Pete de Freitas, In Memoriam

Today 2 August 2016 would have been Pete Louis Vincent de Freitas's 55th birthday. de Freitas was the drummer for Echo and the Bunnymen. He was killed in a motorcycle accident at the age of 27 on June 14, 1989. 

I love that de Freitas's drumming was never flashy, but strong and straightforward. Unlike Rush's Neil Pert, who played perfectly in an automaton-like way, de Freitas playing always helped to ground the Bunnymen's often florid sound, of which I am a huge fan. My favorite tracks where you can really enjoy his sound include the songs "Never Stop," "Back of Love," and the entire "Porcupine" album. He will be forever missed. 

Not Forgotten: French Illustrator, Lucien Laforge

Fantasmagorie, illustration from Lucien Laforge's alphabet book.  Cards produced by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1930. Photo: Kneale Culbreath

One of the reasons I named this blog Scentedpapers was because of my love of paper products. I love stationery, pens, and anything having to do with paper and letters. I use a fountain pen whenever I am not using my MacBook.  I collect desk tools like sharpeners and silly scented Japanese erasers shaped like pieces of fruit.  When I was little, I looked at font and typographic catalogs for fun. My mother is an artist and these books were always around, so I grew up with a great appreciation and fascination for the alphabet and the many forms it could take.

Jardinier, illustration from Lucien Laforge's alphabet book.  Cards produced by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1930. Photo: Kneale Culbreath

When I was about eight years old, I received a set of cards and envelopes from the Metropolitan Museum of Art designed by the French illustrator, Lucien Laforge.  The cards were all taken from images from Laforge's  L’Abécédaire de Lucien Laforge, an alphabet book for children created in 1924.  I loved these cards and fell in love with Laforge's strong use of color and line.  I used up the entire box of cards, sending them to friends and family.

Marche, illustration from Lucien Laforge's alphabet book.  Cards produced by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1930. Photo: Kneale Culbreath

 Recently, a friend sent me a note written on one of Laforge's cards- she too had collected them and it was her note that inspired this blog post.  I tried to find the set again but they no longer exist.  I wanted to feature a blog post about Laforge because I think he is an artist who deserves more than a paragraph in Wikipedia.

Lucien Laforge was born in Paris in 1889 and died in 1951.  His mother painted miniatures and his father was a violinist.  Laforge started out as a painter and made a career for himself as an illustrator for French left-wing and anarchist publications.  He was a pacifist and lived his entire life in near-poverty.  Laforge's work is not well-known in the United States, which is a shame.  I did not want to focus on Laforge's political illustrations because they are not easily accessible.  He was an artist who moved from the world of politics to that of illustrating children's books, and then back to politics.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art was smart in choosing Laforge's book to use for stationery: although geared to children, the images also appeals to adults.  Laforge uses repetition, pattern, and color in a way that is engaging and rhythmic.  When I look at Laforge's work as an adult, it is as if I am seeing the illustrations as a child again. I feel I am getting a lesson in the use of perspective.  Laforge's alphabet illustrations give children a great understanding of how the size of objects vary depending on where they are placed on the page.  These works were originally done as woodcuts, printed in color.

Volcan, illustration from Lucien Laforge's alphabet book.  Cards produced by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1930. Photo: Kneale Culbreath

La Mercurie, a French publishing house, recently re-issued Laforge's alphabet book and it can be purchased from Amazon France.

Xylophone, illustration from Lucien Laforge's alphabet book.  Cards produced by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1930. Photo: Kneale Culbreath

In addition to the alphabet book, Laforge also illustrated the fairy tales of Charles Perrault. The illustrations are hauntingly beautiful.  If you have some money, there are eight illustrated plates from Perrault's book currently available on eBay.

Zebre, illustration from Lucien Laforge's alphabet book.  Cards produced by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1930. Photo: Kneale Culbreath

There is obviously an audience out there who wish to see Laforge's work, and it is exciting to see that French publishers have responded to the demand. My only hope is that Laforge's alphabet will be translated into different languages, to be enjoyed by children and adults in every country.

Source: Ma Gallerie a Paris, a terrific blog featuring the work of Laforge
Doriane Films, the company which distributes Laforge's book.


Kneale Culbreath is a writer by night and admin pro by day. Musicians and outsiders are her heroes. She writes about modern life.

Queen of Jam: Christine Ferber

Mes Confitures: The Jams and Jellies of Christine Ferber.  Photo: Kneale Culbreath

The cherry blossom are in bloom all over Seattle, and the sight is intoxicatingly beautiful: imagine every tree covered with pink petaled confetti.  I find myself staring at the pink trees and engaging in conversation with complete strangers about how beautiful they are.  The campus on the University of Washington has a quad now in full bloom, as you can see from the pictures below.  It is a heady sight.  I am greedy for the pink blossoms and have taken many photos of them whenever I leave the house.  Spring is here. 

Cherry blossom in bloom on University of Washington campus. Photo: Kneale Culbreath

How do you capture a fleeting season? The first thing I thought of was jam. What about a cherry blossom jelly or jam? Sakura is the Japanese word for cherry blossom. If you Google "sakura jelly," you will find many entries all devoted to the sweets.  There is even a gorgeous-looking Tumblr devoted to the flowery desserts.  Cherry blossom-flavored food is hugely popular in Japan, home of the world's most famous cherry blossom festivals. The sakura is pickled or salted.  You can buy salt-cured cherry blossoms and cherry blossom essence to flavor foods like panna cotta and cakes.  Sakura jelly has been described as "spring in a jar," and to me this is the ideal of jam, capturing the season in a jar. The blogger She Who Eats wrote a piece on the sakura food available and her thoughtful sakura baking fundraiser to help the victims of the hurricane that hit Japan in 2011.

What does cherry blossom jelly taste like? I imagine something floral and almond with some citrus in there to make everything sing.  When I was looking for a recipe for cherry blossom jelly, the first person I thought of was Christine Ferber.  Ferber is known around the world as "la fée des confitures," or "the fairy of jams."  Ferber is an award-winning pastry chef/chocolatier/jam-maker who lives and works in her home village of Niedermorschwihr, in Alsace, France.  Ferber is no ordinary jam maker, but someone who works more like a perfumer, using fruit as her medium.  I wanted to feature Ferber because I admire her for doing what she loves and doing it brilliantly, according to her own terms.

More University of Washington cherry blossoms in full bloom.  Photo: Kneale Culbreath

I was inspired to make marmalade by Ferber's cookbook I have toted around for years:  Mes Confitures: The James and Jellies of Christine Ferber.   This past Christmas, my husband J. and I made a version of Seville orange marmalade using regular navel oranges and lemon to mimic the signature bitter taste of the Seville orange.  The results were well-received by family and friends and we are still savoring the last jar.  I learned about Christine Ferber through Clotilde Dusoulier's excellent food blog, Chocolate and Zucchini. At the time, I was making perfumes and was struck by how much Ferber's jam recipes sounded more like scents in their complexity and composition. I was entranced by the descriptions and names of the jams: Apple Jelly with Acacia Flowers; Nougabricot, an apricot-based jam filled with slivered almonds and pistachio; Raspberry and Litchi with Rosewater; Orange with Earl Grey Tea; Elderberry Jelly. 

Closeup of cherry blossom tree. Photo: Kneale Culbreath

Jam-making is a lot like making perfume in that it is a solitary pursuit requiring focus and attention but the end result is something that you share with others.  Ferber's cookbook is divided into chapters entitled Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter, making for seasonal and mouthwatering reading.  Ferber's recipes are not complicated but the instructions are thorough and detailed. Ferber has described her work as a process of understanding the fruit, respecting it, and showing it off to best advantage.  I was won over by Ferber's attention to detail and her belief in using the freshest, ripest fruits and vegetables, picked in season. In order to control quality, Ferber makes jam in batches no bigger than eight pounds.  Ferber believes there are no shortcuts or cheats to good jam-making.  I would urge anyone with an interest in jam to pick up a copy of her book. 

I hope to visit Maison Ferber the next time I am in France and imagine I will have to set aside an empty bag just for her jams.  In the meantime, I am looking at spring produce with extra care, deciding on which jam to make.

I have always loved Antonio Vivaldi's violin concerti "The Four Seasons," and the Spring movement is the most fitting piece I can think of here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKthRw4KjEg
This version features Itzhak Perlman playing with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra in 2006.  I think of the bass and cello as representing the steady growth of the earth and the violins as the winds, grasses and trees all beginning to bloom and grow furiously.  Bring on spring.

Sources:

http://www.christineferber.com/Christine-Ferber.html

For years, jam fanatics had to trek to France to buy Ferber's jams or ask friends to bring them back to the States. You can now purchase Ferber's goods through www.thesweetpalate.com (http://www.oriol-balaguer.com/CHRISTINEFERBERJAMS.aspx) 

If you read French, this interview with Ferber is a fascinating portrait in which she discusses her history and philosophy:  http://cuisine.journaldesfemmes.com/magazine/itvw/it_ferber.shtml

Saveur magazine was one of the first American publications to discuss Christine Ferber and the global obsession with her products: http://www.saveur.com/article/Kitchen/Christine-Ferber-French-Jams

Iconic: Bass Weejun Loafers

Vintage Bass Weejuns ad.  Source: http://www.ivy-style.com

Apparently, loafers are having a moment.  I am puzzled by this because the loafer is the perfect shoe. How could it ever be out of style? Picture Michael Jackson without his black loafers and white socks in "Billie Jean." Any movie from the 1950's would be missing something without loafer-clad characters.  Loafers were de rigueur in Lisa Birnbach's The Preppy Handbook.  The good-girl Sandy wore them in the movie "Grease."   I cannot imagine my wardrobe without my loafers.

Some history:  Maine shoemaker George Henry Bass was a leather-tanner who began making shoes in 1876.  The first Bass loafer, or "Weejun," was modeled after a shoe seen on a trip to Norway.  Every film set in the US from the 1940's to the 1960's seemed to feature the loafer as the ultimate American footwear.  I can only think of one other American shoe to be as important: the Converse sneaker. Converse was worn by athletic preps and grungy punks.  The loafer is at home in any setting, from casual to dressed up, unlike the sneaker. To me, the penny loafer is a casual shoe when done in brown or oxblood, and looks a touch more dressy when done in black. There is something effortless about dressing up and adding a more casual shoe to bring everything down a step or two.

Plenty of designers have taken the loafer for a fresh spin. You can picture Fiat magnate and most-stylish-man-on-the-planet Gianni Agnelli wearing Tod's Gommini, the loafer-moccasin hybrid in luxe suede with the signature pebbled sole.  Marc Jacobs made a  patent version of the loafer with a chunkier sole that reminds me of Patrick Cox's Wannabe loafers from the 90's.

Loafers look great with striped or colored socks, but I like them best worn over bare feet. The Bass loafer is not only well-made and reasonably priced, it is incredibly comfortable. This is the same shoe I wore when I was in my early teens and now wear in my 40's.  How many shoes, besides the flip flop and the ubiquitous Converse, can make this claim? Would you even want to share your closet with shoes you wore as a teenager?  Lately I have been wearing the Bass tasseled loafer in tobacco brown, a more dressed up version of the penny loafer. The next pair I will add to my wardrobe will be the Wayfarer pair in black and white, a nod to my love of ska. 

Nothing beats the Bass Weejun for style, comfort, and versatility. The loafer is a shoe to take you anywhere.

Here is Michael Jackson singing "Billie Jean," wearing signature black Bass loafers and silver socks.  Jackson headlined the celebration for Motown's 25th Anniversary in Pasadena, California in 1983.  Not only was the first appearance of Jackson's Moonwalk, but I think it is the loafer's finest moment: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=michael+jackson+thriller+live+1983

Artisan Parfumeur's Premier Figuier Extreme: Figs for Dessert

L'Artisan Parfumeur's Premier Figuier Extreme.  Photo: Kneale Culbreath

Are you a sweet person or a savory person?  If I had to pick sweet or savory as my go-to for a treat, sweet wins out every time.  Never mind that 'cheese' was my first word, and when I was little I could easily snack on olives, pickles, and saltine crackers all day.  But if I had to choose as a child, I really loved sweet things: a homemade brownie. Nutella on a baguette.  Pie.  But a plate of figs? This would not be my choice, even though I loved fruit.  Fig Newtons, yes. Plain figs? No.  I loved Fig Newtons because they smelled of vanilla and the biscuit exterior was as soft as velvet.  From my view as a sugar-obsessed kid, fresh figs seemed more like a punishment than a treat.  Full of seeds and no cookie? I don't think so.  So good for you and full of fiber, too! I would have rather eaten a box of raisins or a sweet-tart Granny Smith apple.

Despite my early dislike of plain figs, my tastes changed as an adult and I grew to love the fruit. I love the tiny, crunchy seeds and the vanilla-sweetness of the fruit. I became something of a fig fan, especially for fig scents. I discovered a few fig perfumes that really make me happy: Diptyque's Philosykos (and the matching candle), which to me smells like a fresh fig crushed with the leaves, sap, bark, and earth; Pacifica's Mediterranean Fig, a plain, unornamented fig; Body Time's Green Fig Oil, smells of green dried figs, quite heady and rich; and Olivia Giacobetti's L'Artisan Parfumeur's Premier Figuier, the first fig perfume in which fig leaves are combined with almond milk and sandalwood. 

The follow up to L'Artisan's Premier Figuier, Premier Figuier Extreme, is for sweet lovers. I translate Extreme to mean concentrated. After the first spray, I get a blast of intense fig, followed by coconut and almond milk.  The perfume also includes notes of fig leaves, gorse flower, stone pine, and dried fruits.  Instead of thinking of Premier Figuier Extreme as a concentrated version of the original, drier fig, I think of Extreme as the dessert version of Premier Figuier, where the sweet notes of coconut and almond are the strongest.  This perfume is a decadent treat and a little goes a long way.

I think Gordon Ramsay's "Fig and Frangipane Tart" is a fitting dessert to try, with all the appropriate ingredients: figs, almonds, and cream: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aY0T8Nq07PY

Blooming Lovely: Roasted Beet Salad

Cherry blossom tree on the University of Washington Quad, Seattle.  Photo: Kneale Culbreath

Last week, I wrote about my ridiculous love for waxed paper bags.  Either I need to get a life or I get joy from the littlest thing. I like to think it is the latter rather than the former.

I am ready for spring and want to be done with eating stews, roasts, and other cold weather foods. I saw the cherry blossom beginning to bloom on the University of Washington campus and there were cheery yellow daffodils and purple and pink narcissus, full petaled and reminding me of Easter.  But it is still early March and Seattle is a tricky city that throws a cold weather curve ball; last week I was wearing my wool coat one day, carrying my umbrella the next, then watching bare-armed colleagues walk into the office the following morning, looking totally comfortable.  I am busily applying self-tanner nightly, wondering if my feet are ready for sandals and coral pedicures.

One way I like to bring spring in early is to cook things that remind me that warm weather is coming soon.  Usually in winter the thought of a salad leaves me cold- it is just too chilly to get excited over chilled lettuces and icy dressings. Root vegetables are a great compromise between winter and spring.  These vegetables remind us of what is available in the cooler months and this salad gives us a hint of flavors to come in the spring.  One of my favorite winter vegetables to cook are beets. I love their earthy and honeyed flavor.  Beets are easygoing and can be delicious served with just salt and pepper but I think they welcome a good punch of sharp vinegar or lemon and lots of fresh herbs- beets are so candy-sweet, they can take it.  Years ago, a friend served me the best beet salad I have ever had: it was full summer and Tanya had roasted young asparagus with beets and then topped them with toasted walnuts and a balsamic vinaigrette. This is an end of winter tribute to her salad.


Note: this recipe is a rough one, meaning if you are a stickler for measuring, please refer to your favorite vinaigrette recipe. I roasted some beets in olive oil and then dressed them in a mustard vinaigrette while still warm.  This salad can be eaten warm or cold. 

Roasted Beet Salad with Walnuts, Feta and Dijon Mustard Vinaigrette (serves 2-4)

4 medium-sized beets, washed and scrubbed
Olive oil
Dijon mustard
Balsamic vinegar, sherry vinegar, or lemon juice, your preference
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Handful of fresh parsley, roughly chopped
Handful of walnuts, roughly chopped
1/4 c of feta cheese, cut into small cubes

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Make a foil packet for the beets: place a large square of foil on a cookie sheet and place the beets on top.  Dress the beets with a good drizzle of olive oil, enough to coat them.  Wrap the beets up in the foil (not too tightly, you want them to have room in the foil to sweat) and roast in the oven for 35-45 minutes or until you can pierce the skin of the beet easily.  Make room for the walnuts on the same cookie sheet as the beets: you can toast them on the same cookie sheet with the beets- just take them out after toasting in the oven for 8-10 minutes.

The beets should feel slightly soft but not mushy. This may take longer than 45 minutes, depending on the size of your beets.  Leave the beets to cool in the foil until you can handle them.  While the beets are cooling, you can toast the walnuts in a cast iron pan on the stove over low heat for 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until the walnuts smell fragrant.  Do not let them burn.  

I usually put on a pair of kitchen gloves reserved for jobs like this to avoid having beet-soaked fingers: using  a paring knife, pare away the beet skin, taking off the knobby beet ends and tops, too.  Chop the beets up into small cubes- not fine dice but you want the pieces to be small.  Place the beets in a medium bowl and set aside.

To make a vinaigrette, I usually do a ratio of 3:1 oil to acid.  In a glass jar or measuring cup, place 3 generous heaping tablespoons of Dijon mustard.  Add 2 tablespoons of your favorite acid- I used white balsamic vinegar.  Slowly stir in the olive oil, a little at a time, until the sauce is emulsified and everything is nicely blended.  Season with  a pinch of sea salt and lots of freshly ground pepper.  Pour over the beets. Add the chopped parsley, feta, and scatter the walnuts over the top. Stir gently. If you do refrigerate the salad to eat later, bring it out of the fridge 15 minutes or so before serving to take the chill off. You could also pile it on a baguette with tuna for a great sandwich or serve alongside roast chicken. This is a salad to mark the end of winter,  or think of it as a hint of spring and the bounty to come.

Variation:  If you prefer a creamier cheese, use goat cheese instead.  The goat cheese will make for a gentler-tasting salad.



Here's Nirvana's "In Bloom." I love that the band shows their sense of humor and can mock both themselves and early 60's variety shows: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbgKEjNBHqM

The Pigeon and the Pencil: waxed paper bags

I detest plastic bags.  There.  I've said it.  OK, they are great for freezing food and carrying your toiletries on airplanes, but I hate them for how wasteful they are and how greasy they get after being used even once.  Sure, you can reuse them, but have you tried to reuse a just-washed plastic bag?  They are expensive and bad for the environment.  Parchment paper gets all the love.  Parchment paper can be used for baking in place of greasing cookie sheets and cake pans, is great for baking fish en papillote or chicken with vegetables and broth, but I have discovered a kitchen tool that is just as useful: waxed paper bags.  Not waxed paper. Waxed paper bags.  Ah, waxed paper. You probably haven't given it much thought since you last took a sandwich for lunch as a kid.  I am a huge waxed paper fan and use it for everything from baking to wrapping up leftovers and snacks. I recently discovered a great product that I'd never seen before moving to green-minded Seattle this past summer: waxed paper bags.  They make green versions of these out of brown paper but I found the Waxtex ones at my local grocery store. 

They are square waxed paper sleeves, similar to the paper wrappers used for pastries at the bakery.  Try using these bags instead of plastic when putting together lunches; they are perfect for containing vegetables, cookies, nuts, or leftover pizza. I discovered the best use for these waxed paper bags: for keeping cheese fresh.  Plastic wrap is the enemy of cheese and it is your duty as a cheese purchaser to free the cheese from the stifling plastic wrap. If you spend good money on a piece of Parmigiano Reggiano, doesn't it deserve some love?  The plastic basically suffocates the cheese, which must be treated like a living organism- it needs space and air to breathe. Unwrap your piece of Cheddar or wedge of Maytag Blue and wrap it first in a waxed paper bag (it can breathe now!) and then into a glass or plastic container for storage in the refrigerator.  I have noticed that cheeses stored in these waxed paper bags stay fresher for much longer. I tend to keep all my cheeses in individual bags within a glass container, and the bags make everything easier to access.  From kitchen wallflower to kitchen staple. 

I learned how to wrap a sandwich using waxed paper when I was a child.  My grandfather was a chef and he may have been the first one to show me how to do this but it was most likely my mother.  I love these waxed paper bags for how useful they are.

Like the waxed paper bags, I love this song, a favorite from childhood.  It is the classic tune "You've Make Me So Very Happy" written by Brenda Holloway and Berry Gordy. Holloway wrote "Every Little Bit Hurts," and other soul hits.  This was originally a Motown hit on the Tamla label.  I grew up with the Blood, Sweat, and Tears version and love it because it reminds me of Burt Bacharach- I have a ridiculous love for Bacharach's music and anything with horns.  As sung by Blood, Sweat, and Tears, it is a hurdy-gurdy of a tune. David Clayton-Thomas has a voice that is rich and masculine- it is the perfect compliment to Holloway's version.  Find the original version on YouTube and see what you think of the two songs.  Enjoy the song and then go get yourself some waxed paper bags.