Category Archives: Friday Favourites

Slim Paley Daily #5

Posted on by

29

L1080021

“C‘est Cheese” (says she, sheepishly inching into the room two and 1/2 days later)

You see the thing I think I failed to mention is that “Slim Paley Daily” isn’t actually, necessarily daily.

Dang :-(

 I had such good intentions too (not to mention house guests that led me astray! )

L1020085In any case, I’m really making it up to you for dallying with the ‘daily’s

by sharing a GREAT selection of delicious cheeses.

Oh Yee of little faith-I told you these were coming eventually!

~

images-2

Ossau Iraty

Ossau-Iraty is complex and includes an edible slightly white-moldy tart rind which adds considerably to the experience. This is a creamy, not bitter, not overly sweet, slightly nutty cheese. A producer of Ossau-Iraty won the World Cheese Awards in 2011, in Birmingham, England (Wikipedia)

5705833660_907e163a98

Red Hawk

You had me at “triple cream”, washed in a brine solution with sunset red rind. A real stinker, and I mean that in the nicest possible way.

Unknown-1

Midnight Moon

“Aged six months or more, this blushing ivory colored cheese is dense and smooth with a slight crunch of protein crystals that form naturally with aging. Nutty and brown buttery up front with a long caramel finish.”

images

Pittig Gouda

An intense gouda, Himalyan rock salt-hard, with a rich caramel colour and flavour. Crystalized shards of lactic acid in-bedded in each bite are like little gifts of wonderfulness.

Unknown-1

Brillat-Savarin

Created in 1930 and named after the famous 18th century gourmet, this is another triple cream extravaganza of a cheese. gorgeous with champagne & dates.

images

Parrano

Technically a gouda, Parrano is an Italian style cheese, with the flavour of aged  parmesan, but a mushier texture.

Unknown

Naked Goat

 6-month-aged goat cheese from Spain is produced with raw Murciana goat’s milk. Naked Goat® is mild and creamy with a tangy, sweet finish. The cheese is perfect for melting. Pair with almonds in honey and a crisp white wine.

~

 Cheese plate with netting cover from Summerill & Bishop  London

~

000-5

Because, really, is there anything better than cheese?!

and reading about cheese

cheese

.

Screen Shot 2013-04-27 at 7.51.24 PMFulvio Bonavia photo

So grab your bag and get shopping

Feel free to leave your cheese recommendations in a comment

and if you’re ever in Santa Barbara, Please C’est Cheese !

(PS. They also have an online store)

~

photo of girl in cheese frock  Tim Walker

 (et merci Benedicte et Kendall! xx)

Slim Paley Daily #2

Posted on by

24

L1150100

A Crusty Avocado Tart

in the gardens of “Maisons Des Reves” Dar Ahlam, Ouarzazete, Morocco

It’s Tart Tuesday!

(see what I did there?)

This was one of the most delicious dishes we ate inhaled during our entire holiday in Morocco.

The combination of melty, yet slightly grainy short crust pastry, creamy fresh avocado filling and crunchy baby lettuce & pomegranate seeds was positively dreamy.

So, Yay! Who’s your Mama?? I got the recipe and I’m sharing it with youse guys.

890A7909

L1150099It took literally every ounce of will power (and the fact that I wasn’t alone) to not ask for a second tart.

L1150096Serve with some freshly toasted french bread, chilled white wine

(do not look at that Coke-it’s a mirage-we were in the desert)

and you’ll feel like you are …

L1150103HERE

ZZzzzzzzz….

Until tomorrow.

~

All photos Slim Paley, recipe filched from “Maison Des Reves”*

*Proper props will be proffered in an upcoming post. Promise.

Slim Paley Daily #1

Posted on by

39

890A7883

Mini Monday

Welcome to the launch of “Slim Paley Daily” !

The plan is to share one fun thing a day for a week just to shake things up a bit.

Think of it as a “Friday Favourites” facelift (remember those?? Favourites, not facelifts)

As it happens, my first share is something I mentioned waaay back on Friday Favourites but never ended up doing myself…

until just recently

890A7901and boy, do I love my Moo Cards !

890A7894Half the size of regular business cards,they’re really inexpensive, easy to create and the Moo service is great.

and they’re funny, those Moo folks. Always a plus in my books.

890A7905

Simply pick whatever images you wish to print, drag them to the templates on the create page and off you go.

If I can do it, YOU can do it.

They have a multitude of combinations for fonts and background colours (though they could use more font choices) and the best part? They print on both sides!  Choose a matte or glossy  finish and load up to 100 images.

YES- 100 IMAGES People!

  I picked 100 of my own photos, most of them from previous Slim posts.
890A7884and went with a matte finish because I didn’t think my card case needed any competition. Ahem.

I think I ordered 400 cards because that seemed to come out to a ridiculously good price.

FYI- you can also create regular sized business cards, stickers, and other fun stuff.

moo.com

Check it out.

PPS. This mention is only with affection, not affiliation with Moo-nies.

~

See you tomorrow with Tuesday’s… thing.

Instagram Friday

Posted on by

37

IMG_2292

Good Friday to you all. It’s very dark and raining heavily in Santa Barbara. Practically pea soup as I look out my window. Sunset was at 4:38pm yesterday-yuk ( I have a Sunrise/Sunset App.).I snapped this Instagram photo of the granite grey sea and sky yesterday morning. It made one want to just stay in bed with a frothy hot drink and a great book while a hearty stew simmered on the stove. I wish I could say I did just that, but I dihn’t.

77e9008038f711e2a88722000a1f90d0_7The sky the night before was a good predictor of what was coming. I’m having fun with my Instagram App.  Are you using it? Are you following moi? This is with no filters, just plain.

db1f8d0a3b1711e292a022000a1faf61_7This morning there was a brief lull in the rain so I took a walk through the garden. Look at how gorgeous the trunk of the Cork Oaks get when they’re soaked through.  I think these are such under-rated, beautiful trees.  I wonder if Oprah has any on her property :)

1c8ece443b1911e29f1422000a1fbc0e_7Still with the roses… God bless em.

825649843b2111e292eb22000a1fbd89_7-1And can you believe it’s this time of year again?!  The house is filled with the scent of drying orange slices for the Christmas tree.

60778965

It’s definitely this kind of day today. I’m staying in, staying dry & cozy and hopefully get some writing done.

Cocktail hour might even commence before 5. The weather made me do it.

~

PS. I took the above photo with the “Cinemagram” App.-it’s also fun, check it out.

Hey wait- did that just technically make this a “Friday Favourites” post?!!

Wishing you a wonder-filled weekend.

xxx

~

Friday Favourites #… Let’s Just Say March

Posted on by

63

.

.

.

I took this photo of my flowers yesterday with the “Pure” setting on my camera. I must say I’m sort of loving the cooler tones and though I wasn’t aware my regular photos were “impure”  I’m thinking  one of these days I must get around to reading the manual that came with the camera. One of these days.

Just need more time. Seriously.

I did and do intend to post more than I have lately, but re-entry has been a process, let me tell you.

Did I mention it rained?  So, you know, that made things even busier…

But, all excuses aside, I’m happy to be back and revisiting  ”Friday Favourites” again!

 It’s been awhile I know.

As usual, it’s a completely random potpourri

but variety is the spice of life, right?

.

.

and speaking of spicy, (oh how I love my bad segues :) )

.

Slim Paley photo

I have a new obsession.

Roasted Shishito peppers.

Now, first let me say I’m well aware “obsession” is a word getting tossed around a little too cavalierly these days, but I don’t know how else to describe something, a mere vegetable no less, that I can’t stop thinking about since discovering them a scant week ago. I thank my ever chic friend Kendall Conrad, for introducing/addicting me to these at  Soho House in L.A.  Kendall says the secret is anchovy (paste?) which you don’t really taste, but she should know, considering she has a cookbook under her belt and happens to be the only person I know besides me that carries her own salt in her bag.  Honestly, these peppers were out of this world. How many times can one casually glance down at a side plate and count stems inconspicuously? As I was out pacing Kendall 3 to 1, I think I now hold the world record.

.

.

I also enjoyed  a romantic dinner with my husband at the always wonderful “Bouchon”  in Beverly Hills.

Don’t we all, men and women alike, have a little collective crush on Thomas Keller?

His  olives…

.

Slim Paley photo

.

.

Slim Paley photo

His  ”Ile  Flottante”- The BEST I’ve ever had and it’s one of my favourite desserts so I know from Floating Islands.

If you ever find yourself at Bouchon, it’s a must.

.

.

Then I went to Costco.

Plain and simple, I just shouldn’t be allowed to go there alone.

Anytime you’re buying bathing suits on clear plastic torsos that stick out of your shopping cart like a headless porno doll, you have to acknowledge you’ve lost all control.

 Naturally it doesn’t fit  (it looked so much better on the doll) and the question is; does it need to be returned on the plastic body or can I just hide my shame in a brown paper bag??

I guess the upside is I can drive in the carpool lane on the way there.

.

What was I thinking? I thought it looked vaguely 70′s Swimming Safari.

.

Then there were the memory foam pillows with built-in gel cooling systems.

The jury’s still out on those.

.

.

Wait, where was I going with this?

Oh right- I do have two Friday Favourites from Costco;

.

.

.

Not only did I buy swimwear and pillows, but I also bought mascara.

Borghese Mascara and guess what? Once you wrestle it out of the packaging (give yourself a good 1/2 hour) it’s really good!

I even put it on my bottom lashes (the true test) and it didn’t budge all day.

Two tubes for only $14.99 (God forbid you should ever buy one item in Costco) so I wouldn’t wait.

 I’m picking up more when I return the swimsuit.

.

.

 I know this is terrible- I SO rarely drink sodas-maybe 3 times a year and never, ever diet ones,

but gosh I’m a sucker for these old fashioned cokes, ice cold, in the glass bottles.

I just couldn’t resist!

..

Slim Paley Hipstamatic photo

.

.

Lastly, as “Mad Men” made it’s return this week ( mortified to admit, a newbie and hooked already) I’m reminded of one of the most stylish men of them all…

.

.

..

.

.

.

You might have spied this book in the tulip photo on my previous post.

.

I really felt my husband just had to have it…

.

.

.

You know we all need a little inspiration sometimes when we’re getting dressed…

.

Not to mention a friend/spotter at Costco 

.

.

Slim Paley photo

.

.

Happy Weekend All!

.

.

~

.