Wise words: The Secret Garden

by Heather

“In each century since the beginning of the world wonderful things have been discovered….In this new century hundreds of things still more astounding will be brought to light. At first people refuse to believe that a strange new thing can be done, then they begin to hope it can be done, then they see it can be done, then it is done and all the world wonders why it was not done centuries ago.

One of the new things people began to find out in the last century was that thoughts,  just mere thoughts, are as powerful as electric batteries, as good for one as sunlight is, or as bad for one as poison. To let a sad thought or a bad one get into your mind is as dangerous as letting a scarlet fever germ get into your body. If you let it stay there after it has got in, you may never get over it as long as you live.

So long as Mistress Mary’s mind was full of disagreeable thoughts about her dislikes and sour opinions of people and her determination not to be pleased by or interested in anything, she was a yellow-faced, sickly, bored and wretched child.

When her mind gradually filled itself with robins, and moorland cottages crowded with children, with queer crabbed old gardeners and common little Yorkshire housemaids, with springtime and with secret gardens coming alive day, by day, and also with a moor boy and his ‘creatures’, there was no room left for the disagreeable thoughts which affected her liver and her digestion and made her yellow and tired.“

~”The Secret Garden” by Frances Hodgson Burnett (published 1911)

my mom's garden{My mom’s secret garden… a happy place for happy thoughts!}

Day Dreaming at the Brooklyn Museum

by Heather

{Still Life with Peaches by Raphaelle Peale, American, 1774-1825}

{Still Life with Cake by Raphaelle Peale, American, 1774-1825}

{Kiss Me and You’ll Kiss the ‘Lasses by Lilly Martin Spencer, American, 1822-1902}

{The Reprimand. Ah! You Naughty Fawn, You Have Been Eating the Flowers Again., by Arthur Fitzwilliam Tate, American, 1819-1905}

{Black Pansy & Forget-Me-Nots by Georgia O’Keefe, American, 1887-1986}

{Lake George by John William Casilear, American, 1811-1893}

{Vernon in the Sun (Vernon, soleil) by Claude Monet, French, 1840-1926}

{The Village of Gardanne (Le Village de Gardanne) by Paul Cezanne, French, 1839-1906}

{The Vineyards at Cagnes (Les Vignes a Cagnes) by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, French, 1841-1919}

{The Climb, Rue de la Cote-du-Jalet, Pointoise (Chemin montant, rue de la Cote-du-Jalet, Pointoise) by Camille Jacob Pissaro, French, 1830 -1930}

{Zuleika by John Singer Sargent, American, 1856-1925}

Brooklyn Love: Food

by Heather

To follow up on my previous post and to continue with the Brooklyn love, here are a few of my favorite spots to dine in BK…. shhh don’t tell anyone ;)

I can’t think of a better place to start than pizza… can you?

Roma Pizza

All NY style pizzas are not created equal. Nestled in the heart of Park Slope, this place is one of the best. Sweet, delicious sauce and a nice crispy crust. Go traditional and grab a perfect slice of cheese or pepperoni… or try one of their more “gourmet” options, like maybe a wild mushroom and fresh mozarella…mmmm!!!

Rucola

This place is super cute. Wonderful Northern Italian style cuisine in a very quaint spot in Boerum Hill. A dear pal of mine (who I’ve been friends with since the 7th grade!) took me here on my last visit. So lovely!

PS, in case you didn’t know, Rucola is Italian for Arugula!

my dinner date… bella :)

(Afterwards we took a walk over to the Brooklyn Promenade to take in the amazing views of Manhattan…)

Junior’s

Founded in 1950, this place is a classic. Go for the reuben sandwich or the cheese blintzes… you won’t regret it. And of course, you better not leave without trying “the world’s most fabulous cheese cake”! 

al di là

This is an adorable and romantic little neighborhood restaurant in Park Slope…  Venetian-style food, house made pasta so good I could cry. I also highly recommend the beef carpaccio with anchovies – magnificent! The owners met in Italy and fell in love…they came back to Brooklyn and started this restaurant. 

my cute dinner date… my sista :)

And, in case you didn’t know, Al di là translates to “beyond” and is also a famous Italian song that means… more than you ever dreamed…

On that note, sweet dreams………

~H

Brooklyn Dreams

by Heather

“Brooklyn was a dream. All the things that happened there just couldn’t happen.

It was all dream stuff. Or was it all real and true and was it that she, Francie, was the dreamer?”

~ Betty Smith, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

Over the summer, I made a long overdue trip back to my hometown, Brooklyn, NY… every time I go back, it does feel a little bit like a dream. I revisit my old haunts… the places that are such a part of me and who I am… and it feels strange but wonderful at the same time. I also love to see what is new, there are always cool new shops and restaurants to check out. It’s fascinating to see the changes when I go back. The trip for me was very soul renewing. Living on the west coast now, where sometimes I feel worlds away, both geographically and culturally, I feel it is important for me to stay connected to my Brooklyn roots. I need to remember who I was when I was living there. While I love living in San Francisco now and I feel that California really suits me and my personality, I am very grateful for my past and having been raised in NY. The living wasn’t always easy, but that’s what makes New Yorkers so tough. I do believe that much of my strength was built from my life in NY. So, I return with feelings of gratitude and wonder and excitement and love… Brooklyn, it’s good to be back!

{cool mural in downtown Brooklyn}

While I was there, I spent a lot of time walking around… that’s what I do when I’m in NY. Walk. I think maybe I was a nomad in a previous life, because I could spend hours, days, weeks walking… and when you’re in NY, there is so much to see and take in, the walks are always so interesting and exhilarating. I had to go to some of my old favorite spots… but I was also excited to check out what’s new… and in the process, reflecting on the “old” and “new” me… and everything in between. :)

{ me and my sister on our Brownstone stoop, 1980 something :) }

{me and my sister on the Brooklyn Bridge, 2012}

For my next post, I’ll follow up with some cool things that I love in Brooklyn… and want to share with YOU.

Sweet dreams xo

Heather

Louise Fresco, Food & Agriculture Expert, Explains the Complex Dynamics of Our Global Food System

by Heather

“Food, in the end, in our own tradition, is something holy. It’s not about nutrients and calories. It’s about sharing. It’s about honesty. It’s about identity.” ~ Louise Fresco

“There are people in the world so hungry, that God cannot appear to them except in the form of bread.” ~ Mahatma Gandhi

Thanksgiving Inspiration: Sonoma Valley

by Heather

Sonoma Valley, also known as “Valley of the Moon”, is where beautiful food, wine and scenery meet… abundant sunshine and a slow laid back country vibe… to me, it is heaven on earth.

Come take a peak…

It is particularly beautiful in Autumn… burnt orange, bright yellows and reds color a pastoral country side filled with rolling vineyards and lush farmlands… magical!

Sonoma is blessed with a mediterranean-like climate, lots of sunshine and moderate coastal temperatures… ideal conditions for growing grapes. It’s no wonder that California wine-making was born here. In fact, one of the first wineries is called “Valley of the Moon”…  it was created in the 1860s and still operates today.

So why is Sonoma Valley also referred to as “Valley of the Moon”?

The Native American word for Sonoma actually translates to …”Valley of the Moon”. Based on local Miwok Indian legend, the name described the way the moon appears to rise many times over the jagged peaks of the Mayacamas Mountains to the east. Jack London, who had a ranch in Sonoma, used the name for the title of one of his books.

So now that we’re in Sonoma, what shall we do?

Why don’t we stop in one of my favorite restaurants, The Girl & The Fig, located in the old Sonoma Hotel in downtown Sonoma. This is a quintessential California wine country restaurant, specializing in “country food with a French passion”…  words cannot describe how much I love this restaurant. The food is both rustic and elegant, the ingredients super fresh and local and the creative and inspiring menu changes with the seasons. I love the classic dining room and the beautiful antique bar where French aperitifs are being served up… but it’s a lovely day so let’s head outside to the garden patio.

Oh look, it’s my family!

This was our Thanksgiving celebration a few years ago. The food was fantastic! Particularly memorable is shown below… Fresh dungeness crab was in season and there was a nice dollop of it in this luscious butternut squash soup du jour.

My mama approves :)

After lunch, let’s take in some more of the scenery…

As a little Thanksgiving gift to all my Sweet Dream Soup readers, here is a recipe for a lovely and simple red kuri (or butternut squash) soup, courtesy of Food and Wine magazine…the recipe was created by Alice Waters, one of my culinary heros. Enjoy!

Red Kuri Squash Soup

  • ACTIVE: 25 MIN
  • TOTAL TIME: 50 MIN
  • SERVINGS: 4

Red-orange kuri squash has a pumpkin shape, but no ridges. Its flavor is sweet and nutty, reminiscent of chestnuts.

  1. 1 1/2 pounds red kuri or butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes (3 cups)
  2. 1/2 medium onion, coarsely chopped
  3. 1 bay leaf
  4. 1 medium fennel bulb, cored and cut into thin wedges
  5. 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
  6. Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  7. 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
  8. Chopped toasted pecans and small marjoram leaves, for garnish
  1. Preheat the oven to 375°. In a large saucepan, combine the cubed squash with the chopped onion, bay leaf and 3 cups of water and bring to a boil over high heat. Cover and simmer over low heat until the squash is tender, about 20 minutes.
  2. Meanwhile, on a large rimmed baking sheet, toss the fennel wedges with the 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and toss well. Roast for about 25 minutes, until the fennel is tender and starting to brown.
  3. Discard the bay leaf from the soup. Working in batches, puree the soup in a blender. Return the soup to the saucepan and warm over low heat. Stir in the butter and season the soup with salt and pepper. Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with the roasted fennel, pecans, marjoram leaves and a drizzle of olive oil.
Make Ahead: The soup can be refrigerated overnight. Reheat gently.
Suggested pairing: Strawberry and cinnamon inflected Pinot Noir or try this Asian Pear Sparkler (no alcohol)

Well, I hope you enjoyed our little rendezvous in Sonoma Valley. As luck would have it, my husband and I have plans to return next week for Thanksgiving… I promise to come back with some more Sonoma inspiration to share with you all!

Sweet dreams… and Happy Thanksgiving!

Heather

Eating is a Political Act… California, Vote Yes on 37!

by Heather

Happy Election Day!

California voters have the opportunity today to vote on a proposition that would require food manufacturers to label G.M. (genetically modified) food. Voting yes will not only provide necessary and fair transparency on food products for consumers, but will also send a powerful message to the world: we care about what we eat and we deserve the right to know what’s in our food. This law scares politicians and big corporations alike because if it is mandated, consumers will be more empowered to make more informed decisions. And as we have seen with the birth of the multi-billion dollar organic food industry, consumers’ food decisions are powerful!

And how about the “eat local” movement?  Another trend that has gained tremendous momentum. I had to go back and read what Michael Pollan said about eating local as a political act in “Omnivore’s Dilemma”:

“A successful local food economy implies not only a new kind of food producer, but a new kind of eater as well, one who regards finding, preparing, and preserving food as one of the pleasures of life rather than a chore. One whose sense of taste has ruined him for a Big Mac, and whose sense of place has ruined him for shopping for groceries at Wal-Mart. This is the consumer who understands- or remembers – that in Wendell Berry’s memorable phrase, ‘eating is an agricultural act.’ He might have added that it’s a political act as well.’

Here is what Michael Pollan has to say about Proposition 37 – as you can imagine, he is in favor! He sees this as a great opportunity to empower the Food Movement.

New York Times: “Vote for the Dinner Party” by Michael Pollan

Sumo wants to know what’s in his food, too! (He eats healthy cat food handmade by a local business in San Francisco!)

I will leave you with one last passage from “Omnivore’s Dilemma”:

“Shortly before I traveled to Virginia I’d read an essay by Wendell Berry called ‘The White Horse’ in which he argued that reversing the damage done to local economies and the land by the juggernaut of world trade would take nothing less than a ‘revolt of local small producers and local consumers against global industrialization of the corporation.’ He detected the stirrings of such a rebellion in the rise of local food systems, and the growing market for ‘good, fresh trustworthy food, food from producers known and trusted by customers.’ Berry would have us believe that what I was seeing in the Polyface salesroom represented a local uprising in a gathering worldwide rebellion against what he calls ‘the total economy’.

Why should food, of all things, be the linchpin of that rebellion? Perhaps because food is a powerful metaphor for a great many of the values to which people feel globalization poses a threat, including the distinctiveness of local cultures and identities, the survival of local landscapes, and biodiversity. When José Bové, the French antiglobalization activist (and Roquefort farmer), wanted to make his stand against globalization, he drove his tractor through the plate glass not of a bank or insurance company, but of a McDonald’s. Indeed, the most powerful protests against globalization to date have all revolved around food: I’m thinking of the movement against genetically modified crops, the campaign against patented seeds in India (which a few years ago brought four hundred thousand Indians into the streets to protest WTO intellectual property rules) and Slow Food, the Italian-born international movement that seeks to defend traditional food cultures against the global tide of homogenization.”

Ahhhh…. the power of food! Inspiring!

Sweet dreams folks… and don’t forget to vote!

Heather

Be the Change

by Heather

Dear Sweet Dream Soup Readers,

I urge you to read this endorsement from the Salt Lake Tribune for the reelection of President Barack Obama. It’s a thoughtful, honest summary of the wise and strong leadership President Obama has demonstrated during the last four years, rescuing our country from the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression (among many other things), and raises the disturbing and alarming questions and concerns which deem Mitt Romney undeserving of our trust. It’s especially interesting that this strong endorsement for Obama and lambasting of Romney comes from a newspaper headquartered in the most Republican state in the nation and in the same city as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints…

  • Romney has raised the most frequently asked question of the campaign: “Who is this guy, really, and what in the world does he truly believe?”. The evidence suggests no clear answer, or at least one that would survive Romney’s next speech or sound bite.
  • Politicians routinely tailor their words to suit an audience. Romney, though, is shameless, lavishing vastly diverse audiences with words, any words, they would trade their votes to hear.
  • If this portrait of a Romney willing to say anything to get elected seems harsh, we need only revisit his branding of 47 percent of Americans as freeloaders who pay no taxes, yet feel victimized and entitled to government assistance.
  • For four years, President Barack Obama has attempted, with varying degrees of success, to pull the nation out of its worst financial meltdown since the Great Depression, a deepening crisis he inherited the day he took office.
  • In the first months of his presidency, Obama acted decisively to stimulate the economy. His leadership was essential to the passage of the badly needed American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
  • The President also acted wisely to bail out the auto industry, which has since come roaring back. Romney, in so many words, said the carmakers should sink if they can’t swim.
  • Obama’s foreign policy record is perhaps his strongest suit, especially compared to Romney’s bellicose posture toward Russia and China and his inflammatory rhetoric regarding Iran’s nuclear weapons program.
  • In considering which candidate to endorse, The Salt Lake Tribune editorial board had hoped that Romney would exhibit the same talents for organization, pragmatic problem solving and inspired leadership that he displayed here more than a decade ago. Instead, we have watched him morph into a friend of the far right, then tack toward the center with breathtaking aplomb. Through a pair of presidential debates, Romney’s domestic agenda remains bereft of detail and worthy of mistrust.

Therefore, our endorsement must go to the incumbent, a competent leader who, against tough odds, has guided the country through catastrophe and set a course that, while rocky, is pointing toward a brighter day. The president has earned a second term. Romney, in whatever guise, does not deserve a first.

For more, read here: http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/opinion/55019844-82/romney-obama-state-president.html.csp

The rest of the world is also sharply in favor of Obama. According to a BBC poll: “An average of 50% favoured Mr. Obama, with 9% for Mr. Romney, in the survey of 21,797 people in 21 countries.” http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-20008687

And how about the important issues of climate change, marriage equality and women’s rights?

As Mayor Bloomberg of New York City so eloquently stated his reason for voting for President Barack Obama:

“I want our President to be on the right side of history.”

“When I step into the voting booth, I think about the world I want to leave my two daughters, and the values that are required to guide us there.

The two parties’ nominees for president offer different visions of where they want to lead America.” 

 What is your vision of the world? What side of history are you on?

As Gandhi said, “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” … Make your voice heard tomorrow and be sure to vote!

With hopefulness,

Heather

Cheese Making 101

by Heather

I recently took a class on how to make feta cheese at The Cheese School of San Francisco. The class was taught by a local Cheesemaker extraordinaire, Sacha Laurin. Sacha is so passionate about cheese… the way she describes cheese and the process of making it, it all sounds so magical, you feel so lucky that she is letting you in on some of her secrets. She is originally from Australia but lived in France for 15 years, working closely with goat cheese artisans before moving to the Bay Area. She has won many awards for her homemade cheeses and teaches at several venues around the Bay Area as she continues to study the science of cheese making. She is clearly very knowledgable about cheese and also has this soulful passion for it that is so inspiring. Oh, and did I mention that she also makes her own wine and kombucha at home – I love this woman!

So, here I am, about to take my first class on cheesemaking with Sacha Laurin! I am so excited!

 This is how you make feta, in a nutshell:

A few snap shots of the process…

The tools:

Sacha says Trader Joe’s Organic Homogenized Whole Milk is the best to use for making cheese (for the price). Whatever you do, don’t use ultra pasteurized milk.

Stirring the curd…

Ladeling the curd…

Pressing the curd…

And…. here’s our feta!

Hmmm… now what to do with this lovely feta. Here is one idea! This was actually served at the beginning of the class as a little sample: feta, watermelon, mint and pine nuts…. delicious and lovely to look at, too!

Do you have any good feta recipes to share? I would love to hear your ideas!

Sweet dreams!

Afternoon Tea & Fairy Bread… Recipes for Happiness

by Heather

One of the highlights of my summer was getting to spend some quality time with my 3 year old nephew, Georgie. He is a wonderful little boy. Smart, curious, thoughtful… and very funny! Because I don’t get to see him very often as we live on opposite coasts, I feel like every moment I have with him is so precious.

Over the summer, my sister and I decided to whip up a little impromptu Afternoon Tea party at her house. My husband’s British influence has rubbed off on me a bit, as I have become an absolute tea fanatic since we met and I am in love with the Afternoon Tea tradition.

In addition to serving cucumber sandwiches with the crusts cut off and copious amounts of tea… I thought it would be fun to make a little treat with Georgie called Fairy Bread.

This is actually something I learned during one of our trips to Australia, where my husband’s immediate family all live. My brother and sister-in-law threw a big birthday party for one of our nephews and my sister-in-law put together a beautiful spread of all sorts of delicious treats. I couldn’t help but notice one in particular… the Fairy Bread. Apparently, it is an Australian traditional treat that is served at children’s parties. My sister-in-law was gracious enough to let me in on the secret recipe :)

So, Georgie and I got to work on making some of our own…

The ingredients:

+

+

Georgie was a great helper.

Voila!

It was a lovely tea party!

“What is the most wonderful thing for people like myself who follow the Way of Tea? My answer: the oneness felt by host and guest when they meet ‘heart to heart’ and share a bowl of tea.” ~ Soshitsu Sen (18th century), Japan

Cheerio! And sweet dreams!