We've been upstate pillaging auctions the past few days. Got some fun little jams; two old crocks, crates of old ball jars and a very very very amazing victorian scrap book which I will shoot tomorrow to show you. It's really something else.

The weather in NY has got me dragging, and Eric wants to walk in the snow to Smith Street to return a movie we never watched. [What's up Tiger Lilly]
Sometime the prospect of dinner is what I need to pick up again. Two nights ago we made - hold onto your seats - Kale Quesadilla - a most unlikely pairing, but kids - this was hands down the best thing I've eaten in a while. So I'll tell you how I did it (even though I think there's a recipe floating around in one of the February food magazines, and I guess most people know how to make a quesadilla. well, anyway...)


1 bunch of kale - chop it - steam till tender - remove to collander to drain

2 cloves of garlic, minced - sauteed in a splash of olive oil in same pot. then throw the kale back in and continue to cook for a few minutes with a few pinches of salt, pepper and some grated nutmeg if you have it.

Then slice some sharp cheddar or jack cheese and warm up a griddle or another flat pan. Put 1 tortilla (I prefer a flour tortilla with this) down on griddle with some of the jack cheese and cook untill the cheese starts to melt. Place a handful of the cooked garlic/kale ontop of the jack then spread a good young goat cheese on a second tortilla and place on top to close the quesadilla. Flip it. Cook one more minute. Cut in wedges.

Serve with some salsa verde and lemon wedges. So, so good. So good for you. Well sort of.

Radishes are extreme this time of year from the farmers market. These ones I got are the size of turnips, and sliced on a mandolin they look like stained glass. But nevermind all that, let's face it -- radishes are a good vehicle for butter. With some nice butter and a sprinkle of sea salt, radishes are dinner. Radishes, cheese and butter -- even better.

I don't think I have shown you this picture yet - I am going through all my ball jars making small arrangements for people to carry out. (well, I carried this one out, it's on my kitchen table, along with the rest of the clematis from last week.)

It's 8:30 on a Saturday and I'm working, you're not --- you're sleeping. I am up boiling coffee because I can't seem to get it hot enough lately. I brew the pot, transfer the contents to a sauce pan and boil it. The coffee pot is 15 years old and belonged to my grandfather who has long since passed away. I am looking for answers online with a faulty internet connection. I have not come up with much.

Here are some pictures of flowers I made up for Saul restaurant yesterday. Kale, almond branches, bush ivy (above) and a small ball jar of parrot tulips, ranuncula and orange hypernicum (below).

More later after I get some work done. In the meantime if you have not seen it you can check out a virtual visit I did with Pam from Housemartin yesterday for her guest blog on design*sponge. Many many good things there from her this week...read it all then scroll to the bottom to see Saipua.

I spent the better half of this morning reading back through Andrew Revkin's NYT column DotEarth. I generally avoid it for a few weeks and then binge - it's not light reading, and it tends to be quite grave...suddenly I heard jackhammering and my apartment started shaking! Out the window the parks department was removing a square of sidewalk...and PLANTING A TREE. I almost cried. 

Then I googled noosphere and global consciousness... but somehow I ended up at people.com.

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This is a picture of a little candy colored bouquet I put together yesterday afternoon from some leftover flowers from last week. You can't see it but I tied it up with red/white bakery twine. Now I have Roy Orbison in my head "Candy Colored Clown they call the Sandman..."

Here are some stunning ranuncula and apricot parrot tulips we got this morning, you can click the image for full effect - but more importantly lets discuss THE DARK CRYSTAL, and ignore the fact that this was my first time watching it, but more importantly how I've decided to build a CRYSTAL CHAMBER in my apartment, inspired by the recent issue of ID magazine's 40 best work spaces. You can see some of them here. Some people work in, you know... a castle. [*I've also reworded George Michael's 'Last Christmas' to be an updated Dark Crystal theme song. You try it, its easy.]

But I didn't have any cupcake papers; Carrot Cake adapted from Gourmet December 2007

4 medium carrots

Thumb-size piece of ginger, grated

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For icing
1 1/4 cups confectioners sugar
1/2 teaspoon grated orange zest
2 to 3 tablespoons fresh orange juice

1/2 cup of mascarpone cheese

Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. Butter and flour a regular size loaf pan.

Coarsely grate enough carrots to measure 2 cups using large teardrop holes of a box grater.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a bowl.

Whisk together oil, eggs, brown sugar, grated carrots, grated ginger and vanilla in a large bowl, then stir in flour mixture until just combined. Pour in loaf pan, bake for around 40-45 min or until toothpick comes out clean.

Icing; beat sugar with juice and zest to make a very thick icing, beat in cheese.
Cool all day in pan, then slice up in layer and ice away!
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Lastly you can check out some little pictures I made of vignettes in my apartment for Joy (from Oh Joy) for her Blueprint Blog post here. Neato.

xx
sarah

Works by An Hoang

We hung three small works by artist An Hoang in the shop this past weekend, and will have them here on consignment through March 1st. The typewriter is the most recent of her paintings and I think my favorite...it is oil on canvas and measures 6 x 8 inches. We have been meaning to have a more regular rotation of artist's works at the shop, and I'm so pleased to have An's work get us started this year!


*for pricing, high res images, or more details give me a holler at sarah@saipua.com