That’s why I’m so excited for The Urban Pantry to come out! This book by Seattle author and foodie Amy Pennington (also known as the “Go Go Green Gardener”) is destined to be loved and cherished by many urbanites who want “tips and recipes for a thrifty, sustainable and seasonal kitchen.” Heck, she could have just put my name on the cover with a big “BUY ME” sticker.

I got to take a sneak peek at the books contents (it will be in stores in April) and immediately added it to my Amazon wishlist. Pennington stresses the use of local and seasonal ingredients for the best meals, but it was her practical use of those pantry-lurkers that really brought me in. You know, the weird grain you bought for a 1/4 cup for a random recipe and the rest of it has been lurking on a shelf since then because, dang it, it cost like $10 and you can’t just THROW IT AWAY. Well Pennington likely has a recipe that uses it up. Along with some of those random spices that you accumulated. And she shares her tips for making sure you’re stocking your pantry with items you’ll actually use.

Sure, there were a few items I raised my eyebrows at (four kinds of flour, NOT including all-purpose?) but she follows up with great explanations of what each pantry-essential is used for and why. Do you know what kind of sugar is best for melting? Pennington does. And she has a recipe that will use it.

But this isn’t just a big shopping list (although she does have great time-saving tips like keeping a pound of bacon in the freezer for when you just need a bit for flavor, or keeping smoked fish on hand for when you are too busy to cook something BEFORE adding it to your pasta salad). She has a whole chapter on “kitchen economy” – using up the bits and pieces of every ingredient you buy. She also has great advice on how to properly store things like fresh herbs that might otherwise go to waste. And my favorite, a chapter on canning and preserving food, so the fresh strawberries you pick up this summer at the farmer’s market can still be enjoyed next December.

I can’t wait to get this book and read it front to back (even including the recipes and the gorgeous photography by Della Chen). This will really come in handy when we start harvesting from our little garden too! Interested? You can pre-order the book, or just wait for it to hit shelves this April.

Note: I did not receive any payment for this post or for links. I didn’t even get a free book. But if I do, I’ll be sure to get an extra one and definitely do a giveaway!

From isuwannee

From You Are My Fave Tumblr

From Book Lovers

Source unknown

From Homes & Gardens Magazine

Found in these fabulous places: I Suwannee, You Are My Fave Jr (Melanie‘s tumblr blog), Home and Garden Magazine via Brabourne Farm, Book Lovers.

Just finished flipping through my issue of Country Living that arrived today (I always do a good flip-through before settling into the articles I want to linger on) and just adored this photo of a simple bright kitchen. My favorite part? The antique cutting boards. I love how their warm patina looks against the stark white walls. Don’t they just make you want to whip out a loaf of oven-warm french bread and cut through it’s crustiness right then and there?

I may be waxing poetic about food because I also just finished watching the film “Julie and Julia” which is not only a very romantic love story about Julia Child and her husband Paul, but a love story about food. And of course, a story about blogging (although I slightly felt that it gave blogging a bad name). But the food… the food was to die for. Every pan and dish looked absolutely delicious. Meryl Streep said she gained 15 pounds during filming! Made me want to melt some butter just watching it.

Of course, since moving in together and really since the lay-off, Ryan has been the cook around here. Tuesday night he tried a pad thai recipe that I found on A Chow Life, another Seattle-based blog that is rather addicting and equally butter-melting tempting (seriously gorgeous pictures of food!). And we had our “first cooking disaster of 2010″ as Ryan has dubbed it. I think somehow the sauce got screwed up, like our tamarind wasn’t the same kind or something. The sauce was bitter. Or sour. Or something. We ended up making pizza.

But it got me thinking about it tonight, watching Julia Child suck it up chopping onions for the first time. And watching Julie Powell drop a whole stuffed chicken on the floor. Cooking is full of mistakes waiting to happen. You just have to pick up and move on. Dust that bird off and stick it in the oven, so to speak. Kind of the way life can be too. So we’re going to try the recipe again sometime, make a few tweaks, and experiment.

Today was just a cooking-themed day, I guess, because I also finished the book “Kitchen Confidential” by Anthony Bourdain. And let me tell you, the floor isn’t the only place that chicken has been. Yep, the one you just ordered for dinner. But Tony is another one of those people that loooooves food. And that butter-melting urge totally comes through in his writing. (Side note: I have a totally gross crush on Anthony Bourdain considering he is twice my age and the quintessential bad boy. But a guy that can cook, loves food, loves travel, and can WRITE? Call me, Tony!).

It’s been a tough week, heading back to work for my first “full” week since the holidays and since my “full” week turned into four days due to staff reductions. I am definitely not a morning person and my current commute requires that I be one. So I’ve been grumpy and not very productive. But nothing beats the nights that I come home, open the door while totally exhausted, and smell whatever wonderful concoction Ryan has going on in the kitchen. My favorite time of day is coming home.

What about you? What cooking experiences have you had lately? Do you wish you did it more? And have you ever made anything from Mastering the Art of French Cooking?

(If you haven’t had enough “Julie and Julia” lately, Design Sponge’s ‘Living In’ series just featured the same film! Check it out.)

So when I stumbled across Laurie Rubin’s portfolio and her gorgeous photos of book pages, I just had to share. And be sure to check out her site because there are many many more to be had.

In anycase, this post is about how Thursdays are a drag but I’m here to cheer you up with a few shots of our favorite, built-in bookshelves. You’re welcome.

 Built-ins are a regular obsession of mine. Read my first posts here, here, and here.

Photos from Elle Decor, Oliveaux, and domino (I found it at living the swell life).

Photo by Laurie Rubin

Head over to Sweetie Pie Pumpkin Noodle where Jackie picked my brain over what titles I’m dying to put on my shelves.

Have you read anything fabulous lately? Please share! I think next on my list is “Julie and Julia”.

Check back again later because I have more in store for you today!

Unrelated, but one of my fave photos from our Hawaii trip in 2006.

Readers,

How’s your week going? I’m getting sick   but I’ve also been reading a lot and getting my apartment in shape, so that’s good.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how I want my life to look when I am old and look back to reflect. And thinking about what in my life gives me joy currently. And it’s become abysmally clear that I want to be more creative.

Sure, blogging is creative and I love it (and you guys! Thanks SOOO much for reading and your sweet comments!). But I want to be more active with my hands. I want to try sewing and quilting and baking and gardening. I tried screenprinting and just want more (I need to take photos of what I made to show you!). I want to try glassblowing. I really want to get back into pottery (I used to be pretty good on the wheel). I’m brimming with inspiration and plans.

My obstacles are time, accessibility, and lack of focus. I can’t pick one thing to get started with. My evenings after work are taken up with dinner preparation, the occasional social outing, and blog stuff. I’m trying to save some money and don’t want to blow it on a hobby that I decide I don’t like in 6 weeks.

(I should say now that I am not planning to give up Magchunk at all! I don’t want you to think that’s where this is going!).

Basically I’m frustrated. I’m inspired but I don’t know where to start. I’m motivated but don’t have the skills, knowledge, or tools to move forward. I see before me this ideal of a life that I want but am not sure how to get.

How do you incorporate creativity into your life? Do you sew, or write poetry, or bake, or dance? Do you have to set aside time or does it fit in naturally? And what, in your opinion, should be my next hurdle? I look forward to reading your responses, so please comment (and delurk!) Lastly, would you be interested in reading a series on this topic (fitting creativity into your day to day life) and what would you want to hear?

P.S. The book discussion for “Tales of a Female Nomad” will be in one week, on the 1st of July! Even if you’ve only read a few chapters, I’d love for you to participate, so be sure to pick up a copy if you haven’t yet!

Hey everyone! Hope you had a great weekend. The weather was so nice here. Ryan and I had a great time wandering around Fremont and Wallingford on Saturday. The view of the city from Gasworks Park is so beautiful, and on a clear day like Saturday it’s absolutely spectacular (non-Seattlites would recognize this from “Ten Things I Hate About You” when they go paintballing. Not actually a paintball place, just a park).

I wanted to thank you all again for your book suggestions. I finally decided on Tales of a Female Nomad and put it on hold at the library a few days ago. This incredible woman has travelled all over the world, and she seems to have an uncanny knack for becoming part of the community wherever she goes. I’ve really been loving non-fiction lately and I love reading about other parts of the world, so I think this should be a hit. If you’d like to read with me and discuss when we’re done, I think this being the first of June is an excellent time to kick off a little “book club”. You may participate if you want but there’s no pressure. We’ll talk about the book the last few days of June and choose a new book for July.

I’m sure you could find the book at your library, or I’ve included an amazon link in the sidebar (full disclosure: I would make 4% of the sale of the book if you purchased it there.)

Happy reading!

Maggie

I’m a big reader (I think most of us who drool over bookshelves are). I’m looking for some new stuff to read. Lately if I’m at the bookstore I just end up wandering aimlessly and end up buying a calender or a magazine or something. Way too overwhelmed by all the choices and can’t seem to remember what I’ve heard of recently. I’ve been reading a LOT of non fiction lately, but am open to novels too.

I’m looking for a novel or travel memoir that lies somewhere between Under the Tuscan Sun, Eat, Pray, Love, and The Poisonwood Bible. Any other recommendations will also be taken!

Thanks a lot! I’ll let you know which one I choose to read first and maybe we can all read it. Sort of a casual magchunk book club….

xoxo Maggie

In the (non-fiction) book, Kingsolver and her family choose to eat only locally grown/produced food for one year (with only minor, inescapable exceptions like coffee, which they purchase free-trade). The family has relocated to a farm in Appalachia and conveniently is able to grow much of their food themselves (though she recognizes that this would be nearly impossible for an apartment dweller). The rest they get from their local farmers market and other local farmers and butchers.

As one of those apartment dwellers whose patio gets next to no sun, I didn’t expect to be told how to grow my own lettuce, asparagus, tomatoes, and raise turkeys. (Although as a former Little House on the Prairie disciple–books, not TV show–I rather hoped that I would). Instead, I gained a better understanding of seasonal growing, the importance of supporting local farmers, and the environmental impact of eating a tomato from South America.

I decided a year ago to become a vegetarian (technically a pescatarian, as I still eat fish and shellfish). For a while I cut milk too, but missed cheese too much. But I still abstained from pork, poultry, and beef. I did this out of concern for my part in the cruel treatment of factory-farmed meat animals, for my health and weight, and for my moral dilemma of eating food that I wouldn’t kill myself.

When Kingsolver’s oldest daughter was young, they drove past a meat farm. The horror of all the sad, cramped cows made Camille swear off factory-farmed meat, and the rest of the family decided to too, which at the time, meant swearing off meat. Where they lived there just weren’t other options. But with the increasing popularity of organic free-range meats (in light of the health issues and treatment), one has options for finding chemical/antibiotic/corn/torture free meat that’s raised locally.

For me the story of their search for meat was what really hit home. It’s easy enough for me to grab fresh fruit and veggies at a farmer’s market (and even eventually grow some in the garden), but accepting meat as a natural part of an omnivore’s diet is really important too.

So I had some chicken last night. Not a lot, but enough to really taste it and remember what I’ve been turning away for such a long time. I can’t lie–it wasn’t great chicken, and it was probably as factory-farmed as you can get. But I needed it as my stepping-stone back into the world of the omnivore.

I’m not going to vow to only eat locally or only eat organically, but I certainly have been inspired to try harder, make an effort, and see what happens. And I’ll take you along for the ride.