Forage

One of the things I love about living in the Bay Area is all of the cool things everyone is working on. I feel like every other day a friend tells me about an amazing project they are starting or working on. It's exciting to continually have so many inspiring people around me. That's how I felt recently when my friend Emily La Fave launched her new venture, Forage. A new spin on meal planning, Forage delivers all the ingredients you need to recreate some of your favorite restaurant dishes from famed restaurants such as Hapa Ramen, Dosa and Alta CA. I've been trying it out for a few weeks and it's been super nice to have a gourmet way to speed up making dinner on those nights when things are hectic.

New Rue + Rue Cooks Feature

Once again it's launch day for the newest Rue Magazine. This month the entire issue is devoted to weddings and entertaining, so you'll find endless inspiration for all your summer soiree's. I also got to team up again with my friend and amazing photographer Eva Kolenko on this months' Rue Cooks. We decided to make a strawberry galette with vodka lemonade, perfect for a summer picnic. It turned out delicious as you can see below. (to see more and get the recipe visit Rue Magazine)

Oakland Guide on SF Girl by Bay

If you follow me on instagram you probably know I'm having a little bit of a love affair with my adopted city, Oakland. So I was beyond thrilled to be able to contribute an Oakland guide to one of my favorite blogs, Sf Girl by Bay this week. If you missed it read the entire post here. I want to thank Victoria again for having me, it was so much fun to be able to share all my local favorites.

New Rue + Rue Cooks Feature

Hooray! Today is the launch of Rue's first ever Pacific Northwest issue. The day an issue launches is always an rewarding one but this time I'm extra excited because I got to team up with the amazing Eva Kolenko on our Rue Cooks feature this month. Below are a few outtakes from our fun day making bagels and lox. Make sure to read the issue to see the whole story and get the recipe.

Rue Daily Launch

For those of you waiting with bated breathe after last weeks teaser. This week after many hours and late nights we launched Rue Daily. Where you can find all the great content you've come to expect from Rue Magazine but on a daily basis!! This recipe for Espresso and Walnut Dar Chocolate Cake by Jennifer Martiné  is just one example of the great features to come. Enjoy!

smart car advent calendar

I always love seeing brands try something new or interesting when promoting their products and that's exactly what smart car is doing this holiday season with their Holiday advent calendar. In colloboration with famed food photographer René Riis they created 24 traditional holiday meals from around the globe with their logo hidden within. Such a fun idea and I especially loved Portugal's meal (seen below)

sponsored by smart car

Favorite Food Blogs

With Christmas fast approaching and recipe inspiration needed I thought it would be a perfect time to share a few of my favorite recipe and food blogs. This is an update to the list I created a couple of years ago, which I highly recommend checking out as well since I still frequent those I previously mentioned.

You can not visit What Katie Ate without salivating. The photography is stunning the recipes scrumptious and if you become as obsessed as I do with her site you're in luck because she just came out with her first cookbook, found here.

Love and Lemons is another tantalizing blog with top notch photography, I could browse this site by Austin based couple Jeanine and Jack for hours.

Admittedly Sweet Paul is much more then a food blog, with everything from DIY's to entertaining tips it provides everything. But it's recipe and food related content can't be missed. They also have some of my favorite food related Pinterest boards, which of course makes me love them even more.

Roost another blog that will take your breath away with it's styling and photography. It will definitely inspire you to stretch your abilities when cooking, which I love.

Last Minute Thanksgiving Sides

Happy day before Thanksgiving! This is one of my favorite holidays mostly because it's all about the food :) And for those of you who are cooking the big meal tomorrow I thought I would share some last minute sides recipes that I've been thinking of making. I know it's super last minute but this post is for the procrastinators out there. Enjoy!! Links: 1. Roasted Winter Squash Salad with Goat Cheese via Gourmande in the Kitchen 2. Crispy Skin Salad with Buttermilk Dressing from Sweet Paul Magazine 3. Wild Mushroom Tart via Bijouxs.

Rue Cooks with Central Kitchen

As many of you already know, last week was the launch of our Fall issue over at Rue Magazine. I loved working on this issue, and it's been great hearing back from so many of our readers, saying how much they loved it as well. So I thought I would share one of my favorite stories from this issue. When we got the images in for the Rue Cooks feature I was blown away. We visited the innovative and popular, Central Kitchen, which is located right here in San Francisco. The perfectly paired smoked trout and chopped beet salad looked irresistible, especially as photographed in their beautiful restaurant by the super talented Edyta Szyszlo. Make sure to check out the entire story at ruemag.com pg. 68.

Guest Post: Vanessa's Honey Lavender Ice Cream Recipe

Hi everyone! I'm Vanessa from www.vanessacorrea.com and I’m thrilled to be guest blogging over here at Design Conundrum today! If I’m counting correctly, I think Maia has but 24 hours to go before she’s a married woman…congratulations Maia!

Even though the weather is starting to feel a bit autumnal, lately my husband has been cranking up the ice cream maker. There’s no explaining it, really, but perhaps the recent snap of Indian summer around the Bay Area inspired him to take one last dip into warm weather fare. Since we both think Provence, and its flavors, are the bees knees, the last batch of ice cream at our house was a pretty sensational honey lavender. Keeping the lavender in the custard for several hours plus using a high-quality raw honey are critical for the best flavor. The result is a little bit of the south of France in your bowl while you’re enjoying the last days of sunny warmth.

We used Jeni Britton Bauer’s method as a guide, to create a new, non-Jeni flavor….enjoy!

Honey-Lavender ice cream 1 TBSP and 1 tsp of cornstarch
2 cups milk
1 ¼ cup heavy cream
2/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 TBSP of light corn syrup
¼ cup raw sage honey
2TBSP of dried lavender flowers
1 1/2 oz. cream cheese softened in a medium size bowl (we like Sierra Nevada)
1/8 tsp. salt (grey sea salt is our choice here)

Mix the corn starch with 2 TBSP of the milk to create a “slurry”. Bring the milk, cream, sugar and light corn syrup to a soft boil until the sugar is dissolved (2-3 minutes after boil is reached.) To this, add the honey and the lavender flowers. Stir to combine. Take off the heat and whisk in the slurry. Return to heat and bring it to a boil until it thickens (about 2-4 minutes).

With the cream cheese in a heat-proof bowl, add the milk a little at a time, until the cream cheese is fully integrated. Stir salt into the custard.

Cool the custard in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours. Remove custard from refrigerator and push the mixture through a strainer to remove the lavender flowers. Put mixture into your ice creamer maker and follow the instructions for churning.

Bon Appetit!

Guest Post: Colleen's French Tomato Tart

Hi there! I'm Colleen from the blog Inspired to Share, and I'm so honored to be on Maia's blog while she's off getting married! Congratulations, Maia! Since Maia and I are both foodies at heart, I thought it would be fitting to share a recipe. :) Food has a beautiful way of bringing people together and cooking has become one of the favorite ways for my husband and I to spend quality time together. Whatever your skills might be in the kitchen (I'll be the first to admit that my husband is a much better cook than me!), it's such a fun way to enjoy marriage and have fun together.

We recently got a huge basket of tomatoes from my mother-in-law's gardens and I wanted to do something fun and different with them, beyond the typical spaghetti sauce. I decided to try making a tomato tart! It's a delicious French recipe that's both simple and flavorful. Anything with goat cheese is a win in my book, and this is also a great way to use up fresh herbs! This French tomato tart is a vegetarian recipe that's delicious for breakfast or dinner!

French Tomato Tart (adapted from this NY Times recipe)

Ingredients
1 yeasted olive oil pastry (1/2 recipe)*
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 1/2 pounds ripe tomatoes
1/2 cup red onion, chopped
1/2 cup bell peppers, chopped
Salt and freshly ground pepper
3 tablespoons chopped fresh herbs combination (parsley, thyme, & basil were my favorite!)
2 eggs
4 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

*Tip to save time: I made the crust a day ahead and froze it. Then when you're getting ready to cook, thaw the dough and roll flat.

Directions


1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Oil a 10-inch tart pan and line it with the pastry. Keep in the refrigerator while you prepare the filling.

2. Brush the mustard over the bottom of the dough. Slice the tomatoes and arrange over the mustard in concentric circles, overlapping them slightly and filling the pie about 2/3 full. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and herbs. Then add chopped peppers and onions.

3. Beat together the eggs and goat cheese. Season with salt and pepper and pour over the tomatoes. Drizzle on the olive oil. Place in the oven and bake 35 to 45 minutes, until the top is nicely browned. Remove from the heat and allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving. Serve hot, warm or at room temperature.

Enjoy! :)

Pinning this Week: Chocolate

Pinterest is my favorite place to notice and compile themes or trends that are catching my eye. And I wanted to share my favorite finds here. This week Travis and I have been doing cake tastings for the wedding so it's understandable that I have chocolate on my mind. These are just a few of the ridiculously decadent treats I've been pinning on my dessert board. 1. Nutella Frangelico Ice Cream Sandwiches via Buttercream Blondie 2. Snickers Brownie Bites via My Baking Addiction 3. Dark Chocolate Caramel Truffles with Fleur-de-Sel via Portuguese Girl Cooks 4. S'mores via Minimally Invasive.

Summer Soups

Soup is often relegated to the fall and winter months where it provides a comforting warmth like nothing else. But I've recently been noticing more summery soup recipes on my favorite food blogs and I love the idea of a delicious, refreshing bowl of soup on a sunny summer day. Below are few of my favorite finds, also see more of my favorite soup recipes here. links below images

1. Thai Clam Chowder via Tartine & Apron Strings 2. Watermelon, tomato and almond gazpacho via Canelle et Vanille 3. Avocado Soup via Green Kitchen Stories 

Rue Launch

I'm so excited for the Launch of Rue's August issue today! It was a lot of hard work but I think it turned out really well and I can't wait for you all to see it and read it. Below are just a few of my favorite images from this issue, but I could have posted a gazillion more. So go check it out :)

4th of July Recipe Inspiration

Happy Independence Day everyone! I wanted to share some last minute 4th of July recipe ideas with you all. I love holidays where I get to plan a fun meal and hang out with family. 4th of July is extra special in our house because it's also Travis' birthday! So maybe some cupcakes are needed. Also I won't be posting to the blog tomorrow but I will be back to regular posting on Thursday. (links below images)

1. Peach & Rosemary Fizz via A Merry Mishap
2. Sauteed Chard & Gruyere Grilled Cheese via Sprouted Kitchen
3. Nectarine & Fennel Salad via Sprouted Kitchen
4. Smashed Berry-Lime-Coconut Yogurt Ice Pops via Desserts for Breakfast

Dreaming of Salad

This week I decided to do a 3 day juice cleanse, which with the help of my new juicer has been surprisingly delicious, but I'm not going to lie I am super excited to eat solid food tomorrow. And since tomorrow is my transition day all I can think about are the delicious salad combinations I will be devouring. Below is some inspiration, aren't they pretty? see more here.

Taco Party Time

I'm embarrassed to admit I spend far too many of my meals in front of my computer. So when I saw this taco party menu at Bon Appétit I thought it was such a perfect and delicious excuse to step away from work and enjoy food and friends. recipe here.

Simple Eats: Homemade Quick Pickles

Maybe it's my Scandinavian roots but I'm kind've a pickle fiend. If a menu has the mention of anything pickled on it, I'm pretty much guaranteed to order it. So it might come as a surprise that I have very little experience making them at home. So this past weekend I decided to start simple and try my hand at this recipe from Country Living for overnight quick sweet pickles. And it turned out a success, they were quick, easy and of course super delicious. Enjoy!

Simple Eats: Classic BLT

One of my favorite quick and simple meals is just a classic BLT. Sometimes sticking to the basics yields the best results in my opinion. And really there is a reason why people don't often mess with the BLT, I mean the combination of thick cut bacon, juicy tomatoes, crisp lettuce and a smear of mayo is hard to beat. Just remember to use the best ingredients you can find so every item really sings. Mmmmm, now I'm hungry :)

Ingredients:
Thick Cut Bacon - I like to get the peppered bacon because I like my BLT's really peppery.
Lettuce - A crunchy romaine
Tomato - A really beautiful heirloom or vine ripened tomato is best.
Mayo - A nice way to change things up is to experiment wit your mayo, try adding garlic, rooster sauce or fresh basil
Bread - I think sourdough, lightly toasted is best.
Compile and enjoy!!