friday favorites: glass objects

I've mentioned before that I'm a huge fan of glass, so much so that 7 years ago I enrolled in a glassblowing class at Urban Glass in Brooklyn. Unfortunately I never really got the hang of it - trust me, it's harder than it looks- and all I was left with, after months of practice and hard work, was a few sad looking vessels that have almost no practical functionality. 

Thankfully, there are some really talented glassblowers and glass makers out there. Here's a round up of my favorites, some old and some new. 

Happy weekend!
xo, 
Batya

1. Matterhorn Glasses by Tale Design via Cool Material
2. Table by Glas Italia via Trendland
3. GlassMount for Bomma by Arik Levy  
4. Tapio Wirkkala for Venini 
5. Iittala Ruutu Vase by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec via Designythings
6. Vaso-Sake Set by Sempli 
7. Sini Rame Nesting Bowls by Sempli 
8. Lighting by Niche Modern (PS: Factory Sale this Saturday in Beacon, NY) 
9. Luxe Carafe Set by Niche Modern
10. Hazy Days by Marset 
11.  Laguna Glassware by Attico 
12. Water Pitcher Block by Antonio Arico via Design Milk  

Thank you to Carly of DLD PR for assisting with this collage. Please note that Sempli, Niche Modern and Marset are clients of my firm, but this is not a sponsored post and the recommendations are my own.

cook the mag: bon appetit's feta with sumac and black sesame seeds

If you would have said to me, say three years ago, "Batya, how are the Broncos doing this season?" I would have shrugged and stared back at you blankly. The confused look might have been followed by something like, "You mean the football team, right? The one from Denver?" But that would have been the extent of it. I come from a long line of Yankee stock, and other than baseball, we didn't follow other sports. Football hardly registered at all.

Things changed exactly one year ago when my husband's cousin Melissa gave us tickets to see the Denver Broncos, a gift for our 5th anniversary. It was my first trip to the stadium, and even though I was hopped up on meds (following a diagnosis of acute tonsillitis with an extreme form of strep), I fell in love with the sport. Football is a religion around here, and I've become a pretty faithful practitioner. I'll admit that I don't know every rule or intricate detail of the game, but my heart is definitely in it. 

In addition to cheering for the home team, Sunday football has become a catalyst for our weekend gatherings too. Sometimes we head over to our neighbors' house, other times we host at our home. And since there's never really enough time to clean the house and cook a meal, I opt for dishes that are big on flavor and easy to make. Last week's menu included olives (the good kind), a cheese plate, hummus (2 ways),shakshuka (sauce made the night before), and this feta sumac spread from Bon Appetit. Though our team didn't win the game (don't worry, they're still in 1st place), we all had a great time. And isn't that what football gatherings are really about? (S

xx, 

Batya

Feta with Sumac and Black Sesame Seeds (Courtesy of Alison Roman for Bon Appetit Magazine, October 2014)

Ingredients

1½ pound feta, sliced ¼” thick

1 tablespoon fresh oregano or marjoram leaves (optional, I made it with and without) 

1½ teaspoon black sesame seeds

1½ teaspoon ground sumac

Olive oil (for drizzling)

Crackers (for serving)

Preparation

Divide feta among small serving dishes. Top with oregano, sesame, and sumac. Drizzle with oil; serve with crackers.

Notes: 

If you're looking for really good cheese, olives, crackers- that sort of thing- and you live in Denver, head over to the Truffle Cheese Shop on 6th Avenue. It's one of the best in the city. 

Sumac, a tart, citrusy spice, is available at Middle Eastern markets or specialty foods stores. I have a friend who brings back sumac from the Middle East (Lebanon), but when I run out I head over to Arash Market in Aurora. 

friday favorites: hexagons

I'm not sure if it's because I'm the daughter of two mathematicians, or because I'm fascinated by honeycombs, but my obsession with hexagons (the coolest geometric shape) is at an all time high! Here are some of my favorite hex designs. Enjoy your weekend and I'll see you next week!

xo,

Batya

HEXAGONS 

1. Hex Spora by Light + Ladder

2. Grid Set by Valvanera Arrieta via Design Milk

3. Grid Set by Valvanera Arrieta via Design Milk

4. Half Hex from Dwell Tile Pattern by Heath Ceramics

5. Low Hex Stool by Sixinch for Studio Stegers

6. Gold Hexagon Bracelet by Sarah Loertscher 

7. Hyve System by Herbst Produkt 

8. Glitz Medium Round Plates by dbO Home via Cooking Light 

9. Modular Hexagons by Form Us With Love via Apartment Therapy

10. Hexagon No. 1 Print by Martin Isaac for Society6

11. Dechirer Hexagon Tiles by Patricia Urquiola for Mutina via Stone Source

12. Kaleido Trays by Clara von Zweigbergk for HAY via ArchiLovers (available at DWR)

Thank you to Carly Loman, my colleague at DLD PR, for helping me put this collage together! 

fall hiking in colorado + farmhand's choice granola

Walk away quietly in any direction and taste the freedom of the mountaineer. Camp out among the grasses and gentians of glacial meadows, in craggy garden nooks full of nature's darlings.

Climb the mountains and get their good tidings, Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves.  

Fresh beauty opens one's eyes wherever it is really seen, but the very abundance and completeness of the common beauty that besets our steps prevents its being absorbed and appreciated. It is a good thing, therefore, to make short excursions now and then to the bottom of the sea among dulse and coral, or up among the clouds on mountain-tops, or in balloons, or even to creep like worms into dark holes and caverns underground, not only to learn something of what is going on in those out-of-the-way places, but to see better what the sun sees on our return to common everyday beauty.

- John Muir

My mother always told me to, “try try again” and more often than not those words would be accompanied by the story of the “Little Engine That Could.” I don’t believe in perfection, but I do believe in improvement, determination and getting back up. 

Though our most recent trip to Aspen didn’t go according to plan, I wasn’t going to let one failed vacation deter us from attempting another adventure. So last weekend we loaded up the car and drove west, and then north, in pursuit of mountains, roaring rivers and bugling elk. We found them all…

Enjoy your autumn adventures wherever they make take you. And if at first you don't succeed, try try again. 

xo,

Batya

Rocky Mountain National Park  (Bear Lake trailhead to Nymph Lake/Dream Lake/Emerald Lake.  The Kawuneeche Valley. Trail Ridge Road.)

Guanella Pass 

Trails near Georgetown, Colorado

* * *

A few months ago our friends Ori + Jenn came to visit us in Denver. In addition to bringing their two young daughters - Olive (3) and Sophie (5 months)- they also brought treats. 
By treats I mean really good treats like  Stumptown coffee and chocolate babka from Russ and Daughters, a NYC landmark known for its appetizing spreads and babka- which might very well be the best in the world. They also brought a giant bag of homemade granola that I couldn't stop eating. Below is the recipe for that granola…(perfect for fall hikes or most any other time). 

Farmhand's Choice Granola (Courtesy of  Brooklyn's Early Bird Foods Nekisia Davis via Martha Stewart)

Yield: Makes about 7 cups 

                Ingredients

                3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

                1 cup raw pumpkin seeds, hulled

                1 cup raw sunflower seeds, hulled

                1 cup coconut chips

                1 1/4 cup raw pecans, coarsely chopped

                3/4 cup pure maple syrup, preferably Grade A

                1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

                1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar (you can also use coconut sugar)

                Coarse salt

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Place oats, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, coconut, pecans, syrup, olive oil, sugar, and 1 teaspoon salt in a large bowl and mix until well combined. Spread granola mixture in an even layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Transfer to oven and bake, stirring every 10 minutes, until granola is toasted, about 45 minutes.

Remove granola from oven and season with salt. Let cool completely before serving or storing in an airtight container for up to 1 month.

my mom's challah bread!

Photo credit: My mom, Debby

For me, the holidays have always been about meaningful gatherings and food. Ever since I was a little kid we would host our family and friends. My grandparents, great-aunt, and cousins would come over and everyone would get dressed up. The leaves outside would be turning colors, cooler air would come through the open windows, and the house smelled great. It was my favorite time of year. 

Since moving to Denver three years ago, we have been working hard at building our community, and by that I mean inviting our friends and neighbors over (regardless of their ethnicity or background) to share in a few of our traditions (tradition!). We've hosted some interesting Passover seders (too much wine drinking, too little afikomen finding), lit Chanukah candles, consumed potato latkes, and invited guests over to dip apples and challah in honey which is the way we start Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. 

This New Year has been hard, as it's the first round of holidays without my father who passed away in May. I was feeling a bit withdrawn and I wasn't even sure I wanted to do anything to mark the holidays. But then, about 2 weeks ago, a FedEx package arrived at my front door. In the parcel was a plastic bag which contained 2 perfectly round challah, wrapped in my mother's signature packaging of choice- aluminum foil. I didn't even have to look at the return address to know who sent them; I knew immediately. It made my day, and it served as a reminder that traditions carry on despite the difficult losses we suffer along the way.

Photo credit: My mom!

I put the challah in the freezer (because without preservatives they don't last long) and took them out to thaw a few hours before they were to be served. Moments before our neighbors arrived, I popped them in the oven at 200 degrees for about 10 minutes. The entire house smelled like home; not my current home, but my childhood home. It's incredible how a tickle of the olfactory nerve can conjure up years gone by. Anyway, I cut a few slices of challah, and we dipped it in some outstanding local honey. Then we made a few toastsM. ay this be a year filled with love, health, happiness, peace, compassion, prosperity and understanding. Happy 5775!

From My Mom: 

Throughout the year, the traditional Sabbath bread, the Challah, is usually made by braiding strands of dough.  At this time of year, Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, as well as the other High Holidays, it is customary to use round challahs.  Some say it points to the cyclical nature of the year.  It is also traditional to dip the challah (as well as apples and various other items) in honey which symbolizes wishes for sweetness in the days to come, and along those lines, round challahs usually have raisins baked inside.

I recently graduated to using a bread machine to get the dough started. 
Here is my recipe:

CHALLAH BREAD

Ingredients

1 cup very warm water

¼ cup oil

1 egg + 1 for top, beaten

1 teaspoon salt

4 cups all-purpose flour + more as kneaded

½ cup sugar

1 package yeast

Raisins, as needed

Check out your raisins before you begin. If they don’t seem plump enough when you open the bag or box, place in a bowl, pour some boiling water to cover, and let them sit.  The water will absorb and fluff out your raisins and make them sweeter, too.

Place all ingredients except raisins into bread machine and select ‘dough only’ cycle.  Take the egg for shine on top out of refrigerator; if it is too cold it may inhibit the dough from further rising.

When the ‘dough only’ cycle completes, remove dough to a large, floured bowl.  If you want to make braided challah, you will then need to work on a large, flat surface.  If baking round challah, you can shape them straight from the bowl. 

Knead the dough till all air bubbles are out, maybe 10 -15 minutes.  Add flour to your hands as you knead, to avoid sticky dough getting glued to your hands.  Divide the dough into an equal number of portions, continuing to eliminate air bubbles and minimize stickiness.   This is the appropriate time to add raisins.  Tuck 2 or 3 at a time into a portion of dough, knead some more, add a few more raisins, trying to space them out.

Shape the challahs, either in pans or on cookie sheets.  Let rise about 1 ½ hours, possibly covered with slightly moist towel.  If your oven has a ‘proof’ cycle, that works wonders at this point. “Line” the top with egg to give the finished product a nice shine. Bake in a 350 degree preheated oven for 35 minutes or until challahs appear done.

If you will be baking challahs often, you might want to ‘cheat.’  Go to www.thekoshercook.com and look for their varied sized challah baking pans.  They are easy to use and turn out professional-looking challah without braiding.