Two art projects

Last week was L's first birthday. In honor of the occasion I made a mini banner with washi tape and baker's twine, and some miniature flags for his cake. I ordered the washi tape from Happy Tape.


L worked on some finger painting. Very messy but very fun.

Recipe rundown: Chocolate Chip Scones

This is what dinner looks like when it's too hot to cook.

I am happy to report that I am making progress on my list, though admittedly, there are a lot of things in progress (like the succulents waiting to be potted). It's a start. And though it has been crazy hot here, I have even managed to stick to my bake-once-a-week pledge.

Last week I tried Karen DeMasco's chocolate chip scones from The Craft of Baking. They were delicious. It was the first recipe that I have tried from the cookbook, and I really liked the way that it was written (and the ideas for variations). I am definitely looking forward to trying more of the recipes in the future.

The good stuff: Calder Dairy cream and Callebaut chocolate

Mixing it up

Oops. There were supposed to be twelve scones.

CHOCOLATE CHIP SCONES
Adapted from The Craft of Baking by Karen DeMasco

1 3/4 cups flour
1 tbsp plus 1 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp granulated sugar
1/2 tsp kosher salt
6 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/2 heaping cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup plus 2 tbsp heavy cream
1 tbsp Demerara sugar

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment,combine the flour, baking powder, granulated sugar, and salt. Put the bowl in the freezer for 5 minutes, then beat the mixture on low speed until the butter is broken up into pebble sized pieces, about 3 minutes.

Add the chocolate chips. With the mixture on low speed, add 1 cup of cream and mix until the dough just comes together. Using your hands, knead the mixture in the bowl to bring the dough completely together.

Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and roll it into a 7-inch round, about 3/4 inch thick. Cut the dough into 12 wedges.

Place the pieces on a baking sheet, spacing them 1/2 inch apart. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze for 15 minutes (or place in the refrigerator for 1 hour).

While the scones are chilling, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Brush the scones with the remaining 2 tablespoons of cream and sprinkle lightly with the Demerara sugar. Bake the scones, rotating once, until they are golden on the edges and are firm to the touch, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

35 before 36

A little over a month ago I mentioned that I would be making a list of 35 things that I would like to do before I turn 36. As we have no idea where we will be living a year from now, I thought that I should focus on some things that we may not be able to do in our future hometown (such as visiting a cider mill, building a snowman, or feasting on Zingerman's bread). So here it is. I am pretty excited about the list. And I have already signed up for a photography class (see #18) so I think that I am off to a pretty good start.

1. Bake something once a week
2. Visit Cannon Beach
3. Sew something (maybe a quilt?)
4. Roast a chicken
5. Read King Leopold’s Ghost
6. Make a necklace
7. Pick blueberries
8. Go to a Michigan football game
9. Take L. to the zoo
10. Buy Zingerman’s bread once a week
11. Pick apples
12. Visit The Wave Field
13. Make croissants
14. Pickle carrots
15. Take L. to the pumpkin patch and corn maze
16. Visit the cider mill with L. and O.
17. Take a class at Pot & Box
18. Learn more about our camera
19. Get up early and go bird watching
20. Plant succulents
21. Take a BAKE class
22. Make a snowman
23. Visit Leelanau County and Sleeping Bear Dunes
24. Work on photo album for L.
25. Make pâte de fruit
26. Go to the Homegrown Festival
27. Take a winter stroll in the Arb
28. Make Bûche de Noël
29. Go for a walk once a week (even in winter)
30. Put up a Christmas tree
31. Read The Brothers Karamazov
32. Make jam
33. Plan monthly art project to do with L.
34. Take a class at Hollander’s
35. Visit the Natural History Museum

And five big things to do before I turn 40:

1. Take O. and L. on PhD celebration trip (tentative destination: Croatia)

2. See the Northern Lights

3. Get back to Asia

4. Visit Hawaii with Mom

5. Research and plan fabulous 40th birthday holiday

Arts and Crafts

Last week marked the 2010 Ann Arbor Art Fairs. As usual, it was hot. Unfortunately, there were also some severe storms. We did manage to see a lot of the fairs on Wednesday night. We were particularly enamored with (and ended up purchasing) this photo of a Scottish Highland bull from Joel Anderson. I think that it will look great in a kitchen nook. I also really liked these sheep. We also picked up a hand-carved whale on wheels for L.

On Saturday I dropped by Blue House, a handmade studio in Ann Arbor, to check out MittenMADE, a 2-day craft event featuring artists from Michigan. I really liked the wellie prints from sloe gin fizz and the letterpress cards and posters from Elevated Press.

Wellie print from sloe gin fizz

Letterpress card from Elevated Press

But I am really excited about the workshops offered at Blue House. The deadline for my list is looming (don't worry, it is almost complete), and I have spent a lot of time thinking about the things that make me happy (other than O and L, of course). Handmade things (edible or not) are way up there and appear in multiple places on the list. One thing that I'd like to do is sew something. That's right; I am keeping it simple. I think that the Beginners Quilting Series at Blue House sounds like the perfect fit.

Birthday recipe rundown: Chocolate pots de crème

Whew. Lately there has been too much illness in my house, my friends. Thankfully, nothing has been serious, just disruptive.

My parents came to visit for my birthday, which was a lovely treat. We spent some time at the Matthaei Botanical Gardens, where L. practiced standing up on anything and everything. We also went to Top of the Park and lounged around on a blanket listening to good music. Altogether a very relaxing visit.

The very cool monkey puzzle tree (photo by O.)

Hanging with Dad

On my actual birthday, we went out for sushi and L. hammed it up with the wait staff and chowed down on sushi rice. O. made me celebratory chocolate pots de crème from the Tartine cookbook. They were extremely decadent and super delicious.

So now that my birthday has come and gone, I am working diligently on my list. It has actually been a nice opportunity to reflect on the types of things that make me happy and how to incorporate said things into (or in some cases, back into) my life. More to come. But for now.....the recipe!

CHOCOLATE POTS DE CRÈME
From Tartine by Elisabeth Prueitt and Chad Robertson

6 oz bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
2 3/4 cups heavy cream
3 tbsp sugar
pinch salt
8 large egg yolks
Unsweetened softly whipped cream for serving

Preheat oven to 350˚F. Have ready 8 custard cups or ramekins that hold ¾ cup each. Choose a baking pan or baking dish for a water bath large enough to accommodate custard cups or ramekins without touching, and deep enough to hold water that will reach three-fourths of the way up the sides of the molds once they are added. Pour enough water into the pan to reach about halfway up the sides of the pan, and place the pan in the oven while it is heating.

Pour water to a depth of about 2 inches into a saucepan, place over medium heat, and bring to a gentle simmer. Select a heat-proof bowl that will rest securely in the rim of the pan over, not touching, the water. Put the chocolate in the bowl, place over the water, and heat, stirring occasionally, until the chocolate melts and is smooth. Remove from the heat.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, combine the cream, sugar, and salt, place over medium heat, and heat to just under a boil. Place the egg yolks in a mixing bowl and whisk until well blended. When the cream mixture is ready, remove it from the heat and slowly pour it into the melted chocolate, whisking to incorporate. Slowly add the chocolate-cream mixture to the egg yolks, again whisking well to incorporate. Pour through a fine-mesh sieve into a pitcher or large measuring cup. You should have about 1 quart.

Line up the custard cups or ramekins on the countertop, and pour the mixture into them, dividing it evenly. Pull out the oven rack holding the water bath and place the molds in the bath. Pour in more water if necessary to reach three-fourths of the way up the sides of the molds.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. To test for doneness, jiggle one of the molds; the center of the custard should still be a bit wobbly, but the outside should appear set. Remove the water bath from the oven, and remove the custards from the water bath. Let cool. The custards will continue to cook and set up as they cool. Serve warm or cold with whipped cream.

Note: The whipped cream was delicious, but I actually preferred mine sprinkled with some smoked sea salt to bring out the deep chocolate flavor. I think that these would also be fabulous with lavender or lemongrass (steeped in the cream mixture).

Inspiring

Photo by David La Spina for The New York Times

I ran across this article in The New York Times about Alexandra Reau, a fourteen-year-old who runs her own C.S.A. Amazing.

I am still waiting for my tomatoes to ripen. The Super Sweet 100s are getting close and I think that the Purple Cherokees will be next. I am so ready for a Caprese salad! Now if I could only bring myself to do some weeding.

Maps

O. and I really love maps. I'm not sure what it is about them exactly. They are practical yet can be works of art. Here are a few handmade maps that recently caught my eye.

Karen M. O'Leary hand cuts absolutely stunning maps. They are modern and minimal and incredibly interesting. She also make some really beautiful prints.

Detail of San Francisco hand cut map

Manhattan handcut map

Famille Summerbelle's whimsical world map via Hither and Thither. I think that this would be really fun in a kid's room.

Detail of hand paper cut

World map print

And the perfect daydreaming map courtesy of You and Me, The Royal We. Hand drawn by Oliver Jeffers, the print comes with 202 pins to "chart your path to global domination. 200 of the pins are black, one of them is red and one of them is blue. Red is for headquarters, blue is for next target." How fun is that?

Detail from Places on Earth print