This is what I think :  Simple unexpected things bring the most inspiration.   They might not be what we expect them to be and we can easily miss them, but inspiration is everywhere.

Inspiration can come from a piece of wood.

I guess that’s why I like visiting  Max’s Haus Mercantile.  This little house is filled with vintage, old, funky wonderful  things filled with color, shapes, textures and even some sense of humor.   It is two blocks away  from my studio and  when I’ve been sitting  in front of my computer for too  long I take a break and visit.  Norma, is always happy to see you.  She makes a wonderful job choosing and re arranging each room with things that are ready to become something.   She completely get’s it,  it is not what they are, it all about what they can be!   If you have seen Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium  movie, you know what I mean!

What they can be

I first visited Max’s Haus looking for that perfect prop for a photo-shoot, and even though I still find wonderful props there  it has become one of my little places I look for inspiration.

Max’s Haus Mercantile

Fun stuff everywhere

Vintage

Looking for inspiration

Mother’s Pride

I remember how much fun they had and how much they ate.  They could choose from three protein options such as chicken, shrimp and beef,  a huge bowl with all sorts of lettuce, mushrooms and  noodles.

It was really a feast,  almost a ceremony.  They were not impatience or wanting to leave the table , none out of the bloom strange personalities children sometimes get while at the dinner table, and it made me wonder:   Do cultures that share food have better interactions among them?  Is food better appreciated?

All I know is that day it was a yes-yes to both questions,  and even though it was messier than desired, it was well worth it.

Home-made ice cream is nothing like  the ones we find in supermarkets.   As Lindsey calls it home-made ice cream is a “labor of love”,  it takes time but at the end it is worth it, soft and sumptuous it will make your eyes roll back every single time.  ” I could never go back,”  Lindsey said.   I can only agree with her.

Choose your favorite ingredients and experiment.  Some of Lindsey’s recipes include goat cheese, beer, cinnamon and saffron. Not ordinary ingredients but all as good as the other.

If you would like to try making your own ice cream at home, Lindsey and Gourmage were kind enough to share this wonderful Goat Cheese recipe with us.  Just remember it requires patience and love.

Gourmage’s Fresh Chèvre Ice Cream

10 ounces fresh chèvre, crumbled
1¾ cup whole milk
¾ cup sugar
6 egg yolks

Place crumbled goat cheese in a large bowl; set aside.In a medium saucepan, combine milk and sugar over medium heat. Bring mixture to a simmer.

In a separate bowl, whisk egg yolks vigorously for two to three minutes, or until mixture is frothy and thickens slightly. Temper the mixture by whisking about ½ cup of the hot milk and sugar liquid into the egg yolks; pour the egg and milk mixture back into the saucepan of hot milk. Continue to cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens and coats the back of a spoon.

Place a fine strainer over the bowl with goat cheese. Pour hot liquid through strainer to catch any solids; discard solids. Stir goat cheese mixture until cheese is incorporated (some small chunks may remain); chill for at least four hours or overnight.

Process mixture in an ice cream maker for about 15 minutes, following manufacturer’s directions. Place in a freezer-safe container and freeze until mixture sets up (at least six hours).

Welcome Danielle I feel honored to have you as my guest !  And thank you for having me in yours.

By the way, hope you get a chance to check my post at Danielle’s beautiful blog.  “Beyond the Plate”   The title Pedro and Dayana’s chicken coop.  A clever house for happy chicken.

Stemple Creek Ranch: Keeping It In The Family

By Danielle Tsi

A food producer’s life has never been glamorous, and in 21st-century America, it’s even less so. Rising costs of land, feed and fuel impinge on a bottom-line that was never very generous to begin with, and when you add the volatility of weather patterns, a lack of income security that a corporate job provides, along with the time it takes to nurture and harvest your crop (or animal) for market, you begin to realize that young farmers – the ones who go in to farm the way their grand or great-grandparents used to – are brave souls. While passion and determination are prerequisites, it helps too, to be born into a tradition of living off the land.

Loren Poncia is a fourth-generation cattle rancher raising grass-fed beef on his family’s ranch in the town of Tomales, about 60 miles north of San Francisco. The story begins in 1902, when his great-grandfather Angelo Poncia arrived from Northern Italy, bought a plot of land in 1933 and began raising cattle, pigs, chickens and vegetables, just as he had done in his hometown. His grandfather Alfred Poncia, took over the family farm in the 1940s and 1950s and saw the start of the industrialization and specialization of American agriculture. Under grandpa Alfred, the farm became a dairy and cattle ranch that supplied steers to feedlots, a practice that Loren’s dad, Alfred Loren Poncia, continued when he took over the reins in the mid-‘60s, specializing the ranch’s focus even further by relinquishing the dairy operation in 1989 to focus on beef production.

Much like his father and grandfather, Loren grew up on the ranch, helping out with general ranch work and learning all there was to learn about maintaining and caring for cattle. True to his roots, he bought 20 heifers in 1993 upon graduating from high school – a rancher’s version of building an asset base – and tended to his small herd on summer breaks from Cal Poly, where he was working towards a degree in Agribusiness and Dairy Science. By the time he graduated, consumers had started to wake up to the less desirable consequences of feedlot beef and were driving demand for local, sustainably-raised, pastured meat. After a short stint in corporate America he returned to the ranch in 2005, bought over his grandmother’s herd of 20 cattle and slowly built it up to 500 cattle today, growing Stemple Creek Ranch into the organic grass-fed beef business that currently exists, with a focus on preserving the harmony between grazing animals and the integrity of the land.

“All our beef is born and raised on our ranch, and only leave to be harvested,” said Loren. “They live out on the pasture from the time they’re born and feed on the rich blend of clover and native grasses. It’s my job to make sure that the 18 months they spend with us is as comfortable and as stress-free as possible.”

And it shows, not only in their meat (which has sold out every year since they started in 2008), but also in the leisurely, casual manner that different herds stroll from one pasture to the next. I had the opportunity to observe Loren rotate two herds on a breezy weekday in late-Spring, and there was a lot of enticing, whistling and honking (of his truck) to get the cows moving to where they needed to go.
“They’re too comfortable where they are,” Loren quipped, after throwing hay into the air for the umpteenth time to catch his cows’ attention. “They don’t realize that there’s more food to be found next door!”

Clearly, life is good for these cows. With the abundance of lush pasture, clear blue skies and cool breezes from the Pacific everyday, I don’t blame them for their tardiness either – it’s the perfect environment for grazing.

Edna Miggins owns Panifico, a  Mexican bakery in San Antonio, TX.  We took these pictures at her place. I asked Edna to write the names of each piece we photographed, as she is the bread expert and she was kind enough to write the following to add to this post. .   Thank you Edna.

In the morning, there is nothing more sumptuous than the smell of baking bread as you drive to the local bakery.  It wraps around you like a loving embrace, the delicious smells making you hungry and also awakening memories of childhood.In Mexico, I remember that not only was that aroma present in the morning, but in the afternoons as well. We would walk to our neighborhood bakery every day at 6 o’clock because that’s when the bread would come out, fresh out of the oven.  Sometimes we would have to get there a little earlier, as there would be a line, everyone anticipating the bread’s ‘grand entrance.’ It was so beautiful hot, fresh donuts sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar, ‘mantecadas’ with a nice, fluffy crown, flaky  pineapple ‘empanadas,’ and my favorite, moist and billowy ‘conchas.’  I could never decide between the one with white sugar paste or the chocolate sugar paste, even though I KNEW we would be back the next day and I could just choose the one I didn’t choose that day! They were so soft, your teeth would just sink into them.  We would make our purchases and home for our ‘merienda,’ a light meal or snack before dinner, where we would enjoy our bread with either milk, coffee, and sometimes even Coke on those hot summer days!These are just some of the things I love about bread making.  Not only does it feed your body, but it also awakens wonderful memories of your life that are worth sharing with others.

By Edna Miggins.

Edna Miggins

Yes, many times we were tired of rolling along with our suitcases, but the moments of joy, enjoyment and love were worth the effort and I feel fortunate .

One of the places we visited was the castle of Chenoceaux in France.  Chenonceaux  is one of  many castle in the valley of Indre-et-Loire in northwestern France,  and has been standing since 1513! Not only it’s architecture is breath-taking  (it was built crossing Cher River)  but also it’s art, furnishings, gardens and believe it or not kitchens.

With a clever distribution the kitchens managed to have three large chimneys, a humongous stove, a poultry and meat roster, two medieval water pumps and a strategic position for easy transportation of  supplies from riverboats for stocking.

Who ever planned this kitchen knew what they were doing. The clever distribution is worth the time! With a large butcher room with wooden block tables,  wonderful copper skillet, pot and molds,  grain baskets, garlic and pepper reeds and old-time wooden tables one can only be  transported to medieval times, and can’t help to admire the people who built this wonderful place that make sense not only for its beauty and detail but also because it screams dignity and pride.

Bread oven

My father had  high standards about food as well as for beauty. Canadian-British descendant, he knew how to eat beautifully. Beauty that came natural not only in the way he used his silverware, as well as how the food looked in his plate. Presentation was as important as taste.

Always cutting his toast in half and never spreading butter or jelly directly form the container but placing them carefully in his plate.

My father had a thing for strong, aged cheese and high quality bread,  he took pride on cooking the best gravy for our two 20 lb Christmas Turkeys, as well as for carving them. He enjoyed breaking bread with others and he made it beautiful.

Sitting at the dinner table we all ate together and at the same time.

Although some of my father’s traditions are still going  on at my home, honestly some details got lost. Sure, it might not be a big deal to have fresh flowers at home or choosing cloth napkins over paper, we choose our battles, right?  Simple details are the first ones to go! But I wonder, if  those details are the ones that define us?

There is not doubt in my mind that food at home will always be remembered. Not only the recipes we make and the traditions we follow, but everything in between as well. A good, beautiful home-made meal  at home empowers any ordinary day and it might very well be something we’ll be remembered for.

One of the things I love about Mexico is how some things never change (funny, this is also what so many times makes me crazy ) , but the reusable
bags  I find at the market are one of the good things.

They are colorful and happy, plus they can fit more than one could possible carry. These bags have been in markets in Mexico for as long
as I  remember,  even before “living green” was popular.

Most people agree that taking reusable bags to the grocery store is a good idea.  Even a better idea is to buy one for you and another to give away.  Specially to someone that has been thinking about it for too long.

Here’s my part of the deal: On my last visit to my family’s farm I brought back 15 extra bags with me,  I will keep one and give the rest
away. If you would like to receive one shoot me an e-mail at paulinemstevens@gmail.com and I’ll send you one, my treat!

I ran out of bags.  Which is  kind d f a good thing because it means people are actually reading my blog (and that makes me very happy) and another is that 14 people have a new bag to reuse and enjoy.

You could get these bags at www.redbirdshouse.com

]]> http://thekitchenpress.com/2012/05/07/one-to-give-the-other-one-to-receive/feed/ 0 cover paulinemstevens Mercado bags http://thekitchenpress.com/2012/05/07/outside-the-kitchen/ http://thekitchenpress.com/2012/05/07/outside-the-kitchen/#comments Mon, 07 May 2012 18:03:49 +0000 Pauline Stevens http://thekitchenpress.com/?p=716 Continue reading →]]> Beekeepers are always searching for good locations to place their bee hives.   Most of the times they choose countryside areas  down Farm Roads where bees can find a wide variety of flowers.    It was pretty unusual to find Mark Gretchen www.gretchenbeeranch.com  visiting  new bee hives inside the JW Marriott Hotel’s property.   Bethany,  JW Marriott’s Culinary Gardener and Mark have been working on the new project.  Today they have 5 beehives and they all are doing pretty great. In just a couple of weeks the Queen had already filled the first box with eggs!

It was cool  to see the enthusiasm Mark received from the hotel’s staff.  A group of chefs  got dressed in the proper gear to joined Mark and Bethany.  They helped spot the Queen and held frames (filled with busy bees) while Mark made sure everything looked OK.  Later I learned some of the staff even bought their own gear to visit the bees while Mark was visiting other locations.

At the end of the day even culinary experts are looking outside the kitchen to  better understand where food comes from.  I am happy to know honey is not the exception.  WooHoo!

Today La Tuna is well-known all over San Antonio, TX  but their most loyal customers are still their neighbors.

Neighbors of La Tuna arrive from work still wearing business suits, others ride bikes or walk in groups ready to share their day with
friends or family.  It’s the perfect place to enjoy good food, a hearty laugh and great conversation. That’s what a neighborhood restaurant
should be about!

La Tuna grill, San Antonio TX