Museum of Glass

My family and an very dear family friend spent the afternoon at the Museum of Glass in Tacoma to see a show of Preston Singletary's work. It was my first visit to the museum... a great stop in downtown Tacoma. If you have a chance to visit, don't miss the 'hot shop', where artists work in a glass-studio-as-theater setting.

Seattle + Scandinavia

After strolling through Pike Place Market in Seattle, I wandered into Tuuli on First Avenue. Owned and operated by Ulla Freeman, a native of Finland and a proponent of Scandinavian design, the store is charmingly packed with Marimekko designs, colorful wooden necklaces, and darling toys for children of all ages.

TUULI Finland

1407 First Avenue

Seattle Washington 98101

tuuliseattle@gmail.com

Sandy at the SAM

During my visit to Seattle I had a bit of time to breeze through an exhibit of the work of Alexander Calder (1898-1976). Though brief, the visit was an inspiration. The large-scale mobiles were wonderful to view in person, to see in a large open space and to be able to move around. But my favorites were his more informal and playful works: the circus puppets and a film of them in action in a performance put on by Calder himself was pure joy!

The current exhibit of Calder's work at the Seattle Art Museum contains
several of his larger mobiles, beautifully lit to create fantastic shadows.

Calder's Roxbury studio

Made in India

I picked up this set (along with a few others) of matryoshka in Dubai last spring. The little family, complete with baby camel, is a delightful variation on the traditional mother & children nesting dolls from Russia. Keeping it cross-cultural, these dolls, and most everything else that I brought back from the United Arab Emirates, were made in India.

A spicy winter cookie...

Cardamom Pistachio Cookies
Makes about five dozen 1.5 – 2-inch cookies

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled
1/2 cup superfine sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 egg yolks
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cardamom seeds, crushed using a mortar and pestle
1/4 cup sparkling decorative sugar
1/4 cup chopped pistachio nuts


1. Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Using an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth.
Add the sugar and beat for one minute. Add the vanilla extract and egg yolks and beat an additional minute.

2. Sift together the flour and salt. Spoon the flour mixture into the butter mixture and add the cardamom. Beat on low speed, then increase to medium and mix until the batter is combined.

3. Spoon the dough into a cookie press and press out onto ungreased baking sheets.
Or roll the dough into a log, wrap in parchment paper and chill for two hours before slicing into rounds and arranging evenly onto the cookie sheets. In a small bowl, combine the sparkling sugar and the pistachio nuts, then sprinkle some on each cookie.

I find it helpful to make a little indentation in the cookie to hold the topping. It also helps to gently press the sugar and pistachios into the dough before cooking...

4. Bake just until the edges of the cookies start to turn a pale golden color, about 8 to 10 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet, then remove carefully to a wire rack. The cookies will firm up as they cool. When they are completely cool, store in an airtight container. They may be kept frozen up to two months.

From the Wednesday Chef's recipe post: Mary Ellen Rae's Cardamom Pistachio Cookies