as d*s changes and grows along with me i try to keep the content as fresh and as accurate a representation of my current tastes and interests as possible. for the past few years i’ve developed a deep passion for all things cooking and food related but i haven’t felt right launching into food talk on a design site. i’d been playing around with a few ways to combine the two topics when my good friend kristina at three layer cake suggested a column that felt like the perfect fit. “what if you shared recipes from your favorite designers and photographed them in a way that fit the look of the site?”. i loved the idea right away but didn’t feel right running with kristina’s idea so instead i invited her to run the column on d*s, working together to select artists that we felt would be a good fit for the site.
so i’m thrilled to welcome kristina to the d*s team as our new “in the kitchen with” editor. born in the South, kristina now lives in rome and works in the field of humanitarian assistance. she spends her free time learning photography (she’ll be shooting some of the recipes herself), trying new recipes and playing with her painfully cute border terrier, crash!. kristina also runs three layer cake where she interviews rising stars in the fields of design, food and lifestyle.
every friday afternoon, kristina will share a recipe and photos from one of our favorite independent designers, along with step-by-step instructions and beautiful photos for each dish. i love the idea of ending each week with a recipe to create over the weekend, so i hope you’ll enjoy them as much as we do. our first designer recipe this week belongs to artist camilla engman (who drew the cutest pictures on top of her photos), please click “more” for the rest of the post!
Camilla Engman grew up in a small Swedish town named Trollhättan. This is where she began looking at life from a perspective that most of us see only momentarily, and just a few are able to record. Camilla practiced her skills at the Dome Art School and later at the School of Design and Craft, Gothenburg University, where she acquired a Master of Fine Arts degree.
Often through animals or people, Camilla’s pictures inspire their audience with a wide range of feelings. Her work has a knack for allowing the viewer to grasp a notion without robbing her of her own personal interpretation, regardless of whether it’s an acrylic painting, paper-on-paper or mixed media.
For us, Camilla did a step by step of one of her seasonal favorites:
Beet slices with Feta cheese
This is what you need:
Beets (fresh)
Feta cheese
Lemon
Dijon mustard
Vinegar
Olive oil
Thyme
Salt
Pepper
Just clean the beets and trim their “hair”, not too short then they will start to cry.
Boil them until they are ready, about 45 minutes, sometimes longer.
In the meantime, wash the lemon carefully. With a zester or a very sharp knife, zest the lemon (Cut off the yellow part of the lemon peel. You don’t want the white it is bitter.) Slice the zest into thin pieces.
Make a vinaigrette using vinegar, olive oil, Dijon mustard, thyme, salt and pepper. You can also add some finely minced garlic.
When the beets are soft enough, hold them under running cold water for a little while. Then gently squeeze away the peel. It’s so easy and you get nice pink hands :)
Cut the beets into thick slices and arrange them on a plate. Pour the vinaigrette over them and crumble the feta cheese over (don’t do that too early, or the cheese will turn pink!). Sprinkle the lemon peel and some lemon juice over it all. You can use some thyme or flat-leaf parsley, if you like.
Serve with some nice bread and lemon pieces. Voíla!
What Camilla says about the recipe: I chose this recipe because I like when you don’t have to measure. I don’t eat beets very often and this course always surprises me. It’s easy to make and incredibly tasty. And on top of it all it looks lovely and colorful.
