From the Pantry: Food and Mosaic
I've enjoyed studying the posts from Paul's guest bloggers. Now it is my turn, and I'm happy he positioned me at the end. You all are a tough act to observe, but reading your extraordinary observations and recollections gives me the braveness to be creative. Here goes:
My own family recently visited our good pals in Madrid over the Thanksgiving excursion. Matthew and Catherine Meacham have constantly had amazing taste in layout. Their new domestic, designed with the aid of Barcelona architect Tonet Sunyer, is no exception. The house is smooth-covered and packed with mild. Thoughtful, smart design is the subject matter. Here's a view of the patio and pool. I'm enamored with the brushed bronze cupboard doors which seem like a wall, but shop the entirety one desires to host a gorgeous party - out of sight.
Everything is built-in, as you would count on in a contemporary kitchen. What grabs you, although, is the uncommon pantry. It's a walk-in galley at the back of the range and sink wall.
Food styling takes on an entire new meaning when the heart of your pantry are visible 24/7. Most of us might flinch at having to hold our foodstuffs neatly organized and visually appealing. And the Marmite Heirarchy. Who can preserve up? Small, medium, jumbo? Catherine is brief to factor out a distinct advantage: from her vantage factor at the kitchen table, she can sit and make her grocery lists simply by scanning the pantry cabinets. My husband rushed out to The Container Store as soon as we got returned to Texas, and shortly had our two daughters "tiering" the cans in our very own pantry. It's nevertheless no longer pretty, however at the least now you can find the Progresso soups behind the cannellini beans.
My preferred part of the kitchen changed into the integrated coffee center which makes any form of brew, from macchiato to lungo at the rush of a button. Here is my daughter Kate's favourite part:
That will be the circle of relatives's puppy turtle, wintering within the kitchen with a few fresh veggies. During warmer months, he has unfastened reign in his personal Zen terrarium:
That's the interior courtyard of the home. The timber are on an "island" surrounded by using a shallow trough of water. Probably takes the turtle all summer time to make a lap.
And now for the vacation/meals part of our display:
Food as Mosaic. Mosaic as Food
Anyone who knows me properly is aware of my second-favourite region to be after my mosaic studio is the kitchen. Sometimes I have problem distinguishing among the 2. Clients request mosaics formed like food; evil buddies challenge me to make absurd structures out of meals, frequently requiring me to reduce said meals into tiny, mosaic-like pieces.
A living proof: currently my buddy Laura, aka "Shot Girl" (to be explained later), challenged me to create a 14-layer cake for my daughter Claire's 14th birthday. I study the weblog she attached to the project. Easy enough. After placing the seventh layer, I started out guffawing uncontrollably. By myself. For three hours, that is how lengthy it took to bake 14 person cake layers using simplest 3 spherical pans. Eventually I determined I could have made huge pancakes on my griddle and frosted them with chocolate.
See what I imply about pancakes? This is after 9 layers, and it became beginning to feel precarious.
But the give up result changed into notable. The satisfactory part of all was having Claire tell me, "Mom, all my buddies idea the cake become AWEsome!"
Last summer season I pre-empted Shot Girl with a mission: deliver an appetizer to our party which might be made by elements determined at a random convenience store between her house and mine. As regular with Shot Girl, things were given artsy:
The Slim Jim log cabin. Smelly. Greasy. Totally unappetizing once you've got notched each go browsing each ends and watched in horror as orange grease oozed out of this food product throughout your hands. An "A" for attempt.
By now you is probably suspecting that Shot Girl and I proportion an obsessive-compulsive trait. In case you continue to doubt, a few prime examples follow.
I annually drag out the Victorian gingerbread cottage mold. One year I compulsively connected sweet-lined sunflower seeds (they appearance just like tiny Christmas lighting fixtures!) to the icicles on the roofline. The sweet cane bushes are keep bought; I won't allow the youngsters unwrap them because I use them every yr.
For a Scottie-loving neighbor, Hollydogs; left over from a Texas-themed tree adorning contest, a cactus; and I usually consist of the Man within the Moon for our atheist guests.
One yr I were given carpal tunnel from decorating too many bitty stars and snowflakes. So last 12 months I cut back and simplified the styles. In addition to geese, I every now and then make roadrunners (again, the Texas tree leftovers). Whenever I see this goose I consider Miss Piggy and the Muppets making a song, "Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fats..."
People love to eat 24 ok gold. It's so decadent. I dusted these with gold powder purchased from Maid of Scandinavia. It's fit to be eaten, high-priced, and irresistible on cakes.
Last year when my buddies desired to throw a small cocktail birthday celebration for my birthday, they requested what type of meals I favored. Tapas must be smooth enough, proper? I started out to panic when the hostess requested to borrow my paella pan simplest three hours before the birthday party. Surely she wasn't going to try her first paella with 20 guests hovering over her? Imagine my marvel while she and Shot Girl confirmed up with my birthday cake:
That's a Rice Krispie bar paella. Layered with candy seafood and candy greens. I suspect that is retribution for the time I added mock sushi to Shot Girl's birthday celebration (gummy worms and gummy fish wrapped in Rice Krispies and rolled with green leather that appears remarkably like nori).
Mosaics as food; now meals mosaics: I actually have a great customer who has several of my works in her collection. Last 12 months, she and her daughter opened a apparel boutique in Dallas called Betty Cupcake. Who do you name while you want mosaic cupcakes? Yours in reality, natch.
I depart you with a party shot, to preserve the topic of Paul's fun buddies who enjoy being ridiculous with the ones they love maximum. Last 12 months, we hosted a Superheroes and Villains birthday party. "Come out, come out, whoever you're!" said the invitation. We requested folks to return as their alter-ego. Some failed to virtually get it. Others, they truely got it.
The crucial gang: King Kong; Corkscrew Man, here to keep the picnic; Rolodexia, Mistress of Referrals (me); Paparazzi Scum; Shot Girl (tonight she's your pal, day after today she's your enemy); The Baconator (who does not love bacon?) and Perception Man. Wouldn't it be exquisite if some day all of our absurd pals got here to the identical birthday party?
That's it for me, Paul. I actually have now given up my goals of web hosting my own blog; I've given you the entirety I actually have. Happy holidays to all and a wealthy and healthful 2010.
- Julie
www.Juliericheymosaics.Com