i’ve been playing around with farro lately, since it’s such a nice alternative to rice. i think it does particularly well as the bulk of a more pilaf-type salad, with fruit, nuts and greens all cut to similar sizes. i pulled this selection of seasonal flavors for a hearty late-fall farro salad.
farro pomegranate salad
1 cup farro
2 cups water
arils from 1 pomegranate
2 apples [i chose 1 fuji and 1 granny smith]
juice of 1 lime
6 roasted garlic cloves, mashed with a fork
2 tbs olive oil [i used garlic-infused canola oil]
1/4 cup italian parsley, chopped
1/4 cup sliced toasted almonds
1 handful arugula leaves, chopped
1 tbsp lemon zest, minced
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
salt & pepper to taste
cook the farro in 2 cups of salted water until water boils away and farro is al dente. cut apart the pomegranate and collect all the seeds. chop apples, collecting pieces in a bowl, and sprinkle with lime juice.
place the farro in a large mixing bowl. add the mashed garlic cloves and oil, parsley, almonds, arugula, lemon zest and parmesan cheese and mix well to incorporate. fold in the apples and pomegranate arils and mix gently to incorporate. salt and pepper to taste. serve warm or chilled.
with thanksgiving around the corner, you might want to start giving thanks to family, friends and clients. craft magazine has a nice write-up on these letterpress fill-in thanksgiving cards.
it’s a bird! it’s a plate! it’s green beans & gravy! its … the parlato design seasonal eats recipe guide, to infuse local, seasonal & healthy flavor into your thanksgiving meal this year!
some of you know, and some of you don’t, but i love cooking and experimenting in the kitchen. i also love writing, and decided to combine these two activities into something called seasonal eats for LAist for the past year.
as a way of saying thanks for reading, thanks for being awesome clients, or just thanks for being you, my way of giving back this year is to give you 9 local, seasonal, healthy recipes that are easy, fun and don’t require a million ingredients in a quickie accordion-folio format you can reference in the kitchen, hang on the refrigerator, or tuck into your recipe box. and if you’re looking for pictures, more complete instructions, vegan adaptations or flavor alternatives, i’ll be blogging about each of these recipes in the weeks leading up to thanksgiving under the tag thanksgiving2011.
i’ll be offering a FREE copy to anyone who sends me a personal request through my contact page through november 7, 2011 [that’s a note from the contact form that i recieve by 11:59pm, monday, november 7, 2011]. you’ll get yours hot off the press & in the mail as soon as i get them. aside from anything else you might want to write, make sure to say you’re requesting the recipe guide, and send your mailing address! after november 7, 2011, they’ll be available for purchase for $5/each in the store.
i love this 2-color, natural paper, downright stampy look for yes taco, profiled recently on art of the menu.
typography
theo inglis / the new york postcard project, image: designworklife.com
i’ve said this before, but it bears repeating, especially since people keep doing it: i love maps, and i love typography, and i REALLY love it when designers make typographic maps. thanks to designworklife.com for profiling theo inglis’ new york postcard project.
food
ripe feijoas
you may not recognize these right away if you don’t already have a tree growing in your yard, but feijoas are a delicious late summer guava that can add a lovely balance of sweetness and tartness to your life. check out seasonal eats: feijoas are falling from the trees!
if you’re not reading this right now today, maybe you didn’t know it’s raining. only today. very soon it will be back to sunny weather. but if you want to have some rainy day funtimes, pick one of these soups to warm your kitchen tonight: 10 simple soups for the start of the fall season
my final post for LAist’s park-a-day project is a showcase of the LA river greenway project, beautifying green spaces along the LA river one pocket park at a time. here are my favorites from walking along the LA river. read more on LAist!
the heron gates at rattlesnake parklooking south through rattlesnake parklooking at the LA river northwest from fletcher bridgea lovely rest spot: a raised bench surrounded by native plants and flowers (the fence behind it was covered with grape vines)cyclists take a break in the shade at one of the riverside benchesthe conservation corps was on site today, conservatin'greenery in the glendale narrows of the LA riverstill waters and greenery of the glendale narrowsstone steps and benches in the steelhead park ampitheateroso park bear statuelooking northwest into egret parka blue heron's wingspan caught my eye as he came in for a landing. he must be 4 feet tall!a trio of roosters show me their fancy feathersa group of spotted hens among the flock of backyard chickens that ran to the fence to see if i had treats for them
As part of the ongoing park a day project for LAist, here are some of my favorite photos from elysian park. many were taken this morning, though some at the bottom are from last spring. read more on LAist!
family picnic area at elysian parklooking toward chavez ravine arboretum in elysian parkangel's point at elysian parkthe park at angel's point in elysian parka vast lawn & picnic area at solano canyon drive in elysian parkthe garden at buena vista park in elysian parkinterpretive exhibit at buena vista in elysian parkhiking the portola trail, springtime 2010mustard blossoms and boulders along the portola trailacacia blossoms in elysian park
i’ve been experimenting with some old-timey recipes for BBQ sauce from back when it was made with mostly fruit. one caveat is, i’m trying to eliminate the sugar, so while old-timey stuff definitely had molasses, honey or sugar of some kind, i want to be able to slather with impunity, so i’m trying to limit the sugar to only that which can be found in summer stone fruits.
getting started with BBQ sauce ingredients
this week i worked with plums. one sauce is tomato-based, and one is just plums and a bunch of seasonings. do they taste just like store-bought sauce? kansas city? smokehouse? not really, but they do have a delicious, fruity, balsamic taste of their own, and i’m going to keep working on them.
seasoned plum and tomato plum barbecue sauces, puréed & bottled
plum & tomato barbecue sauce
1 medium onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, crushed
14 oz canned tomato, crushed – or diced fresh
4 plums, chopped coarse
4 tbs balsamic vineager
1 tb canola oil
1 tb dijon mustard
1 tsp ground pepper
hot sauce (optional—i used my homemade 3-alarm sauce from last summer)
sauté onion in a heavy saucepan with canola oil and 1 tb of balsamic vinegar, 5 minutes. add crushed garlic and canned tomato and bring to a simmer over medium heat as you work with the plums.
cut plums around the seam, separate from the stone and chop close to 1/4″ dice over a plate to reserve any juice [here’s a quick demo on how to cut stone fruit. optional idea: halve the plums, toss with oil and balsamic vinegar and grill over a barbecue with hickory chips added, to get that smoky flavor [i’m trying this next time].
add plums, 3 tbs balsamic vinegar, dijon mustard, ground pepper, and hot sauce (if you’re using it), to the saucepan, stir and bring to a simmer. cover and simmer on low 50 min.
let sauce cool in the pan. bottle it chunky, or purée until smooth if desired.
sauté onion in a heavy saucepan with canola oil and white wine vinegar, 5 minutes. cut plums around the seam, separate from the stone and chop close to 1/4″ dice over a plate to reserve any juice.
add diced plums and garlic to the saucepan, cover and simmer over medium-low heat, 50 minutes. when fruit is falling apart, turn off heat and add all remaining ingredients, stir to mix well, and let cool.
bottle it up chunky, or purée until smooth if desired.
it’s another week in july, which means another park for a park a day on LAist. here are some photos from my favorite lunchtime getaway parks when i worked in pasadena. read more on LAist!
eaton sunnyslope park
eaton sunnyslope park signopen green space at eaton sunnyslope park, surrounded by pine treesmy favorite lunch spot at eaton sunnyslope parkbird house built for resident western bluebirds in eaton sunnyslope parkeaton sunnyslope park's adjacent arroyo with a view of henninger flats
gwinn park
gwinn park signfavorite tree to climb in gwinn parkshade under the big oak tree in gwinn parkpretty flowering tree in gwinn parkgwinn park huggins grove memorial stone
parlato design studio 