Weekend List.

Friday night we had new friends over for dinner - both vegetarians, which gave me a chance to try some new recipes from books I picked up in London last year at Books for Cooks.

1) Carrot, Honey & Ginger Soup, from Favourite Recipes from Books 1,2 & 3, adapted from Tessa Bramley's now out of print, The Instinctive Cook.

2) Spiced Swish Chard with Butter Beans and Couscous (with golden raisins and pine nuts), from Maria Elia's, The Modern Vegetarian. Served with Slow Roasted Tomatoes from the same book.  (Tomatoes are not in season yet, I know.)

3) Pizza from local Gialinas. Just a few cheesy slices to serve as the flatbread side.

My work schedule would not allow time to cook on Friday so I cooked everything except the couscous on Thursday night. 

All recipes were a success!

Sitting overnight, I think, helped the dishes' flavors stew. The butter beans in the chard took on the smokey paprika flavor giving them a meaty quality. And the soup! The honey gives the carrots a sweet roundness without imparting a honey taste.

T picked up the pizza "flat bread"  and we were ready to serve at 7 on the dot. We had a great time. Our guests kept us laughing all night and it was fun to show them around our ongoing home renovation project. Such a fun night.

Because I'm unclear on copyright issues I have to forgo printing recipes. And I didn't take any photos so this is it - an unsexy text-only post. :) 

Lemons

Becket gave me some beautiful meyer lemon's from her tree. I've been reading and comparing lemon tart and candied lemon rind recipes from Simple Food, Zuni, Pure Desserts and Tartine. I finally settled on Tartine's Shaker Lemon Pie. It's been a while since I've made pie crust. It turned out pretty well but I admit I did cut corners, like, I didn't let the crust rest before baking. It was 11pm so I figured, eh, it will be less flakey. I also reduced the sugar. The crust is less like Tartine and more like grandma used to make and the center has a little bite of zippy tartness which I love. 

Palm Springs

Palm Springs here we come! What have I missed?!

Movie to watch before we take off:

Palm Springs Weekend (1963)

Ace Hotel & Swim Club

acehotel.com

701 E Palm Canyon Dr

Palm Springs, CA 92264-8811

(760) 325-9900

Parker

4200 E. Palm Canyon Dr

Palm Springs, CA 92264

(760) 321-4630

Blogs n Articles

more ways to waste time

http://morewaystowastetime.blogspot.com/2009/01/wanderlust-holiday-in-sun.html

cheesy city guide 

http://palmsprings.metromix.com

decent city guide

http://www.palmspringslife.com

nytimes

http://travel.nytimes.com/2009/04/12/travel/12hours.html?scp=1&sq=palm%20springs&st=cse

Hiking n Gardens

Joshua Tree

http://www.nps.gov/jotr

Tahquitz Canyon loop:

Those looking for an early-morning calorie burn might prefer the uphill battles of Gastin or Araby Trail, but a hike through Tahquitz Canyon (500 West Mesquite Avenue; 760-416-7044; www.tahquitzcanyon.com) offers a leisurely alternative. An entrance fee of $12.50 gets you access to a 1.8-mile loop and the sights and smells that come with it: desert plants, lizards aplenty and a stunning, 60-foot waterfall. Unless you have an intense interest in beavertail cactus and white sage, skip the two-hour ranger-led tours and explore the trail at your own pace.

Botanical gardens

The Living Desert Gardens
47-900 Portola Avenue
Palm Desert, CA 92260

Shopping / Thrifting

 

Dazzles -

1035 N Palm Canyon Dr

Palm Springs, CA 92262-4419

Mid-century furnishings & an extensive selection of jewelry.1035 N. Palm Canyon Drive, 760.327.1446

Room Service - Full-service furniture store with a mid-century modern slant. They also offer vacation rental properties in Palm Springs that have been designed, masterminded and created by room service. Perfect for those glamorous types that might have their own camera crew in tow.

 

111 Antique Mall - A supermarket of mid-century furnishings, art, jewelry, lighting, clothing and much more.

 

Dazzles - Mid-century furnishings & an extensive selection of jewelry.1035 N. Palm Canyon Drive, 760.327.1446

 

Modern Way ($$$$)Fantastic home furnishings collection from the 50s-70s.

745 North Palm Canyon Drive; 760-320-5455; www.psmodernway.com) stocks an eclectic collection of larger pieces like Arthur Elrod couches, Verner Panton cone chairs and Hans Olsen dining sets.

 

Bon Vivant (cheap)  in the Palm Canyon Galleria (457 North Palm Canyon Drive, No. 3; 760-534-3197; www.gmcb.com) where the store's charming proprietors make you feel like a genuine collector for purchasing an $18 engraved brass vase or a $5 tie clip.

 

Retrospect - Restored mid-century furnishings. 666 N. Palm Canyon Drive, 760.416.1766

 

Jackie Lee's thrift shop

Stroke Recovery Center (formerly Palm Springs Stroke Activity Center)

Ida  Monroe Passis Building 2800 East Alejo Road

Palm Springs, California 92262

 

Angel View Thrift Mart (multiple locations)73468 Highway 111

Palm Desert, CA 92260

(760) 776-9620

 

Angel View Prestige Boutiques - For budget conscious, try this great thrift shop. 462 Indian Canyon Drive & 886 N. Palm Canyon Drive, 760.322.2440

 

Trina Turk [891 N. Palm Canyon Dr.; 760/416-2856] has the clothes that everyone should wear on vacation: colorful and groovy. It's also the place to find out what's going on in town. Trina has her finger on the pulse."

 

Room Service

625 N Palm Canyon Drive

 

La MOD (768 North Palm Canyon Drive; 760-327-0707; www.alamod768.com), nearly 70 percent of the merchandise, which is heavy on Lucite and lighting, is sourced locally, according to the shop's owners.

 

vintage shops at the Palm Canyon Galleria [457 N. Palm Canyon Dr.; 760/323-4576], but Patrick and James at Bon Vivant have the best eye and a sort of missionary zeal to get things into the right people's hands at reasonable prices. My own personal passion is the pieces they get by Danish ceramist Bjoern Wiinbladd, but they also have an incredible collection of major California crafts."

 

FOOD

 

The magic of Melvyn's [200 W. Ramon Rd.; 760/325-2323; dinner for two $100] is that white-linen experience. They know their way around a steak and a cocktail, so it appeals to ninety-year-old swingers and twenty-year-old swinger wannabes."

 

Cheekys

The wait for brunch at Cheeky's (622 North Palm Canyon Drive; 760-327-7595; www.cheekysps.com) should be a tip-off: the bright, streamlined space, which opened in January and feels airlifted from L.A. — in a good way — has quickly become popular.

 

 

 

Architectural

 

Archinform.com guide

http://eng.archinform.net/ort/1860.htm

 

Self guided Palm Springs Midcentury Modern Tour

http://www.palmspringslife.com/Palm-Springs-Life/Desert-Guide/Palm-Springs-Midcentury-Modern-Tour/

 

Modern treasures

http://www.palmspringslife.com/Palm-Springs-Life/November-2005/Modern-Treasures/Modern-Treasures-Gallery/

 

Brief History and Architectural Guide and Modern Map is available through the Palm Springs Visitor’s Center, (800-347-7746

Palm Springs Modern website tons of architectural info

http://www.psmodcom.com/other.html

 

what's this?

http://www.archiplanet.org/wiki/Main_Page

Coffee

We bought a new vodka that is a bit strong tasting for martinis so I'll see if it works well with a little coffee infusion.

Weekend

A quick summary of last weekend:

Green dot number is the newest member of the costume closet. Found at Community Thrift. The fruit crafts are from my first issue of Marie Claire Idee. 

Chilly Sunday, we took our bikes on the ferry to Alameda. We were greeted by friends on bikes and a surprise belated birthday cake for T!! Chocolate, in the shape of a castle, dusted with sugar. It sat in the center of our Scrabble table. As the day progressed it became adorned with flowers,  almonds  and blinky lights. Delicious, it was!

Holiday Monday brought us to breakfast at St. Francis followed by a sunny stroll in the Mission.

Ok, next up, this weekend, full of family visits to welcome new baby. We will also try to make it to Maker Faire on Sunday. I haven't been since 1996 and I hear the craft area is BIG, or bigger -  either way, I want to go to there.

Wallpaper anyone?

Who would have ever thought that wallpaper could make a comeback? Even though wallpapers popularity has been on the rise for some time now, I still can't decide if using it in my home office is a good idea. The owners of Curiosity Shoppe have come out with a great new book about wallpaper projects. I am hoping this little book will help me decide. You can pre-order it here