I'm packing/sorting and settling any last minute loose ends before I'm off to England for a month. So I'm feeling a bit scatterbrained this weekend. Best to leave you with a bit of inspiration. I'll be thinking about these images quite a bit over these next few days.

The top photo is mine but click on the links below for a better view of these other lovely photographs.

1. Untitled, by Katherine Squier 2. Untitled, by Stefano Marchionini 3. Untitled, by Joshua Whitelaw 4. Untitled, by Will Govus 5. autumn blues, by Jördis Anderson 6. northern expedition, by Rebecca Genet 7. Untitled, by Christian Pitschl 8. roadtrip, by Johanna

(At home lately.)

A few inspiring links, books/journals I have been enjoying lately.

the new brooklyn cookbook

a public space

It Happened in Brooklyn: An Oral History of Growing Up in the Borough in the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s

Theo Jansen's Strandbeest

Out and about on my own, wandering San Francisco. Its such a treat to wander a town on your own, aimlessly!

When the leaves are still green and the air still somewhat warm but hints of autumn are beginning to appear, I go for potatoes. Nothing helps me settle into Autumn more than a good hearty hash for breakfast. That, and my slippers. And lately our new rugs are helping me get in the mood for autumn, too. But potatoes do the trick every year. And luckily for me, a few weeks ago our farmers market had beautiful heirloom potatoes available and I snatched up a big bundle and took them home and made us a hearty hash.



It feels a bit silly to offer a recipe for a breakfast potato hash, but I've really been enjoying the roasted thyme, oregano and sumac flavors of za'atar spice (most associated with za'atar fattia bread) with our potatoes. We also love cooking them using an Adriatic spice blend that was given to Stephen and I as a gift by a dear friend, but I can't really tell you what is in this spice blend because its housed in an unmarked ceramic container, but I can tell you there is thyme in there and dried berries, even, I think. Its wonderful and special and delightful. Any wonderful aromatic herbs that bring you back to a place you wandered during the summer months, or remind of a place you long to be would be perfect here. Potatoes lend themselves well to daydreaming, I feel.

Autumn Potato Hash
(Serves 2 people generously)

4-6 small potatoes chopped into 1inch pieces (I go for the heirloom varieties at our farmers market. Okinawan yams are also really great.

2TB or so of your favorite olive oil

1TB unsalted butter

1TB za'atar spice or herbs de provence or any herb combination of your choosing

1/4C good chicken stock or vegetable stock (homemade is best)

Salt and Pepper to taste

**A few eggs

Directions:

Add your olive oil and butter to a wide, shallow sauce pan over medium-high heat. Once butter melts into oil a bit add your potatoes, salting them a bit. Cover the pan for a few minutes, but keep your ears peeled. You're listening for delicate sounds of browning, here. (Every pan sounds different and some potatoes even whistle). After about 2-3 minutes toss your potatoes a bit and add your stock. You want the effect to be pan sizzle with a bit of steam. Stir the potatoes, reduce to medium heat and cover. After about 8 minutes or so add a bit more salt and pepper to taste along with the spice blend of your choosing. Cook until fork tender, wafting with sweetness and browned to your liking.

** For a great hash, once potatoes are fully browned and cooked through to your liking, make a bit of room in your pan and drop a few eggs into it and cover until the yolks turn a bit opaque (about 2 minutes). I call this the al dente egg. Enjoy.

out and about in and around san francisco

Late August...

Kitchen nook

last year around this time.

Campari Siesta by lottie

Nina by rebecca genet

Early Quiet by Lucinda Dodds

Orange by Soup & Sunday

Memories of a town swallowed by the sea

lauren nassef :: a drawing a day her work is so elegant and delicate.

keibunsha books

Below are a few quotes by William Eggleston via jmcloberg

“‘A picture is what it is,’ he says when I ask him why he no longer wishes to talk about individual photographs, ‘and I’ve never noticed that it helps to talk about them, or answer specific questions about them, much less volunteer information in words. It wouldn’t make any sense to explain them. Kind of diminishes them. People always want to know when something was taken, where it was taken, and, God knows, why it was taken. It gets really ridiculous. I mean, they’re right there, whatever they are.’”

“‘I only ever take one picture of one thing. Literally. Never two. So then that picture is taken and then the next one is waiting somewhere else.’ Let me get this straight, I say, astonished: each image he has produced is the result of one single shot? He nods. And what happens, I ask, if you don’t get the picture you want in that one shot? ‘Then I don’t get it,’ he answers simply. ‘I don’t really worry if it works out or not.’”

Brooklyn pulls at my heartstrings..

My contribution to the HAITI POSTER PROJECT.

This new print is on its way to San Diego. Limited edition; screen printed on #100 French Paper; 18x24. Available for purchase on April 5! Find out more HERE.

"So I bring forth out of myself always more, always something further, an endlessly brighter shining, as far as love, which is everything, enriches me in this way and leads me to that which I am instinctively drawn, that I want to tear apart inside me, so that I may create a new thing from this state of newness which, in spite of myself I have perceived."

-- E. Schiele