After what has felt like an entire month of drizzle and dreary skies – it was a picture-perfect day today!
I had to take a quick drive in the country for work this afternoon, and was so struck by the scenery that I felt compelled to stop and take a few snapshots.
The Midwest is so photogenic, I think. No coast – FTW! 
And now, time for another round of Name. That. CLOUD! Whaddya’ see?
If you said a snorting horse/The NeverEnding Story dog – then I’m totally with ya’! 
Sorry – the sun makes me delirious(ly happy.) 8)
In other news, I learned an important lesson while cooking dinner tonight. If at first you succeed…don’t try again.
I know, that sounds a little backwards, but tonight I tried to recreate a meal that had been such a success the first time I made it a few months ago, that Ben replied with a “wa-wa-WAHOO!” when he asked via email today what we were having for dinner. That’s serious, people.
Yes, tonight I tried to remake my beloved Gnudi, and failed. Failed hard. The once tender pucks of cheesy, pillowy goodness that had graced my plate the first time around were replaced by…
THIS. Gnud’oh!
I don’t know what happened! I made the Gnudi, or naked ravioli, the same way as last time, by combining ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese, eggs, chopped spinach and seasoning.
Then I formed the dough into balls, pressing down lightly to create a puck-like shape.
After a quick dredge in flour,
I plopped them into gently boiling water, and waited for the magic to happen.
The magic did not happen. The opposite happened. They completely fell apart!
With a disgusted sigh, I went back to the uncooked gnudi I still had left, flattened them even more, then lightly coated the patties in flour.
I had an idea.
I’d sauté the gnudi on a flat top skillet then let them gently simmer in bubbling marinara sauce until they too were tender and pillowy!
Mmmm, yeah that didn’t quite work out either. My little patties were still falling apart even after my seemingly fool-proof second cooking technique attempt. They just weren’t the same – not even by a long shot.
I should have known better than to mess with such a good thing!
I mean I guess they were ok.
Alright they were more than ok, as the parmesan cheese in the dough kind of crisped up on the outside of the gnudi as it sizzled on the flat top skillet. It’s just that I was really craving the texture of a proper gnudi. You know?
Alas, you can’t win ‘em all. Goodbye Gnudi! ‘Til we never meet again! I’ll always look back on our first special time together with fondess!
Ugh.
***EDITED TO ADD: I FORGOT THE FLOUR IN THE DOUGH!!! Thanks to reader girliefriend for pointing that out. Viva Gnudi!***
In other news, I have to tell you about my very favorite flats. 
These Steve Madden flats are pretty much the most comfortable shoes on the planet. They’re from a perpetual collection, so I can always find them at DSW for $39.95/pair, and I wear them, mmmm, pretty much every day.
They seem to go with everything – jeans, shorts, casual dresses – and are tough as nails. I can’t tell you how wet & muddy they’ve gotten this Spring/early Summer season, but with a quick wipe of a damp cloth they always look good as new. I have the same pair in black and between the two, I doubt I’ll ever wear heels again. Huzzah!
I just had to share – a gal can’t keep good shoes like these all to herself!
Off to enjoy the sunshine. Have a great night! 8)
~~~~~
Tell me about your very favorite pair of shoes!
LOVE these flats and have tons of friends that feel the same!! Last time I traveled I swear half the women I saw were wearing them. Very comfortable and cute.
I have made Crock Pot BBQ Chicken countless times (and seriously, I talked about BBQ sauce in my last comment, I think it’s official, I HAVE OD’d!) and every time it turned out perfect. Until the last 3 times I’ve made it. The BBQ sauce gets all oily and watery and weird and I can’t figure out what I’m doing weird! Ugh. I feel your pain.
Okay, I’m writing down the name of those flats!!! I’m always looking for a cute pair that is also comfy. It seems like most flats are FLAT – with no support, so your feet are killing you by the end of the day!!
Thanks!
LUV the shadow photo at the end, btw. Creative & cute!
Oooh I might have to try out those flats! I have a pair of Steve Madden knee high leather boots that I wear to.death. Enough that I worry sometimes people will think I’m wearing the same outfit 3x a week. Oooops.
I think I’ll have to check those out! I recently cleaned out nearly all of my old shoes so new ones are in order. I just got a pair of TOMS that I have been loving.
Kristin, did you remember to put the flour in the mix as well as in the coating? I ask because you didn’t mention it and that would probably do it. I’m a barefoot girl.
And I swear, Iowa has the most beautiful skies!
AHHH that’s TOTALLY it! I didn’t read the directions carefully enough! I wondered why she listed 1 cup + 5 Tablespoons flour in the ingredient list. I thought that was a really odd amount to list for dredging the gnudi… Ohhhh darnit
Look at it this way, you can make them again with no fear cuz I’m sure you’ll always remember now.
Those are super cute flats!
LOVE the amount of sauce you used. I drench things in condiments…ketchup, hummus, ‘sghetti sauce being the most over used. Love love love.
Hahaha I know – I was like, if nothing else, at least I will eat this magnificant sauce! (It was my very favorite, local sauce – Gino’s!)
Another good trick is to pop the gnudi in the freezer for 10 mins or so before boiling – it (along With the flour
) helps the gnudi stay together. LOVE your site – thanks for all the great recipes!
Yes, I have made more than enough for 2 of us and frozen for a later date. I just let them thaw ever so slightly before easing into the water bath. Just as great as the first time around.
I, too , want to thank you for the entertainment and great food ideas. I love your blog! So glad my friend, Linda Kidd, turned me onto it!
Yum, those look so yummy! Last night was planning on making chicken fajitas but realized that I was out of fajita meat and the other chicken I had was frozen (fail). SO I made black bean, corn, and salsa tacos instead. Good but not the same…
I used to live in Iowa and still have family up there! My grandma loves blue skies and white puffy clouds. They are a nice change from long, cold winters!
Ohh, those flats look so comfy! I gotta get to GSW ASAP
I have those flats in black, and I agree-they are awesome!
So funny, I actually made gnudi tonight, too! It was my first time – found it in your recipe list the other day and just had to try them – and they were delicious. Had them with vodka sauce = yuummmm!
By the way, love your blog! Your enthusiasm for things is fantastic
Atreyuuuuu! (I loved The Never Ending Story!!!) And too bad about those gnudi. If I knew what they were I’m sure I would be even sadder…as it is, I’m still working on how to keep my mashed potatoes from getting gooey. I have to start small before I work up to ruining fancier things like gnudi. =) enjoy the sunshine!
You should warm your butter and milk before adding them to the hot potatoes. You can do this in a saucepan or in the microwave. I swear by this method to avoid gooey mashed potatoes.
And don’t poke them too much while they’re boiling – it makes them water-logged. I don’t chop mine up very much at all – maybe in half. Sometimes I bake them and then scoop out the middles to make mashed potatoes. They absorb a lot of milk and butter that way, muwahaha.
Ha! THanks!! Fortunately I have been growing smarter, in very small amounts, than my boiled potatoes, so I have come across many of those very methods and have been successful a few times since! Death to the gooey mashed potato!!
OMG. That is so, so sad. I love those little darlings. I guess I was lucky the second time I made them they were as delightful as the first. Now I am a little leery of making them again. Waaaa.
Do you think it was a humidity issue?
Right now my favorite shoes are some gold sandals from Target from a couple years ago. I wear them pretty much every day!
I have a pair of Sketcher lace up boots that I bought on Ebay over 10 years ago. I love them so much I swear if there is a fire thats one of the first things I’m grabbing.
you always have such delicious looking recipes! Seriously!
those shoes are darling! I’m always looking for good flats!
I luuuurve Steve Madden, and those flats might just take the cake. I noticed recently that I haven’t worn heels in AGES, mostly because I am obsessed with boots of all kinds. Today I’m wearing my Frye boots – the best boots ever!
I have a pair of off-white flats with black-capped toes that I absolutely love. I’ve also got a pair of black & white houndstooth flats that are rather comfy. I also have a pair of red plaid flats that I wear occasionally & I think those are my favorites.
I LOVE steve madden shoes. My favorite heels – that I have in 4 colors – are “madden girl” from steve madden juniors collection. They are PERFECT for work or dressing up jeans without killing your feet. I can literally wear them all day long without it hurting at all. Also, they keep the same body of the shoe and every season seem to change the design on the toe (they still feel the same but look different!).
I cannot reccomend these heels more highly – my friends and I all are obsessed with them.
http://www.rogansshoes.com/575284/products/Madden-Girl-Velour.html?CID=00011012#
Omg those look sooo good! Even if they didn’t turn out the way you intended, they still look delicious!!
Right now I am loving my black canvas TOMS! So comfy and easy to slip on and off…too bad they aren’t work attire
I had a “fail” in the kitchen today too, raspberry buttercream icing was too runny, and ran right off my cupcakes!
While I am a shoe queen and have tons of pairs, I literally live in my Ugg boots for what seems like 9 months out of the year. Now this isn’t entirely true, but come the first inkling of cold weather, you will find me in one of my 3 pairs!
I love playing the cloud game! And I love the fact that your shadow looks like a cartoon character hehe.
Oh my goodness. You might possibly have the cutest shadow on the face of the earth. literally.
I MUST try that dish. Seriously.
My favorite shoes are some slip on, Tom-esque orange flats that I have. They’re so comfy. I wear them everywhere.
What does FTW Mean..? Hmmmm???
Shame on you!!!
Cute shoes! They have those stores all over the WEST COAST so I might have to find them!
For the win!
Cute flats!! I need some comfy flats for work so bad! Do you know what their specific name is? I found a couple of different Steve Madden flats online.
Ahhh, maybe I forgot the flour the first time I made gnudi because they didn’t turn out like yours. I’ll have to try it again. Those flats are super cute. I’ve been looking for something like that. Off to find them online…
Oh MY gosh. It’s like you read my mind! I’m in the middle of training for a new job at a high-end retailer, so I was just thinking how I need some classy flats that will keep my feet pain free! Thanks so much!
My favorite shoes are a pair of black flats with white polka-dots that I bought a few years ago from Payless. So comfortable and I wear them whenever I can!
Those flats are so cute!
My favorite pair of shoes are these red heels from Fergie (from the Black Eyed Peas) shoe line. I always feel so confident when I have them on and I automatically think of the song, “Red High Heels” from Kellie Pickler! Haha.
I’ve been getting more into flats, and those are certainly cute! Sometimes I find flats that show part of my toes like the toe end is just too short, and I don’t think that looks good, so it’s been hard to find nice ones. I
My favorite shoes came from DSW too, 3″ black Nine West heels that I wore on my golden birthday this past Thanksgiving at the Shout House in DT Mpls.
I tired to make this recipe shortly after you did a few months ago and this same thing happened. It was quite sad, but I ended up cooking ‘em like you did here! It all worked out!
I have the same shoes!! I love them too. I might have every color they come in & wear them every day.
I’ve been looking for some flats JUST like that….I went to the DSW website, are they the “Steve Madden Heaven Leather Flat”? They look similar but I’m not sure!
http://www.dsw.com/shoe/sm+women%27s+heaven+leather+flat?prodId=dsw12prod1540007&productRef=SEARCH
Yep – those are the ones!
Thanks for the shoe tip! They are really cute and I’m actually in need of new flats.
I love love love my Toms! Can’t beat them
I saw this quote today and it made me think of your blog!
“There are things you do because they feel right & they may make no sense & they may make no money & it may be the real reason we are here: to love each other & to eat each other’s cooking & say it was good.”
— Brian Andreas
Hope you are having a good day
This is going to sound really creepy and stalkerish, but could you post pics of your hair? It’s super cute and I’m in the market for a new style, but not sure how to describe what I want to the stylist. Thx!
Okay, my comment is going to be a little off-topic here because I’m new to your blog and just have to say how much I love it! I just stumbled my way onto IGE last Friday evening and can’t seem to get enough. Your blog is now the second blog that I feel I have to check everyday to see what’s been posted next.
Oh, and thanks to you, I will never look at oatmeal the same again. As soon as I’m finished with my instant oatmeal packets and container of quick oats, I’m totally giving old fashioned oats a try. I just tried Vanilla Almond Breeze last Saturday and it is wonderful, although I didn’t realize you had the unsweetened kind and I bought the sweetened, but I will definitely be trying the unsweetened. I also made the Crispy Chocolate PB Cups last night and can I just say….WON.DER.FUL!
I’ve never really found enjoyment in cooking but I feel like my attitude is changing towards it and your blog is definitely helping with that. Your blog is inspirational, in that it has me thinking outside the box about food. I used to think of healthy eating as boring, bland, and unimaginative, but you are showing me a whole new world.
I love that you don’t profess to be a sugar-chocolate-butter hater either. You know that saying—It’s not what you do some of the time, it’s what you do most of the time that counts—well, you seem to be a perfect example of that. You exercise and care about fitness, but you may not do it every single day. Most of the time, or so it seems to me, you eat very healthy meals, but I love that you embrace the “bad” food choices, too. It seems that you really have a good handle on portion size/control and don’t overdo it, something I still need to learn.
Below are some things that I would like to know more about, in case you ever do a Q & A blog entry:
1) What type of work do you do?
2) Do you have any children or pets? I’ve been assuming no to both.
3) What are the kitchen gadgets, tools, or appliances that you couldn’t live without?
4) Where did you get your tofu press?
5) Were you raised on healthy eating & exercise or did you develop this as an adult?
6) Have you always enjoyed cooking or being in the kitchen?
7) How long have you been married?
8) How old are you? You look so young and with all this knowledgeable cooking information…I’m just amazed!
9) How do you organize your kitchen pots, pans, gadgets, etc.?
10) What brand of pots and pans do you use or dream of having one day?
11) Can you include an overall shot of your kitchen so we can see what it looks like?
12) Do you count calories?
13) Do you ever drink soda?
14) What kind of tea do you buy?
15) Do you hate washing dishes?
16) Do you hate the clean-up after cooking?
17) Are you a Type A, B, C, or D personality or a combination of?
18) What shoes do you exercise in?
19) Do you believe in trying foods that you didn’t like at one time to see if you like it now?
20) What are your thoughts on wasting food? (Are you a member of the Clean Your Plate Club?)
21) What do you keep on your kitchen counters? (Food processor, blender, mixer, etc.)
22) Do you favor a certain brand of spices? Do you have a large assortment of spices?
23) Do you have dessert every day?
24) Do you have or plan to put You Tube videos of you demonstrating or cooking?
25) Do you have certain skin care and hair care products that you swear by?
26) What is your skin care regimen? You have such flawless-looking skin.
27) How much TV do you watch in an average day or week?
28) Do you live by a written financial budget?
29) Do you clip coupons?
30) Are you the saver and bill-payer in your house or is your husband on board, too?
So with all of this said or typed rather, I thank you for taking time to do this blog and hope you continue for a long time. And just remember, no detail is too small to mention in your blog, especially where cooking is concerned, and I don’t mind if it gets mentioned multiple times in many blog entries because then it will stick better in my memory bank. It also helps newcomers to know what is going on.
So keep the blog entries coming….you have a new reader from Virginia! =)
The first time you posted about the Gnudi I tried to make them and the same thing happened to me!! I never quite figured out what I was missing or what I did wrong, but I ended up with a pot that looked JUST like that! Guess I’ll have to give it another go because they just look so delicious
Love your blog and can’t wait to see what you have in store this summer!
Not sure if someone asked this above–but here’s my question: I love flat shoes too because I learned that heels kill my feet by the end of the day! Your post inspired me to go to DSW yesterday and try on the flats. I had some rubbing/tightness by the bottom of my front toe. Do the shoes kind of break in and fit more comfortably over time? I know that our feet are bound to be shaped differently, but just wondering if you had the same experience when you first started wearing them?
They were a little bit tight on my pinky toe, but they definitely loosen up after a couple wears!
Hi Kristin! I just wanted to tell you that I’m a relatively new reader and I love your blog! First, you take such beautiful pictures–of everything! Second, your recipes are great-comfort food made healthy and easy! Thanks for sharing with readers like me!
[...] failing miserably at my second attempt at making Gnudi, after a successful first attempt, I was on a mission to end on a high note. Come [...]
[...] of sweat run down your spine. You trip because your feet stuck themselves to the bottom of your flats. You weep because your jeans are suctioned cupped around your thighs, choking them in a hot, humid [...]