

Peach Walnut Salad Dressing

*1/2 cup chopped fresh peaches
*1/4 cup orange juice
*1/3 cup walnuts, toasted (or if you are lazy like me, just toss them in from the bag)
*1 TBSP lemon or lime juice.

Put all ingredients in a food processor or high-powered blender. Blend. If too thick, start adding water a little at a time to get the the dressing consistency you like.

Use with the Peach and Greens salad recipe posted below (using in place of oil/lemon juice, of course.)

Recipe O The Day: Simple Peach and Greens Salad

Yes, you read that right. Peaches aren't just for cobbler, people. They are in season and *most* delicious in your salad. And really, does it get any easier than this? No. It is pure and simple and really good. Combine with some rustic bread and hummus/lentil spread to round out the meal. Delish.

Peaches and Greens Salad

*Mache Greens (I love these, they are very tender but of course use greens of your choice)
*One Peach, sliced
*One Mini cucumber, cubed
*Fresh mini mozzarella balls (I used 2-3, pulled into pieces)
*Some walnuts
*Olive Oil
*Squeeze of lemon

Combine greens, peach, cucumber, walnuts, and mozzarella. Drizzle olive oil over the top. Give a lemon a squeeze over the top. Toss. Enjoy!

Preview: Ann Taylor Winter 2010 Collection

Happy Happy! A preview of what will be in Ann Taylor's Winter Collection! Animal Prints? Check! The Color Camel? Check! That DELICIOUS faux fur draped over that coat? OH YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Time to empty out Mr. Paco's pants so I can start saving coinage now....

Fab Find: Rachel Roy Spider Sweater

Yes, yes, I know it is 102 out right now in the Dallas Metroplex, but isn't this Spider Cami sweater by Rachel Roy just FAB? I see it over a white ribbed tank top, nice jeans, the brown Dany shoes by Jessica Simpson? YES I CAN SEE THAT TOO! I can see that, with my in my new Span-ish dining room hosting a Sangria Party? YES! Fab, Fab, FAB!

Okay. So I can see a Sangria party. And dream of hosting it in this fabulous outfit, in my pretend Span-ish living room. LOVE!

Fab Find: The Dany Shoe

I am in LOVE! with this Jessica Simpson shoe. Say what you want about Jessica Simpson (although I confess to owning a couple of her CDs, natch) but the girl has some really kick ass shoes. These are some FREAKING FAB shoes! I adore the brown ones. Would look really sweet with jeans and a tank top, yes yes? Again, this whole being poor is kind of a buzz kill on the obtaining them part, but as you all know, I can dream Dany shoes with the best of them...

Fashion Find: Kate Spade Bee Ring

I absolutely *ADORE!* this Bee Ring by Kate Spade. It's huge. It's yellow. It has the most *ADORABLE* little bee on it! What is not to love? And wouldn't it look stunning on my right hand? Yes, I think so too! Well, fashionistas, it can be yours for $125 at Saks, dah-lings. Just promise me to show me yours when you get it so I can drool all over it with pure envy. And I'm a mommy. I will have wipes on hand to clean off said drool when I am done.

I want a Spain (ish) Dining Room

Okay, if you are reading this blog odds are you know me. If you know me you know I am a fruitcake. So would it be awful to have the Swedish Kitchen (blog page main photo) and then have a Spain inspired dining room with the above pottery and colors? I could do the dining room yellow and accent with blue...and red..which would tie the living room, kitchen, and dining room together. Except the Dancing Swedes don't tie with Espana very well. But who am I kidding? Don't people expect this out of me? I just got the SANGRIA PITCHER for my b-day (thanks VCS!) and now I want to decorate around it. LOVE!

FAB Blouse at Belle Gray

I *heart* this blouse. It is actually something I can wear, unlike Ali's clothes for the hip and cute 20 something set. But I LOVE! the detail and color of this blouse. FAB! Wish I could have it, but shall just admire it on Belle Gray's Facebook page. Because I am just wheels off enough to admire blouses on Facebook, you know...

Meal in under 30: Jalapeno Glazed Chicken and Chipotle Sweet Potatoes

Looks like a plate of fabulocity, if I may quote Kimora Lee Simmons, does it not?

This is a super easy dinner. The chicken is glazed with a jalapeno jelly based sauce, grilled on top of the stove for like 4-5 minutes per side, done in 10 mintues. You can also use this glaze on pork, too.

The sweet potatoes are peeled, cut into chunks, boiled and done in 15 minutes. Add your seasonings and potatoes in the food processor, whip them up, and you are good to go. (This is a hybrid recipe of the earlier posted whipped sweet potatoes.)

Add some heated black beans...Dinner is done! What is not to LOVE?

Jalapeno Glazed Chicken (adapted from Bon Appetit)
*four chicken breasts, boneless and thin cut. (If you can't find thin cut ones, just pound them out yourself or have the butcher do it.)
*one 10 ounce jar Jalapeno jelly (I used Oasis; it has no high frutcose corn syrup.)
*Two tablespoons white wine vinegar
*1/2 cup chopped cilantro
*One half a lime

Prepare glaze: put jelly, vinegar, cilantro and juice from 1/2 a lime in a small saucepan. Cook over low heat until melted. Reserve 1/4 cup of glaze from saucepan for later.

Heat a grill pan over medium high heat. Brush chicken with glaze; put on pan. Cook about 4-5 minutes per side until cooked through. Serve with reserve glaze as a dipping sauce, whipped chipotle sweet potatoes (or Spanish Rice) and black beans.

For the Whipped Sweet Potatoes: follow earlier recipe (using 4 sweet potatoes)and start ahead of chicken. When potatoes are in the food processor, add 1 tsp adobo sauce (from a can of Chipotle Peppers), 2 TBSP butter, and 2 TBSP maple syrup. Process until smooth. Taste. If you want more heat, mince 1/2 to 1 chipotle pepper and blend again.

Enjoy!

The.most.FAB.cake.ever

A big shout out to three people here: AMY, JENN and Nothing Bundt Cake. Amy & Jenn introduced me to this deliciouness this past weekend for my birthday in three flavors: Chocolate Chocolate Chip, Red Velvet and White Chocolate Raspberry. Oh.my.freaking.Gawd. FAB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This cake was moist...delicious...the icing was divine....The best cake EVER! From now own Nothing Bundt Cake gets my business for any holiday requiring a cake.

By the way, after my party people left on Friday night, I sat down to 1/2 a bundt cake and ate all the icing off. By myself. With a serving spoon. If that doesn't scream sad and pathetic I don't know what does, but I can tell you it was damn tasty, even if it is sitting on my thighs right now.

Well done, AMY, JENN and NOTHING BUNDT CAKE!!!

I am too old to rock this but...TRES CHIC!

Okay, I know, I know, you are reading this and going, "Holy Crap! Is Wendy obsessed wtih The Bachelorette Ali and Hilary Duff? What is up with the old bag and 20ish something women? Can't she find someone her own age to write about?"

Style, dah-lings! That's all. I'm *all* about interesting style. And yes, I shall write about 40 somethings with good style when I see it. But I digress. Let's get back to Ali, shall we?

And this dress Ali is wearing is FREAKING FAB!

If I were two decades younger, I'd buy this RIGHT NOW. No delay. It is such a simple and gorgeous dress that speaks for itself. The shoes? LOVE! The dress, the hair, the make-up? All perfection. LOVE!

Totally Cute Top

Is this top not just totally cute? Too bad it is from Janie & Jack and made for the toddler crowd. Miss P might look groovy cool in it, however, since she can wear a 4T.

Perhaps, though Ali from The Bachelorette could wear it too. She likes yellow. And she is about the same size as Miss P...

Oven Roasted Radishes

Let's discuss radishes, shall we? I must admit, I am not in LOVE! with the radish. Pretty on my kitchen counter? Of course. Tasty? Eh, no. My dad, dear old Grand Master Wayne, loved radishes in salads and would eat them alone with salt. Ewh. I never had the LOVE for that.

But radishes that have been oven roasted with a drizzle of olive oil, fresh black pepper and kosher salt?

LOVE LOVE LOVE!

I read about them in the New York Times food section a week or so ago and was intrigued with the idea. Roasting brings out the sweetness in them. So being the gamer that I am, I decided to try them. And color me stunned, they are DELICIOUS roasted. They were sweet, they were carmalized...I could have eaten a bowl of them right out of the oven. They were THAT good.

What I did end up doing what putting them in the fridge and eating them cold over my salad this week. A tasty combo of baby lettuce, fresh corn off the cob, sliced orange bell pepper, grape tomatoes, roasted radishes and the buttermilk dressing I posted a while back. FREAKING FAB and screams summer.

But let's get back to the radishes, okay? Here's how to make them...if you are brave enough to try them!

Oven Roasted Radishes

*One bunch radishes, leaves trimmed off, ends trimmed
*Olive Oil
*Kosher Salt
*Fresh black pepper

Preheat oven to 500 degrees.

Cut radishes in half. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with a little bit of salt and pepper.

Roast 15 minutes. Flip them over, roast another 5-15 minutes until browned. (You will need to watch these--every oven is different and yours might get done faster and you don't want blackened radishes!)

Enjoy hot or cold.