Valentine’s day is just around the corner!

Plump, juicy strawberries coated in sweet chocolate will be simply impossible for your loved one to resist…

Ingredients

- 1 package 12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips

- 1 package 12 ounces white chocolate chips

- 1/2 cup half and half

- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, brandy, coffee, or favorite liqueur

- approximately 50 strawberries

Directions

• Rinse strawberries and dry completely.
• Melt chocolate in microwave or double boiler, stirring occasionally, until smooth. Mix in half and half and vanilla. Remove from heat.
• Push a toothpick into the stem end of the strawberries. Dip strawberries into the melted chocolate. Turn strawberry upside down and push the toothpick into a styrofoam block so the chocolate will dry evenly. Allow to set.
• Melt white chocolate and drizzle over the dipped strawberries.
• Allow to set and serve.

courtesy of Recipetips.com

The New York Times ran a slide show of homes built with salvaged construction material by Dan Phillips. In the picture above, bases of wine bottles function like stained glass on the top of a Dutch door. I love this environmental concept!

We are very excited about a new product line we have coming in! Our bath and body expert, Kay, visited the Los Angeles Market earlier this month and she FELL IN LOVE with The Laundress. We can’t wait to carry them in our store!

“We are an eco-chic line of specialty detergents and fabric care committed to being green for you, your clothing, and the environment.” – Gwen & Lindsey

WHY THE LAUNDRESS:

• Highly concentrated – 3x concentrated for machines, 2x concentrated for
top-loading machines
• Suitable for all machines, washing temperatures and water systems
• Each product is designed specifically for each fabric with the most effective ingredients
• Save money and avoid toxic chemicals – eliminate 99% of dry cleaning needs
• All products designed and tested on Gwen & Lindsey

WHY WE ARE MORE GREEN:

• 100% biodegradable
• Concentrated product requires less packaging, less water and less energy
• Recyclable plastic is used for all products and we recycle all packaging/shipping
components
• Scents contain essential oil blends, not artificial fragrances
• We do not use artificial colors, dye or unnecessary additives
• Allergen, phthalate, phosphate and paraben free

Lindsey Wieber Boyd and Gwen Whiting, co-founders of The Laundress, created this eco-chic line of specialty detergent and fabric care to take the chore out of doing laundry.  Frustrated with dingy white t-shirts, ruined items from the dry cleaners and chemically treated cashmere, they researched and developed their own solutions to simplify and master the fine art of laundry. “We knew about 90% of our items that were all labeled dry clean only were washable” says Wieber Boyd. “We knew we could eliminate the need for expensive dry cleaning with toxic chemicals, we just needed the products” says Whiting.  They value the importance of properly cared for clothing and home linens so they formulated the most effective ingredients for each specific fabric need with their favorite scents to create a sophisticated, efficacious, green and easy to use collection.

Today I thought I’d share a light and beautiful interior design photograph by Piper Lloyd. I love the simplicity and colors of the dwelling in this shot.

This image is a remodel in San Francisco’s Pacific Heights neighborhood by JRC Builders.

“Black Bear Returns” painting by local artist, Mary Roberson. Mary’s intimate connection with nature truly shows in the way her brush captures the instincts and essence of wildlife.

Look through her art gallery and share your reactions with us.

I was inspired by these appetizing lamb meatballs by Cooking with Michele while looking for a recipe to cook our local sustainably raised organic Lava Lake Lamb. Enjoy!

“When you buy meat directly from a farmer or rancher, you buy in quantity, and in an effort to use all of the animal (isn’t it really selfish to kill an animal for only a tenderloin steak?), that quantity usually includes a fair amount of ground meat. I’ve come to the conclusion that you can modify many or most recipes calling for ground beef to use ground turkey, lamb or pork. But changing up the seasonings from say a basic Italian spice blend, to something more Moroccan – well that changes everything!

I give you lamb meatballs with yogurt sauce. Really easy. Really flavorful. And really a nice break from an Italian meatball once in awhile.”

-Michele

Click on Michele’s link at the top of this blog post for the complete recipe!

When you were a child, did you ever dream of living in a treehouse? I sure did! I thought I’d share this beautifully designed home with you to help stir your imagination.

I found this breathtaking photograph of an African elephant drinking out of a waterhole by wildlife photographer Nick Brandt. His shots capture such a dramatic presence of wildlife, you won’t be able to look away!

Take a moment to look at his pictures, and please leave a comment below if you like them.

Nick’s book, On this Earth: Photographs from East Africa is available in our store.

Good morning! I found this wonderful looking breakfast on noblepig.com. I just love a creative twist on a simple and delicious meal!

This was our breakfast Sunday morning.  Aren’t they cute?  They were very, very good.  It’s the whole egg and the toast combo all together in one nice package.

These are so easy to make and wouldn’t they be splendid on a brunch buffet table?  The best part, you can easily make two, ten, a hundred, whatever your needs are at the moment.

I think there are a lot of variations you could do nicely with this recipe, such as, swap out the Parmesan cheese with grated Gruyere or crumbled blue cheese to give a different taste.  Use feta and substitute oregano for the other herbs for a Greek flavor.

I used sourdough but I think this would also be nice with onion or brioche rolls as long as they are sturdy.

Any way you put these together, they will be great.

Slice off top of each dinner roll and gently remove some bread until there is a hole large enough to accommodate an egg.

Arrange rolls on a baking sheet.  Reserve tops.  Crack an egg into each roll.

Top each egg with some herbs and a bit of cream.  Season with salt and pepper.  Sprinkle with Parmesan.  Bake in a 350 degree oven until eggs are set and bread is toasted 20 to 25 minutes.  After eggs have cooked for 20 minutes, place bread tops on baking sheet and bake until golden brown.  Let sit 5 minutes.

Place tops on rolls and serve warm.

Eat with a knife and fork.

Baked Eggs in Bread Bowls
Adapted from All You

Amounts for this recipe are not set and are dependant on how many you are making.

Crusty dinner rolls, as many as you choose
Eggs, large, one for each roll
Mixed herbs, chopped, such as, parsley, chives and tarragon, about a teaspoon for each roll
Heavy cream, 1 teaspoon for each roll
Salt and pepper
Parmesan cheese, grated, as much as you want to sprinkle on each roll

Slice off top of each dinner roll and gently remove some bread until there is a hole large enough to accommodate an egg.  Arrange rolls on a baking sheet.  Reserve tops.  Crack an egg into each roll.  Top each egg with some herbs and a bit of cream.  Season with salt and pepper.  Sprinkle with Parmesan.  Bake in a 350 degree oven until eggs are set and bread is toasted 20 to 25 minutes.  After eggs have cooked for 20 minutes, place bread tops on baking sheet and bake until golden brown.  Let sit 5 minutes.

Place tops on rolls and serve warm.

Today we wanted to feature a beautiful artist.  Please visit Lori McNee’s webpage here.