(Recommendations: Spring, Floral Costume)

The Floral Costume print was spurred by our belief in the power of costume! When doing mundane tasks such as cleaning, by donning a floral print or a special piece of jewelry one can transform themselves and the situation into something much more fun and fanciful:).

(Recommendations: Spring, Plans)

Spring is a time for planning and list making. What will be planted in your garden this year? What trips will you take over the summer? But we took the list-making aspect to a whole new level, making a fantasy list of ideal things and situations we’d love to see happen over the warmer months.

(Recommendations: Spring, Treasures)

In old folklore tales, it is said that when you plant something that is treasured by you and you make a wish, your wishes will come true. There can’t be any hurt in trying!

(Recommendations: Spring, Spring Blossoms)

When walking around the neighborhood, taking a closer look at spring blossoms on bushes and trees not only opens your eyes and nose to the sights and smells of spring, but also keys you in to possible foraging sites for fruit, nuts, and berries in the summer. Next time you walk your dog, keep your eyes peeled for blossoms, you could have some fresh fruit on your hands in a few months!

(Recommendations: Spring, Rain)

You know the conversation that goes something like this: “Oh, that’s gorgeous! Where did you get/see/learn of/buy that?” “Oh, it’s European,” aka: always cooler. We thought a play on this cultural phenomenon (maybe it’s more east coast than west coast) was appropriate (and funny) with how much it rain’s here in Portland. Rain not necessarily being something thought of as especially cool, we thought, why not make it cool? After all, we have a lot of it! It also rains a lot in many western European countries, and Portland has been dubbed the European City of the United States, go figure .

Here’s our blurb on the series:
The Creative Force for Efficiency and Morale celebrates the state of mind the spring season offers in Recommendations: Spring. In this bold and colorful series of hand-drawn, silkscreened prints, traditions of the season such as spring cleaning, planting seeds, and getting rained upon, are approached with humor and infused with self-made ritual. The founders of The Creative Force, Tricia Martin and Chelsea Heffner are interested in the power of creative psychology to transform everyday experiences. This Portland, OR based team works on collaboratively with other artists on projects, events and experiences that offer entry points to complex concepts such as place, memory and ritual.

They are for sale in my shop (see right column here on my blog for a link), under the name of Chelsea’s and my design collective, The Creative Force for Efficiency and Morale. Hope you are feeling spring where you are! Have a great day!

(Making Plans detail)

(Floral Costume detail)

(Treasure’s detail)

(simple mock up plans for a print)

(pulling the ink through the silk screen)

More preview pics of the new Recommendations: Spring silkscreen print series! Check out Chelsea’s site for more pictures:).

woot!

These cookies were the perfect combination of sweetness, acidity and sourness (from the California apricots), a touch of creaminess from the white chocolate, and a well rounded texture from the combination of the latter two and the oatmeal. Bon appetite!

Oatmeal Cookies with Dried Apricots and White Chocolate (recipe adapted from Martha)
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups old fashioned oatmeal
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
8 oz (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
8 oz white chocolate, chopped
7 oz dried apricots, preferably California, chopped (1 1/2 cups)

Preheat oven to 350 F. Cream butter and sugars with a mixer until light and flufy. Reduce speed to low. Add salt, vanilla, and eggs, and beat until well combined. Stir in chocolate and apricots.

Drop heaping tablespoons of dough onto ungreased (but parchment is fine) baking sheets, spacing about 2 inches apart. Bake until cookies are golden brown around the edges but still soft in the center, 14 to 16 minutes. Let cookies cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes. Transfer to wire rack, let cool. Cookies will keep covered for up to one week.——- They are really great with a cup of Earl Grey tea in the afternoon!

While making these sweet boxes, I was also exploring the history of sweet giving across history, time, and culture. In a book I am reading, Candy: A History of Sweet by Beth Kimmerle, talks about taste and memory. “Candy is with us at very special moments — we have candy at movies, we have candy at Easter, and we have candy at significant holidays like Valentine’s Day,” Kimmerle says. “People want those memories again, they want to be able to relive those days… They’re remembering their lives through candy.” This is true, but there are other factors that I rely on, especially in this project. I am a firm believer that food made with love tastes better, always. Smaller batches where one or two people’s creativity flows through their thoughts, down their arm, through the wooden spoon that is stiring, and into their finger that occasionally tastes the progression of the edible gift is what really makes something taste really good. Thus the preference for many people of a ‘home cooked’ meal, because one can usually taste the time and love put into what is inevitably nourishing them both body and heart.

Happy Valentines Day!

Fleur de Sel Caramels (Epicurious)
1 cup heavy cream
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 teaspoon fleur de sel*
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup water
Special equipment: parchment paper; a deep-fat thermometer

Line bottom and sides of an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper, then lightly oil parchment.

Bring cream, butter, and fleur de sel to a boil in a small saucepan, then remove from heat and set aside.

Boil sugar, corn syrup, and water in a 3- to 4-quart heavy saucepan, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Boil, without stirring but gently swirling pan, until mixture is a light golden caramel.

Carefully stir in cream mixture (mixture will bubble up) and simmer, stirring frequently, until caramel registers 248°F on thermometer, 10 to 15 minutes. Pour into baking pan and cool 2 hours. Cut into 1-inch pieces, then wrap each piece in a 4-inch square of wax paper, twisting 2 ends to close.

Chocolate Truffles (Martha)

Makes about 3 1/2 dozen

8 ounces best-quality bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon liqueur, such as triple sec or framboise (optional)
Unsweetened cocoa powder, for rolling

Put chocolate into a large heatproof bowl. Bring cream just to a boil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat; pour over chocolate in bowl. Stir in liqueur, if desired. Cover with plastic wrap; let stand 10 minutes. Stir until smooth. Let stand until thick, about 15 minutes.
Pour chocolate mixture into a shallow 8-inch dish or pie plate. Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until mixture is very cold and set but still pliable, about 30 minutes.
Using a teaspoon or a 1/2-inch melon baller, scoop balls of chocolate mixture, transferring them to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper as you work. Refrigerate truffles 10 minutes.
Using hands dusted with cocoa powder, dip each truffle in cocoa powder to coat, then quickly shape truffle into a rough round. Refrigerate truffles in an airtight container until ready to serve, up to 2 weeks; before serving, reshape into rounds, and roll each truffle in cocoa powder, if desired.

This recipe for Butterscotch Drops produces a hard candy that has the classic butterscotch taste. If you don’t want to make the candy into drops, you can pour it into a greased 9×9 pan and break it into small pieces once it is set.

Butterscotch Candies (Elizabeth LeBau)
2 cups granulated sugar
2/3 cup cream
2/3 cup water
1/8 tsp cream of tartar
6 tbsp butter, cut into small pieces
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Prepare two large baking sheets by lining them with aluminum foil and spraying the foil with cooking spray.
Combine the sugar, cream and water in a large saucepan over medium heat and stir until the sugar dissolves.
Add the cream of tartar and boil the mixture until it reaches 240 degrees (soft-ball stage). Add the butter and continue boiling until the mixture reaches 280 degrees (soft-crack stage).
Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract.
Using a very small teaspoon, carefully drop spoonfuls of the hot candy onto the prepared baking sheets. It is important to work quickly before the candy begins to set. The drops will spread, so leave a bit of space in between your spoonfuls. Continue forming small butterscotch drops on the prepared sheets until you run out of candy or it becomes too hard to work with. Allow the drops to set at room temperature, then lift them off the baking sheet. Serve immediately, or place them in an airtight container and store at room temperature for up to two weeks.

Coconut Fudge (see previous post The Best Fudge Recipe Ever)

Imagination can make any situation better.
This is the theme behind the fifteen prints recently made by the artist collective Creative Force for Efficiency and Morale based in Portland, OR. In a limited, hand silk-screened edition, Recommendations: Winter takes the viewer through the average day in one person’s life, highlighting resourceful habits and creative gestures that help maintain morale and keep the fun in otherwise mundane tasks. Recommendations: Winter embraces frugality as a way of life and pays homage to the power of imagination to transform everyday experience.

The new Etsy shop, called Plain Made Design, is open and ready for business. There, you will find all fourteen hand-made silkscreen prints for sale.

Below are images of Recommendations: Winter‘s printed edition and recipes. Cheers!

LEFT OVER BROWN RICE CEREAL
1/2 – 1 cup cooked brown rice
1/4 – 1/2 cup milk, soy milk, or almond milk
2 tablespoons honey or agave nectar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
dash of cloves, nutmeg, and/or cardamom

1. Place the cooked brown rice in a small saucepan or microwaveable bowl.
2. Stir in milk, honey, and spices and heat until the milk and rice take on a creamy consistency, stirring frequently.
3. Sprinkle some of your favorite granola on top and serve.

You can use these next two recipes to “stack” your oven (as the book says!) to conserve time and energy!

PERFECT BREAD LOAVES
1 teaspoon active dry yeast
2 cups warm water
4-5 cups unbleached all purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
1 egg, beaten & mixed with a tablespoon of cold water

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. In a small bowl dissolve yeast in a 1/2 cup warm water. Stir with a fork. Set aside for 10 minutes.
2. Combine the flour and salt. Add the yeast mixture, and stir in the remaining 1 1/2 cups water. Mix the dough until it is sticky enough to knead. On a lightly floured surface, knead for 6-10 minutes; the dough should be sticky and smooth. Put the dough in a bowl, cover with a damp tea towel, and let rise at room temperature until doubled in volume, about one hour.
3. Punch down the dough and divide into 4 pieces. Roll each into a ball and shape into a baguette. Transfer the loaves to a lightly greased baking sheet or use a baking stone, let rise until nearly doubled.
4. Brush the loaves with the egg water mixture. Score the loaves diagonally across the top with a sharp knife.
5. Pour 2 cups of hot water into a pan and place in the preheated oven next to the baguettes to provide moisture. Bake the baguettes for 15 minutes, and them lower the temperature to 400 degrees and bake for 5-10 minutes more, until golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool on a rack before slicing.

WARM UP THE WINTER STEW
2 medium sweet potatoes
2 red or green bell peppers
1 large onion
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 tablespoon canned chipotle peppers
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 15 oz. can butter or black beans
Tortillas
Plain yogurt or sour cream

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
2. Peel the potatoes and cut into 1 in cubes. Stem and seed the peppers and cut into 1 in pieces. Peel the onion and cut it stem end to root and end into thin wedges. In a bowl, toss the vegetables wit the garlic, oil, cumin, salt, and pepper. Spread on the prepared baking sheet and roast in the oven for about 10 minutes. Stir and continue to roast for another 10 to 15 minutes,. until the sweet potatoes are tender but not mushy.
3. While the vegetables roast, puree the tomatoes, chipotles, and cilantro in a blender until smooth. Set aside. When the vegetables are tender, put them into a 2 to 3 quart baking dish, stir in the tomato-cilantro sauce and the beans, and return to the oven until hot, about 10 minutes.
4. A few minutes before taking the dish out (3-5 minutes), place the tortillas in the oven to warm. Serve the stew in bowls topped with yogurt or sour cream and the warm tortillas on the side.

Never fear, eating design has it’s place in this project as well. Literally, there are recipes in the back of the book as a few of the pages deal with those times of the day when one would naturally eat: breakfast as a brown rice cereal, a recipe for great french bread loaves, and a baked winter stew. The bread and stew can be baked simultaneously, stacking the oven for efficient use of time and energy. Conceptually, eating design deals with the verb “to eat” and eating is as part of the everyday as breathing or sleeping. As these books are part of simple solutions to everyday living, eating plays a major role in facilitating creativity throughout the day, not to mention providing that energy needed to create. Stacking functions, like perfectly fitting tupperware, is also a major theme. The book itself, is ‘stacked’ so each page leads to the next in concept, colors, and time. Just as our day gets ‘stacked’ with activities and duties, this story takes the reader through other ways to structure a winter day. The idea of stacking is hugely relevant to eating design in everything from stacking the oven for efficency, stacking a sandwich because that is how mom made it, or stacking a meal because of cultural rituals. As this book evolves, so will the language used to describe it.

I found this recipe for Swedish Braided Bread or Zopf on one of my favorite blogs, Once Upon a Cakestand. The author of the blog, Myriam, is a cookbook author who lives in Zurich and she always has amazing recipes to share. (I’ve converted her measurments in parenthesis .

RECIPE
500g zopf/challa flour – or just plain white flour (about 4 1/2 cups)
20g fresh yeast (1 packet of yeast)
2,5 dl milk (a little more than a cup of milk)
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 egg
80g soft butter, cut in cubes (about 6 tablespoons)
1 vanilla pod, seeds scraped out
1 egg yolk & a tiny pinch of sugar for glaze

mix the flour with salt and sugar and put in the bowl of your stand mixer with the dough hook attached. add the butter cubes. now mix the milk with egg, fresh yeast and the vanillaseeds and add to the dry ingredients. start mixing on low speed, then increase and mix for about 10 minutes until you end up with a nice and smooth ball of dough. remove dough hook, form dough into a ball and let rest in a bowl – covered with plastic wrap for about an hour (or until the dough has doubled in size).

then cut dough in half and twiddle into about 60cm long and even rolls. lay the 2 ropes of dough over each other – so that they form a cross. start braiding, then pinch the ends together tightly and tuck them under. plache on sheet lined with parchment paper. let rest for 20-30 minutes.

heat oven to 220c° (425° farenheight) . mix the egg yolk with a tiny pinch of sugar and glaze the bread. bake challah/zopf in the middle of the oven (for 15-20 minutes) until golden brown on the outside and sounds hollow when you knock on the bottom of the challa.
let cool on a wire rack, then serve with raspberry or strawberry jam or loads of runny honey.

PS: if you have any leftovers – toasted slices of this challah/zopf make a wonderful base for a clubsandwich!!

The sweet potato curry is inspired from my dear friend Ms. Manty-Miller of Pleasant Eats. It is a quick, fresh, and wholly fulfilling winter stew to be had.

SWEET POTATO CURRY
1 15 oz. can of garbanzo beans (chick peas)
1 15 oz. can of diced tomatoes
1 bunch of kale, spinach, or chard
1 yellow onion, sliced
2-4 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium sized sweet potatoes
2 cups brown rice
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon curry
pinch of cayenne
pinch of ginger
salt and pepper to taste
(I encourage flavor testing as you add spices, these spice measurements are for a pretty mild curry, so don’t be afraid to get a bit adventurous with them! Maybe you like a little more cumin than curry, or vice versa, give it a try!

Put the water on to boil the brown rice.
In a microwaveable bowl, add peeled and chopped sweet potatoes with an inch or two of water at the bottom. Microwave until softer but not mushy.
In another pan, heat the oil and add the garlic and onions, cook for about 5 minutes. Add the drained garbanzo beans, the whole can of tomatoes plus juice, and spices, simmer for a few minutes. Add the sweet potatoes and water they were microwaved in. Simmer for about 10 minutes. Add the chopped kale, chard, or spinach to the pan and cover for two minutes just to let it wither a bit. Stir and serve immediately over the cooked brown rice. Enjoy!

These cards were made from proofs of pages from the book I am working on. It is the first sneak peak!