Eight Emperors

Before we bought our house, the boy and I lived in a borderline seedy apartment complex in Ann Arbor. What it lacked in physical charm, however, it made up for in neighbors. We jokingly referred to it as Melrose Place. Very jokingly. Two of the most creative of our neighbors—Thea Augustina Eck and Matthew Shlian—recently launched Eight Emperors, a new art and design collection featuring small objects of paper and wood.

"Objects that instill a sense of wonder." Yes, indeed. Everything about this endeavor speaks to clean, simple elegance. From the sleek, sphoisticated black-and-white logo and web design to the thoughtful, handmade beautifully-crafted objects they make and sell, Matthew and Thea got it right.

Eight Emperors just announced the launch of their affordable art subscriptions series. For just $200 plus shipping, you receive a new art and design object quarterly delivered right to your door. The series will include objects in paper, wood, ceramic and a collaboration piece combining paper and wood.

I'm especially drawn to the wood objects referencing water: sails, whales, anchors. Mmmm. These are objects you want to pick up, hold, feel the weight of in your hand. I'm so excited for these local artists and can't wait to see their collection grow and evolve.

Book Business Tuesday: Phantom Limb

Phantom Limb: The Stuff You're Missing. And how! I am loving the new items listed in Stephanie Tardy Duimstra's Etsy shop, the Phantom Limb. She's gone all out with cute map, graph paper and lead pencil styling to highlight her line of eco-friendly journals and recycled paper goods. 

I'm especially drawn to the greeting cards made with maps. Stephanie must have an amazing stash of papers: old ledger sheets, penmanship learning sheets … where does she find this stuff?! It's pure gold.

I've seen Stephanie's journals, cards and more in person many times and can tell you that they are impeccably crafted. I think I may have to head over right now and fill my shopping cart!

Show time: VLNTNSDY MRKT

Come feel the love at the upcoming VLNTNSDY MRKT! (No vowels allowed.) This Thursday,  from noon to 7 p.m., I'll be joining an amazing group of vendors at the future home of pot & box Detroit. Located on Michigan Avenue just past Roosevelt Park, the site is an old gas station and is sure to be decked out with pot & box pizazz and charm. Come on down for all your heart, love, flower, food, art, festivities needs. You can RSVP and see the full list of vendors and other details over on the Facebook event page.

Society of Killustrators

There exists a merry band of illustrators who are just killing it: The Society of Killustrators. A group founded to "hone a craft, further a trade, and stay in contact," the SOK regularly posts imaginary illustration assignments.

Started as an invite-only group, they recently opened up the assignments to anyone who wants to play along — similar to Illustration Friday, though they do still send out invites. I was honored to receive one to participate in their last assignment: Beer Macaroni and Cheese packaging. You can read more about the assignment here (including the real recipe) and see the results here.

The newest assignment is for an editorial illustration to accompany an article about thieves caught stealing $65,000 worth of chicken wings. Can't wait to see what happens with this one!

Mmmmm, Butter Chicken

Okay, so we're into February now. You've done your juice cleanse, you've been working out like you promised yourself you would … but your resolve is wavering and it's still winter. You're ready for a little hearty comfort. 

This butter chicken is the answer, my friends. It starts with a healthy spice-filled yogurt marinade for the chicken but then is finished with a heart-warming, soul-satisfying cream and butter-ladened sauce the most beautiful color of orange you've ever seen on a cold winter's day. The  fresh curry leaves are a bit hard to come by, but if you're in the Ann Arbor area, you can find them —and everything else you need might need, i.e. cheap cardamom — at Bombay Grocers on Packard.

Butter Chicken (Murgh Makhanwala)

via Saveur

Serves 4.

FOR THE CHICKEN:
1/2 cup Greek yogurt
2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp. canola oil
2 tsp. garam masala
1 tsp. crushed red chile flakes
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 3-inch piece ginger, peeled and thinly sliced crosswise
Kosher salt, to taste
1 3–4-lb. chicken, cut into 8 pieces, skin removed

FOR THE RAITA:
1/2 English cucumber (about 6 oz.), seeded and grated
1/2 medium tomato, seeded and finely chopped
1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1 cup plain yogurt
1 1/2 tbsp. roughly chopped fresh mint leaves
1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp. ground coriander
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 medium carrot, finely grated

FOR THE SAUCE:
1 tsp. crushed red chile flakes
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 green cardamom pods, cracked
3 whole cloves, crushed
1 28-oz. can whole peeled tomatoes, undrained
1 3" piece ginger, washed and grated (skin on)
1 bay leaf
1/3 cup heavy cream
4 tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into 1/2" cubes
1 tsp. garam masala

4 fresh or frozen curry leaves
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Marinate the chicken: Combine all marinade ingredients except for chicken in a food processor; purée. Transfer marinade to a large bowl and add chicken, tossing to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 500° F. 

Transfer chicken to an aluminum foil-lined baking sheet and spoon any marinade from bowl over chicken. Bake until light brown but not cooked through, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a rack; set aside. 

Meanwhile, make raita: Toss cucumbers, tomatoes, and salt in a colander and let sit for 10 minutes. Press cucumbers and tomatoes to drain well and then transfer to a medium bowl along with yogurt, mint, lemon juice, coriander, cumin, and carrots; toss to combine. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for 1 hour.

Make the sauce: In a 6-qt. pot over medium-high heat, combine chile flakes, garlic, cardamom, cloves, tomatoes, ginger, bay leaf, and 2/3 cup water. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook, stirring often and crushing tomatoes with a spoon, for 25 minutes. Discard bay leaf and transfer sauce to a food processor; purée. Return sauce to pot and continue cooking over medium-low heat until thickened slightly, about 15 minutes. 

Add reserved chicken pieces and any marinade from pan, along with 1/3 cup water. Cook, stirring occasionally, until sauce thickens and chicken is cooked through, about 10 minutes. Stir in cream, butter, garam masala, and curry leaves. Reduce heat to low and cook until flavors meld, about 5 minutes; season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and keep warm.

To serve, transfer chicken and sauce to a serving platter and serve with the raita.

Book Business Tuesday: Recommendations

As you might remember, I am participating in the Fifty-Fifty challenge to read fifty books and watch fifty movies this year. I'm nine books and eleven movies in and thought I'd take this Book Business Tuesday to share with you some recommendations from my recent reads.

Two of these are from last year's reading list, but that doesn't really matter, does it? Now, I'm no great book reviewer, so I won't bore you with some sad attempt at it. There are plenty of those over at Amazon. I will just give you a brief overview and tell you I loved these books. Do with that info, what you will …

 Mr. Penumbra' 24-Hour Bookstore
by Robin Sloan

For all you book and bookstore lovers out there. A fun, fast story about the intersection and overlap of old knowledge and new technology filled with musty bookstores and literary intrigue. It even has geeky graphic design type nerd references. Charming.

Tell the Wolves I'm Home 

by Carol Rifka Brunt

I won't lie: I picked this one up for the gorgeous cover. It was done by the ultimate book designer to my mind: Roberto de Vicq de Cumptich. Perfection. So then to have to story live up to this great design — and then some — was such a nice surprise. Wonderful character development of two lonely people who find each other through the most unlikely of circumstances.

The Widower's Tale

by Julia Glass

And speaking of character development, no one does it better than Julia Glass. Ever since Three Junes, (still my favorite of her books) I have been a devoted Glass fan. She has a way of weaving together multi-generational family sagas like no other. 

The Cookbook Collector

by Allegra Goodman

It's funny—this one brings us full circle back to the first. It, too, brings together the worlds of new technology and old knowledge bookstores but in quite a different fashion. A story of two sisters a bit list in the world and the ways in which they get found and find themselves.

And there you have, from a true fiction junkie. 

Yellow Door Art Market

I'm very pleased to announce that you can now find Sloe Gin Fizz at the Yellow Door Art Market in Berkley.

I had such a fun time thrifting for and planning the space. I have lots of other little tweaks I want to make to it, so I plan on it being a constantly changing beast. Having a more permanent space also means I can offer a whole slew of framed pieces for super convenient grab-and-go gift giving. Stop by if you're in the area and let me know what you think!

Book Business Tuesday: Small Craft Skillshare

This month's Small Craft "skillshare" gathering is happening in Ann Arbor in the picture perfect event space at local flower and garden shop, pot & box. It's happening Saturday, February 8 and the afternoon features wonderful crafty book lady Amanda, of Dang Argyle fame, showing the crew how to make book sculptures!

She’ll show us how to cut, fold and glue unwanted paperback books into attractive sculptures. Books, scissors, X-Acto knives, glue guns and glitter will be provided but feel free to bring along your own books, tools and supplies. There will also be hot beverages and homemade vegan baked goods. And it's all free! Hooray for Small Craft!

Inspiration: Anne Siems

Happy Friday! It's a snow day here and I leave you this week with a wonderful image from Anne Siems. I discovered her through this week's Tiny Showcase and fell hard for this gentleman rabbit. I hope you'll go a have a look through Ms. Siem's portfolio of work: It is a wonderfully magical way to start your weekend.

Challah Bread

Isn't she a beauty?! I can't help it—I am pleased. This is one pretty loaf of bread that came out of my oven.

I've been wanting to try baking challah for ages. I was working my way through overwhelming stacks of food magazines over the holidays and came across this recipe in Saveur that I decided to give a shot. I took it to a holiday party so don't have any photos of the inside, but it definitely held its own and was fantastic for a first go-round. Lots of oohing and ahhing. Cuz it's dang purdy.

The original recipe had you braid four portions, but … what?!? How does that work? Go for three, it makes life easy. And really, challah is not harder than any other bread as long as you can braid. Kneading, rising, shaping, proofing, baking. Try it. You'll like it! And then there's the french toast. Need I say more?

Challah Bread

Adapted from Saveur

Makes 1 loaf
3/4 cup plus 2 tbsp. milk, heated to 115°
1/4 cup plus 1 tsp. sugar
2 tsp. active dry yeast
4 tbsp. unsalted butter,
melted, plus more for
greasing
2 eggs, lightly beaten
4 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1 egg yolk
Sesame seeds, to garnish

Stir together milk, 1 tsp. sugar, and yeast in a large bowl. Let sit until foamy,  about 10 minutes. 

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together butter and eggs. Add to yeast mixture and stir to combine. Add flour, remaining sugar, and salt and stir with a wooden spoon until a dough forms. 

Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface and knead until smooth, 6–8 minutes. Transfer to a lightly greased large bowl and cover with plastic wrap; let sit until doubled in size, about 1 hour. Uncover, punch dough down, and re-cover; let sit until slightly puffed, 30 minutes.

Uncover dough, divide into 3 equal portions, and roll each into a 18"-long rope. Align dough ropes side by side, and pinch together ends farthest from you to form one end of loaf. Braid ropes and pinch ends together  and fold under slightly to seal.  Transfer braided loaf to a parchment paper—lined baking sheet and cover loosely with plastic wrap; let proof for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 375°. 

Stir together egg yolk and 1 tbsp. water in a small bowl and brush all over surface of loaf; sprinkle evenly with sesame seeds. Bake until loaf is dark golden brown, 30–35 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool for 30 minutes before serving.
 

Book Business Tuesday: Better World Books

Big and green with "books" written all over it … hmmm? I recently noticed this large bright green donation box in the local Meijier parking lot. Intrigued, I looked it up online and discovered Better World Books. 

Better World Books collects and sells books online in order to donate books and fund literacy initiatives around the world. With stock of over 8 million new and used titles, they match every book purchased with a book donation. From a used copy of Design*Sponge at Home for $14.93 to a brand new copy of The Shadow of the Wind for $16.00, they have a great selection—and all books ship free worldwide! 

To date, Better World Books has donated over 5 million books to partner programs around the world. Their four primary literacy partners are Books for Africa, Room to Read, Worldfund, and the National Center for Family Literacy. 

They have a handy map of donation box locations. In Michigan, it looks like most Meijier's now have boxes as well as quite a few additional locations. 

So if, like me, you've finally finished your new year's cleaning rituals, you may find yourself with a stack of books just waiting to be donated. Now you know where to go! 

A day at the zoo

I firmly believe everyone should—on a regular basis—take a day off to visit the zoo. I took advantage of a sunny afternoon last week to do just that. I'd never been to the Detroit Zoo and had to be in the area that morning. I figured it would count as "reasearch," yes? Being winter, there were very few visitors. The air was crisp and cold, but the sun was a constant ally. You can't help but come away from an afternoon like that with a smile plastered on your face. … and a deep desire to have your very own red panda.

The tiger looked regal as could be. He marched around and even roared a bit. Though he looked like he could use a friend.

The lemurs were super cuddly and especially playful.

While the meerkat stared straight out to say, what the *#!?&* are you looking at, lady?
 

 You don't often see the backside of a peacock, do you? It's gorgeous in its own right.

This fellow got his lady friend knocked up. She was in the next room over with a January 28 due date. I can't wait to come back to visit the baby giraffe!

2013 Calendar sale

Procrastinator's delight! My 2013 illustrated wall calendar is now on sale on the shop. Half off. YES. That's right. Half off while supplies last.

Chicken Tinga Tacos

This is the perfect Sunday afternoon dish. A hearty pot of chicken braising in a mildly spicy tomato-based sauce that heats the house with currents of warm air and wafting sweet smells. There will be plenty of leftovers whose flavors ripen over the next day or two and countless ways of re-imagining and presenting the tender morsels of smoky shredded chicken and sauce. On the first night, have tacos. Next, add some shredded monterey to make smoky quesadillas dolloped generously with sour cream and sprinkled with scallions. I can't decide which I liked more.

The baking dish size may seem large for the amount of chicken, but it makes the layers of sauce surrounding it caramelize more during cooking. If you use a smaller dish, the cooking time will be longer and you may want to remove the chicken once it is cooked through and let the sauce continue to darken and cook in the oven.

Chicken Tinga Tacos

via Food & Wine

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 1/2 pounds trimmed, skinless, bone-in chicken thighs
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 large onion, thinly sliced
3 large garlic cloves, minced
One 28-ounce can diced tomatoes
2 canned chipotles in adobo, coarsely chopped
1 cup chicken broth
24 corn tortillas
2 ounces Cotija cheese, crumbled
Sliced scallions and chopped cilantro, for garnish

Season the chicken all over with salt and pepper. Heat 3 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large nonstick or cast iron skillet. Add the chicken to the skillet and cook over moderately high heat, turning once, until well browned, about 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a 9-by-13-inch baking dish and pour off the fat in the skillet.

Add the remaining 3 tablespoons of olive oil to the skillet along with the onion. Cook over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until the onion is lightly browned and softened, 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes and their juices, the chipotles and the broth and bring to a boil. Simmer over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until thickened and slightly reduced, 20 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. 

Transfer the sauce to a food processor and let cool for 15 minutes. Puree until smooth and season with salt and pepper. Pour the sauce over the chicken. Bake the chicken uncovered in the center of the oven for about 45 minutes, until the meat is tender and the sauce is very thick and darkened around the edges. 

Wrap the tortillas in foil and warm them in the oven for about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, remove the chicken from the sauce and shred the meat; discard the bones. Return the chicken meat to the sauce and heat for 2 to 3 minutes to be sure chicken is hot. Spoon about 3 tablespoons of chicken onto each tortilla and sprinkle with the crumbled cheese. Garnish with scallions and chopped cilantro.

Book Business Tuesday: The fiftyfifty.me challenge

Fifty books. Fifty movies. One year. One you. Over the weekend I signed on to the fiftyfifty.me challenge of reading 50 books and watching 50 movies in 2013. I usually average about 30 books a year (that I keep track of here on the blog) and thought it would be fun to try to up that number this year and also to keep better track of the movies I watch.

The challenge comes with a well-designed web site where you can keep track of your lists and includes great community components for sharing book and movie recommendations. I'm off to a strong start with three books and three movies under my belt.

Here are a few great resources to help with the challenge:

Goodreads: Keep track of what you're reading, what you want to read, recommendations from other users/readers and more.

What should I read next? Exactly what it sounds like: Type in the name of a book you like and the site will generate a list of recommendations.

The New York Times bestsellers list

National Book Award winners

How about you? Wouldn't you like to join in the fun?

Elephants at the Grand Rapids Art Museum

The weekend before Christmas the boy and I took a quick overnight trip to Grand Rapids with his dad and stepmom. I was itching to see the Real/Surreal exhibit at the Grand Rapids Art Museum before its closing on January 13, 2013. That show was dark, brooding with just a couple of stand out pieces (to my mind), but the entire trip was worth it if only to see Elephants by Adonna Khare. 

This enormous pencil drawing was the grand prize winner of the 2012 ArtPrize and it just took my breath away. The scale and detail of it is incredible. I could have stayed and examined it for days. It is three paper panels which Khare embellished in the installation with little details bridging and surrounding them: a giraffe scales the air vent next to the installation; a billy goat walks a wire between two of the panels; the water scene extends to the floor. 

If you ever have the opportunity to see this, take it. You will be astounded. It makes me want to draw. REALLY draw: big and sumptuous and detailed and thriving.

Book business: Books as shelves

Tada! That's how I felt when I finished this sweet little book-as-bookshelf DIY project, so I thought what better way to start the the 2013 Book Business column? While I missed the boat on the concept of the shelf's hidden brackets until I had finished the whole thing (the brackets should point up so that a couple of books stacked on top cover them rather than being visible below), I still consider it a great first go-round and can't wait to tackle a few more for around the house. (The adorable plate hanging above the shelf is from the talented Janae Easton of Platypusfile.)

It started when I saw this photo on Poppytalk. Drool … slurp … gawk. The Poppytalk post linked to instructions by Meighan O'Toole on Wired, which are the ones I used. However, I would recommend having a look at this version on Instructables, too.

I think one of the most important notes was to put in the screws inside the back cover by hand, rather than a power drill because it is very difficult to keep the pages from twisting with the drill.

All-in-all, an easy fun project that I managed to use as an excuse to pick up a few silly books from the thrift store. Doesn't my terrarium from The Foraging Florist fit perfectly? Let me know if you try this yourself. And stay tuned for another little DIY next week (there's a sneak peek of it in the top image. Can you guess?)

Paris Mushroom Soup

Happy New Year! It was so nice to take a little internet break and soak up the snowy days nestled on the couch with a few great books and not a few roaring fires. I feel rested and ready to dive into the new year head first. How about you?

I've been cooking up a storm, too as I tend to do this time of year. I know many of you enjoy that most about my blog and my recipe posts were few and far between toward the second half of last year. Thanks so much for following along regardless. My plan is to post at least one recipe per week in 2013.  I added a recipe index at the beginning of last year and I hope to refine it this year to make it a bit easier to navigate. I've also been itching to update the look of the blog, so stay tuned for that.

In the meantime, I thought it would be appropriate to start the year off with a soup recipe: It's comforting and healthy all rolled up in one. This soup is velvety smooth with a rich yet clean flavor. It comes from Dorie Greenspan's Around My French Table and includes a little "salad" of thinly sliced mushrooms, scallions, parsley and chives that you pour the soup over just before serving. You could skip this part but it really does make the soup all the much better. Don't forget to season it! And again, you could use black pepper over the white, but the white pepper is just that much better with a more subtle flavor.

Paris Mushroom Soup

via Dorie Greenspan's Around My French Table 

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/2 large onions, coarsely chopped
3 large cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
Salt and freshly ground white pepper
1 1/2 pounds white button mushrooms, trimmed, sliced
1/3 cup dry white wine
2 parsley sprigs
1 rosemary sprig
6 cups chicken broth or water

6 large white button mushrooms

2 scallions, thinly sliced (optional)

2 Tablespoons minced fresh parsley

1 Tablespoon minced fresh chives

Salt and freshly ground white pepper

Creme fraiche or sour cream, optional

Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large Dutch oven or soup pot over low heat. Add the onions and garlic and season with salt and white pepper to taste. Cook, stirring often, for about 5 minutes, until the vegetables are soft. Add the mushrooms and the remaining tablespoon of butter, raise the heat to medium and cook, stirring often, until the mushrooms start to release their liquid, about 3 minutes. Increase the heat to high and cook until almost all the liquid evaporates, about 15 to 20 minutes. Pour in the wine and let it boil until it, too, almost evaporates.

Toss the herbs into the pot and add the broth or water. Bring to a boil. Lower the heat, cover the pot almost completely and cook at a gentle simmer for 20 minutes.

If you can, pull out the rosemary sprig and discard.Working in small batches in a blender or food processor, puree the soup until it is very smooth. Taste and season with salt and white pepper as necessary. Pour the soup back into the pot and heat it gently over low heat until hot. 

Divide the mushrooms, scallions (if using), parsley and chives among six soup plates. Season lightly with salt and white pepper. Ladle the soup into the bowls and top each with a dollop of creme fraiche or sour cream, if desired.