parlato design, los angeles :: branding | graphic design | marketing strategy

stinging nettle pasta with lemon pepper feta

hp — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 20:05:59 +0000

stinging nettles

as i was saying last week, we never got much of even a southern california winter this year, so springtime greens are in the markets early. i’ve read about stinging nettles over the years, but never foraged for them or bought any. turns out, it’s not something you do on a whim, since stinging nettles have earned their name from tiny barbs that break easily and dispense histamines and irritants to the skin, it’s best to have gloves, shears and a bowl or bag to collect them with.

so why bother, if they’re so potentially annoying? the irritants are disarmed after a quick blanching, leaving behind a spinach-like green full of vitamin a, c, iron, potassium and calcium, without the oxalic acid in spinach that prevents absorption of many of the nutrients. after you trim the leaves from thicker stems [again, with gloves on] get a pot of salted water to a rolling boil, throw in your cut leaves for a minute or 2, and then dunk in a bowl of cold water. let them drain completely in a colander and you’re ready to either pack them up to freeze or use as a cooked green.

i saw some suggestions to purée and make pasta or gnocchi, so i thought i’d try something similar. i also used the opportunity to try out half-white / half-rye egg pasta, and i like how it came out. one thing you might notice, there is a faint fish-like smell to cooked nettles, but they don’t taste fishy. however, if you’re on the fence about this, make something that compliments it, adding smoked oysters or anchovies.

making nettle pasta

nettle rye pasta
1 cup all-purpose white flour
1 cup rye flour
2 eggs
2 tb olive oil
1 bunch nettles, leaves blanched, puréed & drained

set up your pasta ingredients in a mixing bowl, spreading the flour to line the bottom of the bowl, cracking the eggs & pouring the oil in the middle with the nettles. use a fork as you would to scramble eggs, and scramble lightly, scooping up a bit of flour on each turn, mixing through, and continuing to incorporate flour until you have a loose crumbly dough. once the fork is no longer truly effective, use your hands to incorporate the dough fully and knead until smooth. let the dough rest an hour in the fridge and then roll it out and/or shape it as you like.

when cooking, note that fresh pasta only take about 2 minutes to cook in boiling salted water.

nettle pasta with lemon pepper feta

nettle pasta with lemon pepper feta
1 nettle pasta recipe, above
3 oz feta cheese
zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 tb olive oil
1 tsp pepper, or to taste

bring a pot of salted water to a rolling boil and add the nettle pasta. it will soften up rapidly, stir gently to cook through. after 1-2 minutes, strain out the pasta in a colander, and then place in a mixing bowl.

shake up the lemon juice and olive oil in a dressing bottle or jar and pour over the pasta and toss to coat. incorporate the lemon zest and pepper with the feta cheese until mixed well. place servings of pasta in serving dishes and top with the lemon pepper feta.

friday fun

hp — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 16:00:21 +0000

Raw Lightscapes from Enrique Pacheco on Vimeo.

visit pacheco’s vimeo account for more stunning films!

creative inspiration

hp — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 21:20:08 +0000

branding

tahoe south branding, image: underconsideration.com

a really nice rebranding for south lake tahoe, celebrating all the amazing terrain and outdoor sports you can enjoy in the high sierras. see the full preview at underconsideration.com

infographics

hops chart, image: hopschart.com

an infographic after my own heart: a chart on the bitterness of hops, a main preservative and flavoring agent in beer. i can think of so many people who love to pore [and pour] over this. order yourself the 24 x 36 print!

experimenting with lambsquarters

hp — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 20:34:43 +0000

a bunch of lambsquarters

so, we never really had much of a winter here in LA, which is why spring greens are appearing mid-winter. a selection of wild greens has shown up at the highland park farmer’s market, including lambsquarters, which you can forage all over los angeles. since i haven’t had any first-hand experience with this edible weed, i thought i’d start by buying it, so i’d have a better sense of what to look for when foraging.

lambsquarters is similar to spinach, and distantly related. it’s got a soft, toothy texture, which would make it a nice addition to salads. the leaves are fuzzy on the under-side, so you’ll probably want to wash them, to minimize this.

lambsquarter breakfast ramekin

lambsquarter breakfast ramekin, serves 2
1/2 bunch lambsquarters
1 medium onion
2 eggs
1 tb butter
1 tb white wine vinegar
1/4 cup water
2 tbs grated parmesan cheese
salt & pepper to taste

preheat oven to 350º if using a large oven, hold off if using the toaster oven.

pull the leaves from the stems of all lambsquarters and wash in a colander. chop the onion and sauté in butter over medium heat until translucent, 5 minutes. add vinegar, water and the lambsquarters leaves, cover and turn heat down to low, wilt the leaves 5 minutes. uncover and sauté until lambsquarters are sufficiently wilted and liquid is cooked down.

place a scoop of the sauté mix into 2 ramekin dishes, crack an egg over each, sprinkle parmesan over the top and bake 20 minutes at 350º, or shorter if you prefer soft-cooked eggs.

friday fun

hp — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:00:52 +0000

Experience Human Flight from Betty Wants In on Vimeo.

creative inspiration

hp — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 16:00:30 +0000

valentines!!!!

louise fili love stamp, image: louise fili

let’s just get this out of the way: designer, letterer & typographer extraordinaire, louise fili, has designed the latest LOVE stamp for the post office, and if you haven’t had a run-in worthy of swearing them off lately [which is unfortunately hard to come by], stock up on these, because they’re AMAZING!!!

neenah paper valentines

school-style valentines

…and speaking of the love season, it’s the LAST WEEK to order my valentines benefiting , featured this week on neenah paper’s against the grain blog. it’s time to get serious about supplying yourself with old-school fun and compliment bombs away! pick up your pack before friday, february 10!

heart-related art

spencer harrison, image: fudgegraphics.com

when i saw this poster in a selection of playful typography on fudgegraphics.com, i thought of valentines, but the post is full of fantastic digital and illustrated [and digitally-illustrated] typography. but this is easily one of my favorites anyway.

happy valentine’s day!

creative inspiration

hp — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 16:00:27 +0000

anyone from generation x should be intimately familiar with the pbs logo from all the sesame street we watched. just thinking about going through the design process with several somewhat-mundane revisions and client requests puts a humorous spin on it, for designers anyway.

logos

new york times logo, image: logodesignlove.com

this is a lovely idea for anyone who has the opportunity to do some environmental design for their clients–how about growing a logo with colorful indigenous plants? these succulents would be perfect here in southern california.

branding

aetna rebrand, image: underconsideration.com

admittedly, i have trouble getting excited about healthcare branding, but this redesign of the aetna brand is some really great work by siegel+gale, and it’s one of the few times i absolutely agree with the folks at brand new. see the whole profile at underconsideration.com.

hiring a designer is just one piece of the branding puzzle, but to launch a good brand, the business leaders themselves would do themselves a favor to spend some time brand-thinking. here are the 5 basic building blocks for branding your startup from fastcodesign.com.

compliment bombs: just one great use of school-style valentines

hp — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:30:02 +0000

compliment-bomb your friends with a gaggle of valentines!

probably the only weapons of mass appreciation you can get away with sending through the US mail are compliment bombs! why spread all your valentines around if you really want to say a bunch of nice things to one person? shower them with niceness, write a unique sentiment on each card in my school-style valentine packs benefitting dayna stephens and mail it, hide it in a sure-to-find place or hand-deliver to your most valuable targets.

this idea came about when my super-awesome friend, colleen, decided to sponsor a pack of valentines with the instructions that i should donate them to some lucky person who would use them. and that’s a real nice idea, but i said NO WAY! because colleen is one of my favorite people, and i’m not sure if she knows the profound effect she has on everyone around her. so i thought, what if i just write all her valentines back to her and surprise her with them [i hope she gets them before she reads this post]. beyond making something nice for a friend, it’s a great exercise to list all the things you’re grateful for—even in just one person. imagine the connectedness you can create by identifying your gratitude for everyone you know!

so skip the flowers [plant seeds instead and enjoy them all year], skip the chocolates [unless it's that dark chocolate with sea salt caramel bar from trader joes, i'll take that any day], click on the BUY button below and get started on building your very own homemade BOMBS! of love, that is. i don’t stand to make a penny here, once i pay the state and the post office, all the profits go to help dayna stephens. we’re in the home stretch, and if we sell them out, i’ll double your money in a matching donation! let’s do it!

a sunny video for a warm LA winter

hp — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:30:06 +0000

A Year of Sun with Mr. Persol – HD from Yuki 7 on Vimeo.

thanks, thefoxisblack.com for the link and writeup!

creative inspiration

hp — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 16:00:52 +0000

Micro Macro from Encyclopedia Pictura on Vimeo.

super-cute explanation of the universe done in food! i especially like the polar caps in shredded mozzarella.

branding

rebranding teachers, image: hyperakt

a beautiful rebranding of teachers by hyperakt re-imagines the inspiration of education and applies it to just about every civic touchpoint conceivable. great work!

products

cuppow, image: cuppow.com

i saw this innovative item on 3 blogs in one week, and it first caught my eye for the retro-style packaging. however, i have several friends who have given up on the travel bottle craze and gone luddite, preferring to cart their beverages around in mason jars with canning lids. i think this is great, except for my desire to frequently sip. then i saw this cuppow thing and love that it makes a sippy cup out of jars. now the question is, can i get it in glass instead of any type of plastic [though i see it's bpa-free and recyclable]. see the writeup and video at fastcodesign.com