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Leaving on a Jet Plane + Cookies

June 1, 2010 | Comments (23)

For those of you who follow me on twitter, you’ve probably gathered that I’m a huge Kim Boyce fan–I really haven’t been this excited and inspired by a cookbook in a long time. Perhaps ever. I had the opportunity to meet Kim last week at Omnivore Books and hear her take on the different whole grain flours she uses in Good to the Grain and how each affects the flavor and texture of her recipes. If you want a more detailed review of her book, I wrote a short piece for Bay Area Bites last week, so feel free to read more there.

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What to Cook when You’ve Packed up the Kitchen

May 27, 2010 | Comments (13)

I’m a chronic mover. I hate that about myself, actually. I can’t wait for the day to come when I stay in one apartment longer than a year. The reasons vary, from moving to attend graduate school to always seeking a bigger pad in a better neighborhood. So I’m moving  again on Friday. This time, interestingly enough, it’s not really by choice. I love living in San Francisco. I love my apartment. Heck, I just bought a new rug, a funky retro lamp and some odd little wired birds that sit happily on my window sill.  I’ve got my matchbook collection and the Russian dolls my grandma gave me. And of course, rain boots. My across-the-way neighbor Brian carries my groceries up three flights of stairs for me often, and I’ve figured out a way to ride the bus to yoga for free. I’ve even learned to kind of love living by myself over these past few months.

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Some Things I’m Liking Lately

May 24, 2010 | Comments (14)


Every now and then I like to share with you a few things that are inspiring me. I hope you had an amazing weekend. I worked a lot, wrote a lot, drank a lot of coffee, and packed a lot (more on this soon).

Chocovivo Chocolate. This is the real deal. I’ve actually stopped buying it because I have trouble practicing any self restraint. It’s untempered (the process that makes chocolate pretty and shiny) bean to bar chocolate made in Southern California, so it has a nice rustic look. My favorite flavors: Almond and Sea Salt and Cherry, Almond & Black Peppercorn.

Two new-to-me blogs, This is Naive and Food in Jars. The first is a little tough to explain, actually. The blog’s written by Tommy, a creative gal living in London. She is an incredible photographer and writes about travel, food, home and garden, health–but does so through her tasteful lens and discerning eye. I like her point of view. I think you will, too. The second blog delves into all things canning, with creative recipes, how-to canning tips, local resources etc. The most recent post on orange rhubarb butter makes me smile. I can’t wait to try it.

Canal House has a new online site. Check  it out. Spend a little time clicking through the visual blocks, and explore music, gardening inspiration, and links on the world’s best aprons. If you’re not familiar with the seasonal Canal House cookbooks, they’re some of the most inspiring, beautiful collections I’ve ever seen.

Sweet Paul Magazine. Haven’t gotten my hands on a physical copy yet, but I’ve explored the web version and this is one beautiful publication! It’s brand new, has luscious colorful photos, and fabulous looking recipes. Check out their blog here.

Shanna Murray’s sweetly illustrated wall and window decals. Enough said.

An Etsy shop I’m loving lately: Casey at Modapple specializes in mid-modern finds like low-ball glasses, vintage casserole dishes, and collectible old-school cookbooks. Really good stuff.

Good to the Grain Cookbook. I can’t say enough about Kim Boyce’s new-ish book featuring insanely creative rustic baked goods made with whole grain flours (from teff to amaranth). For those of you in the Bay Area, Kim’s actually going to be at Omnivore Books tonight (May 24th) from 6-7 p.m. It’s free. I’ll be there. Hope to see you there, too!

O.k., that should help you slog through this dreary (at least it is here) Monday. See you back here soon with recipes and updates!

Milestones

May 19, 2010 | Comments (25)

When I graduated from college, I didn’t want to go to all the ceremonies. I felt above it all. Don’t get me wrong–I was glad that I’d finished, but I went to a school the size of my entire hometown, and felt I’d just be lost in the crowd during graduation. But my mom talked to me about the importance of ceremony in your life—milestones deserve their moment. And she’s right. Ceremony and a little pomp and circumstance sort of force you to reflect on your accomplishments. Otherwise, something as big as a college graduation or a wedding would be just another day that, eventually, you wouldn’t remember apart from the rest. You need finality, you need reflection, and you need to share and celebrate accomplishments with others.

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A Place at the Table

May 8, 2010 | Comments (23)

Waffles. I don’t make them often enough and I’m not sure why. Oh, wait: I am sure why. Because they always seem like kind of a slow, slumbery, Sunday thing to make and I rarely have those kind of mornings–even on Sundays. But I found a recipe I’ve fallen pretty hard for. It’s an old-fashioned waffle recipe and you make the yeasted batter in advance, put it in the fridge for 12-24 hours, and it’s ready to go in the morning. I’ve actually kept the batter in my fridge for a few days and just pull it out, put a scoop on the waffle iron, and have a warm waffle to take in the car on the way to work. Beats a granola bar or banana any day.

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Strawberry Ice Cream to Avoid Humiliation

May 4, 2010 | Comments (25)

It strikes me as very odd that I’ve never written about ice cream here. This is because it’s my very favorite food of all time. I won’t admit how frequently I eat ice cream each week–hopefully family members will practice restraint with their comments on this particular post. But really, ice cream makes me very happy. Growing up, Bon Boniere was our little local ice cream shop downtown. Sometimes when I’d get home from school, my mom would promise that if I was lucky, maybe my dad would feel like going out for a cone later. Then the obsessing would begin: M & M or Bubblegum? It was like my mantra as the Brady Bunch wrapped up and dinner time grew near. I’d hear my dad pull up the driveway and know that I should give him a few minutes to put down his briefcase before I bombarded him with the all-important question of the evening: can we go?

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Throwing in the Towel

April 29, 2010 | Comments (49)

My friend Autumn recently pointed out an article in The New York Times all about living alone. Not like me in my city apartment, but like folks who choose to be fiercely independent and move somewhere isolated where they can truly be away from it all. The author, Sarah Maslin Nir, profiles three individuals (all men, interestingly enough) and discusses their compulsion to live in isolation. One man describes a feeling of freedom when you’re by yourself: “you don’t have to answer to anybody.” There’s also a feeling of self-sufficiency. Others choose a reclusive lifestyle as a political statement. A 27-year-old British man spent the last year living in a hut he built in  Sweden as a way of being environmentally responsible. Regardless of the justification (and I suppose there doesn’t really need to be one) “Embracing the Life of Solitude” made me really think about what it means to deliberately choose to be by yourself.

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A Quick Jaunt to Seattle

April 23, 2010 | Comments (28)

This odd thing happens when I travel to new places: I convince myself and my loved ones that I’m meant to live there. The grass is always greener, right? But after a few weeks, my new obsession wanes and I settle back into life in the Bay Area. Seattle’s a bit of an exception. That feeling doesn’t wear off after a few days when I come home from Seattle. I really, really love this city. In addition to the amazing food, distinct neighborhoods, fleece-loving clog-wearing population, the water, and (way) cheaper real estate…my sister lives there. And she just moved into a cute new house and put pink flamingos in her yard. Yeah, she has a yard. Jealous.

So my mom and I decided to capitalize on a few days off mid-week and flew up to wander, eat, explore, shop, and gawk. Here’s what we were up to in case you’re ever up in Seattle and at a loss for what to do.

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Trust and Bread

April 18, 2010 | Comments (29)

I’ve fallen pretty hard for Jim Lahey. I can’t stop telling people about him: family, coworkers, complete strangers. He’s the guy that developed the one-pot, no kneading bread method that yields rustic rounds reminiscent of the bread Jim discovered in small towns outside of Rome. His theory is that you work the dough less but let it rise longer and it develops a structure that’s just as strong as more arduous recipes. It’s as easy as mixing a few ingredients in a bowl, letting them rise for 14-18 hours, and baking the round in a Dutch oven. That’s it. Now bread is one of those things that, for the most part, I’ve stayed away from because I’ve heard how difficult and moody it is. Of course I did make those english muffins and the recent blackberry cornmeal muffins, but let’s just say I’ve steered clear from yeast. Until now. I think I may be an official bread-baking convert. Trust me on this–you will be, too.

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Maintaining Your Muchness

April 12, 2010 | Comments (28)


I recently got The September Issue from Netflix–the documentary about Vogue editor-in-chief, Anna Wintour. It was fascinating on many levels but the thing that struck me the most was how unhappy she seemed. We all know how immensely driven and talented she is, but when she spoke of what her other siblings do for a living and what they think of her work, her eyes would gloss over and she’d become distant. When she spoke of her own work at the magazine, Anna mentioned that it often made her angry and agitated–that she’d know when to throw in the towel when she started getting angrier and angrier throughout the day. I don’t know about you, but I may just settle for quiet, small-scale contentment rather than feeling that way day in and day out.

So then I was running yesterday, and I started to think about a quote from the film Alice and Wonderland. In short, Alice hesitates to help the Mad Hatter in his resistance against the Red Queen. The Mad Hatter is disappointed, noting “You used to be much more muchier…you’ve lost your muchness.” I smiled during this scene and continue to think about it. What does this even mean? What is this muchness? A state, a passion, a spark, a sense of wonder or confidence or fearlessness or comfort with the hear and now. I don’t know. Now perhaps the larger question at hand is what does all of this have to do with Vogue and with blackberry  cornmeal muffins for breakfast? Continue Reading »