Hi, hello. Whoever is reading this: I’m sorry! Do you remember me? I apologize for a lapse in posts. It’s been a busy couple of months.

NYE was mellow. A fancy pajama party in a Diamond Heights apartment overlooking the city. There was much champagne, curry, tropical fruit, conversation, old timey music, and a doll house that we decorated with tiny tony pigs, miniature furniture and various little accessories. I wore all white – a 1940s nightgown.

What do I want from 2010?

Clarity. Focus. Stability. Comfort. Ample time to recharge my batteries and then tackle projects. To be less anxious, and more free-flowing. To follow my own rules and expectations instead of measuring up against others’ seeming happiness. Really, these are things I want any year, any day. I just hope 2010 doesn’t end up being the year where I have to really push up stream with all my strength to get what I want.

On the first Sunday of the year, I scored some really neat stuff at the Alameda Point Antique Fair. Ended up getting four delphite teacups & saucers, a red velvet swing coat, a 1920s tablecloth in very good condition, a faux seed pearl bracelet, an Art Nouveau-looking green pendant, a rhinestone necklace, a white skirt for summer picnics, a pretty striped scarf and green velvet ribbon & tiny mushroom millinery stamens to decorate a hat.

Here are a few of the items:

To help send off a couple of friends who were in town visiting from Europe, we went for a lovely dinner & cocktails at Flora in Oakland. The food is tremendous, as are the drinks. The ambiance is cozy, Deco style, with a beautiful long bar, checkered floors, vintage posters, tiny tables and roomy booths. This was my second time having dinner at Flora (if it’s on the menu and you’re daring, try the foix gras with bacon ice cream) and it’s also a good place to just drop in for a cocktail & a bite of their caramel pudding with sea salt.

The meal is a bit of a splurge, which is why I don’t do that sort of thing often, but when you’ve got such charming company and the spread is so amazing, it’s worth every penny.

As a parting gift, my friend gave me a bag of straight-from-the-farm lemons & fresh rosemary. (Her folks have a lovely stretch of land out in Sonoma county, which they tend to lovingly and grow amazing produce).

After digging around for a bunch of recipes, I assumed, over-ambitiously, that I’d be able to use a dozen lemons to make a dozen different things. Ultimately, I ended up just making two. I started on the process of making a bottle of my own limoncello, following the excellent suggestions outlined here and also baked lemon-rosemary shortbread cookies, using a fantastic recipe from Vegetarian Times.

Rosemary for the cookies & lemon zest for both recipes

The beginning of a batch of limoncello

Freshly baked lemon-rosemary butter cookies, one with a dollop of lemon curd and one with red currant preserves

In following the recipe I linked above, bear a few things in mind:
* If you don’t use jumbo sized eggs for the egg yolks, you may find you don’t have enough liquid to keep the dough from being too crumbly. I ended up adding a little bit of rice milk when I’d pulled the dough out of the fridge after it cooled for two hours. It was still too crumbly to shape into cookies, but adding little bits of rice milk until it gained consistency that I needed did the trick. (I used rice milk because I don’t keep regular milk at home, as I’m lactose intolerant. Milk, or water, would probably do the trick just as well).
* If you follow the recipe exactly, the cookies don’t come out too sweet. I personally like that, but if you like them extra sweet, bear that in mind
* Next time, I plan on using a bit more lemon zest and a bit less rosemary

I’m sorry for lack of updates. In mid-August, my 3.5 month long period of unemployment ended and I started a new job working on the facilities management team of a museum. Since then, I’ve simply had no time to update because I’ve been working fairly long hours. However, I am now transitioning into a more steady schedule and will eventually start seeing a resurgence of energy, creatively and physically.

I like to keep thoughts moving, so for now, keep an eye on my Tumbl-blog for random bits of inspiration.

A couple of stand out niceness type things, from recently (sorry for lack of images):

* Amazing dinner with my boyfriend at Camino in Oakland, CA – beautifully crafted cocktails, a concise menu full of elegant and creative entrees and appetizers. We had a chilled yogurt, mint and cucumber soup for starters. It was amazing. Entrees are cooked in a wood burning stove and we could see the open flames from our table.

*Rewatching “Double Life of Veronique,” while my boyfriend watched it for the first time. If you haven’t seen it, you should. If you have, you know what I’m saying.

*My father’s birthday dinner at Incanto in Noe Valley. (Photos forthcoming!) It’s one of those wild and creative spins on Italian food, which could be deemed either too showy and lacking in delicacy, or really awesome. I’m on the side of really awesome.

* Seeing Fever Ray perform at the Regency Ballroom earlier this week. It was exactly how all shows should be – incredible. Getting into the ballroom was a system of efficiency. We got seats on the balcony level and had a great, comfortable view of the entire performance. The stage set up was elegant, with lamps flashing magical lights around the stage, through fog and laser beams, while the band all wore mystical headdresses and masks. It was a really beautifully spooky performance, and the best part was that after we came out, dazed, onto the sidewalk, it was only 10:30pm!!!

This weekend, J. and I went to two shows. We saw Laudanum and a few other bands at the Oakland Metro on Friday night, and on Saturday we went to Worm Ouroboros at El Rio. Jesse cooked us a really lovely summertime meal:

Cold soba with dipping sauce, tofu, kobocha squash, barley tea. Mmmmmmm.

This is Birdie. I got to hang out with him a bit, too. He belongs to N. and has different color eyes, and his real name is really Major Tom.

I also made a peach basil crumble, rather at the last minute, when N. and I decided to bake at her house. It was incredibly easy and I used this recipe from Martha Stewart. It was a success. The only thing was that the dish was just a little too big. Next time, I’ll make it in a smaller, deeper dish so that I can layer more peaches in it.

We watched Fellini’s And The Ship Sails On at home, and also saw Moon at the Shattuck. I liked both movies, for different reasons. Moon, however, was probably one of the best movies I’ve seen in the theater for a long time. In fact, it was shatteringly beautiful and clever.

On Monday I had a job interview with a nonprofit that I’ve really wanted to work with. This is the second time I’ve applied for a job with them. My interview was two hours long, and I met with five people. However, I am pretty sure that this is routine for all candidates. I will hear by the end of the week if I’m being considered for the next stage, whatever it may be.

It’s been trying, here. A few other obstacles added to the already challenging course. I’ve been skulking and moping about the house, but also trying to keep busy. Here are three things that are neat, that made me happy in my domesticity:

1. Dorot frozen chopped herbs – got these at TJ’s. These little containers are packed with frozen chopped basil, parsley, or garlic. They’re shaped like ice cube trays, and all you do is take out one cube whenever you need it, and add it to your cooking. The flavor is strong and fresh, and it’s great for someone like me – I buy herbs, but never manage to use up the entire quantity before it goes wilted and brown.

2. LISN incense pack – My boyfriend gave me this a long while ago, and I just found it nestled in my desk drawer. Each incense stick has a silly little name, like “Crystal breeze” or “Sound on wave,” but the scents are pleasant and the little packet is actually the incense holder.

3. NEW CHAIR! I found this chair in the street:

A nice, sturdy rocking chair, but finished with awful upholstery in pukey cream color. So I got some fabrics:

and after weighing the appeal of both patterns, ended up going with the nice green print.

Tada! I’m very satisfied, and I can use the other fabric, as I dubbed it “deco giraffe,” for something else in the future. It was in the discount last chance bin, so well worth the $4. Click here for a close up of how the fabric looks stretched.

The whole process was insanely easy. You just unscrew the seat pad, pull out all the staples holding the fabric over the seat cushion and batting, then use the old fabric piece to cut out the right shape from the new fabric – I would even give an extra inch or so, as you’re cutting. Then pull the fabric over the seat cushion, get your staple gun, and pulling the fabric taut just staple it to the seat frame, making sure to fold and tuck it in at the corners nicely. Then put it back in the chair and screw it back on, and tada.

Total cost = $2.39 for the fabric, plus $14 for the staple gun, which I now want to use for everything, ever.

I have not made a post in a long while. A lot has happened since then.

At the end of April, I lost my job of more than two years. It was shocking, completely unexpected, but ultimately something that I ended up accepting and dealing with. I dove into the paperwork that is now quite familiar to, sadly, far too many people in California and the greater United States. Living on the dole is a game of cutting corners and adjusting expectations. It’s also a bit challenging how to make use of all this free time.

You might *think* that being unemployed would enable me to tackle all sorts of creative ventures and to instill order in my life, undertaking projects of the cleaning/rearranging/sorting/nesting variety. It’s not always easy, though. The biggest impediment to the creative process has been anxiety. I find myself anxious over money and my uncertain future; I have strange and frustrating dreams that leave me feeling fatigued and listless; I haven’t done crap (pardon the colorful language) – the boxes in my office room are still piled high, just like the day I moved into my place about a year ago.

This was the predominant attitude for me for the three weeks. Then, I started to notice a shift. I feel a slight spring in my step and optimism is a little more frequent. I signed up for volunteering efforts with CUESA (they host the lovely farmers market that I’ve posted about before), helped out a friend with his new start-up venture (an ongoing process), continued applying for jobs, cooked a lot more meals at home, and fell in love with my local library, all over again. I also got to visit relatives I hadn’t seen in 15 years, when my mother and I spent 5 days in Washington, DC.

I also happened to land my first two job interviews.

And two days ago, I turned 30.

I like to think that there’s something in the works, for me. I want to hold on to this hope and to continue carving out time to focus on the positive and shape my little cosmos into something magical, regardless of employment status. However, I do still hope that one of these interviews will lead to something fantastic. And, believe it or not, I’m absolutely THRILLED to be 30 years old.

I hope that everyone is doing well out there, and if times are tough, I hope you find small or big things in your life to make you happy.

My friend Nomi recently finished a long project – a lace shawl off a pattern called “Myrtle,” from a beautiful book titled Victorian Lace Today. Having spent some time making our way through the Faberge, Tiffany, and Lalique exhibit, now on view at the Legion of Honor Museum, we emerged into the sunshine dizzy from the splendor. The day was bright and breezy, so I decided it would be a great time to take some photos of Nomi modeling Myrtle against the backdrop of pine trees overlooking Baker Beach.
(click to view larger size)

I may not be a knitter, but I certainly can appreciate all the work that goes into it. Check out Nomi’s set for a few pictures documenting the process of making the shawl.

Today I quickly whipped up one of my favorite Russian breakfast foods, syrniki. My friend Ellen and I call them “pancheesies.” They are a very common staple of Russian homecooking, kind of like hash browns and pancakes are the familiar staple of any American’s breakfast.

The recipe is as easy as pie (actually, easier than pie).

1 1/4 cup of farmers’ cheese (this is a cheese that is similar to goat cheese in consistency, but actually tastes like cottage cheese. It’s the closest equivalent here in the States to Russian cottage cheese called “tvorog,” and is fairly easy to find in most larger grocery stores)
1 large egg
2-3 tbs of sugar
1/2 cup flour

Mix all the ingredients well in a mixing bowl, until the consistency starts to look like slightly lumpy mashed potatoes

Using a spoon dipped in cool water to prevent sticking, scoop up a generous spoonful of the mix, and form into a ball, then flatten into a small pancake. Coat both sides of the pancake in a little bit of flour, and fry in hot vegetable oil in a deep skillet, turning over so that both sides are lightly golden brown.

Syrniki taste great with a dollop of sour cream, with a serving of your favorite jam or preserves, or just on their own, depending on how rich or sweet you want your breakfast to be. I also like them as an afternoon tea snack. I had mine with Yorkshire Gold tea from Taylor’s of Harrogate, and a spoon of June Taylor’s fig & port preserves I picked up at the Farmers’ Market a while ago, and have been savoring since.

(Yes, that mug is great).

Ms. Verhext has created a lovely community on Flickr, a pool of photos beckoning with magic and warmth, marzipan, wind chimes, moss covered stones and hidden corners. I’ve already dumped, indiscriminately, a lot of photos in there. You should too!

Magic is as magic does

Individual photo credits:

1. The Leaving Lot, no. 1, 2. flowers at the wharf, 3. catch it if you can, 4. Monday – Waikiki Aquarium, 5. Johnny, jump up and kiss me, 6. schattenspiele, 7. leaf, 8. IMG_9071.JPG, 9. dinner

Happy Friday, folks! I’m looking forward to a warm (but not too warm!) weekend of laziness. Other than a warehouse concert I am going to check-out with my boyfriend Saturday night, I have zero plans. Tomorrow morning, when done with my house chores, I want to undertake a new baking adventure. I don’t know what it will be, but I’m sure it’ll be fun, and I’ll be sure to share some photos.

Speaking of sweets, the lovely Flickr user Dapan has had me in her spell for quite a while. From delicious plates of curries and grilled veggies, to incredibly elaborate dessert concontions, what really sets her photos apart is the lighting and styling of the plates. I really think food photography can be more than just a documentation of a process: it can be an art form.
Here are some of my favorites:

Osmanthus and red bean tea jelly

Matcha cookies

Bread pudding

For those in the baking mood, a treasure trove of baking supplies and decorations can be found at Bake It Pretty. From flower and animal shaped chocolate molds, to cookie cutters and frosted cake toppers, the entire online store is brimming with inspiration for a pastry chef of any level:

Magical Forest cupcake toppers set

I’m planning on doing a big Spring-time brunch at my house some time in April, so this is just the place for me to order little details to add to the festive mood.

Hope everyone has a lovely weekend!

(From reader recipe posted on Gourmet.com )

* 1 cup creamy peanut butter (not natural)
* 3/4 cup sugar
* 1 large egg
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 5 tablespoons black sesame seeds

1. Preheat oven to 350°F with racks in upper and lower thirds.
2. Beat together peanut butter and sugar in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until combined well, about 2 minutes. Beat in egg and baking soda until combined well. (I don’t own an electric mix, so I mix everything by hand. This one is easy and only takes a couple of minutes.)
3. Place sesame seeds in a shallow bowl. Roll level teaspoons of dough into balls, then roll in seeds to coat. Arrange balls about 1 inch apart on 2 ungreased baking sheets. (Don’t pour out all sesame seeds onto the plate at once. Do it a little at a time, adding seeds as you roll more cookies).

4. Bake cookies, switching position of sheets halfway through, until puffed and cracked, about 10 minutes. Cool on baking sheets 2 minutes, then transfer to racks to cool. (Cookies come out very very soft and crumbly, so transfer them to the cooling rack with a spatula. They will solidify within minutes)
Cookies keep in an airtight container at room temperature 5 days.