I have to say, I stopped by Red Tree last week and was very much surprised by the large amount of awesome greeting cards they had. I bought a card for a friend, but couldn’t help reading and shuffling through many of the other cards, especially those by Old Tom Foolery. With their carefully, beautifully designed, letterpress cards with wise-ass, witty remarks, what’s not to love? Check them out, there’s still time to get one for that special person in your life before Valentine’s Day!
Old Tom Foolery—Witty Letterpress Greeting Cards
February 4, 2010 · Leave a Comment
→ Leave a CommentCategories: Art · Baltimore · Design
Tagged: Greeting Cards, Valentine's Day
A Salad You Might Actually Like
February 3, 2010 · Leave a Comment
I’ll admit it—I really don’t like salads. It’s not that they don’t taste OK— it’s just that they don’t fill me up and seem so boring, bland and unappetizing. Well, it could just be MY salads, but regardless.
So, when I actually made a salad that I liked, I couldn’t resist sharing it with you!
This recipe is inspired by my friend Gina. At her wedding, she had a delicious salad that I actually crave to this day. So, here’s the ingredients for my version (include as little or as much of each as you like):
- Sweet Baby Lettuces
- Grape Tomatoes
- Shredded Carrots
- Your Favorite Trail Mix (I got one with pistachios, walnuts, pecans, cranberries, cherries, and raisins)
- Croutons
- Feta
- Cranberry Vinaigrette
I heated up the trail mix on the stove with a little sugar and butter until it got nice and warm and slightly caramelized. Then, I mixed all the salad ingredients together and tossed with the dressing. This salad is the right combination of sweet and savory. Give it a try! Let me know what you think.
What’s your favorite salad?
→ Leave a CommentCategories: Food · Recipe · Vegetarian
Tagged: Recipe, Salad, Trail Mix
Dad’s Budget Advice—on a Napkin
January 30, 2010 · Leave a Comment
I had breakfast with my Dad this morning and we got on the topic of finances—he wrote down these notes for me on a napkin. Now I know where my ridiculous obsession with writing notes on anything and everything comes from! Enjoy…
→ Leave a CommentCategories: Design · Family · Food
Tagged: Advice, Budget, Dad, Napkin
Christopher Dresser – The Origin of Modern Design
January 30, 2010 · Leave a Comment
Back in college, I took a course on the History of Design and we created patterns inspired by Christopher Dresser (posted above). I had fun with this project (and definitely needed the Illustrator practice!) and so when I heard that SHAG’s latest event: Truth, Beauty, Power: Christopher Dresser and the Origin of Modern Design was happening this month—I couldn’t wait to go. Dr. Bradford Braden, Dept. of Natural Sciences, Bowie State University was the presenter. A few things I learned about Dresser:
- He described himself as a botanist, artist, architect, inventor and ornamentalist.
- He wanted to (and did!) bring manufactured goods at a reasonable price into the common home.
- He insisted that his name “Dr. Dressers’ Design” be imprinted on the objects he designed (this happened during the early part of his career).
- Considered one of the first industrial designers—designing within the limitations and techniques of modern machines.
- Most of the work sold at The Art Furnishers’ Alliance was Dressers’ or was designed under his supervision. The Art Furnishers’ Alliance could be considered a modern day IKEA where items were sold at affordable prices and the furniture could be seen in an environment—the staff even wore period costumes!
- His work was very 2-dimensional allowing it to be easily reproducible at a price that could be afforded by the middle class.
- Good design must be beautiful and useful.
The best part of the presentation was the “show and tell” table—5 REAL Dresser pieces (part of Dr. Braden’s collection). Pictured below are 2 bowls, a print, a candlestick holder and an iron stand.
Are you a fan of Dresser? What do you like about his work?
→ Leave a CommentCategories: Art · Baltimore · Design · Events
Tagged: Art, Christopher Dresser, Design, History, industrial design
Black Bean-Smothered Sweet Potato with Rice
January 26, 2010 · 2 Comments
I absolutely love sweet potatoes and am always trying to figure out different ways to pair them with foods. So, tonight I found this great recipe on Eating Well called Black Bean-Smothered Sweet Potatoes. I decided to give it a whirl. I cooked the sweet potatoes in the oven Sunday night to save time (I find they cook much better in the oven than the microwave) and when I got home from work I was ready to start cooking. I heated up the bean, tomato and spices mixture and put some on top of the warm sweet potatoes and decided to pair it with some rice to make a complete, filling meal. So, I made simple brown rice with onions, cilantro, lime, tomatoes and salsa (its a quick shortcut to making food flavorful). As you can see the results of the sweet potato above turned out beautiful, and tasty as well!
Do you have any favorite sweet potato recipes? Do share!
→ 2 CommentsCategories: Food · Vegan · Vegetarian
Tagged: Black Beans, Cooking, Sweet Potato, Vegetables
Student’s Vegetarian Cookbook by Carole Raymond
January 20, 2010 · Leave a Comment
I just moved this week so everything has been very hectic, but I was craving some REAL food. So, I pulled out the first cookbook that I ever bought: Student’s Vegetarian Cookbook by Carole Raymond and searched for the quickest, tastiest recipe I could find. In the fast foods section on page 97, I found Curry in a Hurry. Now, there’s not much to this recipe—just some olive oil, scallions, green bell pepper, curry, corn, tomato, s + p, and a pita pocket (or in my case I used a wrap). I grabbed all the ingredients and made a quick, cheap, delicious meal—eating like this reminds me that eating well doesn’t have to cost a lot of money. The one thing I love about this book is that you’ll most likely have at least a few of the ingredients on hand and the portions are small (perfect for 1 or 2 people). Plus, you can make lots of the recipes vegan very easily—It’s only a $10 cookbook and I promise you it’s well worth your money. My tattered, dog-eared, food-stained, paper-stuffed, well-loved Student’s Vegetarian Cookbook is above.
Do you have a favorite cookbook?
→ Leave a CommentCategories: Books · Food · Vegan · Vegetarian
Tagged: Cookbook, Vegetarian
Pasta & Bean Soup & Oatmeal Apple Crisp
January 3, 2010 · Leave a Comment
Tomorrow starts the first episode of The Bachelor and its been tradition for the past two seasons that my friends and I get together, enjoy delicious food and watch horrible reality television. It’s actually quite fun! This week, I decided to do a potluck since my apartment is a bit in shambles because I’m moving this month. I decided to make a simple Pasta & Bean Soup and Oatmeal Apple Crisp. For the Pasta & Bean Soup, I made this recipe from Eating Well. My apartment smelled so good when the rosemary and garlic were cooking in the broth. For the recipe, I had to make a few substitutions: I added elbow macaroni (the store didn’t have whole wheat pasta in the small shells), used vegetable broth, and added a few more spices to give the soup more flavor. Here’s the results:
For the Apple Crisp, I made this recipe from All Recipes. I made a few substitutions, including using steel cut oatmeal, pure cane sugar and added some flax seed meal and almonds to the top. Here’s the results:
What I loved about these recipes, is they were so simple to make, didn’t require a lot of chopping and I was able to use a lot of ingredients I already had on hand. Now, the real test is tomorrow—let’s hope my friends enjoy the food!
What are some of your favorite recipes that are easy to make?
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Tagged: Apple Crisp, Dessert, friends, Soup
My Food Life in 2009
December 31, 2009 · 4 Comments
Since it is almost 2010, I figured I would take some time to reflect back on something that has really impacted my life over the past year: food. I grew up eating LOTS of processed, fattening, sugary, convenient and over packaged foods. Some of my favorite foods included: candy bars, macaroni and cheese, lunch cakes and pizza. While, arguably I still enjoy some of these treats from time to time, and do indulge during the holidays (mmm…cookies), I still have managed to transform the way I eat this past year. Here’s how I’ve done that:
- Education: I’ve read many books, including The Way We Eat—Why Our Food Choices Matter, Food Matters and The Omnivore’s Dilemma
- Cooking: I cook all vegetarian and sometimes vegan. I rarely buy lunch out at work (maybe three times this past year)—I always cook in bulk and freeze the leftovers. I buy fresh foods and go to farmer’s markets when I can. I spend money on buying healthy, quality ingredients. You can’t eat well, without spending more money on the food you buy. Here’s a video from Good on that: http://www.good.is/post/how-much-do-we-spend-on-food The video above shows some advice for people just starting out and wanting to eat healthier.
- Exercise: When I exercise, I feel better, and this is motivation to continue eating healthy and being conscious about my food choices.
- Friends: There’s nothing better than being surrounded by friends while enjoying a healthy, home-cooked meal.
There’s always room for improvement (as with anything) in my eating habits and I’m conscious of that, but I wanted to share my story since I’ve come from a family where I knew very little about my food choices and the correlation between eating and health. It seems like an obvious relationship, but when we as a society start taking medications instead of looking at the root cause of our health issues, it seems we overlook this connection. While I’m still educating myself on how to eat local, gardening, cooking and the impact of my food choices, I feel I’ve come a long way. I feel healthier, look healthier and am 30 pounds lighter than I was a year and a half ago. I’m not about complicated rules or being so strict about my diet that I can’t enjoy eating—my goal is to improve my health and lessen the impact my food choices have on the environment. It’s simple.
How about you—have you changed your eating habits or made any other significant life changes in 2009?
→ 4 CommentsCategories: Books · Environment · Food · Vegan · Vegetarian
Tagged: Cooking, eating, Food, Health
Bartlett, Anjou & Bosc Pear Triptych
December 24, 2009 · 5 Comments
It’s Christmas Eve today and I’ve been baking goodies, illustrating and painting all morning. I love the shape of a pear and while in school, painting or drawing fruit and vegetable stills have always been my favorite—I have my teacher and friend, Brenda to thank for that. Here’s a few studies I did before completing the final illustrations:
After doing many studies and testing out techniques with a pencil, a permanent marker and watered down gouache (I just used art supplies I already had) I decided to start the finals. I drew a bartlett, bosc and anjou pear to frame and hang up as a triptych in my bedroom. One thing I love about this style of illustration and painting is the looseness, inconsistencies and imperfections that result. Check them out:
These were really fun to create—I’ll have to experiment with other fruits and vegetables for another triptych.
I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday!
→ 5 CommentsCategories: Art · Food
Tagged: Drawing, Fruit, Pear, Triptych
The First Commercially Printed Christmas Card
December 23, 2009 · 1 Comment
Since Christmas is the top card-selling holiday of the year, I thought it would be interesting to have a post on the origin of printed Christmas Cards. Christmas cards were not always commercially printed, but instead were hand written (as many still are today) and were either hand or post delivered. The earliest commercially printed Christmas card was commissioned by Sir Henry Cole in 1843 and was designed by the illustrator John Calcott Horsley. Sir Henry Cole was a wealthy business man (and the first director of the Victoria and Albert Museum) and was looking for an efficient and easy way to send a holiday greeting to his friends and family. The Christmas Card was 5 1/8 by 3 1/4 inches and was printed (lithography) on stiff cardboard using dark sepia and then was hand colored. The message read: “A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to You.” Above is an image of the first commercially printed Christmas Card.
The number of Christmas cards received has been declining over the years with the increased popularity of e-cards. So, whether you send paper cards or e-cards, share a holiday greeting with your loved ones this year.
Now, I’m off to write messages in my commercially printed Christmas cards.
Sources: Idea Finder, Farmer’s Almanac, Wikipedia
→ 1 CommentCategories: Art · Design · Holidays
Tagged: Christmas Card, Design, Printing
