Pate de fruit

Stumbled upon the food blog Cannelle et Vanille today. Beautiful. I don't even know what pate de fruit is, but I want some. Looks a bit like Turkish Delight.

I have some new Tahitian vanilla beans that are begging for attention. Last summer I was a bit obsessed by combining vanilla and tomatoes. Oh yes, that was the summer of making homemade tomato paste. Six pounds of tomatoes reduced to a tiny dollop of paste. As it turns out, that tomato paste is actually considered healthier than the summer tomato itself. Rather disconcerting.

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Breaking News. . .

Proof that Girls are Evil.

Julidarling just posted this on Twitter. I have no information about the origins, nor do I have time to investigate. But it's funny and some of the comments on the site also incite a chuckle.
juliedarling Good morning! here's something to start the day off. Proof that girls are evil http://tinyurl.com/2rc5l about 1 hour ago

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Les Indiennes

So Haute! did a post on Les Indiennes recently and I fell in love with the fabric.



Not sure if it goes to well with an early American home, but I might find some fun application for it. A bedroom? I think that if I ever lived in another life, it would have been a fabric designer. I found out today that my friends John and Joe carry some if the Les Indiennes linens in their store, River. I am always intrigued by fabric. Even when it's absurd to me. Take Romo; I love it, but do we live in the same world?

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Chocolate on my mind

Stumbled upon Christopher Elbow chocolates today. He has chocotiques in Kansas City and San Fran in addition to an online presence. I know this photo is uninspiring, but hey, it's what I could get.



I'm pretty serious about dark chocolate. Don't eat much of it, but I love good quality bites. For my West coast buddies, I often order from Fran's Chocolates in Seattle. Carbon footprint etc. She infuses her chocolate truffles with the most wonderful and imaginative flavors. Grey salt, oolong tea. She totally inspired me at Christmas this past year, particularly after Mark Bittman of the NYTimes posted a video dispelling the complications of making truffles. As worst baker of the new century, I was shocked that I could do it.


I often buy these Burdick chocolates for friends on the East coast. There are stores in Cambridge and Northampton Mass. Love the mice. Some New Yorkers don't find this gift amusing.

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Yum

Looks like dinner has been decided. Spotted this on Food Porn Daily and knew that the two giant shrimp in my freezer had met their match.

I don't have any dill on hand, but I have an amazing cache of chervil. I'll pair the shrimp with some green beans from my garden and a bit of South African sauvignon blanc in the fridge. There are 2 mangoes begging for my attention, but I can't help them today. I want coriander with them. I should be writing about the amazing dishes in St. Barts, but the details are overwhelming. I think I'm better off living today rather than yesterday. So. If I attempt to replicate any of those recipes, I'll post, but I am NOT going to do a fancy pants post on a restaurant's menu that costs a zillion dollars.

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Carafe in a cozy

Stumbled upon the website of Eva Solo, a Danish design team with both clean lines and fun aesthetic.

I love these carafes. Or perhaps I love the idea of the idea of a carafe in a jacket, more specifically a carafe clothed in a colorful jacket. Would the red get along with a hunk of pink watermelon?

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Farmer's Market morning

There was a special kid's area at the Farmer's Market this morning. A portion of the proceeds went to Darfur. I was expecting the usual, uninspired chocolate chip cookies . . . . But nope.




These are very cool kids. One had made the strawberry leather above. She described the process will much more detail than I expected. Very serious kids. Another one had these elaborately wrapped, professional looking cakes. Ten year-old Kathryn described her Lemon LuLu cake as a dense and lemony. And I love everything lemon. She even has a tag (with Martha Stewart logo on the back) with her name and phone number on it. I am bringing it to a brunch tomorrow and I will leave Kathryn's tag on the cake and will not pass it off as my own.

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