back when we finally got our first big bounty of loquats from our rehabilitated trees, i researched loquats and found that one traditional use for the leaves was in tea for treating sore throats. at the time, i chose some nice, young, unblemished leaves and hung them to dry in the kitchen, eventually folding them into a jar for storage.
i have been feeling a sore throat coming on, and i’m all out of slippery elm bark [another sore throat remedy] so i thought i’d try it out. since i’m not sure what the flavor of these leaves is like, i figured i’d mix it up with some other under-the-weather tea herbs. i’m surprised how much of these were not bought. we have lemon verbena growing in a pot, but i did go out foraging for fresh, clean eucalyptus leaves in the park, and i’ve been chopping up all my orange peels and drying them in the oven.
loquat leaf tea: a sore throat remedy
3 large dried loquat leaves, crumbled
3 large dried eucalyptus leaves, crumbled
1 tb chopped ginger
1 tb dried orange peel
1 tb dried lemon verbena leaves
1 tb dried mint leaves
4 tsp raw honey
zest and juice of 1 lemon
place in a teapot and pour about a quart of hot water over all the dried herbs, ginger and lemon zest [a tea press works well for this]. let steep about 5 minutes. pour into a mug and stir in 1 tsp raw honey for each cup. slice the lemon crosswise in half, and then lengthwise into quarters. squeeze 1/4 lemon into each cup.
a 3-pack of strawberries fresh from the farmer's market.
with the coming of spring, strawberries have started to appear at farmer’s markets, and they’re finally looking ripe enough to buy. i bought my first 3-pack this weekend with the intention of making another batch of strawberry liqueur, based on this recipe.
removing the strawberry stem.
normally i’m an all-fruit-in kind of person, but when making infusions, i try to remove any green parts from fruit so it doesn’t affect the flavor. when preparing strawberries for a maceration infusion, half them lengthwise, and then use a pointed knife to cut a small trangle around the stem to remove it.
strawberries are quartered lengthwise and then cross cut for maximum surface area in the infusion.
to maximize surface area and penetrability, cut the halves lengthwise again, and cross cut the quarters into thin slices. much of the fruit will dissolve into a heavenly strawberry syrup, releasing both flavor and sugar in the process. for this reason, there is no need to add sugar to a strawberry liqueur, the alcohol works with the fruit to give you a finished product in just a few days.
strawberries set to infuse for 36 hours.
i took this right after i poured in the vodka, but over the next couple days, swirling the infusion should reveal a deep pink tint to the liquid. after 2-3 days, the fruit will be soft, at which point it’s time to strain off the vodka and wrap the pulp in cheese cloth to squeeze out the syrup. then just bottle it up and enjoy! i like this liqueur over soda and ice with a twist of lemon, lime, orange—whatever’s in season.
strawberry liqueur
1 3-pack of mini-crates of strawberries
2 liter bottles vodka
1 lemon
2 half-gallon, wide-mouth jars
cut strawberries in half lengthwise, pare out the stem at the top, then quarter lengthwise again and cross-cut into small pieces for maximum surface area. distribute cut strawberries evenly between the 2 jars.
zest the lemon, mince the zest, and sprinkle equal amounts into each jar. toss strawberries and zest to mix evenly. roll the lemon on the counter to break some of the inner membranes holding juice, then slice the lemon as thinly as possible, and put equal amounts in each jar.
pour one bottle of vodka into each jar, swirl to mix, cap and store in the pantry 48 – 36 hours, swirling periodically to mix. test the fruit with a spoon, when it is soft, strain off the vodka and collect the strawberry pulp in cheesecloth and squeeze (twisting the top against the fruit helps) to extract all the macerated strawberry syrup. bottle and store up to 1 year.
a reform school filled with avid food traders. image: gregory han
this past weekend, my friend, writer & sustainable food business strategist, emily ho organized the first LA food swap, calling for home-cooks, preservers and general diy-foodie-types to bring their artisanal wares to a small, informal food trading event. i have been wanting to do something like this for awhile, but never got to organizing, so i’m really glad she made it happen.
my offerings at the LA food swap: garlic confit, mixed citrus marmalade, dandelion vodka, blood orange / lemon verbena vodka
when i first heard about the event, i researched a few seasonal preparations and got to work on the ones that would need the most time, namely the vodka infusions. i took a long walk foraging hundreds of dandelions for a 3-week infusion that turned out quite nicely [though it was hard to tell along the way]. i had been curious about this slow-cooked marmalade, so i decided to modify it by using a mix of citrus: cara cara, navel and blood oranges, meyer lemons and pink grapefruit. finally, i made something i always have on standby, garlic confit.
emily made some deliciously deep red beet fettucini, an dried & ground mandarin zest seasoning, and foraged pink peppercorns. this is just one example of the great ideas you get at a food swap—of all the things i’ve been doing with citrus peels, drying & grinding them into powder hadn’t occurred to me [though i do stick the dried zest in a pepper mix and throw it in a mill]. wonderful!
marmalades, chocolates, lemonades, arancelli, and extracts!
just a sample of what some of the many table and benches looked like. i was lucky enough to entice 2 food traders into awarding me with a bottle of that arancello, the rosemary lemonade concentrate, and yonder at the end of the table, some lemons & grapefruit.
a group shot of all my new friends
so, here’s what it comes down to. i arrived with 11 jars of confit, 12 jars of marmalade, 2 jars of blood orange / verbena vodka & 3 jars of dandelion vodka. i traded them for [left to right] a bottle of arancello, garlic bread, a jar of pickled carrots & jalapeños, rangpur lime marmalade, pickled multicolored heirloom carrots, 2 lemons, strawberry-grapefruit marmalade, 3 avocados, peach marmalade, a grapefruit / fennel tincture, a jar of cherries, lemon curd, beet fettucini, spicy salsa, brown butter cookies, lavendar oatmeal scrub, 4 cheese & artichoke biscuits, rosemary lemonade concentrate, and 3 oro blanco grapefruits. not included in this photo are a few arugula plants, quince, lemon rosemary cupcakes and a bowl of foraged herbs, basically the leftovers of what we had that we traded in order not to take our own items home.
beyond all this food stuff, i got to meet some really nice people who value food traditions and want to connect over it, which has been wonderful. everyone repeatedly asked when we’d be doing it again, and the tweets following the event were full of excitement about using new food items. to see more photos and get the official word, visit LA food swap & sign up for emails on the next swap. let’s keep this event full of great people, energy and ideas! in the meantime, enjoy their official write-up: our first food swap, or my own recap at LAist: an old-fashioned good time: the 1st ever LA food swap.
a couple weeks ago, i spent a warm pre-spring afternoon foraging for dandelions. i just heard that my friend, emily, had set up the first LA food swap and i immediately signed up, planning out a few seasonal food projects i could share and trade with others. a recipe for dandelion jelly i found last year made me think i should try some kind of dandelion infusion, so i set out with my scissors and a cloth bag and got to collecting.
once i got home, i cut the base of each flower off, and separated the petal cluster from the surrounding leaves, and dropped each into a jar. as i worked, i noticed that dandelions have a scent that somewhat resembles banana, which made me wonder just what flavors will bloom in this process.
it’s been about 2 of the 3 suggested weeks, and the flavor has developed, though i’m not sure what it’s developed into. it has a very interesting floral flavor, which has been aided in part by the addition of some honey. another week should do it, then i’ll thin it out with some soda and find out what we’re dealing with here.
some other infusions i’m experimenting with include blood orange, which is outstanding, and has the distinct flavor of blood oranges, rather than just a general orange flavor. i’m also working with lemon verbena, which has just grown several shocks of fresh leaves. this extraction is very flavorful and should make some fantastic cocktails. finally, i’ve had lemongrass infusing for 2 weeks, and while it finally has some color, i’m not sure the flavor is anywhere near what i’d expect of lemongrass. perhaps this would be better as a simple syrup. i’ll give it another week, but i’m not sure alcoholic infusion is its best use.
my confirmed contributions to the LA food swap is a chunky, slow-cooked, mixed citrus marmalade [including navel, cara cara and blood oranges, meyer lemons and pink grapefruit], and garlic confit [slow simmered garlic cloves in canola oil for all kinds of savory uses]. if the dandelion liqueur works out, i’ll bring some bottles to trade, or make a mix of the well-matched successful infusions. and if i think of something else to make, i’ll try it out, but so far that’s all i’ve got.
i actually did sing the happy mondays at karaoke this weekend, and it pretty much sounded just how i remember the 90s roadtrips with jenna to san francisco. i’m going to this awesome delab tour tonight, but otherwise working and meeing with various aiga committees tonight.
something to get you rockin on the last week of the year.
packaging
[image: loyal luxe]
if you have cats, then you know that as soon as a box is around, they’re inside it. these little cat houses & cabins are so cute, i think mine would have a ball playing in them.
something we don’t talk about enough in packaging, however, is waste, and i think marian bantjes’ piece for design observer explains my wrap rage really well: plastics: an apoplexy.
wine
[image: thedieline.com]
sometime in september, i was up in san francisco, walking home from dinner on my cell phone, when i dropped into a liquor store to buy a bottle of wine. distracted by my call and less familiar with napa wine than most points south, i scanned the shelf forever and then decided that this fascinating label for bear flag wine had to be a sign. i bought it, i drank it, i planned to photograph it, but i didn’t, and then i took home the empty bottle, and it sat on a shelf for 2 weeks, when i finally decided i would just let it go. but then—here it is on the dieline, and it reminded me, it was an awesome piece of illustration & package planning. the bear flag site is pretty awesome as well, and i give them a pass on using flash, because they’re using it well.
typography
[image: thedieline.com]
you probably think you don’t need this serif bag, but face it, you probably do. profiled on thedieline.com.
this week’s post for LAist doubly surprised me, for one because people seem to really like fennel more than i thought, and for another, i didn’t get ANY anchovy hate! seasonal eats: root-to-flower fun with fennel.
[image: designworklife]
i’m loving these wine country travel posters by hatch for the sf moma wine exhibit, available for sale in the museum store. thanks designworklife for the link.
if you’re not into holiday cards but don’t want to miss the opportunity to connect with your clients & vendors, consider a transition to new year’s cards, alisa tells you how: do you have your new year’s cards ready?
beyond design
[image: craft magazine]
the holiday how-tos are rolling in these days, i thought this paper holiday star was particularly cute, and something we could all probably do with some of the paper we’d normally throw into the recycling bin. decorate with it for a few weeks!
if you like baking cookies for the holidays, saveur compiled their 20 best holiday cookie recipes, and boy are they cute!
want answers to all your design questions from a design master? logodesignlove.com brings you an interview with sagi haviv.
if you’re inspired by these sneak peeks and want to make some of your own great ideas happen, smashing magazine wants that for you too: how to make innovative ideas happen.
have a presentation coming up? are you nervous about making sure everyone’s into it rather than bored—or worse yet, tweeting about boredom [because that doesn’t get anyone unfollowed]? run through this guide to captivating presentations on slideshare: steal this presentation
i don’t know that i’ve ever experienced the feeling of apple overwhelm, but if you have “too many” and you want to try to hide them in places like salsa, serious eats has a suggestion for you: apple salsa fruits serious heat.
[image: kelli anderson]
since the pixies are near & dear to my heart, i’m doubly endeared to this identity system by kelli anderson for dig for fire. thanks to designworklife.com for the link.
packaging
[image: likecool.com]
check out this awesome juice box packaging by yunyeen yong. seems like an obvious choice, but i’ve mostly seen only square boxes and bottles in the past. thanks alltop for the link.
design industry
another strike against the print is dead choir: a new design magazine 8 faces is out, a new print magazine for devotees of typography. profiled at underconsideration.com.
beyond design
[image: serious eats]
add some delicious scallops to your heirloom tomatoes with sea scallops a la caprese from serious eats. or try a couple fun fall cocktails for the gin drinkers out there: an orange rosemary concoction sorbo serpico, or proserpina if you’re feeling more pomegranate / limoncello, both from lacucinaitalianamagazine.com.
for a fascinating take on creative ways to deal with invasive plants by finding uses for them, turn to one for the herbivores, from utne reader. want to rid your landscape of kudzu? eat it!
parlato design studio 