angry chicken

Ripe.

I received this breathtaking book from a dear friend for my birthday, Ripe: A Cook in the Orchard, by Nigel Slater and can't stop looking at it. It's a tome. Organized by type of fruit, it has both savory and sweet dishes and the photography is stunning. I haven't made anything from it yet, but intend to. It's just so nice to look at and read I almost forget I can cook from it.

So, in that funny way of things converging at the same time, a friend of mine last night at dinner was talking about her love of toast as a food group (I concur!) and then asked if I had seen the movie Toast, made from a memoir. No, I have not, but it sounds good, I said. And then she mentioned that it's a biography of Nigel Slater and I said I didn't know who that was because see, my brain is a sieve, and now I see that I do know who he is—he wrote this amazing book I have been poring over. Ha! And now I plan to read Toast and see the movie and check out all his other books, too. Perfect summer research.

summer dress vogue 8472

I sewed this dress from Vogue 8472, which is a pattern I have had for a long time but never made up. It's got a midriff piece along with princess seams, so it's fun for contrasting fabric placement. It's not to be confused with this one with the same number from the 1970s which now I am needing to have, because it's so cute.

Some thoughts and information:

• I got this gauzy fabric at Mill Ends and lined the whole dress in white muslin. This gave it a heft and weight which was really pleasing to work with and allowed me to use a fabric which would have been too thin and lightweight otherwise.

• I used an invisible zipper centered in back. It was nice sewing a dress fitted enough to use a zipper, I had been skipping them for a bit sewing looser dresses, and just using belts as needed.

• This fabric had a border print which made for a nice contrasting hem. I also used that part of the print for the midriff.

• I feel there is more that I should say here, but I am not thinking of anything right now except that it was really fun to sew. The pattern is floating around— I think it's still available on the internet, and the little jacket that is with it should be made up. I need to get on that. I do secretly love it when patterns get discontinued because it helps me justify the amount of patterns I buy. I am not a fabric junkie, but a pattern junkie.

Unrelated-

I saw Moonrise Kingdom and liked it a whole lot. It wasn't my favorite of his films, but it's still pretty wonderful. And how tempting is it to make that dress of Suzy's?! Gah. It's too young (and short) for me and too old (and short) for Sadie. I might make it (not so short) and save it for her so in a few years she can wear it. I just bought this vintage pattern and can draft the collar much bigger (see the black version.) The collar and cuffs would be so fun to make. Then she can wear it to a Wes Anderson Movie Characters Halloween Party that we all will be going to that someone needs to have.

journaling with questions

I used to keep a journal faithfully. I started in college and continued until Sadie was born. About 12 years. Then I stopped.  A couple years later I started this blog. I thought for a little bit a blog would suffice, but it's totally different. That's fine. I still write, and I like writing, whether in a journal or on a blog. I do miss my own handwriting and the act of writing by hand, just for myself.

I spotted this journal, Q & A a Day: 5-Year Journal, when I was out with my middle daughter and she remembered it and gave it to me for Mother's Day. It's simple, just a question a day. It will be interesting to see how the answers change year after year. It's a 5-year journal. A blank page can be hard, so the questions are a nice prompt. Just like this drawing book I just got Sadie.

I did get a lovely question based journal, Keel's Simple Diary, a bit back from a dear friend and I love it, but ink has never touched its pages. I read it often and laugh at the questions, I just can't fill it in for some reason. It almost has too much personality for me to contribute to. I am tempted to revisit it now that I am back in a groove. Two journals at the same time? Crazytown. I really would like to make/design something for my girls like these journals, for them to answer questions and reflect on their day with some guided suggestions. It would need to be bigger and easier to write in, with more space and maybe a place for little drawings, too.

Getting back to the Q & A Journal, the questions are simple, but sometimes not so light. There's not enough space to complicate or qualify every answer, which is perfect for me right now. And I haven't used it every day, hence June 5th being blank. I'm trying not to be all crazy-perfectionist about it. I love seeing it on my desk. It's small and thick and very pleasing to handle. I have a special pen I use too, which the fairies haven't squirrelled away yet.

 

berry maple syrup

This challah french toast with raspberry maple syrup was made for father's day. This is a father's day size portion.

We make it so often, it's not really all that special, but it is that special. It's hard to make something new when we love this so much. What tipped the scale for us years ago was when, having an abundance of frozen berries on hand (I am a berry hoarder), I thew a handful of berries in the maple syrup when I was heating it up. And then angels started to sing. I actually get sad thinking about all the years we didn't eat french toast, or pancakes, with berry maple syrup. Maybe everyone already does this? But I didn't for years. I'd add jam or berries on top, but never mashed up berries warmed with the maple syrup.

To make:

While I am making the french toast, I throw frozen berries in a glass pitcher, add maple syrup, and then heat it up in a little pot of boiling water, or even easier— for 2 minutes in the microwave. I give it a good mash and that's it. Any left over is kept in the fridge to add to yogurt, granola, and whatever seems it would be good with. So simple. I have made it with pretty much every berry, but I think raspberries are my favorite.

 

Unrelated:

I keep looking at these photos from Where Children Sleep: Portraits from Around the World. So fascinating.

moving boxes and bags of feelings

I'm moving my studio into what used to be the playroom. That was just one sentence, but it feels like it could be a novel. I really don't like moving in any way. It's the stuff and the feelings attached to the stuff. I don't have much stuff actually, and over the years have been ruthless with what I keep. This goes for fabric, art, craft supplies, photos—all that. So what remains is potent and exhausting to handle. It's not that all these memories are sad, but they are filled with such strong feelings. It's exhausting for me in every way.

I've been really grumpy for the last few Saturdays as I try to move boxes filled with photos and life debris that I sort through until I can't anymore. Up pops without warning artwork I did in highschool, back when all I wanted to be was a painter, and old letters from my father who passed away 10 years ago. I start to feel like I just can't do it. But I have to because we are moving our bedroom downstairs into my old studio room, so our almost 10 year old can have her own room and not share one room with her 7 and 5 year old sisters. Very reasonable and fair, I say. It was my idea. She doesn't know she needs the space, but she does. And she will get a walk-in closet and her own bathroom, which is incredible to me. I keep telling her this. Knowing she is old enough to have her own room is also adding to my emotional ride.

So, I am about 70% done with the moving of my stuff. I have been working to music, the length of one album at a time. I crank up rdio (I love rdio!) and just try not to slow down and tell myself it's okay to cry while I go through this stuff, I don't have to try so hard not to.

The photos I just found are of my mom when is she a girl, my grandmother (her mother) and my brother and me when we were 17 and 18, 2 days before he felt left for college.

celebratory desserts

For my 40th we had a shindig and it was pretty wonderful. Desserts were brought and consumed with much enthusiasm. I need to take a moment to document these wonderful offerings—mostly for myself so I don't have to dig around and pester people later trying to remember where these recipes came from.

• The Black Forest Trifle was outstanding and was also enjoyed with coffee for breakfast the next morning. The recipe is here. 

• The Lemon Rhubarb Bundt cake was stellar in every way. It's from Rustic Fruit Desserts. Both of these were made by Melissa, who has identical dessert tastes as mine. This has served us well on many occasions. She kindly snapped this photo.

• I made a yellow cake with orange rind and studded with chocolate and frosted it with espresso chocolate buttercream frosting. For this I used a standard yellow cake recipe, added the rind of one orange and some chocolate bits to the batter. To the chocolate frosting I added 2 teaspoons of instant espresso powder. It's shown here with the "40" sign.

• Ooey-Gooey Browines (not shown) were made and brought by my mother-in-law and have been a favorite of ours for years. They are always a winner.

• Homemade Twix bars (not shown) from Emily were devoured at lightning speed. I even saw some of the adults swipe half-eaten abandoned ones off of kids' plates. They were that good. She links to the recipe in this post.

Unrealted to desserts:

Nick Waterhouse was on heavy roation and I can't say enough how much I am loving his newest album.

hidden notes in public

We were at Ristretto Roasters (the NW location, which is in such a cool building) and were remarking on how cool it was that old library card catalogs were used for benches. "We should leave notes in these drawers," I said. And then I said, "Wait, this is Portland. I bet there are some in there."

And there was. And we added some, too.

Unrelated, we have a new apron theme. Thank you for your feedback.

the long journey to an Apron Theme

For Tie One On, my ongoing make-an-apron challenge, I have chosen a lot of apron themes. I think it's been 36 now over the years. You can see them all here. I usually choose themes alone, but often my husband gives input. Usually, he is ignored. There's a delicate balance in our exchange— he tries to suggest the worst yet funniest and most imaginative theme, while I ignore him and try not to laugh or react. He is a master of summoning up both the disturbing yet sometimes ingenious themes that are even funnier when trying to imagine them interpreted in a homemade apron. A snippet of our conversation this morning:

Okay, I need an apron theme.

Airwolf.

I don't even know what that is. Is that a movie?

It's a TV show. How about Gone Fishin'. Beach Bum. Gold Rush. Black Hole. Road Trip.

Road Trip has potential. But I have already done Local Pride.

Great Lakes. Back to the Future.

I was thinking La Vie en Rose, but I just did Floral Fun and I have done Paris before.

Jungle Boogie. That's Amore. Jacques Cousteau. Under the Sea.

Under The Sea is good.

Smokey and the Bandit.

Oh my god.

Rhinestone Cowboy.

Oh, Rhinestone Cowboy. That could be horribly good.

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You can see the aprons from the latest theme, Spring Showers, linked over here on Tie One On. I still haven't chosen a new theme. If any of these leap out at you, let me know.