Spiced Cauliflower

So as I mentioned in my previous post, I've been trying out some of the recipes from The Art of Simple Food. One of my favorites thus far is the sauteed cauliflower. What's nice about the cookbook is that many of the recipes offer variations that one can try to further spice up the dish. I opted for a variation that includes a dash of turmeric, cumin, salt, pepper and fresh chopped cilantro that is added in the last few minutes of sauteeing. The result: a pleasantly-spiced side dish that brings new life to a vegetable that I often describe as bland and boring.

The Art of Simple Food

One of my favorite chefs lately is Alice Waters - she's celebrates the sustainable food movement and is an advocate of farmer's markets. Needless to say, I've become a fan of her recent tome, "The Art of Simple Food." I'm not a book reviewer nor a professional chef but I like it's format and enjoy reading her guidelines about food. And it's one of the few cookbooks I like that doesn't have pictures (Gourmet Garage and Dean & Deluca's cookbooks are a few others). Anyway, I'll be featuring some photos of recent recipes I tested in the next few days. It's amazing how a few well-chosen ingredients can make a tasty dish.

My Fashion Inspiration

Some of my favorite things are random but become trendy at one point or another - owls and other birds, for instance. While I would never want to own a bird as a pet, I love things adorned with birds - a peacock-print blouse awash in royal blues and greens, Anthropologie dishtowels embroidered with wide-eyed owls, a dainty enameled sparrow charm on a necklace.

I seem to have the same fondness for Queen Ann's Lace. Some people may consider it a filler flower but how lovely would it look etched on some stationary or screen-printed on a fitted t-shirt. I could even see it splashed over a full cotton skirt ala Betty Draper. So here is my ode to Queen Ann's Lace in a photo...maybe it will inspire me to bring back some color to my wardrobe. As a former NY'er and current Angeleno, I have yet give up the standard uniform of black-on-black.

The Keys to My Heart

In the spirit of Valentine's Day, here are some pictures I took of a collection of old, rusty keys I bought at John Derian in NYC a couple years ago - one of my favorite home decorating shops. One of the keys has an opening at the head shaped like a heart. Happy Valentine's Day!

Back in Action

After some time spent recouperating from the flu, I'm ready to get back at it and blog. Check out my posts later this week.