Each Little World

Cold weather = warm kitchen

At the recent wine tasting Mark and I attended, the food was a veritable harvest feast including a number of beautiful and tasty vegetable dishes. I was inspired to hit the west side farmer's market and load up on veggies and apples (and a triple ginger scone from a bakery whose name I forgot to note!). Spent last week trying new recipes and generally feasting on the results.

Monday: Red beet and apple soup (Gourmet magazine, Nov. 2000), Lentils with Fraboni's Italian sausage, roasted carrots and garlicky dressing (my standby combo pictured below), and roasted Acorn squash drizzled with olive oil and late-harvest Riesling vinegar (a suggestion from the great cooks/employees at Orange Tree Imports where I used to work and where I bought the vinegar). Since Mark is not a huge fan of creamy soups or squash, I left the soup chunky and served the squash separately.

Wednesday: A late dinner sitting on the couch in the midst of books and laptops. I filled low soup bowls with more lentils and a salad of Arugula, spiced yellow beets (Donna Hay magazine, pictured at the top), toasted walnuts, Carr Valley blue cheese and balsamic dressing. Love it when you just throw some things together and it looks great and tastes even better.

Ended the week with Fennel-rubbed pork tenderloin with roasted fennel (Gourmet, Feb. 2009), more of the beet salad and roasted sweet potato with onion. The pork and fennel dish was good but not memorable enough to add to my repetoire, unlike both beet dishes. 

On Saturday I made a double batch of my cousin Barbara's granola and Daikon and red radish pickles. I spent the weekend going through old magazines which I gave to friends and donated to the library swap cart. I also pulled out a lot of good sounding recipes so maybe I will continue to do more experimenting this week — or maybe I'll try handing a stack of recipes to Mark and see what happens!

Big leaves are the new orchid plant

You know how every picture of a beautiful room that you see in a magazine or on-line is accessorized with a pot of orchids? To my eye, this orchids-in-interiors mania entered overkill months ago. I kept waiting for it to disappear.

I can report it is on its way out and I know what's taking it's place: big branches. Sometimes bare, sometimes flowering, but most often sporting big green leaves. Massive stems of greenery. The first home showcased in the current issue of Veranda offers a good example of the trend as seen in the photo below.

The first layout in the March issue of Elle Decor is trending with a pair of very tall topiaries on the dining room table and a pair of leaf-covered branches in a glass vase next to a silvery bench in the entrance hall. Architectural Digest is spot on with the big bunch of branches behind Patrick Dempsey in his living room pictured on the current AD cover. 

John Mellencamp's house, in the same issue of AD, has different kind of green branches in the media room, bath and bedroom. Further back in the magazine is a living room with massive stems of flowering quince. 

Time to toss your orchids and start pruning — as soon as your trees and shrubs put out some leaves.

I admit this space is so large, that it would take a greenhouse worth of orchids to make an impact. But I also think that the branches overpower the chest they are sitting on. I want to see the vase resting on the floor.

Donna Hay does it again

I love Donna Hay's eponymous cooking magazine. It's an Australian publication which means I tend to discover it more by accident than intention. Local bookstores just don't seem to have it on a regular basis, or maybe the copies sell out quickly.

The other quirky thing about Donna Hay is that she's usually publishing recipes for the opposite season, being in the Southern Hemisphere. But issue 67, which I found earlier this summer, is a winner — primarily for its variations on potato salad. Turns out the magazine has sold out and I can't find the recipes on-line, so I will share one of the recipes I tried: Salmon, horseradish and potato salad. 

Essentially, boil new potatoes for 18-20 minutes, drain and set aside until cool. Then slice thinly. While the potatoes are cooking, thinly slice two large cucumbers. Quickly pickle them in a bowl with 1/2 cup white vinegar and 2 tablespoons sugar. Allow them to marinate at least ten minutes.  

Make a dressing with 1/2 cup creme fraiche, 2 tablespoons each of white vinegar and horseradish, sea salt and pepper to taste. Lastly, grill 4 salmon fillets of about 7 ounces each. Top the sliced potatoes with flaked salmon, drained cukes, chopped chervil and drizzle with the dressing. An easy, elegant and delicious dinner for four.

What I really liked about these recipes was the flavor combinations. 

• One salad wrapped wedges of cooked potatoes with proscuitto, then tossed them with frisee lettuce and cooked asparagus spears. Dress it with lemon juice to which you've added garlic and chopped anchovies to taste. 
• Potatoes, peas, green onions, mint with a dressing of yogurt, lime juice and Indian lime pickle.
• Another great combination I tried mixed potatoes, radish halves, sliced baby beets and red lettuce. Dressing is mayo mixed with fresh tarragon, garlic, capers, and a bit of vinegar and oil.
• Boil new potatoes in water to which you've added finely sliced ginger root, garlic cloves to taste, salt and 1 cup of rice vinegar. Boil for ten minutes, then add turnips and cook another ten minutes. Drain, slice potatoes and turnip and mix with sugar snap peas and edamame beans that have been blanched. Dressing is 1/2 cup mayo mixed with 1T. each of wasabi paste and rice wine vinegar.

I realize these are not full recipes but I think you can get the idea and improvise using amounts of ingredients and spices that appeal to your personal taste. And maybe when Donna Hay Magazine gets their recipe index functioning you can find more details and ideas online.

20 Ways to transform your garden . . .

That's the phrase that caught my eye on the cover of Gardens Illustrated magazine the other day at Barnes & Noble. The magazine's editors consider this topic the garden equivalant of New Year's resolutions. Certainly in cold climates like mine, this is the time of year when we are mentally adding, subtracting and redesigning the garden; always a much easier task when you can't actually get out into it and do any work.

Here are a few of the items on their list of suggestions (along with a bit of explanation, my commentary and my photos. Their pix are lovely but very British).

• GROW TOPIARY. They mean hedges as a foil to mixed borders. We've addred yew, boxwood and barberry balls to our driveway flower border as there's no room for a hedge. Someday these shrubs will meet in a long wave and we'll remove most of the surrounding flowers. It's our pre-emptive prep for old age gardening.
• ADD LATE-SEASON FLOWERS. I've got toadlilies and asters and just added Caryopteris. Got something you love for fall?
• LIGHT UP YOUR LIFE. Light the garden at night for safety and to get more use out of it, they suggest. We still prefer to wait for a full moon. 
• KEEP A RECORD. Take pictures and notes; something I manage on a fairly regular basis — for the blog if nothing else. Though, to be honest, Mark is usually behind the camera and I'm wielding the pen for the blog. But this year I'd like to try to improve my own photo-taking abilities. (And I still keep paper garden records and journals).

• MOVE YOUR FURNITURE .... so you sit facing the garden and not the house. We only have one seating area in the garden but it faces the best view.
• USE POTS. They note that pots take a lot of work but are worth it. I am trying to add some planted pots to the garden, but frankly, a beautiful empty pot can make a statement, too.
• SHADOW PLAY. Purely by accident we created a couple of features that look great with early and late low raking light. Now we look for occasions to do more of the same. The east and west sides of a garden are particularly well-suited to this idea.

This image illustrates "shadow play" and "use pots". Again, the light effect was an accident but it taught us where to place plants and garden objects to catch light and shadows. And the group of pots shows they can be as effective empy as when they're planted. 

The Saveur 100

Every year at this time I make sure to pick up a copy of the magazine Saveur. The Jan./Feb. issue is devoted to "The Saveur 100," a compendium compiled by the staff of their "favorite tools, tips, ingredients, cookbooks, recipes, restaurants, and more." Each year the list has a theme and this year it's "The New Classics."

The Saveur 100 is the perfect midwinter read: engrossing and entertaining. And I always make a game out of reading it, giving myself marks for foods I've tried, tools I own and the like. Of course, since some foods and restaurants they talk about are in other states and even other countries, I do a bit of fudging on the foodie scale. I get points if I've tried the local equivalent.

If you're suffereing from cabin fever, find yourself a Saveur and create your own quiz. 

Here's how I fared this year:

• 13. Baumgartner's Limburger Sandwich. While I am not a big fan of this sandwich, I have been within sniffing distance of it. Chalet Cheese Cooperative in Wisconsin is the last producer in the country of Limburger, so like it or not, I am proud of its history and Wisconsin connection.
• 20. Griswold Cast Iron. We grew up using Griswold muffin molds and every time I visit my sister in Erie, PA — home of the Griswold company which folded in 1957 — I try to talk her into giving me the family Griswold pans. I've found them in antique shops in her area but the prices have kept me from buying my own.
• 29. Linie Aquavit. I learned to drink Aquavit (with a beer chaser) when I took a spinning and weaving class at Peter's Valley Craftsmen out east. But here in Wisconsin, with its strong Norwegian heritage, I learned to appreciate Linie. At all times — like right now — there's a bottle in our freezer staying properly chilled.
• 59.  Christmas in Connecticut. Watched it for the millionth time between Christmas and New Year's this year. Make sure to get the original 1954 version and not the ghastly re-make. Despite the photo in Saveur, Barbara Stanwyck has a fabulous wardrobe in the movie.
• 64. Vietnamese Pork Chops. Had them for lunch on Saturday at Saigon Noodle in Madison. Saveur provides a recipe, but I'm not sure I'd ever bother making them when I can get them right in the neighborhood.
• 66. Old Gourmets. I, too, hoard my back issues of the now-defunct Gourmet magazine. I've got a few dozen issues going back to the mid-1980s; in particular those from November and December with all the great holiday recipes. And then there are untold articles and recipes I've clipped from Gourmets before I tossed them.
• 67. Judith Jones. If you love cooking and cookbooks, you know Jones.  She's the legendary editor who persuaded Knopf to publish Julia Child.
• 68. Homemade scones. I make 'em, I eat 'em.
• 93. Lambrusco. A guilty pleasure and a must with Chinese food.

 

Soon I will be able to add No. 91. Sweet Orange Buns (pictured above). Mark, who doesn't have an insatiable sweet tooth like mine, pointed out this recipe to me in a way that clearly indicated he'd be mine forever if I made him this treat. What could I do but send him to the store for some oranges and yeast?

Botanical Latin — or English

As most gardeners know, Linnaeus (above) standardized the system of naming, ranking and classifying organisms back in the 18th century. At the time, Latin was the language of science and that's why all of us call our plants by long Latin names. But, as of the first of this year, scientists are no longer restricted to Botanical Latin when classifying plants, algae and fungi, according to a story in the online version of Science News, the Magazine of the Society for Science & the Public.

The article notes that "the latest revision of the international code governing these names allows two new options: skipping paper publishing and describing key features in English instead of Latin. You can read all about why the change is being made now and what it means here. 

Chunky cucumber pickles

I have been making these "smashed cucumbers with ginger" incessantly, ever since I discovered the recipe in Saveur magazine in the summer of 2008. They're super easy and can be made just a couple of hours before you want to serve them. Great in hot weather as well as an excellent foil for spicy winter roasts, soups and stews.  

Though the original recipe calls for kirby cucumbers I've used a number of varieties and they all work equally well. Depending on the size of the cukes, I will seed them or not. But I always take a vegetable peeler and get rid of most of the skin, leaving thin dark green stripes for drama. 

4 kirby cucumbers
2 tsp. Kosher salt
1  1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled
1 tbsp. sugar
1 1⁄2 tbsp. rice wine vinegar
1 tsp. sesame oil
2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

1. Cut cucumbers into irregular chunks. The original recipe said to make them about 2" long and 1⁄4" thick, but I cut them into biggish — but still bite-size — chunks. Then put the cukes into a colander and sprinkle with the kosher salt. Mix, and set aside at room temp for about an hour.

2. Meanwhile, julienne the ginger. Put it into a medium bowl that you can use to make the dressing. I typically use a medium plastic bowl or container with a lid. Add the sugar, vinegar, sesame oil, and garlic. Toss to combine.

3. After the cucumbers have been draining for an hour, gently squeeze them to extract the excess liquid, then pat dry with paper towels. Add cucumbers to the bowl with the ginger dressing. Shake periodically to make sure all the cukes are coated with the dressing.

4. Let rest at room temperature for at least 15 minutes before serving to allow the flavors to come together.

SERVES 4, allowing one good size cucumber per person. Everyone loves them and I can stand at the fridge door and munch on them. So I always use a couple more cucumbers than people (if you get my meaning).

These would be perfect for a late fall dinner of grilled pork loin (brushed with a little hoisin sauce) and Altoon Sultan's Middle Eastern Potato Salad.

 

Fighting Bob follow-up

Editor's note 9/20/2011: For those who would like to see and hear many of the speeches that I mention, they can now be found in their entirety at on the earth productions.

. . . 

Though I was working at the Cap Times when John Nichols, Ed Garvey and Dave Zweifel put together the first Fighting Bob Fest at the Sauk County Fairgrounds, I have to admit this is the first one that I have actually attended — the tenth annual gathering! It definitely won't be the last. For those who could not attend this Progressive chautauqua in person, for those who are just curious and for Progessives in other locations who need a bit of a boost, here's our report. 

Friday night's Kickoff began with the Firefighter's Local 113 bagpipe and drum corps marching into the full house at the Barrymore followed by Vermont's independent, incredible Senator Bernie Sanders. There is nothing quite like the Barrymore Theater packed to the rafters with rabble rousers listening to old-time political speechifying. But unlike most events of this kind, this one began with Daniel Kunene reading his political poems to a rapt audience. Since Nichols was involved, it's not all that surprising as he is one of the few political writers I know who often begins a piece with a poem. 

Saturday's all-day session at the Coliseum was less intimate but equally funky, beginning with the Forward Marching Band of ragtag musicians. Funny, friendly and family-oriented the way so much of this political season has been.

Ed Garvey (left), the spirit and energy behind BobFest, and Dave Zweifel, my former boss and editor emeritus of The Capital Times newspaper, take a break before the day's long journey begins. 

As with the protests up at the State Capitol last winter, the crowd at BobFest was made up of all kinds of citizens, of all ages and backgrounds — all of them intent on the messages of the speakers.

The opening act was Mike McCabe of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, an organization dedicated to putting people ahead of money in politics. McCabe looks like a choir boy but he's not afraid to take on the big boys and he doesn't mince words. He offered an excellent bit of history on why the 1911 Wisconsin legislature was able to introduce and pass so much progressive legislation. It began in the late 19th century when Wisconsin outlawed bribery! Our first order of business today, says McCabe, must be to tackle money in politics and to "re-criminalize bribery." 

The day began and ended with music along with singing breaks of a partisan nature. Here the Raging Grannies perform . . .

to a very appreciative audience!

Our little BobFest group: our friend Janice whose drum is an autograph book of the Fab 14, the mayor, Garvey and all our local heroes; I'm in the middle, followed by Jennifer — all three of us connected via gardening and politics!

The logistical genius behind BobFest, Lily Johnson, speaks with Mahlon Mitchell, president of the Wisconsin Firefighters Union. In another life this guy would've been a preacher. In fact, he told the assembled citizens that he understood that events like BobFest are sometimes characterized as "preaching to the choir. True, I'm preaching," he said. "You're the choir, but . . . now you have to go out and sing!" You can see him in action on the Capital Square here. 

Dr. Cornell West, author, activist and Princeton University professor, gets us off to a rousing start after lunch. His presentation was short, sassy, and memorable — for his dynamic presence as much as his words.

BBC investigative journalist and best-selling author Greg Palast looks like he stepped out of The Front Page with his suit and fedora. His stories of wrong-doing in high places are spellbinding as much for his delivery as for the facts.

The "outer ring" of the Coliseum auditorium was filled on two floors with food vendors, good coffee, local businesses like Rainbow Bookstore and every activist organization you can name. Also lots of "Solidarity Bling" as one vendor categorized their merchandise!

I ran into John "Sly" Sylvester (left) of WTDY radio and Matt Rothschild of The Progressive magazine which the La Follettes started in 1909. I wanted to know how we go from a couple of folks being arrested at the Capitol to mass arrests. My husband was rather taken aback by my question and its implications. 

Ed Garvey introduces our former county exec Kathleen Falk — who will in turn introduce Bernie Sanders. Falk said the Vermont Senator was like Madonna and Oprah and Cher; so well known that one name — Bernie — is the only reference he needs! 

Sanders was the keynote speaker for the day and gave an impassioned speech that drew many listeners to their feet during his presentation. But he got a spontaneous, sustained standing ovation from the entire crowd when he called for universal health care. Sanders ended by saying that he knows we are angry, frustrated, depressed about events. But he emphasized that "despair is not an option." He sees the battles that began in Wisconsin, and that have spread elsewhere, as critical to the survival of the U.S as a democracy.

The Dane County Veterans Memorial Coliseum holds about 8,000 people and they were all over the place — high and low — finding their preferred listening post.

John Nichols, iconic Wisconsinite, longtime friend, Cap Times associate editor and Washington correspondent for The Nation magazine, surveys the crowd along with his "boss," Dave Zweifel.

The last speaker of the day was author and radio commentator Jim Hightower who was well-worth the wait. Hightower manages to impart a lot of serious information with more than a dash of levity. As a Texan he was able to give us the lowdown on their governor, Rick Perry: "Like George W. Bush without the intellect." Here he holds up a photo he took of a business he saw while driving through Maine. The name of the biz? "Perry's Nut House: Nuts. Curiosities. Fudge."

Hightower emphasized we should be proud to be called "agitators." After all, he said, an agitator is the central post in a washing machine that gets the dirt out! As so many of the BobFest speakers noted, there is no one who is going to make the changes we want to see happen. Not Congress. Not Obama. Not our state government. "It's up to us," Hightower said, "It's always been up to us." He then pointed out that the slogan of his favorite Texas hardware store was perfect for our time: "Together, we can build it yourself."

By the end of the day, it was clear to all those at Fighting Bob Fest, that together, we can do it ourselves! 

We stayed after all the speakers were finished to hear more music and drink a beer. How could I leave when the last folks to appear on stage were the guys I still love and went to see every time they played in Madison back in the day: The Piper Road String Band.

And to my former roomie Mary R. in Sheboygan, let me say they were as good as ever; they played "Kettle Morraine" and the clogging couple showed up and danced. Whoa, Nellie! 1979 all over again!

 

Pleasant Living from the new guys in town

It all began — as do so many interesting and fun things in Madison — with Leslie Watkins. I first met Leslie (below) when she owned Paperteria, that fab emporium on Henry St. when that short block was also home to Material World. If this makes sense to you, it's likely you know Leslie, too. She's had a dizzying array of career stops, each one more interesting than the last; her specialty is burnishing the image of local entrepreneurs. So when Leslie says there's something new you should see, someone you should meet ... you go. 

And that's how we discovered Rick Shaver and Lee Melahn of Pleasant Living. (Don't let the name confuse you with that other Pleasant person).  Shaver and Melahn are a creative pair who moved their design business from NYC to the Midwest. Their shop cum office at 1227 East Wilson Street should find a nice niche in Madison. (And yes, Leslie was a college chum of Lee's which is where this story really begins). 

We showed up at Pleasant Living's recent Grand Opening per Leslie's suggestion. I was immediately smitten with the transformation of the front yard from grass to gravel. It gives this little bungalow a magical touch, very French in a Woody Allen kind of way. These New Yorkers have already figured out the way to my heart and I hadn't even made it in the front door! What's nicest about this creative project is that Lee and Rick blog about it and even show what it all cost.  

The web site for the interior design and furniture design halves of their business is lovely. This is a competitive, tough industry and you need to be able to say who you are and what you do in a way that is distinctive and yet clear to follow and understand. They've got it down; from the moment I arrived at the site, I was so taken with their style that I had to look at absolutely everything.

Having had that online sneak preview of their taste and skill made it even more fun to see things in person at the Grand Opening celebration. The front half of their little building is a retail space while the I.D office is in the rear. The furniture is all from their own design line. (That's Lee talking to me on the front porch just visible through the square window. And yes, that is the famous Madison Capitol-approved low-stick blue tape they're using while they finnish painting the building's trim). 

Rick gave his take on quick fixes using color in the recent issue of House Beautiful. There were copies to browse through and a flatscreen TV featured an array of their design projects. 

As someone with an aversion to giant sized, super-squishy furniture I loved the scale, the look and especially the firm feel of the upholstered furniture they offer. And aren't those little side tables adorable. The trays and vases on the table in the foreground are actually porcelain by Dan Levy.

The bungalow had been the former gallery/workspace of a photographer who had stripped it down to its essentials. Though the exterior is brick, the building is actually constructed of hand-made cement blocks. Quirky, earthy and contemporary all at the same time. And a great backdrop for the floral photos by Susan Johann (represented by Pleasant Living).

Now that Pleasant Living is officially open and the hoopla has died down, you should stop by and introduce yourself. Tell them Leslie and Linda sent you!

If you can't make it to the shop in person — or even if you can — be sure to check out their blog. It is filled with intelligent design commentary, history and information, along with a soupcon of other topics including a weekly photo highlighted under the heading "The Gallery." The recent post of purple houses in Madison is a must-read.

PHOTOS: Leslie's picture is from FB, and that's Rick Shaver talking with an unidentified guest at the open house in the last image.

Nicolette Owen's flowers

During the growing season I love being able to walk outside and cut blooms to bring indoors. I find it challenging, however, to compose an arrangement that completely satisfies me. So I am always searching for inspiration. 

The problem is that so many bouquets created by professional designers use hot house flowers and mix plants that typically do not bloom together. That's not the case with the lovely bouquets created by Brooklyn-based floral designer Nicolette Owen (of Nicolette Camille) that were featured in the March issue of Veranda magazine.

A bouquet created by a student at the Little Flower School demonstrates the school's arrangement style: the base; the "face," or showy, flowers; and the tall "wispy gestures."

In the article, Owen's gorgeous creations were almost totally composed of flowers that many of us actually grow in our gardens, including Mock orange blossoms, blueberry branches, dicentra leaves, lamb's ears, clematis seed heads and peonies 'Barrington Belle,' and 'Coral Charm' to name a few. Alas, there was never a link to this story on Veranda's website, so you will have to go to the designer's site to see what I mean. 

Nicolette Owen of Nicolette Camille and Sarah Ryhanen of Saipua also teach floral design classes through their joint venture, The Little Flower School.

Owen and Sarah Ryhanen of Saipua have a terrific blog where they showcase their work — and that of the students — from their joint venture: the LIttle Flower School. In addition to these inspirational images, you can see how they create their arrangements in a great how-to video from the flower school via the Wall St. Journal.

When I was checking out the school's offerings, I noticed a wreath-making class that cost $200 for a two-hour session. At first I was aghast; then realized that, after you account for NYC prices, and then add in the cost of the incredible array of fresh material you would be working with, plus expert tutorial, the price was actually a steal. For those of us too far to take a class in person, the blog — and their flickr page — offer plenty of lessons in color and composition. 

The Little Flower School: An arrangement inspired by the Dutch masters.