The Nomad Soul's Guide to Christmas Gifts

Christmas gift ideas for wanderers, adventurers, vagabonds, and dreamers....

Some of these hail from my own personal gallimaufries (a word everyone should use at least once), and while a few are feminine, many will please both ladies and gents.

Compass Glass Magnets from Paper Source

Scrimshaw Whale Box, National Geographic

Global Collection: Africa by 7Gypsies
Great for scrapbooking or framing.

"Not all who wander are lost." Necklace by UnderGlass, Etsy.

Paperblanks Handtooled Lined Journal, Paper Source

Marlyn Schiff Vintage Button Earrings from Lilac Bijoux

Longitude by Dava Sobel

A polkadot teepee of cotton canvas for the tiny nomad in your life

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"The Wild Geese," handmade at Wild Goose Studio in Knocknabohilly, Ireland

Photo Journal: An Outsider's Insider's Tour of Washington DC

When I think DC, I think mammoth tusks and the Hope Diamond, the Austrian crystal chandelier at the Kennedy Center's Opera House, the marble pillars of the Lincoln Memorial, and my out-of-town great aunt standing under the two-inch overhang of a hot dog stand during one of those sudden Chesapeake downpours.

But this February, a lovely friend (and DC native) gave my mom and me such a unique experience in the city and its surrounding areas that I realized that I had never really been to DC. Our trek felt like a Travel Channel episode with distinct and personal experiences around each corner, including beautiful Oxon Hill Farm, the Frederick Douglass House, the eclectic & historic Eastern Market, and the delicious Founding Farmers. 

Enjoy the photologue! 

Oxon Hill Farm

Iconic porch at the farmhouse.

Rural landscape

Drowsy cow.

Pastoral

Collage

Frederick Douglass's house on a hill overlooking DC. A much-coveted location, the famous abolitionist lecturer bought this house while U.S. Grand Marshall and Ambassador to Haiti.

Death mask

Elegant living room. The man had impeccable taste.

Bust of Frederick Douglass

The majority of furnishings in the house are original. My friend, who is a professional researcher on African American history, remembers seeing a photo of Frederick Douglass with this same checker board.

Travelling trunk. Look for the name.

Fabulous landmark: the giant Chair.

DC Rowhouses. Sigh.

Huh?
Actually, this would be perfect for a scavenger hunt: "Green-eyed monster."

Entering the Eastern Market. Open every Sunday.

Bustling flea market + antiques and hand crafts.

Old cash register at one of the stands. 
And finally, someone who knows how to hang a horseshoe so the luck doesn't fall out.

Thomas Calomiris & Son's.
And mysterious number 4, as in.... four daughters? Fourth generation? Four calling birds?

Eliza Doolittle...

Functional Decor at Founding Farmers

Tea at Founding Farmers. Love the one-person teapot by ForLife.

Rotisserie chicken & red potatoes. Perfection... and gluten free.

Shrimp and Grits (not gluten-free). My mom loved this dish.

Rotisserie chicken, this time with classic collared greens.

View of the U.S. Capitol.

How to Have a Smashing Crepes Party

So, in my last post, I had sketched my experiences with fiddling around with crepes - or, as one of my more French-savvy friends pronounces it, "cleps." It turns out that my crepe-frying beginner's luck was put to good use at the party, for which my friend Sarah wisely quadrupled her crepe recipe!

We had already pillaged the local grocery purveyors (Messrs. Safeway, Whole Foods, and Trader Joe's) for a variety of sweet and savory toppings:

• Strawberries
• Raspberries and blackberries
• Sliced mango
• Strawberry Chobani yogurt
• Melted Ghirardelli chocolate
• Chocolate chips
• Sprinkles
• Mango slices
• Bananas
• Nutella (divine with sliced bananas!)
• Gluten-free granola from Trader Joe's
• Ham
• Goat cheese from Whole Foods
• Goat cheese and herb spread
• Cava's red pepper and hummus spread

Wow, a lot more sweet than savory. What a horrible problem. :) Interestingly, our guests devoured the strawberries faster than any of the other toppings!

The Crepe Bar

Berries and Chocolate Crepe

The decor for the party was simple but elegant, inspired by Anthropologie's eclectic style and the crisp spring weather. Thanks to Whole Foods' floral department, fresh sprigs of purple-blue snapdragons and tufts of fun green bushy stuff made a nice bouquet for the side table. 

Construction Site

Riviera Blue Splash

I stuck small white and blue flowering "mini-bushes," technically Riviera Blue Splash from Homestead Gardens into various small glazed pots and even a large empty lantern, scattered an array of battery-powered votives in an army of miniature lanterns around the dining room, and added a few semi-tarnished silver pieces for extra character. My friend (whom the party was honoring) smuggled back a centerpiece from a wedding she'd attended the day before, and voile! Gardeny-springy-bohemian-decor! 

Decor on the Side Table

I deliberately omitted all pink from the decorations, since it was after all a co-ed party. It's not my favorite color, anyway. But at the same time, the guest of honor was a girl (still is), so why not keep it feminine?

Centerpiece and Garland

The mademoiselles

Crepe Expectations

Tonight, I delved into the art of making crepes for the first time ever, using a recipe from Living Without (dumb, negative-sounding name but great allergy-friendly recipes).

I used the multi-purpose gluten free mix by Bob's Red Mill, one of my favorite GF flour brands (hearty, tasty, fluffy flours and blends). This blend included bean flour, which is always a great addition to mixes due to its silky texture.

Interestingly, the recipe called for grapeseed oil, which I have never used before. It is pretty neutral to the taste, so served well in keeping the thin crepes from sticking to the pan without actually adding an overly oily taste.

I found out that the two tablespoons of batter didn't cut it in my eight-inch pan, so I just eyeballed it. I ended up with crepes that varied in thickness at first, but always stayed at a fairly delicate width and hopefully wouldn't be mistaken for pancakes (that'd be demoralizing!).

Delicious with something as simple as jam, especially since this is a low-effort trial run. I could see partaking in a more topping-diverse crepe engorgement in the future - according to one of my friends, people really can have fun with Nutella, bananas, chocolate, berries, yogurt, you name it. I could eat a hundred of these things!

Liking Lebanese Cuisine

I had my first experience with Middle Eastern food - Lebanese to be exact - this past Thursday with some of my lovely colleagues from work. The privately-owned Lebanese Taverna operates both full-scale restaurants and quick service cafes. Founded by the Abi-Najm family, who escaped from war-torn Lebanon in the 1970s, the place mixes fast service with genuine Middle-Eastern cuisine and an impressive understanding of the gluten free diet. According to the January 2013 issue of the magazine "Gluten Free Living": 

The Lebanese Taverna is a Gluten-Free Resources Education and Awareness (GREAT) Kitchen certified by the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness. It is committed to food preparation free from cross-contamination and has chefs well-versed in how to properly handle food for those with special dietary needs. The restaurant's goal is to "have guests leave with full stomachs, satisfied appetites and the peace of mind that each plate was prepared safely."

I ordered mouzat (a lamb dish with tomato sauce), a side of redskin potatoes, and an appetizer of baba ghannouge with gluten free rice crackers. I learned two things during my dinner at the Lebanese Taverna Cafe in Annapolis. Lesson one: I found that I don't like lamb, partly because the meat has an odd flavor and partly because I nearly broke down in hysterics when I realized I was eating a baby animal. Lesson two: The cafe's flavorful tomato sauce was soooo delicious that I found I couldn't stop eating the dish anyway!

Mouzat: Braised lamb in tomato sauce.

My ultimate favorite was the baba ghannouge. I had previously tried this dip at a totally American chain restaurant and liked it, so I figured it would be even better at a Middle Eastern joint. Boy, was it! A mixture of eggplant, tahini, yogurt, and fresh lemon and garlic, it is absolutely scrumptious. 

Clockwise from left: Gluten free rice crackers, baba ghannouge, mouzat (the lamb dish), redskin potatoes.

By the way, whatever the cafe used to season the redskin potatoes - fabulous. I'll have to find out what it is! It had a little kick to it, just spicy enough.

Now that I know that I enjoy Lebanese food, I'll have to try this recipe that I found in "Gluten Free Living," the same issue quoted above. It is for Yogurt & Cucumber Salad:

Ingredients

• 1 clove garlic, crushed

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1 tablespoon dried mint flakes, crushed

• 1 cup cucumber, diced into 1/4-inch pieces

• 2 cups yogurt

Directions: 

Crush garlic and salt in mortar and pestle. Add dried mint to garlic mixture. Mix cucumbers, yogurt and garlic mixture. Do not over mix, which can water down the yogurt by releasing the water in the cucumbers.

Honestly, this sounds a bit strange, but mixing yogurt, eggplant, and citrus together sounds gross too and that's what is in baba ghannouge. Worth a try.

I don't have a mortar and pestle, but I recall seeing some cool ones at Randy and Steve's, the stylish new General Store in downtown Ellicott City. Shopping trip!