Posted by ReganWhy is the coffee served in offices so bad? If not weak and watery, it manages to be overly strong yet characterless. And who knows if that giant urn ever gets a good cleaning?
It's time to banish bad coffee for good. Do you have a hot water source and two hands? That's all you need (plus a few pieces of low-tech equipment) to brew a truly sublime cup right from your cube.
Posted by BluelinesWith much of the East Coast and Northwest in a rainy rut this week, it’s a perfect time to be holed up inside and baking.
And what’s better than licking that wooden spoon? Winning something for all your time and batter tasting (aka effort).
Enter the Martha's Favorite Cookie contest and you can score a signed copy of the New York Times bestselling book “Martha Stewart’s Cookies.”
The sweet prize
Here are some scrumptious baked wonders already in the running.
From slightly scary
to positively starry and many more.
Posted by KerstinInspired by Erin’s recent post on the virtues of White Rabbit candy
After I ripped off the clear plastic, I got the best surprise of all: A clever, hinged top that made a satisfying snap when I closed it. Truth be told, I think the sound is as enjoyable as the taste itself which is like an Altoids
And really, how much more can you ask of a one-by-three-inch box of candy?
I recommend you look in your area or order your fix here.
Posted by JodiThis being my first post for Bluelines, I thought I would share something near and dear to my heart: Peeps!
Although I’ve been known to whip up homemade marshmallow treats on my own (see below) -- and for my former magazine, Kids -- just found an oasis for a Peep-obsessed individual such as myself: “Peeps! Recipes and Crafts to Make with Your Favorite Marshmallow Treat.” (Truth be told, I kinda wish I had written it myself). For now, I must be content with trying some of the book’s confections for my sister-in-law’s Easter dinner. I will certainly try to top what I made last year.
Here are a couple of things I learned last time around that I'm happy to share with any Peeps novices:
* Ripping the marshmallows apart from one another leaves an unattractive, white, unsugared side behind. If you have to break them up, be sure to have matching colored sanding sugars on hand. I love the varieties they have at India Tree.
* If you don’t have sanding sugar, you can use some pastel, candy-coated eggs on either side of the Peep.
After the sugar shock wears off, be sure to check out these gifted crafters from the Peeps Diorama Contest in The Washington Post.
Posted by BluelinesAs promised, Bluelines has undergone a facelift (the fun kind). It might seem subtle but we've made some big additions. Here's a rundown of what's new.
If they're not already drawn there immediately, direct your eyes upward and you'll see six cool new banners by the incredibly talented artist Keith Shore. (More about him later.) We'll be rotating the artist behind our banners every month so if you'd like to be considered or want to suggest someone, please email us.
We've got a new list of contributors who'll be blogging about what inspires them, makes them laugh, and generally makes them weak in the knees. There are a few familiar faces, and a couple of new ones sprinkled in. We hope you come to like them all.
On the top left, we've tweaked our navigation, so play around with it and discover the archived treasures that lie within. Here, you'll find all of the previous Bluelines posts archived.
Navigation button No. 10 deserves a paragraph of its own. We've created a source book full of our favorite websites, blogs, artists, and resources. Here you'll also find all of Blueprint's beloved 100 Reasons To... -- which contain a bevy of links, facts, and inspiration. We'll be adding to that list constantly, so check back often.
You'll also notice that we've created home tours of our favorite Blueprint features. Take a virtual tour of Suzanna Bierwith's Chicago row house, and watch as Sarah Humphreys's tiny Manhattan apartment goes from claustrophobic to chic. Not only are they beautiful to look at, but they are also rife with great decorating tips and ideas to steal. And, of course, we'll be adding more of them.
New ideas, a new look, and new contributors -- we hope that's what you've been hankering for.
Just some of what's to come
Posted by BlueprintWhile we're looking forward to our retooled blog, we've also been looking back at the posts over the past year. Here are just a few of our favorite posts:
Do you have any favorite posts?
Posted by BlueprintTake a peek at home ideas -- great and small with a Blueprint twist.
Also don't miss our Organizing Tip of the Day
You'll find great DIY jewelry (a la Katie), Page's flat-screen tv cozy, and our Craft of the Day (which includes many Blueprint ideas)
Find all of the Blueprint party menus, to-do lists, playlists and prep stuff here
Blueprint recipes -- from soup to well nuts (...like Blueprint's roasted almonds)
Need ideas for a healthy & quick breakfast? Want to take up jogging? Need a new makeup palette? Look no further.
and lastly...
Simply type "Blueprint" in our SEARCH box on MarthaStewart.com or any page to be directed to those great blue ideas in the sky.
Posted by Erin, Staff Writer
Beard on Books, is a wonderful series of lunch time talks (free for students, donations recommended for working stiffs) with James Beard-endorsed authors and two weeks ago I slipped out of the office to attend. The speaker I went to see was Jake Tilson, an artist, culinary explorer, and -- since October 2006 -- cookbook author. His book A Tale of 12 Kitchens (available through Amazon) is more of a gastronimical and visual exploration than a cooking directive. As an artist and graphic designer, Tilson photographed and designed the book himself and it has the look of a personal diary. While there are recipes, the book is a photographic celebration of food and family -- as Tilson said at the talk, "The graphic landscape of food has always fascinated me." Here are a few ideas from the book that I particularly loved.
Since Tilson was young, he has been making food diaries with his family that include pictures of meals (what's on the plate and who's gathered at the table), food wrappers and packaging, cards from restaurants, and recipes. It's an inventive approach to a travel diary (and also includes the normal things like ticket stubs, fliers, etc), and I'm planning on making one for the next trip I take.
A collage from a trip to New York
Tilson and I share a lust for food packaging. I have bottles of balsamic vinegars, spices, and canned goods that I'll never use because I was interested in the packaging rather than the product. Tilson has pages of his favorite food packaging in the book (we share many in common) and he takes it a step further by filling suitcases full of food when he travels. (This has become more problematic since the new flight restrictions were put in place.)
Musings on the beauty of food packaging
In addition to taking all the photos in the book, and laying it out himself, Tilson specially created some of his own fonts -- how very Blueprint! For a chapter on Tuscany he created a font from the script on a can of tomatoes, and for a chapter about Scotland he took pictures of street signs and created an alphabet from them.
A collage from a trip to Scotland
Personally, I'm not big on travel gifts for everyone I know but I loved Tilson's gift to friends after his annual summer visit to Tuscany. He trims herbs -- bay, rosemary, thyme -- wraps them nicely in a sheet of La Repubblica and mails them as soon as he returns home. I'd prefer fresh herbs over a postcard any day!
Posted by Kerstin, Online Editor
I've got at least one present already wrapped up for the holidays (if you're reading, S, stop now): the newly released Brit Box: U.K. Indie, Shoegaze, and Brit-Pop Gems of the Last Millennium. It's the perfect gift for a friend who is a bit of an Anglophile, with all the usual vices: scones, tea cups, Prince Harry. But this set won't force added calories or unwanted paparazzi on her: it's 78 key recordings from UK bands spanning the past 15 years of the 20th century. The assortment ranges from the obvious, "How Soon Is Now?" by the Smiths,to the more obscure, like Suede's "Metal Mickey."
Most of the songs will bring about some "I forgot about this one" nostalgia and spark great memories from high school all the way to should-be-forgotten nights in our early twenties. To complete this Brit box, I may even throw in some English tea and a delicious scone recipe. No promises on Harry.
Posted by Sarah, Editor In ChiefMy friend Gigi was visiting from Boston the other weekend and the only thing she wanted to do while in NYC was make the holiday cookies in our November/December issue. OK, I exaggerate. That’s the only thing either of us wanted to do. It was a two-part plan: First we hit up the fabulous New York Cake Supplies store in Chelsea, where we each left with $150 worth of sanding sugar, cookie spritzes, silpat silicone mats, and tiny offset spatulas. Then we headed to my apartment and set up shop.
No, you do not need all of these supplies to make the cookies -- we just went crazy.
Four hours and lots of dough-rolling later, we had dozens of bite-size confections. While not as impeccable as those made by Jodi Levine, the very talented Martha Stewart Living editor who cooked up the ideas for our issue, they were pretty cute. All thanks to Gigi, who is the epitome of Diligence and Determination. (I myself sunk into the role of sous chef.)
Yum!
The sugar-cookie recipe was spot-on and the techniques are truly doable -- especially if you heed the advice of two weekend bakers who had to make a few mistakes before we got them right.
1. Read the cookie-spritz package carefully. We mistakenly bought $30 battery-operated models, and they didn’t work. At all. Old-fashioned manual is the way to go.
2. To prevent the stained-glass cookies from bleeding (you’ll see a few bloody first attempts above), place pebble-size chunks of Jolly Ranchers in the center of the cookie opening. After 90 seconds -- no more! -- they’ll melt and pool outward. (Smaller bits of candy burn too quickly.)
3. Silpat is a lifesaver, because the dough doesn’t stick to it, but the silpat sticks to the countertop. I will never again roll out dough without it.
4. Gel food coloring is intense. You need only one drop to tint a small ball of dough. Otherwise you’ll end up with Play-Doh dough (see above). My fault!
Posted by Valerie, Senior EditorThere's little that's more gratifying than hearing about how people pull ideas from Blueprint and adapt them to fit their own homes, lifestyles, and dinner tables. (Well, there's also payday, but still, sometimes this is better.) Here are a few outstanding examples of our readers' creative reuse.
The first comes to us from Maria at Port2Port Press. She took inspiration from the beaker-turned-water-decanter in "Company Perks," our office-organizing story from the September/October 2007 issue, and set up her own stylish rehydration station in her letterpress studio.
Maria and her new Erlenmeyer flask for water
(Maria happily reports that all her workday dry spells have subsequently been doused.)
Then we heard from Lori Cannava of New York City: "I wanted to thank Blueprint for the awesome "100 Reasons to Hit the Road" July/August suggestion for staying at the Shady Dell in Bisbee, AZ. I went on a cross-country trip from Orlando, FL, to Los Angeles, CA, and made a detour to stay at the Shady Dell, and I could not have been happier! The owner is lovely, the site is precious, and the town of Bisbee could not have been cuter. My friend and I had way too much fun taking pictures in front of our tiny 1952 Airstream trailer."
"Other places that we found and love: The Austin Motel is a vintage motel with themed rooms and a great pool. Hotel Brunswick, in Kingman, AZ, off Route 66, offers a $35 cowgirl room that has no frills, but is a major deal on a legendary road. Supposedly, the restaurant inside the hotel is terrific -- it's just not open on Saturdays! However, Mr. D's diner is open, and only one block away. It's a classic throwback with Elvis and Marilyn strewn over every surface. They serve great eggs and even whip up a mean chocolate shake at 9 in the morning."
Meanwhile, in Baltimore, Anne Ditmeyer went back to our Fall 2006 wine-tasting party story for ideas on throwing her own. She dished about the bash on her blog, Pret A Voyager: "Last year Blueprint magazine had a great article on throwing your own wine-tasting party -- it's really much easier than it looks. The article had lots of great suggestions (like using a craft paper tablecloth and making wine-stain place markers) and provided wonderful inspiration for my very own wine tasting -- with a twist. I'm a travel nut, so my well-traveled guests were assigned to bring a bottle from a country or region they had visited, instead of a particular type of wine. And besides the hodgepodge of thrift store glassware, most of the other dishes I used had been picked up on various travels. We found that it's possible to travel vicariously through wine."
Anne's picture-perfect party spread.
Next, Adelaide Fives of New York's In Good Company used a trick from our May/June cover story, "It Takes 2", in her office. She says: "My partner and I recently launched a flexible workspace for women business owners in New York. We had never decorated an office before, but knew how important the décor and feel of the space would be for our clients. We really wanted to have an open work space, but also give people some sense of privacy. We looked forever and hated every cube/traditional desk that we saw. Then you published the issue of Blueprint with the white desks and plexiglas divider, and my partner and I instantly thought, 'That's it!'"
The desks in situ at In Good Company
"Everyone who comes through the space asks who our interior designer was and tells us how gorgeous it all looks! The plexiglas is turning out to be the perfect look and solution," Fives says.
Also in New York, Gabrielle at DesignMom took on an extensive porch makeover inspired by our May/June version, and the results are breathtaking.
The porch, before
The porch, after
With the help of her husband, Ben, she -- deep breath! -- removed the screen; painted the door green and the handle and knocker silver; replaced the overgrown shrubs with plants from other parts of the yard that needed more room to breathe; swapped the old porch light for a modern fixture from Ikea ("It hangs lower and adds more welcoming light as you approach the house," she says); bought a shiny, red Swedish mailbox to add a little more pop; installed a new doorbell and house numbers; and added some terra cotta pots with warm, colorful flowers. Nice work, Gabrielle!
Finally, we picked our favorite submission from the "What's the most inventive thing you've ever framed?" contest, and here's the winner:
Caroline Duke of Oklahoma City used a wire in her frame to clip up some images, and rested other objects on the frame's ledge. She says: "I've got a tendency to snatch up old frames from my grandma's garage but never know quite what to do with them. I figured this was a nice alternative to a bulletin board and a pretty way to display the things that inspire me. I just tacked some wire to the back and used alligator clips to hang the pretty stuff."
Caroline's frame
Thanks, Caroline! And thanks to all the others who sent in beautiful framing ideas!
If you've been inspired by Blueprint, don't be shy! Please share your tips, travels, and projects by e-mailing us.
Posted by Page, Style DirectorHalloween is that time of year when altruistic dentists and candy connoisseurs are united in terror. They might not fear the boogey man, but they are both petrified of trick-or-treating candy. It's obvious what the dentists fear -- cavities! -- but for candyphiles the peril lies in those cut-rate gummy things and melty chocolates that have been kicking around someone's basement since November 1 of last year. While the dentist cannot be consoled, D.L. & Company and Valerie Confections have come to the sweet tooth's rescue with delicious skull-shaped chocolates. Three fright-free flavors are available from their Mori Ex Cacao collection: scorched caramel, bitter brandied cherry inside a white chocolate skull, and curious chili piped into dark chocolate. Each skull can be ordered alone or in a ghoulish gift set that includes all three flavors and comes beautifully wrapped in a black silk box and satin ribbon. If everyone was giving these out at the door, Halloween would be nothing to fear!
When confronted with the mayhem of the Port Authority last Friday night, my vision of a weekend in Albany -- actually thrifty thrift stores, diner grub, and possibly illegal bonfires -- faded fast. After drowning my autumnal fantasy in beer on Friday night, I woke up Saturday and hatched a new plan: I invited a bunch of friends (including one with a car) to explore upstate New York -- just not as UPstate as Albany.
My pals (slightly more high-minded than I) wanted to squeeze in some culture, and I wanted to commune with nature, so we compromised and headed first to the modern art museum, Dia:Beacon, in Beacon, NY, and then to an apple orchard. While there's a Metro-North station adjacent to the museum for easy access, no fall escapade would be complete without a scenic drive. And rambling along the tree-lined Palisades Parkway is just the thing to put you in an upstate frame of mind. (Singing along loudly to Bon Jovi's "Living on a Prayer" also helps.)
Although I had been eager to go straight to the apple-picking leg of our journey, I was pleasantly surprised by the Dia:Beacon. Housed in a former Nabisco factory, the space maintains its industrial feel but gains airiness from its renovations. Expansive views of the Hudson River and surrounding trees -- afforded by walls of alternately opaque and transparent windows -- create an interesting backdrop for the often physically intimidating works of Donald Judd and Joseph Beuys. The natural light also recast certain pieces for me: Richard Serra's torqued steel monoliths, which were recently on view at MoMA, became warm and inviting thanks to patches of light streaming in from the windows. Without the glare of fluorescents, the beautiful striations of color in the rust became more interesting than the imposing structures themselves.
Also inspiring were the Sol Lewitt wall drawings, on view through September 2008. They were essentially squares of supersize graph paper transferred in graphite and colored pencils directly onto the white walls (most likely by a squad of meticulous assistants). The giant proportions created a cool, spirograph effect, and if I ever have an apartment with twenty-foot ceilings and learn how to make a straight line, I'll re-create them on my own walls.
Finally, we headed to Weed Orchards, about 20 minutes away in Marlboro, NY to pick apples. While this orchard was pretty much overpicked, for city-dwellers with tiny kitchens it was just fine. Besides, they had the most amazing cider doughnuts I've ever tasted. I sampled a half-dozen for investigative purposes and am proud to report that they were consistently oven-fresh and delicious.
On Sunday, I started to freak out about how many apples I'd brought home and tried to incorporate them into every meal: oatmeal with apples for breakfast; grilled apple and cheddar sandwich for lunch; and salmon, apples, and mushrooms for dinner (it was, um, interesting). For dessert, I took it up a notch by making a Cranberry, Apple, and Maple Phyllo. Phyllo, I learned, is a temperamental dough, and could have been substituted for chocolate in that infamous 'I Love Lucy' skit. My first attempt was charred beyond recognition and I ripped most of the paperlike rest, but the end result was not as crude as I thought it would be -- and tasted delicious with a dollop of yogurt.
Trouble is, I'm still buried in apples. Any suggestions?
Posted by Sarah, Associate Fashion EditorI don’t think I even realized I was in a yogurt rut until I found Rachel’s. Or maybe it’s just that, in comparison, the old flavors now just seem boring by comparison.
It all started when I discovered Rachel’s pomegranate acai (acai is a Brazilian berry) at Whole Foods in Manhattan (go to Rachel’s website to find other flavors). I was wary, but unlike other fruity yogurts, it isn’t overly sweet and actually has a little bit of a bite, as anything with pomegranate should.
Then I found out that Rachel’s offers 10 flavor combinations separated into two categories, "essence" and "exotic." There’s some company mumbo jumbo about one type being "mood-inspiring" and the other being, well, just yummy fruit blends, but all I care about is how excited I am to eat my new yogurt every day. I mean, how can you argue with flavors like vanilla chai, plum honey lavender, and kiwi passion fruit lime?
Have any of you found ways to broaden your yogurt horizons? I may need a backup plan for the next time my tongue gets itchy feet -- er, buds.
Those who know me are already well aware of my over-the-top macaroni and cheese obsession. A psychic leftover from my picky childhood days (when cheese paired with some sort of grain -- noodles, bread, tortillas -- was the only thing to grace my still-evolving palette), this love for macaroni has stuck with me into adulthood. Luckily, this blue-box classic has changed with the times -- maybe more than I have -- becoming a nouveau comfort food staple served up in restaurants across the country. Which is why I love S’MAC, in New York City's East Village.
Short for Sarita’s Macaroni and Cheese, the bright, friendly restaurant takes you right back to your preschool days -- if your preschool snacks were provided by skilled and inventive cafeteria ladies, that is. Located at 345 E. 12th Street, S’MAC serves up macaroni masterpieces that run the gamut from the “All-American” (think loads of creamy cheddar) to the more refined blend of "Brie," with roasted fig, shiitake mushroom and rosemary. You can also build your own and choose from a variety of meats, cheeses, sauces and veggies.
There are healthful alternatives in the mix, too: any mac can be made with whole-wheat pasta, and there is a “Garden” option that features low-fat cheddar, parmesan and a blend of vegetables. Personally, I’d rather channel my inner four-year-old and chow down on those cut-up hot dogs. (Yes, they're on the menu, too.)
What's your favorite spin on modern mac 'n' cheese?
Posted by Sarah, Editor-In-ChiefMy summer was seven days long. Really. Things are slightly busy here at Blueprint HQ and there hasn't been much time to leave the office, much less the city, since Memorial Day. I had finally had it a few weeks ago and knew I had to take a vacation lest I do something rash, like demand a 10-page roundup on vanilla-buttercream scented candles. Also, the staff, I suspect, was sick of me. So I escaped to Rhode Island and crammed every summer experience I missed from my youth into one week. There was fishing for fluke, bodysurfing, and two cobs of corn per night.
And then there was Del’s frozen lemonade. Del’s is all over Rhode Island and it is imperative that I “Stop at the Sign of the Lemon” after a long day at the beach, when I’m crusted over with salt. The slushy treat is just lemon juice, water, and sugar (or at least that’s what I choose to believe), blended with water and ice and big chunks of lemon peel. It is delicious, and I sipped many.
You can imagine my delight, then, when I discovered a Del’s to-go pail at a local Rhode Island market near the end of my vacation. I had no idea this stuff could travel! I lugged the container (pictured here) home with me and made a few glasses last weekend, blending the packets of dry mix with some water and ice. The result was pretty authentic.
Lucky for you, this stuff is also available online at dels.com. A $10 tub makes a gallon of frozen lemonade, which means it’s just begging to be combined with a nip of vodka and served up at a party. Because even though the beach is becoming a distant memory, post-beach rituals can stay fresh.
In our "100 Reasons to Hit the Road" story, we could only include so many hot spots across the country. Recently, after spending a weekend in upstate New York and revisiting an old haunt (that’d be #88, the Rhinebeck Grille & Cantina -- a.k.a. The Starr Bar) I feel inclined to pay tribute to my wonderful trip by sharing some highlights.
Traces of the Rhinebeck Grille and Cantina’s origins.
The bar’s current exterior.
The actual bar (in the middle of a gorgeously sunny day, thus the empty barstools).
Said weekend involved six of my dearest friends, many of whom I’ve known since the age of eight. We spent our youths together at a summer camp in the Hudson Valley and later instituted a tradition of making a pilgrimage there each summer. This year, we booked rooms at The Grand Dutchess, a bed and breakfast in a Victorian house lovingly restored by its owner, and former Brooklynite, Elizabeth. Located in Red Hook, across from our favorite pizza place (that’d be Salvatore’s -- try the Grandma’s pizza), we’d driven by this boldly painted building for years and finally got to check out its interiors.
The Grand Dutchess features six guest rooms on the second and third floors.
Saturday was spent ambling around Rhinebeck, which (along with many towns in the area) has seen a resurgence over the last decade. All of us fell in love with the Carreras store and its co-owner, Dallas. The colorful wares (candles, soaps, pillows, and glassware by artist Margarita Carreras) popped alongside magnificent orchids and gerberas in corresponding colors. Most of us purchased the votive candle quartet, as we couldn’t decide on a favorite scent (but mango, guava, and plum did rate highest).
Mid-afternoon we squeezed in a Holy Cow trip. The ice cream is scrumptious and you can’t beat the prices (I’m pretty sure we didn’t spend more than $10 as a group). The place has been around for more than two decades and hasn’t changed much, as far as I can tell. They still sell the mouth-watering ice cream cakes we’d get at camp every time a bunkmate turned a year older.
Heaven on earth. Or at least on a sugar cone.
We then hit our culinary go-to spot: Terrapin. This converted church is a dining destination, with a main dining room as well as a more casual café. If I could offer you one piece of advice, it’d be to order the tuna. Or the duck quesadillas. Or the goat cheese wontons. Better yet, go with a large group, order as many different items as possible, and taste them all!
Terrapin, with its former church façade.
We’ll start planning next year’s weekend at the beginning of 2008, as some of us fly in and hotels fill up fast. We’re planning on trying out the highly-recommended Mercato and fitting in another round of blueberry picking. If you’re interested in an early-autumn road trip, the sixth annual Hudson Valley Wine & Food Fest is scheduled for September 8th and 9th at the Dutchess County Fairgrounds in Rhinebeck.
Posted by Rebecca, Senior Home EditorTo all our New York-based readers: This weekend, you should go taste the best gelato in the city, if not the U.S., at Grom. Yes, you'll have to wait in line, but I promise that it will be worth it. My favorite flavors are the Gianduja (Torino chocolate and hazelnut cream) and the peach sorbet with peach pulp. They also make a beautiful lemon granita using Sfusato lemons from the Amalfi Coast.
You’ve probably tried mangoes, but have you ever tried a mangosteen? It’s a tropical fruit native to Southeast Asia, where it’s dubbed the “Queen of Fruit” (the stinky durian is the “King”). A while back, I came across an article and a photo of the small, purple-rinded, white-fleshed fruit in a newspaper of record, and the discovery quickly evolved into an obsession.
Why obsess over fruit? Is it that delicious? For all the fuss I’ve created, I don’t know; I’ve never tried it. (I know, boo). It has long been illegal to sell or buy mangosteens in the United States, because they may harbor pests. The good news? The fruit is now being grown on farms in Puerto Rico, and mangosteens are slowly arriving on the mainland.
I dislike the word “exotic,” but here’s an unfamiliar fruit, supposedly fragrant and tasty, and therein lies my obsession: I can’t believe that in my almost three-decades-long existence on Earth, there is a fruit I haven’t tasted. It makes me feel so sheltered. It makes me yearn to eat my way across the continents, one plucked fruit at a time. It makes me feel bored with bananas and strawberries.
So imagine my excitement when Fresh, the purveyor of beautiful, modern fragrances (and much more), effectively married one of my obsessions with another and sent over its new Mangosteen perfume. I’ve never sniffed a Fresh scent that I didn’t like, so I knew it wouldn’t disappoint, but I wasn't sure what to expect. Most fragrances with a fruit focus have notes of things I’ve eaten, like grapefruit, mandarin oranges, or plum, which, however enjoyable, are too familiar.
Here went my first spritz: It was one of the two times in my life when a fragrance made my mouth water. It hit me with bright notes of lemon bergamot and freesia, but there was something ineffable, a juicy sweetness I couldn’t place (well, ta da!). After an hour or two (my only complaint with Fresh fragrances is that they never seem to last long enough), it dried down to woody musk.
So if you want the thrill of experiencing a mangosteen, just head to a Sephora store (or the website). And maybe, sometime soon, you'll even come across actual mangosteens on a menu or in a market near you.
Posted by Sarah, Associate Fashion EditorAfter a 10-day trip to the Chianti region of Tuscany, I could probably write a book about the places we saw, the people we met, the food we ate, and the wine, oh the wine, we drank! But for the sake of your precious time, I’ll stick to the wine and give you two brands that I think you should check out.
The first, Castellare, was just up the road from the vineyard my boyfriend and I were staying on, and upon recommendation, we decided to pay our new neighbors a visit. The vineyard was breathtaking and the cellars impressive, but our tour guide stole the show with his “I’ve tasted too much wine in my lifetime” appearance and demeanor. I was afraid he was going to pass out when he became overwhelmed trying to explain the excellence of the 1990 vintage.
Tour guide aside, Castellare makes excellent wine, and being an visual type, I was equally impressed with the labels. Each vintage has a beautiful illustration of a different endangered, indigenous bird on the label. I wanted to collect them all!
Thankfully, Castellare can be found in many wine stores across the U.S., as well as online. I suggest trying the Chianti Classico Reserva or their award-winning Sodi. I have a bottle saved for a special occasion.
The other wine I want to mention is a white. I am almost always a red wine drinker, but when the sun is hot, it’s just not that refreshing. So one day at lunch, I ordered a Vernaccia. I had read in one of my books that this was one of the best white wines from Chianti -- San Gimignano, to be exact. So I tried it, and I loved it. It was crisp and very refreshing. We tried a few different labels, and we loved this Teruzzi & Puthod the best. This, too, is available all over the U.S. and online. I’ve already stocked up for the summer!
Well happy tasting, and if you’re ever visiting Chianti, I am full of recommendations!
Posted by Petra, Staff WriterDespite the fact that I travel often, and eat extremely often, I always forget to bring snacks to the airport. I'm no finicky eater, but it feels like a shame to waste calories on the likes of Cinnabon when a whole vacation's worth of more memorable treats lies ahead. Of course, the "healthy" in-terminal options feel even sadder: pale turkey wraps in misty wrappers, mealy apples, "fruit" smoothies made from mystery syrup. Thus, when my flight is inevitably delayed, I inevitably end up at Hudson News (or equivalent newsstand-slash-souvenir shop) strategizing some quasi-nutritious way to tide myself over. In the end, an oil-coated tropical trail mix makes me wish I'd just gone for peanut M&Ms (hey, they've got protein, and they don't taste like coconut cardboard).
But things ended differently during a layover in San Juan last Sunday. Hanging in the newsstand-slash-souvenir shop, amidst the oversalted cashews and sugary granola bars, were little sachets of dried fruits labeled Sensible Foods. Hmm. I grabbed the Apple Harvest variety and flipped to the nutrition info, ready for a list of unpronounceable chemicals. Instead: organic apples. That's all. No preservatives, no corn syrup. A full serving of fruit, and just 80 calories.
Well, they had to be gross, then. But upon trying them ... no! They were great: crunchy and sweet. Not sticky or spongy. The corn version (yep, dried corn), which I bought mostly out of curiosity, was even better, lightly dusted with sea salt and evocative of the fresh on-the-cob kind.
Apparently, what the California brand does is extract the water much more quickly in order to maintain nutrients and create crunch. I only wish I'd tried the other varieties. I'm going to order some online, since the packets are also perfect for stashing in the handbag for emergencies (such as shopper's fatigue during the Bloomingdale's summer sale). Of course, I'll forget to pack any next time I fly. Hudson News, I hope you're on top of this.
While studying abroad in London, many products from British culture struck my fancy. Thankfully, Strongbow cider, Boots potions, Jamie Cullum, and Wagamama noodle bars have all made the journey over to American soil. As has Quorn.
Quorn (rhymes with corn, but with an extra vowel thrown in for fun) is a meat substitute made of mycoprotein that I discovered when passing by a McDonald’s window display. Back in 2004, the Golden Arches across the Atlantic were serving up Quorn fillet sandwiches.
Not a big fan of fast food, I was pleased to note that the intriguing vegetarian-friendly food also appeared as pub grub on many local menus. My first experience was Quorn came in the form of chicken tenders. Not bad. Similar enough texture, no weird chemical aftertaste … I was sold and continued to eat it throughout my stay overseas.
Available Stateside since 2002, this product has flown under the radar for lots of folks -- save those who frequent the meat-substitute section of the frozen-foods aisle. Or, perhaps people just haven’t been brave enough to sample this new fungus among us. But when I saw a variety of Quorn items in an endcap display at my local Whole Foods, I wholeheartedly grabbed a few bags of the Chik’n Tenders and brought them home for some culinary experimentation.
Although I’m no vegetarian, I’ve found that going faux adds healthy tidbits that I may not get elsewhere in my diet. So I go for the occasional soy fare, hybrid veggie protein, or quinoa product. Plus, all you have to do with Quorn is thaw it and it’s ready to go. Turns out, this tasty add-in works wonders in pastas. I now combine the aforementioned tenders with pesto, whole wheat fusilli, easy-steam mixed veggies, and some shredded mozzarella. Voila … dinner is served!
Posted by Sarah, Associate Fashion EditorWhen family members asked me what I wanted for Christmas, I couldn’t come up with anything. Well, not anything affordable or reasonable, because everything I really wanted was in the Barneys shoe department. So I told them to be creative and get me something I wouldn’t buy myself.
Well, my sister nailed it on the head. I opened a box that contained an adorable oven mitt and a gift certificate for a cooking class at Miette Culinary Studio, a small school in the heart of Greenwich Village that offers night and weekend classes in a wide range of styles. While I've definitely developed an interest in cooking over for the past few years, this certainly fell into the "I wouldn't have gotten it for myself" category.
To really try something new, I signed up for an Indian cooking class on a Thursday night. I was a little nervous about doing something like this by myself but was instantly relaxed when I was offered a glass of wine as I entered the studio. There was an intimate kitchen and another room with a long family-style dinner table.
It was a 10-person class (only 7 of us showed up) and our teacher was a wonderful, chatty, and knowledgeable woman who grew up in India. The head chef, Paul Vandewoude, was also on hand to chime in with tips and tricks here and there. Together, we made chili cauliflower, lamb rogan josh (curry based), pulao (a basmati rice dish), and pudina raita (yogurt with cucumbers and mint). It was all delicious, and after we sat down and ate, there were still leftovers to bring home!
Now, I wouldn’t post this until I had successfully made one of the dishes on my own. So last week, I had a friend over for dinner and made a plate of chili shrimp (I substituted shrimp for the cauliflower, just as my teacher said I could!). The lamb will be my next undertaking, and I’m feeling pretty confident.
While you'd need to be in New York to enjoy Meitte, you could try finding a small school or private teacher wherever you live. I found it as satisfying as shoe shopping -- and that says a lot.
Posted by Sarah, Editor-In-ChiefIt’s not so bad working for a magazine. You get to work on cool stories, try out new things … oh, and people send you food. Cupcakes have long been the treat of choice: pastel, portable, a buttercream crowd-pleaser. Their ubiquity makes them (somewhat) easy to refuse, though, and so it’s (somewhat) common to see a half-eaten box abandoned in our pantry. But recently, two other classic confections landed on our desks and our sugar teeth had a spring awakening.
Packaged in sunny yellow boxes, a dozen scones from HomeBonny’s showed up one day. Homemade by Bonny Polse using fresh ingredients from her Berkeley garden, the scones are more cake-y than scone-y -- light and fluffy, crumbly without a hint of sawdusty dryness. You do not need a glass of milk to wash these down. As I learned, multiple times, when I reached for a classic currant or glazed lemony ginger as the afternoon wore into evening. You can order the scones directly from Bonny’s website -- a nice Mother’s Day idea beyond the bouquet of flowers.
Then, conveniently timed for senior home editor Rebecca Robertson’s birthday, the Blueprint offices were inundated with ice cream -- dense, intense, delicious Choctál ice cream. Forget ten-ingredient chunkfests. All we got was chocolate and vanilla. Named-origin chocolate and vanilla, that is, from places like Ghana and the Dominican Republic and Madagascar. We made serious dents in two bathtub-size tubs (or at least they seemed that big) the day of the party. Then a few days later, I noticed a line forming outside the pantry. Someone had discovered the tubs. We still have a secret stash -- 14 pints! -- located somewhere on the premises. No, I’m not going to say where, but you can go to Whole Foods and start amassing your own stash.
Posted by Elizabeth, Beauty, Health & Fitness EditorWhen it com
