Posted by Donna on Friday, May 11 2012
And it's Friday again. How does that happen?
Some fun things this past week. Sharon Ardiana's workshop on making cavatelli last night blew my mind, and also the minds of all attendees, I think. She's such an engaging and charming speaker, sharing personal anecdotes and taking some of the mystery out of making fresh pasta. I love meeting hardworking, successful people who are still incredibly humble, and Sharon is all that and a bag of chips (can you tell I'm a child of the 90s?). What a role model. And the cavatelli, oh man. Once it hits your lips, it's so good! I've been to Gialina a few times, but soon (very soon) I'm going to make it over to Ragazza to enjoy more of her food.
Photo of the workshop from Julia
Some other snaps from this week. Business cards printed by my buddy James Tucker of The Aesthetic Union. So fresh.
Trying to clear some shelf space in the shop, so I made this chalkboard "menu" of Le Creuset items. Turns out I quite enjoy painting/drawing signs.
And here are two very sweet things that happened this week, which is why I love doing what I do. First, a customer saw the popover pans we carry and we got to talking about recipes, and how popovers are basically the same as dutch pancakes. I shared with him the utter failure of my dutch pancakes the one time I tried to make them, and he promised to send me a fail-proof recipe. People don't always do what they say (even with the best of intentions, and I can't blame them), but look what I got in my inbox the next day: a handwritten, illustrated recipe! So nice. Thanks, Marcus!
And then I got a lovely package in the mail from Mary, who's on the board of 826 Valencia. She thought I would love both the story and design of this book they did in partnership with Miette, and she was right. I was so touched. Thanks, Mary!
Got some fun things planned for later this month with a certain pastry chef. I'm excited!
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Posted by Donna on Friday, May 4 2012
This was one of the more painless birthdays I've had, and in fact, was really quite awesome. I won't get into tedious childhood traumas, but for various reasons I've never loved my birthday, so this is kind of a big deal. That cheesy adage of learning who your true friends are rings quite true for me these days, and my, how my friends and family came through. I love them beyond words.
Snapshots of my day
And now I think I'm going to open a store called Forever 31. I wouldn't mind staying here for a while.
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Posted by Donna on Monday, April 30 2012
Last week, I sent out the latest Pot + Pantry newsletter. Sign up for the mailing list if you feel inclined to indulge my penchant for dorky, self-deprecating humor ("humor"—it should really be in quotes, as I use that term loosely here) and the occasional tidbit of useful shop news.
The past few days and weeks have all sort of run into each other, but I captured some moments on Instagram which I thought I'd share here to show what I've been up to lately.
A customer who happens to be a bartender at Jasper's Corner Tap was so sweet to get me this jar of Malted Milk Chocolate Sauce. Apparently, it's used in a drink at the bar! I like their style.
Across town, I went to go check out Outfit Generic's new kitchen and got treated to the best "breakfast" I've had in a while. Lavender marshmallows, carrot meringues, chocolate cake, and pâte de fruit beat my usual bowl of cold cereal hands down.
I scored some tickets to the ever-popular Pop-Up Magazine event. Great seats! Good times.
And somehow, I ended up with a coveted seat at the Kinfolk brunch at Heirloom Cafe. I knew no one else going and was a bit nauseous with social anxiety, but all was well. I saw some familiar faces and made some new friends. Not the worst way to spend a beautiful Saturday afternoon.
A peek at my tablemates. I spy Heidi, Anne, Caitlin, and Erin. Not pictured: Len, Andrea, and Spencer. They are my new best friends, though I don't think they know that yet.
And lastly, a shot of the gorgeous new flyer Kate designed for our remaining workshops.
This week is going to be a doozy for me. Wednesday is my birthday, which I find both exciting and dreadful. Just gotta suck it up and get through it! Like ripping off a band-aid.
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Posted by Donna on Thursday, April 12 2012
Introducing...
...a collaboration with Amy of Stitch & Hammer. The loveliest denim aprons with removable leather straps, handmade in Oakland. Limited quantities, $92 each. Available soon exclusively at Pot + Pantry and Stitch & Hammer.
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Posted by Donna on Monday, April 9 2012
New in the shop, select Le Creuset pieces in Dijon and their latest color—Marseilles blue. It's spankin'! Also got in some stainless demi kettles. Perfect for city living (and small city kitchens), yes? Yes.
Also! Very Important: Pot + Pantry is now a stockist for Kinfolk magazine. It's only been a week since we've had them in stock and they are flying off the shelves. Come get yours soon.
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Posted by Donna on Tuesday, March 13 2012
I was feeling in need of some inspiration after the Seinfood show came down. Where better to get it than from the glorious Julia Child? I started reading her more famous quotes and decided to share my two favorites with the world.
Man, I love her.
There are a few seats still left in our second workshop this Wednesday with Red Circle Tea. It's an advanced tea class to cover brewing methods and talk about the different regions whence the teas come. I know there are a lot of tea smarty-pants out there, so sign up! Or drop in. Some snaps of our previous workshop with Red Circle Tea, stolen from Kate's blog per the usual.
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Posted by Donna on Sunday, March 4 2012
It's been so long since I've written a real blog post, I think I forgot how to do this. I've been a bit behind in writing updates about our skill exchanges and events and other store news, and it's totally lame of me. But sometimes real life gets in the way of these things, and I haven't had my head on straight lately, guys. I'm trying though, I really am.
In Skill Exchange news, the lovely and talented and MENSA-level genius Kate Koeppel has updated and designed a new flyer to include the latest and greatest.
The newest addition: Sharon Ardiana of Gialina and Ragazza is going to teach a class! No joke, I got really hungry just writing that. I'm going to have to visit one both of her restaurants to prep for her class—in the name of research, of course. And in typical MPK + P+P fashion, this is not the final-final list; there will be one or two more additions to our list of workshop instructors (I know we keep saying that!), so stay tuned.
I also finally (finally!) added a few things to the online shop. Only took me, oh, four months. Not a ton of things added, mind you, just some of my favorite new-old things that have come into my possession recently.
One of the new-new products we've gotten in is these pretty little granite "climate control" cubes from SPARQ. Made in the USA! I wish more kitchen items were made here.
What else. Seinfood by Rinee Shah is a huge hit, y'all. HUGE. We're down to 4 available framed works still available for purchase, although all 20 are still up in the shop through March 10th for your viewing pleasure. Many thanks to Dwell, Apartment Therapy, Egotist, ABC7, Refinery29, Flavorpill, DailyCandy, Mission Mission and tons of others for spreading the word.
Coming soon: a collaboration with Stitch & Hammer. Here's a peek from Amy's Instagram feed. We're excited!
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Posted by Donna on Thursday, February 16 2012
Rinee Shah, Snickers
It's Seinfood, not Steinfood!
Tonight! Come to the shop for the opening reception of Rinee Shah's Seinfood: An Art Show About Nothing. We'll have Seinfeld-themed treats to nosh on, so bring your friends to check out some hilarious work and gab about your favorite episodes from days of yore. Bonus: Come dressed as your favorite character and you'll get a high-five from me (Value: $0.04).
If you miss the reception tonight, Rinee's work will be up until March 10. Serenity now! Hoochie mama!
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