domicile

Soon to be released titles

Two upcoming books I've got my eye on (other than the one I'm on pins and needles about of course):

• Lotta Prints: How to Print with Anything, from Potatoes to Linoleum. Of course I'd like this to come with enough time for me to play around with printing everything from papers to textiles to patterns on my walls. Nevertheless, looks like fun times.
• Sew U Home Stretch: The Built by Wendy Guide to Sewing Knit Fabrics Anyone know if the patterns in this one will require a serger? While I'd like to have one, it's not the likely future purchases.

A Sneak Peek

If you're interested in getting a sneak peek at my book (hitting shelves in May 08), then have a wander over to the website for a sample (the intro and first chapter most specifically). And do check out the website for The Boss of You (which has moved to www.laurenandemira.com, though bosslady.ca still works), if you're on the lookout for business advice. Thanks to the motivation of my kick-ass co-author/business partner Lauren, we've started blogging there in earnest. Oh, and you can also join us on Facebook, if you really want to go for it.

Our First Review

I'm going to have to ask you to forgive me some book news here. Technically all of this info should live over at the book website, but I have a feeling I won't be able to contain it all over there. We got our first review today from Publisher's Weekly and it's positive! Big huge sigh of relief. While I'm trying to brace myself for the inevitable negative review, I have to say it's nice to start on a positive note. You can read the full review here, but this is my favourite part:

The authors cover the fundamentals of crafting a mission statement, developing branding, handling finances and legal issues, hiring good employees and expanding your business with admirable clarity, bolstered by success stories, helpful exercises and sample budgets.

I know it's dorky, but given how much work went into editing that sucker, I'm kind of thrilled by the "admirable clarity" part. It makes all those rewrites feel a little more worth it. Oh and if you're keeping track, we've updated the name of the book's blog from Boss Lady to LaurenandEmira.com. Since the book didn't end up being called Boss Lady we didn't want to confuse things. Besides, this way it's about building the Lauren and Emira empire, which was always the plan anyway.

Breathtakingly beautiful prose

This morning I started as a usual Sunday morning for me lately. My eyes popped awake around 7am, and try as I might I was unable to get back to sleep, despite having stayed up a bit too late playing boardgames with our family and some friends who came over. It was what happened next that broke the usual Sunday morning mold. As soon as I determined I wasn't going to go back to sleep, I eagerly picked up my copy of Felicia's new book, The Sky Isn't Visible from Here, and immersed myself back in  her story. I told myself I'd read just one more chapter of this book which I've been devouring all week, before getting up and starting on the day's to-do list. By about 8am Martin woke up. He asked if I'd like a coffee -- which I declined -- and headed into the kitchen. I vaguely heard him make coffee and then head downstairs, where by the sound of things he was working on reassembling my bike, the redecoration of which has been his most recent project. I kept reading.

Eventually Pluto came to bed and nuzzled into my armpit, me somewhat awkwardly holding the hardcover out in front of both of us. I kept reading.

By roughly 10 I had only a few pages left, which I had begun to read more slowly than the preceding few hundred I'd raced through this week, savouring them and willing the book not to end. By half past 10 I was done. Martin had been up before me for hours on a Sunday -- something that never happens -- and I could hear Pia stirring in her room. I closed the book, and no word of a lie, thought about starting it over again.

This, The Sky Isn't Visible from Here, is a stunning piece of writing. A tale so beautifully written and such a pleasure to read that I plan to go buy a second copy to loan out to as many people as I can think of (I must keep my autographed copy for myself I fear), though I will of course also encourage them to buy their own. To say it is a brave tale feels condescending, as it is the very real tale of Felicia's life (or a part of it anyway), but I do think there is some truth is naming it as brave. Not so much in the telling of her story, but in the time and care with which she chose to craft it. She is a woman who has a remarkable way with words, an ability to paint pictures that place you not just in the room with the story but in the heart of her experiences. And truly, the only fault I can find with it is how much it left me wanting more. More of any story she chose to tell, for it is in the telling that her talent shines through.

Breadtime Stories

When I travel, I typically spend a fair amount of my time focused on food. From the oh-so-rich avocado sandwiches in Mal Pais, Costa Rica (you have never seen so many fresh avocados -- and yes I mean more than one -- stuffed between two halves of a bun), to simple pizza bianca from Forno in the Campo de'Fiori in Rome that continues to haunt my tastebuds, I love finding local foods when I travel. My very favourite culinary travel notes have to do with bread. Typically breads that are a specialty in the region and which elude my Vancouver based kitchen. I adore bread -- which I've mentioned before -- and I would by lying if I told you haven't thought about planning vacations around opportunities to return to some of the better loaves/slices I've enjoyed abroad. At the top of my list are: the pizza from Forno in Rome (and experience not to be missed), Danish rye bread (available from any bakery in the country it seems) bursting with whole rye berries and a sour taste that pairs so very well with fresh european butter and raspberry jam, and a baguette sold by one particular alimentaire in the very small and old town of Radda in Chianti. This baguette from Radda is in fact the strongest motivation behind my desire to bake bread. It was a dark, rich multigrain. As dark as a rye bread, but with an almost burnt caramel flavour as well as a very deep nuttiness. It came in small baguettes, and often sold out before my partner and I had a chance to get to that particular alimentaire, but it was prized by us both when we managed to get a loaf. It was perfect as it was, but was particularly lovely with a bit of hard cheese, like a Padano. Oh how I think about that bread.

So yes. My breadmaking, aside from the pleasure it brings me with each loaf I create, is about one day -- and I expect this day to be in the far off future -- being able to replicate that one loaf from Radda. I may need to go back between now and then for another sample as reference, however. I've been progressing in my bread experimentation. I tried the French Bread recipe from the January issue of Living, which made two very successful yeasted white French rounds. A learned a fair bit about dough textures through that recipe. The dough started out really wet on the first knead and I thought it would never hold together, but through patient kneading the texture changed entirely and the final product was quite lovely actually. It is a recipe I'll make again, though it didn't really have the depth of flavour I'm looking for. I picked up a copy of Local Breads, by Daniel Leader, a couple of weeks ago, and Martin has been teasing me for reading about bread before I go to sleep ever since. This is a man whose passion for bread I can deeply appreciate. Part recipe book, part how-to guide for making artisan breads, and part travelogue it is a book for bread lovers and bakers. So far I made Rosemary Ficelle, two long loaves of Italian bread (with a yeast starter) studded with fresh rosemary and coarse sea salt. The recipe was extremely easy to follow and his step by step instructions (with variations catered exclusively to KitchenAid users) include FAQs and notes on what to do if things aren't going according to plan.

It is a beautifully written and designed book, focusing on artisan breads from France, Italy, Poland, German and the Czech Republic. I was originally looking for Peter Reinhart's Whole Grain Breads, as recommended by Heidi, but was smitten with Local Breads for two recipes: one for a German whole rye bread that uses a rye starter to ensure that the bread is gluten free and has that distinct sour rye taste that I fell for in Denmark; the second is the recipe for Forno's rustic pizza from the Campo in Rome (both bianca and rosso), which he learned from the master baker there himself and claims to have adapted to work in the average home oven (which can of course never replicate the huge brick wood burning ovens of Forno). Given the reverence and delight with which he speaks about each baker he shared recipes and techniques with, I'm inclined to believe that under his written tutildge one can learn a lot about breads.

My next hurdle is to successfully start and nurture a sour starter. I may start with the rye starter, but as always I need a bit more time and energy to devote to things like monitoring a jar of flour and water. One of the things I find so useful about the book is the photos and illustrations of successful doughs and problem doughs, in addition to well thought out FAQs. When I do give my first sour starter a whirl, I think I'll photograph it for the small segment of folks out there also interested in giving this a whirl, so you can see what a successful (or failed) starter looks like from day 1 to 6 or 7 when it should reveal itself as a winner (or not).

Mmmm books

A few years ago, I found myself not reading as much as I wanted to. I think this had much to do with moving into our new home and all the time, energy and drywall dust that created, but still I wasn't too happy about it. Then a dear friend started up a bookclub, which I gleefully joined and that got things rolling again as far as reading was concerned. Now, if I don't have a book on my bedside table that I'm engrossed in, I feel at a loss.

While I was in Victoria recently I had a chance to visit my absolute favourite bookstore Munro's. If you've never been and you're ever in Victoria you must go. The end. It is, to me anyway, what a bookstore should be. That is: filled with books. No tchotchkes, no cds, no in store Starbucks, just mainly books on dark wooden bookshelves with gorgeous high ceilings. If I ever have the time, I'll spend a few hours with a stack of books in a chair in Munro's weighing my options. And, sadly, I always need to put some back. Last time I was there, I reluctantly put back Peter Reinhart's new Whole Grain Breads cookbook, mostly because it was too heavy to bring home in my one small suitcase on the ferry, but I've kind of regretted it ever since.

As I mentioned a while back now, I've been experimenting with making bread, and I'm happy to report I'm getting somewhere. Still, bread is a bit of a mystery to me. I'm not sure where I can play with recipes and where I can improvise, and frankly it kinda scares me to contemplate. Reinhart's book however, provides all kinds of theory, history and technique to each recipe. And photos! Photos of what it should look like, photos of what you don't want and really photo, after glorious photo, which for the newbie bread maker like me seems like a brilliant idea. That, and as the name implies, it's all about whole grains. I first heard about the Whole Grains Bread cookbook over at Heidi's site, so I wasn't surprised it was such a great resource.

Speaking of 101Cookbooks and recipes, she's got a recipe up from the new How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, Mark Bittman book. I'm pretty curious about this cookbook too, as I've always felt pretty left out of the How to Cook Everything love.

A Cookbook So Good It Made Me Cry

I've been trying to think of what to say about Heidi Swanson's fabulous new cookbook Super Natural Cooking for over a week now and I kept coming back to the feeling that overwhelmed me when I first thumbed through its pages on a chair in a downtown Mega-Bookstore: it brought me to tears. Now, granted unless you find yourself in the following situation you may not have the same overly dramatic response. I was just reaching the end of two weeks of kitchen renos, aside from one evening when I stood with the toaster in my arms next to the wall outlet, I hadn't made anything but toast during that period of time. Vancouver has been particularly unrelenting and nasty weather wise with Spring taking its sweet time to arrive giving us endless days of rain instead. And I had just worked a 50 hour + week at work, while renovating the kitchen. I was bone weary, emotionally drained and likely honestly a bit low on some essential nutrients like Vitamin D (hello sunshine?) and the plethora of goodness that homecooking brings. And so, it was in this state that I found myself carefully turning the gorgeous pages of Heidi's book. Heidi's own stunning photography is included in the cookbook creating pages that are  brimming with the luscious colours of fresh veggies and the pearly sheen of cracked grains. If you're familiar with Heidi's 101cookbooks.com site then you'll know that her food photography, while rich in depth and tone is not perfect. You get the sense that the slightly battered silver spoon sitting in the bowl of avocado soup is one that she picked up at a garage sale and if you look closely you may even see a chip in the side of a plate or two. For me, the reality that comes through in her photos helps me feel like I'm looking at recipes that I will actually make. Living recipes that my own slightly tarnished thrifted silver will dip into. And in that moment in the bookstore the sense of possibility was everything I needed.

I've had the cookbook for just over a week now and I've managed to make three recipes out of it (each of which was repeated as leftovers a few times). Each was an almost understated success. Easy, full of flavour and already worked into my mental repertoire of things to make on an everyday basis. And, each bringing a few new ingredients -- kamut, buckwheat and smoked paprika so far -- into my kitchen than the ones I had got into a bit of a rut with. This week I'm hoping to make the Sprouted Garbanzo Burgers (a recipe also available on her site), as they seem like they would make great weekday lunches.

This cookbook is a star in many other ways. Use of fresh ingredients. Seasonally inspired recipes. Plenty of education about different grains, flours, sweeteners etc. For me its primary strength is in its approachability and simplicity, none of the recipes feel like a challenge, though they do feel inspired. I've already promised to loan it out to a few friends, though I'm a bit loathe to part with it for too long, and I'll likely buy a number of copies as gifts. Now if I can just locate some teff flour in this town, I'll be thrilled.

Get A Hobby

One could easily argue that I am the kind of person for whom "getting a hobby" should really not be a priority. Between renovating, flamenco, my book club, gardening, co-authoring a book, culinary arts and sewing even I sometimes marvel that I manage to work fulltime and have any semblance of a relationship. Nevertheless, I am possibly exactly the audience likely to be interested in Tina Barseghian's new book Get a Hobby!: 101 All-Consuming Diversions for Any Lifestyle. Afterall, I'm the kind of person who harbours a not so secret desire to build a backyard apiary and I've more than once thought that if I had the time, building a custom dollhouse for Miss P would make for an awesome birthday gift.

Fellicia sent me a copy of Get A Hobby a few weeks ago, and I finally picked it up mid kitchen renos and began thumbing through it on my bus rides to and from work. The format of the book is pretty simple, it contains 101 different hobbies -- from bee keeping to beer brewing -- with two pages devoted to each. As the kind of person who isn't afraid to try out a something new (as long as it doesn't involve singing in public) I'll admit my curiosity was piqued by a number of the suggestions in the book and I can see the book acting as a guide of overview guide for DIY junkies like myself. I do wish that there was a bit more info for each hobby -- though as an author myself I shudder at how much more work that would have been -- maybe even instructions for a project under each task that would let you get your feet wet. Many of the hobbies did have this treatment, but I would have liked to see a bit more. That said, the concise format does make it very easy to flip through and daydream about new ways to fill your precious spare hours. So, if you're pretty sure you haven't completed your personal hobby collection or know a DIY enthusiast give it a read. I can see this title coming in handy over the next few years as a source of rainy day activities to pick up with Miss P.
 

Cookbook Inspiration

With all the time and energy I'm spending in the kitchen (or in hardware stores thinking about the kitchen) with this renovation, I'm finding myself craving new cooking horizons. At this point, day 2 of our reno project I'm seeing this as a classic case of wanting that which is not in reach. Tonight we disconnect the sink and that means reheated soup and beans on toast for dinner for the foreseeable future. But the dull culinary realities of my short term future are doing nothing to dampen my gourmet day dreams. Trouble is, I've found myself of late itching for a new cookbook that can really make its mark on our menus.

There have been cookbooks like this in the past -- the first How It All Vegan, the ReBar Cookbook and Rose Elliot's New Vegetarian Cooking to name a few -- that have really muscled into my repertoire and influenced me both directly in terms of new recipes as well as generally inspiring use of new ingredients and approaches to food. I've been on the lookout for just such a new cookbook for a while now, but I'm currently fairly fixated. I've taken a few out of the library recently, but not been impressed enough to do more than jot down one recipe and move on. Then this morning on the way to work I remembered that Heidi Swanson's Super Natural Cooking was set to come out sometime around now and a quick web search revealed that it is indeed now available. I have a hunch this just might be the book I'm looking for as I have used a few of Heidi's recipes posted online over the years and loved each one. Besides if her photography can't inspire my cooking to new directions, I'm not sure what else can.

Has anyone else got their hands on a copy and do you have any thoughts? I'd love to know what others think.

Now back to the business of the evening. After one last meal with working plumbing in the kitchen (roasted veggie quesadillas with basil/lemon and fontina) we're set to finish the destruction and begin repairing the walls and floors for new paint and flooring. Bring on the dust masks it's a kitchen party!

The End of Food || The Beginning of Gardening

I've been on a bit of a reading tear lately and just finished The End of Food by Thomas F. Pawlick. Most of what I've been reading lately has been non-fiction and most of it has been relatively light and easy going. While The End of Food is a pretty accessible read, it definitely isn't light. However, at the risk of sounding like an overly earnest high school English teacher: this is a very important book. As a well educated, vegetarian, garden-loving, corporate sceptic and general political lefty I didn't think I had too much left to learn about the dangers and evils of the industrial food industry. Sadly, I was wrong. What is going on in the land of our food stuffs is horrifying enough that I found myself on two separate occassions unable to hold back tears while reading it on my bus ride home. That said, I'll repeat this is a very important read. And, I'll give the author plenty of extra credit for including a healthy section at the end on what the newly riled up and horrified reader can do to create positive change. While I strongly suggest that you go out and get yourself a copy -- but steal yourself for some really nasty stuff, particularly if you're an animal lover or tomato lover for that matter -- I'll share the biggest source of hope that Pawlick includes in the book with y'all here (I don't think he'd mind): plant a garden. Any kind of garden. Anywhere. Just plant it. Of course, he gets into more detail than that but really that's the big message. As I sat turning various shades of green or sniffing back tears in bed at night reading this Martin kept asking me if his "solution" was to eat an organic vegetarian diet and despite the fact that I am all for an organic vegetarian diet I'm pleased to say that isn't his answer. He leans more towards the eat local and for heaven's sake plant some tomatoes school of thought, which I can really get behind.

Suffice it to say that by the end of the book I was more than invigorated for the gardening season ahead. And in fact I feel like I've had my West Coast temperate climate knuckles duly smacked in terms of winter planting. Next year: escarole, kale, cabbages and more will fill my winter garden. Mark my words. No excuses. My West Coast Seeds catalogue finally came in the mail and I've been thumbing through it with glee. And lucky for me this Saturday is Seedy Saturday at Van Dusen gardens where you'll find me trolling for all seeds heritage and hearty. I've also got some delusions about serious garden expansion for the purpose of trying my hand at some major hard bean cultivation and possibly some barley, but that will require a chat with Martin and some serious time with a shovel.