Making our way to BUTTERMILK CHANNEL

It all started with a stroll through Brooklyn Heights, Cobble Hill, and finally to our destination in Carroll Gardens. We were headed to Buttermilk Channel.


Named after an essential waterway between Brooklyn and Governor's Island that dairy farmers would cross to deliver their milk to the markets in Manhattan, this sweet little restaurant seemed just as essential in making our trip to New York City for Thanksgiving with family a memorable one.


The menu was both simple and decadent. We began our evening with a rum cocktail, the Fairharbor, which is rum of two kinds, Ginger Beer, Pomegranate juice and lime. It went down way too easily. (Decadent.)


We then moved to a mysteriously delivered bowl of bacon maple roasted almonds that had a slight dusting of mustard. Hard not to rifle all down in one handful. (Simple.)


During our little menu perusal, we found ourselves faced with one of each appetizer (since my brother knew the owner and all). We had a pork rillette. We had a silky-smooth chicken liver with roasted grapes (seriously). We had a country pork terrine with home-made pickles. And we had a couple of thick slices? slabs? bricks? of bacon that were dressed in this mustard goo-y glaze that was way more better than the hot-sweet mustard packets that you get at Chinese restaurants, but just as crazy. (Decadent)


And then our entrees arrived. I had a short rib beef stew that I didn't really want to share-even a bite-it was so good. My husband, Scott, had the duck meatloaf that came with the world's largest onion ring. My brother ordered their famous fried chicken with cheese waffles, and my sister-in-law had the warm lamb and romaine salad. We were speechless for about 20 minutes save for the occassional guttural moans and groans coming from our throats. With two bottles of a super-fine Pinot Noir, our evening could not have been more perfect. (Simple.) (Decadent.)

Oh.


Wait.

There were the desserts and the Sauternes. It was not perfect. It was sublime.

(photos from *here*)

"Thanksgiving, after all, is a word of action"

No, not pigeon for our Thanksgiving dinner...but maybe we'll see him on our way as we head to NYC to join my bro and his family for the extended holiday. Happy Thanksgiving to one and all. May your holiday be safe and delicious.


(above is quoted from W.J. Cameron)

days with my father

More of a somber than uplifting post today....but I felt so compelled to share this website with you.

Philip Toledano is a photographer. By trade. He recently released a photo essay titled Days With My Father. This touching compilation of photos was taken after the death of Toledano's mother. The images give an intimate look at the father-son relationship and serve as a time capsule of the period. Although very simple and sparse, the series captures a spectrum of emotion.

The elegant design and functionality of the site compliments the work by allowing the photos to stand on their own and speak for themselves. I found it to be inspiring and at times heart-wrenching. Grab a tissue, visit Days With My Father and then go call your family.

Places I like to Visit

Pretty Things::

Calypso 
Nonchalant Mom 
Midnight Farm 
Etsy 
mothology
 stewart + brown 
ok gallery 
huset shop
 refinery29 
virginia johnson 
chance 
kiosk
canvas
 
Pretty Blogs::  

beachbungalow8 
NYTimesTMagazine

edizioni

ink+wit

teenangster

forty-sixth at grace

a cup of jo

a continuous lean

lost

food52

saipua
bucolic splendor
little brown pen

mrs. blandings

Coolness Factor::

My Love for You

NY Magazine

art in the age

the cool hunter

daily icon

Design Hotels

the satorialist

advanced style

Delicious Factor::

food52

South End Formaggio

feasting never stops

bitten

Unidentified/Random Factor::

SepiaTown

Sassafras Bindery

I know this bookbinder, see.....

Who makes the most beautiful books.





and boxes.



and books


and boxes


by hand. Her hands.

Schooled at the North Bennet Street School, where students have been learning handcraft trades since 1885, and residing in Brookline, Jessica Roland makes mighty fine books, boxes, and enclosures. Her craftsmanship is amazing, with incredible precision and creativity.

But most importantly, Jessica makes bespoke items.....from Sassafras Bindery:

I make blank books, albums, and editions of self-published work. All work is hand done and all materials are acid free.

Collect your children’s artwork and I will bind it into a coffee table book as a beautiful and meaningful way to preserve memories. Make one for each year of school or present one as a graduation present or a keepsake for a grandparent or teacher.

Archival boxes and enclosures for documents and books or custom made boxes to fit personal photographs or business cards.

If your grandmother’s cookbook or your favorite read from high school has fallen apart, let me rebind it so it can be part of your life again.

I welcome artist collaborations.

I invite you to check out her website, Sassafras Bindery, and see her incredible work.

If Shoes Weren't Weird Enough......

How about gettin' around in a Formula 1 Sports car made entirely out of........ BREAD.

Talented chefs from the Royal Plaza on Scotts hotel in Singapore have created this awesome life-sized Formula 1 race car out of different types of bread.

It took a total of 14 liters of water, 15 kg of yeast, 2 kg of salt, 10800 ml of food varnish and 549 hours of hard work to complete the car.

Mmmmm.....food varnish.

Superstition or Supreme Control?

I never really thought of myself as superstitious. Not really. I don't avoid walking under ladders. I don't really care about crossing a black cat's path. No big whup when my umbrella flies open indoors. Spilled salt, crack mirror, 13th floor or aisle.....*yawn*. No biggie.

But. I do have the 'habit' of absolutely needing to knock wood whenever I say something like, "My kids haven't had H1N1, yet." Or, "Stitches, but no broken bones here", or "My daughter's never lost a leg and been to the emergency room".....really anything that temps fate I really have to literally knock on wood.

Freaky like.

Another must-do is when I'm on a plane, either alone or with my husband or even with the kids, I go through the whole mental imagery of my death, my memorial service, the music played at the memorial service, life without me around or with my family.....I do this because in my wacky brain I somehow believe that I can thwart death and disaster by playing it all out in my head. It's magical thinking. And it works like a charm.

Like I have supreme control or something.

The Maple Syrup Cocktails (that are dancing in my head)

"What are you doing today?"

"I'm driving to Connecticut to spend the day with some good friends. Alone."

"Why can't I come?"

"You have to be taller than 4 feet to be invited."


Last Sunday, I had the pleasure of spending the day with friends that recently moved to Pomfret, CT. I've known these friends for some time and selfishly planned the day so that I could have them and their near 2 year old all (that's not quiet 4 feet but he might be some day) to myself, while my husband and kids were flittin' around doing other things. In Brookline.

Pomfret sits in the Quiet Corner of Northeastern Connecticut. It is verdant, hilly, and for now covered in green grass and almost-bare gray trees. It's an amazingly lovely and peaceful area.

(CA on flickr)

Part of our day included some art projects that Dave had planned. Another was walking around an old Colonial farm that has been in the family for centuries.

It was over the art project (and midday gin and tonics) and our discussion of a recent trip that Dave and Linda had taken to Quebec City that Linda began describing a cocktail that she had that has stuck in my head ever since.

I think it was either Linda's skill at chronicling this maple fantasia or Linda's ability to set the stage and take you right into the dark wood bar, fireplace, and serve you your drink....and

it. just. sounded. delicious.

Maybe, because to me, nothing beats a well-crafted cocktail?

Maybe because the ingredients seem particularly timely and autumnal?

or maybe I'm just forever looking for an excuse to try a new libation-seasonal or not?

The cocktail was basically a whiskey with maple syrup. And with some research, I found three concoctions worthy of sharing:

The Maple Leaf


(a variation on the Whiskey Sour)

2 oz Bourbon

½ oz Maple Syrup

½ oz Lemon Juice

Shake and strain into a cocktail glass filled with crush ice. Drink on a porch with an old dog.

and for something that doesn't require an old dog or a porch.....

Pure Canada Cocktail

2 oz Canadian whisky

1/2 oz maple syrup

1/2 oz fresh apple juice

3 dashes aromatic bitters

1/6 of a fresh lemon

In a cocktail shaker full of ice, combine all ingredients. Squeeze the lemon segment over top and drop in the rind. Shake well and strain into a chilled martini glass.

Filibuster Cocktail

(adapted from Food & Wine's Cocktails 2008, from a recipe developed by Erik Adkins for the restaurant Flora in Oakland, CA)



1 1/2 ounces rye whiskey (bourbon can be substituted)

3/4 ounce fresh lemon juice

1/4 ounce pure maple syrup

dash Angostura bitters

1 egg white

lemon twist (for garnish)

Place all ingredients (except for the garnish) in a cocktail shaker and shake thoroughly. You should begin to feel a slight difference in the way the liquid moves in the shaker as the froth develops. Now add the ice and shake briefly again, to chill. Strain into a cocktail glass and garnish with a lemon twist.

Notes: Described as a very sophisticated, well-balanced cocktail. It has a smooth texture and a complex flavor. The maple flavor doesn't stand out here as noticeably as it does in the more rustic Maple Leaf, but blends in almost seamlessly with the bitters, bourbon, and lemon.

(More on the Maple Leaf and Filibuster recipes and notes can be found *here*)

For loafing around

For the kids, too....


Found *here*

What's for lunch?

Fast Food.

• Gruyère
• Peasant bread or ficelle.
• Shallot, minced.

Slice and toast the bread. Top with a slice of cheese. Broil for only minutes. Top with a pinch of minced shallots. Thyme was added as an afterthought for more color than taste. Turns out the thyme adds a nice round earthiness to the whole fast-food creation.

Yeast paste, Anyone?

Have you ever had Vegemite?

Quintessentially Australian. And not unlike American Peanut Butter, basically a condiment that is viewed as utterly disgusting by the rest of the world.

Well, the folks at Kraft Foods were dying to change the name of Vegemite. Not because of the taste, but because it seems it was overdue for an update.

This salty, gooey, yeasty, paste is, well, gross. Just gross. But it's beloved by all Australians.

"Australians are passionate about Vegemite. Travel almost anywhere and you are likely to find an Aussie with a tube of the brewer’s yeast extract stashed in his bag. Babies are weaned on it. Schoolchildren eat it on sandwiches. Adults revere it as a hangover remedy, a vital source of Vitamin B and a staple breakfast food — spread lightly on hot buttered toast." -from the NYTimes.


But living in a country with beloved and iconic foods such as sliced white bread, peanut butter, and maybe something I found called 'frito pie', who are we to judge a national sticky paste favorite?

So, no more Vegemite Sandwich, from the Men Down Under.

Welcome: iSnack 2.0.

For now, at least.

**CORRECTION AND UPDATE TO THIS POST**
From a reader (and more thorough "investigative research") I understand iSnack 2.0 was scrapped.

Vegemite is now:
It's all really so very fascinating.....

I'm all over the map

I've always had a fascination with maps.

(from bombusdesign on flickr)

When I was a kid we had these old, plastic, place mats that were nautical maps of the Maine coast.


Between the dribbles of applesauce, tuna melts, and chipped beef I would stare and stare and imagine what it would be like if I placed myself right. there. They weren't particularly colorful but they were an awesome orientation to mappery.

Years later, in search of a clever gift for my husband, I grabbed a couple of his father's old roll-down-teaching maps, from his years of teaching history at Cranston East High School.


I framed the pre-WWI map of Europe. It still hangs in our dining room. Serves as an excellent conversation starter, day-dream-instigator, and where-would-you-like-to-be initiator.

And recently I purchased some world map place mats. They come in a tablet of 30, of New York, London, Tokyo, and Paris. I doubt I'd let a plate of mac'n cheese be placed upon these....but you never know. It would be cool and I would love my kids-any kid-to ask about these locations, ponder what it would be like to live there, look for the funniest named street, etc.

I recently stumbled upon this website....and I marvel at the ingenuity of the work and use of maps.

(from bombusdesign on flickr)

Put your feet on a London coffee table.

(from bombusdesign on flickr)

Sit on East London.

(from bombusdesign on flickr)

Go to Italy with a lacquered catchall.

(from bombusdesign on flickr)

Put your fruit in the streets of Paris.

Yeah. I would definitely have to say I'm all over the map.