i always loved the book report assignments that called for a building a diorama. this little apple store diorama is super cute, i like looking at all the cutouts this person did to make it. and HEY what’s he trying to say about apple loyalists driving mini coopers? [guilty!] thanks gregory han & unplggd.com for the link.

food

[photos: lacucinaitalianamagazine.com]
one of my favorite cooking magazines, la cucina italiana has some great stories of italian food and recipes for all occasions. i tend to stick with desserts that are a bit tart and/or low in sugar, and this strawberries with zabaione sounds like a nice mix of fresh fruit, rich zabaione and a touch of balsamic vinegar. while i was digging around on their site, i saw this arrangement of bresaola and cucumber salad with a bit of pecorino and almonds. i love simple italian antipasti like this, a few ingredients to bring out the natural flavors of the food.

the mother’s day food articles have started up. if you’re the type to treat mom to breakfast in bed, epicurious.com has a rundown of mother’s day breakfasts in bed that even kids can make. you hear that dad & teenagers still living at home? momma loves you, and she’s hungry!

more on sustainable seafood, greenlagirl.com reports on greenpeace’s supermarket scorecard so you can support the store that gets high grades in sustainable seafood practices.

wine

[photo: wine producers]
i was recently in central valley wine country with some friends and we got to talking about how we’ve come to appreciate dessert wine, now that we know how to pick out what we like. and how timely, thekitchn.com has a great list of suggestions here: dessert wines for dessert week.

i like to make extracts, infusions and liqueurs at home, but i tend to avoid those with too much added sugar. this recipe for strawberry liqueur caught my eye because it uses only the natural sugar of the strawberries to sweeten it. strawberries are in season now, so if you are like me and probably can’t eat a whole flat in a week’s time, try out this preservation technique.

eco-awareness

[image: gregory han]
if you find yourself moving and still need more than your usual sources can supply, check out re-nest.com‘s suggestion to buy reused cardboard boxes from usedcardboardboxes.com.

another great re-nest.com find: the dba 98% biodegradable pen!