romanesco.

what beauty! the creative force of our amazing earth, the perfection of numbers, spirals, a color that holds your hope for spring, licking your lips for something light, maybe clarity (dare i say it) and a name that feels like italy...romanesco.

i want to hang these all over the the ceiling like fancy chandeliers, i want to wear them like a bling bling necklace around my neck, i want to say: "move over artichoke there is a new friend in town"......

if you get a chance, stop by weiser farms at the sunday hfm or wednesday sm market and pick up one of these gorgeous art pieces. adorn your table with it, roast it, try something new...

you can roast these on 400, cut into pieces (florets) or whole, casserole dish or anything oven friendly, pour some olive oil in and around, 20 - 30 minutes...

ps: this is also how my breasts are feeling these days...getting closer to seeing you in the kitchen.... i hope you are tooxxxRM

beauty cleopatra fischer.

there was this day....

and then a beauty was born....

beauty cleopatra fischer born january 13, 2011...

9 pounds and 3 ounces...

21 and something inches...

on a thursday...

i like thursdays.

birthing beauty,

redefining beauty,

understanding beauty

& being inspired by beauty

in a whole new way...

starting now.

meeting her brother ocean & cousin lily...

and now.... (one month later)

we are doing a lot of this...

a lot.

and some of this...

mainly when the sun is up ;)

this renaissance mama is

tired

missing my freedom

loving this full moon face

deepening my surrender

trying to keep the bad thoughts in the corner

blessed for strength

praying for more patience

wanting to write more

wanting

wanting

wanting

loving

loving

loving

xxxx

happy new year.....

here is a toast to bringing in all YOUR beauty this 2011!!

letting go of all the other things...

and allowing only beauty...

as it can save the world....

giving, loving, receiving, understanding,

stretching, growing, trusting, listening,

riding the waves of this beauty....

thank you so much for supporting RM &

my journey to inspire & empower BEAUTY

into your worlds, your kitchens, your hearts...

see you on the other side.... love & BEAUTY! xxx

persimmon bread.

first, i must acknowdledge the deep blog guilt i have been wrestling with.... i am 38 weeks pregnant & to get to this blog is a luxury, to sit here and make it happen is like baking a cake which can be really easy depending on the cake OR it can be next to impossible which is really what it has been! i had to get that out of the way to share this most amazing persimmon bread yumminess....

if you are at any of the markets or whole foods... you can find extremely ripe hachiya persimmons. that is what this breads pulp is made of... the fuyu's are harder and very crispy... (in a post below).. they are also amazing just cut, peel the skin (if you want.. you can eat the skin) and eat.. no cooking necessary... it's like the pumpkin fruit of the fall.

here is the recipe (created a hybrid of the james beard/david leibovitz recipes)

3 1/2 cups sifted flour (bob's red mill organic)

1 1/2 tsp. salt (coarse kosher)

2 tsp baking soda (bob's red mill/aluminum free)

1 tsp ground nutmeg

2 - 2 1/2 cups sugar (organic cane)/ more sugar makes the bread moist

1 cup melted, room temp, unsalted butter

4 large eggs, room temp, lightly beaten

2 cups persimmon puree (you can put it in cuisineart to break up strands if you want... no need to)

1 - 2 cups toasted/chopped/walnuts or pecans

1 cup semi sweet ghiradelli chocolate chips

you can use (2) 9" loaf pans or (1) 9" and 3 little ones or muffin tins... i tend to try different

shapes out b/c i like to give the bread away as gifties and seeing how many ways it can happen.

*butter the 2 loaf pans, line with parchement paper & dust with flour

*preheat oven to 350

*sift first 5 ingredients in a large mixing bowl

*make well in the center (you can also do this in your kitchen aid)

*stir in butter, eggs, persimmon pulp

*then nuts & chips

*bake 1 hour or so....

enjoy every morsel, it's so good. see you in the kitchenxxx

gratitude.

stories inside the womb

of a wooden spoon.

the round, wide edges of my ancestory

that i continue to discover.

the warm healing in the kitchen,

over and over and over again,

showing me the way.

discovering a specific lingering that is in the

crack of the cuisineart, the scent of basil meyers soap.

whatever your story, the poetry, the song... they live in your

kitchen... maybe this is the time you come out to greet them...

lets thanks & give everyday....

lets roast, saute, baste & play everyday...

let's connect with this excited child that lives in the aroma

of a sweet potato souffle... connected to this nourishing piece...

lets feed her and nurture him everyday....

i am so deeply grateful to all the spoons, the patient creators of all the round things, the wide bowls, the stories inside the wood, the sterling silver, the cobalt, the gold, the kitchen connection, the planet for holding us,the circle, my family, the ocean, the beauty, the process of growing, caring, nourishing and nurturing everything...

feeding you and feeding me. xxx

RM gatherings...

hi mamas!

the next RM gathering is coming up!

Thursday, October 28, 10 - 1pm & there are a few spots left...

if you have not been to the gathering and if it's calling you, please make this time for YOU... allow me the honor to feed, sate & nourish you in this way... the fall comes with such an incredible array of aromas, colors and simple, rustic ways to have them cooking in your home... come to my table, take in the beauty & get inspired.

here is the revised schedule for the RM gatherings:

Thursday, November 11, 10 - 1

&

Thusday, December 2, 10 - 1

$75, donation

mt. washington

you can rsvp and send in your offering for any of these dates that fits your schedule.

i will let you know if i add any new ones and until then...catch one before i have to take a break with beauty arriving!!

**here is another post describing the classes in more detail: go here**

see you in the kitchenXXX

persimmon, my old friend.

sunday was a rainy day at the market here in los angeles...it was on the peek-a-boo channel. rain, drizzle, stop and then do it again...it was so beautiful, the dance of it, seeing everyone inside the dance weathering the slight storm of something unusual, the beginnings of fall tapping on the windshield and gently asking if it can nourish us and the earth.

and then.... there was a new sighting. it's like seeing a really good, old friend... i want to run towards the stand and hug them all, asking how it's been and how long they are staying. it's as though i saw they were coming on facebook but then i forgot and maybe i didn't know exactly when they were going to arrive... so i am still a little surprised like christmas morning... it's the best feeling.

it's not just my mind, my whole body, every cell aligns to it... calling out PERSIMMONS!! that thick orange flesh, crispy & tender at the same time, talking to my tongue about fall and what we can do this time around. it's such a beautiful feeling... reconnecting this way to old friends, excited to wake up in the morning, chat more about their journey... we start out just cutting, peeling & checking each other out again after such a long time. i have a feeling there might be a salad or cake in the future though...see you in the kitchenxxx

first hour.

that hour, I was most myself. I had shrugged

my mother slowly off, I lay there

taking my first breaths, as if

the air of the room was blowing me

like a bubble. All I had to do

was go out along the line of my gaze and back,

out and back, on gravity's silk, the

pressure of the air a caress, smelling on my

self her creamy blood. The air

was softly touching my skin and tongue,

entering me and drawing forth the little

sighs I did not know as mine.

I was not afraid. I lay in the quiet

and looked, and did the wordless thought,

my mind was getting it's oxygen

direct, the rich mix by mouth.

I hated no one. I gazed and gazed,

and everything was interesting, I was

free, not yet in love, I did not

belong to anyone, I had drunk

no milk, yet -no one had

my heart. I was not very human. I did not

know there was anyone else. I lay

like a god, for an hour, then they came for me,

and took me to my mother.

Sharon Olds (from 'The Unswept Room')

to stop, read something amazing & let it sit somewhere inside can be the best gift. i love this poem and this is how it feels, sometimes, when you are birthing a new part of you... see you in the kitchenxxx