Showing posts with label miscellaneous. Show all posts
Showing posts with label miscellaneous. Show all posts
WE GREW THESE
Amazing right? During a wild weekend of clearing out the garden, getting it ready for Spring starts, we found these tender onions growing amongst a pile of rubbish. They are so sweet and delicately-flavored. I think I'll sautee them softly with a little butter and salt and put them on toasts for dinner.
WILD RAMPS: GET THEE TO A FARMER'S MARKET
Have you ever tasted a wild ramp? They are deliciously plump, earthy, skinny little things -- sometimes called "wild leeks," they are the new key to my vegetarian heart. They plump up with flavor when sauteed and merry well with white wine, butter and olive oil (what doesn't go well with those three things, really?).
I was lucky enough to do a shoot with Timothy this past weekend, the Chef at the coziest, dreamiest little restaurant in Portland, DOC. It was a great reminder of the beauty of Spring and that people cooking in Portland still get so jazzed about the heartbreaking produce that comes from our local soil. Timothy artfully composed one of the freshest tasting risottos I've had in many moons, more to come on that over on The Kitchn.
For now, just get yourself a bunch of ramps, dice them fine and sprinkle them all over everything -- you'll be glad you did!
SPOUSELESS EATING: ALL BETS ARE OFF
When I've gone away for the weekend, I usually come back to a living room cluttered with bowls and spoons, cereal debris intact. D is an avid eater of cereal when left to his own devices. Now I thought I was a real lady with great, healthy tastes, but it turns out I vear towards whatever's most convenient and tasty when all by my lonesome as well. I sort of knew this was going to happen, so I armed myself with all my favorite groceries. As I gazed down at my cart, it seemed this wasn't my usual fare -- it was all pleasure food. What do I mean? Here's what I got:
an expensive chocolate bar, flecked with almonds and sea salt
two pints organic strawberries
the peanut butter brand I prefer (but don't usually buy b/c D doesn't like it so much)
a small container of chocolate milk
crisp local apples
a fresh cream scone (the biscuits first cousin, bien sur)
black tea
And I'm all set for a weekend of single gal living.
CHANGE YOUR KITCHEN ART, CHANGE YOUR LIFE
As I've mentioned before, D is on one hell of an organizational/building/fixing up the house bender. It's freakin awesome! He's really improved our pad, with a few weekends of serious elbow grease and rocking out to his audiobooks (He's currently listening to the Godfather, by Mario Puzo - arguably the best epic tale ever told!). The other day I casually mentioned changing up the artwork we had in the kitchen, the spot where I spend a fair share of my time when at home.
ASPARAGUS: I LOVE YOU
Yes, you are totally out of season and criminally expensive at the grocery store. Yet I still buy you, of the curvaceous lengthy stems, bursting forth with verdant health and the promise of spring time. Asparagus, you are the most delectable when blanched for 20 seconds, bathed in ice, then tossed in the sexiest olive oil around, sprinkled with truffle salt. No more, no less. You are indulgence one can feel virtuous about. Clearly, I am in love. So is D. It's getting serious.
OH JOHNNY
Gilda is such a hot movie. Rita Hayworth is sultry, sublime and aware of all her powers. I will be wearing lipstick and doing my hair tomorrow. The best line is when Rita bows her lips and scoffs,
"Oh Johnny is such a hard name to remember and such an easy name to forget."
She taunts him so!
THE PINK PEARL
Have you ever seen such a gorgeous specimen? My brother turned me on to these brightly-colored fruits and now I have a hard time eating an apple dressed in ordinary white. The Pink Pearl are tart and sweet, delightfully crisp and a perfect addition to tea time.
As a brief aside, I had the opposite of tea time today -- a slice of cold leftover pizza and a diet coke (naughty girl!), and man that was good too.
SCENES FROM A FALL WEDDING
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| spectacular coast line -- I love the sea! |
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| gorgeous holly tree |
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| look at those Autumn leaves |
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| beautiful vase at an apple cider bakery and very tasty blueberry pancakes |
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| an MG convention drove right past us -- the cutest cars, really |
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| swans mate for life, Kate told us -- so AMAZING! and gorgeous. |
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| Kate and I have taken this same excited photo since we were about 3 years old! |
After a week of working on a nasty cold, D and I emerged from our congested haze into the most beautiful wedding. Our cousin Julia got married -- congratulations Julia and Chris! The small town was the perfect setting for a family wedding, the sun was shining and the ocean absolutely blue. The fresh air as crisp as the first bite of a really good Jonagold apple. It was just plain luck that my oldest pal, Kate also lived in the area, so we got to visit with her. She acted as the bubbliest tour guide we Kilpatricks (and Cyd Rosses!) could have asked for.
THE CREATIVE FIRE
I just finished listening to this amazing book. The author uses myths, such as the story of Demeter, Persephone and Hades, to explore the creative psyche. The stories weave together poetic prose, thoughtful insight and inspiration on how to unleash the creative fire that is within us all. I loved it.
Some bits I found most interesting were:
- everyone is an artist, before they sit down with a canvas, a camera, a computer, an instrument, a paintbrush, etc. You can be an artist in how you raise children, how you organize your life, how you cultivate your garden.
- play is essential to develop your creative self -- whatever 'play' is for you -- I think for me 'play' means lots of things -- among them: reading magazines, window-shopping in beautiful botiques, sipping really lovely hot chocolates, painting my toes with a friend, reading juicy books, traveling and trying on lipsticks at a nice department store
- creativity is cyclical -- there is incubation, creation and death of an idea -- follow your gut and your creativity will return, it may just be dormant or incubating for a little while -- when you're 'done' with something creative, it sort of dies -- waiting for new ideas to be born.
- there are a thousand reasons we lose our creative selves -- good new is it cannot be 'lost,' it's just hiding within and needs help getting out. those of us who grew up with negative experiences towards our creative selves ("you can't draw, so you can't be an artist."), are more at risk for pushing the creative self down. To find this within, we must play, we must trust and we must try things we feel naturally drawn to.
RASPBERRY JAM
One of the best parts of living in Portland is the berries -- they all have their unique charm and place, blueberries for breakfast, cherries anytime, strawberries in tarts or atop cupcakes, but it's the raspberry that holds the biggest, sassiest spot in my heart. Berry-picking is something we do every other weekend during summer, and when the raspberries come out, D and I both go nuts. Literally, we stand in front of the raspberry bushes and smash as many as possible into our pie holes. We cannot get enough of this annual gluttony. The combination of flavor -- deep and outstanding-- and the deal -- they're so expensive usually, during this short window, we must eat at least until our bellies ache, think of the savings! The raspberries send us into our primal selves, revealing that at our core, D and I like bargains, sweets and can tolerate tummy issues when need be, maybe that's why we did so well in India?
Anyway, after gorging on berries, one must make the rest into jam -- that's my motto, at least. I use Clotilde's method for canning my jams, and have had success after success. The jist is a 2:1 ratio of fruit to sugar, cook for about 25 minutes, pour into sterilized jars and store for whenever.
My favorite ways of eating jam are:
- straight from the soon while scanning the fridge
- a dollop melted into a glass of chamomile tea
- stirred into yogurt
- smeared onto peanut butter toast
- as a topping for ice cream
- mixed into a nice butter, i call this "raspberry butter"
- a bit in a savory marinade or salad dressing
- swizzled into a cocktail.
IT'S ENDLESSLY YUMMY, THAT RASPBERRY JAM!
OUR FUTON BENCH IS FAMOUS, PART DEUX
(our completed bench, with upholstered futon -- now we need some curtains)
(the futon we got on craigslist and cut in half, and i stitched back together, appropriately sized)
(a detail of the futon/cushions -- the embroidered one we got in Istanbul, I sewed the one in back from Ikea fabric)
(the Ikea bookshelf we used)
(detail of the plywood D sized to be a little smaller than the shelf, so it would 'float' and be level with the window sill)
Wow, it was fun to be on designsponge with our modified bench. I noticed a lot of comments that were looking for a few more images, so I thought I'd post them here -- to give y'all a full picture of our 2nd favorite lounge area (our first is the hammock on the porch, hard to beat). Back to food, farms and recipes soon.
OUR FUTON BENCH IS FAMOUS
Dave and I converted our Ikea bookshelf into a place of leisure and relaxation, by transforming a dead craigslist futon and reupholstering it, adding cushions and now it's definitely one of the best spots in the house! D also raised the shelf a hair, so it's perfectly in line with the window sill for maximum tea cup placement whilst indulging in a novel and fresh breeze.
Check out the link here, and scroll down for our Before and After.
JULIA: CONSTANT INSPIRATION
(my impromptu julia shrine)
I rented, "Baking with Julia," a 6-episode series on different baked goods, put on by PBS in the 80s. Julia bakes with different people, oohing and and tasting with her comrades, devouring bites with great relish and enthusiasm. I love that after cooking for all those years, undoubtedly she knows what's going on with each different item (she's written tomes about baguettes, cakes and pastry, no less!), yet she's still delighted and impressed with a slight variation on method. For example, during the tart and pie episode, Julia exclaims, "that's rather pretty. i LIKE that" at her guest's way of crimping the pie dough. She's awesome. You think she knows it all by that stage in her life, but she's still so honestly thrilled with learning more, it seems her capacity and generosity were endless.
If you find yourself at your local library, perusing the tired-looking dvds and chance upon this gem, I highly recommend zipping home with it, munching on a snack plate of hummus, crackers and carrots (brain food must be robust!) and taking a few notes. I learned a lot about crust/filling technique. I am still such a novice in this area and long to improve my skills.
Some takeaways:
- these ladies believe in a combination of butter and shortening (I'm not into shortening-- are you?)
- they like to chill the dough after it's been placed into the pan for at least 20 minutes (decreases shrinkage)
- some fruit fillings, such as nectarine/blueberry combo, get sauteed for a few minutes before being baked
- they don't use any sugar, none at all, in the crusts! sacre bleu! I like a little.
Do you know any serious pie lore/philosophies you would like to share?
THE GIRL GETS THAT CUISINART
After careful deliberation on brand, size and model -- as well as budget negotiations, I bought the single-most lusted after item in my entire kitchen -- The custom pro 11-cup Cuisinart food processor. Another haggard day of moving, shuffling, installing and cleaning in our new place left me weary and semi-delirious on my one 'fun' outing for the day. Armed with a 3 year-old Macy's gift card, I went in search of the holy grail of kitchen appliances. Lo and behold, my coveted model was on sale!
Done and done.
I cannot wait to have breadcrumbs, pesto, coleslaw, hummus, cashew cream and pie dough at my finger tips with my new and gorgeous contraption. This is a very exciting day indeed. The thing even came with an informative dvd, which I watched in a daze at 11:30 pm, post-11th hour of shuffling all of our stuff into appropriate piles and vessels. The man said, "and then I use the on and off" as he pulsed his guacamole, so many times, it got me so excited!
What shall I make first?
THE CUTEST LITTLE CARROTS
Are these the cutest carrots you've ever seen or what? I mean, come on. I could hardly eat the little darlings! Yet another reason to love London, their miniature vegetables.
