Mount Holyoke; Western Mass

I graduated from Mount Holyoke College one year ago! A whole year! 

I don't miss being in college itself at all, so much stress and competition and fighting for the fruit in the dining hall. But I did go to western mass this past weekend to see my friend Rach graduate and I was reminded of how much I do miss from that part of the world. 

Here are a few of my favorite things…

happy weekend!

Happy Saturday!!

I am heading to New Orleans on Wednesday and I am incredibly excited (if a little nervous about going out with my party hardy friends). But I hate packing so I am watching the West Wing on Netflix and snuggling with a heating pad because I ate some nachos too fast…. here are a few things around the internet that I have collected this afternoon which I am excited for!

• I'm going to make this meatballs (but with ground turkey) and baked zucchini tonight, so delish.

• I made "cupboard cookies" last week (throw everything you have into a cookie - we ended up with oatmeal, raisins, chocolate chips, peanuts, and cinnamon - but next time I do some serious baking I want to try earl grey infused chocolate chip cookies.

• I am a sucker for a great mid length skirt and Forever 21 has been saving me lately for spring wear - I have a lovely red one that buttons up the front and recently got a black and white horizontal striped on (for my trip). Here are some super cheap easy skirts in a variety of fun colors!

• I'm downloading all the new Ted Radio Hours for my trip. I have also been running to them lately and they make the time fly, I was able to run for 20 more minutes than usual today because I didn't want my show to end!

• I drew some fun little geometric animals on coffee filters during a slow, rainy day at work this week - they are based off these awesome needlepoint creations - I really need to get better with a needle so I can create some.

xoxo

ricotta gnocchi recipe

For 2015 I decided to try and cook more and with greater variety. This week I made gnocchi for the first time! My mom and I made a lot of pasta at the beginning of this summer, but as I do not have a pasta maker here, I decided to try a style that is easier to do by hand.

Ricotta Gnocchi

We used to eat gnocchi at "Gracious Dinner", a fancy supper put on at holidays by Mount Holyoke. Traditionally gnocchi is made with mashed potatoes, but because I am always looking for a way to eat more cheese, I decided to try an easier version with a ricotta base.

Made three servings: two large supper portions and a left-overs lunch the next day.

Ingredients: 

1 egg

1 egg yolk

2 cups of ricotta

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 cup grated parmesan

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup of flour

pasta sauce

olive oil

extra cheese for serving :)