Bowen Appétit Bar Guide
A handy guide to setting up a complete home bar. All the bottles, tools, and garnishes you need to make great, classic cocktails at home, plus suggestions for fun add-ons!
Posts from the ‘Life’ Category
Jan 14
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New year, new energy
And it’s done! I did much better with the 2011 Food List than I did with the 2010 version.
I chopped and canned and zested and cookbooked my way through another year, and (with a bit of leeway) completed every last item.
You may be here looking for this year’s list – but we’re doing things a little differently this year. Instead of a list, I want to focus instead on whatever comes our way, be it new cookbooks, unexpected ingredients, or one of those food visions that hits in the middle of the night. I learned a lot from the list this year and I’m incredibly happy with the progress I’ve made in the kitchen this year, but together with part-time culinary school classes (and the homework for those), working in a kitchen, trying to make the things that catch my eye in blogs and magazines, and working with seasonal products as much as possible, the list could be a bit restrictive at times. I’m hoping to spend the next bit of time experimenting more in the kitchen, following my instincts wherever they take me.
I’m also hoping to spend some time going back through old favorites here on the site. You may notice some updated photographs on old posts and some other updates here and there. I want to take this space back to what it was originally intended to be – a capture of my kitchen. A catalog of the things I’ve made that I love, of the recipes I am happy and proud to make for family and friends, again and again. A space for the creative experiments that go well.
And I want to add more to this site – not just recipes, but other things that catch my eye or ideas I want to share. Stories and lists and links and new features. I hope you’ll share with me your thoughts and your ideas!
Dec 23
Nearing the end – Food List catchup + go-to cocktail
Early tomorrow morning we’re headed to Oregon for what is sure to be a lovely week of family, of friends, and of relaxing. I’m looking forward to many good meals, plenty of good wine and beer, lots of time with loved ones, lazy mornings with books and magazines, and enjoying some good old-fashioned Pacific Northwest rain.
I have some work to do as well – you’ll notice there’s a few outstanding items on the list, with only one week to go. A good friend noted this morning that if I posted a graph of list item completion, you’d see an incredible increase over the last few months, and that is certainly the case. It was hard to see the urgency in mid-February, but I’ve certainly felt it over the last few weeks.
Photo credit: Tawny Mata
As I’ve got plenty of packing left to do before I leave to teach tonight, let’s get right to the update, including one particularly important go-to cocktail: Read more
Dec 4
Gift guide part II, Food List catch-up
Housekeeping day! (Literally, in regards to my house, and figuratively, in regards to this blog.) I hear Sundays were made for rest, but I almost always end up using them to tie up loose ends from the week before, to prepare for the week ahead, and to make progress on the projects that otherwise never get much attention (hey there, homemade Christmas gifts that are supposed to be made sometime in the next three weeks …).
Nov 27
Bowen Appetit 2011 holiday gift guide (for people who like things I like)
Here are some things things I hate:
- Driving in traffic
- Parking lots
- Waiting in lines
- Shopping when I know exactly what I’m looking for but can’t find it
- Shopping when I have no idea what I’m looking for and can’t find it
- Shopping when stressed
- Shopping around other stressed out people
Holiday shopping season, how much I hate thee.
Don’t get me wrong – I love gift-giving (and -getting, let’s be real). I love when I figure out the perfect gift for someone. I love making gifts. I love putting together a set of gifts. I love wrapping gifts. I love when I get it right. But my god do I hate shopping and searching for gifts during the holidays.
To that end, I thought I might help you out a little. Let’s say you or someone you love likes to spend some time in the kitchen, or would like some help spending more time there. Let’s also say it’s mid- to late-November, and time to get some serious gift purchasing accomplished, because time only goes forward and Christmas will be here before you know it and if you like to spend your time trying to find parking in decent shopping areas once mid-December hits then you just go right ahead but I will NOT be there with you. Read more
