February 21st, 2012 |
Author: Christopher | Filed under: Baking
|
No Comments Yet »
Jessica’s been hounding me for a while now to whip up something as a breakfast alternative to the usual bowl of cereal she has every morning. I make bran muffins quite a bit already, which are delicious, but can be pretty heavy. So, for a change, I thought I’d try some low-fat blueberry muffins from the Joy of Cooking.
It’s a simple recipe, and only takes about 30 minutes from start to finish. You can use a stand mixer for this recipe, but I’d recommend doing it by hand, as overmixing can make the muffins tough. Here we go.
Preheat the oven to 400. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper cups or just grease the pan.
The ingredients:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (you can substitute whole-wheat pastry flour)
- 1/2 cup sugar (you can substitute brown sugar)
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda (this is only if you use yogurt instead of milk)
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (optional)
Whisk these ingredients together in a large bowl.
In a separate bowl, whisk together:
- 1 large egg
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil or 3 1/2 tablespoons warm melted unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup nonfat milk or nonfat yogurt
Add this to the dry ingredients and fold together with just a few strokes just until the dry ingredients are moistened. Be sure not to overmix – the finished batter will not be smooth.
Fold in:
- 1 1/2 cups blueberries (fresh or frozen, but you can guess which one is better)
Spoon the mixture into the pan, and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. I used the decorative white sugar sprinkles to get a better look.
Bake for about 14-15 minutes. The best way to know if they’re done is to insert a toothpick into a couple of the muffins – if it comes out clean, they’re done.
Let them cool for about 3 minutes, and then eat EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM because they’re that good.
I guess that would cancel out the low-fat aspect, though.
Enjoy!
February 20th, 2012 |
Author: Jessica | Filed under: Interior Design, Portfolio
|
1 Comment »
Not every client is a great fit for a designer: sometimes you get the gig, put in the time, do the best you can, and finally call it a day. Then, after working in the drudges a bit, it’s as if the universe decides you passed a test and you get rewarded with kind, creative, and understanding people who appreciate what you do and can see the benefit of letting go and allowing you take the lead. A collaboration is formed, and you can always see what type of creative environment was going on behind the scenes in the finished project. If you get the latter situation, it’s simply better.
This was a project like that and I feel strongly that it is a lovely and inviting design because of the positive and productive collaboration. Thank goodness, because having people tell you over and over again you’re wrong really sucks.
Now – happy, pretty picture time.
Living Room
The young couple had so many amazing photos from their travels that we decided to use them as a focal point above the couch. The color scheme of pink, orange, gray, and green ties the room together.
Overall view of the long living room
To break up the space and make it more user-friendly, we created two seating areas. One for more lounging and television watching and the other as extra seating for parties and a landing point before heading into the four seasons room.
Cozy Fireplace (that chair used to look like this)
Extra seating area
Original screenprints
Four Seasons Room/Library
There was a cute room leading to their backyard that became an extra spot for possible dining in a big party, and a great place to add a small library without cutting into their main living space.
Home Office for a Graphic Designer
We wanted bold colors and patterns to help inspire a graphic designer in his office/studio. Those chairs were recovered and initially a gray color.
Seating area in case clients stop by
We’re busy working on the beginning stages of a large commercial project now. We can’t wait to make a huge space feel as comfortable as this residential space.
February 18th, 2012 |
Author: Christopher | Filed under: Baking
|
No Comments Yet »
The biggest problem with all the baking that I do is an obvious one – there’s no way Jessica and I can eat everything I bake.
Well, we could, but that just makes me think of Wilford Brimley saying “diabeetus”.
So to give our figures and health a break, I’m going to start doing some more baking for the world’s best food critic.
Who else?
I’d like to give her an alternative to the big brands’ snacks, which tend to contain too many preservatives and artificial garbage. I mean, do we really need preservatives for dog snacks? The stuff shouldn’t stay around that long anyway.
She loved the last batch of treats I made for her (click through if you dare), so I’m thinking even if I screw them up, she’s going to be in heaven.
Stay tuned to see what I can whip up.