Home, Garden & Underpants

I visited Jayson Home & Garden in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood yesterday.  Was a last minute day trip.  Besides wanting to hire a moving truck to load half the store and deliver the goods to my imaginary pied-à-terre, I was surprised to find they carried prints by Hugo Guiness, an artist I wrote about here a while back.  One of my favorites of prints these everyday objects immortalized is the underwear.  There just isn't enough underwear art, is there?

And if that doesn't get you going, surely this stove will.  Think of the visual riddles you can create by grouping these two together. 

Shop home decor, underwear prints and lots of industrial, vintage and re-purposed loveliness at Jayson Home & Garden.  I've even added some things to my wish list.

Summer Soon

Two great new albums from two artists I've long adored.  Sounds like summer is coming early and this music proves it.  Save Jason for a road trip and Josh for hot summer nights.

Listen to El Turista above or here.

More Jason here.

Both available for download on iTunes or, if you're like me, from a local record store. (Nothing beats the tangible every so often.)

Groupies

How about a set of Wrought Iron Flax Combs, a pile of 19th Century Cutlery Boxes or a Collection of Wooden Printers Exclamation Points?  Yes, Please! (Exclamation Point)  All from East Market Street Antiques, New York.  Or vandm.com.

Sounds Funny

Can't tell what I like most about these speakers: how they update borrowed elements from old music machines or how the dramatic horn shape instantly calls attention to itself. I also hear they make some good noise.  I'll take the white set.

Mood Music

My 6 favorite downloaded holiday tracks for 2009.

(Guilty pop pleasures)

1. It Snowed « Meaghan Smith
2. Christmas at Sea « Sting
3. Mistletoe « Colbie Caillat
4. Christmas Ain't Christmas (Without the One You Love) « Aretha Franklin
5. The Christmas Song « Catherine Feeny
6. Christmases When You Were Mine « Taylor Swift

Wintery Daydream

The light whispers of snow in the air today had me daydreaming of cozy retreats.  Like this one by Ralph Lauren Home titled Indian Cove Lodge.

Job Envy: Anthropologie Buyer

Came upon this new show chronicling an Anthropologie buyer shopping the world.

Hot, Hearty Soup

Try this super simple squash soup to warm up a cold fall night.  It worked for me.  Really filling, too.

2 butternut squash, peeled, seeded & chopped
3 leeks, chopped
3 carrots, peeled
3 ribs celery, chopped
2-3 Tbsp. (each) butter & extra virgin olive oil

In large saucepan, saute vegetables with butter & oil for 15 minutes, until slightly softened.  Then add several sprigs fresh thyme & sage and enough cooking stock to cover vegetables.  Simmer until soft.  Remove any hard thyme stems.


In batches, puree in blender or food processor.  Add plenty of pepper, then salt to taste.  Garnish with herbs and/or parmesan if you're feeling fancy.

*I added toasted fennel seeds to the mixture before I pureed for added depth of flavor and complexity.

Duck Night

3 days following the duck hunt, I gathered a few friends and a few more duck for a fall duck dinner.  Basically, we just filled the seasoned cavity with onions and apples alongside a few lemons, carrots, sage & thyme and roasted the waterfowl with a bottle of wine in a roasting pan for a couple hours.

Once it was cooked, we let it rest before carving it into thin slices.

Then it was served with some Mushroom Risotto and Parmesan & Bacon Sauteed Brussel Sprouts.  The sprouts were a hit (no kidding, they were cooked in bacon drippings).

Bacon & Parmesan Sauteed Brussel Sprouts:

Cook sprouts in boiling stock until tender.  (I used the leftover stock as the liquid in the risotto)  In a saute pan, render chopped bacon until crisp and browned.  Drain bacon and reserve drippings in pan.  Add cooked brussel sprouts to hot drippings in medium-high pan until browned and carmelized.  Season to taste.  Toss with fresh Parmesan and serve immediately.

Duck, Duck, Food

Took the gun up again this year for a second year of opening day duck hunting.  Not that I hadn't done this sort of thing before but that its significance has changed.  Sure I've prepared many a bird from the store and called it a meal, but the process of claiming it and making it my own is what drove me to do it again this year.

I only shot at one duck - early, maybe 9:30 - and that was it.  I spent the rest of the time relaxing in what peace the marsh offers when the background is filled with muffled gunshot.

I didn't miss any opportunities to document the event - something I'd grown up around but never considered for its interesting moments of accessible beauty.  And so often overlooked.  But I plan to carry that sense of beauty into the duck meal I share with friends tomorrow.  Can't wait.

Cozy by the Oven.

The first chilly, gusty fall evening of the season called for some warming up. Cookies were deemed too demanding, but I thought I could still use the ingredients from my favorite cowboy cookies to whip up some satisfying granola for a little snack tonight and a quick breakfast in the morning.

To 3 cups of old-fashioned oats, I added chopped walnuts, almonds, cinnamon, salt and a little shredded coconut. I stirred in a good amount of agave nectar, mixed it up and toasted it golden in the oven at 350' stirring 2-3 times. About 20 minutes later, out of the oven, I grated some dark chocolate over the hot oats, mixed in some flax meal and repeated with more chocolate and flax until it was coated to my liking. Serve at room temperature with plain yogurt, mixed berries and a little drizzling of agave nectar.

The lingering warmth of the toasty oat & cinnamon will keep things cozy until morning.

I Got the Beet

So many beets I've had this year - especially in the last week. Roasted & Peeled, like these:

Foil-wrapped and in the 400' oven with oil, garlic & rosemary. Peel, slice, serve. Tastes like dirt. Yum.

Oh, Martha

Although only six ingredients make up this stripped-down version of Roast Chicken, every detail is carefully considered - including the Brioche Stuffing. It's like roast bird for purists. This aired on Martha's Season Premiere courtesy of Eleven Madison Park (NY Times Four Stars) executive chef Daniel Humm.

While you may not find my name on their reservation list just yet, you may find me in the kitchen stuffing a chicken and roasting beets for Humm's simple, yet slightly exotic Beet Salad.

Don't miss this either.

Eating Again

I had nothing to do with the preparation, but this Sunday meal turned out just gorgeous. And delicious. I hate the term, but this was some mean "surf & turf" if I've ever had any. Just don't ever call it that while I'm eating it.

Eggy Crumpet Breakfast

I checked in early last night instead of staying out super late for my friends birthday.  To make up for it (and to further the celebration) I had some other friends bring her over for a surprise birthday breakfast.  It was just the chance I needed to try out a Jamie Oliver recipe I've been meaning to mess with: Breakfast Eggy Crumpets.  All it really involves is frying an egg-soaked crumpet in rendered bacon fat (if you dare) and serve it hot with the bacon and some syrup.  

So, it was shopping time for the early birthday/hang-over meal.  While at the grocery store (quite early for a Saturday) I picked up some fruit and other things and decided to make a sweeter version of Jamie's more savory, bacon-y concoction.  Among the additions were yogurt, blueberries and maple syrup.  What I ended up with was an Eggy Crumpet with Maple-Laced Yogurt and Blueberries.  And here you can see the extra drizzle of Wisconsin Maple syrup we added to give it just the right sweetness.  

As far as crumpets go (which I know little about) they were soft & tender-what one might call an "English French Toast."  And with that I made super savory Bacon-Garlic Roasted Breakfast Potatoes, which were merely red potatoes cut up and roasted with some chucks of uncooked bacon, garlic and seasonings.  

And of course, everyone got a side of bacon-which I amped up to some thick-cut peppered bacon.  It was a gorgeous, sunny, albeit filling, Saturday morning on the deck and everyone got their bacon-fix.  All we needed after that was a nap.

Big Local Design

Details magazine, of all places, featured Milwaukee-based Misewell design in their current issue. Great website, on top of their already appealing home furnishings. (Also: see Sprecher Root Beer under the Craft Soda feature).

Stripped Aesthetics

It was love at first site: I stepped foot in this store and was instantly attracted to the stripped, classic & thoroughly considered design it offered.

Building a barn...again.

Some documentation of reconstructed barn-timber house a friend is building.

3 walls up then the antique barn structure is fitted within...

Looking quite normal so far.

Interior structure: beam in the pocket.

Internal chaos. On a sunny day.

Extreme surface. Old Surface.

Stacks and stacks, for windows, not scraps.

Dinner as the light dims.