A Rainbow of Cupcakes

Here's a photo from last weekend of the KaraVan cupcake display window at the San Francisco Pride festival. The theme this year was "In Pride We Trust" and it is by happy coincidence that the reflection of the flag got in the shot.

This will be the last post of the week because I'm spending the rest of it getting ready for my friend Cate's Alice-in-Wonderland-themed wedding! I'm looking forward to lending my crafting hands to some of the prep. I'll be back next week with regular postings. For those of you living here in the States, Happy Independence Day.

| Photo Credit: Me. |

Recipe: Nutella Cookie Sandwiches

I'm not into really sweet things most of the time but every once in awhile, I get a craving specifically for Nutella. This recipe was spawned from one such craving.

I used this shortbread cookie recipe as a loose guide. I tend to avoid cookie recipes that require the dough to chill for a period of time, as is the case with most shortbreads; instead this recipe is super fast and only requires a few simple ingredients. The shortbread cookies turn out slightly sweet, a little crunchy, and a little chewy, and they allow the Nutella filling to take the lead with flavor.

Ingredients
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup flour
Nutella, for the filling

Directions
Allow your butter to soften at room temperature. (Do not melt in the microwave as this will change the consistency of the cookies.) Preheat your oven to 350° Fahrenheit.

Cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Mix in the vanilla extract. Then, gradually add in the flour until the dough comes together.

Roll the dough into 1-inch balls and place them about 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Using the palm of your hand, press each ball down until it is flattened to a little less than half of its original height. Bake the cookies for 15 minutes, or until the edges start turn a light golden brown.

Remove the cookies and allow them to cool. Overturn one cookie and spread the desired amount of Nutella on the flat side. Place another cookie flat-side-down on the Nutella filling. Repeat with the remaining cookies.

Makes 9–12 cookie sandwiches.

| Photo Credit: Me. |

Peanuts on Parade

Since Charles Schulz spent a great deal of his life in Santa Rosa, there are tributes to him and the Peanuts cast all over the city. "Peanuts on Parade" is an art installation that raised money for art scholarships; each Peanuts character was designed by a local artist. While I was there earlier this month, I tried to photograph as many of the Peanuts on Parade statues as I could find. I later learned that there is this very handy map which tells you where all the statues are located but I think that it was a lot more fun just to drive around hunting for them.

I think this type of scavenger hunt would be a fun activity to do when traveling with kids. Here in San Francisco, we have something similar with the "Hearts in San Francisco" installation; there are large heart sculptures all over the city as part of fundraising for the San Francisco General Hospital Foundation. In 2010 there was the "Elephant Parade" in London to benefit Asian elephant conservation and in 2008 there were "King Bladud's Pigs" in Bath to raise money for city improvements. What other cities have a version of this type of art installation? Do you have something similar in your city?

| Photo Credit: Me. |

Summer Picks From Zara for Less than $40

I bought this skirt from Zara last weekend. I don't usually wear things with floral patterns but I thought the flowers were small and abstract enough and I really liked the combination of orange and yellow over a soft cyan. The store is currently filled with great pieces for the summer—lots of bold-yet-bright colors and light fabrics. It's really too bad that Zara doesn't have an online store for those of us who are Stateside because I'd probably have a lot more Zara items in my closet if they did.

Zara is a label that has always baffled me because some of their stuff is very reasonably priced while other items will give me mild sticker shock. I wouldn't expect a thin, polyester-rayon T-shirt to be $60 but I'd expect to pay more than $40 for a well-constructed, 100% cotton, pleated skirt. I know they have the more casual, youth-oriented Trafaluc line that is priced lower overall but their main collection also has plenty of dressy items that are half the price of similar items at, say, J.Crew. These are some of my favorite summery items from their site, and they're each less than $40.

| left. V-neck Dress With Belt | top-right. Full Skirt | bottom-right. Sequinned Skirt |

| Photo Credit: top. Me; bottom. See links provided. |

Recipe: Chicken Nuggets for Grown-Ups

Just because chicken nuggets are marketed to children with poor taste does not mean that they are not actually a delightful food, if prepared correctly. They have real potential to be bite-sized packets of flavor and work well both as a main meat dish or a hand-held appetizer for a party. I serve my chicken nuggets with some sweet potato fries, a frisée salad, and a variety of dipping sauces for a casual, fun dinner.

Ingredients
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 heaping teaspoon ground sumac
1 teaspoon Herbes de Provence
2 eggs
2 tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
3–4 tablespoons flour
salt
vegetable oil
chives (for garnish)

Directions
Cut your chicken into the desired nugget-sized pieces. In a medium bowl, combine the chicken pieces with the soy sauce, sumac, and Herbes de Provence. Toss everything together and let it marinade for at least 30 minutes.

To make the batter, whisk together your eggs, milk, white pepper, and a pinch of salt. Whisk in 3 tablespoons of flour. If you prefer your batter to be thin and airy, you can probably stop here. I prefer my batter to be a bit more on the soft but thick side, so I would whisk in an additional tablespoon of flour.

Since I don't have a deep fryer, I cook my chicken nuggets in a sturdy 9-inch skillet. Preheat your oven to 350° Fahrenheit. Fill the skillet 1/2-inch deep with cooking oil and allow the oil to heat up. Work in small batches of 6 to 8 nuggets; coat the chicken pieces with the batter and gently place them into the oil. When they turn golden brown on one side, gently turn each nugget over and fry until they are golden brown on the other side. Place the nuggets on a brown paper bag or paper towels to allow the oil to drain off.

When all the nuggets have been fried, transfer them to an oven-safe dish and place them in the oven to finish cooking (about 10 minutes). Look for small bubbles of oil sizzling on the surface of the nuggets or cut one open as a tester. Transfer them to your serving dish, finely chop some chives, and sprinkle the chives over the nuggets as a garnish. Serve with spicy ketchup if desired.

Makes 2 dinner servings.

| Spicy Ketchup | In a small dish, add a dollop of ketchup and as much Sriracha sauce as you dare to use. Mix thoroughly.

| Photo Credit: Me. |

Little Gingko Leaves

I took this photo of a gingko tree in Golden Gate Park. I think it is neat to find old trees with new baby shoots growing out of them. I really like the shape of the gingko leaf; it's less woody and more delicate looking than most other iconic leaf shapes. It kind of looks like a paper fan but less perfect.

Here are some cute gingko-inspired everyday objects. My favorite are the gingko-leaf-shaped post-it notes, which are almost too cute to write on.

| 1. Tasha McKelvey, Little White Bird with Ginkgo Leaves on a White Bowl | 2. APPREE, Gingko Leaf-It | 3. Sumiko Braithwaite, Stoneware Chopstick Rests | 4. Red Bird Ink, Ginkgo Coasters |

| Photo Credit: top. Me; 1–4. See links provided. |

My Childhood Stamp Collection

I visited my parents' house last month and while I was there, I rediscovered my stamp collection that I saved from when I was a little kid. I explained to Nick that instead of just cutting the stamps out from envelopes, I soaked them in water to dissolve away the adhesive so I could peel off the envelope backing and get just the stamp by itself; then I'd let the stamp dry flat before putting it in my special album for displaying stamps. He thought that was pretty hardcore.

I know my stamp collection doesn't have any actual value from a stamp collecting perspective because none of the stamps are in original pristine condition. They've all been used and have all been marked by the postal services in the mailing process. But as a kid, I didn't care so much about the value of the collection as the idea that these stamps represented places all over the world and journeyed to me from countries that I might never visit in my lifetime. I think the stamps look pretty together even though they've been marked.

What do kids collect nowadays? Are sticker and stamp collections too old school for newer generations?

Rice Pudding in a Loving Cup

There are cupcake shops and ice cream shops and yogurt shops all over this city. And then there is Loving Cup. Loving Cup is a rice pudding shop. They have their own unique way of serving yogurt too, but when I saw rice pudding on the sign, I knew I had to go.

Their rice pudding is the English style; it's soft, gooey, creamy, and substley sweet. If you, like me, like deserts that are mild and not too sugary, then this is for you. I've tried their Madagascar vanilla base and the one that had tiny bits of English toffee stirred in and they were both amazing. They also have flavors like coconut, rum raisin, Nutella, and chai spice.

If you prefer your desserts on the less-gooey and more frozen side of things, Loving Cup serves up their frozen yogurt in a way that's totally different from your trendy yogurt joint. You choose a vanilla or chocolate base and toppings from their extensive list, and they put everything in a special machine that blends it all together. They pass it through the machine twice to make sure everything is thoroughly blended and what you get is a frozen yogurt treat that has been custom-churned just for you. I recommend getting cookie dough, Oreos, and animal crackers for the ultimate cookies-and-cream experience.

Despite the totally unique and modern concepts that the shop serves up, Loving Cup has a cool retro feel to it with their vintage-soda-fountain-style yogurt menu and the jars and jars of different toppings lining the counters. The staff are super friendly, everything is compostable, and the portions are generous. I've already been there twice in the last three weekends even though it's on the other side of town so yeah, I really like it there.

Loving Cup is located at 2356 Polk Street, San Francisco, California 94129.

Copper Rust and the Color of the Sea

I took this photo while I was walking along the waterfront behind the Ferry Building—something that never gets old. These copper plaques are on pillars that help make up the guardrails that overlook the water. I like the way the coppery color of the rust has bled into the turquoise paint of the pillar and the rusted parts of the copper plaque have turned a sort of turquoisey color. It's like time and weather have unified the two.

I've been seeing a lot of turquoise around lately and I like the idea of pairing it with copper and other metallics. I think this color combination makes people think of the sea even though it might not really be these colors. Here are some ways to bring thoughts of the sea to your life.

| 1. 2 Dogs Wood Working, Barn Wood Chunky Wide Picture Frame | 2. RJ Graziano, Bead and Crystal Stretch Bracelets | 3. Flora Forever Doorknob | 4. Marc by Marc Jacobs, Natasha Cross-Body Bag |

| Photo Credit: top. Me; 1–4. See links provided. |

3 Russian River Valley Wineries to Visit

A couple weekends ago, Nick and I went up to Sonoma County to celebrate our one-year anniversary. If you're looking to do something a little different in the wine country instead of the wine train or the big-named tasting rooms along the main highway road that goes through Napa, I'd definitely recommend hopping among small wineries farther west. We even had to cross this rusty one-lane bridge—something I thought only existed in movies.

We'd set out to visit Hawley Winery because we loved the 2008 Viognier we'd served at our wedding and we'd visited their tasting room in downtown Healdsburg during our honeymoon. This is a photo of some of the crazy signage we encountered while weaving our way through the smaller wineries tucked in Russian River Valley. At that point I felt less like I was in the wine country and more like I was in Tulgey Wood.

(I'm going to disclose right now that I am in no way an expert of wine. I simply know enough about what I enjoy in wine to articulate what I like and don't like about the wines I taste. I look for whites that are crisp without being too tart, smooth while still having structure, and not super dry. I don't like reds as much but will be drawn to ones that are not too tannin-y and have a creamier finish. My advice to regular people when buying wines is to ask yourself whether it tastes good, or you think it would taste good if you knew more about wine. Don't buy wine that doesn't actually taste like something you'd enjoy drinking.)

Hawley Winery I think at this point I've tasted enough of what they've put out in the past three years to say that this is my favorite winery. It's run by a father and his two sons, one of whom conducted our tasting. We were the only ones there, so he even gave us a sneak peak of their next batch of Pinot from the barrel. It was really cool to know that the relatively small, barn-like building full of barrels was literally the entire stock if their next release. What we bought there: 2009 Zinfandel, 2010 Viognier, 2010 Sauvignon Blanc.

Nalle Winery Austin Hawley recommended that we go here next if we were interested in another father-son production. Apparently Dad Hawley and Dad Nalle went to school together before settling in Russian River Valley to make wine. This one had quite a few more visitors, but we were still welcomed by Andrew Nalle for a laid-back tasting. What we bought there: 2008 Chardonnay, 2009 Pinot Noir.

Porter Creek Vineyards While at Nalle, we met a lovely couple who coincidentally live in the same zip code as we do, and they recommended Porter Creek. Porter Creek has a cute little shack that they use for a tasting room and lots of big, pretty roses. There was a friendly and inclusive vibe even when the room got a little crowded. What we bought there: 2008 Zinfandel, 2009 Chardonnay.

Here are more photos from our rainy trip.


| Photo Credit: Me. |