cuppow : canning jar turned travel mug

Love this! Want this! CUPPOW is available online for $7.99.

(*via Linda & Harriett)

color gradient : birthday cake

How pretty is this! A gradient cake made by food and coooking blogger Not Without Salt, complete with a tutorial video!

(*via Mint Design Blog)

art of the menu : the blog

UnderConsideration is responsible for some of my favorite blogs out there. Their newest is Art of the Menu, showcasing restaurant menu design from around the world. Great inspiration!

www.underconsideration.com/artofthemenu

making japchae : a favorite korean dish

This is the start of one of my favorite Korean dishes, japchea (pronounced like “chop-che”), a mild noodle dish packed with veggies and beef.

I documented the recent preparation of a big batch — really helps to work with a giant bowl — so you can get a sense of the steps. And here’s a good recipe. It’s not too tricky, but a bit time consuming since all the veggies need to be precooked and chopped before mixed in with the Vermicelli noodles. Mix all that in with soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, and sesame seeds and serve room temp. So so delicious!

congratulations ! winner of scanwiches’ fanwiches

Scanwiches — a blog I’ve posted about before — recently ran a contest for fans to enter their own sandwich scan. Here’s the winner. Quite a beauty!

The Stalwart Goatherd: Montchevre Goat Cheese, Honey, Roasted Beets, Roasted Red Pepper, Roasted Garlic Spread, Arugula, On Raisin and Nut Whole Wheat Bread.

mud pies and other recipes : by margaret winslow

Happy Solstice! This felt like a fitting post for today.

The New York Review Children’s Collection recently reissued this incredible children’s book, Mud Pies and Other Recipes. I’m in love and not so sure if I encountered it as a kid, but either way, it’s simple and brilliant. A “cookbook for dolls” is how the author, Marjorie Winslow, describes it. Here are some sample pages to give you a sense.

I think this is a perfect gift for any imaginative soul!

photo essay : how we make a greek feast

As I mentioned on Tuesday, the annual tradition at my parents’ house is to make a huge spring feast of Greek food for the extended family. No one is actually Greek, but whatever. We do it right. Here’s how it goes down, as documented last Sunday.

Yassou! (to your health)

(Hope I spelled it all right, Momma!)

the geometry : of my weekend

This past weekend was the traditional Greek feast that my parents host every year. No, we’re not Greek. But my parents lived there for a couple years when they were first married, so we’ve adopted the culture somewhat — and with this food, who wouldn’t?

I’ll be sharing images from the weekend with you all week. To start, a birds-eye view of some of the goodies.

edible pen : dave hakkens

Even a calligrapher will admit to the occasional pen nibble. Dave Hakkens‘ concept project, the edible pen, gets real with this issue. It’s constructed of candy parts, all of which can be consumed except for the very point of the pen. His design is thought out and careful; the candy won’t melt in your hands and it’s designed to be functional and enticing. Read more about his process here.

(*via Incredible Things)

the best kim bap : in new york city

Living in South Korea for six months got me hooked on the ultimate Korean snack food, kim bap, which translates to seaweed-rice. It looks similar to a sushi roll but the ingredients are traditionally a sheet of seaweed rolled around carrots, pickled radish, spinach and a meat or fish cake of some sort. But there are tons of varieties. It’s the best snack ever. Satisfying and filling but light and leaves you feeling good.

It may sound simple but it’s proven very hard to find Seoul-caliber kim bap in New York. The only place that stands up to my Korea-trained instincts is E-Mo Kim Bap at 2 West 32nd Street, between 5th and 6th Avenues, AKA Korea Way.

Highly recommended! Here are some shots of the kim chi kim bap roll I picked up for lunch the other day.