April 2011

Friday Night Feasting: Oxtail stew with cinnamon and star anise

April 30, 2011

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s River Cottage Everyday book is fast becoming one of my top five go-to books when I want to cook something rich with flavor yet not so exotic that I have to make a special trip to the corner grocery just to get the dish off the ground. For example, I had some oxtail [...]

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Photos: Serge Lutens La Myrrhe

April 28, 2011

I’ve been struggling for months to find something new and interesting to say about La Myrrhe, a classic Lutens composition that’s rightfully considered one of his most creative and accomplished while also sadly restricted for sale to Europe only (I was fortunate that a friend offered to ship me out a bottle from Paris), but [...]

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The Creative Property of Others

April 27, 2011

Look, when someone contacts you and politely requests that you remove his/her copyrighted material from your YouTube video, it’s best just to say, “I apologize for using your intellectual property without permission — I’ll remove it right away, and thank you for giving me the opportunity to do the right thing.” Because if you refuse [...]

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Mandy Aftel & Liz Zorn: Letters to a Fellow Perfumer (ep. 3)

April 25, 2011

April 12th, 2011, Berkeley, CA Dear Liz, I decided to strike off in a new direction due to the tricky, mercurial movement of the galbanum top note. So this time, I moved the mint to the middle of the composition, using some fresh mint absolute while exchanging the honeysuckle for jasmine absolute. I also added [...]

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Photos: Liz Zorn Perfumes – Domino Viole Absolute

April 20, 2011

Liz Zorn threw her brand into upheaval mode last year with a big rethink in artistic direction and creative intention. Months after announcing on her (former) blog that she was shaking the giving tree (so to speak), she emerged with reworked packaging, a revamped website design, a more visually oriented Tumblr feed to replace her [...]

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The Joys of Gaming

April 16, 2011

We used to raise rabbits when I was a kid. Not because we lived on a farm or our family was looking for an extra food source, but because my dad bought pet rabbits for me and my twin brother on one of our random pre-teen childhood birthdays and, well . . . you know [...]

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Winning: “Ready For Dessert” Book Giveaway

April 12, 2011

So we have our three winners of the David Lebovitz “Ready for Dessert” book — the three wise bakers, as they shall henceforth be dubbed (Roni, Qwendy and Una, take a bow!). And they have so much to look forward to — the best chocolate chip cookies in the world, a scrumptious pistachio-cardamom cake, a [...]

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Mandy Aftel & Liz Zorn: Letters to a Fellow Perfumer (ep. 2)

April 11, 2011

March 18th, 2011, Cincinnati, OH Hi Mandy, I wanted to touch base with you on the project. I finally got a chance to set out some of my materials and will be building an accord around the ylang first. I’m working up one with tea and honey, and another with mimosa absolute and something yellow, [...]

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Sharing the Wealth: “Ready for Dessert” by David Lebovitz

April 9, 2011

I previously mentioned it here and here, but am offering a last reminder that I’m giving away three copies of “Ready for Dessert” by David Lebovitz, presently my favorite dessert cookbook and one I imagine I’ll be turning to time and again for failsafe, non-prescription mood enhancers. To participate in the book bonanza, just leave [...]

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Settling In With “Ready for Dessert”

April 8, 2011

I’ve been enjoying the h*ll out of the David Lebovitz’s “Ready for Dessert” book — or what he affectionately refers to as his “greatest hits”. First, there were the best chocolate chip cookies in the world (wait, is it bad form for me to say that about cookies I baked myself?): The real stars of [...]

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