20 Questions with Martha Stewart

I have just discovered the Financial Times' 20 Questions column, and I was thrilled to discover that some of my favorite design world personalities have been profiled, including Sir Terence Conran and Martha Stewart. Here are a few gems from their Martha Stewart interview:

Did you ever think you’d end up where you are?

I never thought about where I would “end up”. In fact, much of my life and life’s work is yet to begin.

What do you like most about your job?

The diversity, the ability to meet interesting people, and that I learn something new every day.

And least?

The fact that not everything is always as optimistic or as fabulous as I would have it be.

When do you turn off your BlackBerry?

Never.

Who has been your biggest influence?

Great teachers, experts, artisans, superb chefs and craftsmen.

If you hadn’t been in business what would you have done?

I would have been a farmer and grower.

When do you want to retire?

I have no plans.

How do you want to be remembered?

As a really fine teacher.

Mix 'N Match Mid-Century Chairs

I sort of love this idea. From Sarah on Remodelista, "Here's proof that not everything needs to match: six different midcentury chair designs, in various types of wood, create a compelling dining tableau." You could have a Hans Wegner's 1949 Wishbone Chair, a Cherner Arm Chair, a CH20 Elbow Chair and a few others to boot.

Jane Brody's Chicken "Barleycorn" Soup

We ended up making Chicken "Barleycorn" Soup from Jane Brody's Good Food Cookbook with the stock from the romertopf chicken. As I've mentioned before, I'm a big fan of Ms. Brody's soup recipes, and the Chicken "Barleycorn" Soup was no exception. Here's the second half of the recipe (I'm leaving out the preparation of the stock, since we didn't follow those directions).

Chicken "Barleycorn" Soup
adapted from Jane Brody's Good Food Cookbook

6-8 cups of homemade chicken stock
3-4 cups cooked chicken meat, shredded
1/2 t. dried basil
1/2 t. thyme
1/2 c. barley
2 carrots
2 celery stalks
4 cups corn kernels (two 10 oz. packages frozen kernels, thawed)
1/2 c. sliced scallions (2-3 scallions)
4 T. finely chopped fresh parsley
1/2 t. ground cumin
1/2 t. Tabsco sauce
Salt and freshly ground pepper

1. Bring stock to a boil, add barley, basil and thyme. Lower to a simmer, cover soup and cook for 45 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, puree in a blender (or food processor) 1 bag of corn with 1 cup of stock.

3. Dice the carrots and celery.

4. When barley is tender, ass the corn puree, corn kernels, carrot snd celery to the pot. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

5. Add chicken pieces, scallions, cumin, parsley, and hot sauce to the post and simmer for five more minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Garnish with additional fresh parsley.

Ochre Owners' Shelter Island Home in House Beautiful

Another house to love: The Shelter Island home of Harriet Maxwell Macdonald and Andrew Corrie, the owners of the New York City shop Ochre. The house graces the cover of House Beautiful's wood-themed issue and appears in the their feature well. While these online photos are lovely, I whole-heartedly suggest picking up a print copy to see the full story.

A living embodiment of the Ochre brand: The house is filled with furnishings from Ochre and its lower-priced sister line Canvas. (Though the sofa above is an old one from Andrew's bachelor days that has been slipcovered.) The photographs are shot by Ditte Isager, who also shoots Canvas's catalogs.

A map of Shelter Island and Peconic Bay hangs above this vintage cabinet. Having spent many childhood summer on Shelter Island. I must admit I also have a soft-spot for this house's locale.

I love the details here: The natural, linen colored roman shade, the faded blue and white stripe rug and a crisp white Bertoia side chair mixed in with all that rustic wood.

Someday I swear will own at least one Hans Wegner's 1949 wishbone chair. These are in soaped Danish ash finish.
It's not all custom and high-end furnishings: Those bookcases are from West Elm!


I love Andrew's homemade bamboo shade cover for the deck. It's a great DIY inspiration for my future summer house.

Romertoff Chicken

On Friday night, my boyfriend brought over his clay romertopf pot and cooked me dinner in it. I'm a lucky girl to have a boyfriend who wants to roast me chickens, aren't I? It was super-tender and we've made chicken stock to cook some soup tonight--I just have to choose a recipe worthy of this perfect and aromatic chicken broth.

Bon Appétit's Barley Stew with Leeks, Mushrooms, and Greens

After returning from vacation, I felt like I should try to be frugal this week, so I have been eating up whatever is in the house. Tucked away in my freezer were two servings of Barley Stew with Leeks, Mushrooms, and Greens from Bon Appétit.

I'd made this soup earlier this winter after reading about the recipe on The Pink of Perfection, and frozen some of the servings. I had forgotten just how good this soup was; Sarah was right when she wrote, "The flavor of this soup really develops after a couple of hours of sitting or when it’s left overnight in the fridge." The recipe is definitely going to be in rotation again next winter. Plus, the ingredients were super-healthy and very affordable.

Bon Appétit's Barley Stew with Leeks, Mushrooms, and Greens

1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
1 1/2 cups chopped leeks (about 2 small stalks; white and pale green parts only)
1 8-ounce container sliced crimini (baby bella) mushrooms
2 garlic cloves, pressed
2 1/4 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary
1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes in juice
1 cup pearl barley
4 cups (or more) vegetable broth
1 bunch kale (about 8 ounces), trimmed, center stalks removed, leaves coarsely chopped (about 8 cups packed)

1. Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add leeks; sprinkle with salt and pepper and sauté until leeks begin to soften, stirring often, about 5 minutes.

2. Add mushrooms, garlic, and rosemary; increase heat to medium-high and sauté until mushrooms soften and begin to brown, stirring often, about 7 minutes.

3. Add tomatoes with juice; stir 1 minute.

4. Add barley and 4 cups broth; bring to boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until barley is almost tender, about 20 minutes.

5. Add kale; stir until wilted, about 1 minute. Cover and simmer until kale and barley are tender, adding more broth by 1/4 cupfuls as needed for desired stew consistency, about 10 minutes.

Recipe by Bon Appétit, photo by The Pink of Perfection.

Hanging Lights from Mason Jars

Spotted at a clothing store on Broadway near NYU's campus, I just loved this mason jar light fixture. While, lamps made out of glass jars are not exactly a new idea, I liked the look of this fixture and felt some serious craft-spiration when I saw it.

Bravo, Nate Berkus!

Who else loved this Nate Berkus-designed Chicago home in ELLE DECOR this month? When I got my issue in the mail, my boyfriend and I immediately swooned over the cover shot above. As a former magazine editor, I know that a great cover doesn't always mean an interesting story, but in this case it did. William Waldron's photos are gorgeous, the interiors are stylish-but-livable and the text itself is fun; in particular, I loved writer Ellen Rakieten's opening lines:

Like many things in life, it all started with one question. Decorator Nate Berkus walked into the master bedroom of my old apartment, took one look around, and confronted me: “You are the executive producer of The Oprah Winfrey Show, the most ‘Get it done’ and ‘Make it happen’ person I know. Why does this room look like a hellhole?”

All photographs by William Waldron for ELLE DECOR.

More Office Inspiration

More home office inspiration, this shot is from photographer Ditte Isager's portfolio. I love the wall of bookshelves and that red ladder!

A16: Food + Wine Cookbook

My sweet boyfriend bought me the A16: Food + Wine cookbook because A16 is one of his favorite restaurants. We've spent the last week cooking out of it, and half a dozen recipes later, I can safely say that I love this book. I wasn't at all surprised to learn that last spring, the International Association of Culinary Professionals named A16: Food + Wine its Cookbook of the Year.

Of the recipes we have tried, the Roasted Potatoes And Cauliflower With Red Onion, Capers And Chiles recipe was delicious and the Pistachio And Almond Cake With Orange Salad was nothing short of divine--I'd buy the book just for that Pistachio And Almond Cake recipe.

Co-author of A16: Food + Wine and James Beard Foundation "Rising Star Chef," Nate Appleman is about to open Pulino's, a restaurant here in New York City, with Keith McNally. I can't wait to eat there! In the meantime, I'm looking forward to reading about the venture in this week's New York magazine.