Pan con Tomate
September 14, 2012
With the summer tomatoes better than ever now, it’s a perfect time to enjoy this classic from the north of Spain. Start with a great slice of bread and grill it or toast it up. Then, simply rub the rough surface with a clove of garlic followed by a good rub of the cut side of a ripe tomato. A sprinkle of coarse salt (and a little drizzle of olive oil if you’d like) and you are done and done. Eaten as a snack or as part of a light lunch as they serve it up at Sunday Supper, the key here lies in the ingredients. Use the best rustic bread you can get your hands on and go that extra mile to get a great tomato from a local farmers market or country farm stand. You might even try knocking out a homemade loaf yourself with this recipe from The Fresh Loaf. Any way you get it done…treat yourself and just do it. You’ll find yourself wondering why you never made this before.
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/2984/jasons-quick-coccodrillo-ciabatta-bread
http://sunday-suppers.com/midday-meal-asparagus-sformato-fondanta-pan-con-tomate/
WTC
September 11, 2012
The ultimate in simplequietmodern. I loved these two towers. The simplicity, the pairing, the scale. Even as a kid I knew that their presence would shape my design sensibility…and they did. Today in their footprint are the memorial fountains…a different simplequietmodern. Who could ever have known? I remember that morning as if it was yesterday…sunny, clear, crisp. Now, I will never forget all of those lives lost…in NY, PA and DC. Take a moment today to remember them… and this place.
zzzz…zzzz…zzzzzzzz….
September 7, 2012
Good sleeping weather aside, there is nothing like a simple, quiet place to catch some Z’s and refresh yourself in preparation for tomorrow’s adventures. This simplequietmodern bedroom has all that I need. From its calming palette to its simplicity of design, it welcomes you to curl up with a chapter or 2 before nodding off. Again, my “Five Easy Pieces” is all that is needed to make this plan work for you; 1) the headboard 2) the lighting 3) mattress and simple linens 4) night table and 5) a blanket, coverlet or quilt. Any of these elements can be adjusted to more perfectly suit your individual style as long as you keep in mind the part each plays in the overall design. Replacing the Moroccan table with a more organic slice of tree trunk or changing out the quilt with something solid or a pattern more suited to your taste can be done ,when approached carefully, without compromising the original design statement as illustrated here. The table is still round, playing up the low angularity of the headboard, and the hand-knit blanket adds a complimentary texture while it injects a jolt of color to the deeper neutrals. Get started now and by the time Fall officially arrives you’ll be ready to…well..call it a ….zzzzzzzz.
Pucker up
August 29, 2012
It’s almost time. I’ve been waiting all summer for the run to the farm stand to pick up my cucumbers and make a batch of crock dills. I had never made pickles before last summer when I got hold of a recipe that a family friend uses and everyone raves about. I commandeered a 3 gallon stoneware crock, gathered my ingredients and in no time…literally 4 days…I had quarts of fresh dills that were second to none. It’s always gratifying when a plan comes together but when the jars started disappearing and friends were asking for pickles or the recipe well into the winter, well, that recipe is a keeper.
Summer Rocks
August 26, 2012
And, that is the inspiration for this simple “assembled” floral display…a found object…a rock. Well, that and the white-hot sunlight that August brings and lush green lawns. What could be more refreshing on a hot hot day than crisp white and the cooling effect of mossy green? interpreted in Ornithogalum and Dianthus barbatus cultivar…simply arranged in an assortment of clear and frosted glass cylinders, this grouping can stand alone on your dining or coffee table any day of the week or, with a little further augmentation, create a quiet, elegant presentation for some occasion more special. Perhaps grouping the parts on a white lacquer tray or natural log slice, adding more egg rock or river stones and some simple votive candlelight to compliment the star-shaped blooms? Any way you rock it you’ve got simplequietmodern that lasts and lasts ( these flowers in the photo are in week 3) and won’t break the bank.
“The journey of a thousand miles…
August 23, 2012
begins with a single step” in the words of Chinese philosopher Lao-tsu. Or in this case,a single cast on stitch. Finally, California Dreamin II has been cast on…300 stitches to start…180K to go. Phew…that’s a lot of knitting. Elizabeth Zimmerman knew the benefit of a project like this when she said “Properly practiced, knitting soothes the troubled spirit,and it doesn’t hurt the untroubled spirit either.”
Foreign Correspondence
August 19, 2012
In these days of email, texts and tweets the simple yet welcome gesture of a hand written note has all but dissappeared…a foreign exercise to most people. But, when the need arises don’t be caught short as I nearly did when I recently had an occasion to send a simple note. A quiet white-on-white embossed card is my personal stationery of choice ( available at Neiman Marcus and surprisingly cost-effective at a little over $1 per card including an embossed envelope) and if I need something with a bit more flourish I always have a white-on-white floral repousse’ card from Hallmark on hand. Both are the simplequietmodern choice suitable for a condolence note, wedding wishes or just to reach out with a kind word. A little planning and you will always be ready to make the greatest personal statement… with just a whisper.
http://www.neimanmarcus.com/p/Embossed-Card-Ensembles-Stationery/
Simplicity…
August 15, 2012
“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” Leonardo Da Vinci
Watermelon Gazpacho
August 12, 2012
It definitely says summer. Few ingredients…5 minute prep…overnight chill… done and done. The little kick from the hot sauce or some red pepper flakes makes all the difference. Why not serve it as a cocktail or appetizer “shooter” with a feta cube and mint leaf garnish (would a shot of vodka be so bad?) . Or, you can serve it up with a skewer of grilled shrimp like they do over at Meatballs and Milkshakes who created this recipe. Not a bad offering for these 90 + degree days we’ve been having.
http://meatballsandmilkshakes.com/2012/07/10/watermelon-gazpacho-and-grilled-shrimp/
On your mark…
August 9, 2012
get set….Whoa! Is it me or do both of these chairs look like they’re going somewhere while standing still? Produced decades apart, they share a similar design sensibility. The early Windsor style chair seems to proudly display the same rakish lines and simplicity as the Verner Panton design of 1960. It’s poised as if getting ready to sprint to catch up with the middle of the twentieth century from its early twentieth century origin. In a modern interior the Panton chair strikes a classic profile to be sure,but the introduction of a piece like this one-of-a-kind Windsor into a room full of modern classics presents all in a new light. We are encouraged to compare and contrast the shape , finish and patina of the old with the newer and see it as art, like sculpure…with a purpose, a function… even if that function is to simply and quietly please the eye. 
http://xenoscollection.com/index/home/ 
simplequietmodern 