September 30, 2009

we like it wild recipe

here's a recipe from our post this week on produce to the people from founder lauren anderson for beet velvet cupcakes.

these are a takeoff on red velvet cake, with beets replacing all the red dye that usually gives the cake its signature glow. they have an earthier flavor and color than your standard red velvet cake, so if you are looking for the original, this will probably not suffice. they are a delicious alternative though, and an excellent conversation starter at parties!



1/2 c. unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 c. sugar
2 eggs
2 1/2 c. all purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
2 tbs. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 c. buttermilk
1c. beets, pureed
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. vinegar (whatever you have on hand)
1 tsp. baking soda

1.prepare your beet puree first because they take a good while to cook. i like to oven steam beets by putting them in a loaf pan with about an inch of water, then I cover it with tin foil and bake at 400 for 40 minutes to an hour depending on the size of the beet. when they’re tender, you should be able to smoothly insert a dinner knife all the way through the beet without much effort. Take your beets out of the oven, let them cool until they’re not too hot to handle, and then slide the skin off with your fingers. it should be quite easy to remove. puree in a food processor or blender.
2.preheat your oven (or bring the temp down if you just cooked your beets) to 350 and prepare your cupcake tins with paper liners or grease the pan with butter or oil and dust with flour.
3.cream the butter and sugar, add the eggs and mix well.
4.sift the flour and salt directly into the mixture and loosely mix.
5.add the butter milk, vanilla, and beet puree and mix just until everything is incorporated.
6.in a small bowl, mix the baking soda and vinegar and fold this into your batter. try not to beat it at this point.
7.bake at 350 for around 17 minutes (my oven is 19 minutes) or until the cake is springy and a fork or toothpick comes out clean when poked into the middle.
8.let cool, frost with cream cheese frosting!

cream cheese frosting
1 8oz. package cream cheese (room temperature)
1/2 c. unsalted butter (softened)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 c. powdered sugar

1.cream together the cream cheese, butter, vanilla and salt. add the powdered sugar and beat until smooth. refrigerate for about an hour to stiffen, then frost away and enjoy!

September 28, 2009

hello fall

there was a little chill in the air today and bits of autumn are popping up at the market so we thought we'd better just take the plunge. hey fall, welcome back. we also have an exciting morning scheduled for tomorrow...hair, makeup, borrowed clothes, photographer- we'll let you know how it turns out. eek.



September 24, 2009

we like it wild- diana fayt

we were lucky enough to go on a tour of diana fayt's studio a few weeks ago for our new design*sponge post. lil' boy made himself at home. diana's beautiful vases are available in her etsy shop, at rare device here in san francisco, and many other fine shops!


September 23, 2009

donna and robin

remember this colorful wedding we showed you? here are some amazing photos of the wedding in action that preston from divine order photography sent over. second shooter alison yin also has some beautiful photos on her blog. how gorgeous is donna?...and the donuts look pretty good too!


more birch

some new sets of birch just added to the shop!

cheery

September 22, 2009

NEW!

we just added the new trophy vase from yellow owl workshop to the shop! we can hand deliver this special "award" filled with fresh flowers to your prize winner in the san francisco bay area. can you imagine getting this with a card (perhaps typed with our new cursive typewriter) that says "you are the best"?


good things

anemones showed up at the market again this week- wee! and we found an amazing typewriter in reno...that writes in cursive. our heads almost exploded when we found it.

September 17, 2009

reno here we come!

studio choo is hitting the road at 6:30am tomorrow for a little visit to the biggest little city. call us if you need anything. (photo from awesome reno vintage postcard collection here)

diy

as much as we'd like to dify (do it for you), we showed you how to do it too. go check out we like it wild for instructions on a summer picnic bouquet!

September 14, 2009

real wedding

we were so happy to see some photos from kei's wedding...not to mention that this is one of our favorite bouquets so far! kei has great taste in flowers, she told us a few of her favorites (poppies, nasturtium, queen anne's lace,) and we went wild.

in print

nicole hollis was nice enough to mention us as her florist of choice in an article in the san francisco chronicle yesterday. check it out!

clustered

a few arrangements from today made with hydrangeas and dahlias. we purchased some really beautiful orange dahlias with white tips at the market this morning. they are grown on a farm in colma- yes colma- there are actually living things there too.