Inspired Sundays

Welcome back everyone!  Don't worry - we've survived the holidays and embraced the start of 2014 with good cheer, happy hearts, and a whole lot of oysters.  Obviously.  I adore a good celebration and encourage every opportunity for fancy dresses and pouring something special, which we've been doing with great enthusiasm since November.  However, now that holiday partying is winding down, I'm in need of lazy Sundays spent cooking and crafting.  With the fire roaring and our perfect Christmas tree still watching over our little cabin (Christmas celebrations are extending into January this year - the pleasures of having a bicoastal family!), this past Sunday called for a long brunch and an afternoon dedicated to our annual ornament challenge.

A few Christmases ago, while still living in Brooklyn, Daniel and I selected our very first Christmas tree together.  We had it easy by city standards - just around the corner from our apartment a man had set up his temporary tree shop on the sidewalk.  His makeshift forest was full of decent trees and after looking each up and down, we finally chose a little one with some personality.  Following the obligatory haggling, we handed over $40, trudged home and hauled the tree up four flights of stairs.  And yes, this is easy by city standards.

To our dismay our tree had a trunk quite a few sizes too small for the stand we had bought, but after some troubleshooting and creativity (and quite a bit of broken glass) we had the little fella fully upright.  Lights were strung and our teeny studio was suddenly brimming with all sorts of Christmas cheer.  But!  We had no ornaments to adorn our new friend.  Zero.  And we were absolutely not going to buy gaudy, shiny ornaments, more due to frugality than taste.  But thriftiness breeds brilliance, right?  We decided to challenge ourselves with a new medium each year.  You can see our first creations here: http://forkglassplay.blogspot.com/2011/12/holiday-cheer.html

This year we agreed to make teeny tiny paintings.  Despite each starting with a completely blank canvas and without discussing or sneaking a peak, we both came up with a little couple hanging out under a tree.  Odd, amazing, and a bit too cute.

But the day's creativity didn't start with a brush stroke.  We don't spend every Sunday morning eating brunch together in our pajamas, but there is something very comforting about rolling out of bed and into a cup of coffee and a feast for just the two of us.  Usually I turn to avocados, soft-boiled eggs, and toast, but our fridge was overflowing with random veggies and plenty of eggs.   Recently I was inspired by Ottolenghi's baked egg recipe in his dreamy cookbook, Plenty, so I knew what to do.

His recipe calls for arugula, spiced butter, and fresh yogurt, but given my ingredients at hand, I made a few substitutions.  Spinach stood in as the sautéed green, leftover roasted potatoes and onions were added to the mess, and instead of butter I added a few spices to my greek yogurt.  Everything was topped off with fresh parsley and a sprinkle of flax seeds.  Beyond looking gorgeous, this made for a complete and filling start to the day and provided ample fuel for our imaginations.

This recipe is more of a guide than a real recipe.  I didn't pay attention to measurements and the ingredients are all interchangeable based on what you have on hand.  The beauty of baked eggs is that they compliment almost all veggies.  Just don't forget that yogurt and be sure to add a pinch of salt and pepper!

BAKED EGGS with SPICED YOGURT (master recipe)
serves 2

Sauteed greens of your choice.  Spinach, kale, mustard greens, arugula, etc. 

Handful of roasted vegetables.  Potatoes, squash, onions, sunchokes, broccoli.

4 eggs

1 cup plain greek yogurt

cumin

aleppo pepper

sweet paprika

Handful fresh parsley

Sprinkling of toasted flax seeds (optional)

Salt and pepper

Preheat your oven to 300 F.  In a cast iron skillet combine sautéed greens and roasted vegetables.  Make four little divots and carefully crack eggs into these holes.  Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes, or until the egg whites are set. 

Meanwhile, make the spiced yogurt.  Combine yogurt with cumin, aleppo pepper, and paprika to taste.  Adjust seasoning to your liking.  Add a pinch of salt and pepper. 

When the eggs are set, remove from the oven and scoop yogurt in the middle.  Top with flax seeds and fresh parsley and serve immediately with toast.  

We've arrived!

It's been a full two months since I last posted.  Many apologies, but I've been very very busy.  Four weeks ago Daniel and I left our home in Brooklyn and adventured forth to a new coast.  Although sad to see our lovely neighborhood go, we were bubbling with anticipation to get to our new digs.  After a quick visit in Los Angeles with friends and families, we meandered up the coast, ooing and aahhing at every bend.  The view!  Thrilling, gorgeous, unreal.  And at times, very terrifying.  When you find yourself on the west coast visiting me, a drive on Route 1 is a must.

Now at Harrison Grade, our new home, we're just about settled.  And we're enjoying some of the best meals we've cooked together.  Perhaps it's because of the excellent produce Sonoma County has to offer.  Or maybe it's because our kitchen has four times the space as our Brooklyn studio, allowing ingredients to sprawl across the counter, inviting an easy creativity.  Plus, all of the restaurants remotely close to our cottage close at the very civilized hour of 9pm.  In Brooklyn, a town of slightly less civilized folk, we routinely found ourselves alone in a restaurant after midnight, completely oblivious that we had outlasted our fellow diners.  Here, we don't have that luxury, so we spend more time at home in the evenings.  It's cozy.  But more about dinners to come, today we lunch. 

Play.  Paint.  Daniel is a seasoned painter.  He once painted his entire house red for a Russian themed party!  I am not.  Honestly, it hadn't really occurred to me that I could paint my apartments.  I suppose I never expected to live in them for much longer than a year and was broke and a bit lazy, so the effort of painting didn't cross my mind.  I wish it had - I probably would have respected and loved my previous homes a whole lot more.  Nonetheless, I was given a crash course in interior painting this past week, and couldn't be happier with the results.

First, go to a hardware store (Home Depot has a wide selection) and pick out paint chips.  Grab a bunch, and remember, dark is dark and even the lightest shades are dark when held up against a clean white.  Our entire cottage was painted a sickly peachy yellow, depressing both of us.  The front room and kitchen were the first to undergo a makeover.  Going for bold and elegant with a touch of French farmhouse, we decided to paint one wall a dusty red and clean up the rest with a lovely off-white.  For days we had a few paint chips taped to the wall, trying to decide which worked in what kind of light, and what felt like home.  Cajun Red and Polished Pearl won. 

Next, buy your paint, brushes, rollers, tape, and drop cloths.  Painting will take most of your day, be prepared.  Go slowly, have a steady hand, and plenty of wet paper towels in case of drips.

Then all of the sudden, you have a new living room. 

Fork.  Painting is tiring.  And before you know it, you've inhaled a scary amount of toxins and haven't had a damn thing to eat in hours.  You're fading.  Sustenance.  Lunch.  Sandwich time.  One of our first meals at Harrison Grade was a classic roast chicken.  Economical and delicious, this is our go-to meal, especially given the abundance of fresh herbs that are growing right outside our door.  With the leftovers I made a chicken and vegetable soup and a big bowl of chicken salad.  

Everyone has their own way to prepare chicken salad.  I like to make my own mayonnaise and mix it with Patak's curry paste.  Add diced chicken, celery, red onion, salt and pepper.  Sometimes I'll add apples or currants.  Maybe almonds for more crunch.  Smear your toasted bread with avocado, top with a generous heap of chicken salad followed by greens.  Eat with a napkin.  You might even need a fork.

Curry Mayonnaise

2 egg yolks

1/4 tsp mustard

1/4 tsp salt

2 tbsp white wine vinegar

1 cup safflower, sunflower, or olive oil (I like a combination of safflower and olive)

Patak's Curry Paste (mild, medium, or hot) 

In a bowl, whisk together egg yolks, mustard, salt and vinegar.  Using egg beaters, whisk in the cup of oil very very slowly.  Drip by drip, let the oil emulsify with the yolks to form a thick, creamy mayonnaise.  When all of the oil is incorporated, stir in the curry paste to taste (I use about a tablespoon.)

Glass.  What could be more refreshing than a midday, mid-painting beer?  Hefeweizen, please.  The Widmer Brothers have been brewing this Hefeweizen since 1984.  From Portland, Oregon, these brewers are west coast favorites.  Lovely, light, and full of citrus and summer, this beer was their flagship.  It's perfect for an afternoon break from housework, coming in at a reasonable %4.9 alcohol.  Thirst quenching, delightful.  Don't forget to serve with a thick wedge of lemon.