kitchen whites

i'm all aflutter with dreams of a white kitchen (with touches of blue). these dreams aren't new to me, just renewed because we're talking about moving so possibility is in the air. i'm already set on white dishes, but here are some of the white kitchen accents i think would be cheerful, even on a frozen day like today. 

i love all the stoneware and ceramic egg crates i've seen so often recently, but my personal favorite is the one from anthropologie since it holds a full dozen. if i got this one or this one, though they're pretty, i'd still have a half empty carton of eggs each time i bought them until i got through the first six. not pretty.

i also really love the berry boxes because they're sweet looking and they just look so much like the real thing, even with the little puckers and dents and bends in the basket. even though i prefer them in white for my fantasy kitchen, you can see all the lovely little details in the green one here. aren't they lovely?

jayson home and garden has three different ones in white that's a nice mix and crate and barrel's are basic and inexpensive.

i'd also love a really simple set of white mixing bowls like these...

... and canisters, even with one special one like this thrown in (note: in this fantasy, i make cookies). 

and even white can have whimsy with little pieces of art like these owl measuring cups. 

i guess the nicest thing about these moments of white is that i might not be able to (read: will definitely not) have a dream white kitchen like this or this, but i can get some of these little accents and feel like i'm living a little piece of that wonderfully white dream.

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an entertaining state of mind

for some reason, this tableau has me all aglow thinking about entertaining. it's been so long since i've done it in my own home, and one of the things i most look forward to when we (finally) move to a new place (hopefully in the spring) is having a space that's more conducive to that. in the meantime, i'm collecting ideas and looking to forward to thanksgiving, always expertly executed at my parents' house. are you planning for thanksgiving yet? i have to share this totally wonderful interview with ina garten about thanksgiving specifically. she shares so many awesome tips that are great really for any entertaining situation - she just knows her stuff, doesn't she? take a gander. if you don't have the time, here are a few of the best tips she gives:

here's what she says about planning and prep: 

the planning is everything. deciding which dishes you're going to prepare can turn into the make-or-break decision five days later, when you actually serve the meal. so the first thing i'll do is make a list of what i'd like to make. and then i look at it and think, do i really need seven vegetables?[laughs] and i start crossing things off. 

i'll decide upon the appetizers and the dessert; i think about the colors, the flavors, and the textures. if i'm doing string beans, i'll want something pureed with them, because it has a completely different color and texture. and then i'll want something that's sort of chunky or roasted crisp; for instance, the brussels sprouts with lardons are completely different than the celery root — and-apple puree, which is completely different from the string beans and shallots. you want to make sure they all balance each other well. 

the next thing i do is think about how many dishes on that menu have to be made in the moment. and if anything has to be made right before serving dinner, i take it off the list or find a substitute. the third thing i do is a schedule of how i'm going to get the meal on the table. not thanksgiving day, but before i've gone shopping.

i'll do a schedule saying, "i want to serve dinner at six o'clock." i'll work backward. the turkey has to go into the oven and cook for two and a half hours, and it has to rest for half an hour. i'll write, "3:00: put the turkey in. 2:30: turn the oven on." and then i'll figure out: if i only have one oven, what am i going to do about it? can i make a gratin in the oven if i have a turkey in the oven? no, that's out. but i can make the string beans with shallots, because that's on top of the stove. and i can make a celery root — and-apple puree, because that's on top of the stove. so it's really important to figure out what your resources are and what you want to make before you go shopping, to figure out if you can do it.

on leftovers:

oh — i realize i have one other tip, one other thing i love to do for thanksgiving. it makes it a little more difficult, but as long as you're making one of something, you can make two. you can double it. if somebody comes to my house for thanksgiving, they're missing one of the great things about thanksgiving, which is leftovers. [so] i always make twice as much as i need, and then i pack up the leftovers so everybody gets to take some home…i remember at barefoot contessa [ina's former gourmet store in east hampton, ny], on friday we sold as much thanksgiving dinner as we did on thursday, because everybody who had gone to somebody else's house wanted turkey sandwiches with cranberry sauce the next day. so i always make sure that everybody has little bags with leftovers to take with them.

a couple other great little nuggets are that kosher turkey is always the best because it's already salted, and also that making the gravy a few weeks before the big day and freezing it saves time, space and a lot of last minute shuffling.

but really, you have to read the whole article, i just thought it was such a gem.

mason jar meals

pursuant to our conversation about deconstructed salads, how completely cute is this idea? mason jar meals! it looks so charming this way, but a more commute-friendly way might be to use tupperware. it would be really cute to send kids off to school with this kind of healthy spread (or stack, as it were).

i'm tempted to make something like this for mine and mitchell's trip to see james taylor at tanglewood on sunday (!!!), but i'm having trouble picturing mitchell's response to this sort of visual presentation. kind of makes me laugh and want to try just for fun.

i could see using this idea for grilled chicken, feta, olives, tomatoes and maybe some tzatziki or hummus (much like this idea) or doing a taco one...spicy ground turkey, sour cream, scallions, some black beans...oooh now that's one mitchell might like!

what would you put in yours?

weighing options

kitchen counter space is always at a premium, but i think this would be worth the real estate. how perfectly vintage and industrial is this kitchen scale? it's regrettably no longer available at anthro, but i keep the picture as a reminder of a wish list item for the future. what i find special about this one is that it goes a step further than your run of the mill antique scale in that the stainless steel finish has a high gloss which makes it look special and important.

love!

a fresh bouquet

have you ever made a bouquet garni? ever since i heard about them, i've been charmed by the idea - it's so sweet and fresh and cozy, a tied together or wrapped collection of fresh herbs used to season soups and stews, and its neat little packaging makes it easy to remove it when the cooking is done.

traditionally, bouquet garnis include parsley, thyme and bay leaves, but can include absolutely anything you'd like, and if you go the cheesecloth route, can even include hard-to-tie items like cloves, garlic and dried herbs.


i love the idea of going to the farmers market or produce store and seeing what looks and smells delicious, and finding a recipe (in your head, even maybe!) for flavors that would meld well. finding perfect pairings can be a real exploration, and to aid in the exploration, i love the concept of the flavor bible, discussed here.


i also love the idea of giving a bouquet garni as a gift when you're a guest at someone's home for a weekend or an evening...perhaps with a pair of footed soup bowls or these sweet soup & sandwich plates.

images from here, here, here, here, here and here

how many cooks in your kitchen?

since thanksgiving is such a kitchen holiday, i thought it best we kick it off with some inspiring and calm kitchen pictures, courtesy of martha herself. here, we can see how everything is in order and everything has a place. though most real life kitchens aren't this organized, clean or color-coordinated, i like to think we can all take cues from martha and the other experts and implement them where they work for us in our own very real, very not TV ready lives.





i know in my family, a few key things help (though by no means eliminate rushing)...we try to always start with an empty dishwasher, ready to be filled as we go. we pre-decide and label all the serving pieces we'll use so they're clean and available, and we don't have to run around improvising. i find it also helps having that list to work from - it's methodical, it's orderly and it gives you a sense of control and purpose as you work. of course, trying to do as much as you can in advance helps to, which would explain why my mom has been chopping vegetables since last thanksgiving.



and speaking of vegetable chopping, i've personally found rachael ray's garbage bowl idea life-changing, as it eliminates counter mess and walking back and forth to the garbage leaving onion peels and wrappers in your wake.





if anyone has wisdom on cutting onions, i'd love to hear it...we tried the candle the other day. NOPE.

what time-savers or nerve-calmers are you using in the kitchen this year?

read the comments on this post for honey living readers' best kitchen tips!

and for other great martha tips for living, read on.

all images courtesy of martha stewart

funny girl (and she cooks!)

i'm kind of loving jessica seinfeld these days. gone are the days of being accused of stealing the fruit puree idea, and here to stay is her fab personality and great, healthy ideas. when i was home from work for a few weeks, i joined the oprah-watching world and there jessica was - comfortable, self-assured, and much-adored by jerry, her proud, watchful and totally not overshadowing husband.

in today's goop, jessica and her new book are featured. watch the video gwyneth links to - one of many short, supereasy looking ones on jessica's new website, originally shot for jessica's friend who wanted to learn to cook. and also read the short interview with jessica for some excellent tips and a glimpse into her world.

i love how in the video, jerry is just hanging in the background looking like a hungry husband wondering what's for dinner. nary a close up of his face nor a peep out of his hilarious genius of a mouth.

want the book. for me and for gifts. want her to be my friend. and jerry too.

image from seattle times

dry your tears

i think my kitchen life is about to be changed. and yours too, if onions make you cry. thanks to one of my favorite bloggers, jackie fo. i give you onion goggles. seriously? best. idea. ever.

i'm not going to lie, though...i will first try my very own aviators to see how that works out - i feel like if they hug your face enough, it could work...

photos from www.amazon.com

so many uses, so little space

well, as i'm adjusting to our new place, i am rethinking all kinds of storage solutions and having many "do i really need this?" moments. and as i dutifully unpacked each kitchen box, i found myself, over and over again, thinking about an all-in-one kitchen set i had seen in a crate and barrel catalog a few months ago.

it wasn't long before i searched it out and discovered that it was on sale! it's the 8-piece multi-use kitchen set (that's a mouthful) and it's perfectly neat and clean in dishwasher-safe white plastic. each piece neatly stacks into the next, and the whole takes up no more space than a large mixing bowl. when i think about all the sets of bowls i have, there are maybe two from each set i actually use. the rest just take up space and collect dust.
i think having 2 of these sets would give you a stocked kitchen - this way, even with pieces in use or in the dishwasher, you have backup. i really think this is ingenious. think about how many pieces in your kithen you could do away with if you had just one or two of these. and for $30 a set instead of the normal $50, it's quite a steal.

very tempting thought. my fear is that i'd get two and keep all the other bowls too. the best laid plans...