san francisco

the view from alcatraz. the morning fog that covers not only the city, but the redwood forests that continue from washington down the coast. the magazine, gift, & floral selection at birch in hayes valley. the new orleans iced coffee from blue bottle.
those hills--dang. finally getting to explore the mission-- an iced latte from four barrel coffee. a new food journal from pot + pantry. the bizarre garden and taxidermy emporium that is paxton gate. paper goodies from voyager, located next to four barrel. finally getting to my cookbook favorite, tartine, for the best pan au chocolat ever. period. anything and everything from the slanted door, but especially the imperial rolls, the papaya salad, the caramelized tiger prawns. my favorite bakery for cookies and little sweets, miette, located in the the ferry terminal building and its packed farmers' market on saturdays. the summer collection from heath ceramics--bright coral and tan.




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lemon ginger madelines

black and white packaging design here and here
floral packaging parts one
two
some more black and white packaging design from graphic designer, ashley r. tipton
a coffee shop website
one last designer a series of black and white business cards
black and white branding with a pop of color.

lemon ginger madelines
1 1/2 sticks clarified butter
3 lemon ginger teabags
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup flour
1 tablespoon brandy
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 3/4 teaspoon fresh lemon peel
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
You will need a madeline pan for this recipe. I prefer not to use the non-stick type, as this is more authentic, but do what you can.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees farenheit. Melt butter in a small saucepan. Once melted, place teabags in butter and steep for 20 minutes and allow butter to cool. Heat eggs and sugar atop a double broiler until lukewarm; stir constantly. Remove from heat and beat until thick but light and creamy. When cool, sift and gradually add the flour, melted butter, brandy, vanilla, lemon peel, then juice.
Grease and flour a madeline pan, bake for about 8-10 minutes. Cool on a rack, shell side up.



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holiday party

Well, it's been a while. To anyone who still checks the blog or to new visitors, I have some good news. I will be updating more frequently. However, the blog will be taking a different direction. Since I am at school and baking/styling is really pretty difficult, I will be doing more of an east coast/west coast food and travel blog that shows some delicious places to hit up if you're on either side of the country. Whether you're just looking for the best cup of coffee or some pictures of tasty looking cupcakes, then this is the blog for you. There might be the occasional natalie-baked item up here with a recipe, so keep on the lookout for that also.

Here are some pictures from my holiday party when i was back home in seattle. it was a really great time with family and friends. i made vanilla-cinnamon apple and cranberry-apple galettes with whipped cream. i also went a little crazy with the decorating, much of which was inspired by the creative geniuses over at Kinfolk Magazine. Seriously, check them out. Hope everyone had a great holiday season and is getting to all their new years resolutions―psych! Resolutions are dumb: always push yourselves to be your best, y'all.

Apple Cranberry Galettes
-makes about 4 8-inch Galettes -
Dough ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) chilled unsalted butter + 2 tablespoons
2 tablespoons (or more) ice water
1 egg
1/2 tablespoon heavy cream
sanding sugar

Filling Ingredients
4 large granny smith apples
2/3 cup fresh cranberries
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ginger
note: for vanilla-cinnamon, use 1 teaspoon cinnamon and 1 scraped vanilla bean.

Procedure
Mix flour, sugar, and salt in food processor.
Add 12 tablespoons of butter; pulse until coarse meal forms. Add 2 tablespoons ice water; pulse until moist clumps form, adding more water by teaspoonfuls if dry. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk and wrap in plastic. Chill 2 hours.
While you're chilling the dough, you might want to prepare the filling (procedure below).
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Roll out dough on a floured work surface 1/2" thick. Cut into 8" diameter circles and place on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper.
Place about 1/3 of a cup of the filling in the center of the circle and fold up edges of the dough in one direction. Place a 1/2 tablespoon of butter on the filling.
Beat the egg in a small bowl and add cream. Using a pastry brush, paint the sides of the galette with an eggwash and sprinkle with sanding sugar. Place on the parchment-lined sheet pan and bake for 15 minutes depending on your oven.

Filling Procedure:
Peel and cut apples into very thin slices, about 1/4" thick, then set aside.
In a large saucepan, turn on medium heat and melt butter. While the butter is melting, combine lemon juice, sugar, and spices in a small bowl. Pour into the saucepan.
Cook the cranberries in the pan first, without the apples. Wait until they start to make "popping" sounds, then remove from the pan, leaving the juice in the pan.
Cook apples just until they are easily sliced with a little pressure from a wooden spoon. Remove from heat and toss the cranberries in. Stir the fruits in with the sauce until everything is nice and covered.

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