Spring flowers and poetry

The Moment
by Marie Howe

Oh, the coming-out-of-nowhere moment

when,   nothing

happens

no what-have-I-to-do-today-list


maybe   half a moment

the rush of traffic stops.

The whir of I should be, I should be, I should be

slows to silence,

the white cotton curtains hanging still.


Happy spring and World Poetry Day!

Spring edible WOW

Happy Friday! I hope you have some spring time fun planned for the weekend. If you haven't seen it yet, I wanted to let you know that the latest issue of EdibleWOW is available now. I had a great time writing articles about goat cheese and potato chips for this one. Intrigued? Pick up a copy and read all about. There's also a ridiculously delicious sounding recipe for breakfast pierogis that's on the slate in this house for Sunday — with a possible afternoon side dish of Marche du Nain Rouge. What are your  plans?

Happy birthday, Blue House!

Have you heard the news? Blue House has a new blog! Siobhan and the BH are just about to celebrate one year of Blue House crafty goodness and now there's even more reason to celebrate — especially for those of you not in the area! Contributors far and near have already started a slew of posts: DIY projects, crafty book recommendations and more. Today, I posted what I hope to be the beginning of a series called Eye Candy that I hope you will want to participate in. It starts with some inspiration… have a look and play along, won't you?

Grapefruit, Honey and Yogurt Scones

On a day that certainly has hints of spring to it, it seems right to post a recipe with a fresh citrusy flavor. Oranges and grapefruits bridge that line between winter and spring with their bright flavor that on a cold, grey day tastes like pure sunshine — or on a sunny day reminds that there is  plenty more to come. These scones are such a surprising combination of fresh flavors — just right for this in between season. And the pink is just so darn purdy. Enjoy!

Grapefruit, Honey, and Yogurt Scones

Via Joy the Baker

Makes: 6 scones

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons honey

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold

1 Ruby Red grapefruit, zested and segmented

1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 425 degrees F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and baking soda.  Set aside.

Zest the grapefruit and combine zest and granulated sugar on a clean cutting board.  Rub together the zest and sugar with the back of a spoon or a plastic bench knife. The sugar will be tinted a pale orange color and smell of grapefruit. Measure 2 tablespoons of the grapefruit sugar and whisk into the dry ingredients. Save the remaining grapefruit sugar for topping the scones just before baking.

Segment the grapefruit next.  Slice off the bottom and top of the grapefruit, exposing the wheel of grapefruit flesh inside.  Use a sharp knife to cut away the peel and pith of the grapefruit, exposing the pink grapefruit flesh.  Slice in between the white skin segments to the center of the fruit, at a slight angel, circling the grapefruit.  Little grapefruit segments should fall from the fruit as you slice.  Set segments aside.

Dice cold butter into 1/2-inch chunks and add to the dry ingredients. Using your fingertips, and working quickly, break the butter down into the flour mixture until butter chunks are the size of oat flakes or small peas and resembles coarse meal. Add the honey, plain yogurt and grapefruit segments. Toss together with a fork until all of the dry ingredients are moistened by the yogurt and  honey. 

Turn the scone dough out onto a lightly floured surface. It will be very wet. With floured hands, form into an 8-inch circle as best you can, about 1 inch thick. Use a knife or a bench scraper to cut the dough into six scone triangles. Place on the prepared baking sheet. It was so wet that I used the bench scraper to scoop each scone onto the baking sheet.

Lightly brush the tops of the scones with milk or buttermilk, and sprinkle generously with grapefruit sugar. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes, until golden brown on top and firm but soft in the center.  Allow to cool on the pan for 10 minutes before serving. Serve warm with butter and jam. These scones are definitely best served the day they’re made.

Support great food in your community!

Those sweet smiling faces up there are Joel and Phillis from The Lunch Room and they could use a helping hand. As neighbors and friends, the two discovered a mutual love for cooking and feeding people. They started out hosting dinner parties for friends and serving up scrumptious vegan meals. Just last fall they started hosting a variety of larger "pop-up" restaurant style meals — each served up on their signature retro lunchroom trays in a full array of colors.

And now Phillis and Joel are getting ready for an exciting new venture coming to Ann Arbor this spring — a food cart! You may have heard by now that Mark's Carts is opening behind Downtown Home and Garden in May and will host eight to ten food carts, including one for The Lunch Room. I am so excited for food carts — and especially knowing Phillis and Joel's incredible vegan offerings will be among them.

They have a Kickstarter campaign going to raise the $8,000 they need to get the cart up and running. In return for your support, you could have a menu item named after you, sport an extremely fashionable Lunch Room tee, or grab a free sandwich and a magnet. The most important part is that you'll be supporting two people following their passion and contributing to the community — and food scene — in tremendous ways. And, to top it all off, they've made a really great video to tell their story! 

Before I had been to any of their meals, I discovered Phillis' blog, Making Life Real, about choosing to take a year of "purposeful unemployment" to explore and rediscover her life's passions. I have so much respect for someone involved in such a mindful journey and it's been a pleasure to read along with her adventures. Her enthusiasm and energy level are almost enough to convince me to convert to a vegan lifestyle — almost. 

In the meantime, I've had the pleasure of attending two of their pop-up meals at Pot and Box and both were so delicious and perfect that I forgot to take my camera out of my bag on both occasions. But let me tell you, each little lunch tray portion was filled with a delectable item — highlights for me include the homemade coconut yogurt with granola, a tortilla filled with the most insanely delicious curried potato, carrot chickpea filling from heaven — oh yea, and then there were the Mexican hot chocolate cupcakes! Mmmmmm… I can't wait to be able to get a taste of these treats any time I want at the food cart court!   

Logo Love: b. handmade designs

A little logo love for you this Friday afternoon…  I recently finished a new logo project with Becky Schreiner, owner of Frayed Sew — a boutique in Helena, Montana featuring all sorts of handmade goodness. She wanted a new logo for her other business, b. handmade designs. She makes lovely sewn goods including onesies, scarves, hair accessories, cosmetic bags, napkin sets and more. We settled on two finals because they both just worked.

I also put together a few new banners for her Etsy shop using elements from both logos.

AND, a super huge thank you to everyone who voted on the AIGA Wish You Were Here competition. I'm really pleased to be one of the 25 winners whose designs will be printed as postcards and ailed throughout the country. There will be a one-night-only display of all the winning designs Thursday, April 21 at the Re:view gallery in midtown Detroit.There will be postcards on hand to fill out and mail to friends and family so bring your address book! You'll also be able to buy complete sets of the 25 postcards. Hooray!

Hope you have a fantastic weekend!

Yogurt and spice and everything nice

Maybe you ate one too many paczki on Tuesday? Maybe you still want a baked good, but the paczki memory is still too near? Or, just maybe, you really wanted a sweet treat and didn't want to go to the store and you just happened to have all of the ingredients for these on hand? Yes, taht's it. These little spice bombs are just the answer: moist, flavorful... and healthy! And -- for those us counting on occasion -- each one has just  127 little ol' calories.

Spiced Yogurt Muffins
Adapted from Food and Wine

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup light brown sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups plain low-fat yogurt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 tablespoon granulated sugar

Preheat the oven to 375°. Line 18 muffin cups with paper or foil liners. Lightly spray the liners with vegetable oil spray.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, allspice, cloves and the 1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg. Whisk together until fully blended. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, yogurt, butter, applesauce and vanilla. Fold the yogurt mixture into the dry ingredients until just blended.

Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups. Sprinkle the granulated sugar and remaining 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg over the muffins. Bake for 18 minutes, until the muffins are springy; let cool in the pans for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Note: I didn't have any applesauce, but I did have an apple. Peeled it, cored it, and whirred it in the mini food processor. Bingo!

Wednesday afternoon painterly inspiration

I was introduced to Danna Ray's work through Get Your Paint On, the online painting course I took with Lisa Congdon and Mati McDonough. I think it's just magical. Beautiful, beautiful magic — perfect for a rainy Wednesday afternoon. The best part? No, it's not that we share a last name, though that's pretty cool, but it's that she has an Etsy shop where you can buy prints of these beauties…

Wasabi Flank Steak

This dinner gave me the jolt of energy I needed last night. With wasabi and horseradish for zing, you'd think it would be killer hot, but it's not. It's simply perfect -- incredibly tender, a little bit of heat and packed with a full flavor punch. The cooking times and temperature are dead-on. And the mellow sweetness of the potatoes is a nice balance of flavors. Try it!

(And by the way, if you're looking for the list of books I usually keep in the right column, I've moved it to its own separate page accessible via the tab at top of the main page under the header. It was getting a bit unweildy and I thought it should have a space all its own. More pages to come up there soon. Enjoy!)

Wasabi Flank Steak and Miso-Glazed Potatoes
via Food and Wine
2 tablespoons wasabi powder
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons drained horseradish
1 teaspoon low-sodium soy sauce
One 2-pound flank steak
4 teaspoons canola oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 pound fingerling potatoes
1 tablespoon miso
1 tablespoon mirin
1 bunch watercress, stemmed

Preheat the oven to 450° and preheat a cast-iron grill pan. In a bowl, combine the wasabi and water. Stir in the horseradish and soy sauce. Rub the steak with 1 teaspoon of the oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill the steak over high heat until lightly charred, 5 minutes. Flip the steak and spread the wasabi over the charred side.

Transfer the pan to the oven and roast the steak for 10 minutes, until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part registers 135° for medium-rare; transfer to a cutting board and let rest for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a saucepan of boiling water, cook the potatoes for 15 minutes. Drain and let cool, then peel. Wipe out the saucepan. Add the remaining oil and the potatoes and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until golden, 5 minutes. Combine the miso and mirin; add to the potatoes and cook, stirring, until glazed, about 2 minutes.

Thinly slice the steak across the grain and serve with the potatoes and watercress.

Handmade home decor for you!

Printmaking fun at Blue House with Siobhan and Nicole! That's right, it's National Craft Month and Siobhan and I will be teaching a fun new series of workshops so that you can join in the festivities! Come on over and learn easy printmaking techniques to add handmade charm to your home.

PRINTMAKING SERIES: HANDMADE HOME DECOR
SESSION 1: Wood  I  Sunday, March 27 @ 12PM - 3PM
SESSION 2: Textile I  Tuesday, April 12 @ 6PM - 9PM

Each session we will introduce a new method and show you how it can be applied to a variety of simple, fabulous DIY projects.The projects do not require special or expensive equipment and you'll leave each session with a completed project ready to adorn your home and the know-how to inspire future projects.  All skill levels and experience welcome! Each session is $48 or $86 for both. 

Register by email bluehouseannarbor[at]gmail[dot]com or by phone: 734-780-1762.

Hope to see you there! And don't forget, this Thursday is the March Crafty Meetup at Blue House. Sign up here!

Giving Michigan a good name!

Yesterday 48 finalists were announced for the AIGA Detroit Wish You Were Here contest and I am so happy that my drawing of Nickels Arcade in Ann Arbor is one of them. Michigan residents were asked to submit images of your favorite places in the state in postcard format to combat the negative press that so often comes our way. AIGA, the professional association for design, is a national non-profit with chapters throughout the country and the 25 Wish You Were Here designs with the most votes between now and March 9 will be printed as postcards to be mailed to these other chapters to show the world who Michigan really is.There are some fantastic entries and individuals are allowed one vote per day. Cast your vote now!

It's still winter, eat stew!

 

Mmmmmm.... stew. Yes, it's March 1st and the sun is shining. Hooray! But, it is, in fact, still winter. And to celebrate, I bring you stew in its simplest format from Jamie Oliver. It's tasty, comforting, yet light with just a dollop of sour cream for creaminess. I sliced up a couple of carrots for color and added them at the same time as the mushrooms. Yummers.

Simplest Chicken and Leek Stew
From Jamie Oliver in Food & Wine, March 2011
Serves 4. 

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 medium leeks, white and tender green parts only, thinly sliced
1/2 pound cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cut into 2-inch pieces
All-purpose flour, for dusting
1 1/2 cups chicken stock or low-sodium broth
1 tablespoon chopped thyme
2 tablespoons sour cream
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

In a skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil. Add the leeks and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until softened, about 7 minutes. Add the mushrooms and season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook, stirring, until the mushrooms are tender, about 4 minutes. Scrape the leeks and mushrooms onto a plate.

Season the chicken with salt and pepper and lightly dust with flour, shaking off any excess. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil in the skillet. Add the chicken and cook over moderate heat until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. Add the chicken stock and thyme and simmer over moderate heat until the chicken is just cooked through, about 1 minute. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the chicken to the plate with the vegetables.

Simmer the stock over moderately high heat until reduced by half, about 2 minutes. Return the chicken, leeks and mushrooms to the skillet and simmer over low heat until warmed through, about 1 minute.

In a small bowl, blend the sour cream with the mustard and stir into the stew. Remove the skillet from the heat. Season the stew with salt and pepper and serve over steamed rice.

1950s Royal Quiet Deluxe Typewriter print

I'm a little under the weather today, but wanted to let you know that there is a new sassy little print in the shop today!

Spinach bread pudding with lemon and feta

I've been making a lot of savory bread puddings lately. They're a great easy way to use up stale bread and whatever veggies you have on hand. You can pretty much add just about anything you'd like. This recipe sparked it all, and I then came across a healthier version from Heidi Swanson of 101 Cookbooks in Food and Wine this month. Her combination of lemon, feta and dijon is pitch perfect. I could easily snarf down the whole pan of it. 

Spinach Bread Pudding with Lemon and Feta

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for greasing the dish
8 ounces whole wheat bread, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
5 ounces baby spinach, finely chopped
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
6 large eggs, beaten
2 cups milk
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 teaspoon chopped oregano

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly oil a medium baking dish. Spread the bread cubes on a baking sheet and bake for about 10 minutes, until dry but not browned. Let cool, then transfer to a large bowl. Stir in the spinach and 1/4 cup of the feta.

In another bowl, whisk 2 tablespoons of the olive oil with the mustard, lemon zest and lemon juice. Add the eggs and beat until blended. Add the milk and season with 1 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper. Pour the egg mixture over the bread cubes and stir until they are evenly moistened. Transfer the bread mixture to the baking dish and let stand at room temperature for 2 hours or refrigerate overnight.

Sprinkle the remaining feta on the bread pudding and bake in the center of the oven until risen and set, about 40 minutes. Turn on the broiler. Drizzle with the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil and broil until the bread pudding is golden and crispy on top, about 2 minutes. Scatter the oregano on top, cut into squares and serve.

Okay, so here's the disclaimer: I made a lot of changes to this recipe. Not because it needed changing — it doesn't! I used kale instead of spinach and since it takes a bit longer to cook, I sauteed it with a bit of shallot and the couple of  cremini mushrooms I had hanging out in the veggie bin. I also made about half this recipe, but only had two eggs and didn't wan to wait two hours for it to all soak in together. So after assembling the whole lot, I poured a bit of broth over the other thing to top up the liquid. Crazy, right? It worked! And, I didn't let it sit for two hours, I just put it right in the oven. I also skipped the toasting of the bread because it was already several days old and dry as can be! You could do a whole lot with this basic concept — I've added sweet potatoes to the mix before, or leeks — all delicious!

Have a happy, cozy weekend!

The door is open… link love

I — like many of you, I imagine — spend a large portion of each day online. I'm constantly consuming new images and info and links and stories and recipes and tweets and advice. There are some days when I skim through it all and nothing really catches or sparks or holds. It has more to do with my mood than the actual content I'm finding. And then there are days like today, when everything seems remarkable and inspiring and fresh and new. So, while the feeling is still fresh,  I thought I would share some things that caught my eye this week… I hope you enjoy them as much as I have!

Society of Killustrators: Illustrators contribute to posted assignments

Missed Connections illustrations by Sophie Blackall

The portfolio of illustrator Olaf Hajek

Fabric design contest from Spoonflower

Video of enchanting seaside kinetic sculpture 

Books that rocked your world at 16 but fall flat today

And this same feeling is extending beyond the online realm with the book I just started this morning. I'm not one to call a book "laugh-out-loud" funny. I mean, who says that with a straight face? Well, I am actually laughing out loud, so I don't really have a straight face, so what the heck, I'll say it: This book is laugh-out-loud funny. I mean it. I found the book — The Bucolic Plague: How Two Manhattanites Became Gentlemen Farmers — on a recommended "eco-winter reads" list posted on Design*Sponge by Ashley English of Small Measures. I immediately requested as many as I could from our library (hello, interwebs!) and was most excited to read The Dirty Life by Kristin Kimball. But I'm not the only one and the book has a long list of hold requests on it before mine. In the meantime, The Bucolic Plague came in and I started it in the wee hours of the morning. I kept chuckling in bed like a fool. I had to force myself to put it down and get to work. At which point I started to catch up with my Google Reader… and so goes the cycle!

I'll be back tomorrow with a tasty recipe to start off your weekend right!

Ginger Pear Muffins

These lovelies were made especial for the boy. He loooves pears and also loooves these other mufins, so I thought I'd try these on for size and see if there would be loooove. Definitely something close to it. The ground ginger I have packs a wollop, so I would declare these spicy, but it all depends on the spice level of your ginger. I found this recipe on Canadianliving.com and the best part of that site is that the recipes include a serving calculator. So, for example, you could find out what you need to make just a pair of these pear muffins. Or one for that matter! The site also had a Pear Ginger Muffin recipe that I may have to try — just cuz.

Ginger Pear Muffins
From Canadian Living, October 2005
 Makes 12 

2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1 cup buttermilk
2 cups chopped peeled pears (from about two large pears)

Topping:
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 tsp butter, melted
1/4 tsp ground ginger

In bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, ginger, salt and cinnamon.

In separate bowl, whisk brown sugar with oil; whisk in egg and buttermilk. Pour over dry ingredients; sprinkle with pears and stir just until dry ingredients are moistened. Spoon into greased or paper-lined muffin cups.

In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, butter and ginger; sprinkle over batter. Bake in centre of 350°F (180°C) oven until tops are firm to the touch, about 25 minutes.

Note: If you don't have buttermilk, you can pour about one tablespoon of white vinegar into a measuring cup and add milk to make one cup. Let stand for five minutes and it will curdle slightly. Use this in place of the buttermilk.

Get Your Paint On

 

Here's a look at my desk these days. I signed on to take a fantastic online painting course called Get Your Paint On with two artists I greatly admire: Mati McDonough and Lisa Congdon. It's a five-week course and we're already into week four — I don't want it to be over so quickly.  

Acrylic on Illustration Board

If you're familiar with my artwork and shop, you may have noticed that it is dominated by hand drawings that are colored digitally. I've been itching to get my hand back into more of the process painting and/or printmaking.  My prior experience with painting had kind of dead-ended. I had found a technique whose outcome I really liked, but only now am I realizing that I didn't like the actual painting process. I think that's why I slowly moved away from that to the digital. But this class has definitely jump-started my engines and I am really enjoying the process. 

Acrylic on Gesso Board

I'm working with acrylics and am quite a slow painter and decision-maker so I am about a week behind in the assignments, but I'm okay with that. I'm just enjoying the exploration process and am so glad I signed on. It is an incredibly supportive atmosphere and I would encourage anyone who has even the slightest interest in painting, or who just needs a creative jolt, to sign on to the next round — it will jiggle your inspiration in just the right ways!

Owls are the new owl

This little owl lady was an outtake from one of my recent logo projects and I just couldn't bare to let her go to waste. Stickers, anyone? 'Cuz you can never have too many owls?!? Available in the shop today. And — just for fun — check out this super-fun new site from crafty superstar Grace Dobush to find out what the new new is! Click away…

L-O-V-E

A belated thought on Love, courtesy of one of my heroes, Shel Silverstein, from Where the Sidewalk Ends.

Pickles for your paramour

The post is very unromantic, very unsexy. It reeks of garlic and thrift. But here it is anyway, on Valentine's Day, because actually there is a heck of a lot of love in this little dish. From me, for it. It's tangy and potent and makes good use of an item that too often gets chucked into the compost bin, yes?! No more! Save the broccoli! Serve it to your sweetie! Savor it all yourself! Just make some! 

Pickled Broccoli Stems

Via Martha Rose Shulman and the New York Times Recipes for Health

3 or 4 broccoli stems (from one bunch)

1/2 teaspoon salt, preferably kosher salt

1 medium size garlic clove, minced or pureed

1 tablespoon sherry vinegar or white wine vinegar

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Peel the broccoli stems and cut, either crosswise into 1/4 inch thick medallions, or lengthwise in 1/4 inch thick spears (I do a combo depending on the shape of the stalk — I find the medallions easier to manage.) Place in a jar, add the salt, cover tightly and shake the jar to toss the stems with the salt. Refrigerate for several hours or overnight.

Drain the water that has accumulated in the jar. Add the garlic, vinegar, and olive oil and toss together. Refrigerate for several hours or overnight. Serve with toothpicks.