15 May 2009

Copain / Coping

Coping
We painted the kitchen lavender...Not purple not pink, somewhere in between. It was one of those excitedly discussed ideas over our new greenish farmhouse kitchen table. An idea that could have been a "good at the time idea", but actually it has worked out quite well. It makes the room inviting and it blends into all the old reused wood in the kitchen. Everyday we look at each other excitedly and say "our kitchen is purple!!!", like we can't believe we actually did it.

This month has really been tough, exciting though. The moving came at a pretty bad time, but I am trying to sort what is important to do now, and what can wait until June. Tomorrow is the baby shower I am helping throw. I am stocked up on bubbly fruit waters: Blood Orange, Pink Grapefruit, Lemonade, Limeade. I have two bottles of Prosecco and a lot of streamers. Now all I need are desserts.
Today I am making a gluttonous amount of vegan treats:
Trail Mix Cookies
Chocolate Chip with Almond Paste

Claire's Cocoa Cookies - chocolate, cinnamon, and cayenne pepper

Sugar Cookies with Meyer Lemon Icing

Wheat Free Chocolate Ginger Cakelettes

Lemon Poppyseed Cakelettes

and the grand finale
Meyer Lemon Curd & Rhubarb Marionberry Tart

Copain

(photo by Alexandre Bettler/bread by Flourpower city bakery in London)

The other project I have been working on is a 5 foot long loaf of bread for Tricia's art final. It's been really fun and a little nerve wracking trying to practice something I can't actually practice. I can make 3 foot long loaves in the oven at Dovetail, but I can't actually make the 5 foot loaf until the day of at Ned Ludd. They have kindly let us use their oven, a 5 foot longish wood fire oven in North East Portland, and so until the day of the baking next week all I can do is practice 3 foot long loaves and hope everything will work out. In the meantime I have been talking to every bread baker I can find. I sat at the bar and chatted with the St. Honore bread bakers and explained to their bemused and curious faces about the 5 foot loaf. They gave me tips that Mark of Tastebud later thought were possibly not good for the wood fire oven. Its been confusing, but I love asking people's opinions. People love the 5 foot loaf! They just love the idea of it. They want to talk about it and impart their wisdom, and bakers can't help but tell you their opinions, can they.
I just keep telling myself, "It's just bread..Flour, yeast, salt and water...it's just bread"

Go here to read more about the project and please come to the opening at 7 pm on May 24th at 1241 NW Johnson Street in Portland.



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