23 Dec 2014

Sweet Holiday

If the idea of baking Christmas Puddings or Yule Logs from scratch turns your festive mood into a pickle, or if  you wish to forsake tradition for originality, then Mirabelle's selection will keep the kitchen drama to a minimum and bring WOWs to the dinner table! Enters an Italian brioche by the name of 'Pandoro', dressed up to the nines with all the trimmings...


Source: Le Pandoro Gourmand by Laura Zavan (in French), translated and adapted below by Mirabelle. The recipe is from Laura Zavan's desserts book, Dolce, La Pâtisserie à l'Italienne, published by Les Comptoirs Marabout.

Pandoro Gourmand (Scrumptious Pandoro Recipe)

Preparation: 30 mins
Serves 10

  • 1 quality artisan Italian Pandoro (1kg/ 2.3lbs in weight), from Italian delicatessen
  • 250g (8.8oz) mascarpone
  • 25cl (8.7fl.oz) double cream (or whipping cream), extra-chilled for half an hour in the freeze box
  • 3 egg yolks at room temperature
  • 50g (1.7oz) brown caster sugar
  • 2 tablespoons spirit of your choice (Brandy, Cointreau, Amaretto, etc.) - or vanilla extract
  • 1 whole pomegranate - or 100g (3.5oz) redcurrants
  • 2 tablespoons icing sugar
Method:

Prep the pomegranate: slice it in quarters and deseed. Keep aside.

Whisk together the yolks, caster sugar and spirit (or vanilla extract) until the mixture is smooth and pales down in colour. Fold in the mascarpone and whisk together to a fluffy consistency.

Make the whipped cream: whisk up the extra-chilled double cream until it holds soft peaks. Then carefully fold it into the mascarpone preparation, a few spoonfuls at a time so as to keep the mixture fluffed up and light.

Lie the Pandoro on its long side onto a chopping board. Carefully slice the Pandoro with a bread knife into half a dozen parallel slices, each approx. 2cm (1in) thick (see photo). Then with the knife, divide the largest slices into halves (or thirds).

Stack up the slices, generously sandwiched up with the cream (either use a spatula or piping bag to do so). For added effect, reshape the Pandoro into a star shape (i.e. with the slices in quincunx - see photo). Liberally sprinkle the pomegranate seeds (or redcurrants) and dust a veil of icing sugar for the finishing touch, et voilà!

And now for... The Mirabelle 'Midas' Touch: 
  1. Mix a handful of jelly beans in with the pomegranate seeds.
  2. Substitute the mascarpone with Chestnut Purée and combine to the whipped cream. Optionally add in 2 tablespoons of Tia Maria. Substitute pomegranate seeds for chocolate chips. For the finale, dust a veil of pure cocoa powder and then a veil of icing sugar. Decorate the top of the Pandoro with either cupcake sugar toppers or crushed Marrons Glacés (candied chestnuts) for extra indulgence!

Book cover picture via Amazon

7 Nov 2014

Sages, Rock Chicks and Crazy Professors!

The talent of photographer Beth Moon was brought to Mirabelle's attention by my beloved better half, Roby K. There is a dialogue and complicity going on between Beth and her subjects - be they inanimate, like the majestic secular trees with tortuous trunks and twisted appendages - or animate, exemplified here by the 'humble' farm animals, whose very sentience is either negated by the carnivorous amongst us or relegated to the back of their minds (as a reflection that "Increasingly animals have moved out of our view"), with consideration simply bestowed to the ready-to-be-consumed end product on their plate with all the trimmings, which brings to the fore the separation of food from animal death and the underlying cruelty of industrial farming and mass-consumerism.

In her 'Augurs and Soothsayers' portfolio, Beth Moon gives us the opportunity to rediscover chickens with a fresh eye, capture their beauty, appreciate their personality and sensitive streak that ooze from the shoots, and understand their honourable legacy. Beth praises the symbiosis between our elders and the animal world and she explains, for instance, how in Roman times, chickens were used in augury (the oldest form of fortune telling). Those who still see chickens as nothing more than fodder to the KFC drumstick machine, be damned!


 

Sources: All photography by Beth Moon, from her Augurs and Soothsayers portfolio. Some feathery companions like the (1) 'Appenzellar Spitzhauben' and (2) 'Asil Close Up' look sage and demure like scholars or clerics. The (3) 'Faverolles Golden' resembles a 1930s silver screen starlet as immortalised by Studio Harcourt, wrapped in a fitted coat with a fur collar. Other chicks like the (4) 'Silver Laced Polish' have shed any wallflower constraint and are strutting their stuff with a touch of Tina Turner flamboyance! Crazy professor types like the (5) 'Modern Game' look equally eccentric! You might even go as far as conceding that the (6) 'Minorca Black Hen' resembles a chaperon straight out of a Jane Austen novel, and the (7) 'Leghorn' is Maurice-Quentin de La Tour's self-portrait as a bird!

Additional Food for Thought on Farm Animal Welfare:
  • 'Playdoyer pour les Animaux' by French Buddhist Monk Matthieu Ricard. "Tous les ans, 60 milliards d’animaux terrestres et 1000 milliards d’animaux marins sont tués pour notre consommation." (Quote source). Translation: "Every year, 60 billion terrestrial animals and 1000 billions marine animals are killed for human consumption."
  • 'We Animals' is a poignant project and photography-led testimony by Canadian award-winning photojournalist, author and activist Jo-Anne McArthur who has also contributed to the powerful The Ghosts in Our Machine documentary by Canadian auteur filmmaker Liz Marshall.
  • 15/02/2015 update: Check out Mino Valley Farm Sanctuary's 'Gallina Gallery' photoshoot of 45 ex-battery hens enjoying the limelight and star treatment after a life of misery! The photoshoot was used as an opportunity to 'help educate people about the individuality of the animals lost within the system' (source: Care2). Meanwhile the mind boggles at the fact that 'in the United States, more than 7 billion chickens are killed for their flesh each year, and 452 million hens are used for their eggs' (source: PETA).

4 Aug 2014

The Foldio Portable Pop-Up Mini-Studio at Photojojo

Forsake the seashells she sells on the seashore... The tongue-twister of a title to our blogpost belies more than meets the eye, and if you are not yet acquainted with Photojojo's ingeniously geeky photo store, you need to make a 'click' dash right this second!

Traditionally Mirabelle likes to enhance technology with some DIY studio technique and in this regard, we have been known to use a white laminated drawer or a shoe box to achieve near-perfection photographic studio effect as background to stills. Now Photojojo takes the finickity out of any would-be DIY studio endeavours and delivers the finished good, which means that for less than $50.00 you will become the proud owner of a compact, lightweight, portable tabletop photographic studio, complete with the pre-requisites of three crisp backdrops and evenness of lighting, without having to lift much more than a finger or two! Professional results guaranteed and a must-have to give justice to any of your Etsy listings!






Buy the Foldio from the Photojojo Store!

18 Jul 2014

Airs and Graces in the Garden

Gardens are works of art in motion and they come into their own in the Summer. They exhale their airs and graces, flowers bursting open to liberate enchanting aromas and riots of colours, long grasses swaying gently to a lukewarm breeze, butterflies delicately fluttering about, busy bees minding their own business, while the sun casts its indulgent glow like a gloss-over that enshrines beauty captured in the moment...
 

Sources: (1) Bee House, via Decoclico. (2) 'Verbena bonariensis', photography by LiamLondon (Liam Donnelly), via Flickr. (3) Colaptes auratus, 'Northern Flicker (Yellow Shafted) on a Tree Limb', photography by Lee Hunter via IBC (The Internet Bird Collection). (4) 'How To Make a Basil Mojito', via Drizzle & Dip. (5) 'A Cricket Playing Hide-and-Seek', via our sister blog La Baguette Magique.(6) Natural Rattan Garden Chair and Footstool by Sika Design, via Decoclico.

4 Jun 2014

Libbey Ranch, Ojai CA - Two Careful Lady Owners

There was no blonde moment when it came to interior designer Kristen Buckingham's design brief for the Legally Blonde's Libbey Ranch interiors in Ojai Valley, California. To begin with, Reese Witherspoon's (now former) property was none of the MTV Crib usual suspects associated with sleek glossy museum/ mausoleum sobriety, or ostentatious mountain-top tasteless mammoth show-off. Chez Reese was about authenticity, personality and lifestyle-friendly living (understand kids, pets and no make-up welcome!), a house made to be lived in and enjoyed as.

The canvas to the brief was a stunning Spanish Colonial Revival property with oodles of style, designed by Wallace Neff, originally as a barn (later transformed into a home by Austen Pierpoint), and showcasing strong period character, typical of the 1920s golden age Californian estates, packed-full with original features as striking as the wooden ceilings and floors, monumental fireplaces, wrought-iron railing, living room chandelier (both from the estate's forge), Juliet balcony, plaster walls, and built-in bed and alcoves, not to mention the outer buildings and gardens. The canvas was preserved as a heritage testimony and the designer could focus mainly on furnishing it.


Previously owned by Interior Designer and Million Dollar Decorator Kathryn M. Ireland, Libbey Ranch had already had the feminine treatment, with a streak of colour and motif running through the hacienda like an electrified symphony, a feast of rich textured fabrics, each adding a pinch of pimiento to la salsa and creating a vibrancy akin to a Mexican fiesta.

Kristen Buckingham echoed the vibrancy spearheaded by her design predecessor. Hand-picked antique Swedish furniture pieces, and rustic, Mediterranean, retro/ vintage artefacts jazzed up the eclectic shindig and accented long-lasting interest. It seems that every object had a fascinating story to tell... and that time was almost suspended and allowed to develop a soft patina like a wine made to age develops that soft aroma with time. Libbey Ranch is built for lifelong family living. Reese put it up for sale (for a reduced asking price even!) a mere five years after she bought it, and almost before we could catch our breath and time could work its magic patina.

Further Ojai-influenced inspiration, gleaned mostly from Kathryn M. Ireland's time at Libbey Ranch and from her current Santa Monica residence:


Sources: (1) to (3) 'Charmed Circle: Reese Witherspoon's Ojai Home', via Elle Decor (September 2012 issue), photography by William Waldron. (4) and (5) 'Kathryn Ireland's Bold and Bright Ojai Home', via House Beautiful. (and Cote de Texas (4) and (5) for higher resolution, as featured here). (6) 'Kathryn M. Ireland Lookbook' - Textile Talk, via Coastal Living. (7) and (8) 'Gain Access to A Million Dollar Decorator's Super-Chic Santa Monica Pad!', via Refinery29.

Further Reading: Hooked on Houses and Cote de Texas.

21 May 2014

Pimp Up Your iPhones!

Mirabelle has been a fan of artist, designer and illustrator Ellen Giggenbach's for a good four years now. Ellen has consistently delivered high-quality, colourful, impactful and cheerful folksy-inspired visuals that have since become her trademark. She has branched out into merchandising, which enables the end consumer to own a piece of Giggenbach artistry that is also practical, from totes to mugs via throw pillows, shower curtains and iPhone cases. And those design-led cases make the likes of Mirabelle wish to convert to iPhone just so they can clad it with the case! Go check out Ellen's Society6 and Etsy shops for more.


Source: All above iPhone cases from Ellen Giggenbach's Society6 shop. Designs: (1) 'Geo Still Life', (2) 'Flower Power' and (3) 'Summer Rain'.

4 May 2014

The Leafy Quarters

If your inner India Hicks awakens the wish for your abode to adopt the stylish beach house interior with a Southern Colonial/ Caribbean feel warmed up by a lush yet breezy exotic vibe that includes a larger-than-life leaf motif of the palm variety, you want to check out three classic patterns that make a timeless design chic statement - faultlessly and effortlessly.

Match with white painted woodwork in a satin finish. Cool down with an imposing vintage ceiling fan. Accessorise with rattan pieces (and that peacock chair!), plates of decorative pineapple and other exotic fruit for visual interest, and lashes of colourful curcuma and protea. Serve with Daiquiris. Infinity pool and pet parakeet optional.

1  - Voyage of Discovery WallpapersManila in Green and Ivory DVOY213367, by Sanderson


Source: 1a - 1b - 1c

2 - The Original Martinique Wallpaper a.k.a. Martinique "A" BH90210, Originally Designed for the Beverly Hills Hotel Fountain Coffee Room in 1942


Source: 2a - 2b - 2c

3 -  Custom-Designed Wallpaper by Idarica Gazzoni for Arjumand Wallpapers, as Featured at the LIZA Restaurant, East Beirut, Lebanon


Source: 3a - 3b - 3c

18 Apr 2014

A Gold-Speckled Easter

I'm dreaming of a golden Easter day...
Just like the ones I used to know
Where the eggtops glisten
And children listen
To hear the crackling sounds of Easter...



Source: (1) 'DIY Confetti-Dipped Easter Eggs' by Studio DIY. (2) 'Golden Marbled Easter Eggs DIY' by She Knows (Holidays & Seasons). (3) 'Gold and Pastel Eggs' by Honest to Nod. (4) 'Gold Glitter Dipped Pink Painted Eggs', photography by Emily Faulstich, also recently featured in Sköna Hem. (5) 'Dipped Easter Eggs' by Fabulous K.

6 Apr 2014

Easy Like Sunday Morning

Easy, leisurely, cosy, comfy, homely... Now this is one part of the week that we wish we could suspend in timelessness and keep it there so we may linger in it at our leisure. A day that sounds like sundae and tastes just as sweet and lovely, a legitimate duvet day where we take a breather from the pressures of the week, charge up our batteries, indulge breakfast in bed and maybe watch a film too, treat our taste buds to what reason forbids, give in to temptation of gâteau, open that doomed box of chocolates, whatever tickles our fancy.

Sink into a deliciously-fragrant bubble bath to the mellow sounds of music and take stock of life, enjoy a few snatched moments of our own company, muse over with those we share our life with, explore feelings, jot down ideas, discuss a project, plan a holiday, pick up the phone to catch up with friends and family. Step out the front door to pay a museum a long-overdue visit, or take a stroll down the park that will take us down the country pub on our way back to warm up over a hot beverage, or if the weather is balmy, lounge on the patio to enjoy a sun ray or two, and idle chat some more over a drink and a nibble, and before we know it, Sunday's closing down until next week and it's time to head home...


Source: (1) Rhubarb Fennel Fizz Cocktail, by Society South. (2) 'Finding Time and Losing It' blogpost by Melina Hammer, from her blog Licking the Plate. (3) This is Tickle (that's his name!), who is both Mirabelle and La Baguette's cheeky Jack Russell Terrier mascot, one darling of a little pet rescue adopted from Manchester Dogs Home (UK) in August 2006. (4) Pouf Square Plait (Detail) by Patricia Urquiola for Gan Rugs, via Etoffe. (5) Jasmine Lip Butter by Korres.
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