Urban Comfort

Happy Birthday!

Things have been hectic around here with work (I have some fun new projects that I'll be able to share with you in the spring), but I didn't want to let the unofficial birthday of this blog slip by without notice.  I even chose a little birthday cake (above) from forty-sixth at grace.

A year ago today, after privately blogging for a time, I changed the settings on my blog to "Public." Just like that, I was out there.  It was a little disconcerting at first. Blogging is like standing on your front lawn in your underwear (albeit nice underwear), not sure if you want your neighbors to stop and ogle or just keep driving. But a year later, I can say that I'm so happy to be here.  I've found a creative outlet I didn't realize I needed, connected with some wonderful people, and learned a lot about myself. It's been better than I could have imagined.

Thank you for reading, for commenting, for taking a few minutes to wander in my backyard. It still amazes me to realize that people stop by, that my little corner of the universe is expanding. I appreciate it. It's been a true gift, and I hope this is just the first year of many.

 

Tickled Pink

I'm not a particularly pink sort of girl. Since I distinctly remember arguing with my mother over pink dresses and white tights at the ripe old age of five, I'm fairly certain I never have been. (Though I've been known to swoon over pink flowers, so maybe it's just more accurate to say that I've never been the kind of girl who wears pink). At any rate, I suddenly find myself softening a bit towards the color - and why not? So today, maybe only today, I'm going to be a pink sort of girl.

Image Credits from Top: 1) via Follow Studio; 2) via Flickr; 3) via Kasey Buick; 4) via Pam Garrison; 5) via Flickr; 6) via Country Living; 7) via Oh, Hello Friend; 8) via Unstitched; 9) via Design is Mine; 10) via twenty1two; 11) via Mixed Plate

Homemade Marshmallows

In New Orleans we only get a couple of months that feel hot chocolate worthy and January is one of them. I always think that if you're going to indulge once or twice a year, why not go all out and make the marshmallows as well.  They're nothing at all like the store bought version and they aren't difficult to make, though you do need a standing mixer with a whisk attachment and a candy thermometer (which you can pick up in the grocery store). I started off using this basic recipe from Martha Stewart Living, but gradually began to add other flavors to my repertoire, which I'll share as well. The nicest thing about a pan of homemade marshmallows - there are plenty to share with friends!

Vanilla Marshmallows

vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups cold water
4 envelopes unflavored gelatin (found in the baking section)
3 cups granulated sugar
1 1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup confectioners' sugar

1.  Use a paper towel or pastry brush to spread the vegetable oil inside of a 9-x-13-inch glass baking dish. Set aside.

2. Pour 3/4 cup water in the bowl of an electric mixer and sprinkle with gelatin; let stand until softened, about 5 minutes.

3. Place the granulated sugar, corn syrup, salt, and remaining 3/4 cup water in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil over high heat. Clip a candy thermometer to the side of the pan; cook until mixture reaches the soft-boil stage, 238 to 240 degrees. Remove from heat.

4. With the mixture on low speed, using whisk attachment, carefully add hot syrup to the gelatin mixture, pouring it down the side of the bowl to prevent splattering. Gradually increase the speed to high; continue beating until mixture is cool and stiff peaks form, about 15 minutes. Beat in the vanilla extract.

5. Pour mixture into the oiled baking dish; smooth top with an offset spatula. Let stand, uncovered at room temperature until firm, at least 3 hours or overnight. 

6. Sift 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar onto a clean work surface. Invert baking dish onto sugar, and lift to remove. Lightly brush a sharp knife with oil and cut marshmallows into 2-inch squares (or use a sharp, oiled cookie cutter to make shapes). Sift remaining 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar into a bowl and roll marshmallows in sugar to coat evenly/

Store in an airtight container for up to one week.

Flavor Variations:

Lavender and Ginger flavored marshmallows are made without extracts. However, I used McCormick Imitation Cherry and Imitation Coconut extracts for the Cherry and Coconut versions (because they're readily available in most supermarkets). Should you decide to use better extracts, found at sites like King Arthur Flour, note that the amount of extract used will be dramatically less. For instance, when making Cherry marshmallows with the Natural Cherry Flavor from King Arthur, I only need 1/4 teaspoon per batch. Rule of thumb - start out with less extract and add more if needed. You want only the amount of extract that will give you flavor, without a chemical aftertaste.

 
Lavender:  Put 3/4 cup water and 3/4 cup granulated sugar in a small saucepan and bring just to boil, stirring to dissolve sugar. Remove from the heat and add 1 tablespoon organic or culinary lavender to the pot. Cover, and steep for 15 minutes. Strain the syrup, then proceed with Step 3 (replacing the water and 3/4 cup of the sugar with the lavender flavored simple syrup). Omit the vanilla extract.

Ginger: Put 3/4 cup water, 3/4 cup granulated sugar, and eight 1/4-inch slices of peeled ginger root in a small saucepan and bring just to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar. Remove from the heat, cover, and let steep until cool. Strain the syrup, then proceed with Step 3 (replacing the water and 3/4 cup of the sugar with the ginger flavored simple syrup). Omit the vanilla extract.

Cherry:  Substitute 1 1/2 teaspoon McCormick Imitation Cherry Extract for the vanilla extract.

Coconut: Substitute 1 1/4 teaspoon McCormick Imitation Coconut Extract for the vanilla extract.

 

Other McCormick Flavors to Consider:

Orange, Raspberry, and Peppermint (these are pure extracts and may require less than the imitation extracts)

 

Other Extracts Available through King Arthur Flour:

Coffee, Cinnamon, Lemon, and Peanut Butter (along with other, more traditional flavors such as the ones used above)

Sweetheart Candy Wreath

Judging from the number of hits on last year's Valentine crafts, plenty of you are ready to get into some holiday crafting. I thought I'd start out with a project that's perfect for the minimalist - a sweetheart candy wreath. It's small, at only eight inches in diameter, the perfect decoration to tuck into an unexpected place. I thought I'd hang mine on my inspiration board, but my son made off with it before I could. Which reminds me - it's a project you can make with your kids.

Materials:

salad plate or large lid to create a circle
Thin, but sturdy cardboard (package backing, gift box, etc.)
pencil
scissors
Sweetheart candies
Quick-setting gel glue (I used Beacon 3-n-1 Adhesive)
Seam binding or other ribbon, for hanging

Directions:

 1. Place your plate or lid facedown onto cardboard and trace around it with a pencil.  Cut out the interior of the circle, along the traced line, then cut around the outer edge so that you end up with a ring that's 1/4-inch wide. (I cut mine freehand since the ring wouldn't show and the outer portion didn't need to be precise, but you can trace around a larger plate if you're more comfortable.)

2. Start by arranging candies face down along the inner edge of the cardboard ring, the top edge of the candies resting along the middle of the cardboard ring and the pointed ends facing the center of the wreath. 

3. Arrange candies along the outer edge of the cardboard ring, with the top edge of the candies meeting the edges of the first row of candies and the pointed ends facing outward.  

4. When you're satisfied with your arrangement (If there's a small gap that's not large enough to fit an entire piece of candy, use that space for the hanging ribbon), glue the candies in place with the quick-setting glue (for less mess, apply a dot of glue to the cardboard ring, put the candy in place, then attach the next one).

5. When the two bottom rows of candy have all been attached, glue another row of candy on top, covering the seam where the bottom rows of candies meet, pointed ends facing outward.

6. Hang with seam binding or other ribbon. Further embellish, if desired.

Felt Lampshade

I've been fixated on wool felt for most of last year and I thought I'd give it one last seasonal spin before moving on to the lighter materials of spring.   I decided to try covering a lampshade for my February column in Family Circle. I wasn't sure how, or if, it would work but it ended up being surprisingly easy to work with and I loved the textural effect. 

For the column I wanted to create a design that would be simple enough for a crafting novice to execute, but if you're handy with a pair of scissors, there are plenty of options available to you. Designs reminiscent of Lotta Jansdotter's work would be perfect for a project like this - easy, organic shapes that don't require precision. If you want to cover an entire lampshade, I'd suggest working with paler colors so that you don't block too much of the light.  

If you like the idea of working with simple shapes like I did here, just cut strips of felt using a ruler, cutting mat, and rotary blade. To make the circles, trace around bottle caps or coins and then use pinking shears to cut around the edges of the traced circles.  You can then create a mock-up of your design before committing (see my working mock-ups below).  It's an easy afternoon craft for both the novice and expert alike. 

 

 

 

 

Title photo by Peter Ardito

Winter Whites

I've mentioned how much I love Pinterest, but I've noticed that it's a great tool for illuminating how my tastes and preferences shift, sometimes before I've consciously realized those shifts myself. Lately, if I look in my interior and home inspiration boards, I find a thread emerging - lots of white and gray (though I still like to create inspiration boards with red in them, just for the sheer delight of looking at them). My summer boards are ethereal and light, my current selections reflecting white gone moody, paired with dove gray or charcoal. I still don't know if I can live in these interiors, but clearly they're speaking to me in some way. Perhaps, with time, I'll be able to decipher the message.

 

                    {via Flickr}

                    {via homelife}

                    {via Habitania}

 

                    {via Houzz}

                    {via French by Design}

                    {via Automatism}

 

                    {via Mes Caprices Belges}

 

                    {via French by Design}

                    {via French by Design}

 

                    {via Simply Seductive}

                    {via Living Etc.}

Heirloom Crafting

With a fresh year of holidays upon us, I've been thinking a lot about an idea that my friend Kendra had. After countless hours of making thread wrapped eggs together, she threw out the idea of creating an array of holiday crafts over the years, made with the anticipation of giving them to a newly married child or grandchild. A holiday spin on the hope chest concept. Now, this doesn't mean that you wouldn't use them in your own home, only that you would consciously make holiday crafts that were meant to last and meant to be given away to someone special.  

I've grown to love this idea more and more, perhaps because I've already completed a few projects that I think are worthy of heirloom status. My rule of thumb is pretty simple - make them in a style that's fairly timeless and make them out of good materials. With my personal crafting time at a minimum, I've begun to narrow my focus to the projects that will teach me something new and feel worthy of the time required. 

I have nothing for Valentine's Day, so I'm mulling over classic concepts and designs and perusing other blogs for inspiration. The embroidered linen love note from Katie Cupcake wasn't meant as a Valentine's Day project, but I think it's delightful - and how could it not be relevant decades from now?  So I'm putting this idea out there and if you find projects for any holiday that you think are worthy of heirloom status, I hope you'll email the link to me. Throughout the year I'll post various ideas to inspire those of you who might want to join me on this creative mission. 

The only thing that's better than the pleasure of creating something beautiful is the pleasure of giving it away...someday!

Milk Chocolate Buttercream

It was my husband's birthday yesterday and he decided to have the same birthday cake I always have, the Simply Delicious Yellow Cake from The Sweeter Side of Amy's Bread. Unlike me, however, he prefers a Milk Chocolate frosting to the more traditional buttercream that I use for mine.

Last year I'd tried a milk chocolate frosting that was easy to make but was ultimately too sweet and yet bland at the same time. This year I managed to find a recipe for Milk Chocolate Buttercream, scribbled in a notebook from long ago. I don't know the source of this recipe, but I made it and it's great! The dark chocolate in the recipe makes all the difference and yet doesn't overpower the milk chocolate flavor at all. It has a very silky texture and I love that there's not one bit of confectioner's sugar in it. Perfect!

Milk Chocolate Buttercream

1 pound milk chocolate (I used Guittard milk chocolate baking squares)
8 ounces dark chocolate (I used Hershey's Special Dark chocolate bars)
12 ounces (3 sticks) unsalted butter

1. Put some water in the bottom of a double boiler (make sure it doesn't touch the top of the double boiler insert) and let it get hot, but not simmering. Break the chocolate into pieces and place in the top of the double boiler. Remove the double boiler from the heat (but keep it over the hot water underneath) and stir until the chocolate begins to melt. Stir until smooth (return the double boiler to the heat if the water cools, but don't let it get too hot). Let the chocolate cool until it is no longer warm to the touch.

**Alternate method of melting chocolate: Melt in the microwave, stirring every 15 seconds, until smooth.

2. Beat the butter with an electric mixer on medium speed, then beat in the cooled chocolate until the frosting is uniform in color. 

Baking Note:  I've mentioned before what a difference weighing your ingredients makes. I found this to be true yet again, when the five large eggs I used for my husband's cake didn't equal the weight I needed.  I added 3/4 of an egg yolk to make up the difference. It may seem like an extreme measure, but if you're taking the time to make a cake from scratch, why not make the best cake you can? See this previous post for information on the scale I use.  It barely takes up any space in my kitchen and I use it all the time. It's one of the best baking tools you can own.  

{photo via}

A Weekend Breakfast

Recently I had the pleasure of dining at Green Goddess, a tiny little restaurant here in New Orleans, staffed entirely by cooks who collaborate on the menu and run the restaurant as well. I had a wonderful breakfast there, simple in concept, but absolutely delicious.  So delicious that I knew I needed to recreate it at home so I could be tempted by something else on the menu during return visits (I have a bad habit of loving something at a restaurant and ordering it every time I go). 

The dish consisted of sweet potato biscuits with boudin patties, spicy pepper jelly, and cane syrup served alongside truffled grits. Since I could buy most of the ingredients, I really just needed to make the sweet potato biscuits and the grits from scratch. I used a sweet potato biscuit recipe I found in one of my new cookbooks, The Complete Southern Cookbook, and it was no more difficult than making regular biscuits - though it helps to plan ahead and bake your sweet potatoes early on. 

Pork boudin (a mixture of seasoned pork and rice) is readily available in my area, but can be mail ordered from The Cajun Grocer. You form it into patties, dip it in a beaten egg, then pan fry it until it's crispy on the outside. Another option for this breakfast, however, is to use a regular pork sausage patty. It won't have the same texture, but it will still taste good. I used Tabasco brand spicy pepper jelly and Steen's cane syrup. Both are generally available at most grocery stores.  If you can't find it at yours, you can mail order them from The Cajun Grocer as well. 

This was such a good breakfast that I'd happily serve it to guests. In fact, I just may have found my new Mardi Gras breakfast. Though the restaurant served truffled grits, we were satisfied with Quaker Old-Fashioned grits (made with equal parts milk and water) served alongside. The perfect breakfast for a chilly morning.

 

Sweet Potato Biscuits
(adapted from The Complete Southern Cookbook)

Yield: Makes about 13 biscuits

4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons baking powder
2 teaspoons kosher salt
8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 cup cooked mashed sweet potatoes
1 cup buttermilk

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Rub a thin layer of shortening or butter on the skin of 2 medium or 1 large sweet potatoes and place on a baking sheet.  Bake until soft, approximately 1 hour. When potatoes are cool enough to handle, slit the skin and scoop the contents into a bowl. Mash well and let them cool completely.

2. Raise the oven temperature to 425 degrees. Lightly grease a cast-iron biscuit baker or baking sheet and set aside.

3. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender or 2 forks until the mixture is crumbly.

4. In  a separate bowl, stir together the mashed sweet potatoes and buttermilk. Add to the flour mixture, stirring just until moistened.

5. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead 4 times. Gently roll the dough out to approximately a 1/2-inch thickness and cut with a 2-inch round cutter. Gently gather together the dough scraps and pat the dough out again, again cutting with a 2-inch round cutter. Transfer to the prepared pan and bake 12 to 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve warm.

 

To assemble:

After the biscuits have cooled just slightly, split them and put a thin layer of pepper jelly on each side. Put a boudin patty on the bottom layer of the biscuit, drizzle some cane syrup on the boudin patty and top with the other biscuit half.  

Twist 'n Sparkle

My son gave this to my husband for Christmas (okay, mom helped a little). It's the iSi Twist 'n Sparkle, a direct carbonation system that allows you to carbonate just about everything liquid, and what could be more fun than that? As I suspected, they've both had a good time getting creative with this and I've certainly enjoyed the fruits of their labor. 

My husband is more of a gadget person than I am, but I have to say, this little contraption delivers. iSi makes other types of carbonation systems that you can find on Amazon for just about the same price, but I ended up going with the Williams-Sonoma version because of the clear bottle and the fact that they sell replacement bottles as well - in case you want to whip up something carbonated for a large group.

The Williams-Sonoma site has great cocktail recipes  for your Twist 'n Sparkle, but the possibilities are endless, which makes it a good tool to experiment with. Or keep it simple and make fresh herbal sodas, your own sparkling ciders and juices, or just a glass of sparkling water.  It's easy (and it doesn't take up a lot of space).

Cheers! 

Etsy Find: Tabitha Emma

The second I discovered the work of Australian designer Tabitha Emma I knew I'd found a kindred spirit. The best part - all of her designs are well priced digital downloads that you can incorporate into your own creative projects. I don't even know what I'm doing with mine yet, but I suspect I'll be turning to them again and again. They're lovely!

 

 

 

Thoughts for a new year

 

My year ended and started with a bang and I've been busier than I ever planned to be.  So I'll be back with some original material - once I do some paperwork, clean my office, kiss my husband, hug my son, eat a meal while sitting down, take a nap, relax with a well made cocktail, and prepare for the next round. In other words - very, very soon.

In the meantime, I love this little gem I found over at Idea Obscura. It's free, downloadable and can be printed at 11x17 inches. Thoughts to live by.

Font Fetish: Skinny Fonts

If December is the month for overindulgence, January is inevitably the month for paring down. To get the year off to a good start, I've compiled some free, skinny fonts for you - an entirely painless way to trim the fat.  

Happy New Year!

 

(To download, click on the name of the font)  Existence Light 

 

Raleway Thin

 

Quicksand Light

 

District Thin

 

Edelsans Ultralight

 

Title Font:  Lemon Chicken