Intelligent Design - Cooking: Pate

Creativity comes in many forms. This time of year when the air is cold and the garden is dormant, our home is our inspiration. Whether through writing, cooking, crafting or entertaining, we stay active even during these cold and dark months until spring comes again and our ideas 'bloom'! We had the incredible opportunity around the holidays to join a friend's family during their annual tradition of making pate. Pate is a rich, spiced combination of liver, wrapped in bacon and baked in a steam bath. It is wonderful served as a spread on crackers accompanied by grainy mustard, onion and small gherkin pickles. Here is a pictorial reveiw of the process and a recipe at the end.

Many hands make light work...a glass of wine makes it a party!

Layering bacon in the pans.

It's a pate parte!

Pate in the La Creuset.

Filling the pans, wrapping the 'loaves'.

Beautifully baked. 

Slice and enjoy!

Bushels of Begonias

We were recently asked to plant a trio of indoor container gardens for a client's home. He had purchased a beautiful vintage plant stand at a home store in New York City and found three complimentary containers, aged aluminum boxes fitted into wire produce baskets. Together the pots filled the stand which he hoped to use as a room divider behind the couch. The space is bright - but  most indoor locations are considered quite dark by plant standards so we knew we would need plants that were shade tolerant, could handle some degree of neglect (as the homeowner travels) and would add a sophisticated touch of color to the well-decorated room.

Here you can see the three planters lined up on the stand awaiting the installation. Since there are no drainage holes in the containers, the bottom was lined with charcoal to help purify any water not immediately used by the plants and to keep their roots elevated above the excess moisture.

Sharon filled roughly half of the the containers with a commercial planting mix.

She selected a variety of fancy Begonias, ferns and ivy to add height, texture and color while tolerating the existing environmental conditions.

The plants were carefully arranged in the pots and soil was added around their roots.

Here you can see the foliage of these plants; a mix of burgundy, purple and silver leaves.

The plants add color, texture and height to the room as they divide the living and dining spaces.

The plants will receive enough light from the large windows in the room and need minimal water because of the shady conditions.

In detail, you can also see how the silver foliage compliments the plant stand and containers.