This week’s recipe is the creation of a talented young Australian chef, Joel Mackaay, whose white-table-cloth-silver-flatware-indoor barbecue dinner I was fortunate enough to attend last summer. It was some of the absolute most memorable BBQ I’ve eaten (and I’m from Tennessee, so I know good BBQ!). Those of us who were there are still talking about it today! For our column, Joel has offered us a recipe for an appetizer of porcini mushroom tapioca cakes. I know it is a bit at the outer edge of the porcini mushroom season for many of you, but there are still porcinis in the market where I live. I hope you will have the chance to try the recipe if you are so inclined. Lara Ferroni did the fantastic photography for these, with the perfect small porcini mushrooms supplied by Foraged & Found Edibles. -Kristina

CLICK HERE for the full recipe after the jump!

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I don’t know about you, but I didn’t grow up “green.” My mom, brother, and I lived a rather typical, suburban lifestyle, eating packaged foods, driving our minivan all over town, and throwing mostly everything in the trash without a second thought. During my sophomore year of high school, however, I had a most auspicious encounter at a friend’s house. Built by her parents over the course of several years, my friend’s log home was simple, rustic, and elegant. It was there I was first introduced to the practice of giving simple, handmade gifts for the holidays (I visited her place for the first time the day after Christmas), to tofu hot dogs (she might have also been the first vegetarian I’d ever met), to backyard chicken-keeping (her mom to this day owns a thriving local free-range egg business), and to the art of composting. That visit left an indelible mark on me and factored heavily into the person I would become and the interests, concerns, and practices I would later adopt.

As an adult, I now make (or bake-my favorite!) a large quantity of the holiday gifts that I give; I am mostly vegetarian (eating a bit of fish a few times a week, and almost exclusively local seafood, at that); I both keep chickens and have written an upcoming book on the topic, “Keeping Chickens;” , and I compost everything I possibly can. I was surprised to learn recently that by composting for one year, it’s possible to save an equivalent amount of CO2 produced by your washing machine in 3 months. With composting, not only can I do more to prevent the production of harmful greenhouse gases (like methane-created when waste trapped in plastic garbage bags breaks down in landfills with no oxygen circulating around it), I get to reap the rewards in spades months later with rich, nutrient-dense soil to use in my garden, hanging baskets, and containers. Compost is loaded with potassium, nitrogen, and phosphorus, minerals desperately needed by plants to not just survive but thrive. It also plays a key role in balancing alkalinity and acidity levels present in soil, making it more hospitable to growth. Furthermore, compost works to retain soil moisture, so important as more and more areas experience both long and short-term drought during growing seasons.

So, whether you’re a pavement-pounding urbanite or a forest-dwelling denizen, compost glory can be yours. You don’t even need a yard to compost! A very close friend of mine lives on the 8th floor of an apartment building in Center City, Philadelphia. She successfully composts all of her kitchen scraps in an apartment composter. When the compost is ready, she either spreads it over her houseplants, or carries it a block over to an open lot, where she tosses it for future fertile soil (albeit someone else’s!). If you’ve never composted before, there’s no time like the present to get into the mix. Fall is a really wonderful time to get your compost going. As annual plants and vegetables die, branches fall from trees, and leaves gather on the ground, collect them, along with your kitchen scraps, and transition them to your compost area.

CLICK HERE for the rest of “Home Compost-Piling on benefits” (and tons of home composting tips!) after the jump!

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i just wanted to say a big thank you to brooke at inchmark for all her wonderful posts on the d*s guest blog this week! today she’s wrapping things up with a post on alphabet gift wrap. click here to check it out….

This week we’ll continue with the theme of hanging containers and share a simple flower girl’s basket we created for an upcoming event. Birch bark tubes are a popular way to add a little rustic beauty to a DIY wedding reception, so we thought it would be fun to show you how to incorporate them into your ceremony flowers too. This ribbon-handle basket could be used to hold petals or fall leaves for the little gal to toss at an autumn ceremony or a sweet posy for her to hold as she walks down the aisle.

CLICK HERE for the full post after the jump!

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ok, there are officially too many fantastic sneak peeks from the team at fossil and now we’re adding one more. all you need to do is type in “fossil sneak peek” in the search toolbar on the top right to see the homes from the whole crew (it’s a great resource for the entire site). today we’re looking into the home of fossil team member patrick conner who is the design manager for store planning and design. two years ago he collaborated with a local architect to design their duplex based on mid-century iconic architecture and design elements. it’s located near downtown dallas in order to enjoy the benefits of the city, but enjoy a quiet neighborhood and yard for their daughter. enjoy the peek below and additional images here! {thanks, patrick!} -anne

[above: I love using the Nelson bench as a catch all for Ellie's toys, shoes, & magazines to go through. And makes a great folding table for laundry :). Ellie calls this piece the "no no" (every time she gets near it that is what I yell) Great piece, but not kid friendly :)...sharp corners! The art work was given to us by a neighbor. The piece was taken out of a local boutique hotel because of some of the "content". The piece is a collage of Hollywood icons. Everyday when I make up the bed I find someone new in it.]

TV room – I have always loved black and white rooms! They are timeless and so easy to change with a little color. I will throw in a random pillow, flowers, and small accessories and the room completely changes and takes on a new look.

I love mixing mid-century classics mixed with modern pieces. I use letters and numbers a lot in my artwork and placed a few down the table as a runner. I grouped succulents on a traditional cake stand I painted gloss white to give them a nice perch out of the way of serving dishes, place settings,  etc. I collect dishes, so this large buffet with sliding doors hides a lot of random unmatched pieces, vases, etc.

I use vintage industrial pieces for storage all through the house. I have found great pieces at Americanfurnishings.com The vintage finds look great pieces against the modern architecture. This stacked metal bookcase is great for toys and Ellie’s art projects. I collect numbers and letters and use them a lot in my artwork and decorating. I painted these orange to contrast the white wall. The various play on scale is fun and inexpensive to do.

CLICK HERE for the rest of Patrick’s sneak peek after the jump!

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today’s final before & afters are focusing on a beautiful deck renovation and a classic slipcover upgrade. first up, d*s reader rachelle mesheau. rachelle recently bought a house in downtown ottawa and is enjoying her small, but serene, backyard haven. her husband decided to design a new deck for their back yard, upgrading their existing version with a great modern design. not only do rachelle and her husband love the new look, but seb the dog does, too. great work, rachelle!

[have a before & after you'd like to share on design*sponge? shoot me an email right here with your (low res please) images]

CLICK HERE for jill’s chair makeover with roberta roller rabbit fabric after the jump!

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