Giveaway! Cuisinart 16 Cup Food Processor!

I know, that title is hard to believe, but it's true folks! My lovely friends at Williams-Sonoma have generously partnered with me to giveaway this beauty of a food processor—it's a brand new model that I am already coveting, the Cuisinart Elite Die-Cast 16 cup Food Processor. Here's a little about it (you should hear it from the manufacturer to make sure you get all of the glorious details!):

"The machine’s powerful 1,000-watt motor allows for effortless slicing, chopping, shredding, mixing, and kneading. Three separate nesting bowls (16-cup, 13-cup and 41⁄2-cup cap.) can be switched out instantly to reduce downtime while processing different ingredients. Designed to handle liquids more efficiently than ever, a seal-tight gasket between bowls and lid prevents liquids from spilling while the machine is in use, and locking blades stay put while you’re pouring out ingredients. Redesigned adjustable slicing discs provide customizable control over size and thickness when you’re chopping and slicing, and the reversible shredding disc allows you to quickly grate thick or thin shreds of ingredients. Includes three bowls, two discs, two blades, accessory storage case, spatula, how-to DVD and recipes. 1000W. 8 3/4" x 11” x 17 1/2" high. A Williams-Sonoma exclusive."

AMAZING! (Need more details? Check out the video at the bottom of this page.)

**Okay, for your chance to win the prize, please post a comment with a username (as in, not as "anonymous") describing what you would make if you won this. (Like pesto with fresh basil from your garden, perhaps, or hummus, or to knead bread dough) by 11:59 EST Sunday June 7th.

To ensure that I have your info should you win, feel free to send me an email at thingswemake at gmail dot com with your full name, username and mailing address.

And to prove to you that you really, really do need this in your life, here is a recipe that you could very easily make using this new machine.

Thin Crust Pizza Dough

• 1 1/2 tsp. active dry yeast
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 3/4 cup warm water (about 105°F)
• 1 cup cake flour
• 1 cup plus 3 Tbs. all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 tsp. kosher salt
• 2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil

In a small bowl, whisk together the yeast, sugar and warm water and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.

In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the dough blade, combine the cake flour, all-purpose flour and salt and pulse 3 or 4 times.

Whisk 1 Tbs. of the olive oil into the yeast mixture. With the motor running, slowly add the yeast mixture to the flour mixture, allowing each addition to be absorbed before adding more. Pulse the machine 10 to 15 times to knead the dough. The dough should clean the insides of the bowl but will be slightly sticky.

Coat the inside of a large bowl with the remaining 1 Tbs. oil. Dust your hands with flour and remove the dough from the food processor. Form the dough into a ball and place in the bowl. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled in size, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Divide the dough in half and roll out as directed in the pizza recipe. (Like this one for Heirloom Tomato and Basil Pizza.) Makes two 10-inch thin-crust pizzas.

Yay free things that are also useful!

**Also, starting tomorrow I'm going to be posting weekly recipes from some of my favorite foodies over at ReadyMade so make sure to come join me there!

Instant Heirloom: Valerie Galloway

I adore Valerie Galloway's work, plain and simple. A friend of mine gave me one of her mirrors last year and I somehow entirely forgot to blog about her until today. It's time! She is a photographer and painter living in Tucson, Arizona with her partner and son. She relocated there from NYC, but was born in France and tries to spend much of her summers there.
As you can see, those places give her a rich source of inspiration for her work. She makes original pieces that vary in size, from small mirrors to larger wall hangings, that are toned photographs encased in glass and edged in metal.



I love the romantic nature of the images that she works with and that she's found a way to turn a photograph, all of which would be lovely on their own, into serious works of art.



This one is my favorite, from inside Central Park looking out, which is a perfect place to be on an early June day. Check out Valerie's other shop, Gambettagirl, for some of her original paintings.

Mom's Quilt Update #4

My first weekend on my own in Des Moines was a success! I caught up on sleep (yay!) and started meeting people. I went to Market Day, a craft fair of sorts, Ephemera Stationary Studio and met the delightful (and friendly!) owners, and went to yoga in a community garden last night. You might not be able to tell from what I say here, but I am on the shy side and so I've decided that since I don't know many people here, I need to put myself in social situations when I can to make sure that I don't feel too isolated. (I've been so upbeat about the whole uprooting my life business that I had a bit of a delayed reaction that I am now, in reality, very far away from my friends. Which as you can imagine, is going to take some getting used to.) Plus honestly, by Sunday afternoon, after I'd been sewing and reading the paper for most of the day, I needed to interact with real people. And the yoga under a huge tree in the sprinkling rain was just the ticket.

Back to the sewing. As you can see above I'm making excellent progree on the wall hanging for my mom. Two more rows and the top will be all done! I actually used my machine to sew this because, get this, I now have space to leave it set up on a table. Amazing!

I bought some rhubarb at the farmers market determined to try to cook it for the first time. I kept things simple and made a compote with just the addition of sugar (essentially you make it like apple sauce- simmer it in water with sugar until the water evaporates and the rhubarb is soft).
This is the finished product, which I realize isn't the most beautiful food shot ever, but it's really good. I'm going to eat it with some local vanilla yogurt for breakfast the next few days.

Inspired Image: Laila Smith

Hello, my name is Laila Smith and I'm a studio jeweler.

You can find me at Cross Street Workshop and at Object Fetish.
This image comes from a holiday to Wildwood, NJ.

It inspires me because I love the muted colours and I had such a great trip to this town of 60's motels. If you can go there, it is amazing!

I particularly love the symmetry of the windows and doors (I love grids) and the 50's colour scheme.

It makes me feel warm and happy, even though as you can see it obviously was taken on a very rainy day.

The 3 words it conjures up are retro, holiday and muted.


Laila is a very talented jewelry maker who has a style all her own, using, as she says "domestic textile techniques alongside traditional silversmithing processes". All of her fabric comes from found or family fragments and are very weathered. Here, have a look.



They are so original and I love the little details of the stitching. Happy Friday everyone!

Q&A: Jessica Stewart

Today is all about big, glorious rings (and a few pairs of earrings I couldn't resist sharing). Jessica Stewart has a delightful Etsy shop where she sells her lovely jewelry that, if you're anything like me, will become much more irresistable once you read a bit about her and how she learned her craft.

Where do you live?
I live in Paso Robles, CA (Central California). I was born and raised in the Bay Area (on the Peninsula) and have spent my whole life around every aspect of the jewelry business.
Tell me a little bit about what you make.
I handcraft and design every earring and ring I sell. I use only the finest quality metal, all natural color freshwater pearls and gem quality semi precious stones. Each piece of jewelry is one of a kind, meticulously handcrafted from top-quality materials including the highest quality stones and metals, to ensure superior wear ability at an affordable price.

How did you decide to start the line?
My mom started the wire rings in the early 80s and evolved with them, taking them to the next level quality and design wise. I have been making jewelry for as long as I can remember, focusing mainly on rings and earrings with my own special twist!

Did you have any teachers who became mentors along the way?
My teachers and mentors hands down are both my parents. I am so fortunate to have two amazingly creative and highly motivated parents who have been making and selling jewelry since before I was born. As you can imagine my appreciation for and love of fine handcrafted jewelry came at an early age. I remember being a baby taking naps under my parents display on Fisherman’s Wharf in the early 80s. Both my parents are self taught and amazing artists. My mom in particular was a teacher in showing me "the ropes" year and years ago.


Why do you enjoy making jewelry?
Creating and designing jewelry is a love of mine. I want to make gorgeous wearable art that is of the highest quality yet affordable. I enjoy designing and making jewelry that help make women feel beautiful. When women feel beautiful, they feel powerful and have more confidence. My style is modern, unique, classy, feminine.

How does your creative process work?
My creation process is looking at colors, textures, shapes. Some days creativity flows easier than others. Such as life right!

Where do you find your inspiration?
My parents inspire me when I think of how far they have come from their humble beginnings at street festivals to now doing high quality museum shows. Always changing styles, going above and beyond, growing. I can say I learned from the best! I would have to say my other inspiration comes from the stones and materials I use.


Is this your full time work?
I hope to make this my full time work! I also work full time at a local middle school as a director of an after school program. I feel by finally getting a website up and pursuing my love more intensely will be the next chapter in my life.

What's the best part of your day?
The best part of my day is sitting down and creating new designs. My jewelry is every changing. Every piece I come out with is a step forward. Also I have to say just being with my husband (who is my best friend) at the end of a busy day.

What do you like to do when you're not making jewelry?
When I am not making jewelry I am always keeping busy. I am a sports nut (baseball in particular), love exercising, going to the beach, shopping, hanging out with my family and friends and I can't forget COOKING! I love food!

Homemade Window Panels

Here is one of the first projects that I've done in my new home. Since I'm renting, I (like so many people) am having to make do with some things, like ceiling fans and lighting fixtures that are so not my style. And windows that don't offer much in the way of privacy, particularly in the bathroom. So I figured out a way to use some fabric that I recently treated myself to (I had no plans for it, it was an impulse buy at Purl Patchwork a few weeks ago) to craft some panels. The fabric is light colored enough that it lets the light in, but also offers plenty of coverage.

I am trying to use things I have so that I'm not 1.) spending a ton of money settling in and 2.)I'm not filling the place with new things (it's just been remodeled, so I am very aware of wanting to incorporate more found objects and antiques to balance it out). The panels were quick, easy, not permanently adhered to the window and very rewarding because I get to enjoy my lovely fabric every single day now!

You'll need:
Fusible web, cut to the size of your window pane
Fabric, slightly larger than the size of the window pane
Iron
Ribbon or lace, optional
Mod Podge (if using an edging)
Double sided tape

1.) Measure your window pane and cut out a corresponding piece of fusible web.
2.) Iron it onto your fabric, making sure it adheres completely.
3.) Trim the edges off of your panel and make sure it fits onto the window panel. Trim as needed (it should just cover the glass portion).
4.) Embellish with lace or ribbon as desired, using Mod Podge to secure. (I lined the bottom with some vintage lace since my two panels came out a little short.)
5.) Use double sided tape to adhere the panel to the window. (I put a line of tape around the entire edge of the panel.)

I realize that I sort of made this up and I'm sure that at some point, I'll have to replace the tape, but these really made the bathroom feel feminine, comforting and way more like me.

Weekend Project: Farmers Market Tour

Hi everyone! I feel like it's been ages since I posted even though it's only been three days. But those have been three very long days and I am happy to report that I am about 90% moved in and unpacked in my new place. It's pretty remarkable, I know, but I had help from Virginia (unpacking, hauling things around and arranging my book shelves) and my mom (the best, most thorough cleaner I have ever met- my floors are sparkly). Since I start working today, I really wanted to have my new home as set up as possible since I know I'm going to be very busy learning the ropes at ReadyMade. I spent yesterday afternoon hanging pictures and I'm comforted to have my favorite things in site as I adjust to everything in my life being new.

On Saturday morning, my mom and I went to the downtown Des Moines farmers market which is stunning. It's immense. Seriously huge. Not wanting to get overwhelmed by the sheer volume, we did a walk through to get ourselves oriented then set about buying a few plants (I have a lovely little herb garden now!) and buying food for the week. Oh, I just love supporting local produce and producers when it all tastes so good! Above is a tomato salad with basil that I made for lunch when we got home from the market.

We had olive ciabatta from La Mie bakery and fresh chevre from Reichert's Dairy Air along side the tomatoes
.

This is a view of the market at about the halfway point. Pretty amazing, right?


Blue Gate Farm was my favorite vendor this week. I got a dozen eggs from them (which I fried up in local butter last night along side a salad for dinner- yum!) of varying shades of brown, creme and greenish and a jar of this mint syrup. I added it to homemade iced tea and have decided I'm going to live off the stuff throughout the summer. I also explored their website a bit and am seriously considering trying to sign up for their winter CSA, if I can find a new friend to split the load with that is.

These are some of their greens. I have to say that they did a lovely job with presentation—all of the produce was in white enamel bins and was spread out on blue plaid table cloths.

The market also has a load of baked goods (many that are Dutch I believe), like these chocolate crinkles. We actually bought a whoopie pie from this same vendor. It is so fun to get to know a new city through it's farmers market and it makes me feel like I will definitely find some like minded people here to befriend.

I hope you all had a lovely long weekend and have an easy entry into this shortened work week. (I'm skipping Tuesday's regular installment of Instant Heirloom this week due to the holiday and instead will share a lovely project that I did over the weekend in my new home!)