A WEEK OFF...

My son was off from school last week for Presidents' break. I worked a bit but took some time off to hang out with him and friends and visit our favorite doughnut shop...

Later in the week I was forced to stay home and rest with yet another cold. What is it with this year?! Sam Sifton's newsletter on Monday was so spot on it made me chuckle...

“Good morning. It is Presidents’ Day and, for some of us, that fact comes just in time, after weeks of February grimness, always heading off to work in the dark, heading home in the same, going to the store, cooking and eating and cleaning and walking the dog, then pitchpoling into bed only to explore the house cautiously a few hours later, wondering: Which one of us is sick today?”

If you don't already subscribe to Sam's New York Times Cooking newsletter, go do that.

I added Heidi Swanson's Instant Pot Dynamite Cold Tonic to my immune support arsenal. I added the juice of 1/2 a lemon and a bit more honey to my mug...

Image from 101 Cookbooks

By the way, Heidi also has a fantastic Instant Pot guide. You'll find her own beautiful recipes like this mushroom stroganoff, and this minestrone (which I made three times in the last two weeks with a few tweaks) but also a compilation of other links, cooking guides and helpful tips.

Photo from 101 Cookbooks

While I was taking it easy I finally watched Zootopia and enjoyed it SO. VERY. MUCH...

photo from Rolling Stone

I thought Peter Travers summed it up perfectly:

“The last thing you’d expect from a new Disney animated marshmallow is balls. But, hot damn, Zootopia comes ready to party hard. This baby has attitude, a potent feminist streak, a tough take on racism, and a  cinema-centric plot that references The Godfather, Chinatown and L.A. Confidential. The kids, paying zero attention to such things, will love it. But the grownups will have even more fun digging in.”

But hands down the very best thing I watched this week was this gorgeous pair. They are breathtaking. I've re-watched their free program over and over. Their artistry together is just beyond...

Image from the NYT

I plan to spend the rest of my Sunday cooking something simple for dinner (most likely reheating leftovers), drinking immune support tea, slathering on a favorite face mask, and enjoying a long shower and scrub down with my favorite new discovery, this Kahina Moroccan Beldi Soap…

It is incredible lathered up using one of those fantastic little rayon mitts from the Korean spa. (If you have never been to the Korean spa for this experience, you can read a little about the mitt and the ritual here.) Scrub it all over for the smoothest and softest skin imaginable. 

Kitchen Basics - Hemp Milk

Homemade almond milk used to be my alt-milk of choice, and flavor-wise it still is. While it is easy to make at home, between the soaking and clean up it does take a bit of effort. To boot, almonds are expensive. So now I've really taken to making hemp milk which is more economical and easier to clean up, as you really just need a fine-mesh strainer. Plus, it makes very little waste. The fat content is similar to whole milk so it really subs well for recipes that call for a bit of milk or cream (like finishing a soup or baking).

Blend 1/2 cup hemp seeds with 3 cups of cold water on high until very smooth. Strain through a fine-mesh strainer similar to this...

Pour into a glass container with a tight fitting lid and store in the fridge for up to 5 days. Done!

Super Sunday

After weeks of downpours and darkness, the sun made an unexpected appearance today! I always feel a burst of energy when the sunlight streams though the windows (we all probably do). I opened up the windows to let some fresh air in and went about ticking things off my to-do list before the football game this afternoon.

First, breakfast...

Every Sunday I make sourdough waffles (or today my son requested pancakes) with a special family recipe. They are spectacular. The sourdough starter has been in my husband's family since 1973. Yup, 45 YEARS. You can read more about sourdough here and if you want to make your own to "feed" and keep alive, this is a good place to start.

Last night I was clicking away on Food52 and read this genius recipe about how to achieve fluffy pancakes. They key is to separate the eggs. You don't have to whip the whites or do anything extra. You just add the whites last after you've mixed everything else together. I decided to try the technique this morning and yup, they were the fluffiest pancakes we've made yet. So if you have a favorite pancake recipe, give it a try... 

Next task, the closet... (can you see the sun?!)

After doing a full-on-whole-house-Marie-Kondo-purge three years ago, every 6 months or so I pull everything out of closet once again. I try everything on and cull whatever I no longer love or wear. I refold it all and happily put everything back in its place. I really enjoy this process and it never feels like an overwhelming task...

Going through my denim, I have a few current favorites and they are almost all Everlane. Everlane has really knocked it out of the park with their denim line. It is not only affordable, but the fabric is a premium heavyweight Japanese denim, the cuts are smart and they are ethically made. They also come in regular and ankle length. I love these high-waisted ones  and have them in both the mid-blue wash and black. I also have the modern boyfriend in not only several washes (mid-blue, light and white) but also in a few sizes as well. My regular size is a true boyfriend jean with a nice slouch. But I also sized down one size, which makes them a little less slouchy and a perfect everyday straight leg...

I also love these from AGOLDE (I ordered one size down from my regular size)...

A few other new additions that I love - this bra from Thirdlove...

Some new workout/teaching gear from Outdoor Voices. I LOVE these 3/4 leggings and this bra (the wide straps and scoop back are especially great)...

I picked up a shorter pair as well...

I also love this new bra from Lululemon...

Last thing before gametime, breaking down the recycling. Not a very glamorous task but thanks to my friend Omar I have a new smart little tool for opening up packages and breaking down boxes.

Further proof that good design makes even the smallest, seemingly mundane tasks enjoyable.

Game time!

Celery Root + Cauliflower Soup

This is one of my favorite soups to make in the winter. It is so simple yet elegant. I've served it on Thanksgiving, and to special company and it is always a hit. It comes from Ina Garten's cookbook Make it Ahead. It also freezes well but I usually just keep a big pot of it in the fridge that we eat throughout the week.

If you've never used celery root before it can look a little intimidating to work with but it's a piece of cake...

Cut off the top and bottom so you have a flat surface and rest the celery root on one of the ends. Then start trimming away the sides...

Keep trimming...

Until all the brown has been removed...

Everything gets chopped and goes in the pot to simmer on the stove. It won't look like much when it's done...

But after a turn in the blender it come out silky smooth and beautiful like this...

Ina calls for 2 Tablespoons of cream to be added at the end, however I've never added it as it seems unnecessary but feel free if you prefer!

It is truly delicious on its own but I've added two things recently that take it to another level. A drizzle of this new favorite olive oil from Katz, and a sprinkle of fennel pollen (seen below)...

I learned about Katz from Joshua McFadden's book (which I mentioned here as one of my very favorite cookbooks from last year). Their vinegars are stellar as well.

CAULIFLOWER & CELERY ROOT SOUP

By INA GARTEN

Serves 6

Ingredients

• ¼ cup good olive oil, plus extra for serving

• 2 cups yellow onions, chopped (2 onions)

• 2 cups (1-inch-diced) celery root

• 2 cups (1-inch-diced) fennel, cored and stalks removed

• 2 lb (1 medium) cauliflower, cored and cut into florets

• 2 cups good chicken stock

• 2 tsp kosher salt, plus more for seasoning

• fennel pollen (optional but you really should seek it out)

Heat olive oil in a heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven. Add onions and sauté over medium-low heat for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender but not browned. Stir in celery root and fennel and sauté for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add cauliflower, chicken stock, and salt. Bring to a boil, lower heat, cover, and simmer for 25 to 30 minutes, until vegetables are very tender. Add 3 cups of water, bring to a boil, lower heat, and simmer uncovered for 20 minutes. Remove from heat.

Working in batches, puree soup in a blender, until very smooth. (Don’t fill blender more than half full or it will overflow!) Pour blended soup into a large saucepan and add 1 or 2 teaspoons of salt, depending on saltiness of the chicken stock. Reheat soup over medium-low heat. Ladle into soup bowls, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with Maldon Sea Salt and fennel pollen. Serve hot.

Make it ahead: Prepare soup and refrigerate for up to 1 week, or freeze for up to 3 months.

Print the recipe neatly here.

For the weekend

Watch this amazing video of Candide Thovex skiing across the planet on everything but snow...

I loved this interview "You Don't Look 60" with Bobbi Brown on Goop...

photo from Goop

I relate to her outlook, especially this part about being curious and open-minded and knowing best...

“I’m constantly curious—I’m a seeker. I try everything. I tried Bulletproof because it sounded great, but I’d consume 450 calories worth of fat in my coffee and I was still hungry—so that didn’t work (for me). So I went Paleo—that didn’t work, either. I try, and I figure it out. What’s working for me is Intuitive Eating. It doesn’t make me feel bad because I had cottage cheese, or I had really good French bread in the best bakery. It’s my body, my health, and I know best. I’m open, though!”

I just got Nadine Levy Redzepi's (wife to Noma chef René) new cookbook Downtime from the library and as you can see below, I've flagged nearly half of it. It is full of lovely, simple and delicious recipes and excellent tips no matter your cooking prowess. René wrote the forward and I loved this passage:

"You may feel it's hard, or even impossible, to cook one meal a day when you have to make a living in the modern world. I see your point (in a way, even I can't do that for my kids!). Yet in this book I see someone who, by creating habits just like people do with exercise, has made the act of cooking effortless and endlessly generative. There is so much you can do if you simply begin to try."

We love Patagonia at our house. If you have 30 minutes this weekend listen to this conversation between Guy Raz and Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard on the How I Built This podcast...

Andrew Holder for NPR

The best wisdom comes at the very end...

“I believe in the more you know the less you need.

The hardest thing in the world is to simplify your life, because everything pulls you to be more and more complex...Either we’re forced or we decide to go to a more simple life, it’s not gonna be an impoverished life. It’s gonna be really rich.
”

I am still a die-hard Blue Bottle Coffee fan. I make myself a cup or two of Bella Donovan every morning with their ceramic dripper. I often take a cup with me on my drive to the studio, but in my thermal mug it stays way too hot to sip. So I picked up this beautiful little Keep Cup so I could actually sip my coffee while listening to On Being...which makes contending with Seattle traffic all the more civilized and tolerable...

It has been pouring here the last week(s), paired with pretty consistent winds. I am loving our Blunt umbrella that not only shields from the rain beautifully but can withstand the wind to boot. We have the classic but they make a smaller metro size too...

Despite the weather, I picked up these incredibly bright and fun sandals on super sale at Net-a-Porter. They will stay in the box for the next few months but I can wait...

2018

Hello, New Year.

After getting hammered with back to back bugs, the flu, sinus infections...I am healthy and thrilled to welcome the new year. My son and I were fortunate to tag along on my husband's photoshoot last week to enjoy a few days under the Mexican sun...

While it was wonderful, it feels so good to be home; my favorite place. I am excited to be back in the studio and finally back to my regular schedule this week.

While on break I've been hitting my local library hard. The two books I am currently reading and loving; The Lonely City by Olivia Lang. From the first few pages...

“Loneliness is by no means a wholly worthless experience, but rather one that cuts right to the heart of what we value and what we need. Many marvellous things have emerged from the lonely city: things forged in loneliness, but also things that function to redeem it.”

And Being Mortal by Atul Gawande, which I learned about from his wonderful conversation "What Matters in the End" with Krista back in October. 

My husband gave me these perfect little earrings from Bing Bang for Christmas and I don't know that I will ever take them off. Initials for the two boys in my life. They make me wish I still had multiple holes from my 1990s youth so I could have more...

I also love these tiny skulls...

I upgraded our kitchen glasses over the holidays and picked up these bodega glasses from Food52 and am loving them. I have the 12oz size and also the squat 7.5oz size which, just like the description says, I use for everything: small dishes for mise-en-place, condiments, ice cream...

Speaking of Food52, I discovered these gluten-free and vegan spicy ginger cookies on the site and have been making them possibly a little too often...

I did reduce the cloves to 1/8 tsp and added a handful of chopped candied ginger. They are heavily spiced and delicious first thing with a cup of coffee, or late afternoon with a mug of peppermint tea. 

Another new addition to my kitchen is this fantastic silicone ladle from GIR...

The GIR spatulas are the only ones I use. I have three of the ultimate size and four of the mini ones. I use them every single day for pretty much everything.

Lastly, I wrote a few months back about my favorite non-toxic deodorant and I have a new one to add to the list. AER from Vapour Beauty is fantastic. It is a gel to powder formula, super effective and long lasting. I bought it online but just saw it at my local Pharmaca. 

November 11

THIS IS FANTASTIC and in my mind, how Thanksgiving should be done. Even if you're not cooking this holiday, click through. It is hypnotic and lovely to watch Melissa and Sam in action. 

A few other things that caught my eye this week...

Photo from NYT

“At some point, the priest during the Mass says, ‘Lift up your hearts.’ He does not say, ‘Lift up your cellphones to take pictures.’”

— Pope Francis

Applicable not only during Mass but in life. Here.

It was the perfect crisp, drizzly Saturday to make Judy Rodgers' roasted applesauce. I didn't even bother to peel and core the apples and just ran them through the food mill after roasting which worked beautifully. 

This liquid zinc has been a lifesaver keeping us healthy over the last few months with the start of school and the change in season. I always have it on hand and take it daily. Elissa Goodman has a really good list of additional immune support here. 

Inspired by my five year old's (currently six page) xmas wishlist, pictured above, I am starting to think about holiday gift ideas myself. Those lists are coming soon!

Happy weekend.

Tartine - Any Day Pancakes

I love Liz Prueitt's latest cookbook Tartine All Day and her gluten free Any Day Pancakes recipe is the gold standard at our house (gluten free or not). I make a quadruple batch of dry ingredients so we always have a mix ready to go. When you're ready to cook, measure out 155g of the mix and proceed with the recipe.

ANY DAY PANCAKES

25g almond flour

2 Tbsp tapioca starch

50g oat flour

50g brown rice flour

1 1/4 tsp baking powder

2 tsp sugar

1/4 tsp sea salt

1 large egg

2 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted, or olive oil

3/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp whole milk

Combine all the dry ingredients and mix well. Stir the egg, butter or olive oil, and milk together in a small bowl. Add to the flour mixture and mix until just combined.

To cook, I love my Lodge cast iron griddle and prefer to use ghee to grease the pan. This vanilla bean one from Fourth & Heart is lovely for pancakes. And this wide stainless steel spatula is the best one for nearly everything in the kitchen. If you also pick up the narrow one, they will be the only ones you'll ever need.

Serve with salted butter, real maple syrup and your choice of fruit sauce.

Print the recipe here. 

School Days

It certainly feels like fall. We are getting into the groove with school, the still sunny days now have enough of a chill to warrant a sweater. Football is on and we've been loading up on a new crop of apples at the farmer's market.

With September also comes the need for a new pair of "school" sneakers which for me is always a pair of Sk8-Hi Vans. These classics are still my favorite...

I've also been harvesting the last of my tomatoes and freezing them whole in Ziploc bags to use year-round for my favorite Marcella Hazan sauce and tomato soup. I learned this super easy alternative to canning from David Tanis. Thawed on the counter the skins slip right off. Read more here. Frozen tomatoes will lose their texture/structure so use them only for sauces and soups etc. (Sidenote: if you're using fresh tomatoes instead of a 28 oz can of San Marzanos as listed in both recipes, the equivalent is 2 lbs. of fresh tomatoes.)

I'm not shy about my love for Melissa Clark and I love my Instant Pot so I cannot wait for this book to come out this fall. I already know it's going to be a winner...

Getting ready for my son's first day of Kindergarten, I made us matching friendship bracelets. It's been over 20 years since I made one and I had to look up a refresher tutorial...

I had so much fun making it and now with all the beautiful DMC floss available I'm picking up a new hobby...

I recently upgraded my well-loved Clare V Gosee with this multi-colored strap that is rad...

I also just devoured Dani Shapiro's Hourglass. I can't recommend it enough. Now I'm waiting for this and this from the library...

Earlier this summer I mentioned these Everlane tanks that I love. They just came out with a few other styles in the same fabric. I'd like to have this...

And this...

August 19

As summer winds down and we near the first days of school I've really cleared my schedule and am just enjoying being home as much as possible, cooking for family and enjoying the sunshine. 

I am actually getting ready to take the bulk of September off from the studio as I help our son (and us) transition to kindergarten and full-time school life. I am really looking forward to having a few weeks away to recharge and focus on just being mom. I've been thinking about a few projects I'd like to get done too but for the most part I'm just hoping to fully embrace this time and enjoy my son and the magic that is five years old.

A few other things I've been into as of late...

I still love Julia Turshen's cookbook Small Victories. I can't wait for her timely Feed the Resistance out this fall. You can pre-order it now.

This week I revisited Naomi Shihab Nye's On Being conversation and it was just as lovely and soul-filling as the first time I heard it...

Image from OnBeing

I am a long time devotee to the New Wayfarer but I've been craving a new pair of sunglasses with a more round shape. I picked up these from Warby Parker and can't stop wearing them...

Since we're in prime berry and stone fruit season, if you haven't made a galette yet, it is time. Here is a great go-to galette recipe to keep in your back pocket from who else but Melissa Clark...

Earlier this year I bought Floret Farm's book which provides wonderful guidance on having a cut flower garden and how to help blooms last once you've cut them...

Dahlias are among my favorites and while I only have a handful of plants in my yard, I have a feeling I might double down for next year...

I don't follow many people on Instagram outside my close circle of family and friends but I do follow and love Nitch. I'm always taking screenshots of the thoughtful quotations to keep with me. This is a recent favorite...