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The Curated Collection | Barbara Cole

My fascination with water goes back to my earliest memories. Somehow it was always the place where I felt most at home – free to explore the stillness or the resistance in it; to work hard and feel the grip of my muscles against the pull of its density, or to simply float effortlessly while dreaming limitlessly.

Water has always had the power to distort things in a meaningful way for me. It took the limits others placed on me and helped me push them back like a wave. It became my sound-proof sanctuary where I could reveal my heart, knowing no one could understand my watery words. My sacred revelations rippled out into the blue like the play of light beneath the surface. I suppose water has always been rather healing for me since then.

I share this with you because I think it explains why I have such a visceral reaction to the fine art photography of Barbara Cole. She, too, sees the power of water to distort things meaningfully, transforming beauty into an otherworldly underworld of figurative fantasy.

A self-taught photographer who started out in image making in the 1980s, Cole pushes beyond the limits of rules and standard practices, delving deep into the realm of the spectacular.

Cole lives and works in Toronto and will be revealing her latest body of work in September 2013 at Bau-Xi Photo.

Wishing you all a day of working and resting; of labouring and dreaming; of light and sound and sanctuary; of safety in being known.

xo
s.

By |April 8th, 2013|0 Comments

Foodie Friday | The Little Paris Kitchen

It should come as no surprise to you by now that I have an ongoing love affair with Chronicle Books. I discovered them last year while I was in San Francisco, and it was as if I had stumbled upon a publisher who had been quietly crafting beautiful volumes just for me. They most definitely have my number, and this latest discovery is no exception.

I confess this cookbook had an instant shortcut to my heart, parceque j’adore Paris. I have only been twice, but it is now the city against which all of my other travels are compared. It is the city where I imagine my most romantic getaways with my husband will forever take place. The architecture, the culture, the art, the people, the food. Lord help me, the food. Parisians know how to transform eating into an artform, from the simplest of unpretentious dishes to the most decadent in haute cuisine. From eating cheese from a local fromagerie {enjoyed with a nice bottle of red} in the gardens of Les Tuileries, accompanied by the melodious greetings of “bon apetit” as locals walked by, to indulging in gastronomic creations in restaurants, some of my favourite “food memories” are from Paris.

For those of us who are longing to recreate our French foodie fantasies in our own little kitchens here at home, Rachel Khoo – who didn’t speak a word of French when she courageously enrolled in the world-famous Le Cordon Bleu cooking school in Paris – has immersed herself in the language and art of French cooking and now translates French classics for real life foodies in her newly released cookbook The Little Paris Kitchen.

The “test kitchen” for Rachel’s cookbook was indeed a little kitchen in Paris. Tiny in fact. With just a two-burner stove and seating for “up to two,” Rachel began accommodating guests who came to experience her modern twists on classic French dishes from around the country. The 120-page volume is filled with modern and accessible recipes for quintessentially French home cooking to share with your family and friends.

Given that Spring seems to have finally sprung, I thought I would share a recipe that invites a bit of time outside working on the grill. As you already know, I love Coq Au Vin, and I can’t wait to try this uniquely fresh twist on the French Classic!

Serves 4 as a Main Course
Coq au vin on skewers

Cockerel stewed in red wine for several hours is traditional coq au vin. I thought I’d shake that
on its head and make a barbecue version with a red wine dipping sauce.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped 
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• a knob of butter 
• 4 small sprigs of thyme 
• 3 bay leaves 
• 2 cups red wine
• 1½ lb boned chicken legs, with skin on* 
• 5 oz lardons or cubes of smoked bacon
• 2 large carrots, cut into large chunks 
• 8 small new potatoes
• 8 small button onions, peeled and left whole 
• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp cornstarch 
• 1 tbsp sugar 
• salt and pepper
• 8 small button mushrooms, brushed or peeled 
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 8 barbecue skewers—if they’re bamboo, soak them in water for at least an hour before using
 
METHOD:
To make the marinade : Fry the garlic and onion in the butter until golden brown. Add the thyme and bay leaves and cook for another minute before adding the wine. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Leave to cool.

Cut the chicken into large chunks, place in a large plastic container with the lardons, and add the cold marinade. Cover and marinate in the fridge for at least 4 hours (best overnight).

Lift the chicken and lardons out of the marinade, then strain through a sieve. Measure 1 ¼ cups marinade, pour it into a pan and set aside. Put the carrots, potatoes and onions into a large pan of cold salted water and bring to a boil. Parboil for 5 minutes, then drain the vegetables into a sieve and hold under cold running water for 2 minutes. Leave to cool.

On a high heat, reduce the marinade by half before adding the vinegar. Mix the cornstarch to a thin paste with some water, whisk into the sauce, and boil for 5 minutes or until the consistency of heavy cream. Add the sugar and season with salt and pepper. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing it down in direct contact with the sauce. Keep the sauce warm until needed.

Thread the chicken onto the skewers, alternating with the lardons, parboiled vegetables and mushrooms.
Brush with the olive oil before cooking on the barbecue (or indoors on a griddle pan) for around 5 minutes, turning regularly. To check the chicken is cooked, cut a piece open—the juices should run clear, not red or pink. Serve with the sauce (reheated in a pan or microwave if necessary).

* Chicken legs have more flavor and tend to be juicier than breast, or you could use boneless chicken
thighs (skin on) instead. Breast meat will be fine too, as long as you are careful not to overcook it.

Preparation time: 1 hour 

Resting time: 4 hours–overnight
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Thank you, Rachel, for this delightful little cookbook from your delightful little Paris kitchen.
Bon apetit!
xo
s.

By |April 5th, 2013|0 Comments

Design Find | Phil Cuttance | Faceture

You know me. I am a sucker for brilliant design, especially when it is handmade and bespoke. My motto? Beautiful process, beautiful product. And that is why I’m quietly {or not-so-quietly} losing my mind over Phil Cuttance‘s Faceture collection of modern vases. 

With an almost pixelated, digital aesthetic, these triangle-composed structures are equally as mesmerizing as they are individually unique. How is that possible? The beauty of process.

First, the mould is hand-made. Cuttance scores and cuts a sheet of 0.5mm plastic, folding and taping it into the overall shape of the piece that is to be cast. The mould’s final shape and strength are dictated by which triangular facets are popped in and out. This highly intuitive stage in the process happens every time the mould is prepared for the next object, resulting in a collection in which no two pieces are alike. A water-based casting resin is then mixed and cast in the mould where it sets solid.

The resin is poured into the hollow mould and rolled around to coat and encase the sides, controlled on a casting jig on a machine. The material soon sets, creating a hollow, solid object. Then another, different coloured resin is poured into the same mould and swirled around inside over the first. {I love the surprise of discovery with the contrasting colours peeping out from inside the vase.} When this second layer of resin has set, the mould is removed to reveal the solid set cast piece. The casting appears with sharply accurate lines, a visual surprise considering the lo-fi, hand-made process from which it came. The mould is then cleaned and ready for re-use.

 Each Faceture vase is handmade, unique, and numbered on the base, making them very collectible.

To me, the finished product looks like something architect Frank Gehry might create – the simple elegance of inspiration found in a crumpled piece of paper transformed into triangular pixels of arresting form and structure.

I am officially longing for a pair of these stunningly unique vases to flank my Mekal sink in my kitchen. Wouldn’t they offer a poignant and perfectly modern edge to my kitchen refresh project? Methinks so. I’m officially in  l – o – v – e  love. In fact, I’m pretty sure I’ll be dreaming in triangles as I drift off tonight.

I hope you’ve been as inspired by Phil’s brilliant process and stunning product as I have. Still swooning.

xo
s.

By |April 4th, 2013|0 Comments