March 2012 - Page 2 of 3

Teeny Trend: Cut Up Union Jacks

March 22, 2012 By Paola 7 Comments

Today’s Teeny Trend features the newly-unveiled Team GB kit designed by Stella McCartney and a cushion I’ve recently had my eye on.

I do like the idea of using portions of the Union Jack in designs – it’s still iconic and cool without going full on into Rule Britannia territory. And thank goodness the Stella McCartney designs, while a bit dull, aren’t hideously embarrassing, unlike the godawful Olympic logo. I still have no clue what they were thinking with that one.

We’ve booked our flights out to London for the Olympics! We don’t have tickets to any events, but I still wanted to be there to join in the party. Can. not. wait.

The Story of Bloom by Anna Schuleit

March 21, 2012 By Paola 6 Comments

I was so incredibly moved by this art installation that I came across recently.

There’s something about the beauty of the flowers in such a bleak space, and the hope they represent in a place that must have seemed devoid of hope for so many people. Art can sometimes be so incredibly powerful.

In 2003 Anna Schuleit was asked to create a commemorative art installation to mark the closure of the Massachusetts Mental Health Center. She noted that psychiatric patients are rarely brought flowers, so she used old hospital records to calculate how many people had passed through the facility and decided to commemorate each one with flowers.

The 28,000 potted plants and green turf were spread throughout the building which was opened up to the public, including former patients and staff, for four days. Then the plants were distributed to patients in care homes throughout the region (which is why Schuleit insisted on using potted plants instead of cut flowers).

Read more about it here. {Images by Anna Schuleit}

Adventures in Baking : Chocolate Bundt Cake with Chocolate Sour Cream Glaze

March 21, 2012 By Paola 7 Comments

Having a bad morning? Chocolate cake always makes things better I find, and this one is a complete doozy – dense, moist and fudgey with smoky almost indiscernible undertones of coffee. See, you’re feeling better already. And hardly any carbs I’m sure.

Anyway, I don’t think I’ve told you yet about Book Larder. It’s a fabulous new Seattle shop modelled on my darling Books for Cooks in London, which I used to live round the corner from and still sorely miss. Book Larder not only offers an amazing range of both popular and hard-to-come-by cookbooks, it also hosts a number of events and demonstrations from famous cookbook authors and chefs.

Last week, they were hosting a book signing for food blogger Joy the Baker and I was asked if I wanted to bake something for the event from the Joy the Baker Cookbook: 100 Simple and Comforting Recipes

It’s a wonderful book, chock full of original and droolworthy comfort food recipes written in Joy’s chatty style with an accompanying photo for every dish and lots of excellent baking tips. It’s also very American, featuring lots of maple syrup, bacon and peanut butter, cookies, marshmallows and waffles, to the extent that I was a little intimidated. What is a ‘toasted coconut Dutch baby with banana and pineapple’ when it’s at home? What the heck is a ‘buttermilk skillet cake with walnut praline topping’ supposed to taste like?

I decided to test the book out properly by making a bundt cake. Bundt cakes are ubiquitous in the US but I’ve never come across them in the UK and certainly never made one. Could Joy the Baker teach this English girl how to bake a bundt? (This was of course mostly a good excuse to buy myself a fancy bundt pan)

As far as I understand it, a bundt cake is just a cake baked in a bundt tin, which was traditionally a ring-shaped ridged affair. In the US you can nowadays buy bundt pans in the shape of forts or football stadiums, roses or pumpkins – the challenge with all of them is making sure that the giant slab of cake with no filling is moist and decadent rather than dry and dull. I needn’t have worried. Joy’s recipe features sour cream, vegetable oil and freshly-brewed coffee, which makes for a very wet batter and a delectably moist cake. In fact, having had some cake in the fridge for a few days now, I can confirm that it just gets moister and fudgier and more delicious with keeping.

I was also nervous about getting the thing out of the pan. After taking lots of advice on Twitter (thanks particularly to Jeanne Sauvage aka @fourchickens) I brushed the pan with melted butter, sprayed it with Bake Easy for good measure and floured it to within an inch of its life. I then took Joy’s advice (she has a whole section on getting bundts out of tins) to wait for 20 minutes while the cake cooled in the pan before taking it out. As a result of all this advice, both cakes I made just slid out of the pans with no fuss. Aren’t they pretty? I nearly burst with pride and couldn’t stop patting them. It seemed almost a shame to glaze them at all.

Joy’s bundt is finished with a chocolate coffee ganache. This almost caused a bit of a commotion by refusing to set, meaning that I turned up for the event with only five minutes to spare. If you’re making this for an event I suggest you make it the day before. The cake honestly improves with fridging and then you won’t have a last-minute ganache-fuelled panic.

The glaze is also maybe the one thing I’d change about the cake. The cake and ganache are surprisingly unsweet and sophisticated, perfect for adult tastes, but the Minx has declared that she doesn’t much like the mocha frosting. If making this again with kids in mind I would replace the sour cream and coffee with normal cream for a sweeter frosting. If you’re catering for adul ts though this is perfect as is.

Sorry non-American peeps, I didn’t have time to make the conversions from cups to weight. Time to get out those cup measures again!

Chocolate Bundt Cake with Chocolate Sour Cream Glaze

makes one 10-inch bundt cake

For the Cake:

1 1/4 cups freshly brewed hot coffee

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (I used Pernigotti which is just insanely good)

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted

1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt

2 1/2 teaspoons baking (bicarbonate of) soda

2 cups sugar

3 large eggs

1 1/4 cups sour cream

1 cup plus 2 Tablespoons canola oil

For the Glaze:

6 ounces semisweet chocolate

3/4 cup (11/2 sticks) unsalted butter

1/2 cup sour cream, at room temperature

4 tablespoons freshly-brewed hot coffee

Place an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.

Grease and flour a 10-inch Bundt pan (see above) and set aside.

To make the cake:

In a small bowl, whisk together the coffee and cocoa powder until smooth and no lumps remain. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, salt and baking soda. Set aside

In the bowl of a stand mixer fit with a whisk attachment, whisk together the sugar and eggs until thick and pale. . Add the sour cream and oil and whisk until well incorporated.

Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and whisk until the flour is well incorporated. Add the cooled coffee mixture and gently mix to incorporate. The batter should be loose and smooth.

Pour into the prepared cake pan and bake for around 50 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the cake comes out clean.

Let the cake cool completely in the pan and then invert onto a cooling rack. Cake should be completely cooled before frosting.

To make the glaze:

Bring 2 inches of water to simmer in a medium pan. Place the chopped chocolate (I used chips) and butter into a heatproof bowl. Place over the simmering water, making sure that the bottom of the bowl does not touch the boiling water. Remove the bowl from the heat when all of the chocolate bits have melted.

Remove from the heat and leave to cool for around 20 minutes. Stir in 2 tablespoons of the hot coffee, followed by the sour cream. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of coffee and stir until glossy.

This ganache will be very liquid and will need to spend half an hour or so in the fridge before it’s ready to be spread on the cakes, and will probably need an hour or so in the fridge subsequently if you’re planning on transporting the cake anywhere.

This is where I admit that I actually wasn’t a reader of Joy’s blog (I’ve started now though – I love her ‘voice’). It seems there are a ton of people who are though. It was standing room only to meet her.

Please don’t look at the picture of me. My hair was suffering from being raked-through too often by my fingers during my ganache-fuelled panic.

Fancy Hotel of the Week: The Ace Hotel NYC

March 19, 2012 By Paola 4 Comments

While in New York I had a great time at the Ace Hotel. It was fascinating to stay there since we’d enjoyed ourselves so much at the Ace in Palm Springs and I was intrigued to see how their aesthetic would translate to a New York setting.

And what they’ve done is very clever. The free-wheeling hippie chick of Palm Springs has smartened herself up for New York and become a little more glam and a little more polished, while still being a bit rough and ready around the edges and retaining her creative rocker vibe.

The refurbishment of the 1904 midtown Hotel Breslin is not exactly to my taste, but it’s hugely clever and hugely comfortable, and, as you would expect, full of thoughtful and quirky touches which add greatly to the pleasure of the stay.

Our room featured tattoo art (and super comfortable beds) a guitar (of course, every hotel room should have a guitar) and a full-sized fridge, a working record-player and water bottles in the shape of gin bottles (I loved those).

Downstairs in the lobby everything was dark and a little seedy, with glamorous filmstar lights, polished vintage woods and antique ceiling lights, while the funky graffiti wallpaper echoed the tattoo art in the bedroom.

Using vintage artifacts and furniture everywhere, while retaining the worn mosaic floors and chipped plaster ceilings made everything seem a little louche and decadent, while being respectful of the building and its history.

And someone had had huge fun with the graphic design (and having the address written so prominently on the keycard was super useful when grabbing a cab late at night).

The food was good, the coffee was great, the bar was jumping and staff couldn’t have been more pleasant, helpful and friendly.

All in all a fun, comfortable and reasonably-priced place to stay in New York. I will be back.

WTF Friday

March 16, 2012 By Paola 2 Comments

New location-based phone app Highlight was apparently the breakout star of SXSW this week. I personally have no idea what is does because I just can’t get beyond the gruesome, migraine-inducing logo.

Is causing acute physical pain in your customers a new corporate trend? It’s not even a good logo – rendered smaller and without the colours – as it probably will have to be for mobile devices etc. – it’s just not memorable in any way.

But hey, I’m talking about it and so is Business Insider, so maybe they know what they’re doing. But does this count as good graphic design?

You’re getting this early because I’m off for a weekend in Portland early on Friday morning (not quite sure why as it is POURING with rain here in the Pacific Northwest). Any good shops or restaurants you’ve been to recently that we should try out?

Go Fug Your Room: Adam Levine’s Hollywood Hills House

March 15, 2012 By Paola 2 Comments

Is the Husband reading? No? Good. Because here is where I confess to a teensy weensy crush on Maroon 5 lead singer Adam Levine.

It helps that he looks uncannily like an Australian I had a bit of a crazy affair with (it couldn’t be called dating) before I met the Husband, and I’m also really liking his attitude as a judge on The Voice (I think you really are revealing too much about yourself today, Ed) – he’s cute and funny and seems to really care about the contestants in his team and about music in general. I’d been afraid that he’d turn out to be a complete douchebag (how I still love that word) much like the handsome Australian turned out to be, but for me he’s added major charm points. Oh and I like his clothes.

But we all know that we can’t come to a proper conclusion about a man until we’ve seen the inside of his home, so fortunately Adam Levine’s house in the Hollywood Hills was featured recently in Architectural Digest so I could ascertain whether he was a worthy recipient of my affections.

Here’s Adam waiting to pick me up and whisk me off. It’s looking good so far, isn’t it ladies (and gay men)?

And here’s the kitchen. Some great furniture (a Florence Knoll table and some Jacobsen chairs). It doesn’t look like he cooks much, but I’d be happy to bake him a cake. A little bit of colour would be nice somewhere - this looks a bit like a space-age conference room – and the stylist who brought in the pink orchids obviously agrees. But overall not bad.

Oh dear. Purple VELVET? And the Chesterfield shape looks a bit incongruous and grannyish with all the mid-century stuff going on. I don’t like the rug either, something more graphic and less Miss Havisham would have worked better. And the dark drapes continue the ‘conference room at a mid-sized bank’ theme.

Admittedly it looks a little better from this side. I take it back, the van der Rohe daybed does work with the couch, and the big cushions outside are cool. I still wish he’d change that hideous rug though. Love the floor lamp.

This really feels like a musician’s house. Adam comes across as really loving music on The Voice and this feels really authentic and true to him.

However, I could do without more tufted velvet – I love the piece, but not here – and yet another granny rug, and although I have been known to like black walls in some contexts, this all looks far too dark and louche for southern California.

Adam, you are disappointing me.

Guns and Grammys? Seriously? I know you want me to know that you’re overloaded with testosterone, but this is all a bit much. I absolutely adore your sideboard though.

adam-levine-hollywood-hills-home-05-bedroom-lg

And THIS is the bed you are planning to throw me on to? Isn’t it, shall we say, a little staid and a bit Hilton Hotel-ish? More for snuggling up in flannelette pyjamas on your own with a good book, I’d say. And I’m not sure that black walls, looming portraits of hairy rockers and SKULLS are exactly going to get me in the mood.

I’m sorry Adam, but I’ve just remembered a prior engagement.

So my lovelies, what did you think of Adam’s ~~shag palace~~ tastefully appointed home? I really wanted to love iy, but to me it’s just too weird a mix of fabulous furniture, chain hotel and trying-too-hard mancave, with a hint of douchebaggery round the edges. But I have a sneaky suspicion that might be a pretty authentic reflection of Mr Levine’s personality anyway.

What do you guys think? Is this house fugly? Please post ~~your thoughts about his body~~ in-depth analysis of the interiors in the comments.

poll by twiigs.com

An astonishing 74% of you agreed that Ines de la Fressange’s Provencal home was fugly.

That Was The Week That Was: Back In Seattle Edition

March 14, 2012 By Paola 2 Comments

This has been an Instagram week of raincoats and snuggles, marmalade and bundt cake, polka dots and salted caramels, with a hint of spring green peeking through.

On the 1st January I started posting daily photos to Instagram. I’m @mirrormirroxx. Come and be my friend.

It’s Back! Mad Men Season 5

March 14, 2012 By Paola 5 Comments

I can’t tell you how excited I was to see these pics go up on the AMC website.

Finally, after what seems like an eternity, Don Draper and co are finally going to be back on our screens. It really has been far, far too long.

We’ve been invited to a premiere party and I’m thinking of baking a Black Forest Gateau. I know that was considered to be the height of elegance in 60s Britain, but I’m not sure about the US. Should I be throwing Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom soup into a hotpot instead? I believe some sort of cocktail might be in order too.

I had a pet theory last season that whichever woman on the show is closest to Don’s heart ends up wearing green (watch season 4, it works!), and on that basis I’m glad to see that Don is still very fond of Joanie and Peggy and has major issues with the ex-Mrs Draper. Speaking of which, where is the soon-to-be-new Mrs Draper? My other theory is that she’s going to turn out to be a bunny boiler extraordinaire.

So questions for you. Will you be watching? Are you excited? Are you having a party? What retro 60s American food should I make? Am I the only woman in the world who doesn’t want to jump into bed with Don Draper? Which Mad Men woman are you? I’m Peggy, though my life is currently more season one Betty (without the double-life living husband).

Blogging Your Way: NYC Road Trip Part 2

March 13, 2012 By Paola 7 Comments

Day two of the Blogging Your Way workshop (other pics here and here), found Leslie Shewring from A Creative Mint taking her day in the sun (quite literally as the sun came out in New York after two days of Seattle-like torrential rain).

After hearing Leslie’s inspiring story of clicking with Holly online and subsequently striking up a great blogging and teaching partnership, we settled down for a day of more practical creativity.

The biggest thing I took away from the workshop is that styling is ALL about telling stories in an image.

Whenever I’m styling something I know I always look at the colours and shapes first, forget about the mood or story I’m trying to convey, and then wonder why the image seems flat and dead. I can be very dense sometimes. Of course, it’s all about the storytelling. Well, duh.

Leslie showed us how she pulls together inspiration boards to figure out moods and colour schemes. She’s just one of those people who can instinctively pull together a bunch of random stuff and magically turn it into a coherent and pleasing whole.

It does help that she has some great props – she gave us lots of sources for what she called ‘curated hoarding’. This was the second most useful thing I learned at the workshop. Now I can explain to the Husband what I’m doing when he complains about the crap on my desk.

We then talked about composition, lighting and the basics of photography and Holly gave us a ton of tips about styling and photographing interiors. Then for the rest of the day we had time to play ourselves and make the most of the lovely light at Divine Studio and Leslie’s pretty props.

Here’s a little ‘inspiration board’ I pulled together, with things I’d pulled off my desk at home.

And here are a few shots I styled and photographed of the beautiful food. Can you see what stories I’m trying to tell?

Leslie encouraged us to explore our subjects from lots of different angles to find the best composition.

At the end of the day we all had fun taking pictures of all our new-found fri ends. Of course a huge part of the value and pleasure of doing these sorts of events is meeting a ton of inspirational and creative women. New friends include Tina, Audrey, Michele, Natalie and Gretchen, Jessica, Ashley, Amanda and Fiona (seen below, who’d flown in all the way from England). Also special thanks to Marianne, for being the most charming and easy-to-live-with roommate one could wish for. I highly recommend taking a stroll through the links above, you’ll find some super charming and talented women and some new and fabulously inspirational blogs.

And once more a HUGE thank you to Holly and Leslie. You ladies rock SO hard.