Crazy for Corn

Now that corn is in season, I am finding all sorts of reasons to make dishes featuring super sweet corn.

We went to a picnic the other day, (thank goodness for our portable canopy) and brought a simple lunch. Hummus, Corn & Chickpea Salad (minus chickpeas since we had hummus), and a loaf of sourdough bread. We did forget forks, so we resorted to scooping up the corn salad with bread. It was still good, even without the proper eating utensils.

This recipe feeds 8, and travels well, as the salad has a lemony vinaigrette for dressing. I used less feta (sheep’s milk) and the flavor was still pretty pronounced. You could also use less walnuts to cut back on fat grams. If you don’t have time to grill, use a cast iron pan and olive oil to char the corn. It will still be delicious.

For corn on the cob, we still use the corn holders from my childhood, shaped like little ears of corn. Our friends and their little girls were over for dinner,  and after seeing ours, the girls had to use them to eat their corn too!

More “corny" ideas:

Grilling Set - $29.99

 

  Head to Tail Corn Holders - $10

 
Corn Husk Totes - $19.99

Food & Wine even has a corn slideshow

What is your favorite way to enjoy corn?

photo credit: Country Living

The Unhurried Life

Wanted to share one of my favorite essays, from March 1999 (click on the image to enlarge). I was going through my papers and ran across this column. I am still trying hard to master the unhurried life.

Style File: Vanessa de Vargas

 

Decorati had a feature on Vanessa de Vargas of Turquoise in Los Angeles. They describe her look as Modern Glam, she describes her style as “a mix of vintage and modern from 60s Miami bamboo to Mid Century Modern". You know those words are music to my ears. Here are some photos of her work.

For even more photos, visit her portfolio.

 

  
photo credit: Turquoise

Friday Finds: Lisa Roy handbags, Whitney Smith Pottery and Lucas Studio Tag Sale

Lisa Roy Handbags: Here is a fun twist, a former magazine art director turned handbag creator. As I have said before, I am always impressed with creative people who make beautiful things. lisaroy handbags are fun and reasonably priced, which is a great way to add style without blowing your budget.

  Leigh clutch

Whitney Smith pottery: I was searching for inspiration, as I love serving pieces and tabletop in general. Whitney Smith makes beautiful pottery, which you can display when you are not using them to entertain.

  
Five Nesting White Ceramic Lotus Bowls

And as always, check out the Tastemaker Tag Sale every Saturday. This week features Lucas Studio, Inc., known for their eclectic mix of antiques and new pieces, and vintage finds. They also own the design store Harbinger, in West Hollywood.

Insalata Caprese

During the summer, we eat a lot of salads and other vegetable dishes. When it is 100 degrees outside, keeping the house cool is a priority. Luckily, my husband is not a meat and potatoes man which allows tremendous flexibility in preparing foods. From our first date, his adventurous taste helped to cement the fact that he was the one for me!

Nothing is more satisfying during the summer months than insalata caprese, or tomato and mozzarella salad. The tomatoes above are from our garden, but they have been pretty tiny, so for the salad below, I used vine-ripened tomatoes from the farmers market. But the basil comes straight from outside our kitchen door.

Don’t laugh at my chiffonade. The basil on top is more of a coarse chop, than a fine garnish. No measuring required for this dish, I just slice tomatoes thickly, sprinkle with salt (kosher or sea), then layer slices of fresh mozzarella on top. Grind some pepper over the dish, drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil and garnish with fresh basil. Serve with olives and some thick, crusty bread to sop up all the juices!!

If you love food like this, let me recommend one of my favorite cookbooks: Cucina Fresca. I use it over and over again during the summer, as it features simply prepared food, served cold or at room temperature. It is a great resource for authentic Italian food.   

photo credit: My Domicile Style

My Short List: The Marais A Chair

We are still finalizing the seating arrangements on our very large patio area. Having a 45 foot bench around the patio allows for a lot of seating, but I still want to place a table and chairs in an area designated for dining. The picture above is from Design Within Reach, and while it is not the picture I wanted to show, I can’t find the one I wanted! It was a story about couple who renovated an old lodge and they used one of their barns as a place for drinks, then dinner on the gravel patio, the table surrounded by Marais A chairs.

“The epitome of French café life, it’s rumored that Xavier Pauchard’s Marais A Chair (1934) was created for use in the weather forecasting room on a battleship”. Even the manufacturer cannot confirm that this is the case, but according to Design Within Reach,  “after its possible time at sea, the Marais was supplied to bars and brasseries by breweries in exchange for selling their beer”.

 

The original above comes in 3 colors. These stackable chairs will take a fair amount of abuse, but should be protected from wet weather conditions to protect the finish.  The question is whether or not we would be dedicated enough to bring them in during inclement weather!

And whether or not we would spend $250 for each chair (even though they are on sale now). There are versions at lower price points, for instance, the Lyle chair or the Tolix chair. However, these versions will still run about $200 a chair, so in that case, it might make more sense to buy the original.

Birds of a Feather: Thibaut Providence

Seaside Cottage – guest bedroom

When out shopping recently, I happened to walk by a Vera Bradley store. I have never been in one, but the vignette at the front of the store caught my eye. It featured a wall that had this beautiful and whimsical wallpaper. Loved it, but didn’t think too much about it.

Since then, I have seen it twice and now know its name. It is Thibaut's Providence. Not only is it used in Vera Bradley stores, but the co-founder, Barbara Baekgaard, used it in the guest bedroom of her summer home in Seaside, FL (shown above). Visit the house tour to see her whole cottage as featured in Country Living.

I also saw it while pulling tear sheets from a past issue of Style at Home. Here, they used it to make a DIY room divider.

It also comes in other colors: green, raspberry, blue, aqua, and yellow.

Raspberry

Blue

Have I ever mentioned that I keep an ongoing file of children’s bedroom ideas? This is going in the file of bedrooms for little girls. I have in mind, a whole room using blue & white porcelain, blue and cream toile quilts, with raspberry accents.

photo credit: Miki Duisterhof, Erin Kunkel

Grilled Salmon with Preserved Lemon

Grilled Salmon with Preserved Lemon and Green Olives

I received a couple of questions about how to use preserved lemons (or lemon confit). This from Eric Ripert: “I add lemon confit to so many dishes—from broiled fish to pork and beans.” He blends his lemon confit with butter to add a pleasantly pungent flavor to broiled snapper. Before broiling, he dots some of the lemon butter on the fish, then serves more lemon butter on the side.

Then, I saw this recipe in Food & Wine for Grilled Salmon that called for preserved lemons. What a perfect summer dish, using a unique and flavorful ingredient. The confit is such a basic recipe, but you can find more highly spiced recipes for preserved lemons, or Moroccan preserved lemons from sources such as David Lebovitz.

photo credit: Quentin Bacon

On the Road Again: Great Products for Summer Travel

It is that time of year, when vacation seems to be on everyone’s mind. The Container Store is having their Organized Traveler Sale right now (sale ends June 27). Here are some of my favorite travel products from their collection.

baggallini was founded by two veteran flight attendants who recognized a need for more fashionable and functional tote bags, handbags and travel accessories. These bags are constructed from lightweight, water-resistant nylon fabric and come in a variety of sizes and travel options. I have one already, but may add these two this week.

  
Milano Bag, sale $65

 
Rolling Tote, sale $119

I bought the Reisenthel All-Rounder, as I needed a new weekend bag. Perfect for one; my husband and I shared it recently for an overnight bag. Such amazing prices on the All-Rounders and the Expandable Shopping Bags.

 
Baroque All-Rounder, sale: small $19.99, large $29.99

For those shoppers, who always want to come back home with treasures from their travels, these expandable bags are a great idea. Small is shown below, both ways. And the large bag becomes enormous when expanded.

 Small Expandable Shopper, sale $14.99

I rarely check bags anymore, but for those that do, this scale is indispensible. Lightweight and easy to use, you pack it and take it with you to weigh your luggage on the return trip, too.

Luggage scale, sale $14.99

Lastly, I adore these luggage tags. Traveling can be such a chore, these cute tags for both adults and kids add some fun. 

Set of six Attitude Luggage Tags, $9,99

 
Critter Luggage Tag, sale $5.99

Lemon Confit

Now that I have more free time, I have already started compiling a list of things to make this summer, from basil-infused vinegar and oil, to all sorts of other great items.

Yes, I finally realized that while I wanted something part-time about 10 hours a week, work wanted closer to 20 hours (including Saturdays). So, we amicably parted ways, with the option to come back and work seasonally with me setting the days and hours I want to work. I am SO looking forward to getting to work on projects that have been piling up. 

One of the first condiments to try is a favorite of Le Bernadin’s Eric Ripert. Blend it with butter to add to fish dishes.

Lemon Confit from Food & Wine

TOTAL TIME: 15 MIN Plus 2 weeks curing
SERVINGS: 4
Ingredients

*  5 cups kosher salt
*  5 tablespoons sugar
*  6 lemons, scrubbed and quartered
Directions

1.   In a large bowl, mix the salt with the sugar. Toss the lemons with half of the sugar-salt. Pour a small layer of sugar-salt into a clean quart-size jar. Layer the lemons in the jar, covering them with the remaining sugar-salt as you go. Refrigerate the lemons for at least 2 weeks. To use, rinse the lemons well and use the peel only.

Lemon confit can be refrigerated for several months.

photo credit: Quentin Bacon

500 Favorite Paint Colors from House Beautiful

I know I have mentioned before how much I love this feature in House Beautiful. I think I have torn out EVERY paint column for years! In fact, I was doing that this weekend with my issues from 2009.

Paint is not an easy thing to get right in my opinion. Interior designers have spent years testing and trying paint colors in all types of environments. So, when Charlotte Moss, or Alexa Hampton, or Mario Buatta picks their perfect shade, it makes sense to trust their expert advice. 

This brand new bookazine, $9.99 at national bookstores, retail stores, and airport terminals, features big, bold color photos, expert advice from designers, and more than 500 paint color swatches.

Here are two images from the book.

Color: Spring Iris 1402 from Benjamin Moore.

 
Color: Going to the Chapel 1527 from Benjamin Moore. See more paint colors with unique names.

Many of my blogging friends are interior designers, and we would love to hear about your favorite paint color. I will compile a list and share it in a future post.

photo credits: Eric Boman, Mali Azima