Baked

Happy Tuesday!  Hope your week's off to a good start.

Life has been pretty busy, and maybe just a little chaotic, so I took out a moment to bake. Something I haven't been doing that much these days, but when I do it's quite calming.  I'm also trying to eat healthier...not always easy ;) These tarts definitely have a little dose of fat, but only a sprinkle of added sugar. I try ;)

The crust is made from almond meal, and I like to have these ready to fill with anything. This time I roasted some peaches and sprinkled the tops with almonds. Easy and pretty delicious. Click here for a savoury tart with an almond crust.

Peach Tarts with Almond Crust - makes about 24 mini tarts

3 cups almond meal
1 teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons water

Peach filling:
4 large peaches, cut into slices
1-2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1-2 tablespoons of unsalted butter
sliced almonds to top
icing sugar to sprinkle on top

For the crust:
Preheat oven to 350f/180c. Spray a little oil in mini muffin tin and set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together almond meal, baking soda and salt. Add oil and water and stir until dough forms (I use my hands for this part. Add to that calming experience!). Press about a tablespoon of dough into each mini muffin cup to form a cup. Bake for about 10-12 minutes, until just slightly golden on sides. Allow to cool completely before adding a filling or place in an airtight container to store for a few days.

For filling:
Preheat oven to 350f/180c. Spread out sliced peaches on a baking sheet. Mix the brown sugar and cinnamon together and sprinkle over top. Cut small pieces of butter and place on top of peach mixture. Bake for about 15 minutes. Fill almond crust cups with peach mixture, top with sliced almonds, and bake for another 10-12 minutes, until tops just start to turn golden brown. Allow to cool completely then sprinkle with a little icing sugar. Enjoy!

Have a great day!

janis

If These Walls Could Talk

My good friends, Nikki, Slam and their daughter Olivia, live in a beautiful 100 year old home, here in Vancouver. Since this is a very young city, 100 year old homes are considered ancient and are becoming quite rare. Nikki has just launched a blog, "Home for 100 Years", in hopes of locating past residents, then having a garden party later this summer/early fall. I love this idea. Maybe you know someone that lived there. If so, she'd love to hear from you!

Nikki is British, and their home reflects that. She has called the look "English eccentric", which is a perfect description. Here's a peek....

For more information on Nikki's search, check out Home for 100 Years.

Have a good day!

janis

My City

Happy hump day! Hope your week's going well.

I wanted to share a story I did for The Simple Things magazine, one of my favourite mags. Each issue they do a "My City" feature, and they asked me to do one on Vancouver. I love these features, so I was pretty happy to do one for my hometown. Click here for the whole story.

What do you love about your city? I'd love to hear about it.

Have a good day!

janis

City Living

Happy Friday! I've had a very busy, but fun, week of shoots - gardens, lifestyle, homes and bedding. It had it all. Hope you had a good week too.

Thought I'd wrap up the week with a few images of a well planned out small space...only 500 square feet. Not so unusual in Vancouver. This glamourous space was designed by Peter Wilds.

Loved the idea of eeking out a tiny "bedroom" from what was a closet. Peter's a clever boy. 

Could you live in 500 square feet? I have, but it can be tight. Didn't have a well organized space like this though. 

Have a good weekend!

janis

Victoria BC Observations

I was in Victoria for most of the weekend, to shoot stories for a couple of magazines. Always nice to spend a few days there. It's so easy to get around, lots of great little cafes and restaurants, shops, and the scenery is stunning. Here's a little of what I checked out, when I wasn't working....

It was great to see that one of my favourite shops in Vancouver has opened up in Victoria. The Regional Assembly of Text has taken over the lobby of a beautiful heritage office building on Johnson Street. They just fold it up and tuck it all away at the end of the day. Stop by and use the vintage typewriters to create your own buttons, or pick up one of their fantastic notebooks, recipe boxes, or wrapping paper. Most of the products are the creation of shop owners, Rebecca and Brandy. 

The weather was perfect to have lunch on the wharf, at Red Fish Blue Fish, a water front restaurant made out of a cargo container. We had a bbq salmon tacone, salad, and a roasted rhubarb & vanilla creamsicle. Beyond delicious. 

After wrapping up a shoot, that had started at dawn, we lounged around at Saxe Point. Such a pretty spot to relax and hang out until the next shoot.

The Milkman's Daughter is a perfect mix of fashion, vintage, books and upcycled furniture by Janice of Modhaus Designs. It's owned by the women of Smoking Lily, another great shop in Victoria and Vancouver. I loved the stacking boxes with screen printed illustrations. The exterior of the shop is pretty spectacular too! 

Have you been to Victoria? A super short flight from Vancouver or Seattle, or take the ferry (I'm not too keen on flying in tiny planes). The bonus with the ferry is that it's not uncommon to spot a pod of orcas....pretty magical. 

Now to start editing the shoots....so much to sort through. Have a great day!

janis

Baked...for Canada Day

Ah, long weekends. Love them, even if I'm working for most of it. I'm in Victoria BC, for a few shoots, but back for July 1st - Canada Day. What are your plans?

Lately, I've been playing around with different flours in my never ending attempt at being healthier. Interesting, because as I write this, I have a wee bit of a hangover. ;) These were made with quinoa flour and almond meal, and they're pretty delicious. Similar to a friand, really.

Let's call them Canada Day cupcakes - makes about 10 medium cupcakes. 
3/4 cup almond meal
3/4 cup quinoa flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
125g unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup berry/caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk

For topping:
1 cup whipping cream
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup (or to taste)
fresh raspberries

Preheat oven to 350f/180c.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the almond meal, quinoa flour and baking powder. In another bowl, beat the butter, vanilla, and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, and mix until combined. Stir in the dry ingredients, a little at a time, until combined. Fold through the milk.

Spoon, evenly, into cups and bake for about 20 minutes, or until lightly golden and springy to touch.
Cool on a wire rack.
For topping, beat whipping cream and maple syrup together until it's, well, whipped cream! Top cooled cupcakes with whipped cream and a raspberry. Enjoy!

Have a good weekend everyone and, to my fellow Canadians, have a fun and safe Canada Day long weekend!

Weekend Observations and Links

Hope you had a great weekend!

It's absolutely pouring rain here at the moment, but we did manage to usher in summer with a little sunshine on the weekend. Good thing, as I had a shoot with the talented team of Gallant and Jones. Nothing says summer like a beach chair on the beach...

A little link love too...

Noodle Bar party at Poppytalk. So flipping cute. 

Beach House in Brazil at Design Elements. I can dream...

Flower Power at SF Girl by Bay

Have a good day! Back soon.

janis