Sheep & Strawberries

When my parents sent me pics of their trip to Valley Shepherd Creamery I liked them so much that they offered to take me too.  So I went to see the farm with 600 - 700 ewes who are bred with only 30 - 40 rams.  Interesting...they also have alpacas, goats, a horse and....

baby lambs!

In their Sheep Shop they sell many, many things made from sheep's milk and wool

including of course their cheeses.

I also bought some glow-in-the-dark sparkly sheep along with yogurt, gelato and butter.

Next it was on to Alstede Farms for pick-your-own strawberries.

We picked about 12.7 pounds from the fields, so next post will be about my adventure canning my first batch of strawberry jam!

My New Tattoo: New Year's Resolution #8 of 11

I made 11 New Year's Resolutions for 2011 and now I've competed #8: got my 3rd tattoo last week, a phoenix on my outer left ankle.  A recommendation from handmade Quade led me to Joey Wilson of Hand of Glory and his sister shop The End is Near in Park Slope, Brooklyn.  They do custom, exclusive tattoos and piercings and Joey was super patient in collaborating on the design.

This is my 2nd tattoo in Korean: it's pronounced "na - mahn" and means "just me".

The 1st tattoo is a purple tulip from quite a long time ago.  Why did I not have the artist sketch it before he inked it into my back?  The follies of youth, I suppose.  But it's a part of me, as is everyone's past.  

And I'd post a pic of my belly piercing, but well, summer's here and it's time to do a few more crunches first before I leave for vacation...

A Week of Foodie-ness

Some people object to the term "foodie", but how else can I explain my obsession that has led me to start cooking and baking again?  That's a mesclun salad with blackberries, raspberries and fingerling potatoes with lemon sesame soy dressing.

More berries for triple berry muffins and Lemon Berry Pitcher Punch from 101 Sangrias & Pitcher Drinks by Kim Haasarud of Liquid Architecture.

Food Bloggers: I commend your ability to take gorgeous shots while you're in the middle of everything: I'm either too messy, or forget, so here's a Chocolate Carmalua cake from a recipe by Mrs. Fields cooling by the window, but without the caramel sauce.

I finally found the cord to my rice cooker and made some Korean namool: sesame seasoned spinach, shiitakes and zucchini.

Koru Kate and I had a lovely dinner by the water at Trinity in Hoboken: here's the chicken pot pie and a Panda's Dream cocktail. 

Louise and I had a WONDERFUL dinner at Kin Shop with a delicious menu by Chef Harold Dieterie: my fave was the Warm Sliced Snap Peas with Diver Sea Scallops, Crispy Shallots, Pea Greens & Toasted Coconut. We also had Aquatic Vegetables, Fried Pork & Crispy Oyster Salad, Stir Fried Rice Flakes with Rock Shrimp, Massaman Braised Goat, fabulous cocktails made with house-infused ginger mekhong, guava nectar, thai basil and rum, and tasty Galangal Ice Cream and Calamansi Sorbet...amazing...

Next day I prepped for a lunch for my aunt and her husband.  You can see Mila being very helpful in the background.

No time to iron the tablecloth!

We started with tomato, basil and mozzarella with extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

I tried my hand at some huge scallops from The Black Dog Summer on the Vineyard Cookbook.  No pic here of the smoked chili cream, but it was quite tasty.

And we finished with Lepore's Home Made Chocolates.

Since I was being a hostess I didn't make it to my parents' trip to Valley Shepherd Creamery but my Dad sent me some pics of baby sheep, alpacas...

and some very nice looking wool.  I want to go back and take one of their cheesemaking classes!

At the end of the day there were some leftovers for me.

And my aunt brought me some pink pasta and a pink spatula she won at a raffle for Susan G. Komen for the Cure.  Wonder what I'll make with these...we'll see.

A Little Origami

My friend Tomoko brought me a fabulous gift from her last visit to Japan: a generous package of beautiful origami paper.

I love the colors and wish you could feel the textures.

There are even a few prints of little bunnies!

There's a section on origami in the Martha Stewart Encyclopedia of Crafts.  Did you make these little fortune tellers when you were little?  The pattern for the box is on her website

along with instructions for a quick placecard holder.

I can't imagine folding 1,000 paper cranes for a wedding despite the lovely symbolism.  Tomoko says in Japan they send them to someone who needs some cheering up.  Mila was skeptical:

but then curious

but leaned in for a little kiss anyway.

And I hung a few cranes on some quince branches for good luck I guess.

And then yesterday the porter at our kitchen made this elephant out of paper and masking tape!

And I saw this video of an elephant who speaks Korean.  Fun stuff, have a good day!