Warm Weather Wedding Photos on a Cold Weather Day

I just got photos back from a Mid October wedding that was all based around local colorful flowers.  The frozen mess in my garden at this moment makes that all seem like a distant memory.  Thanks Kristi Odom for the photos, the wedding took place at the Darlington House, the bride and groom were a joy to work with. Additional photos from the wedding can be found in two recent posts on the United with Love Website, post #1, post #2.

The colors for the flowers were inspired by textiles that the bride collected while traveling in Ghana on business.

The simple chuppah was made with curly willow and the poles were submerged in tin canisters the bride picked up on a business trip to Tanzania.

This photo captures the feeling of the day!

Wedding, December 2010

Just got photos back from my last wedding of 2010 from the fabulous Kate Headley and wanted to share.  The reception was at the Carnegie Institution for Science, a fun building to work in because of all the dramatic architectural details.  Maria and Kate of Ritzy Bee planned and styled, as always their creativity and leadership made the day!

grooms boutineer– double freesia with a drop of seeded eucalyptus and pepper berry

detail from brides dress– Vera Wang

cocktail tables–  mid winter peonies with seeded eucalyptus and brunia

escort/magnolia,hydrangea, pomegranate,bannister/ cedar, seeded eucalyptus, princess pine with upright and hanging pepper berries

bridesmaid bouquets– Cherry O roses, double freesia, seeded eucalyptus, pepper berries and brunia

paper goods– Hello! Lucky

bride bouquet– polo roses, double freesia, seeded eucalyptus, pepper berries and brunia

Happy New Year, Vegetable Bao

After having a restaurant for years it always feels like I am cheating when I don't work on New Years eve. Last night we embraced our work-free celebration and made vegetable bao which we ate in pj's to ring in 2011.  The recipe below is loose re filling and sauces, adjust those to your own personal taste.  The recipe calls for lots of time in between the various steps but your patience will be rewarded.

Happy New Year to all!!

Vegetable Bao

1.In a large bowl mix together using a wooden spoon 2 tablespoons of fresh yeast, 2 teaspoons of sugar, 1/3 cup of all purpose unbleached flour and 1/3 cup lukewarm water. Let the mixture stand for 30 minutes.

2.Add 1 1/2 cup all purpose unbleached flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 2 1/2 tablespoons sugar and 1 tablespoon grapeseed oil.  Mix and slowly add enough lukewarm water just to get dough to make a ball, about 1/4 cup.  Knead until the dough is very smooth.  Place dough in a large bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 3 hours.

3.While dough is rising make filling.  We made ours with finely chopped garlic, ginger, eggplant, mushrooms, onions, carrots, spinach, cilantro, tofu, edamame and rice noodles.  Set aside until dough has risen.  This is also a good time to make dipping sauces.  We made one with hot peppers, honey, salt and sesame oil and another with soy sauce, white vinegar and grated fresh ginger.

4.Once the dough has risen, sprinkle an additional teaspoon of baking powder over the surface of the dough and lightly knead it in. Roll the dough into a log, if the dough is too sticky, add flour on your work surface as needed. Cut the dough log into 12 even pieces.  With your hand roll each piece of dough into a thin disk, place filling in the middle of the disk and fold in the edges to secure the filling inside.  Place each finished bun on a small square piece of patty paper.  Cover the buns with a towel and let them rise an additional 30 minutes.

5.Steam buns in a steamer over medium heat for about 12 minutes or until they look plump and cooked.  Serve with dipping sauces.

Spiced Popcorn

We eat a lot of popcorn at 1508– our usual method of preparation is air popping and then dressing with really good olive oil and sea salt.  Sometimes for variety we add black pepper, nutritional yeast or other condiments. Martin-Lane recently made a new spiced version that uses one of the few herbs that is good in our garden throughout the winter– bay leaf.

To prepare:

With a mortar and pesal crush fennel seeds, anise seeds and whole cloves, add cayenne and tumeric to taste.  Heat a heavy bottom skillet over medium heat and add a drop of grapeseed oil, sautee fresh bay leaves until they just start to blister, add a large pinch of sugar and a large pinch of sea salt, remove from the heat.  Air pop good quality popcorn, we used a red kernel variety from Path Valley Cooperative.  Lightly dress popcorn with olive oil and add spice mixture to taste.  Crush bay leaves and add to popcorn.  Adjust salt and pepper to taste and serve.

vegan nutcracker cookies, plenty of sugar and a celebration

We have had a great winter of cooking and flowers and weaved throughout that was Martin-Lane performing in 12 performances of the Washington Ballet's Nutcracker.  She had a fabulous experience and it was awesome to watch her!  Her final performance was last night and after the theater we invited another dancer and some friends back to the house to celebrate.

We made a big bowl of curry with lots of condiments, served champagne and for dessert–cookies.

Martin-Lane took the lead on design and chose many shapes that were Nutcracker related, we had fun assisting!  We used vegetable dyes as coloring for the icing...these are vegan but that does not mean that they are not full of sugar and delicious– consume with care.

Sugar Cookies– Chocolate and Vanilla

1 cup non hydrogenated margarine (earth balance)

1 cup vegan sugar

1/4 cup pureed soft or silken tofu

seeds from the inside of 3 vanilla beans (vanilla flavored cookies only)

3 3/4 cup all purpose unbleached flour (for chocolate substitute 3/4 cups of flour for cocoa powder)

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 tablespoons tofu sour cream

In a mixer cream together the margarine and the sugar.  Mix in tofu and vanilla (if using vanilla). Gradually add the flour (cocoa powder if using), baking powder and tofu sour cream.  Wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Roll cookies and out to about 1/4 inch, cut with cookie cutters or with knife and bake until bottoms just turn golden brown (or are dry to the touch with the chocolate flavor).  Cool before frosting.

Vegan Cookie Frosting

3 tablespoons non hydrogenated margarine (earth balance)

pinch of salt

1 1/2 cup powdered sugar

approximately 2 teaspoons non dairy milk

In a mixer cream together margarine, salt and sugar.  Add non dairy milk slowly until you get a spreadable but not too loose consistency.  To make different colors separate frosting into separate bowls and color with vegetable based food coloring.  You can use plastic baggies as pastry bags by filling them with the frosting and poking a small whole in one corner.

Happy Mid-December

Kate Headley just sent this image which was from a few rolls of film that she had rush developed and processed from last weekends wedding (yes she shoots in film).  We called it the undercover holiday wedding– old fashion holiday vibe, no red and green combinations, no Christmas trees... Will post more photos from this wedding when Kate gets the rest of the images.

New to me ingredient– Tonka Beans

Last weekend a close friend who we have worked with for years asked if I was using Tonka Beans, I answered that I had never even heard of them.  As soon as the dinner we were working together ended I looked them up and was instantly intrigued.

I read the beans are indigenous to South America and have a fragrance reminiscent of vanilla, almonds, cinnamon and cloves– Sounds like the perfect complement to endless cold weather desserts!  I learned the beans are a common ingredient in France but were outlawed in the US in 1954 because they are a source of coumarin which was found to cause liver problems if ingested in impossibly large quantities.  Since then it has been found that in addition to Tonka Beans coumarin occurs naturally in cinnamon, lavender, and licorice as well as in many other common ingredients.  Upon concluding that they were safe I needed to get my hands on some.  I expected this would be difficult but my first call to the wholesale company that I get a variety of specialty products from said they could deliver them the following morning.

The Tonka Beans I got were grown in Venezuela and packaged by a French Company.  The aroma is intense– almond, vanilla, fruity and  kind of caramel like.  I immediately grated and tasted them, the aroma/flavor (hard to say where one starts and the other ends) is compelling– lots of ideas about how to use them!  I will share the specifics about the first dessert I serve them with this weekend.

Flower-centric Photos 10/30 Wedding

I have blogged about this wedding– a pre-wedding post and then another with a Super 8 film by Kate Headley.  Last night I got back Kate's fabulous stills and decided to do one more post of the details.  Thanks to the vision and coordination by Maria and Kelly of Ritzy Bee this all came together.

Dutch super parrot tulips, ranunculus and hyacinth fill the vases.  Jarrahhdale (the green things on the ground) pumpkins and zinc planters dripping with euyonomus welcomed guests as they entered Longview Gallery.

Boutineers were flowerless– green hypericum berries and seeded eucalyptus.  Each of the bridesmaids bouquets were different, everyone had seeded eucalyptus paired with a different variety of white flower or flora– this one cotton balls.

The brides bouquet contained all the elements from the individual bridesmaids bouquets– seeded eucalyptus, cotton balls, ranunculus, hydrangea, anemone, dahlia and freesia.

Black Rice Vanilla Pudding with Perssimons

Black rice, vanilla and persimmon is a combination that I stumbled upon years ago at our restaurant Rupperts and is one that I often return to in early winter when persimmons are available. We are huge persimmon fans at 1508 and eat them around here like apples this time of year. We planted a couple persimmon trees a couple of years ago, this year we grew one delicious persimmon...we are looking forward to a large crop one of these years in the near future.  This year the best persimmons we have found for sale have been the Fuji variety from Hana Market, a small Japanese grocery within walking distance from our house.  Recently I contributed recipes to an anti-aging book and learned that black rice is considered an anti-aging super food because of its high concentration of antioxidants, who knew?

Last night we hosted a Home Restaurant for a small creative businesses holiday celebration.  For dessert we served–

Black Rice Vanilla Pudding with Persimmons over Vanilla Cake Garnished with Cashew Cream and Crispy Brown Rice

Black Rice Pudding– Cover black rice with rice milk, add a few vanilla beans split in half, a little vegan sugar and a pinch of salt, slowly cook over a low heat until the rice is tender.  No need to worry about getting the sweetness correct because this can be adjusted after the pudding finishes cooking.  Continue to add milk during cooking as needed.  Keep the pudding somewhat runny because even after cooking the rice will continue to absorb the milk.  Re-taste and add a bit of agave nectar if necessary to get to your desired sweetness.

Vanilla Cake- In a large bowl mix until just combined: 1 cup rice milk, 1 teaspoon unfiltered apple cider vinegar, 1 cup all purpose unbleached flour, 1/4 cup spelt flour, 2 tablespoons organic corn starch, 3/4 cup baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/3 cup grapeseed oil, 3/4 cup vegan sugar, the seeds from the inside of 3 vanilla beans.  Cook batter in individual silicone or cupcake molds at 350 degrees until springy to the touch, about 12 minutes (time varies depending on the size of individual cakes you are cooking).

Cashew Cream– Soak raw cashews in filtered water for at least an hour.  Puree in a high speed blender slowly adding soaking water until the mixture is the consistency of runny whip cream.  Sweeten with agave nectar.

Crispy Brown Rice– Place cooked brown rice on a sheet tray and toss with a little honey and a pinch of Himalayan salt.  Cook in a 325 degree oven, stirring often until crispy, take care not to burn.

Summer Wedding at Tabard Inn, Style Me Pretty Post

On this first truly cold day of the year I enjoyed seeing the post on Style Me Pretty of a wedding full of warm weather flowers I did at the Tabard Inn this summer.  There were so many personal touches– the bride collected old vases that held the centerpieces, she wore vintage jewelry, the invitation was based on a watercolor painted by the brides grandmother...it was a pleasure to collaborate on this one.

Jubilee Photography did a fantastic job documenting the day.  Check out the photos on the recent post at Style Me Pretty.

Kate Beck coordinated the many details that made the whole event.

Cardoons

Cardoons are crunchy, with a fresh artichoke flavor.  They are related to the artichoke, both are members of the thistle family.  In years past I have had a hard time finding a regular source for them and have occasionally seen them on order lists from purveyors and at farmers markets.  This year one of the growers at Path Valley Cooperative is growing lots of them and I am thrilled!  The season is only 4-6 weeks long and will be ending shortly.  In the mean time we are enjoying them. This moment my favorite way to eat them is tossed into a salad.  The preparation is a little tedious but well worth the effort–

Separate the individual stalks and lightly peel the outside of each stalk removing some of the outer skin.  If you skip this step your cardoons will be stringy.  Slice the cardoons into 1/8 inch slices and put immediately into water with lemon juice and salt and bring to a boil.  Drain the cardoons and cover with fresh water, add lemon juice and salt.  Repeat this process one or two more times until cardoons are tender and not bitter.  If you cook them too many times they will become mushy.  Once the cardoons are cooked I season them with lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper.  Enjoy them on their own or toss them into a salad.

Super 8 Film by Kate Headley of My Friends Lauren and Josh

http://vimeo.com/17266317This film by Kate Headley, was filmed on super 8 and old vintage cameras and makes me grin for so many reasons–  The medium that Kate uses captures the mood and tone of the day in a unique way.  I adore Lauren and Josh and felt honored to be a part of their celebration. In addition to doing the flowers for the wedding they came to my house before the wedding for photos and Josh actually saw Lauren for the first time in her gown in my garden...fun to see that all captured in this film!

A Gift, Shishito Peppers

A close friend who always travels with gifts of perishable produce passed through town for the Thanksgiving holidays.  He came bearing shishito peppers which we had never tried before. Our friend prepared them by roasting them over high heat in a heavy bottom cast iron skillet seasoned with a bit of grapeseed oil and sea salt.  They only cooked for a few minutes until there skins were blistered and they were browned in spots– instantly a new favorite!  Luckily he brought lots and left us with a large bag full which we have been enjoying for the last couple of days.  Sadly we are close to the end.  This morning I did a little internet research and found shishito seeds and ordered a bunch from Kitazawa Seed Co. Hopefully next summer we will succeed in growing our own.

The peppers are for the most part mild but occassionally you hit a hot one.  The skin is very thin and it is easy to devour them in quantity.

The peppers are originally from Japan.  The ones  gifted to us were grown in Phoenix, from what I understand they are somewhat hard to come by but are gaining in popularity throughout the Southwest, especially in the Santa Fe area.  Hoping we will be growing some here in DC this coming summer.

Late November Garden at 1508

I am enchanted by the garden right now–  our first and only  persimmon of the season from our young trees is ready to pick,  tender sorrel and baby curly mustard greens are at their very best and we have been enjoying them in salads nearly every day, fall roses are in bloom and mixed in with them are deeply colored rose hips, wild porcelain berries in all shades of blues and purples are one of my favorite things to include in flower arrangements this time of year, all the leaves have fallen off the fig trees and the bare branches are dramatic and without the leaves the garden feels expansive, the oak leaf hydrangea leaves are vivid nearly neon red, we are using the thriving red ribbed sorrel and curly parsley to season our favorite fall vegetables...

Roost Flowers and Sugar from Sunshine

A couple weeks ago I was contacted by Becky Devlin and introduced to her work through her Roost Website and Sugar from Sunshine Blog.  She has a 7 acre flower farm in Virginia Beach and also is a floral designer.  Her work is gorgeous and I am a fan of her philosophy. I am quite flattered that she did a blog post about my work (below) which includes photos by the talented Kate Headley. I have been enjoying her website and blog, check them out!

Designer interview: Sidra Forman

Monday, November 22, 2010

I could gush on and on about Sidra Forman and her endless talents: floral designer, gardener, chef, community activist. I read an article featuring Sidra’s designs in the Summer/Fall issue of Washingtonian Bride and it made me re-visit her website and blog. (I had checked out her site in the past and loooooooved her work, but don’t remember exactly how I landed there). It was a great article called “Green Day” about sustainable, local and organic flowers.  The article immediately caught my attention, both for the obvious reasons, and because it also featured fellow cut flower grower and friend, Andrea Gagnon, of Lynnvale Studios in Gainesville, Virginia. But that’s a different post for a different day (soon!). As you can see from the photos, Sidra’s designs have an unfussy, organic quality to them. Her main priority, when choosing the flowers she uses is “finding the best flowers available”. She says, “during the warmer months in D.C. I use local growers and supplement what I grow in my urban garden. Other times of the year, I rely heavily on flowers from other parts of the year including Holland. I buy only from sources that sell flowers that are raised with practices that are mindful of both the earth and the laborers.” The amazing photos are courtesy of the talented Kate Headley, someone whose work I also admire greatly.

Sidra started out arranging flowers for a restaurant that she owned with her husband and brother more than 15 years ago. She started getting requests to design flowers for events and when they decided to close the restaurant, she turned her focus to floral design. When I asked her to describe her design style, she said, “I get the best flowers that I can and try to get out of the way.” I love that!  Her philosophy really shows in the natural way her designs let the blooms speak for themselves.

It amazes me that Sidra arranges flowers for about 40 events per year and still finds time to help head up The Farm at Walker Jones, an urban farm connected to a Washington D.C. public school. I read through the blog for this amazing project and love seeing the photos of the kids eager to learn and readily tasting all sorts of foods from the gardens. And maybe I was hungry, but I think my favorite post is Sidra’s recipe for Zucchini Cake, which I can’t wait to make.

When I asked her what she feels makes Sidra Forman Flowers unique, she said, “I enjoy the collaborative process with my clients, hearing what they’re looking for and then figuring out together a version of that original version.” Three things she’s loving right now?  “Porcelain berries that grow wild in my city garden, the foliage from my leather leaf viburnum plant, and dutch anemones.” Life doesn’t get much better than that.

Check out Sidra’s website to see more of her floral design, home restaurant, gardens and yummy food at www.sidraforman.com, read her blog at www.sidrapractice.com and check out her labor of love, The Farm at Walker Jones at www.wjfarm.wordpress.com/ .  Thanks so much to Sidra for sharing herself and her work!