she sew fly :: i fly places, i buy fabric, i make things

My Latest Article on BrooklynBased.net:

Back That Thing Up: Food Truck-Friendly Wedding Venues

The Schnitzel & Things truck at the author's own wedding last fall at Brooklyn Winery (which no longer accomodates food trucks)

For a foodie wedding, gourmet food trucks offer an opportunity to serve delicious meals in unorthodox locations. For folks from out of town, a food truck’s presence just screams “New York!!” For a couple planning a wedding on a budget, catering from a food truck can represent a huge savings in comparison to a traditional caterer–by 50% or more.

You won’t necessarily get five kinds of hors d’oeuvres or a chocolate fountain, but you’ll balance that with the novelty of a fresh-fried schnitzel served out of a window under the stars. Many event venues are catching on to the growing popularity of the quirky food-mobiles, and are welcoming them with open doors.

It’s still a little hard to find food-truck friendly venues via Google, though, so I went to the sources, and chatted about catering weddings with a handful of the busier trucks: Schnitzel & Things, Wafels and Dinges, Rickshaw Dumpling Truck and the Bistro Truck. Like Rickshaw’s Kenny Lao, food truck owners seem to really like serving at weddings, and are honored to be a part of the special day. “It’s amazing and always really fun,” says Lao.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE REST

Ok, ok one more thing: Me Made Mittwoch

I am wearing a new shirt today! I made it with some sweet fabric I picked up at SewMoni in Ridgewood, Queens. The pattern is adapted from 1/2010 Tunic Dress Pattern on Burdastyle.com. I narrowed the neckline, shortened the sleeves, eliminated the neck slit. FYI I have about 6 of these now. My new get-used-to-it shirt.

Me Made Mittwoch is being celebrated today in Germany. I didn't know I was participating until just now!

My New Ukulele: Kala Spalted Maple Tenor

It recently came to my attention that I needed a new ukulele. I love my lime green flea, but after a few years hard playing, it's looking a little worse for wear. I'd now like to keep it reserved for my songwriting workshops, as it occasionally gets whipped across the room by an unsuspecting student. Plastic FTW!

For live shows, and for more fun at home, I wanted something with a richer tone and a gorgeous wood*.  I love my lacewood spruce Kala Baritone for it's warm tone, and felt pretty sure that I wanted another Kala. My man and I spent a lot of time searching around NYC for something good. Even though ukes are so popular that the backlash has already come and gone, it's still hard to find something good in the city. I eventually found what I was looking for on a site out of - you guessed it - Hawaii. A Kala spalted maple tenor uke with a solid spruce top. It's got that gorgeous wood*, and the spruce top is a no brainer for a rich tone. Yayyyy!!

It seems that Kala ukuleles arrive from the factory with the action a little high (judging by my bari and the comments of my retailer) so I was happy that the guys at www.theukulelesite.com do a nice set-up in house. At under $300, I also think this uke is a bargain for the quality of the instrument*!

*That's what she said

Click through for a couple more photos!

The inside of my head

I was hired to play a small private event yesterday - a gift from an event planner to his biggest clients. J. Walter Hawkes recommended me fore it. Heard him? You should hear him.

Thom Lussier of Cafiero-Lussier Event Design put together the prettiest, girliest tea party in the offices of a PR company he often works with. Coffee, tea, rosé champagne...and a yellow cake with pink icing cake that seemed perfection to me. Thom says they make the cake in their own kitchens. I couldn't recommend it more. The cake itself is not-too-sweet, dense and moist, but somehow still airy. The frosting was soooo rich and thick...tooth achingly sweet. The perfect combo!

I was able to enjoy a slice myself after my performance...

So the BEST part of the party was that Thom hired me to play solo ukulele. That is a nice opportunity for me in itself, but he also asked that my repertoire be made up of quirky pop tunes! I was in HEAVEN. If you know me, you know that I am happy to spend an evening sitting in front of my computer looking up chords to 80's music and hosting a one-lady sing-a-long. When the hour-long show was over, I still sat in my cushioned window seat (!!!) thinking "Is it over?? Already?? But I have so many more songs!!"

So Thom, thanks for the gig, and the cake, and a fun Valentine's day afternoon!

Below I included a list of the songs I put together for this party. I kept adding and adding. I didn't get to most of them, so if you need a solo ukulele pop singer for your soirée, please let me know. I have so much more to give!  

XOXO

PS I just bought Peony and Jasmine from Collette Patterns. Yay!

PSS It was also a good hair day!

Click through for the song list

I think I might actually start blogging again for awhile!

The Simplest Butternut Squash Soup

 

3 tbsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic
1 whole large shallot
1.5 lbs butternut squash, peeled and cubed
4 carrots
8 cups water

8 tsp chicken better than bouillon
OR
8 cups chicken broth

2 real bay leaves
salt and pepper to taste

Optional: 2 pieces prosciutto or bacon

Pork products make everything better. If you would like to add a smoky, meaty undertone to this soup, render a couple slices of prosciutto or bacon in the pot before you do anything else! Cook over medium heat until the pork product is nicely browned, and all the fat is melted away into the pan

Add olive oil, chopped shallots and garlic. Cook over med/low heat until they are soft, but not brown.

Toss in squash and coarsely chopped carrots (I like to leave the skin on!)

Add either stock (Pacific Organic chicken broth is tasty! Use low sodium. Later in the process it's easy to add salt but not to take it away)

...or water and Better than Bouillon. I prefer this option...they sell it at my neighborhood Costco!!

Add bay leaves and bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer.

Let the soup simmer 30-40 minutes, or until all the squash and carrots are very soft.

After you remove the bay leaves, CAREFULLY purée in a blender or with a hand blender.

Serve with a sprinkle of cheese and a scronch of pepper!

AS FOR THE BAY LEAVES: Have you noticed that canned bay leaves from the grocery store don't smell like anything? Well, they don't taste like anything either. Recently I found a batch of fresh bay leaves, thenleft them out on the counter to dry. I store them in a plastic bag in the dark. When I open up these babies, they smell so lovely and spicy! Best of all, they make the soup better too. 

In other news: They are truckng away summer today.

Gluten Free Buttermilk Corn Pancakes

Adapted from a recipe on epicurious

Due to modern superstition, I have been trying to eat a low-gluten diet lately. I swear it makes me feel better!

Even on a normal day, I like to experiment with lots of different kinds of flour. Chickpea flour makes thin, savory soca. Buckwheat makes a crunchy good crust for fish. This morning I was craving pancakes!

I made buttermilk cornbread last week, so I have some leftover buttermilk in the fridge, as well as my constant stash of cornmeal.  These pancakes turned out very, very light and fluffy. I miss the lovely, heavy spongeyness that gluten brings, but nevertheless, these were delicious!

• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 1 cup yellow cornmeal
• A squirt of agave syrup
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon (rounded) baking soda
• 1 large pinch salt
• 2 Tbsp olive oil

Whip it up, let it sit a couple of minutes while your pan heats up. Spoon it into the pan about 1/2 cup at a time, and you'll end up with about 6 pancakes. Perfect for two hungry people during the first nor'easter of the year!!

Serve with maple syrup. It's natural!

 

 

Cape for Fall

I really want this:

It looks SO CUTE on me.

So this morning I found this:

And this:

With some pretty silk lining from Paron, I think it would come in at about the same price! Not cheap, but cuuuute!

Matchy Best Friends: Father-Son Edition

From Jamie!

Yes, please.

Sent from my iPhone