13 May 2013

Water for People

It's no great secret that I have some pretty strong relationships with a number of manufacturers. In all of these cases, I get involved with brands that make exceptional products and that are staffed by some truly great people.

One of those great brands is Blanco. I sit on Blanco's Design Council and I count the members of their marketing department and the staff of their advertising agency to be friends as well as colleagues. Blanco makes amazing sinks and faucets and the quality of their products is enough to make me a fan. What cements my affection is Blanco's willingness to take on new initiatives and to support causes that make the world a better place.



One of their newest causes is a foundation called Water for People. Water for People advocates for and provides permanent, sustainable, potable water sources for impoverished people who'd otherwise lack access to clean water and sanitation.

As part of Blanco's ongoing support of Water for People's mission, Blanco is currently running a fundraiser via their new YouTube video, Faucet Innovations.


Each click on that video will earn Water for People a $1 donation to help them fulfill their mission. So click on that video and send the link to your friends.

I consider myself to be pretty water conscious. Yet I can't help but think that I spent the weekend spraying potable water on my newly planted vegetable garden. Gardening for me is a hobby and having so much clean water at my fingertips that I can spray it on my tomatoes with abandon is something I take for granted.

But for most of the world's population, finding clean water is not a given and growing food for a hobby isn't an option. Organizations like Water for People are out to change that. Blanco's ready to help you to make a difference and all you need to do is click on a video. Click it!

I love Instagram!

I know, I know, it's been months since I've written a post on either of my sites. It's a curious thing though; after five years of documenting my every move on a blog I'm kind of burned out. However, that doesn't mean I'm burned out on public self-expression. I've discovered something new.

My hand after a weekend's work in the yard
My hand after a weekend's work in the yard

Well, new for me at any rate. That thing is Instagram and I'm mad for it. Instagram is a photo composition and sharing platform if you're not aware of it. On Instagram, a user is forced to take a pre-framed photo on his or her phone and then run it through any of 20 pre-set filters. Technically, someone can upload any photo from one's phone, even ones taken with a good camera. I think that's cheating a bit, so all of mine are taken with my HTC OneX. My photos post automatically to Twitter and Facebook, so if you follow me there you're already subjected to my daily onslaughts. If you're an Instagrammer, please follow me at my profile there. I love to see other people's work with that platform. Even if you don't follow me, you can see my whole Instagram portfolio by following that link

I'm convinced that the shackles Instagram places on me make me a better photographer. As I'm fond of saying too, captioning my photos is almost as creative an activity as composing my shots. I'll be the first to admit that not all of my Instagram photography is great or even good. To quote my Dad however, "Sometimes a blind pig can find an acorn." Some of my Instagrams are good and some of them make me feel like I'm a good photographer. Here are some of the highlights of my year spent on Instagram. 

Part of dinner last weekend
Part of dinner last weekend
Rural morning
 Rural morning
Icarus and Daedalus
Icarus and Daedalus
I do love Philadelphia
I do love Philadelphia
Train station
Train station
Dinner with my friend (and fellow Instagrammer) Mike
Dinner with my friend (and fellow Instagrammer) Mike
Olympian in Atlanta
Olympian in Atlanta
Make a wish
Make a wish
Morning walk
Morning walk
Springtime
Au printemps
Baking a cake with one of my nephews
Baking a cake with one of my nephews
13
Winter window
Road from my brother Dave's last autumn
Road from my brother Dave's last autumn
Corn last summer
Malachai!
Tobacco fields in Pennsylvania
Tobacco fields in Pennsylvania
Bread baking in Florida
Baking bread in Florida
             

24 April 2013

A Kitchen Worthy of a Chef




Is your food starting to taste a bit gritty? If your paint is chipping off and landing in your boiling pots, the marble countertop has seen better days and the cabinets keep swinging open and banging you on the head it might be time to give your kitchen a little fixer upper.

Your kitchen space needs the same amount of attention and care as the rest of your home. In other words, it should be more than a place where you cook your meals and eat. Let’s see what you can do to wow anyone who comes in for a midnight snack –

Liven it Up with Crown Molding
Sometimes, little touches of creativity are all it takes to turn a run-of-the mill kitchen into a masterpiece of interior design. For instance, you can replace chipped wall paint with an impressive layer of crown molding. The molding is typically added to add a formal touch to living spaces but there is no reason why it can’t work in the kitchen. Crown moldings are designed to gracefully flare out to a finished top edge thereby making the area look unique.

A lot of manufacturers offer crown molding that resemble the finishes of cabinet lines. In the end to all comes down to personal taste. For example, four or five inches of crown molding will be a perfect touch if your kitchen includes dark cherry colored cabinets or a sophisticated theme.

Shelving
If your kitchen has some space to spare like an empty wall you might want to consider installing some shelving. You can put some favorite knick knacks on display or shelve any cookbooks that might have been cluttering the kitchen table.

Countertops
When it comes to replacing a broken countertop, going with one that will last longer might be a better option than a countertop that looks pleasing but cracks easy. In cases such as these, installing a stainless steel countertop is a good idea.  Why go for the stainless steel variety? Stainless steel countertops are non porous and metallic. This means that it they are antibacterial and do not need to be sealed.  Stainless steel countertops are a great way to add a modern and unique flair to your kitchen.

Butcher Block
This particular countertop adds a warm and timeless element to any kitchen space, and can be a very practical addition to your kitchen. By installing a butcher block countertop, you’re giving your kitchen a nod to simpler times when cooking was an all-day activity not handed out to microwaves and food processors.  If you’re a chef, be it professional or aspiring, butcher block countertops are a great platform to show off your skills.

It seems that every home in a neighborhood resembles the one next to it. Your home association may not let you make many changes to your exterior, but you can add a lot of individuality to your home by investing in your kitchen space. Now that you know what you should do to make your kitchen space something that will inspire delicious and tantalizing culinary delights out of you it is time to get cracking and incorporate your own style in it. Bon appétit!

About the Author

Jake Kaufman writes on behalf of America’s Floor Source, a flooring and installation specialist headquartered in Columbus, Ohio.  America’s Floor Source is committed to providing the highest quality carpet and flooring products, top-notch customer service, and customer satisfaction.

09 March 2013

A brave new recipe

One of my nieces has some health problems and as a result of that lives a gluten-free existence. She's home from college this weekend and since I love to bake and I love her, I decided to make something decadent that she could actually eat.

I'd never attempted a gluten-free baking before so I did some research. I wanted to bake something that had actual flavor and texture and since she loves chocolate, I settled on brownies with a ganache frosting. Again, because I like to bake and I'm pretty good at it, I hybridized a bunch of recipes I found and came up with a gluten-free brownie that had not only my niece, but everybody else clamoring for more.

I can handle myself in a kitchen, but a food stylist I'm not. Here's a photo of my finished recipe never the less:


Here's what I whipped up:

Gluten-free brownies
2/3 cup almond flour

1/3 cup rice flour
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
6 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 cup crushed walnuts
1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips

Ganache
9 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup heavy cream

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees with a rack in the lower third of the oven. Line an 8x8-inch metal baking pan across the bottom and up two opposite sides with baking parchment.

Take almond flour, mix it with the rice flour and set aside.

Place the chocolate, butter and salt in the top of a large double boiler over barely simmering water. Stir frequently until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth. Remove the bowl and let cool for 5 minutes.

Stir in the sugar and vanilla. Stir in the eggs one at a time. Add the almond and rice flour mixture and stir until moistened, and then mix briskly about 40 strokes. Stir in the walnuts and chocolate chips.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and spread it evenly. Bake for around 30 minutes or until the brownies are slightly puffed all over and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out moist but clean. Cool the pan on a rack. Run a knife along the unlined sides of the pan to detach the brownies. Lift the edges of the parchment paper to remove the brownies. Cut into squares or leave them intact if you want to frost them.

I'm sure they'd be perfectly fine without any frosting, but I wanted to give them an extra kick. For reasons I'll never understand, a lot of people think ganache is difficult to make but really, it's a snap.

Take a cup of heavy cream and bring it to a gentle boil. Remove from the heat before it has a chance to froth up. Add nine ounces of semi-sweet chocolate chips and whisk until the chocolate's completely melted and you've achieved a uniform consistency. That usually takes two to three minutes. You now have a ganache. In its current form, it will be a very thick liquid and when it sets it'll have the consistency of fudge.

To turn the ganache into a frosting, whip it until it gets the consistency of frosting. That will take about ten minutes with a mixer or about a half an hour if you're using a hand whisk.

Frost the brownies then set them in the fridge to let the ganache firm up a bit before you cut them into squares.

These things are by no means low calorie, low fat or low anything else. But they're very good and they're gluten-free.



26 January 2013

Time for a rant


In the United States, we spell "color" as "color" and "favorite" as "favorite." Few things work my nerves as much as my fellow citizens affecting British spellings. Unless you were born north of the 49th parallel or on the other side of the Atlantic, write the way Americans write. Affecting British spellings makes you look like a pompous ass, not the erudite thing you imagine yourself to be.