organic Archives - The Curated House

Elephant Ceramics | The Art of Imperfection: How Rustic, Organic Textures Create Refined Beauty

I don’t know about you, but I have a love for handmade wares that blur the lines between refinement and organic imperfection. Perhaps it’s about my need to see the courage in others to reveal just a few of their flaws in the context of their beauty. I think we’re all drawn to that when we stop and think about it. Anything {or anyone}too perfect just feels shrink-wrapped and intimidating, at least to me. Don’t get me wrong, I love sophistication and excellence! I just need to see that human touch.

Today’s featured maker blurs the lines between refinement and organic imperfection with such beauty. Michelle Micahel of Elephant Ceramics truly imbues her inspiring humanity into the stunning pieces she creates with an authenticity that creates in me admiration and reflection. There is a sense that she works with the most organic of elements, gathering up bits of earth and sea and sky – dust and salt and ocean air – to create her simple yet elegant collection of ceramics. There is a sense that she knows how to stop herself from “polishing to perfection” such that she reveals the true beauty in her pieces. I need to learn from that.

I think it requires significant restraint to create something so organic. Or maybe it’s really just courage. The courage to allow the imperfections to be a part of what makes it so beautiful. Makes me think about how I see myself, how I try to clean myself up for the world. Maybe my flaws are a part of my beauty? Do I have the courage to find out?

I’d say I’m working on that, trying to balance the “polishing and the refining” with the “revealing and relaxing.” It is a lost art, I think. The art of being yourself.

I’m grateful today for Michelle’s work – for the beauty and refinement, for the organic and rustic simplicity, for the imperfections and textures that takes centre stage in the coming together of the whole. I’m grateful for the ways her work has caused me to reflect.

I hope Michelle has inspired you, too. Perhaps together we can find the courage to shed perfection and instead find beauty.

xo
s.

By Sarah Walker The Curated House|September 24th, 2013|0 Comments

Foodie Fridays | Sweet Potato + Leek Soup

When winter’s chill sets in {and oh, how it has set in!} I long for simple comfort foods to warm my body and soothe my soul. Soup is one of my favourite simple meals – a satisfying and gentle way to satiate the appetite on a cold winter’s night or the perfect lunch to carry me through a chilly afternoon. I often just look to see what vegetables I have in my fridge and then create from there. Here is a recent favourite that I hope to make again this weekend.

SWEET POTATO + LEEK SOUP

The Ingredients:
Whites {+ some green} of 3 leeks, washed + chopped
2 sweet potatoes, peeled + chopped
2 Tbsp ghee, extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
1 Tetrapak of organic chicken broth {946 ml}
1 tsp good flaky salt such as Maldon
Cracked pepper to taste

{I just love how simple ingredients can combine to create such rich and soothing flavour!}

The Method:

Wash, peel and chop the sweet potatoes and leeks. In a large pot, heat the ghee {or olive oil or coconut oil} and add leeks. Soften leeks over medium-high heat and then add sweet potatoes. Toss together and add in spices, then slowly add the broth. Simmer everything together for 20-30 minutes {or more} until the sweet potatoes break apart easily with your spoon. Either use an immersion hand blender to purée the soup or cool it and transfer to your blender. Purée until velvety smooth. Drizzle with a good extra virgin olive oil and garnish with fresh herbs such as cilantro or dill. Enjoy!

Wishing you all a warm + happy weekend filled with adventure, be it in your kitchen or on the slopes!

xo
s.

By Sarah Walker The Curated House|January 25th, 2013|0 Comments

Foodie Find | Heavenly Organics Honey Patties

I have a confession to make. I. Am. In. Love. Yes, with my handsome husband. But I have a newfound love, and my husband doesn’t mind one bit.

On a recent visit to my dearest and best in Brooklyn, she hooked me up with what has fast become my favourite sweet fix. A guilt-free hit of chocolate that is better than a York Peppermint Patty in EVERY way.

As someone who is allergic to sugar, I have to search pretty far and wide to find chocolate that I can actually eat. If I want it to taste good, I have to search even further. The great news: my search is over.

{Cue Survivor’s hit 80’s love song}

With that epic soundtrack buzzing in your heads {and the horrors of their 80’s mullets burning in your minds if you actually watched the video}, meet the answer to my sweet-toothed prayers: Heavenly Organics’ Honey Patties.

Not only do they taste incredible, they are totally organic and consist of just 3 amazing and totally natural ingredients: 100% organic slow-roasted Italian unsweetened dark chocolate, 100% organic raw Himalayan honey and pure peppermint oil. C’est tout! They are sugar-free, gluten-free, dairy-free, organic, raw, natural and totally DELICIOUS! Everyone I’ve share them with {even the pickiest eaters} agree that they are even better than those “not-just-three-ingredient-and-definitely-not-good-for-you” other Peppermint Patties.

The raw Himilayan honey and the unsweetened dark chocolate both have amazing health benefits, making this about as guilt-free as it gets. But that’s not even the best part. The best part is their process for harvesting the honey.

{source}

RAW + ORGANIC
This is unlike any raw honey I have ever encountered. Rather than being gathered from a traditional apiary, this honey is hand harvested from wild-crafted and naturally occurring beehives found in the trees of the Himalayas, making it as truly organic as it gets. One large tree may contain as many as 20 hives.

FAIR TRADE PHILANTHROPY
As a means of philanthropic commerce, Heavenly Organics chooses to employ displaced people in this conflict-ridden area, ensuring them a better-than-fair-trade, reliable income. Without this work, these traditional small farmers would have no way to make a consistent living. With this work, they are rewarded with a salary per harvest that is greater than what they could otherwise ever hope to make in an entire year. Today, Heavenly Organics benefits a collective that supports more than 250 families in troubled areas in Northern India, Central India and Kashmir.

ENVIRONMENTALLY SUSTAINABLE
By introducing their farmers to sustainable approaches to traditional honey gathering, the process is truly environmentally conscious as they cut the hive in a way that leaves the queen and the hive intact. The hive then regenerates for additional harvests. Their carefully crafted approach is helping to protect the delicate biodiversity of India’s forests.

Amazing, right?

I literally got head-to-toe chills when I spoke with Cynthia at Heavenly Organics and learned their story for the first time. This isn’t just a guilt-free treat. This is a “good-for-you-and-the-environment-and-humankind” treat. I couldn’t be happier to have found them.

I’m guessing by now you’re itching to get some, right? Be sure to pick up some of the honey on it’s own as well. The raw Himalayan white honey is creamy, delicious and truly the best I’ve ever tasted. Heavenly Organics‘ products are sold in over 800 stores in the US including specialty grocers like Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s. For those of us north of the border, we can order them online and request them at our local Whole Foods Market until they give in to the mass requests!

From the health benefits to the amazing quality to the incredible redemptive story, I love this company and their products! I hope their story has inspired you as much as it has inspired me.

xo
s.

By Sarah Walker The Curated House|January 9th, 2013|3 Comments