Ted Kennedy Watson
Flower Friday all about the dancing tulips in our First & Spring shop windows bouncing off the walls in a way onto a canvas. Artist Jeanne McKay Hartmann has been painting away these past weeks creating tulip remembrances. Oh my, these are good. They will be hitting our website rows and shop walls early next week. These were just tooooooo perfect not to post today. Patience has never been my strong suit. Insert large smile. Happy almost weekend everyone! X, T
Most grocery stores and cheese shops now sell the rinds of the Parmigiano Reggiano wheels they sell. Often they are packaged up with a variety of the small pieces. They almost always have quite a bit of cheese left on them and are a fraction of the cost of the cheese normally. It is absolutely a win-win for the seller and the consumer. I buy them and use a microplane to get as much of the glorious cheese off as possible to use in my cooking. Think added to pasta dishes or topping a yummy soup. The leftover rind still has tons of flavor and works great tossed into sauces or pots of soup where any extra cheese just melds into whatever you are cooking them with. I then toss it out if it has stayed intact. So much lovely flavor in these little gems.
Wine & Dine Wednesday about a place near & dear to our hearts. Cafe Campagne is one of our neighbors at 86 Pine Street in the Pike Place Market. It has been a favorite long before we opened the shop in 1998. The restaurant is a true classic in our fine city. Whether it be breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner, it never disappoints with its divine bistro fare. Sunday morning before I opened the shop at 10, I went in and grabbed a seat at the bar and had this beautiful omelette to kick off a busy day. All the while people watching as the Market started to come alive for the day. Every sublime detail is noticed, right down to the red rimmed personalized red plates. A meal there is a must when you visit Seattle, be it solo or with a group. Tell them Ted sent you!
A bottle of wine to bring as a gift for a supper or party is absolutely fine, but it is often the go-to treat folks think of so it is easy to get lumped together and not remembered with the rest. For the above, it was a Henry Dean vessel from Belgium. Along with a box of oversized tealights to fit in it and a box of matches to light it all. It will be long remembered after the party. For the hosts of the dinner we attended the other eve, they are major lovers of candles. With this knowledge, we created a gift around their likes that hopefully they will enjoy for a long time to come—and think of us when they do.
A simple potted plant in bloom can make for the perfect centerpiece for your next dinner party. Play off the color of the blooms for a unified look that could not be easier or more stylish. Extra points if you find a lovely vessel to slip the plant into to add an extra layer of visual interest.
