This is my first food post. Let’s see if it actually works or I’m typing out a dream. I tend to dream often.

Anyway. On the menu (at least coming from my house) was pumpkin pie, jalapeno-cheese bread and mashed potatoes. Lots and lots of mashed potatoes. 3 things that were quite easy, if I do say so myself.

Pumpkin Pie

Ingredients:

• 1 15 oz can of pumpkin
• 1 14 oz can of sweetened condensed milk
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 9 inch unbaked pie crust

I first pre-heated the oven to 425 degrees. I then heated up the pumpkin, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt in a medium saucepan over medium heat. This blends the spices with the pumpkin increasing the flavor.

Simmering the pumpkin and spices

I then took it off the range and let it cool in a different bowl. After it cooled down, I added the condensed milk and the eggs.

Mixing in the milk and eggs

Once all the ingredients were there, I mixed everything together, until smooth.

Completely blended until smooth

That orange is beautiful! Next the mixture is poured into the waiting pie crust and then popped into the oven for 15 minutes at 425 degrees F.

Poured and ready to get warm!

After 15 minutes, decrease the oven temperature to 350 F and bake for another 40 minutes. By the time this pie was ready, my whole house smelled like winter spices!

The End Product!

Top it off with some whipped cream and you won’t find any tastier dessert during Thanksgiving! Have I mentioned how much I love dessert?

Jalapeno Cheese Bread

• This requires a bread maker, so get one of those!
• 1 cup water
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp white sugar
• 1 cup cubed pepper jack cheese
• 3 cup bread flour
• 1/2 tbsp active dry yeast
• 4 fresh jalapenos, sliced

Since this is a bread machine recipe, the ingredients need to go in according to the bread machine manufacturer. My particular machine puts the wet ingredients in first, followed by the wet ingredients. The yeast must remain dry. I didn’t put the cubes in until the last kneading cycle. This way they didn’t burn.

Ingredients in baking pan

Since I don’t have any pictures of the bread being knead, rising and baking in the machine, I’ll leave you with the final product.

Ah, bread goodness

And last but not least, the most fattening/tasty mashed potatoes I’ve ever had. I try not to think about the butter.

Mashed Potatoes

• 12 medium russet potatoes
• 1 cup warm milk
• 2 sticks butter
• 1.5 tsp salt (or to taste)
• 1/2 tsp pepper

I first cubed the potatoes and put them in a saucepan over heat.

Boilin'

After about 25 minutes or so (the potatoes were mush at that point), I took them off the heat and drained them. They already looked tasty.

Drained taters

I then decided to go for the ‘whipped’ look and assembled my food processor. All the potatoes then got diced up until whipped and smooth.

Whipped potatoes

Of course, then I mixed in the butter, milk and salt. Needless to say, the potatoes tasted fantastic! Like I said, LOTS of mashed potatoes were whipped.

I’m really happy that I was able to pull off these three meals. I just started cooking (ok, it’s been a year) and I’m constantly changing/creating/experimenting with new foods and textures. I never thought I would enjoy myself in the kitchen but yet there is something that enthralls me every time. Whether its American food or Bangali food, the kitchen always beckons.

Until next time,

MK

*All recipes courtesy Allrecipes.com and then modified to my liking.

I hope that this post finds everyone ‘fat and happy’ after a great Thanksgiving feast. Let it be known that this year will go down in the books as the ‘BESTEST’ Thanksgiving in memory.

The evening was an eclectic gathering of friends, new and old, and international cuisine. The story is quite fun so I’ll share a bit with you now.

The plan for Thanksgiving started in October when we believed that both Meredith and I would be off of work and available to prepare the majority of the meal. We made a decision to invite a group of friends who we thought would enjoy a ‘pot luck’ dinner with friends. As it ended up we had 6 such friends RSVP and the meal was on.

As the holiday approached Meredith and I talked menus and proteins. We weighed the options of turkey verses crown pork roast, mash potatoes verses sweet potato souffle and wines, red? white? rose’?. The clock was ticking and we had little decided. Then ‘it’ happened a week and a half prior to our dinner; I was told that I would be working on Thanksgiving day!

Poor Meredith, here we had planned (almost planned) this incredible meal with friends and now I wasn’t going to be there to cook or eat. Well, let me shorten the story and say that Meredith took charge; she revamped the menu to meet her cooking desires, she shopped and planned and cleaned and cooked…and OMG what a meal she prepared.

A positive note was that my schedule was changed (after we moved the dinner time to accommodate my ability to participate) and I was in the kitchen by 5:10 to help. My contribution to the night was a Southern Pecan Pie and my famous Sweet Potato Souffle, both which were wonderful. And not to forget that I made the gravy.

Our guests provided an incredible array of homemade goodies. The fare, which is listed below, was made with love and thought and added a special meaning to the Thanksgiving experience.

Oh, and we had the unexpected treat to sample two new vintages of McCrea’s 2008 bottling. And I’ll say again, it was a treat. We enjoyed a 2008 Marsanne and a 2008 Sirocco Blanc, both from the McCrea Boushey Vineyard. The wines paired perfectly with the diverse menu and all were happy!

May you and yours have a fabulous holiday season. Meredith and I are going to be a part for Christmas but we are planning a New Years Party that, hopefully, will be a success.

Hugs to all.

Thanksgiving Menu 2009
Herb Stuffed Turkey
Rosemary Gravy
Mushroom Dressing made with fresh Rosemary Bread
Sweet potato souffle
Brussel sprouts with crispy scallions
Marsala Carrots
Green beans
Citrus Cranberry sauce
Masa Biscuits with Jalapeno Jelly
Pickled mushrooms
Creme Brulee
Pecan Pie with fresh whipped cream
and laughter…and smiles…and tears…and the most incredible conversations.

I suspect I’m a cow in my previous life..haha..I like to collect cow print items especially kitchen stuffs.My most favourite so far is this grey color apron bought by a good friend in Hokkaido.Isn’t it lovely?I can’t bear to use it even though I have two!

Kitchens are one area of a home that you want to keep looking
fresh. Possibly, you are taking into consideration home
improvement, but do not know where to start. Then again, you may
know where to start, but feel threatened by the thought and the
expense.

When taking into consideration home improvement you will need to
setup a budget and an overall idea scheme of what you intend to
do with your home.

installation, while giving you an overall idea scheme of what to do, it might be wise to start now rather than purchasing new cabinets to offset your kitchen off. Hardwood is nice and appealing, however hardwood is difficult to maintain. To touch up the kitchen you could easily design a plan to conclude what you intend to do with your kitchen. The kitchen has numerous regions, including dining, cooking area, and so forth. Kitchens measure at angles, distance, length and width, thus determine the size of the stove and surrounding region in the kitchen.

For the floors, you could easily design a fabulous area. For example, you may know where to start, but feel threatened by the thought and the expense. When taking into consideration home improvement you will need a few tools out of the mill, but for the most part, you will need to tighten the hinges ever so often. You could also add new hardware of staining to the cabinets bring out the design and decoration of your kitchen and/or bathroom areas. If you have light wooded cabinets. If you have the right to clean your appliances giving them a fresh appeal it might be wise to start now rather than allowing buildup.

Remodeling kitchens are easy, with the installation, while giving you an overall idea of the kitchen area. Buy wallpaper that compliments the borders, such as patterns with fruits hanging from vines and paper the back area of a home that you want to do with your home. Home improvement is either pricey or affordable. Thus, consider all aspects and weighing out your choices can help you save thousands of dollars. Most home improvement you will need to tighten the hinges ever so often. You could also add new hardware of staining to the cabinets and the upper border of the direction your kitchen area.

If you consider buying new cabinets for home improving, bear in mind that most home depots offer ready to install materials. The cabinets these days come with ready-made blueprints that assist by directing you with the installation, while giving you an overall idea of the kitchen area. Buy wallpaper that compliments the borders, such as patterns with fruits hanging from vines and paper the back area of the stove and surrounding region in the kitchen. For the floors, you could easily design a plan to conclude what you want to do with your kitchen.

The kitchen has numerous regions, including dining, cooking area, and so forth. Do not let the technicality of the terms confuse you. Maintenance for cabinets is relatively easy. Mainly you will need to setup a budget and an overall idea scheme of what to do, it might be wise to get professional assistance. Taking measures to protect your self from harm is a big part of home improvement. If your walls are free of holes, cracks or dents you could paint the wall region in the kitchen.

I’ve been chatting back and forth with Felicia.  She is interested in using Caromal Colours Textured Basecoats to update the cabinets in her house.  She ordered wood samples of various Caromal Colour finish colors from me a few weeks ago, and from those chose the colors she will use.

She is using Parchment  with Coffee Glaze on all of the cabinets except the island and the taller corner cabinet.  On those she will use Paprika with Toner -

So, my question back to her was this -

Are you planning on finishing the insides of those glass door cabinets?

What do you think?

Lets go visual -    the corner glass door cabinet and the island (which has the end glass doors)  will both be this color -

This might be how it would start to look -

I know, after seeing that photo, if they were my cabinets I would have to paint the insides…

But what color?    The same as the outside?

How about paint it different than the outside?

I like that idea… ALOT!

These are curio cabinets, not kitchen cabinets, but its a perfect visual.  The base color is just like the toned Paprika.  The inside color in the image on the left reminds me of the Pumpkin Textured Basecoat.   The image on the right reminds me of what Felicia’s cabinets would look like if she painted both the outside AND the inside Paprika -

It’s nice, but I still like the idea of changing up the inside color.   How about using the Parchment color on the inside?  For certain, it would tie everything together -

This all reminded me of one of my favorite clients – … she always comes up with neat ways to decorate her home.  Last year she replaced her butler pantry cabinet’s glass with a mesh wire.  She called me in to add a finish to the inside cabinet -

Wow, what a difference a little paint/color makes…   Felicia, keep me posted!

]]> http://fabulousfinishes.wordpress.com/2009/11/17/ohlala-orange-master-bedroom-focal-wall/ Wed, 18 Nov 2009 02:27:08 +0000 Patty Henning http://fabulousfinishes.wordpress.com/2009/11/17/ohlala-orange-master-bedroom-focal-wall/

Remember this?

I finished this wall last week -

Had a great base to start over -  a semi-gloss orange wall.  Clients love color -but this orange wall needed sugar on top…

I cooked up a sample-

that was one layer troweled Copper and Tequila Sunrise Lusterstone , double loaded on the trowel, blended -  troweled relatively thin.   When dry,  I whizzed on a glaze using 2 colors – Dark Brown Aquacreme and a custom blend made with Dk Brown, Van Dyke Brown, Rouge Royale and Earth Brown.  Whizzd both on, random, using one roller,  then busted out with a stippler.

Day One,  Ready to go -

First layer troweled-

Day Two -   glaze in process-

Complete -

LOVE that wall!

In January I’ll be back to do a similiar finish in this client’s finished lower level.  This time it will be a lovely oyster Shimmered Suede Metallic Plaster with a troweled, activated RS Glaze over top -

I suggested coming up with a cool, decorative backsplash – playing off the black granite counter , the stone floor and the shimmered suede of the walls – maybe something tiled that combines all 3 finishes?  It will be fun creating various options for them to choose from -   Like this, over at hivearchitecture.com -

or this one that my Florida finisher friend Krista Vind created using foils -

Check out that train track that is mounted up around the ceiling  (Lionel train is hidden)  pretty sweet-

My clients only request?  That I have it done by the Superbowl.  No problem.

]]> http://oliveyouyoga.wordpress.com/2009/11/16/the-kitchen-in-boulder/ Mon, 16 Nov 2009 23:39:48 +0000 Bark! Olive & Oakley's Adventures http://oliveyouyoga.wordpress.com/2009/11/16/the-kitchen-in-boulder/

Just finished a yummy late lunch with Jessica at The Kitchen in Boulder, CO. Community Hour rocks! 3-5:30 PM every Monday. After an hour of creative planning for our holiday season, we will be adding a Saturday yoga class and offering awesome holiday spa and yoga packages. Stay tuned! And in the meantime, do yoga…eat food…be happy!

This is a repost from October of 2008, but I just made this recipe last week and it really was good.  I thought I’d share it again, since you probably haven’t seen it anyway.  I apologize for the lack of pictures.

Either I’m a good cook or a bad cook, but never anything in between.  Tracking my cooking cycles is almost as difficult as tracking my hormonal cycles, maybe worse.  Unfortunately for our guests, I never know in advance whether I’ll be a good cook on any given day.

Eating at my house is much like playing Russian roulette with slightly less risk.  No one has died from my cooking, yet.  Another factor aiding in bad cooking is my lack of organization and planning.  Being a positive person, I view myself as spontaneous.  Spontaneity doesn’t work in a kitchen unless your kitchen happens to be right smack in the center of a grocery store.

I often find myself scrounging through my kitchen cabinets around 4 in the afternoon wondering what in the world I’m going to create for dinner.  By now my kids have been feigning starvation and grumbling so loudly I think the Lord may send manna from heaven and rescue me from this endless kitchen battle.

What does a person make with 3 cans of varied beans, pasta with no sauce, and salad dressing?  I always have salad dressing and not a person in my family uses it.  Other people tend to bless me with rather large bottles of Italian, Caesar, and if we’re all lucky, Ranch.

At times, I peruse cook books, gather delicious looking recipes (only ones with pictures) and make indulgent grocery lists; however, 3 aisles into shopping realty strikes and I realize my budget is blown and I only have food for one meal.  It’s then I abandon any ideas of feeding my family fancy meals and reapply my lip-gloss just in-case the Take Home Chef happens to be in my store.

If I ever happen to be in the same supermarket as the Take Home Chef, there’s no way he’s going home with anyone else.  My daughter thinks “he’s cute and may marry him when she grows up.”  As his potential future mother-in-law, he’d have to pick me!

Anyway, the whole point is that I’ve created a great recipe and yes, of course, I want to share it.  Don’t be scared, I already told you I’ve been having a few good cooking days.  Ok, here goes, get a paper and pen!

TROPICAL JERK CHICKEN

1 can papayas (don’t ask me what size cans, I have no idea)

1 can Libby’s tropical papaya mix

3 large chicken breasts (you can cut in half to make 6 or use 6 individually frozen cutlets)

Jamaican Jerk Rub (I used a bottle from The Pampered Chef)

In an oven safe fry pan (I used a square griddle that’s oven safe), place chicken breasts, sprinkle with Jamaican Jerk rub, and sear.  After you have nice brown marks on either side of chicken, dump both cans of fruit (with liquid) over chicken and bake in oven at 375 degrees for about an hour or until your chicken is cooked.  Leave uncovered.  It was great!

I promise I made this up.  It was an epiphany between defrosting cutlets and emptying the dishwasher.

Part of 2nd Cup of Coffee’s Fall Into Flavor – Go visit for more recipes!  Click HERE.

-FringeGirl

I wrote on Lemon/Lime saver some time back and now I bought another set of savers for garlic and onion.Both giant ‘bulbs’ look like the real thing.Very cute.There are holes for the garlic saver which allows air circulation around the garlic.Can stored 1 head of garlic and onion.I know,you must be thinking we can use a normal container but I simply like the fun design.

I started this kitchen this week -

Client had painted 2 focal walls and wanted to soften the rest of the room.  It was approx 220 sf.    I suggested a Sandstone Finish-

Day 1,  taped and whiz rolled on  a layer of Sandstone, tinted with a hair of Dark Brown tint-  

Day 2 I glazed, whizzing on two colors -  Dark Brown Aquacreme and a custom mix of Dark Brown, Earth Brown and Rouge Royale.  Whizzed on the Dark Brown about 70% ,  chipped on the Red, about 15%,  then blended colors using my sooper dooper thick  4 inch chippy brushes (Bruno is coming over to check it out) –   

Blot out any heavy areas, then move on to the next section.   I like to go back and lightly sand the finish using a sand block – I wait until I’ve worked about 3 sections of wall, then I back up and sand those sections, starting with the oldest first.  This way, the glaze has set up, and the sandblock doesnt leave scratches.  If you sand too soon, you’ll have alot of scratch marks to chip out -

Got it all glazed except for this last wrap around -

Day 3 I worked a couple hours and finished up -

 Happy Client.  Happy Me! 

Baltimore City still lacks decent Chinese food.  (Sorry, Zhong Shan, you still need a lot of work.)  But it seems like Catonsville has a solution to this dearth of real, authentic, I can take my mom to this place and she won’t hate it, Chinese.  It’s called Hunan Taste and it’s next to our favorite Sunday hangout place– the HMart in Catonsville.

The restaurant is in a strip mall, but it’s possibly the best located strip mall location for an authentic Chinese food experience.  With hundreds of hungry Chinese families going to the HMart on a daily basis, it is working by word of mouth through the Chinese community as a place to get real Hunan cuisine– “dry” cooked with fresh chili peppers and garlic being the essence of the dish.  It’s also got a wide range of dishes for large parties:  there are the American dishes of General Tso’s to the REALLY authentic dishes that my grandma makes because it’s hard to find, like the goose intestines, soft shelled turtle, hot pot, or fermented soybeans with chilis.  (Think stinky tofu, but not tofu.)  And it’s definitely trying to get those large parties in, with a fabulous wooden carving in the entry, a secluded back room with karaoke, and a polished but definitely Chinese decor that blends the Last Emperor with the Red Maple– posh, clean, but hinting of the Old World.  Jonathan Gold would hate this place, but my mom and I loved sitting there, calmly eating our dishes and trying to not get too excited.  Our food was great, fantastic, and dare I say it… damn good authentic Hunan cuisine.

We ordered the following:

Chicken Bumkin appetizer, which was chopped chicken with bone in, dry sauteed with black beans, hot chili peppers, garlic, and green onions.  There was no sauce to this dish, just tons of flavor from the fragrant ingredients.   I highly recommend this.

Chicken Bumkin

Twice Cooked Pork Belly -  with large leaks, red chili peppers, and red cooked pork, this was exceptional, although I lamented the pork belly wasn’t cooked long enough to make the fat melt like butter in your mouth.  Still, dry sauteed, with so much flavor I can’t really complain.

Twice Cooked Pork

Sauteed Frog Hunan style – sauteed with button mushrooms, red chili peppers, green onions and garlic, this was probably one of my favorites.  The frog was perfectly cooked, but more importantly, the mushrooms were too– firm, without any sogginess, and extremely well paired with the frog as the textures were so similar and yet the flavors so different that it made a silky party in your mouth.

Frog... Ribbit

Braised Cabbage Soup – who knew there was a vegetable called “wahwah?”  My mom and I didn’t… but apparently, it’s baby Chinese cabbage, and it’s was served in a white broth that had scallions, country ham (think Virginia salt ham), little medicinal tree seeds (I can’t remember the English word for it) and (wait for it…) A WHOLE THOUSAND YEAR OLD EGG!!!!!!  Not cut up in tiny pieces, but served quartered, to give a slightly bitter, umami flavor to the delicate soup.  I nearly shit a kitten eating this– it was so delicious, so perfect, and so unexpected.

Braised Cabbage Soup

The service was polite and the management friendly, in particular the owners, a couple who franchised out the Jasmine bubble tea chains that are found in the malls in the area.  They, like myself, were tired of running to Rockville, Flushing, LA to find food for themselves and decided to open this restaurant so that they could have a place to eat near their home.   A restaurant catered to feed its own, to show off real Chinese food, and to provide it in a relaxing setting.

I can’t help but want to scream “Run, Don’t Walk to This Restaurant!!!” because it’s going to be impossible to get a table there in a few weeks.  You know, when Thanksgiving rolls around and it’s packed with the people not working at the mediocre Chinese restaurants in the area.

Hunan Taste
718 N. Rolling Road
Catonsville, MD 21228
410-788-8988

Dishes – $12-20 average, market prices for other things.

Service:  Polite and expedient.

PS– they also have sinks outside the bathroom to wash your hands in before eating.  Very asian.

What I saw last night. Nancy Garcia / Chase Granoff at the Kitchen. This is a view of the building behind the Kitchen as seen from the High line. The Kitchen itself is not much to look at as is evidenced by the lobby. This show had two different artists. The first was a band that featured a lot of feedback and screaming but that also had dancers. The second used recorded music of Kate Bush, Bach and the Rolling Stones. Also sadly spoken word.

Elements: live music, earplugs, mobiles made of HVAC parts, flags, Champaign, spoken word, books
Title: “I Need More” by Nancy Garcia “The Art of Making Dances” by Chase Granoff
Cover:

Possibly one of the most underrated bits of advice a head chef can give their staff is, “Always prep ahead”. In any fine restaurant that has a head chef that’s worth his or her weight in salt, he or she will continuously instill in their kitchen staff that you must always be ready. Having all your products prepared in advance and ready for that day’s service is the most productive way of assuring that things will go smooth when the doors open and everyone wants to eat at once. Great food and great ambiance are one thing but being under prepared and not ready is always the down fall of any operation. If a guest is dining at your restaurant and has to wait an unexpected amount of time for their meal, chances are they will not be willing to return to enjoy your place in the future.

With the holiday season approaching this may be the best time for you to apply this tried and true method in your own home.  Start by making a list of some of the things that you will need to organize or buy long before the holidays get started.  If you plan on having family and friends over for a meal or just a get together over cocktails, this might be a perfect time to start getting some of the products in the house so you can eliminate last minute shopping and all the usual running around. To start, come up with a first draft menu of the food and beverages that you might be serving when the guests do arrive.  This will give you a good idea of some or most of the things that you will need to have or prepare.  Having this information in advance will allow you to be more organized and eliminate last minute confusion and rushing around.

Buy a few cases of beer, soda, non alcoholic beverages and wine and have them ready long before the first person stops by for a holiday visit.  Fill the freezer with a few specialty items that will help you out and make you look good in a pinch when the unexpected guest shows up. Make sure the pantry is stocked well with various dry good items that correspond with your menu selections. If you plan on using any holiday paper products you might want to take a trip to the party goods store and pick up enough to get you thru December. As far as any specialty items you might have on your menus that need to be ordered in advance this might be the time to call your butcher, or your fish monger or even your florist, it’s never too early to put your order in.  Bakery goods seem to be another item that is well worth organizing in advance.

When doing the advance planning of all the things you might be stocking up on so you can eliminate the last minute running around, the Litchfield Saltwater Grille on line store may be just what you need.  This holiday season Chef Albert Clugston III is offering a new line of JARS that are just the perfect items to stock up on so your stress level stays a bit more in line.  With more than 15 gourmet products ranging from jams to preservers & chutneys to sauces, in pint and quart sizes we are sure you can find a few things to help out at meal or party time. And our gourmet JARS make great gifts also.  When making holiday baskets they add a wonderful homemade touch of class by anyone’s standards. Chef Albert’s Mango Citrus Marmalade or Golden Pineapple Raisin Jam could come in real handy as a gourmet way to finish off that great pork roast or the roasted chicken breasts you started in the oven. Try our Port Wine Fig Shallot Compote as a topping on something as simple as Brie Cheese on a toast points and you will have the neighbors always stopping by when they see the lights on. Any guest served a roasted lamb rack finished with Chef Albert’s Key Lime Kiwi Mint Sauce would think you slaved all day in the kitchen.

So try and make the holidays a little less stressful this year and take the advice of the Litchfield Saltwater Grilles Chef Albert who always says “Prep Ahead” so you’re ready when it gets busy.  And take the advantage of the SWG doing all the work preparing our new JARS and having them ready for you to enjoy.  Call, stop by or look up our on line store @ www.litchfieldsaltwatergrille.org and order you JARS now before your running crazy.

Albe Galotta, SWG Chef and Blogger

I am working on a reply right now, to Carolyn who posted this -

I do have a question. I am ordering the Peppercorn distressing set to do my kitchen cabinets. My hubby and I were talking about doing the top cabinets in peppercorn distressed and the bottom in paprika. We want to put in black (possibly) counter tops of granite or soapstone. We have black appliances. I wanted to do all black cabinets but he thought is was too much black. Can you get a visual of the black and red?? I want to unite it with the toner and perhaps black knobs. How do you think that would look??? I really need a female opinion here.:)

In the process of answering,   I found myself googling to find red and black kitchens so that I could offer visuals.  This past weekend I had a guy call me – his wife saw a Caromal Colour News Article that was in the Detroit News this last Spring.  He was finally finding time to focus on their kitchen – a kitchen full of oak stained cabinets.  Long story short, he and his wife stopped by, an hour later, to SEE what this cabinet finish looked like.  They loved it, and are planning on doing their kitchen cabinets in the Paprika, and then the island they want to do in a 2 color Paprika with Peppercorn (black) over top, then distressed back to reveal the red underneath.

Thats twice, in the matter of days, that I am hearing about black and red together.  This morning I had another email about Caromal Colour choices, and their choice is Parchment for the kitchen mains, and Paprika (red) for the island and tall cabinet – accents.     Now how about visuals?

So,

……Can you get a visual of the black and red?? I want to unite it with the toner and perhaps black knobs. How do you think that would look??? I really need a female opinion here…

Yes, I can get a visual from the photos above.  The first one gives me an idea of what you are thinking of doing (the photo is quite modern but look beyond the style).  Several others show me that I like the black counters on top of red cabinets.  Maybe black counters on black would be too much?    Its hard to tell you what to/what not to do – it is all absolutely a matter of personal choice.   To help you better see the ‘visual’   take that all red kitchen, above, and imagine coloring in the bottom cabinets black.    There are several all black kitchens above.  All black ‘could’ be a lot of black – it all depends on what is on your floors, what your counter choice will be, wall color…   The all red looks nice as well.

I think a mix of both black and red would be lovely, as is shown in one of the first photos above.  It looks like the main cabinets are black, then the island is red as is an accent cabinet over top.  Do you have an island? Or tall set of cabinets, like a pantry unit? Or desk area?   I think my personal choice would be to tie in the second color by using it as an accent, rather than top 1/2 being one color, bottom 1/2 being another  – but that is just me and MY space.   YOU know your space best – and YOU and your hubster have to be the ones deciding this choice!  Let me know what you do!!!

Tuesday November 3rd from 6-8pm Dexter Sinister celebrates the opening of THE FIRST/LAST NEWSPAPER, which is part of Performa09.  They will be producing a newspaper twice a week for three weeks in the Port Authority bus terminal.  Click the link above for more detailed information.

Thursday November 5th is the opening for the Editions|Artist’s Book Fair at X-Initiative.  Tickets for opening night preview cost $50, but The Fair continues through the weekend and is free.  The magazines Blind Spot, and Point d’Ironie/agnès b. will be tabling.

Saturday November 7th from 6-9pm is the opening for One Every Day curated by Printeresting at The Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts in Chelsea.  The exhibit features ArtMag favs Dexter Sinister, Megawords Magazine, and Temporary Services, among many others.  The exhibition is up through December 19th.

Tuesday November 24th Cabinet Magazine hosts a panel discussion at The Kitchen titled Cabinet: Picturing Objectivity.  The event is at 7pm and is free.

Wahaow. I’m sorry I’ve been away for so long. Quite frankly, I have had nothing to talk about of any value that could POSSIBLY go on here. And technically I NEVER have anything of value to talk about! *Ba-dum-tsh!*

Anyway, shit humour aside, I’ve given up on the “Day #X” cause frankly I was never good at Maths and it has been a while since I posted on here (I even forgot my password. Fail of the msot epic kind seen in years. Including spelling “most” wrong. SORRY…I just type so quickly I don’t even notice until it’s too late).

OUR KITCHEN IS FINALLY FINISHED!! It’s just the dining room and living room floor needed to be done. Mum & Dad were glossing our new doors – in fact, sorry, I lie, they were glossing EVERY door in the kitchen/ dining/ living room area they could reach. “MUST…GLOSS! MUST…GLOSS!” Anyway. It’s spacious and pretty and I really can’t wait until it’s all finished. Mostly because we run the risk of breaking our necks every time we go into the conservatory or in the brand-spanking-new utility room. Haa.

Good Halloween everybody? What did you do? Trick or treat? Horror binge? Pretend not to be in when trick or treaters come round? Go to a fancy dress party? I did the last one! I went as a cross between Sally from “The Nightmare Before Christmas” and Jennifer Check off “Jennifer’s Body”. i.e. bleeding zombie cheerleader type thing. I got my cheerleading outfit from a sex shop actually so I had to wear a vest-top underneath so my boobs didn’t show. No, I’m not posting pictures here. I’ve only got one, it’s on my Dad’s camera and I’m sure he won’t be impressed with wanking material placed on here. Not that the picture is overtly sexual. Ew. :S

And FarmVille! Are you on FarmVille on Facebook?! I am, and it’s all Dad’s fault. He needed neighbours so last month I caved in and reluctantly joined it. I’m now Level 19 and can plant grapes. NOW GIMME ORANGE HAY BALES, BITCHES. Seriously. I love it. Fucking do. Although FBook is being a bitch so I can’t screenshot and post photos at the moment. The knowledge that I’m growing grapes will have to do…

I’m also desperately trying to get my ex-boyfriend back. I was torn between him and Matt, the boy who sits next to me in History, but my heart finally made up its mind on Wednesday (during work…again). So…yeah. I’m talking to him tomorrow. Wish me luck, everybody.

On that note I’ll leave you with my SOTD: “I’m Just A Patsy” by Manic Street Preachers. I grew up with this band being constantly played on the stereo and need to steal “Journal for Plague Lovers” off Mum again. Here it is, first song in November.

Happy November, everybody!

Wow. A daily hot yoga practice is no small commitment. By the time I get home, it’s after 7:00, and I’m crazy hungry. 

This week has gone pretty smoothly, thanks in no small part to two things: my rice cooker and a fantastic cookbook, Refresh. Its Rice Bowls and Noodle Bowls became staples in my diet during my triathlon years, and this fall, as I’ve taken up a more regular hot yoga practice, I’ve returned to it for quick and healthy dinners.

Right after getting home, I load up the rice cooker with some brown basmati rice. Then I wash and chop some leafy greens—I try to rotate kale, bok choy, swiss chard, spinach—and maybe some broccoli, which I’ll steam in the basket that sits on top of the rice cooker. In a skillet, I’ll sauté some tofu or tempeh.

The whole process takes about a half an hour. I dump it all in a bowl and top it off with a sauce I prepared on the weekend. This week it was a tahini sauce, but the book includes recipes for a Thai peanut sauce, a coconut curry, and a miso gravy, too. They’re all delicious.

For any other 30-day challengers, or other hot yoga devotees, how do you do it?

Yes!No more keeping leftover cut lemons in plastic bag and losing it’s moisture.I found this cool little gadget at Casa which simply keeps a cut lemon or lime fresher longer.I think it is a creative and fun way to store it and the bright color saver makes it easy to find in my crowded refrigerator. 

Right from far I saw a vegetable with distinctive purple hue and that was a cauliflower which was out of the norm we seen .In fact I saw orange one as well but a pity it wasn’t there anymore when I went back to buy.I read it somewhere on the net and it says that it may help reduce the risk of heart disease,diabetes and certain types of cancer.I have no idea how to cook this up.So I simply blanched it and stir fry the veg,just like how we normally do for white cauliflower.However I was a little disappointed because the end result turned out to be a dull purple color.

Applesauce.  It is a yummy treat to snack on anytime of the year.  I actually didn’t even like applesauce until I was entering High School.

I now love, and even crave, the apple-goodness.

{the scene}

Rachel and I made camp in the farm’s cottage kitchen.

Small. Quaint. Romantic. And completely lacking in sufficient counter space.

Neither of us had ever canned anything before (well, I tried strawberry jam earlier this summer and it ended with fermented jam…). Due to our lack of skills and knowledge we gathered our recipes, laptops, and canning cookbook and headed down to one of the local coffee shops to make an organized chart of our canning desires.

{the canning master}

We decided on apple & pear butter, quince jam, apple chutney, apple cinnamon conserve, autumn cranberry pear jam, ginger pear preserve, and of course applesauce.

After making our lists of recipes, food needed, and all the other supplies, we knew we were on our way to becoming canning professionals.

The next day Rachel came over to the farm, car load of canning supplies, and we quickly got to work.

Well, that is, after we had our 2 hour chat over two mugs of coffee

{the coring machine}

So once we actually got to the real work, we started by coring all the apples we were going to use.  This is a very very handy little gadget.  It will save you time and headache; so on my recommendation, purchase or borrow one if you are planning on making any amount of preserve that needs to be cored or peeled.

While doing this we washed and sanitized the jars in the dishwasher.

{swizzle of core-less apples}

Next step: put the swizzles (that’s the technical term) of core-less apples into a huge pot.

This is the part where the apples are being cooked down and really starting to make your whole house smell marvelous!

{apple masher #1}

Once the apple-goodness has finished cooking, you then need to strain it through a sieve.

We tried this model first.  We aren’t sure if we simply didn’t have enough patience or skill, but it just didn’t seem to be efficient enough for us.

{apple masher #2}

So we tried this model.  This is what my Grandma used to make her famous applesauce.

Mmmmm….. that applesauce was so good!  All she added was a bit of cinnamon, and it tasted fantastic every time!

We had finished all of the steps of preparation to put the sauce in the jars to be canned.

We opened the dishwasher and took some jars out…

to our surprise the jars were filled with soap and dirt sediments.  The wonderful addition to our technological-dependent world had failed us! (It may sound like I despise technology, but I really do love it and am thankful for all the advances.  However, there are times when my friend and I are trying to be canning pros, that when a machine fails us it really throws a kink in our system.)

We proceeded to freak out for about 10 minutes then reverted back to our grandmother’s tradition:  washing our dishes by hand.

Being our desire to become canning wizards, we had the ambitious goal of making not 8, not 12, but 48 pint jars of applesauce (which really may not seem like a lot to some of you true canning divas and dudes out there, but it was ambitious for us new-bees).

We wanted to share the bounty with our friends for the holidays in cute little gift baskets.  That’s why we decided it would make sense to not start out small or ask for a real person who had actually successfully canned before to help us.  We were doing it for the enjoyment of our friends.  We had giving hearts…. and way too much of an ambitious mindset.

We then had to boil the  jars in the caner in order to sterilize them properly. This added about an hour to an hour and a half to our time.  Not to mention we were getting very low-blood sugars (bad news for both of us- and anyone near us) and we were more then determined to get at least one batch done before our lunch break- especially with our extended coffee break earlier in the morning.

We were totally batty by the end.  The last batch we completely forgot to add the lemon juice (supposedly to keep it from browning or something- but we don’t think you actually need it and were told by some that they don’t use it) and cinnamon.  It actually turned out to be our most tasty batch

{the final sauce}

On our planning day at the coffee shop, we had high hopes of being able to do applesauce and one other canning preserve… however we finished, happy and satisfied with just applesauce- and with enough wind in our sails to finish the rest of the canning projects we had planned.

Everything ended well and we actually did finish, 12 hours later, our goal of 48 pint jars of delicious applesauce to give to our friends and stock our pantry selves.

(Notice how there are a few missing pictures of some of the process between the time we mashed the sauce and the actual finished product )

[topic by M. West thanks to Jotter via ffffound!]

[top pic: Sean O'Pry photoshot by Mariano Vivanco for Details mag]

“Et c’est quand la surprise dans la vie ?!”

BIG DANCE THEATRE’s production of ‘COMMES TOUJOURS Here I Stand’ intrigued me not for its dance or theatrical components but solely because they were using Agnes Varda’s 1961 film ‘Cleo from 5 to 7′ as a found object. I was really interested in how that would work.

Agnes Varda’s film ‘Cleo from 5 to 7′ follows through the streets of Paris a young chanteuse who fears she has cancer and is awaiting a biopsy result at 7pm. From the beginning of the film where she has her Tarot cards read, the only part shot in color, through to the end she encounters friends, colleagues and strangers and reflects on fate, mortality and herself.

Performed at New York’s THE KITCHEN, ‘COMMES TOUJOURS Here I Stand’ takes Varda’s film and uses a set of three swirling screens to catch and reflect video (some being recorded and projected live, other recorded before) while the actors bob and weave throughout their interpretation of the film. The set’s constant re-invention reflects the varying scenes from the film not in real time (as the film constructs itself) but abridged and adapted to fit in multiple costume changes, character switches, side stories and dance.

The choreography was demanding and exact; the actors flexible and fluid. The re-invention climaxed into a massive video screen of falls leaves with an almost empty stage, save for the heroine and the stranger walking towards her destiny.

Comme Toujours Here I Stand at The Kitchen from Big Dance Theater on Vimeo.

I look forward to future BIG DANCE THEATRE performances.

Posted by: Autumn.

baithing beauties

i think that red beets appear to be difficult to prepare. they look funny. they have papery, dirty skin and long stalks that are just daunting. what the heck are you supposed to do with all of that stuff? is there really food in there under that nasty peel? yes there is. ruby, sweet, buttery root vegetable. i love beets in a salad with a little blue cheese and citrus dressing. lately, we’ve been having beets on a salad with dried apricots and apricot jam honey mustard. what a tasty meal! root vegetables are in abundance this time of year, so stock up. my mom cooks a bunch of them in the fall, then puts them in the freezer to keep through the winter. she’s so smart! i remember eating lots and lots of beets as a child, i’ve always loved them. i also remember my dad hating them. without exception, every time i would eat buttered beets in front of him, he would proclaim “eeeewwww, beets”. which meant mom, sister and i were alone in our beet loving dinners.

not only delicious, but healthy too: beets have proven in studies to be effective in protecting against colon cancer, heart disease, and birth defects. they are really cheap, too. we bought a big fat bunch of them at the farmer’s market for $3.

beets will stain anything they touch. anything. a gross but essential bit of knowledge: they will also stain your *ahem* insides, if you know what i mean, especially if you have been consuming them for several days. no need to be alarmed, beeturia is a harmless condition that will pass after a few days.

a tip for keeping your hands skin colored when prepping beets: cover them in olive oil before you peel and cut them.

there are probably a kabillion ways to prepare them, but my favorite is roasted. some will tell you to scrub the skins before you cook them, but i know that there are precious minerals stored in the skin that will be washed down the drain if you do that. plus, you risk scraping and bruising the beet under the skin, and when you roast them, that part of the vegetable will be dry and gnarly.

how to prepare then roast beets:

chop off the hair so you have about 2″ of stalk remaining.

submerge in clean, cold water for a minute or two. change water and repeat.

preheat oven to 400f.
make a big pouch out of foil. drizzle a little oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. fold it all together inside the pouch so the steam doesn’t come out of the loose ends.
roast for 45 minutes. check it to make sure they are “fork tender”. let them cool on the counter top for a few minutes before peeling and cutting so they are easier to handle. use a paper towel to scrub the skins off of the beets, and carefully pull the tops off. cut into chunks to do what you wish with them.

this is what we did:

roasted beets with green beans

cut roasted beets into manageable chunks.

toss with prepared green beans (i steam them), and a glaze made of equal parts apricot jam, apple cider vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste.

we liked it served with some rosemary chicken, which has become our sunday favorite lately. like i said, beets are an essential ingredient in autumn salads, along with a little blue cheese, apples, and sunflower seeds. -and bacon.

look at how pretty they are!

i know that you can make sweet dishes with beets, too. i’ve heard of red beet cakes and cupcakes, but have not yet attempted them. i would love to find a recipe for a dessert beet dish.

you can also pickle them and put them in martinis. yum!