We Love Our Zojirushi Mini Breadmaker

When my husband and I were creating a wedding registry, one of the few things he really wanted was a bread maker. The rocks glasses I understood, but a bread maker? I resisted the idea, saying that any one-use appliance was just a space waster--plus,  I pointed out, we never make bread. But he insisted that it would bring him joy, so it went on the registry. I picked the smallest and best reviewed one we could find on Amazon: The Zojirushi Home Bakery Mini Breadmaker However, no one bought it for us--that is, until this past Christmas when my parents sent it to us as a holiday gift. (Thanks Mom and Dad!)

I stand corrected in my original opposition to the bread maker: I love it. The Zojirushi Mini Breadmaker, which makes a 1 lb. loaf (about half the size of a regular loaf of bread from the super market), is worth every penny. The loaves are perfectly sized loaf for two people, especially since fresh bread goes stale pretty quickly. I was also wrong about it being a single use machine; we've used the bread maker to make pizza dough, which worked out very, very well (and only takes precisely an hour and forty minutes to knead and rise). Previously, I was buying store-bought dough to avoid having to make my own and time it properly.

So far we have made a basic white loaf, a 100% whole wheat flour loaf, a honey bread and pizza dough. I'm most interested in perfecting the whole wheat/whole grain loaf, but we need to seek out some whole grain flours with which to experiment. I'll let you know how they turn out!

This is the firm 100% whole wheat bread. 

 

 The recipe book's pizza dough recipe makes enough dough for two medium-sized pizzas.

This was our first loaf: The basic white bread recipe.

Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi

My sister bought me a copy of Plenty: Vibrant Recipes from London's Ottolenghi as a Christmas gift, and I have started testing out some of the recipes. My expectations for the book were high after reading the New Yorker profile of Ottolenghi, which appeared in the December 3 issue. Fortunately, the book has more than met my expectations. (Thank you, sis for such a great addition to my cookbook collection!)

The book is a collection of recipes that Ottolenghi created for his weekly vegetarian cooking column in the Guardian. Ottolenghi makes the kind of vegetarian food that I like best, which is to say vegetarian food that's not trying to be like meat. These dishes could be eaten on their own or as an accompaniment to a piece of fish or meat--they're all packed with spices and fresh flavors.

I made his quesadillas on New Year's Day and enjoyed that they were mostly bean-filled with just a sprinkling of cheese--a heavy dose of cilantro and homemade pico de gallo made them feel fresh. Then the night before last I made his leek fritters with a Greek yogurt and herb sauce and a delicious bulgur pilaf. The pairing was a suggestion from the book and it made for a satisfying meal. I can't wait to cook more dishes from this excellent book.

Bulgur Pilaf from Plenty 

Serves 4-6

About 6 tbsp olive oil
4 small white onions, thinly sliced
3 red bell peppers, cut into thin strips
2 1/2 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp sugar
2 tsp pink peppercorns
2 tbsp coriander seeds
2/3 cup currants
1 cup medium bulgur wheat
1 3/4 cups water
Salt and black pepper
Handful of chopped chives

1.Heat up the olive oil in a large pot and sauté the onions and peppers together over medium-high heat for 12 to 15 minutes, or until they soften up completely.
2.Next, add the tomato paste, sugar, spices and currants and stir as you cook for about 2 minutes. Add the bulgur, water, and some salt and pepper. Stir to mix, then bring to the boil. As soon as the water boils, cover the pot with a tight-fitting lid, remove from the heat and leave to sit for at least 20 minutes.
3. Finally, fluff up the bulgur with a fork and stir in the chives. If the pilaf seems dry, add a little more olive oil. Taste and adjust the seasoning; it's likely to need more salt and pepper. Serve warm.

Ruby Beets, A Favorite Shop

I'm not much of a shopper, but there are a few stores that I truly love and visiting them is less about shopping than the experience of being inside. I fall in love with a store when the store itself is its own world, with its own particular point of view. John Derian is a great example of a store I never tire of: Every time I visit there seems to be something new and delightful to discover. Ruby Beets in Sag Harbor is another store I've come to adore in recent years, and I stop in whenever I have the good luck to find myself in Sag Harbor.

While it is hardly a unknown source (many magazines and blogs have written about it), Ruby Beets still feels a bit like secret. Perhaps part of its intrigue is due to its location a ways up a side street from the main drag of Sag Harbor in a former silent movie theater's space. Or maybe its the slightly mysterious quality of the merchandise itself.

Ruby Beets is part antique shop, part new home wares boutique and party gallery. The shop is jam-packed with merchandise--both new and old--but a soothing palette of neutral tones keeps it from feeling too crowded, and the dense groupings of objet, art and furniture make it feel like there is an endless stream of treasures to discover in the shop.

Over the summer, I first saw the photographs of local photographer Mary Ellen Bartley at Ruby Beets. If I am ever lucky enough to have a summer house and some spare cash, I'd love one of her seascapes (above) for me walls. A recent visit revealed a portfolio of photographs (many of circus performers) taken by a talented amateur photographer in the early part of the 20th century; the shop's owners had found it in Rhode Island and were selling the individual prints.

Recently, my husband fell for what appeared to be a vintage club chair, but turned out to be a present-day replica of a piece from the 1920s. At more than $1,600, it's not exactly in our budget right now, but it's the kind of thing I keep in my mind on the "someday maybe" list. While much of the merchandise is out of reach, there are always a few trinkets that anyone can afford. If you find yourself in Sag Harbor, stop in to see what they have in store.

Ruby Beets, 25 Washington Street, Sag Harbor, NY; www.rubybeets.com

Exterior and interior photos by Habitually Chic.

David Rockwell for House Beautiful

Working with House Beautiful magazine, The Rockwell Group designed the third apartment for the Designer Visions show house. The coffee table is a custom design, but it reminded me of West Elm's Origami Coffee Table. 

I loved the office, which had a whole wall covered in cork, turning it into a giant pin board. 

This vignette is also from the office. I was particularly drawn to the abstract drawing.

The bedroom was super moody with the walls paper in Byzance Pattern from the House on the  Klong Wallpaper Collection by Jim Thompson. The headboard is upholstered in Madeline Weinrib's Black Remy Ikat Fabric.

Antony Todd for Veranda

Antony Todd was brought in to design the Veranda magazine apartment for Designer Visions. His space had a fantastic kitchen that I regret not having shot. I loved the wall colors in this apartment. The living room and hallways were all painted with Benjamin Moore's Silver Fox, which was a great, neutral gray. I would definitely use it in my own home.

The master bedroom was also painted in SIlver Fox.

A room designed for a teenage boy was painted with Benjamin Moore's Blue Danube. Sadly, there was no information about the fantastic wood lamps on the bedside tables, which leads me to believe they were antiques.

The wall opposite the bed was once again painted with Silver Fox (clearly Antony Todd likes this hue!) 

Matthew Patrick Smyth for Elle Decor

I went to see the Designer Visions show house earlier this fall, but I never got around to posting any photos I took that day. I figure better late than never, so I'm posting them now to share with you. First up is Matthew Patrick Smyth's design for ELLE DECOR magazine. I loved the dark, gray wall color, which is Benjamin Moore's Notre Dame, that he used in the living room.

 A 19th century door frame was used as a dramatic headboard in the bedroom.

This clever desk was designed so that chairs can be pulled up to either side. The wallpaper is Raoul Dufy's Feuillage by Hermes.

Smyth turned a windowless room into a jewel box of a dining room by covering the walls in Byzantium Collection's Mica Narrid Palace & Sorallo Mosaic and Mica Darro & Cadiz Mosaic Borders by F. Schumacher & Co.