May

Whew May was particularly busy, anyone else? I went on some fun day trips. Worked my but off. Had a mental break down. You know, the usual.

I've been obsessed with flowers this month, oh wait that's every month. Lilacs, Lily of the Valley & Irises have been on the rounds in my apartment. I put them next to my bed so I can inhale them in the morning, they make me happy. The weathers been strange but I dont mind. As long as everything is green and I see the sun often, I'm good. Spring produce has been so inspiring, the freshness is hard to beat. My local grocery store and bodega will miss my business, as I plan to avoid them as much as possible this Summer. They can keep their sad wilted greens until next winter when I'm desperate.

We had a margarita party on the roof last week, I drank too much. I'm giving myself clean slate for the next couple of weeks. Speaking of Clean Slate, have you had that sandwich at Salties? Its bomb. I am trying to loose some winter weight, anyone else? Gosh why does it seem to get harder the older we get? Go away flabby arms! You are not welcome here. I probably just got a little too personal but hey isn't that what a blog's for? Conscious cleared.

I love these cooking videos that Weird and Ravenous made for Food52. That Julia Turshen is one badass chick ;)

I need these bowls.

This post, because Sarah makes me laugh out loud.

I wish this was my no fuss outfit.

My friend Mauro makes these awesome canvas bags, like the one I've been sporting around.

Rhubarb & Gin Sorbet with Rose Cream. SAY WHAT? Yes please.

One day I hope to be cool enough to get one of Ariele's spoons.

Oh and how could I forget, some tips on how to take better phone photos via Conde Nast Traveler. Thankful for being included in the round up.

One Afternoon...

Last week I went out to East Hampton to help my dear friend Kari for an event she was working on. More on that soon.

We had 15 minutes at the beach and a lobster roll before making our way back to the city. It was magical, I can't wait to go back.

In other news.

I was featured over on SF Girl by Bay, an honor and in one of my favorite Australian magazines Est, there is more where that came from here.

Kinfolk Magazine's Flower Pot-Luck with Amy Merrick

On April 27th Kinfolk Magazine hosted a Flower Pot-Luck around the world to celebrate the beginning of Spring. I attended the Brooklyn gathering which took place in the back garden of one of my favorite home stores; Moon River Chattel. Amy Merrick was the floral mastermind teaching the informal flower arranging class, where each student contributed their choice of the flower, hence the name "Flower Pot-Luck". They made ivy crowns studded with flowers and wild spring arrangements. We sat and enjoyed an afternoon meal prepared by the lovely Anne Parker who was in town from Portland. A beautiful selection of charcuterie and cheeses and an assortment of salads made from the greenmarkets finest. All served on some of Francis Palmers gorgeous hand-made plates. A lovely afternoon indeed, I cant think of a better way to welcome my favorite season.

Bon Appetit's "The Grilling Book"

A couple of weekends ago, I got together with a few friends to cook from Bon Appetit's new "The Grilling Cookbook". You can read the full review over on Bon Appetit's website. A big thank you to Camille for cooking, Kira for the beautiful props and Patrick for being an amazing host. A delicious meal and fun times were had.

Have you been going crazy for spring produce as much as I have? As each item comes into season and hits the farmer's market stalls, I rush to get my hands on it. Ramps are one, and last week I had the first asparagus of the year. I cook simple things at home. Freshness and basic techniques allow the ingredients to truly shine. Fresh herbs are a great way to perk up any dish; I also love adding lemon zest. This is a very easy and rustic way to prepare ramps. As always, I hope to inspire people to support their local farmers and try new things. My recipes aren't meant to be perfect but rather a guide to inspire. Happy ramp season ya'll, though short-lived, they sure are divine. PS- I would eat everything with a spoon if I could.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Bring a pot of water to a boil.
Toss ramps with olive oil, season.
Roast ramps until lightly charred and tender 12-15 minutes.
Finely chop a handful of flat leaf parley and chives.
Lightly toast a half cup of pepitas.
Cook pasta in heavily salted water until tender.
Mix pasta with a dollop of butter, grated parmesan and fresh herbs.
Add roasted ramps, adjust seasoning if needed.
Top with crispy breadcrumbs and pepitas.

Kate Dougherty for SUNO

A few weeks back I had the opportunity to shoot the lovely and extremely talented Kate Dougherty. Over the previous months Kate had been working hard on SUNO's Manhattan office in the garment district. Kate is behind all the lovely decor at The Fat Radish and The Leadbelly in the LES. She is also part of talent that makes up Family Band, which is a prop-rich themed traveling photo-booth. I was lucky enough to take part in one of their themed photo-booths at a Mexican inspired birthday party over the winter. She also worked as the assistant set director on the movie Moonrise Kingdom, another one of Wes Anderson's masterpieces. Can we just say that the girl is crazy talented!? and too darn cute for words. Lets not forget to mention this beautiful spread of her Brooklyn Heights apartment. See more about the SUNO offices for Remodelista here.

Danielle Chang's Chinatown for Cherry Bombe Magazine

When I was asked to be a part of Cherry Bombe's premiere issue I was ecstatic, but It wasn't until I held its 172 pages in my hands that I truly understood what it meant. As they state perfectly in the introduction "There's a lot of girl power in this issue" and boy were they right. It took Kerry and Claudia a whole year to put this issue together as a labor of love. They both worked at Harper's Bazaar, to then go out on their own ventures. Kerry Diamond is the co-owner of Seersucker, Nightingale and Smith Canteen and Claudia Wu has her own creative agency. They then joined forces to create Cherry Bombe Magazine, a bi-annual photo heavy publication. Their mission? To celebrate women and food, those who make it, grow it, serve it, style it, enjoy it and everything in between. They just so happen to feature two of my favorite ladies in the culinary world, April Bloomfield & Gabrielle Hamilton. Be sure to pick up a copy when it hits newsstands in May, see here for more info. They also launched a kick starter campaign to raise funds to hep support the growth of the magazine. I shot the lovely Danielle Chang for this issue, the founder of Lucky Rice, featuring her favorite hot spots in Chinatown.