A Vintage Blend

Hope you've had a great "leap" day!

I recently shot Lily Ellis' home for HGTV.ca and it was posted just yesterday. Lily is one half of the super inspiring blog, Birch and Bird. If you haven't seen the story, you can check out the whole story here.

Lily, and her partner Rachel, produce the best vintage markets too. If you happen to be in the Abbotsford area (about 1 hour out of Vancouver) on May 26th, you have check out their next one - Scout Market. If it's anything like their last 2, it would be a shame to miss it! Click here, for more info.

That's it for today! Back soon.
Janis

Baked

It's so nice to see sunshine this morning. Hello Monday! I hope you all had a great weekend. 

These coconut biscuits are the perfect weekend morning treat, and not too bad for you either. It's especially perfect when you happen to have all the ingredients in the cupboard. ;) I love the light coconut flavour, but the orange butter pushes them over the top. So. Good. 

Coconut Biscuits with Orange Butter - makes 9-12 biscuits

3/4 cup brown rice flour

1/4 cup coconut flour 

1/2 cup tapioca starch

2 tablespoons arrowroot starch or corn starch (I used arrowroot)

2 teaspoons sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons guar gum

1 tablespoon baking powder

pinch of salt

1 vanilla bean (seeds only), slit down the length, seeds scraped out.

1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted

1 cup coconut milk

2 eggs, beaten

Preheat oven to 375f /190c. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. 

In a medium bowl, whisk together flours, tapioca starch, arrowroot, sugar, guar gum, baking powder and salt. Whisk until well combined. Make a well in centre of dry ingredients and add vanilla, eggs, butter and coconut milk. The dough should be fairly wet and sticky. 

Drop spoonfuls of dough on baking sheet, about 1 inch apart. I made mine a little larger this time, so I got 9 from this batch. 

Bake for about 15-20 minutes, depending on size, until golden brown on bottom and lightly coloured on top. Allow to cool a little, on a wire rack. Serve warm with orange butter. Mmmm. 

Orange Butter

about 1/4 to 1/3 cup of unsalted butter, softened

zest of one large orange (best to use organic when using zest)

about 1 tablespoon honey

Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl. That's it! Easy. 

That's it for now! Have a lovely day. 

Back soon,

Janis

Happy Friday!

I hope you've all had a good week. It's been a bit of a bonkers week, so my apologies for missing my usual "baked" post. I'll be back in action next week! 

Take care,

janis

All Shades of Style

I hope you had a great weekend! I was a bit under the weather, so I'm not going to share my "weekend observations" with you, which consisted of laying on the couch, eating soup and watching movies. ;) Thought, instead, I'd share a variety of lovely spaces with you, all designed by the talented women of Riesco & Lapres. I love that every time I shoot one of their projects, it's a completely different look. 

 Shot for Chatelaine magazine.

 Shot for Style At Home magazine.

 Shot for Canadian Home and Country 

Shot for Chatelaine magazine.

Shot for House and Home magazine.

 Which one do you lean towards? I'd love to know.

Back soon,
Janis

Attic Office for Friday

Thought I'd wrap up the week with a peek inside a house that I shot, the owners of which happen to be architects. My favourite room was their office/lounge-around room/sometimes playroom. So uncluttered, simple and beautiful with lovely light. I absolutely love the floor!

I think I need to get Neema and Tim over here to help me organize a little bit better. Correction. Organize full stop. 

Have a great weekend! Got any plans? 

Back soon,

Janis

Baked

Happy hump day! Hope your week is going well.

I love this bread. Really. It's amazing. You wouldn't think it was gluten free, as it's not the least bit dry, and it doesn't crumble apart when slicing it. Super easy to make too. Promise.

Brown Rice Bread with Pumpkin Seeds - makes one 3"x8" loaf.

1 cup very warm water
1 8g packet of instant yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 cup sorghum* flour (I used Bob's Red Mill brand)
3/4 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup ground flax seed
1/2 cup potato starch
1/4 cup tapioca starch
1/4 cup skim milk powder
2 teaspoons guar gum
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 egg whites
1 egg
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

* for the what's what on sorghum, click here.

Spray a 3"x8" loaf pan with oil, then line with parchment paper and set aside.
In a small bowl, mix together water, sugar and yeast. Let stand for about 5 minutes until mixture starts to foam. In a large bowl, stir together all dry ingredients until well combined. Set aside.

In another bowl, beat together egg, egg whites, vinegar and oil until well blended. Add yeast mixture and beat to combine. With mixer on low speed, slowly add the dry mixture. On medium speed, beat dough for 5 minutes. Scrape dough into prepared pan and allow to sit in a warm spot, for about 60 minutes, or until dough has risen to top of pan.

Preheat oven to 350f/180c. Bake for about 35 minutes or until loaf sounds hollow when lightly tapped on bottom. Allow to cool, in pan, on a cooling rack. Enjoy!

Have a great day! Back soon.
Janis

Weekend Observations

Oh, Monday. I woke up thinking you were Sunday. A girl can dream....and apparently I was!

I did have a nice weekend filled with a variety of work. That's what I love best about my job - always different. Here's a peek...

Designed by Angela Robinson.

Barefoot Contessa is located here in Vancouver. 

What did you get up to this weekend? Hope it was fun!

Back soon,

Janis