The weekend, briefly

This weekend was a bit packed. I went on a silk hunting expedition in the fashion district, played with pretty paper scraps, baked, cooked and ate. I managed to sneak in a quick nap on Sunday afternoon, just to get ready for the week.

{fashion district}

{making gift tags}

{apple pie, filled - recipe here}

{apple pie, finished}

{dinner table, waiting}

Friday flowers (improvisation edition)

This week slipped right through my fingers. I don't know where it went. I did go to the market but I couldn't find any flowers I liked. I poked through all the options and felt blah about them, so I decided to forgo blooms.

And then I went home and walked onto my balcony and noticed that my neglected parsley had bolted and it looked quite beautiful, in a leggy, unruly way. So I brought a bit inside.

{parsley, bolted}

Happiness.

{flowery herbs, bedside}

Here's to hoping for more serendipitous surprises over the weekend. Also, this is a good reminder to myself that I need to decide what I'm doing about my little garden over the winter.

New blanket

I may live in Southern California, but I get cold easily. And we don't have heating in our apartment due to a combination of factors (laziness and a desire to appear bad ass being the main two). We do have a large supply of blankets, for those winter nights that drop below 30 and leave us cursing our lack of heating.

I've been lusting after Swiss Army wool blankets like this one for over a year, but I just couldn't justify the cost. But when I saw a piece of boiled wool in the remnants sections of F&S a few weeks ago, I jumped on it, clutched it to my chest and danced around.

At 60" wide and 1 3/4 yards long, it's almost a perfect square and I love the deep burnt orange color. A piece of good boiled wool this large would normally run around $75 (wool is expensive, guys - there is a reason those fabulous blankets cost what they do), but it was marked down to $15!

I'm pretty sure this was a once in a lifetime remnants find, but if you can't mange to drum up almost $300 for a Swiss Army blanket, I would recommend checking out the boiled wool selection at your local fabric store.* This material doesn't even require hemming, so all you have to do is bring it home.

*It does need to be a good fabric store. You won't find high quality wool at a craft store like Joann's, so save yourself the disappointment and don't even try.

Savory apple tart

D took his little brother apple picking last weekend and came home with a bounty of Pippins, our favorite. There will definitely be an apple pie in our house very soon (recipe here), but in the meantime I started dreaming of something a little more savory. I poked around in the blogosphere, but couldn't find anything that quite matched the vision in my head.

So I winged it. And luckily (and unlike some of my attempts) it was a huge hit. Sliced tart apples with caramelized onions and a bit of cheese are lovingly enfolded in pastry, making a perfect fall dish.

Do not be afraid of the pastry dough. Pastry dough is easy-peasy and takes all of 5 minutes to whip up if you are using a food processor and only minimally longer by hand.

Savory apple & onion tart (serves 4 - 6, easily)

For the pastry: (pate brisee recipe from Martha Stewart)
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup cold butter, cubed
1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water

For the filling:
3 large tart apples
3 onions, sliced
1 tablespoon olive oil
Pinch of sea salt
1/2 cup shredded cheese of your choice (I used Parrano, a swiss variety)

:: Make your pastry dough. Put the flour and the salt in the food processor and pulse a few times. Add 1/2 of the butter and do a couple 5 second pulses. Add the rest of the butter and do a couple more 5 second pulses. (Adding the butter in two parts gives you some well incorporated butter and some larger pieces, which makes for a perfect, flaky consistency.) Add the water, a few tablespoons at a time, pulsing briefly after each addition. The dough should come together very quickly. You need just enough water to form a dough. Remove your dough from the food processor and quickly shape it into a disc, wrap it in plastic and stick it in the fridge to chill.

:: Caramelize your onions. Toss them in a heavy bottomed pan with the olive oil and salt and cook over low heat approximately 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they are soft and golden.

:: While the dough is chilling and the onions are cooking, peel and slice your apples. I use an apple peeler/slicer, which may be the greatest silly gadget ever. Having perfectly even slices ensures even cooking, but you can certainly do this by hand (as I did, for years).

:: Take the onions off the heat and toss them with the apples. Set aside.

:: Gently roll your dough into a large circle (approximately 12 - 13 inches in diameter for me). You don't have to roll it very thin for this recipe. It will still be almost 1/8 inch thick, as if you were going to cut cookies.

:: Lay the dough in some sort of pan. The edges will fall over the sides. I used a 10" tart pan, but you could use a large pie pan if that's what you have handy. Spread the filling out inside, sprinkle with your shredded cheese and then gently bring the edges over and towards the middle. (I can't figure out how to explain this, but take a look at the picture of the finished product and you will see that it is really easy.)

:: Bake in a 375 degree oven until the pastry is pale gold. It took about 45 minutes for me.

This is a wonderfully indulgent meal. We ate it hot for dinner and then cold for breakfast the next morning and loved it equally well both ways.

Next time, I'm going to try punching it up a notch and adding some chopped fresh rosemary or sage to the crust (add it with the flour and salt, if you want to try it), for some extra fall flavor.

Shop update - minis!

Introducing minis!

{minis! ruffles & rosebuds}

I love tiny versions of things and I wanted to put something in the shop that would work as a stocking stuffer (I start thinking about the holidays as soon as Labor Day rolls around - I just can't help it). The minis are small versions of my two favorite headbands, on bobby pins. I've been sticking them in my everyday low, loose bun, for a little extra pop. They come in rosebud and ruffles styles.

Each set of two is $9 and there are lots of colors to choose from (I felt a little sorry for my patient sister when she had to pose through 23 different color and style combinations). Shipping is low for the minis alone and free when you add them to an order. They come on sweet little tags, perfect for popping in a stocking or tying on top of a gift. Or you can just wear them, of course. I hope you love them as much as I do.

The weekend, briefly

I played with thread.

{notions}

And re-read an old favorite.

{a wrinkle in time}

And baked a little bit.

{healthy muffins (recipe here) + apples}

Not pictured - working, sleeping, cuddling with a terrier, watching Mad Men.

Truffles + wine

If you're in the SoCal area, my extremely talented cousin is hosting a truffle making workshop in Long Beach on October 25th.

Courtney is the genius behind C Salt Gourmet, and she handmakes small batches of the most amazing candy. She'll teach you how to make your own truffles, while you sip wines specifically chosen to pair with your creations. Fair warning - her workshops fill up fast so get your spot reserved if you're interested.

Check out the details and sign up here and see a list of SoCal retail locations here. I'm addicted to her pine nut brittle, personally, but absolutely everything is delicious.

{lovely image from C Salt Gourmet site}