Marfa Part I: The Place.

Last weekend my sister Anne flew into town, and we hopped in the car and drove 6 1/2 hours out to nowhereland West Texas, to a very special place called Marfa. Marfa is located far, far away from everything. It sits more than an hour off of any major highway, and hours and hours away from any significant city. The city population is somewhere around 2,000, which is smaller than many high schools!

Marfa exists today as sort of a modern artists colony, pioneered by renowned minimalist artist Donald Judd. In 1971, Judd moved to Marfa from New York City and started to permanently install his art. Eventually Judd acquired decommissioned Fort D.A. Russell, and began transforming the fort's buildings into art spaces. Judd's vision was to house large collections of individual artists' work on permanent display, as a sort of anti-museum. Today, the legacy of his work is a big part of the town. The Chinati Foundation and Judd Foundation work to maintain Judd's legacy, and they do it very well. We took the Chinati two-hour tour and saw several amazing art installations. Plus, signs of the art and respect for art dot the entire place.

Marfa felt like an amazing place for so many reasons, the most important of which is that I was on a sister-only trip with my friend and sibling Anne. But, Marfa is an amazing place because it thrives as an active and engaged community in a place that should be, by all logic, desolate and sad. There is an interesting aesthetic that comes from combining a stark West Texas landscape with a minimalist art movement, and combining an old sheep ranching community with a bunch of hipster infused residents. Doesn't sound like it would work, but it does. And it somehow makes it really magical. And perhaps most , I think the entire town has some secret pack to only use Mrs. Meyers hand soaps in their bathrooms. Seriously, every place was stocked with geranium, basil, lemon verbena, and lavender hand soap.

We spent only about 48 hours in the town, but did our best to pack in all the sites and culture we could.
We caught a stunning sunset on our way to dinner the first night that caused us to drive an extra few minutes out of town and park along the deserted highway to take in the colors and light.

We took a walk down their quiet main street, a combo of small town Art Deco architecture and vintage Texas town square style- some restored and some crumbling and abandon - with hardly any cars or people to obscure the view.

We ate dinner at a charming cafe, but a friendly, modern, minimalist, gourmet cafe. I had cauliflower with capers and tarragon, we ate lentil fritters in coconut chutney, and we had shared chicken and waffles then a piece of ginger root cake for dessert.

We took a two-hour tour of the Chinati Foundation, including the famous metal box sculptures installed in the old artillery sheds. The light against the angles of the art against the dessert plains background was beautiful. It made Anne want to sing and dance around the room. Judd believed that the prevailing model of a museum, where art is shown for short periods of time, does not allow the viewer an understanding of the artist or their work as they intended. Therefore his installations are permanent.

We also saw a light installation by Dan Flavin built out over the course of six renovated barrack buildings, made up of angled neon lights meant to be viewed from many vantages. We had to leave the building and enter from another side to get the full image of the art. Anne loved them.

After our Chinati Foundation tour we stopped at Marfa's sole food truck and had pulled pork tacos and a falafel burrito, sitting in the shade by the train tracks at the old railroad stop. I understand they used to load wool and livestock onto the cars in this space. Even the soda cans are vintage and artsy to fit in.

The day we left we rented vintage cruiser bikes, rode to breakfast, rode to a tiny farmers marker near the railroad track, and then road along the almost silent highway past Judd's cerement block sculptures at the Chinati Foundation. The landscape, the atmosphere, and the company made the place feel special.

Bean dip, or how to make people think you're a genius.

I have been stupid busy these past few months. I started a new job, a much more demanding job than my last, and it is keeping me working longer hours and then sleeping in my free time. I'm exhausted. There's not been a lot of cooking, not a lot of sewing, not ever a lot of keeping up with other blogger's cooking and sewing. So now more than ever, I think it is the right time to share a fast and dirty secret. It's time to share a culinary masterpiece so delicious yet so simple it feels like you are swindling your diners. The secret... bean dip.

If you want to make friends quickly, be very popular, and also have people think you are a culinary genius, serve them bean dip. Seriously. The masses, they love it. They fawn over it. They gobble it up with looks of admiration in their eyes. They will even ask you how you made it, lingering a bit in the question as though worrying it might be too hard for them to reproduce at home. And when they ask, my answer is always the same:

"Open a can of refried beans. Mix with a bunch of salsa and a handful of shredded cheese. Add another handful of cheese to the top. Microwave until molten hot. Serve with chips, preferably the generic brand. They are saltier."

Yep, that's it. My highly coveted bean dip is that easy. That accessible. And it's about as far from culinary masterpiece as fast food is. And yet, every time I whip up a batch, I swear folks think I am a genius.

Plus, on those long work days when you are exhausted (like I am every day), or for those times when you just didn't get to the store for the prosciutto and figs appetizer ingredients like you meant to, this is a fabulous go-to. It hits the spot every time.

Earth Day the organic way.

A nice guy named Craig emailed me on behalf of my FAVORITE grocery store - Central Market - and asked if I would like to review some of their Central Market brand organic products on the blog. Of course I said yes. Actually, I say "Yes! Please! Pretty please!" After all, I am already a fan of the store and the brand. And what wannabe foodie doesn't desire an opportunity to try new flavors and product and give her opinion?

A few weeks ago, my package arrived, chocked full of delicious things, including:
Central Market Organics Agave
Central Market Organics Coffee
Central Market Organics Tea
Central Market Organics Peanut Butter Dots Cereal
Central Market Organics Oatmeal
Central Market Organics Vanilla Almond Milk
Central Market Organics Rice Vanilla Milk
Central Market Organics Almond Preserves

The first thing I opened was the Peanut Butter Dots Cereal and the Vanilla Almond Milk - a delicious combo. I must admit that the cereal tastes incredibly similar to the name-brand, non-organic version of sugar cereal found on most shelves. Except of course it was organic. So, if your organic aspiration is to sub out what you like in the regular non-Michael Pollen aisles of the grocery store with something a little more earth friendly, this is your bet. The almond milk was tasty. I myself am a dairy girl - love me a tall glass of skim milk a day - so almond milk is not something I indulge in frequently. This version was light, appropriately sweet, and good with the cereal. I myself prefer the high protein, low sugar attributes of organic milk over the nutritional and flavor aspects of almond or rice milk, but if you are looking for a substitute this is a good choice.

I love toast, and both the agave and the Apricot Preserves suited bread well. If you are not familiar with agave nectar, it is produces from the agave plant, which looks much like an aloe plant and comes from Mexico and South Africa. Agave nectar has a much lower glycemic index and glycemic load than table sugar, which basically means it is a better sweetener option for those limiting sugar consumption. Fun fact: gave sap can be fermented, and by distillation it becomes a spirit called mezcal , the most widely know version being tequila. but this nectar is far from tequila, and closer to honey. Very sweet and fluid, it coated a toast snack nicely in moderation (agave nectar is about one and a half times sweeter than sugar).

Both the coffee and tea in the basket are tasty and meet my standards for high quality beverages. Nothing novel to report, but I do feel good knowing both my coffee and tea were grown organically. The tea is nice because it comes in a fabric pouch in a pyramid shape, rather than the standard "pillow" shaped tea bag.

Fair disclosure, I haven't tried the oatmeal yet because I have some Bob's Red Milled Oats open in the pantry already. I just can't bear to have two packages open at the same time, but I am swearing an oatmeal-only breakfast diet this summer so it won't be long until I get there. By the tastes of things, I am in for a pleasant bowl of oats when I get to it.

Overall I am a big fan of the Central Markets Organics brand. I like the packaging. It's clean, tidy, and shows the food accurately. Sometimes organic packaging can be the worst - it's either too hippy-dippy (making me think the food will taste like dirt), or too frou frou (making organic seem pretentious and snobby). This hits the spot and is easy to find on grocery shelves.

I can't comment on pricing, as the gift basket was a gift to me, but in general I find the Central Market brand organic products I purchase on my regular shopping trips to be fairly priced. I usually buy milk, olive oil, butter, crackers, microwave popcorn, canned beans, canned tomatoes, and other pantry staples in the brand. Pricing is usually a bit more than non-organic, but more affordable that other organic brands.

I have head debates back and forth on the value of organics. In fact, Penn and Teller even did a Bullshit episode on it in which they determined that from a consumer perspective, there is not much value in purchasing organic over commercial. But still, I value organic options in my grocery store and I will continue to be a customer of the Central Market's Organics brand. I like knowing that organic foods are products that are produced using methods that do not involve modern synthetic inputs such as pesticides and chemical fertilizers. I like knowing that my food does not contain genetically modified organisms, and are not processed using irradiation, industrial solvents, or chemical food additives. I also like when my food tastes good. Not only does the Central Market Organics stuff taste good, it feels healthier, and I consume with just a tad less guilt than usual knowing I am limiting the impact on the environment during my food's growth and preparation. As the packaging touts, "By choosing organics, you’re helping to reduce the chemical runoff in our ground water sources and to reduce the use of environmentally harmful artificial fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides commonly used on conventional crops." And it's true.

The good life.

Saturday we lived the good life. Not in a flashy, opulent sort of way. But in an everyday luxuries kind of way. We woke up and went to our favorite coffee shop for lattes. We drove to the farmers market and attended a natural running clinic. For lunch we ate oysters and drank Belgian beer at my favorite seafood restaurant. We jumped into the first swim of summer. We gobbled giant pieces of fresh-from-the-griddle flat bread at an amazing Middle Easters restaurant. We chitchatted with friends until the late hours of the night. We lived the good life, reminding ourselves all the way that we are very lucky people. Very lucky indeed.

Birthday Boy!

What do you get when you combined one 30th birthday boy, about 30 of his friends, a moon bounce, a taco truck, some patio lights, a bumpin' play-list, a huge cake from Costco, and a game of bags? You get a mighty fine birthday party, that's what you get!

Thanks to everyone who joined us last night to celebrate my Sam's official easement into bona fide adulthood. No matter that for years he has been married, held a stable job, saved in his 401K, paid taxes, and eaten his vegetables without a fight.... somehow this felt like his official transition more than any of those actions.

Happy Birthday Sam. Here's to 30 more, and 30 MORE after that!

Jailbird. A fashion do or a fashion don't?

Let's just start this post with a multiple choice question.

When Kate wears this black and white striped skirt, she looks:
a) boldly fashionable
b) graphically challenged
c) like she just broke out of jail
d) all of the above
e) none of the above. Other: _______________

I finished sewing this puppy yesterday. But now I can't decide if I can really pull it off. I was inspired by the lovely Lilli of Frocks and Frou Frou, who wore a black and white striped skirt recently with a black and white patterned top (you can see it here). I though she looked so chic, so bold, so confident, and so I immediately began coveting a similar skirt of my own.

I scoured the Internet high and low for the perfect striped fabric. I found very little in the way of appropriate striped fabric. Stripes were either too narrow, or staggered in different sizes, or just plain not available. But while there was no fabric available, along the way I managed to find lots and lots of images of striped clothing to peak my lust, including a Kate Spade yellow striped skirt that enhanced my obsession with striped skirt. I even found a blogger obsessed with Kate Spade who made her own version of striped skirts in red, blue, green, and black. But still, not fabric found. Then, magic of all magics, I found Michael Miller's Two by Two in both black and white and yellow and white.

I made this skirt using a combo of Gertie's dirndl skirt tutorials (#1 and #2), with my own addition of a wide elastic waist instead of a band with zipper. It just is so easy and comfortable with the elastic I added a pocket, which proved challenging as I had to rip it out and redo it twice (if you know how to do french seems with pockets, please share!). I also added a lining of full muslin, which may prove too heavy and bulky, but I was trying to prevent sheerness and add poof. It was a simple project made complicated by user error, but I am optimistic I can crank out more of these quickly, presuming it is a good addition to my wardrobe.

So, that is why I need your opinions. I tried the skirt on with several options for top, and now need to know the truth - does the striped skirt work for me? Let me know what you think. Or, to put the questions in a multiple choice:

If we were going to lunch, and I showed up in any of the outfits below, would you be:
a) openly envious of my outfit
b) a little bit self conscious that my skirt was making others dizzy from the stripe-i-ness
d) worried that I had an inappropriate view of my figure
d) all of the above
e) none of the above. Other: _______________

Mussels in white wine.

Dinner was going to be plain old paninis, albeit good paninis with roast beef and caramelized onion and blue cheese and arugula. But paninis none the less.

We had the necessary panini groceries in the cart by the time we got to the seafood area of Central Market and started sampling the mussels, and dinner plans changed quite suddenly. You see, the mussel samples we tasted in the grocery store were better than any seafood I have tasted, even in the nicest restaurants. Blasphemous. I mean, Central Market foodies were cooking the samples standing in teh middle of the store, at only Bunsen burners, and wearing silly hairnets at that. And the seafood sample was free. How could it be better than a plate of food I might pay $15, $20 or $30 for if I was out?!? But it was.

This led us to think... maybe, just maybe, we could make delicious mussels at home ourselves? It took a few more mussel samples to convince us. The first taste was a mussel in garlic and white wine, the second was a fried oyster, the third some crayfish etouffee, and then a second mussel steamed only in some water and its own essence. Each bite was fresh, simple, and delicious. We were sold. Six pounds of mussels in the cart, plus a bag of frozen french fries and a six pack of Belgian beer. It was our night to feast.

Trepidation returned briefly in the kitchen, first as we sorted through the mussels (wait, how open means food-borne illness?), then again right before steaming (how much liquid, how hot, how long?). But when we opened our pot of white onion, garlic, butter, white wine and mussels, there there were six pounds of beautiful, perfect, fresh and piping hot mussels, ready for eating. And again, they were better than any bucket of mussels I have eaten anywhere else.

With a big cone of french fries, a heaping side salad of veggies, a nice Belgian beer, and the good company of our friends Will and Carmen (Carmen actually took these pictures, thanks!), we were set for our feast. Additionally, Sam taught me that mussels are the most sustainable seafood. Delicious, nutritious, and ecological! Yeah.

Easy peazy, nice and breezy skirt refashion.

Nothing like a quick refashion to get the sewing urge recharged. Last year, when Liberty of London and Target collaborated, I was lucky enough to pick up a little dress on sale for $6.49 in the sale racks of my favorite Target. The dress itself was not right for me - it had a jersey halter top with a built in bra that would not come CLOSE to cover my ample self. But, the lower half of the dress was a gathered tube of about 60 inches of pretty, lightweight cotton in a gorgeous Liberty print, including a lightweight cotton lining. I thought "what the heck." It's cheaper than buying a yard of Liberty fabric (or even quilting cotton for the most part).

Well, a year later, I finally got around to converting the steal to a summer skirt, easy peasy. I just chopped off the jersey halter top, regathered the tube of fabric to my waist measurements plus a few inches for pulling on and off, attached it to the lining, and put the whole thing on a circle of extra wide elastic. Viola! A new summer skirt. Since the lining and the fashion fabric were already hemmed and seems serged, it was nothing to do the rest.

The elastic keeps it comfortable. The biggest debate was whether to use black or white elastic. The Liberty pattern has black accents in the flower pattern, and rather than being solid white, the flowers are really more of an off-white. But in the end, I speculated a white waistband would attract less attention to my waist than black. And I thought it would let me wear my shirt tucked in with a slightly higher waist than I usually do.

All in all, I think the refashion worked out wonderfully. So wonderfully, I immediately put it on and wore it to the grocery store. Now that's a statement of success!

Ellen visits Texas.

When Ellen visited Texas a few weeks ago. We had a good time. She swam in a cold lake, stood by a pit of meat, felt constantly cold despite coming to a warmer climate than she is used too, ate breakfast tacos as many times as was possible, and vainly wore false eyelashes with me . And we talked. And we laughed. And we had such a nice time just being together and relaxing and rejuvenating. I wish my sisters could be with me always.