Entertaining for Lunch

Split Pea Soup

Last week, Dan and I took a full week off of work and decided to enjoy our home and stay in Brooklyn. We soaked up every moment of being at home together, including being able to invite friends with non-traditional work schedules over for lunch on a weekday. One rainy Tuesday afternoon, we enjoyed the company of a dear friend and filled our bellies with split pea soup and salad spring mix with mustard dill vinaigrette.

The inspiration for this meal came from my Swedish background, as I garnered little answer from my husband when I asked, “what does one serve for lunch?” We could only come up with eggy, brunchy dishes that just didn’t seem appropriate on a weekday, knowing that our friend would already have enjoyed his morning coffee and cereal. Let’s face it, Americans are generally terrible about lunch. We rarely pause for a meal in the afternoon, but rather grab something quick on the go to sustain us during our workday. We’re really good at late brunches on the weekends, and large, rich dinners in the evenings. So on this day off, when so many people are scurrying around in the office, there’s something so wonderful about a hot lunch.

The Swedes are known for taking several breaks throughout the day for coffee and pastry (this break, lovingly named “fika,” can be enjoyed any number of times between meals) and also breaking for lunch. Most restaurants and cafeterias offer “Dagens Lunch” or Lunch of the Day, consisting of a small helping of bread, salad, a drink and a main course. The institution of “Dagens Lunch” began as a product of the Socialist mindset, providing an affordable meal for the working force. Wanting to serve a hearty soup, I turned to the traditional Thursday lunch, pea soup and pancakes. Thursdays are the one day in the “Dagens Lunch” schedule that remain the same all year round, throughout every restaurant and household in Sweden. Though the combination may seem strange, this heavy lunch is comforting part of social life. The pea soup is generally made with yellow peas and ham, seasoned with thyme, and served with a dollop of mustard. It is typically eaten with crisp bread and served with a side of traditional Swedish pancakes (thin crepes topped with lingon berry jam and whipped cream). Why this “strange” tradition? It is said to have originated as a Thursday meal in preparation for Friday’s lenten fasts. So in celebration of Holy Week, we served up our own, not-so “strange” rendition of this traditional lenten meal, but chose to forgo the pancakes and serve with homemade parmesan croutons instead, for a crunchy salty flavor. Enjoy!

PARKER’S SPLIT PEA SOUP by Ina Garten

2 CUPS chopped yellow onions (about 2)

1 TBSP minced garlic (3 cloves)

¼ CUP olive oil

1 TSP dried oregano

1 TBSP kosher salt

2 TSP freshly ground black pepper

4 CUPS medium-diced carrots (6 to 8 carrots)

2 CUPS medium-diced red boiling potatoes, unpeeled (6 small)

2 LBS dried split green peas

16 CUPS chicken stock or water (note from AB: I used a mix of both)

In an 8-quart stockpot on medium heat, sauté the onions and garlic with the olive oil, oregano, salt, and pepper until the onions are translucent, 10 to 15 minutes. Add the carrots, potatoes, 1 ½ pounds of split peas, and chicken stock. Bring to a boil, then simmer uncovered for 40 minutes. Skim off the foam while cooking. Add the remaining split peas and continue to simmer for another 40 minutes, or until all the peas are soft. Stir frequently to keep the solids from burning on the bottom. Taste for salt and pepper. Serve hot.

A note from AB: If serving this again, I would choose to add a small side of cured ham.

PARMESAN CROUTONS by Ina Garten

1 baguette

¼ CUP olive oil

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

¾ CUP freshly shredded parmesan cheese (3 ounces)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Slice the baguette diagonally into ¼-inch-thick slices. Lay the slices in one layer on a baking sheet and brush each with olive oil and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with shredded Parmesan. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until they are browned and crisp. Serve at room temperature.

The refrigerator: Rethinking the way we store our food.

My refrigerator before it's overhaul. One embarrassing, jumbled mess of food.

About a year ago, I was wrapping up a season of unemployment. It had been a long and lonely winter in which I struggled to find a place of significance for myself outside of the office. Eventually, I jumped off the sofa and dove into my kitchen, exploring avenues of culinary and domestic wonder. Looking back, I miss those long afternoons of bread baking, punching and kneading dough between sending out resumes and cover letters. I remember one day when I was feeling particularly uninspired. What should I cook for dinner? I opened the refrigerator and the jumbled mess in front of me only made me want to shut the door and call for takeout. I couldn’t see everything that I had in there! It was time to take inventory. After pulling a forgotten cucumber out of the bottom of the veggie drawer, overly aged cheese out of the cheese drawer, and not-so-fresh herbs I didn’t even know I had out of the back of the fridge, I knew I needed to change this wasteful way of shoving food wherever it fit. It donned on me that day that in the art of cooking the medium from which I draw my creativity should inspire and encourage the art. As a painter’s palette shows the painter the colors available to them and helps the artist draw from those colors to create new colors, so the refrigerator can be an impetus for displaying ingredients and inspiring the cook to draw from those ingredients and create a meal! The result was a display of groceries that were fun to look at. Parsley was no longer tossed in a plastic bag, but beautifully displayed in a small vase of water. Eggs came out of the carton and were arranged in a basket. My refrigerator was now an art installation that inspired me to cook! I’ll admit, I had a quiet suspicion that I had officially gone crazy, but a year later I find I am not alone.

J. Morgan Puetts fridge at Mildreds Lane (c) Phil Mansfield of Food & Wine Magazine

In the March 2011 issue of Food & Wine Magazine there was a short feature on artist J. Morgan Puett. You can read the article here. Puett runs an artists’ retreat out of her home at Mildred’s Lane in rural Pennsylvania where she teaches and practices what she calls “creative domesticating.” Visiting artists explore their creativity in a community kitchen, where they are asked to arrange their groceries aesthetically in the refrigerator! Puett explains, “my goal is to make people rethink the way we live. Art can be found in a gallery or a kitchen.”

When I first explored the creative display in my refrigerator, it felt silly, but I was no longer embarrassed by what was behind that door. More so now, even though I am not spending the hours I’d like to in the kitchen during this season of my life, the refrigerator provides a blank canvas for me to display raw material, so when I do get home, I can quickly throw a few beautiful ingredients together for a wholesome meal. And I no longer get phone calls from my husband saying, what do we have in the fridge? It’s all there in plain sight.

My refrigerator -- post-overhaul.

Friday with a capital “F” and that stands for FINDS

Alright, if you don’t know me yet here’s a little insight for you. Not too many things make me happier than pulling sweet little treasures out of my cupboard when the teapot is boiling and it’s time to serve. And if you think I only do this when guests are over, you’re wrong. I get a cute little smirk from my loving husband when I offer him an evening tea and it shows up in a beautiful cup and saucer. But even more, nothing dresses up a Saturday morning in your long-johns and wool socks like grandma’s china. Am I dressing down the formal or dressing up the casual? I don’t know. You say tomato I say tomahto. Either way, I am excited to bring you the very first FIND here on reSide, featuring cups and saucers designed by Russel Wright

*photograph by Dan Bartz

On a trip upstate to Hudson, NY with my friend and fellow treasure hunter, Harrigan, we stumbled upon these cups and saucers by Russel Wright. Drawn, at first, by their warm, neutral color and the way they lent themselves to a sturdier version of the traditional tea cup, I could not stop myself from bringing a full set of 8 home with me. The shop owner wetted my curious appetite about the history of these cute little cups I would now call my own, and as I researched more about this Russel Wright character, I discovered more clearly why these ceramics were calling my name from those dusty shelves.

In an era when craftsmanship was reaching a level of perfect harmony between quality, functionality, and aesthetics, Russel Wright emerged in the 1920’s with lines of mass produced pottery and glassware reflecting his philosophy of “easier living.” Working in collaboration with his wife, Mary Wright, he produced a number of different food service sets offering one shape in several different colors. Some vibrant, some pastels, and some in muted neutrals. All have their place, but his American Modern cups and saucers in a cloudy grey glaze are the perfect mix of sophistication, modern style, and absolute comfort. As my generation, obsessed with anything “vintage” and “reclaimed”, enters their 20’s and 30’s (and for those of you who are still 25 at heart), these once casual ceramics, have replaced the formal tea or coffee services of old, by bringing a unique twist to the table and the perfect end to the young hosts dinner party.

Russel Wright's recognizable signature and trademark *photograph by Dan Bartz

My Wright cups and saucers live in my “every day” cupboards in the kitchen, and I take them out every chance I get. They’re great for serving coffee after a dinner party, for a cup of tea with a girlfriend, or even as small soup bowls when serving a first course.

*photograph by Dan Bartz

I love it when we coincidentally discover that there are reasons why certain things catch our eye from time to time, magnetized to the passions lying deep in our hearts. I found a revolutionary role model in Russel Wright and won’t be surprised if he pops up again in my home making from time to time.

I wish you all a happy Friday. Dan and I finally have a weekend void of crazy plans on the calendar. I hope this means more time to live and explore the home life, developing more experiences to share with you! Thanks for being here and for giving your feedback and spreading the word. It’s been a difficult month for developing content, but here’s to the close of March and a new month ahead.

Best, Annika

HERBS! (the life of a seed: part 1)

This morning I am happy to announce a little experiment I am taking on. With the official first day of Spring just days away, I am looking forward to the abolition of root vegetables from our every-day menu and the welcoming of fresh fruits, vegetables, and HERBS! I love cooking with fresh herbs, but so often the bunch we buy at the supermarket is too much for two people to consume before they go bad. It frustrates me to see an entire bunch of basil or parsley go to waste because we couldn’t use it fast enough. It frustrates me even more that I don’t have the option of purchasing just a few sprigs of herb from the store. This has lead me to try my hand at growing my own herbs.

One of the things I admire about successful homemakers is the practice of producing their own food. Living in an urban setting certainly puts limits on this for us, but that doesn’t mean we can’t garden in small scale ways and enjoy the fruits (and herbs!) of our labor. Learning this discipline will mean healthier cooking for our family, as well as economic savings for our pocket books. Little to no savings may be achieved with this small herb project, but the experiment is worth it to me, and I hope, in the end, to waste less food.

*photograph by Dan Bartz

The plan: My seeds just arrived in the mail (I ordered mine from the Seed Savers Exchange , a non-profit organization dedicated to saving heirloom breeds). These little seeds have been cozily planted in small cell packs and are living happily on my kitchen table by the window. Each seed has been noted on my calendar and their progress will be tracked for reference as my “crops” prosper or fail. I will keep close watch on these little seedlings, acclimate them to the outdoors when ther’re ready, and eventually they’ll be transplanted to window boxes outside my kitchen window. Hopefully this will allow for easy access pruning and watering, and, while cooking I can simply open the window and snip!

Eager chamomile sprouts pop up in just 4 days! *photograph by Dan Bartz

Why grow from seed? In my past experience with fresh herbs, I’ve picked up a plant from my local farmer’s market that has already started growing. These are great and I recommend them if you’re not crazy like me and interested in how all this stuff works. I am simply growing from seed in order to learn more about the process. I’m taking notes and hope to share with you what works and what doesn’t. Stay tuned and follow along with me as I observe the life of a seed.

Live Well, Annika

Southern Comfort

In NYC, there is a constant buzz of activity. Yesterday, a low of 18 degrees stopped no one. The clock races, the people whiz about their daily routines, barely stopping to take a breath or a proper lunch break. On any given day, I fall into this speeding current, unable to give a moment’s thought to the meal I’ll prepare tonight, or the relaxing moments I might spend with my spouse at home at the day’s end.

But today, we are in Alabama, where the time seems of a completely different breed. The days are slow and long. The time ticks by leaving several moments to breathe in the fresh air, enjoy a cup of coffee, go for a walk and enjoy a meal or two.

We are visiting my sister and her family for a few days in their new home and it is refreshing to get out and appreciate someone else’s home for a while.

Elsa snoozes the day away in the Alabama sun

My sister, Linda, and brother-in-law, David, have been busy fixing up a home in need of some TLC, and with a busy 2 year old, they’ve had their hands full to say the least. But still, in the midst of chaos, it is enjoyable for me to see how people nest and make a home even when it’s not quite complete. Below, I have shared some snapshots I’ve captured around her home the past few days. Enjoy, and happy Wednesday!

Fresh baked bread from the bread maker.

As Linda and I discussed, I’m not typically a huge fan of single use appliances, but having stopped buying bread all together, they are supporting their health, saving money, and producing delightful homey smells in the home on a weekly basis.

Cloudy blue shades in the guest room.

Shades of blue in the guest room were incredibly soothing and welcoming. The paint color is Behr Paints’ “Manhattan Mist” and a new favorite of mine.

A cupboard full of coffee and tea for mornings and afternoons at home.

I’m a big fan of coffee jars and tea tins. Coffee with chicory is a southern delight from New Orleans, where Linda and David spend Thanksgiving every year. Once used as a filler, the chicory adds an herbal taste to the coffee that many people prefer these days. I’m bringing a couple of bags of this coffee home with me.

My sister’s white dinnerware is stored on exposed shelves. Timeless and clean.

A tip for exposed shelves. Keep them clean, minimalist, and stick to displaying items of the same color that compliment the wall color behind.

An extra roll of toilet tissue in this feminine little basket is a great way to ensure your guests aren’t left hanging.

Side note: I love the old brass lever on this toilet. Brass fixtures are making a comeback and I’m a big fan.

The cow head had towel bar.

This cow has a lot of sentimental value in our family. A standard towel ring in Grandma’s kitchen, this one belonged to my mother, who felt it was out of style. Linda snatched it out of mom’s throw-away pile.

Vintage glass candlesticks

These vintage candlesticks were a gift I gave to my sister for Christmas. A great find at the Brooklyn Flea and a simple way to dress up the dinner table.

Lunch Leftovers: Mushroom Hash with Black Rice

Image from nytimes.com

With temperatures rising into the 60’s by Friday, Spring is definitely in the air here in Brooklyn and I’m getting excited to crawl out of my cave and shake off the winter (and the couple extra pounds that inevitably come with it)! For me, this calls for spending a little quality time in the kitchen and getting healthy! To make things a little exciting and to keep me fueled throughout the busy workweek, I like to do a little double duty. I cook something healthy and delicious for brunch on Saturday or Sunday with enough healthy portions to pack and keep in the fridge at work for a good lunch break. So, I’ve been on the lookout for easy, tasty, and healthy recipes. This morning’s recipe comes from the New York Times feature on Martha Rose Shulman. This weekend, I am definitely giving this Mushroom Hash a go! The poached egg sounds lovely for Sunday brunch, but to make things a little easier for lunch, I find that packing a few hard boiled eggs, peeled and stored in an air tight container, will keep in the office refrigerator rather well and make for easy, quick assembly on the go. Enjoy and Be Well!

Recipe Yields: Four servings.

Advance preparation: The hash will keep for three or four days in the refrigerator.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 shallots, finely chopped

2 stalks celery, finely chopped

2 pounds mushrooms, stems trimmed, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 cup dry white wine

1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons tomato paste, dissolved in 1/4 cup water

1 cup cooked black rice (optional but recommended)

1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

Poached eggs for serving (optional)

Instructions:

1. Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large, heavy nonstick skillet. Add the shallots and celery. Cook, stirring, until tender, about three minutes. Raise the heat to high, and add the mushrooms. Cook, stirring often, until they begin to color and stick to the pan, about five minutes. Turn the heat to medium-high and cook, stirring often, until the shallots and celery are tender, juicy and fragrant, five to eight minutes.

2. Add the garlic and stir for a minute, then add the wine, thyme, salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, for five minutes. Add the diluted tomato paste, and cook for about five minutes, pressing the mixture down into the pan, then waiting for a minute until the surface begins to brown, then stirring and pressing it down until the surface browns again. The mixture should be lightly colored and the tomato paste no longer discernible. Taste and adjust seasoning. Stir in the rice and parsley, heat through and serve — topped with a poached egg if desired — with crusty bread and a salad.

Skulptur Fabriken, Light my Fire!

FROST Tealite Tablescape

Valentine’s Day is in full swing, and this year I’m thinking about adding some romance into my evening without a big production. Dan and I just returned from a weekend in DC, and after burning the candle at both ends last week and with a full week of work ahead, we are looking for ways to reset tonight.

I believe our homes should always display a sense of romance and sex appeal, and not just in the bedroom. At our home, we are all about romance in the every day and in every room. It makes us feel good and reminds us to take a few moments each day to be thankful for one another and appreciate our relationships with the people in our lives. So even if Cupid hasn’t struck in your life, its equally important to show yourself, your friends and your home a little love each day.

One easy way to do this is with candles. I try to have candles lit on the dinner table every evening. They’re just as perfect for take-out as they are for home-cooked food. That’s why I was excited that this tea light tablescape (pictured above) showed up in my inbox this morning — just in time for V-Day! They’re a great, casual alternative to candlesticks. They come from Skulpture Fabriken, a small boutique on the island of Gotland in Sweden. I’ve e-mailed them to inquire about pricing and shipping myself a few. If anyone wants in on my shipment, let me know!

For some readily accessible candles you can order online or pick up on your way home tonight, see below for my favorites. Happy Valentine’s Day everyone!

Tapers

I always keep tapers on hand for the kitchen table. You can never go wrong with white, and a lot of designers say you should never use colored tapers. I couldn’t DISagree more, but if you’re going to go with color, make it right. The brighter and bolder the better! I like to pick hand dipped tapers. They tend to be higher quality and they often burn better and longer. My favorite places to go for colored tapers are Jonathan Adler and Fishs Eddy.

Le Labo, Santal 26

My favorite for the living room, the Santal 26 scent from Le Labo is “smokey and leathery.” With 60 hours worth of burn time and 100% soy wax, these beautiful candles are worth the splurge. The heavy glass is reusable as a pen cup or small bud vase.

Aveda Caribbean Therapy Soy Wax Candle

I keep a stock of these Aveda candles for my bedroom and bath. The Caribbean Therapy scent is very relaxing and sexy. With 50+ hours of burning and soy wax, its another great staple.

Welcome Home

Photograph by Dan Bartz

Welcome to Reside online, a blog committed to centering life around home and the how-to’s of creating an atmosphere that supports your lifestyle. It’s been 4 years since graduating college, marrying my teenage love, and moving out on our own. 4 jobs and 4 apartments later, I have found that what keeps us grounded is making a home wherever we are that reflects who we are, energizes us at the start of a new day, and envelops us when we collapse in the front door at the workday’s end. And, oh, those blessed weekends of sleeping in or rising early to enjoy a cup of coffee and a good book and entertaining friends for dinner or for an impromptu afternoon. So much of who we are and what we are able to accomplish each day is born out of how we live. We work hard, but our life does not stem from our jobs. Our life grows out of  the place where we let our hair down, kick off our shoes, and enjoy.

I was particularly inspired not too long ago when my loving and supportive husband sent me a link to an article in an e-mail that read, “You should read this: I think its your calling!” That article was from OregonLive.com about a movement of “Radical Homemakers” in Portland, Oregon. You can read it here. The idea of making deliberate decisions to choose domesticity for the quality of life that it offers was a huge piece to a puzzle I’d been trying to put together over the years. That puzzle is the relationship between life and home.

Furthermore, we have had so many opportunities to entertain guests in our home and so many people have complimented us strictly on the “homey-ness” of it. I hope to be able to share how we make that happen. Though my education and experience as an interior designer has definitely helped, creating aesthetic beauty in the place where I live is only a part of the bigger picture. In their book, Guide to Easier Living in 1950, Russel and Mary Wright, lifestyle entrepreneurs of the late 1920’s captured the essence of living beautifully when they wrote, “Good informal living substitutes a little headwork for a lot of legwork. It doesn’t need wealth, but it does take thought, some ingenuity and resourcefulness, and more than a little loving care to create a home that is really your own.” From within this blog I hope to share my insights on how I make home, MY home. I invite you to join me in exploring. Welcome home…