On Birthdays & WarLock Weddings

My, what a busy few weeks I've had. In addition to a successful dress fitting (it zipped!), a cake tasting, a Basque barbecue, a friend's beautiful wedding, and time in Spokane and Seattle with people who are so very dear to me.... I also went back to Gonzaga and got my MRS!

I've been calling myself an October bride, and that's still true- but when the Jesuit priest who'd advised us (and tolerated our antics) through our college years wasn't available for the Autumn wedding, we knew we'd have to make a special arrangement. So, on July 23rd, Adam and I had a sweet and simple ceremony at St. Michael's chapel at Gonzaga. We said our I-Dos with our immediate families there to support us, made a nostalgic visit to the Honors house, and had a marvelous dinner at the restaurant where we worked together. It was, in every way, personal and significant and absolutely beautiful.

We're thinking of this ceremony as one part of a larger event, so although we're square with the Church & State, I don't think we'll feel married until we've exchanged rings in front of friends and family on October 29th. We're not even making it "facebook official" yet! But, regardless of how married I feel, I know I've got the sweetest husband in the world. Today is my birthday, and he's given me a gift that I'll always keep near my heart.

I am, truly, the luckiest girl.

PS: These, and many more pictures are posted on facebook... enjoy!

In Bloom: Hydrangeas

Hydrangeas are blooming around my neighborhood now, in white, chartreuse, periwinkle, and icy blue. But up the hill, just around the corner from People's Park, and planted outside an odd little cottage that makes me think of Alice in Wonderland, are these orbs of deeply saturated pink.

Apparently the coloration of hydrangeas is dependent upon the acidity of the soil. So now I have a half-joking explanation for this psychedelic color: they're high on acid. That's Berkeley for you.

I've been taking pictures of the hydrangeas in all of their hues (whether trippy or subdued), which I'll be  sharing on the Shock the Bourgeois facebook page today...

Happy Friday

A pink peony, a bowl of berries, some summer fashion inspiration... I'm ready for the weekend!

 

I so want to be that girl... crisp and lady-like, with no-fuss hair and chic black & white adornments. Forget bright colors and barely there bikinis, this is my idea of classic summer beauty.

xoxo

Elizabeth

The Summer Garden

Did everyone have a happy 4th (and hopefully, a long weekend)? Adam and I tried to put a three-day break to good use. On Saturday we hiked 5 miles through a redwood forest, on Sunday we walked the rows at Alameda in 80º heat, and on Monday we could hardly get our exhausted, aching selves off of the couch! 

If you stopped by Maggie Rose to see my tablescape last week, you probably noticed (and perhaps oohed/ahhed over) the bunch of freshly cut flowers decorating my Mom's table. Gorgeous- and merely a sampling of what's blooming in the back yard. Now that I'm back to my weedy plot in Berkeley, I thought we might all enjoy a walk through my family's garden.

Ah, if only there was one more day in the weekend. I could use a relaxing afternoon in the shade to recuperate!

Today my Facebook and Twitter followers will get pictures of my favorites from the Alameda Flea... are you following?

Tablescaping at Mom's House

Hello friends! I've just returned from another whirlwind trip to Washington state. This time around I had a tasting, a basketball tournament, two photoshoots, and a brand new nephew- so I came home with a menu for the wedding, freckles, approximately 700 pictures, and a raging case of baby fever!

While I was home, I got to work up a tablescape with my Mom's beautiful array of dishes. Come on over to Maggie Rose and check it out!

I'll be back to regular posting tomorrow, and I've got a lot to show off: a newly blue bedroom, a totally vegan recipe, and a column concept I'm trying on...

Etsy Treasury: Sweet Summer

Having an item from Rappaccini's Garden featured on an Etsy Treasury always makes my day- especially one so beautiful as this...

Sweet Summer by katherynne

What an interesting balance of color, mossy green blending into aqua, with clusters of tiny pink flowers. And what a clever layout- just look at those two opposing vessels in the middle (I'm in love with the Mr. Darcy proposal mug!). Beyond the thoughtful arrangement, each image and item is lovely on its own (I added several to my favorites). The selection is romantic, but also refreshing- that would be a sweet summer, wouldn't it? I'm deeply flattered that my piece was included.

The Spring Green Bracelet is still available in the shop, and I'll be adding some summery new items later this afternoon...

You're Invited...

Remember that new Tablescaping column I introduced? I'm pleased to announce a change of venue: it will now be hosted at Maggie Rose! Today I'm setting the table for a summer escape, and of course you're invited. Come on over!

I'm thrilled to be contributing to my friend Maggie's beautiful blog (and I hope you'll stop by and join the party!)

If you're in need of tablescaping inspiration, email me at shockthebourgeois@mac.com!

Pinterest Escapism

It seems like everyone I know is jetting out for a glamorous summer holiday on the coast of somewhere far away. Not I. Luckily I have Pinterest for a daily visual vacation. These pins popped up right next to each other last night- and it was like taking a trip to Mediterranean without having to calculate currency exchange rates. 

Images: Brian Ferry found via Pinterest, Blogged here found via Pinterest

Products: Necklace from Karma Loop via Pinterest, Bags from Beklina via Pinterest, Scarves from Method Home via Pinterest

Quite a departure from my usual style, but these cool colors could tempt even the palest little blogger out of her daytime pajamas and into something breezily bohemian. After all, that zig-zagged bag looks plenty big for a laptop, and I'm sure they have wifi by the pool.

Are you on Pinterest yet?

The WarLock Wedding: Pinning Our Summer Ceremony

Are you all on Pinterest? I sure am, curating boards for everything from posh pads to furry critters. Pinterest has been a fabulous tool for organizing my thoughts for the wedding. The creative portion of my wedding planning is gradually winding down, which would be sad if I didn't have another little event to style! Because our priest of choice wasn't available for our big day in October, Adam and I will have a private chapel ceremony with immediate family and a few friends this Summer. It'll be a casual affair, but you know me- I have to fuss over things!

I pinned a few pretty things to show you my vision for a very modest Summer ceremony.

Dolce & Gabbana Pleated Dress from HauteLook, Pearl Bauble Bracelet from Kate Spade, 

Floral Centerpiece featured on Martha Stewart Weddings, 

Giselle Flower Fascinator by Velvet Owl on Etsy, Enzo Angiolini Martini Pump from Nordstrom

Planning a similar occasion? Why not create a look reminiscent of a polished-but-sweet retro courthouse wedding. The coral-colored pumps aren't the only thing that could reappear in your wardrobe. A shorter hemline (or a faint flush of pink) means that your wedding dress could later star as a night at the theater dress, a champagne brunch dress, or an anniversary dinner dress... certainly a selling point for the practical or budget-conscious bride. Wear great-grandmother's pearls, or a new piece that exudes excitement- like this bracelet, clustered with seed pearls and rhinestones. A small-scale ceremony becomes much more intimate when dressed with personal details. Cut flowers from a summer garden have extra charm when bundled in ruby pressed glass goblets (my Cape Cod glass would suit nicely, no?).

Our circumstances allow me to indulge in two very different wedding aesthetics: playfully retro in the Summer, neo-Victorian by candlelight in the Fall. Lucky me! And lucky you, since I'll have many more projects and posts to share...

Summer-Fall Shift

In only a week I'll be visiting my family in Seattle. My mother informs me (with a grumble) that I should pack my raincoat. I'm actually looking forward to true Autumn weather!

I've discovered pluots this week, and it occurs to me that they're the perfect symbol for the Bay Area September, a Summer-Fall hybrid. Super ripe, deeply sweet, exactly the color of dappled red leaves. 

Thank you for your wonderful comments on my dining room! I'll be taking advantage of the lovely filtered sunlight this weekend so I can give you more images of my home next week...

Until then,

xoxo Elizabeth

Weekend Reading

I decided to take a little break from beading last night to attend the Creative, Inc. book launch party at Candystore Collective in San Francisco and see these lovely ladies in person...

I was so in awe of Joy's presence that I got totally tongue-tied. All I could squeak out was, "uh uh uh... I love your shoes!" In my defense, they were some pretty rockin' shoes.

Aside from this moment of conversational brilliance, I had a fantastic time- eating more than my share of tiny cupcakes and making connections with Bay Area artists and bloggers (like Natalie, whose blog I'll be relying on for fashion guidance from now on). I distributed the last of my beribboned handmade business cards, which were looking oh-so professional after being crumpled in my purse. Thank goodness I picked up a signed copy of Creative, Inc.- I clearly need all the help I can get.

Speaking of freelance business, I'm off to the post office to mail the very first orders from Rappaccini's Garden. I'm over the moon, kids- it's been a happy week. 

Until Monday,

xoxo Elizabeth

Berkeley Flora (and Fauna)

In a past life I was a Victorian Era naturalist- the sort with the straw hat and sketchbook who traipsed around the countryside in a poufy skirt to collect specimens for her cabinet of curiosities. I'm fairly certain of this, because I'm doing pretty much the same thing here in 21st century Berkeley (with a camera and a slightly more practical wardrobe). I figure old habits die hard.

Adam and I visited the Berkeley Rose Garden over our long weekend. There were varieties in every color, and I can't even imagine how intense the park must have been in its prime Spring months.

There are days when I crave the lush Northwest- the smell of rich soil and evergreens, and so many shades of green. The California landscape still feels foreign to me with its spiky and untouchable succulents. I am very often homesick. I've noticed though, that since getting my new camera, I've had a new appreciation for my surroundings. There's something about peering through the lens that reminds me that things are beautiful, and that this is an adventure.

I took this photo in a moment of unusual bravery.
Anyone who knows me will understand what I mean.

Kitchen Chemistry: More Bang for your Buck

Adam is back today with a colorful (and economical) favorite...

There are many dimensions to a good recipe, one of the LEAST important of which is CO$T. Complexity and quality of food is often achieved by using more numerous or higher priced ingredients- but there is a point of diminishing returns. I have yet to encounter Kobe beef wrapped caviar, or saffron-stuffed sea bass shallow-fried in truffle oil. These dishes would be decadent to an uncomfortable extreme, overwhelming the palate as well as the pocketbook. Money can only take a cook so far. In fact, the most talented chefs are restrained, subtle, frugal, and inventive- more likely to emphasize a single quality ingredient rather than bombard the diner with several. In this spirit, I present my Hoisin-Black Bean BBQ Chicken & Asian Slaw.

Before we get to the recipe, let's break this down. Fresh ingredients are almost always more expensive than dried/canned/frozen ingredients. Careful appropriation of both fresh/high quality/expensive AND preserved/generic/cheap ingredients is the only way to achieve great flavor on a modest budget (and our budget is certainly modest). To get mathematical, an inexpensive dish should be 80%-95% "cheap" by mass/volume. To use a sports analogy, there are Utility Players (texture, volume, structure, starch, & fiber) and All-Stars (flavor, seasoning, garnish, fat & perhaps protein). In preparing this dish, I deliberately selected a few unusual and expensive ingredients as flavor highlights (like fresh basil & ginger and Thousand Year fermented black beans), but the other ingredients were comically cheap (Top-Ramen, need I say more?), helping to bring the whole package into a reasonable price range.

The Asian Slaw is a simple mixture of chopped purple cabbage, diced radish, diced sweet onion, and crumbled Top-Ramen. It was seasoned with the Oriental Top-Ramen packet, rice wine vinegar, salt and pepper. Grilled pineapple rings and grilled sweet onion were added as flavor accents. All of these ingredients fall into the preserved/generic/cheap category.

Frozen dark meat chicken was barbecued in my Hoisin-Black Bean Sauce. To make this sauce, sauté minced ginger (4 oz), black bean garlic sauce (4 oz), chopped sweet onion (6 oz) and sambal (1-2 oz) in minimal vegetable oil. Deglaze with generic mirin, add a generic hoisin sauce (24-32 oz) and seasoned rice wine vinegar (6-8 oz), then simmer for 20 minutes. Strain this mixture and cool. Add the zest and juice of 3 limes and 1/2 of an orange. Add salt, pepper, and chili paste to taste. You'll have plenty leftover after you've sauced your chicken. This sauce can be (and was) used a condiment, marinade, or glaze. It's a fantastic addition to grilled fruits, vegetables, or caramelized onions.

Fresh basil and sliced orange were served as bright garnishes (and palate cleansers). 

Elizabeth's contribution to the meal was a sake cocktail: cheap sake from Ranch 99, a bottle of seltzer, a can of limeade, and canned pineapple rings, curled orange peel slivers, and maraschino cherries skewered on a chopstick. We got a whole pitcher for far less than a couple drinks would've cost us at a bar (plus I didn't have to tip the waitress).

The plating style integrates all ingredients, resulting in a three-dimensional landscape of food. This is a typical example of my culinary style: a stratified taste adventure for less than $5 per plate (economies of scale apply).

Kitchen Chemistry: Taking it Outside

Hi All! Adam is  back today to discuss one of our favorite summertime activities...

To me, outdoor cooking occupies a special, enigmatic place in the world of cuisine. It's a cultural experience. It can localize family and friends and attract strangers, even to the point where a community congregates with cult-like fascination to watch flame and smoke yield up their charred offerings.

Barbecuing is quite a phenomenon. It's easy to do well, yet difficult to do perfectly. It's often the domain of those normally uninterested in the culinary arts (read: men), and is performed under close scrutiny by those with lesser experience than the "grill master" holding the tongs ("so, you think those are ready to turn, huh?").

As Elizabeth's Dad advises, "fire on bottom, meat on top."

I find myself drawn to everything about grilling: the preparation of food and fire, the execution, and of course the delicious aftermath.

Elizabeth and I have no grill of our own, so this process becomes even more of an adventure. The nearest grills are located at Live Oak Park several blocks away. Our weekend mornings are often spent shopping, trimming, marinating, and packing supplies at home before setting off into the Berkeley wilderness. Luckily the park people are usually roasting and smoking (this or that) themselves, so we fit right in. Lighting our fire, cleaning the grill, and cooking our food takes more watching than doing, so plenty of time is left over for true weekend leisure: Elizabeth makes friends with random animals and takes pictures, we talk and drink beer (technically illegal, shhhh).

We typically make full use of our coals, grilling several flank steaks (cheap) or batches of frozen chicken until the coals run low. In this way we keep the afternoon economical as well as luxurious.

The grill lies at the intersection of public and private space. The park provides elements of nature, yet at the same time is the epitome of hearth and home. The method itself is ancient and universal, yet also urgent and personal. The eventual dish is unfailingly classic and also unique to the time, place, and person executing it. The experience is raw, archaic, and crude, yet as rich and rewarding as any other in the culinary world.

(Amateur) Kitchen Chemistry: Peach Crumble

Because the internet failed me yesterday, I've got two posts in queue today! This one's about dessert, but I'll be posting a real treat this afternoon... Happy Friday!

Adam's not the only one who plays mad scientist in our kitchen/laboratory. I've been conducting research of my own and making important advancements in the field of baking.

I'll have you know I suffered goggle lines for the sake of this corny picture!

When I bake with strawberries or apples I use the bruised, overripe, mealy, or otherwise homely fruit that doesn't make the cut for raw snacking. However, an icky peach makes an ickier pie (and don't even get me started on canned peaches). One of the perks of living in California is the abundance of gorgeous organic peaches. After last week's trip to the farmer's market I found myself with more ripe fruit than I could eat- so I decided to stage a peach crumble experiment.

The texture of a fresh peach is just as lovely as the flavor, so it's a terrible waste to reduce it to jam in the oven. My solution was to halve each peach, placing one half in the center of the dish and filling the gaps with slices of the remainder. I then poured in a mixture of sugar, flour, and a few drops of lemonade- just enough to coat all of the fruit and pool a bit at the bottom. The resulting filling was just like a bite out of a sun-baked peach. Success!

I used pyrex lab glass for my observation, but standard ramekins will work nicely.

Half of any good fruit crumble is the crumble, so I tested several formulas. The Classic Crumble featured an oatmeal cookie topping similar to the one that I used on my Strawberry Rhubarb Pie- substituting even more cinnamon for the ginger and lemon. The Honey & Ginger variation had a light and spicy topping consisting of flour, honey, sugar, baking powder, and plenty of crystalized and powdered ginger.  The Oatmeal & Maple crisp was my Eureka! moment. The topping is merely a packet of Quaker instant maple & brown sugar oatmeal!

Of course, my favorite part of any baking trial is the taste test (it was all very scientific, I assure you). My findings? The Honey & Ginger was innovative and the Classic Crumble yielded an impressive amount of "yum" per bite... but the Oatmeal & Maple crisp is a Nobel Prize contender.

Kitchen Chemistry: Waking Up Breakfast

Happy Monday, friends! I'm pleased to welcome back my favorite guest blogger: my boyfriend/live-in chef, Adam. Bon appetit! 

Adam here. Good morning from my kitchen/laboratory. Now that the algae stains have been scrubbed from my range (long story), I would like to announce that my research into the science of food and the psychology of eating is back on track. As usual, I will be analyzing the biology, technology, physiology, and sociology of food from various angles. At the same time, I aim to make intelligent changes to proven formulas with an eye toward progress and innovation. Learning, having fun, and eating enough to fall asleep comfortably (read: pass out) are also goals.

What makes the traditional American breakfast so good? Is it the richness of cream, butter, eggs, and animal fat? The sweetness of maple syrup and fruit compote? Or the soft textures enjoyed in a half-waking stupor? I hypothesize that breakfast food appeals to our most primitive, infantile cravings. In the dawn of consciousness, we want something warm, soft, rich, and bland. The irony is that this meal does everything to prepare the human body for life except wake it up!

There's only so much that can be done to jazz up breakfast. Go bigger, go cheaper, go healthy, or go back to sleep. My objective is to break the breakfast mold by adding texture, color, fresh ingredients and a full flavor profile to an otherwise classic dish.

Tier 1: Crispy hash browns seasoned with salt & pepper

Tier 2: Pan-seared spiral-cut ham

Tier 3: Egg sunny-side up (raw eggs will do also, for a more gelatinous texture)

Cook under the broiler (425º F) for 3-10 minutes, depending on egg strategy

Tier 4: Bull-Fight Corn Salsa

• Sauté 1 sweet onion & 4 cloves of garlic in 4 teaspoons of vegetable oil
• Add 1 orange bell pepper & 1 red bell pepper (diced)
• Add 3 ears bull fight corn (oven roasted, grilled, sliced off the cob)
• Sauté mixture briefly, add the juice & zest of 3 limes, drain & cool
• Add 1/2 bunch of chopped cilantro, salt, pepper, chili powder & ground cumin to taste

Top it off with chilled salsa and serve. The tartness and spice of the salsa is decidedly anti-breakfast. The corn and bell pepper should provide a fresh crunch, while the deliberate layering forces the diner to deconstruct the dish and pay attention to their food. Elizabeth and decided to further flout tradition by eating this at 7:00... PM.