Look at these luscious images of harvest bounty from Camera in the Cupboard. They’re reminiscent of an old master painting. The images are so realistic you can almost smell the fruits and vegetables!

HuTong Restaurant in Hong Kong. One of the best eating experiences of our vacation. A review to come soon.

Nothing unheard of, but worth being reminded about, National Geographic has amazing photos, many of which can be downloaded for breathtaking desktop backgrounds. An easy way to brighten up your cubicle.

Finally, a tutorial to make those cute fabric flowers you see everywhere.

When you don’t feel like cooking dinner, try knitting it. Interesting images of knitted food by Ed Bing Lee.

Sometimes you feel like having a beer and the timing is not right, maybe you’re in a meeting, or at the playground with small children, that’s where Beer Candy comes in. Delicious beer flavor in an easily portable, alcohol-free package.

Perhaps I sometimes fall prey to what the bottom fortune suggests and think too much. For 2012 I will seize the day and try not to get stuck over-contemplating the details (aka sweating the small stuff).

What’s your favorite fortune?

I’ve come across a lot of great ideas and much inspiration as I scour the web for gift giving ideas, holiday meals, and vacation planning resources. Of course, I want to share with you!

For the love of architecture and rap: Ice Cube celebrates The Eames

Not to be outdone by another rap star, Cooking with Coolio is educational and entertaining.

Unusual museum in nearby Salem honoring Pirates. Aargh!

There are many websites for color exploration and experimenting. Need to create a color scheme of complementary or tertiary colors? I like how the ColourLovers website has gone beyond the basics and created a community around sharing color themes.

I completely missed National Cookie Day (as created by Cookie Monster), but will it to the calendar for next year and be ready with an arsenal of cookie recipes for the occasion! I did make cookies for the holiday bake-off at work. See them above? They were delicious, but far out-done by the amazing confections created by my colleagues. I’ll have to raise the bar for next year.

new bowls for holiday baking

So, without further ado, here are the interesting links I’ve discovered this month:

I recently purchased some amazing vintage Fireking glass bowls, you can see one in the above photo. I came across a post with great information on caring for pyrex glass from Jen at In Color Order.

Vintage inspiration from this photo blog.

Holiday gift giving can be a stressful time, especially if you’re shopping for an grab bag gift, or for someone you don’t know very well. Kikkerland Design has some great gifts with universal appeal.

Do you like gardening? Are you an avid hunter? Then Garden & Gun magazine is for you! What an amazing combination of interests in a beautiful publication.

The second excitement is that Whole Foods opened a branch in my neighborhood. I’ve been watching the construction for some time and there has been no indication of when the store would open. Wednesday night was the grand opening and Thursday I checked out my new neighborhood supermarket! It replaces Hi-Lo Market and is a fairly controversial event. I am sad to see a local, independently owned store close, yet I am happy that Whole Foods has opened. Hi-Lo closed very early, was not the cleanest market, and I somehow always felt sticky after shopping there, like something had leaked onto the outside of whatever packaging I had touched. Whole Foods will be open late (till 10pm) to satisfy evening cravings or ingredient needs. It has significantly diminished my grocery carrying distances and they offer items that are hard to find in short radius of home – like red bananas, kosher chickens, and wheat germ. Maybe not the typical household grocery items, but ingredients that I do seek out on occasion. Perhaps I will work on recipes using these items in the near future, so you can understand their importance.

I never expected snow for Halloween, nor did the thousands of people across the state that are still without power. I started a new job at the beginning of the month. I’ve been learning the ropes and adjusting to the new rhythms of work. This has kept me busy during the day. The evenings have been filled with some intense spells of cooking followed by delicious days of leftovers. Husband has been very pleased with my homemaking activities, even if some of the recipes have not been worth repeating.

So, I bring you a little bit of entertainment that I encountered over the month.

the Pupcake: cupcake for dogs

They Draw and Cook. This is an amazing website where people from all over the world submit illustrated recipes. Swoon for the recipes, double swoon for the illustrations.

In the vein of illustrations, here is a print diagramming different kinds of hats by Rifle Paper Co. They also have lovely recipe cards, a great way to share inspiration.

And in the spirit of Halloween, a MONSTER rolling pin and a rolling pin with monsters (and other characters).

And, if you haven’t had enough monsters, creepy cookies can be yours! Or, beautiful cookies, depending on the theme you are going for…

This changed when I met Mike. He had his own way of making oatmeal. It was no longer the gross oat-and-water mush that came from the microwave. Mike would make me a special weekend bowl of oatmeal full of fruit, nuts and cinnamon; cooked so the oats were firm and not mushy. I learned how to make this special oatmeal as well. On a cold morning, I find myself craving a hearty bowl of warm oats. Perhaps it’s growing up, but I also like to think that it’s a matter of finding the correct method for my tastes. Sometimes when I encounter a new ingredient, flavor, or dish that I do not particularly care for, I remember how I have come to like oatmeal. And like oatmeal, perhaps this item needs a second chance, a new technique, or a different seasoning for it to become a favorite.

Are there any foods that you’ve reconsidered?

Mike’s Oatmeal
serves 2
1 c. rolled oats (not quick-oats)
1 c. milk
3/4  c. water
pinch salt
1/4 c. nuts (walnuts, pecans, almonds, or cashews)
1 apple, diced
2 tsp. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
2 Tbsp. raisins

1. Bring water and milk to a low boil in a small saucepan.
2. Add salt.
3. Add oats, raisins, apple, nuts, brown sugar and cinnamon.
4. Stir to combine and lower heat to a simmer.
5. Stir periodically and cook until all liquid has been absorbed.
6. Split between two bowls and enjoy!

I know that most of you are so tired of eating sandwiches. You’ve probably eaten over 10,000,000 in your lifetime (or so it seems). It’s just a standard hum-drum mid-day mid-week meal to get you through the afternoon of meetings, emails, and whatever else you have scheduled. You no longer even raise an eyebrow over a sandwich. I am usually like you. But every now and then I find a sandwich that makes me pause to catch my breath. A sandwich that is deserving of one, if not two, raised eyebrows. A few weekends ago I made just such a lunch. I know you don’t really need a recipe for a sandwich, so here are the assembly instructions. Take a moment to enjoy each bite, because sandwiches like this don’t come around just every day of the week.

Amazing Sandwich
2 slices rustic bread (whole wheat or seven grain)
radishes, sliced thinly
2 hard boiled eggs
fresh fennel, cut up
1/2 avocado
mustard
sharp cheddar cheese
salt & pepper

1.  Lightly toast bread
2. Slice hard boiled eggs (love using this 7. Gently sprinkle fennel on top of radish. Be generous.
8. On other slice of bread, spread mashed avocado.
9. Add slices of cheese onto avocado.
10. Carefully turn avocado half of sandwich onto egg half of sandwich.
11. Savor and enjoy.

Here are some of the things I discovered this month*:

Fishing on Lake George (hence, the above photo)
Color Pencil subscription
Trifele Black heirloom tomatoes that I want to plant next year
A beautiful graphic explanation of all those confusing coffee drinks here
And in preparation for next month: instructions for making spiderwebs inside a balloon

*not all of these were actually discovered this month, but most of them were, and it seems the appropriate time to share.

What were your favorite discoveries of the month?

reflections on water

Perhaps I take this blog too seriously. I panic that my post is not eloquent enough, not relevant to anyone, or well photographed and layed out. I worry that I post too infrequently. It’s these strange thoughts that get mixed in my head with all the recipes, ideas, photos and inspiration. Somehow it all swirls together and leaves me with writers block. I get distracted. I put off that post I started one more day, and then another day. Before I know it, it was started so long ago that I can’t remember the recipe, or the information is completely irrelevant and outdated. So, I’m trying a new technique. Sometimes a new tactic helps you see the world afresh. I will try the short post. Perhaps, it’s better to have a short, under-illustrated post than no post at all. What do you think? I suppose I won’t know if I don’t try.

In the spirit of the new year (Happy Rosh Hashanah!) I will try new things, be open-minded, roll with the flow, take things as they come, and be a more involved blogger. You see, I’ve been filling my blog time with other activities. I’ve discovered quilting. I’ve been so busy reading new blogs and exploring new ideas that writing has been pushed aside. With each thing learned, there comes a wealth of new rules, activity, related vocabulary and new phrases to learn. My mind is stretched in a new direction.

But in due time, writing is something I return to. On morning runs I compose in my head. I think of recipes and the best way to share them. I talk to Mike about flavor nuances, photo editing, camera features and dishes. I have the characteristics of someone bitten by the food blog. Yet I’m missing one key element: the blogging.

So, with this new year, I will try to put pen to paper (keys to screen?) and follow through with sharing more recipes and ideas. I will also try some shorter posts and learn to relax a little. I think letting go is just as important as embracing new ideas.