Sunday, April 26, 2009
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Monday, April 13, 2009
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Wow this was an extraordinarily easterly inspiredly day today. woke up early to cruise over to The Caning Shop in Berkeley to purchase a Ukrainian Easter Egg dye kit only to find an empty nest. Too late .... all gone. sooooooo I bought the last few packets of dye they did have (pink, red, pumpkin and brick) and hoped that I could find my silk dyes when I got home. Since egg shells are made of protein, silk dyes will color eggshells boldly. Detoured to The Cheeseboard. My first trip there and another Wow...cheese, bread, buns and PIZZA...I mean easterly saturdayly pizza to bake when I got home. (delish). Another detour, had to run to Amazon and order the Cheeseboard cookbook . Spent an hour in the attic searching for the silk dyes, only to discover them in the garage. Hooray, let the dyeing begin. Wow, what a holy easterly mess caboodle did I make. Melting beeswax in an electric fry pan, tjanting equipment, electric waxing pen, powdered dye, jars of mixed dye, paper towels, newspapers, boiling water, vinegar, nails and eggs, print-outs of Ukranian egg designs and instructions and I end up with POLKA DOTS, marbles, a little deer, an iron chick, folded, cut sale ads and wondering if I really am Ukrainianly?
Friday, April 10, 2009
okay so I am a sucker for ballpark hotdogs...so to keep that "swing,batter,batter" kid inside of me happy I started making my own sausage patties. These are chicken, apricot, blueberry, but you can add whatever strikes your one, two, three. Bruce Aidells sausage book will give you a solid base and then you can take off running.
Thursday, April 09, 2009
Last night we baked. It's all for the office April birthdays so don't worry about us gaining 10000 pounds or 10000 cavities from eating all these sweet treats. The loaf is mixed from a 1947 family recipe with some added melted chocolate and walnuts on top instead of throughout because I only had about one half of a cup of walnuts in my freezer. Rebecca baked cookies,the orange vanilla chip recipe from Magnolia with chocolate chips instead of vanilla because we were out of those also. The cookies are on a Kim Parker plate whose work inspired the painting. Let's see what I learned from this baking, photoing experiment: buy more walnuts, buy more vanilla chips and live what you love, close-up and personal.
Wednesday, April 08, 2009
Monday, April 06, 2009
Friday, April 03, 2009
Teach your children well... this is the dish i came home to today prepared by my sweet potato, Rebecca. Last night, she dreamed about making this Barefoot Contessa recipe as a Top Chef competitor, so today we are having Thanksgiving abbreviated. A roasted turkey breast, this deep dish delight and a bundle of spring asparagus. A dinner for all seasons.
P.S. After eating the walnut bread Glen chose The Girl Can't Help It by Little Richard for our 3:00 Dance Party. I have it on now. When she bats her eye, the bread slice turns to toast.
Thursday, April 02, 2009
I love the smell of this tea. i carry these packets back and forth to work and then at night when I need some tea i rummage around in my purse and hope there is a lone mangled secret tea stash under all the other crap in my bag. tonite was a lucky night. tearing open one end sends a flowery perfumey orangey scented waft of relief right to my nose, into my head and around and around and i still haven't even added the boiling water.
Wednesday, April 01, 2009
hey, this isn't food...but it's soul food for me. This is my first shorebird carving. My Dad was a carver so I felt compelled to try my hand at carrying on the Stetzko folk carving tradition in his honor. It's a bit bumbly and mis-shapen but I know my Dad would encourage me to keep carving. During an interview about his work, he was asked, "how long did it take you to carve that piece?" His answer was "all my life." I guess I'll keep trying.