Monday, January 31, 2011

Amanda's illustrated sushi book


My roommate, Amanda, and I both made recipe books to give as gifts this winter. After I posted a photo of her homemade vegan sushi, I wanted to post recipes to go with it. But she doesn't follow a recipe, exactly, and I also didn't feel qualified to transcribe it, since I've never made sushi myself. So I'm posting her beautifully illustrated veggie sushi recipe book instead! Most of her favorite combinations of fruit and vegetables are pictured here. Then I guess she makes the rice and wraps it and all that normally? I like to leave the veggie sushi construction to her!

Above: celery and pomegranate seeds with scallions, and sauteed mushroom with scallions (pages 1 and 2). 


Above: the index page (page 0). 

Above: sauteed mushrooms with scallions, sweet potato with red cabbage slaw and red pepper (pages 3 and 4).

Above: kale, left, and carrot, sweet potato, and red onion, right (pages 5 and 6).
Above: an interesting arrangement of pickle, spinach, and onion (pages 7 and 8). 

Friday, January 28, 2011

Artecnica's Witch's Kitchen


I am just so enamored with Artecnica's Witch's Kitchen. Magic and cooking just go together! And the design and photography of this set is so fantastic. 

From the website: 
An Artecnica Design with Conscience™ project, Witches’ Kitchen™ is a handcrafted kitchenware collection inspired by the witches and wizards of western lore. The extensive collection is a collaborative exercise in sustainable design. Designed by Studio Tord Boontje and handcrafted by artisan groups from three different South American countries, Witches’ Kitchen features black ceramic cookware hand-molded by Colombian artisans, wooden kitchen utensils handcarved by Guatemalan craftsmen, and kitchen couture hand-sewn by Brazil’s Coopa-Roca women’s cooperative. 
Originally discovered via Cabinet of Curiosities, way back in 2008. 








Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Judith Scott


I'm enchanted by these wrapped sculptures by outsider artist Judith Scott. I was reminded of them after I posted those nests by Richard Barnes. 




Monday, January 24, 2011

decemberists dictionary


It's been a number of months now since I made this dictionary of Decemberists' words for a friend. I kept putting off posting it until I knew it had reached him in New York, and then I got distracted. I made it this summer while I was fiddling around with Adobe InDesign. The Decemberists theme was a good excuse to use tons of over-the-top fonts, and it was a fun way to practice the software. It would be fun to case it in someday (that is, "cover" it with a bookboard and bookcloth cover or case), though it's really only pamphlet sized. 




Friday, January 21, 2011

Erika Somogyi


I'm so in love with the colors and images and silhouettes and light in the watercolor and gouache work of Erika Somogyi. Apocalyptic, eerie, magical, and somehow cheery.









Wednesday, January 19, 2011

vegan cream of mushroom soup


My roommate and I keep getting entranced by the mushrooms at Berkeley Bowl. Seriously, every week, we go there to get our produce, checking things off our list, and we pass these dozens of different types of beautiful fresh mushrooms. And we can't get them every week, and they're not on our list. But they're there, and they're so beautiful, and they're mushrooms. So finally, I gave in to their siren call, and got some chanterelles. Then I compromised and also picked out some regular, but adorable, brown mushrooms. And I made soup. It's inspired by a non-vegan cream of wild mushroom soup recipe in Barefoot Contessa at Home, which my roommate got for Christmas. Except with lots of adjustments for vegan-ness, what I had on hand (lots of celery, no carrots) and the fact that the 3 cups of pre-sliced, pre-packaged white mushrooms I'd bought to fill out the soup a bit had actually gone bad, even though they were all safe and sound in their vacuum-packed abode. Which was really sad. (And one of the sadder aspects of buying from the Bowl, I guess.) 

Also, I was really lucky when I made the broth for this soup, because my roommate had cooked with dried mushrooms the previous night. And there was a cup or two of the yummy mushroom water she'd hydrated the dried mushrooms in leftover. (As you can tell, we went a little mushroom-crazy in my apartment!) If you have this on hand, or mushroom stock, I recommend it, because I didn't have enough mushrooms stems to make this broth as mushroom-y as it would've been without my leftover mushroom water. Or just get extra mushrooms to use just for the broth. I probably wouldn't have had this problem if my pre-packaged mushrooms hadn't gone slimy before I could use them. 
VEGAN CREAM OF MUSHROOM SOUP

10 or so ounces of fresh chanterelle mushrooms
10 or so ounces of fresh brown mushrooms
optional: extra mushrooms for the broth
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 - 6 tablespoons vegan margarine
1 chopped onion, white or yellow
1 celery stalk, chopped (and/or 1 carrot, chopped)
2 tsp dried thyme
2 cups chopped leeks
1/4 cup flour
1 cup white wine
1 cup soy creamer, other non-dairy creamer, or non-dairy milk
parsley to garnish


Separate the stems off the brown mushrooms and cut them off the chanterelles. Coarsely chop the stems. Slice the mushroom caps 1/4-inch thick and, for big pieces, cut them into bite-sized chunks. Set aside. 

Heat the olive oil and 1 tablespoon of the margarine in a large saucepan. Add the mushrooms stems, half of the thyme, the onion, carrot, 1 teaspoon of salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper. Cook for 10 or 15 minutes on medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are soft. Add 6 cups water, vegetable stock, or mushroom stock, and bring to a boil. Then reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes. When the broth is done, strain the veggies and mushroom stems out, reserving the liquid. You should have a little over 4 cups of liquid. 

Meanwhile, in another large saucepan, heat the remaining butter and add the leeks. Cook over low heat until the leeks soften and begin to get golden-brown, about 15 minutes or so. Add the flour and cook, stirring, for a minute or so. Add the white wine and stir for another minute, scraping the bottom of the pot. Add the mushroom broth, the remaining thyme, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and a 1 teaspoon pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the non-dairy dairy product, parsley, and salt and pepper to taste. 


Monday, January 17, 2011

Valerie Hammond


The beautiful lines and textures of Valerie Hammond's work. Images from Design*Sponge posts, here and here, and from the Carrie Haddad Gallery.








Friday, January 14, 2011

Richard Barnes


Loving the Refuge photo series by Richard Barnes. Similar to my obsession with things on white backgrounds, I also really enjoy things on dramatic black backgrounds. I was just joking with my roommate that I don't really understand photography, but can relate to it pretty well it's just a picture of an object; then I can relate to it as I would the object itself.

More by Richard Barnes on my tumblr.


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