Maya Brenner designs at a fraction of the cost!!

Did I just lose my mind you ask?  No.  But this is just another reason why my favorite little company is red hot, spot on trend and all the buzz around movie town: Stella and Dot have released a collection of new arrivals designed by celebrity designer Maya Brenner!  Maya's designs are found at high end stores in the States like Fred Segal at triple digit prices, but for her friend Stella she has designed comparables - own your own for about $89!

Take a look at the Ellipse, Double Bar and Clover necklaces.  In true Brenner design they are classic and delicate pieces which transition from home to office to dinner.

(Ellipse)

"A delicate14kt gold vermeil chain with handset pave in an oval shape adds the perfect amount of sparkle to the side of your neck. Wear alone for a casual look, or layer it with longer necklaces for a more glamorous style. This necklace pairs beautifully with the Pave Double Bar Necklace and Together Forever Necklace. Each piece is handmade in Thailand."

(Clover)

(Double Bar)

www.stelladot.com/sites/thegoods1

K



Spring is Here!

Ok, I know I have to shake up this blog a bit - too many recipes, too much cooking.  So, I have been previewing the Spring 2011 collections over the past weeks, to keep my deep rooted denial of winter intact as well as giving me vision of something to look forward to - just 8 months away...

Although I have to admit, Fall is the best season for fashion, I was taken with the recent collections of some designers as it transported me to garden parties with delicate pastel florals and beautiful flowing fabrics.  Some of the designers I follow created an ethereal, flowing feel with draped chiffon fabrics, garden prints and even "resort" (I hate that word - conjures up images of the Love Boat for me) themes such as Monique Lhuillier and Stella McCartney.  So, let's start with a quickt snapshot of Spring 2011:

Monique Lhuillier - fabulous, fabulous, fabulous

Stella McCartney - edgy and intelligent, as usual

Collections had other trends occurring, beyond the ladylike flowing soft fabrics and garden party themes:

Donna Karan kept a neutral palette that was both soft yet strong, true to her designs:

(Donna Karan)

70's glam continues thanks to Marc Jacobs, dressing models in deep jewel tones and black,

(Marc Jacobs)

while others opted for punches of bright colors offset with neutrals.  Michael Kors worked Kelly green, Canary yellow and hot pink with classic grey, beige and khaki:

(Michael Kors)

Many designers used bright coral, one of my favorite summer colours, balanced with neutral, like Luca Luca and J. Mendel

(Luca Luca)

The queen of beautiful gowns and wedding design, Vera Wang, showed her timeless and elegant design, always evolving, always fresh, and simply divine

(Vera Wang, Wedding Collection)

Trends that continue into the Spring include "loungerie", the morphing of lingerie and street wear and biker clothing.

I was surprised to see this shoe supposedly on the horizon

Nothing good can come of this.  Nothing.

And, the kitten heel continues, which is great for us with back problems!

K



My all-time favorite roast chicken

Ah, the leaves have turned colour in our backyard and although we had a beautiful 27 degrees on Saturday, there is no doubt Fall is here.  My cooking continues and from picking up a slew of roaster chickens, the kitchen is bubbling up some meals for the week and emitting a wonderful "come and stay awhile" smell!

My all-time favorite recipe for chicken is the simple roast chicken.  A picture perfect meal straight out of the oven, easy to prepare and you can always find something in the fridge to accompany it on the dinner plate.

When I think of roast chicken, I think of French cooking and one of my early culinary inspirations: Julia Child.  Although most people in their 20's, 30's and sometimes 40's know her only from last years movie release, I remember watching PBS every Saturday to visit with dear ol' Joooolia in her kitchen.

Thanks to the Food Network, regardless of their move to create TV food personalities from reality shows, they have kept some recipes from the Masters in their recipe box.  Here is the recipe I use as a springboard for creating my own roasted chicken.  And remember, everything tastes better with butter!

Julia's Roast Chicken

Ingredients


1 (3 1/2 to 4 pound) chicken

1 small yellow onion, quartered

1 lemon, thinly sliced

1/2 cup celery leaves

Salt and black pepper

Butter

1 small onion, chopped

1 carrot, chopped

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

2 cups chicken broth

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Wash the chicken in hot water and dry thoroughly. Season the cavity with salt and black pepper and stuff with the onion, lemon, and celery leaves. Rub the chicken lightly with softened butter and season all over with salt and pepper. Tie the drumsticks ends together and set the chicken, breast side up, in an oiled v-shaped rack or on an oiled roasting pan in the oven.

Roast for 15 minutes at 425 degrees F, then reduce the heat to 350 degrees, baste the chicken, and roast for 15 minutes. Add the chopped onion and carrot to the pan, basting them and the chicken. Continue roasting the chicken until the juices run clear, for a total of 45 minutes plus an additional 7 minutes for each pound. (In other words, a 3 1/2 pound chicken would take a basic 45 minutes plus an additional 25 minutes, for a total 70 minutes or 1 hour and 10 minutes of cooking time.)

Remove the chicken and spoon the fat out of the roasting pan. Into the pan, stir in the herbs and blend in the broth and, stirring constantly, boil for several minutes on the stove top to concentrate the flavor. Correct the seasoning and strain the sauce into a warm sauce boat. Carve the chicken and serve with the warm sauce.

For those more visually inclined...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Wk2cYarjOI&NR=1&feature=fvwp

The best cake. Ever.

I'm going to pre-warn you if you haven't already figured it out - it's fall and I like to cook.  More specifically, when Fall comes, the oven is rarely turned off!  It is a great time to make pastries, cakes or try new cookie combinations.

Our favorite cake is a Mexican delight called pastel tres leche (three milk cake), and you have to love Mexican language - what's not to understand: cake with three different kinds of milk.  It is my husband's all time favorite, and whenever my daughter has a plate of tres leche in front of her, she says it makes her "floaty".  That, by the way, is a very good thing.  Now if only school work could make one floaty....

I was devastated to realize over the summer that I "misplaced" my treasured recipe!  Of course, that meant getting back into the kitchen to figure out a new one.  The result of this journey - I now have a great and quick version, which I have to admit, I will make often!

If you haven't tried this wonderful cake - you now have no reason not to feel floaty.

PASTEL TRES LECHE


Ingredients
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 cup plus 1 tsp. sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
5 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/3 cup 2% milk
1 cup sweetened condensed milk
1 cup evaporated milk
1 Tbsp. rum
1 cup heavy cream

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350F.

Sift together the flour and baking powder.  In a large bowl, cream the 1 cup of sugar with the butter.  Then, add the eggs, one at a time and 1/2 tsp. vanilla, and beat until foamy.  Gently fold in the flour, alternating with 1/3 cup milk, until the batter is smooth.

Place the batter into a lightly greased pan (approximately 8x11 inches) and bake for 30 minutes or when the top springs back when pressed.  Allow the cake to cool and invert it onto a serving platter, preferably with a lip on the end (which will help the milks stay with the cake).  Pierce the cake with a fork in many places.

In a bowl, whisk together the condensed milk, evaporated milk, 1 cup milk and the rum until well blended.  Pour the milk mixture over the cake until it is saturated.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.

In a mixing bowl whisk the heavy cream until it begins to thicken.  Add 1 tsp. sugar and 1 tsp. vanilla, and continue to whisk until a stiff peak forms.  Spread the cream over the top and sides of the cake.  Cut into squares and serve.

Last thing - there are several ways to serve tres leche.  Au natural or simply with a sprinkle of cinnamon.

Or, try some caramel or chocolate sauce.  Or my favorite, sliced fresh fruit: strawberries, mangoes, raspberries or starfruit to name a few.  However you choose to decorate this beautifully simple dessert, the taste and texture will knock your socks off!

Simple and perfect - a rustic apple pie

(Couldn't wait long enough to take a picture!)

So, what's a girl to do with a barrel full of apples?  Easy - bake until you see the bottom of the barrel again. And with that, I have my all time, never fail and simple recipe to share for a "rustic" apple pie.  Now, rustic doesn't mean anything exotic, it's freeform!  You got it - not muss, no fuss but an exceptional end product!

I first learned to cook pies from my dear Uncle Mike - when I was 10 years old, I faithful followed him around his kitchen mimicking every move he made and studied his technique with the greatest of interest.  Of course, it was tasting the end result which was the main prize for such focus at that age, but I am still in awe of watching any professional work their art with pastry!  When I was in University, it was Martha Stewart's pie crust using a food processor (so the heat of your hands wouldn't melt the butter) ensuring a perfectly crisp pastry.  These days, it's all about a great, flaky crust, seasonal fruit and minimal work - I have a day job to maintain here!

So, here is my standby for the fall classic (you can substitute other fruit combinations depending on what is in season)

Ingredients


Pastry

1 cup plus 2 Tbsps flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon sugar

1/2 cup butter, cut into pieces

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

About 4-6 Tbsps ice-cold water

Filling

4 tablespoons brown sugar

1 tablespoon flour

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

About 5 large apples, peeled, cored and sliced

1 tablespoon butter



Directions

To make the pastry: Put the flour, salt, and sugar in a large bowl. Add the butter pieces and incorporate with either a pastry cutter or your fingers until it reaches a crumb texture. Make a well in the middle, and pour in the vanilla and water. Quickly work in the flour with your hands to create dough. Do not over-mix. Pat into a disk, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate 20 minutes, or you can make this ahead of time and keep refridgerated a day.

Heat the oven to 425°F. Roll the pastry into a large round and lay on a baking sheet.

For the filling, stir together the sugar, flour, and cinnamon in a bowl. Toss in the apples to coat, and transfer them to the center of the pastry. Cut the butter into smaller pieces and scatter over the top of the apples. Bring the edges of the pastry up over so they lay rough-edged over the apples. They won’t cover the apples completely. Bake until the crust is crisp and golden and the apples are soft, about 40 to 45 minutes.

Some additional tips for a flaky pastry:

Keep the butter and water cold!  I keep the butter in the fridge until the last minute and put a few ice cubes in a cup of water and pull the needed amount of water from there.

Lass handling makes a better pastry - this is not bread dough!  Don't worry, it doesn't have to look pretty and it's ideal to see small pieces of better still in tack while bringing the dough together!  If you are concerned about over kneading the dough, you can alternatively use a food processor.

Letting the dough rest in the fridge is critical!  This will bring the small pieces of butter that have melted back to a solid form.  Once you roll the dough out, you can choose to place the sheet back in the fridge or even the completed pie prior to cooking - for the same reason.  When it hits the high heat and the butter starts to melt during the cooking stage, it produces a flakier crust.

Enjoy!

Trip to NYC AND free jewellery! So Stella...

Trip?  Free stuff?  YES - you got it!  But of course, there is always a catch - and today, until the end of the month only, Stella and Dot, purveyors of a fabulous little jewellery line that could,  is offering both hostesses and fans the chance to win a shopping getaway to NYC in November!

Take a look

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mG5dm82oRlk

So, love the line?  Like getting together with a few friends?  Who doesn't.  Let's move away from the typical "party" with pressure sales and numbers, and enjoy an hour catching up over coffee or wine and trying on some great pieces from the SD line.  No presentations, and you earn free jewellery!

Here are some of my current favorite pieces!

(The Stella Vintage necklace)

(The Petra bracelet)

(Soiree delicate earring in gold)

Double your chances by entering as a fan through Facebook on the Stella and Dot page!(http://www.facebook.com/ )

Live out of town and want the line?  You can order direct from my website and we will ship it out within a few days!  www.stelladot.com/sites/thegoods1

Have a great weekend!
K

New Trend: Travel and Click

(picture taken of fresh figs at a Cortona Grocer, Tuscany)

OK, so it may not be on the "actual" new trend list of any magazine or style watch, but it should be!  Travel, take your camera, and click everything you see.  THEN, turn your travel catalogue into beautiful artwork for your home!

My husband and I (well I decided and my husband was wonderful enough to carry most of the brunt of the work without a single complaint) "refreshed" our main floor powder room this past weekend.  A Spanish Tile Red painted cubicle with standard white pedestal sink, toilet and tiles has been transformed with a decadent and whimsical red and black floral wallpaper, some new hardware and a collection of pictures I took while travelling through southern Tuscany this past June.  A new look achieved while not breaking the bank or having to undergo major renovations - bonus! 

After finally organizing the snaps on a disc (Thanks, David!) I simply headed off to the local Shoppers Drug Mart and made myself comfortable at the self-serve print shop.  Here you can manipulate your prints from colour to sepia or black and white, crop, remove red eye - the works.  I found a few prints I really liked and they just popped in black and white!  So, for under $5, I have four 8x10 prints ready to frame!

My trek then took me to Micheal's craft store where I quickly found the wide black frames with double soft white moldings that completed my new artwork - and with a bit of Irish luck (or due to the continuing recession) they were all 50% off.  It's a sign.

(photo of a Vineria in Cortona, Tuscany)

The only thing missing from  the makeover is the originally planned black chandelier!

(In Black, of course!)

It was time to start making our home a bit more personal, and fun!  However, when I noticed there was NO overhead light in the powder room, the chandelier went PUFF out the door!

Here is the final (as of last night) product of our fall makeover!

Everyone in the family is happy, still talking and because of our new wallet-friendly artwork, we have enough left to start the next bathroom!  Stay tuned!

Pretty as a Puerta

Great example of an Ajijic Pubelito (village) door

One of my many obsessions are doors - to be more specific, entrance doors - the first impression of a house, a style and a person.  On our many travels, I'm often caught taking pictures of local doors, especially in Mexico!

I love the architecture, design and furniture of Mexico, both modern and old hacienda style.  It's large and substantial, some highly decorative while others are brilliantly simplistic in it's curves and design, but all very functional and built to last a very, very long time!  In our travels through Mexico, we spent some time in Colonial Mexico, in Guadalajara and while there, took a few side trips to the Lake Chapula and Talaquepacque areas, where the urge to click was overwhelming at times!

(Lake Chapula greetings)

If you have not sampled a Mexican neighbourhood outside the tourist zone, it is a beautiful combination of bold and Caribbean colours mixed with abandon, yet it all comes together to represent the character of it's people.  Warm and inviting, traditional homes and haciendas offer entrance directly off the main street, usually an understated building but with a large ornate or colourful door, with beautifully forged hinges dating back hundreds of years or a simple carved entrance or iron door knockers to greet you.

(Three great examples of Hacienda entrances)

Our trip to the Lake Chapula area was a great introduction to the doors of Ajijic - it sets the tone of both the home and the area.  You will find them large or small, wooden or metal, colorful or striking wood finished.  Around the door can be as dramatic as stone arches or plastered walls brightly colored.  It seems like the only guidelines are the boundaries of the home owners' imagination - it's brilliant and joyous all at the same time!

Here are a few examples of the variety of Ajijic doors:

The Hacienda door - understated, but elegant.  It looks like a regal entrance, maybe built for a Spanish Viceroy, and you have to agree, it is a powerfully affluent design.

Here is an example of a metal door, with an Astec feel - supposedly designed by a Canadian artist in residence who tried to express his knowledge of Mexican mythology through art.

Here is a great, colorful casa entryway, sure to invite

Amazing combinations of colors, oranges, blues and aqua make the classic wooden door come to life and invite a peek inside.


And, I came across this door during our visit and found it in an article on the Internet!

"Straight out of Scheherazade and the Arabian Nights this Mexican Moroccan Villa was designed and built by the legendary architect John King. Two of John's Ajijic homes have graced the pages of Architectural Digest in recent years. Behind the walls are classic Arabian arches and other design details mixed in with a good measure of Mexican color."

So the next time you travel, take a moment and notice the beauty in the designs of a culture - it doesn't have to be an ornate church or a painting hanging in a museum to be worthy of attention.  Sometimes it can be in plain view, through beautiful woodwork, colorful choices of paint and artwork expressed through the simple front door.

Wascally Wabbits - A Garden Post Mortem

(Tomatillos - so close!  Rabbits ate the first batch, this second round just didn't have enough summer - the tomatillo "laterns" are just growing)

So it's early September and feeling more like fall with each passing day.  Believe it or not, Edmonton is still working those arm muscles swatting mosquitoes away (that usually ends the beginning of August, just before the wasp season kicks in) but eerily enough, there was frost on the car this morning!  Bizarre!

In the meantime, our vegetable garden is on it's own schedule.  Done are the sweet peas, the beets and radishes.  The tomatoes are on their last breadth but our fava beans are still going!  By the looks of this week's forecast, best to pick everything tonight - fava beans, eggplant, tomatoes and lettuce.

The squirrels and rabbits helped themselves to our cherries this year so we had no harvest, and those rabbits lived like kings on the argula, edamame beans and a large number of other plants.  Why, we even have a resident rabbit who has taken to our front lawn - barely bothered by us humans at all!

(Resident Thumper and the edible shrubs)

Notice the wonderful coverage he gets from the rain and wind!  I wonder if this is the same rabbit, all grown up, that lived under this shrub last year? Regardless of when he moved in, no one can deny this is his territory, as his body imprint is firmly carved into the wood chips and shrubs in his short absence!  My inventive husband made some cages to place over the plants that were almost completely consumed - roots and all -  and the plants are starting to come back!  YES!

As I have yet to witness wascally wabbits hanging from the branches of our apple tree, I wondered if the apples would be up for grabs to these critters as well.  But much to my delight, the apples seem OK and are still growing!

(Goodland apple tree holding it's own)

I did notice that our neighbours apple trees are completely bare - just like our cherry tree - could rabbits get to them, or more likely squirrels?  I have read that the bee population is decreasing rapidly and also wondering if this will be the fate of our apple tree next year?  Since I am completely uneducated on fruit trees I guess that's something to figure out before next spring!

Has anyone had similar issues this year with their fruit trees?

All in all, our garden, like our summer, was too short and very patchy.  I hope next year brings more stable weather and the City of Edmonton builds a few rabbit shelters in our neck of the woods - I don't know how many more squatters our poor garden can handle!  But until then, our family can feast on the last harvest of the season.  I guess a trip to the Farmer's Market next week.....

K

Can you guess this awesome fruit?

OK, so dead giveaway - it is a stone fruit.  Apricot? Nectarine? Peach? Plum?  Nope.  Try Pluot.  Or maybe you might recognize it as a Plumcot.  Whatever you call it, it is a hybrid fruit from a specific combination of plums and apricots, and I found them in Costco this week!

When I googled the Pluot, I read some interesting facts: the original fruit, the Plumcot, was a 50-50 crossover between a plum and apricot.  The end result wasn't overly successful - they were hard to grow and to ship.  However, a genetics company over a period of several generations succeeded in an intricate cross breeding with roughly a 75-25 ratio of plum to apricot, and as such, created a more hearty, sweeter version they named the Pluot.  It resembles a plum more so than an apricot, though softer, sweeter and typically larger than a plum.  Some have labeled it a Dinosaur Egg for it's intricate markings on the skin. Today there are multiple colors, markings and varieties of the Pluot!

If you prefer apricots, try to hunt down a Plucot - this one resembles and tastes more like apricots than plums, so I would safely guess the fruit ratio is also stacked heavier on the apricot side!

Pink, red, yellow and orange hues dominate this fruit, but please avoid the green ones!  If you wait until the pluot is quite tender to the touch, when slicing through the fruit you'll have an explosion of juice and sweet fruit goodness - hats off to genetics!

Currently, my husband and I have already made a second trip back to Costco and are consuming them like the season is about to end! (Probably because it is)  But besides enjoying the fruit as a quick snack, what else to do with these new fruit?  I am going to head to the kitchen this weekend and find out!

On first thought, I refer to how I'd prepare a plum or apricot.  It might work well with ham or duck in a savory application.  For baking?  I'm sure a pluot tart or pie would be fantastic, or maybe a trifle or upside down cake.  Pluot compote with a rich pound cake?  Maybe the compote with a great cheese course - my husband would love that!  But at the end of the day, you can't go wrong transforming the contents of your fruit bowl into jam!

And how about a jam recipe?  Courtesy of Epicurious.com

Ingredients
3/4 pound ripe Pluots (about 3 large or 5 small), halved, pitted, chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)
3 tablespoons honey
4 teaspoons (or more) balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon (or more) lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon finely minced fresh rosemary
1/8 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
Pinch of black pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives

Directions
Place Pluots, honey, 4 teaspoons vinegar, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, lemon peel, rosemary, coarse salt, and pinch of pepper in small saucepan. Bring to boil over medium-high heat, stirring. Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer until fruit has broken down and mixture is thick, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes. Cool. Adjust seasonings; add chives.

So make the trek to Costco this weekend and grab a flat of Pluots - just make sure to save a few for me!