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Street Food Fair: NYC UrbanSpace Garment District (May 4th to June 14th 2015)

Over the last few years, NYC has seen a rejuvenation of street food. The city went from having just your standard carts for hot dogs, breakfast items and the likes to a booming food truck trend. The “It” food trend for the last few years and gaining steam has been the rise of the gourmet street food fairs. UrbanSpace, a British company, started hosting various markets in NYC during the past few years including Mad. Sq. Eats, Broadway Bites, UrbanSpace Garment District, the Union Square Holiday Market and Columbus Circle Holiday Market. For this post, I will be exploring some items that caught my eye at the UrbanSpace Garment District food fair.

Source: laviepartagee.com

Domo Taco (Price: Less than $10, Taste: 3.5 out of 5 stars)

This is an asian-inspired Mexican food stall which means they put their interpretation of some basic meats with asian sauces on a taco. The result is surprisingly good, though not that innovative. We tried the 3 tacos for $9 combo and selected lemongrass chicken, shrimp tempura and fish tempura tacos. For $9, you do get a good amount of food and it was filling. The Mexican part came via the cheese, salsa and shredded cabbage. This stall was our favorite from all the ones that we tried and it was also one of the busier stands that day.

Source: laviepartagee.com

Jicama “California Street Food” (Price: 10+, Taste: 3 out of 5)

This is an interesting food stall with playful food offerings based on a Northern Californian vegetable farm. They are on a culinary tour throughout Mexico and Asia. We had their California Earth Mama Salad which had arugula, kale, sorrel, red walnuts, sunflower seeds and watermelon radish in a ginger and sesame sauce that retailed for $9.75. If you wanted protein, pay $3 for shrimp, $2.50 for stewed chicken or pork and $1.50 for avocado. My order came to approximately $14 for a salad with pork. This is really expensive for a salad considering that Pret a Manger have similar offerings. The taste was good and refreshing but not enough to warrant spending $14 for a salad. This food stall also has an interesting take on a burger with their salty & sweet pork doughnut sliders that retailed for $9/burger. Again this is very expensive considering you are not getting a big burger to begin with. The positive take away was that the food was presented very nicely.

Source: laviepartagee.com

BANGKOK Bar (Price: Less than $10, Taste: 2.5 out of 5)

This is a Thai food stall with your standard pad thai and basil chicken. I ordered pad thai with fried tofu. The pad thai was tasty, though there was a bit too much sauce so everything came out too salty and too sweet. This is coming from someone who eats Asian food almost every day. Also, there was not much vegetables besides noodles, some bean sprouts and tofu.

Source: Bangkok BAR

Source: laviepartagee.com

Fire Belly BBQ (Price: Less than $10, Taste: 2.5 out of 5)

Fire belly is basically a taco with Korean marinated meat on a flour tortilla with kimchi. The stall does attempt to have a a more authentic “Korean” infused Mexican dishes. This effort yielded neither great Korean nor great Mexican. The food is good if you are judging on a street food basis but with so many taco stands represented in this food fair, it was a bit disappointing. The taco could have used some fresh greens to take away the heaviness of the marinated meat.

Source: laviepartagee.com

This was supposed to be beef and spicy pork.

Source: laviepartagee.com

This is their version of a spicy pork bimpbibap. It doesn’t exactly scream “eat me”.

Bar Suzette (Price: $10+, Taste: 3.5 out of 5)

This is a french bistro inspired stall. Their main focus is crepes but for this food fair, they had a lot of burger options. I chose the Burger Royal which came out to be $14 for one medium size burger. It was delicous but very messy due to the runny egg. It would have been much better if the egg was over easy instead of sunny side up. Otherwise, the burger was delicious!

Source: laviepartagee.com

Toum Lebanese Food (Price: Less than $10, Taste: 3 out of 5)

My colleague also ate a few different food stalls but highly recommended this one. He had a Beef Kafta sandwich which had beef, onion, cabbage on pressed pita.

Source: laviepartagee.com

If you are in NYC, head over to UrbanSpace Garment District food fair and come hungry.

For more travel stories, visit our TRAVEL page.

Author: Chau Hoang

Let’s style that bookcase

Published by La Vie Partagée

When we decide to decorate our bookcases, there are some things to consider.

1) The bookcase size, depth and height of shelves.

There are many designs we can bring to our house, from custom made to adjustable shelves. Pick a piece that fulfills your needs.

Source: domino.com

A great option is to use bookcases as space dividers. They let light go through and create an interesting atmosphere.

Source: decozilla.com

Source: meandmybentley.tumblr.com

2) Books.

Besides the obvious, we should pick books that are in good shape and those we love. Have you noticed that bookcases are magnets for guests? They reflect who we are and what topics we are knowledgeable about. Pick them wisely; otherwise you might find yourself being questioned and not have a clue about the books.

Source: shelterness.com

There are different ways to put them in the shelves: By topic, by color, by size, vertical, horizontal or mixed.

Source: hudsoninteriordesigns.com

Source: matchbookmag.com

3) Accessories.

I like to see bookcases filled with stories beside the books. That little box you bought on your last trip, that cute picture of your pet, a nice globe you bought at the flea market or even that beautiful painting you got online. Don’t be afraid to add any elements that bring a happy memory to you.

Source: mydomaine.com

Source: tidbitsandtwine.com

Source: pinterest.com

4) Bookcase style

There are many types of bookcases:

a) Wood

Source: pinterest.com

b) Metal

Source: stylebyemilyhenderson.com

c) Acrylic

Source: landofnod.com

d) Color

Source: apartmenttherapy.com

5) Hacks or restored.

Bookcases are one thing that can easily be made and found in flea markets or garage sales.

This bookcase is made from 3 Ikea bookcases with extra panels and moldings:

Source: themakerista.com

6) Hang on them.

Source: dans-le-townhouse.blogspot.com.au

If your piece is made out of wood or a material that allows you to hang things, you can add some art on it. Or just lean them against the bookshelf.

Source: atelierul-deco.blogspot.ro

Source: centsationalgirl.com

7) Fun colors.

Find and add colors or wallpapers to your bookcase to give them a fun look.

Source: carlaaston.com

Let us know how your bookshelf project turned out and check our Pinterest for more ideas!

For more design ideas, check our DESIGN page.

Author: Daniela Olmedo

Canh Chua (Countryside Sweet and Sour Soup)

Published by La Vie Partagée

In last week’s Eat post, we made ca kho to or catfish braised in a clay pot. This week we will explore a companion dish called canh chua ca. This is a wonderful complex, yet simple soup. Vietnamese soup is a meal in itself and is usually eaten with rice and shared family style. This soup is traditionally made with the head and tail of a catfish or whatever fish that the family is eating that day. You can substitute the protein with shrimp, salmon or any other type of fish or seafood that you would like to eat.

There are two ingredients (bạc hà and rau om) that may be hard to find if there is not an Asian supermarket nearby or if it’s out of season. Bạc hà is the porous stem of a type of taro plant’s leaves with a sponge like texture when cooked. You can usually find it shrink wrapped in a styrofoam tray at your asian supermarket in the summer. Due to bạc hà’s porous stem, the stem soaks up the soup while maintaining it’s crunchy texture. This herb was not available when we made the soup for this post.

Source: wisegeek.com

Rau om is basically fresh Vietnamese cumin. It is an herb that is grown in a rice paddy. You can find this in an asian supermarket as well. If this herb is not available, just omit it from the recipe. Do not use American dried cumin as it is a different taste altogether.

Source: http://www.rauom.com/

This recipe serves 4-6 people and has an easy rating on the level of cooking difficulty.

Ingredients:

1/3 cup of fresh rau om (fresh Vietnamese cumin) light chopped- this is optional

1-2 stalks of bac ha (a type of taro plant) thinly sliced – this is optional. Remove the tough outer part of the stalk.

2 cups of bean sprouts

20-22 okra cut in half

2 stalk of celery cut into thin slices

1 large tomato cut into ⅛ chunks

1 cup of fresh pineapple chunks

1 whole korean green pepper for taste. Make sure you deseed it if you do not like spicy.

8 cups of water

2 lbs of catfish (head, tails and filet). You can also use just the filets of catfish or any other seafood

2 stalks of green onions

3 tablespoon of sugar

4 tablespoon of fish sauce

1 clove of garlic minced

1/3 cup of tamarind paste

1 tablespoon of olive oil

1 teaspoon of sea salt

Source: laviepartagee.com

Prepared vegetables:

Source: laviepartagee.com

Directions:

Part 1: Clean

In a large bowl, add 1 teaspoon of salt to the fish or any seafood. Mix and rub the salt with the filets. This will get rid of any fishy smell.

Rinse with cold water thoroughly

Part 2: Cook

In a medium pot, boil 8 cups of water and 1/3 cup of tamarind paste. Make sure you break up the tamarind paste into smaller pieces. This will help the tamarind dissolve quickly.

Source: laviepartagee.com

Once the tamarind has dissolved (about 15 minutes of boiling), use a slotted spoon or a mesh spoon to strain all the leftover tamarind into a bowl. Discard this.

Source: laviepartagee.com

Once the broth is strained of the tamarind, add the fish and turn up the heat to a boil.

Source: laviepartagee.com

Once the soup boils, skim the top of all the impurities.

Add 4 tablespoons of fish sauce, 3 tablespoons of sugar and 1 teaspoon of salt.

Add in all of the vegetables except for the beansprouts and the rau om.

Source: laviepartagee.com

In a small pan, lightly brown the diced spring onions, garlic with 1 tablespoon of olive oil.

Source: laviepartagee.com

Add it to the soup and turn off the heat.

Source: laviepartagee.com

In a serving bowl, place the bean sprouts at the bottom. Add the soup to the bowl. Add the bean sprouts this way so the hot soup broth softens the bean sprouts just enough so they still have a crunch.

Garnish with some fresh green onions and the Vietnamese cumin.

For more recipes, visit our EAT page or Recipe Index.

Author: Chau Hoang and Henry Nguyen

Words For Thought

Published by La Vie Partagée

Source: http://www.jenbpeters.com/

A little kindness goes a long way…

Weekend Unexplored: Day Trip to Sonoma and Napa

Published by La Vie Partagée

There is nothing more rewarding than hosting family and friends and seeing them experience California’s Wine Country for the first time.

When one thinks of California’s Wine Country, they are likely referring to Napa Valley and Sonoma Wine Country. They lie parallel to each other, tucked away about an hour’s drive by car from San Francisco proper.

9:00 AM PST: With my tea in hand and a pastry from La Boulange, I’m ready to head off to wine country with some out of town friends. We’ve rented a driver for the day (Million Services Limousine) and like clockwork, they show up on time. I’ve been with Reese and his team of awesome drivers for 5 years now. No matter the group size, their service and hospitality are always grade A. I like to typically start off in Sonoma and work my way to Napa. I find the flow of that route, especially for first timers, works out beautifully.

We take the Golden Gate Bridge and are automatically rewarded with breathtaking views of the city behind us. It’s still early enough where Karl the Fog (@karlthefog) is still happily blanketing some of the city but it’s quickly losing its fight as we break through the clouds and into clear blue skies.

Source: Twitter

11:00 AM PST: The drive up consists of an endless span of rolling, grassy hills transitioning into tidy vineyard lines as we get closer to our destination. My first stop is always at Jacuzzi Vineyards (24724 Arnold Drive, Sonoma CA 95476). The tastings are free, courtesy of the generous family whose namesake is one and the same as those bubbly hot tubs. Relaxation and wine, who would have thought?

Source: Lianne Zhang

The vitners are extremely knowledgeable and they’ll concoct a nice symphony of wine flights, often starting with their crisp prosecco and ending with a deeper port, served in a chocolate cup. Take a glass and walk around to the cavernous back patio. Soak in views of the fountain and endless rows of grapevines. Welcome to Wine Country!

Source: Lianne Zhang

12:30 PM PST: Somehow an hour and a half flies by and we’re all rocking a slight wine buzz. While we loaded up a few bottles of their homemade olive oil and vinegar, my friends and I head out to lunch. I’ve made us a reservation at my favorite lunch spot in downtown Sonoma.

1:00 PM PST: Downtown Sonoma is a charming little square that houses vineyards, restaurants and shops. We head to The Girl and the Fig, a restaurant paying tribute to my obsession with all things French. To describe this place as anything less than delightful would be an unfair injustice. Once you arrive, you’ll see what I mean. My favorite is the back patio, a true oasis of floral, earthy decor and greenery. The server brings us a bottle of my favorite bubbly and we proceed to order a feast of steak tartare, duck confit, fig salad and cheese and charcuterie. Sondra Bernstein and John Toulze opened the restaurant back in 1997 and their dedication to serving 95% of their fresh food from locally grown sources has kept them ahead of the game. Absolument délicieux!

Source: SonomaPlaza.com

Source: The Girl and the Fig

2:30 PM PST: Our skin glowing from the sun and champagne, we head back towards our final two vineyards. Wanting to continue on the train of bubbly and slowly transition to Napa, we head to another cult favorite, Domaine Chandon. Located at the meeting point between Sonoma and Napa, Domaine Chandon looks like the enchanted castle at the top of the fruit-laden vineyard hills. It is majestic and awe-inspiring. There are sparkling wine flights to be enjoyed on the expansive balcony (also private tastings upstairs). Warm caramel, baked apple, honey soaked berry notes can be found throughout the tastings and one can’t go wrong with their huge selection.

Source: Pinterest

Source: Craig Lee

4:00 PM PST: We head north to our final vineyard of the day. In this case, we save the best for last. Say hello to Peju. The first word that comes to my mind when arriving at Peju is “magical”. It looks like something out of a modern fairy tale. There are no Prince Charming’s but lots of delicious wine to be found at the final destination. Peju hits high marks on both red and white but its most well-known is probably the Fifty/Fifty- silky and fruity.

Source: Lianne Zhang

As another day in wine country winds down to an end, pure bliss is on everyone’s faces. I feel happy to share the wine country experience with them. Some things never get old and this is by far the best I’ve experienced. It truly brings new meaning to a timeless classic. Cheers!

Author: Lianne Zhang

Featured Photo: Mike Pucci

For more travel related posts, click here.

Ca Kho To (Fish Braised with Caramel Sauce in a Clay Pot)

Published by La Vie Partagée

My all time favorite meal in the countryside of Vietnam, especially around the Mekong Delta, is the braised catfish in a sweet, salty and slightly sticky sauce cooked in a clay pot. Whenever I think of my favorite home cooking in Vietnam, I dream of ca kho to (catfish braised in a clay pot) and canh chua (sweet and sour soup). They are traditionally paired together as most family would buy one fish for dinner. They would use the filets for the ca kho to and the head and tail parts for the canh chua. The sweet and sour soup complement the salty and sweet catfish nicely.

In this recipe, we will make the traditional ca kho to in a clay pot with cat fish. If you don’t have a claypot, any heavy pot will work fine. You can also use any fresh water fish instead of catfish and many restaurants also use salmon filet. If your local grocery store does not have catfish, you can substitute with catfish nuggets. For me, nothing beats the original catfish for this dish.

This recipe serves four people and it has a medium rating for difficulty if you make the caramel yourself. This is not hard but it does take practice.

Ingredients:

2-3 lb of catfish (1 inch filet). Roughly 3-4 large filet. You can also use any fresh water fish.

¼ cup fish sauce

3 tablespoon of sugar

2 cloves of garlic

1 teaspoon of freshly cracked black pepper and an extra pinch to taste

1 ¼ teaspoon of sea salt

1 teaspoon of olive oil

1 green pepper

2 red thai chili for flavor (optional)

1 green onion

½ cup of water

Source: laviepartagee.com

Directions:

Part 1: Clean

In a large bowl, add 1 teaspoon of salt to the fish filets. Mix and rub the salt with the filets. This will get rid of any fishy smell.

Source: laviepartagee.com

Rinse with cold water thoroughly

Source: laviepartagee.com

Part 2: Marinate

In a large bowl, add the washed fish fillets, 1 teaspoon of fresh cracked pepper, ¼ teaspoon of sea salt, ¼ cup of fish sauce, 1 sliced green chili and 2 red thai chili (whole). The chili are optional but they add a lot of flavor without the heat if left whole.

Mix well and let it marinate for at least 15 minutes. If you don’t have time, marinate for at least 5 minutes for the marinade to sink in. The longer the fish marinate before the cooking process, the more flavorful the finished dish will be.

Source: laviepartagee.com

Part 3: Cook

Mince 2 cloves of garlic and set aside.

In a medium sized pot with a heavy bottom (clay pot or a cast iron pot if possible), add 2 tablespoons of sugar over medium heat. Spread the sugar evenly out in the pot. Add 1 teaspoon of olive oil.

Source: laviepartagee.com

Turn the heat to medium high and watch the pot carefully as this caramel process is quick. It is very easy to mess up the timing.

Have ½ cup of water on standby next to the pot.

Once the sugar starts to liquefy, gently stir and watch for the color change. Turn the heat to low.

Source: laviepartagee.com

Add the minced garlic

Source: laviepartagee.com

Watch carefully as the sugar mixture turns to a coffee color and starts foaming. Within a few seconds, it should continue to foam, reaching a dark coffee color.

Source: laviepartagee.com

Slowly add the water so it will stop the caramelizing process. The sauce may splatter if you add the water too quickly. If you do not stop the caramel process right after the sugar reaches a dark coffee color, the syrup will burn.

Source: laviepartagee.com

Continue to stir.

Add the fish fillets and marinade to the pot.

Source: laviepartagee.com

Turn the heat up to medium- high and keep it on a constant low boil to continue the caramelization and braising process.

Source: laviepartagee.com

After a few minutes (approximately 5 minutes after putting the fish into the pot), add 1 tablespoon of sugar. Use a spoon to carefully incorporate the sugar into the mixture. Let the pot continue to boil.

Once in a while, shake the pot so the fish does not stick to the bottom of the pot and break apart.

The braising process should take about 20 minutes from the time the fish goes into the pot. You can see the changes in the color and liquid consistency in the following pictures.

Source: laviepartagee.com

Turn off the heat and add a few pinches of freshly cracked pepper to the pot and julienne green onions for garnish.

Source: laviepartagee.com

Alternative to making caramel:

An alternative for making caramel at the beginning of the recipe is to use the pre-made caramel sauce. See last week’s recipe.

Add 1 teaspoon of olive oil to the pot and add the garlic on medium heat.

Lightly brown the garlic and add 1-2 tablespoon of caramel to the mixture to your taste.

Add the fish and the sauce.

Follow steps 14-18 from above to finish the cooking process.

Source: laviepartagee.com

For more recipes, go to our Eat page.

Author: Chau Hoang and Henry Nguyen

Words for Thought

Published by La Vie Partagée

Failure is only a stepping stone to something greater.

Source: Pinterest

Road Trip: Pacific Coast Highway 1 (Part Two)

Published by La Vie Partagée

“But why think about that when all the golden lands ahead of you and all kinds of unforseen events wait lurking to surprise you and make you glad you’re alive to see?” ― Jack Kerouac, On the Road

Part Two of our family road trip picks up where we left off last week, heading south of Big Sur and concluding in Santa Barbara.

“The longer you stayed at Hearst Castle, the further you’d sit from William Hearst during a meal,” said our guide as we walked into the dining hall.

Source: laviepartagee.com

He was most definitely a Hearst fan and was beginning to tell us yet another story about the newspaper/media mogul and his distinguished guests. We had just arrived for the 3 pm tour of the Castle’s main rooms and garden grounds. After parking in front of the visitor’s center, we joined the line of tourists waiting to catch the bus that would drive us up to “La Cuesta Encantada,” the Enchanted Hill.

Source: laviepartagee.com

Located atop the hill overlooking San Simeon, the estate’s grandeur and architectural details are only outdone by the story behind its creation. Built over 28 years between 1919 and 1947, led by the renown female architect, Julia Morgan, Hearst Castle features 165 rooms and 127 acres of outdoor gardens and pools. Inspired by what he saw during his early travels to Europe as a young boy, William Hearst collaborated with Julia Morgan to build a home that would showcase the immense breadth of his Mediterranean art collections and would astound his guests of all professional facets from politicians to writers to Hollywood actors. Furthermore, Hearst insisted on building a private zoo featuring exotic animals on his property. One can still see zebras grazing on the fields right below the estate today.

Source: laviepartagee.com

Every invitation to vacation at Hearst Castle was an open ended one until you outstayed your welcome. After I wandered around the many gardens and found myself by the Neptune pool, I imagined that I too would have probably outstayed mine. It has even been said that William Hearst’s parties inspired F. Scott Fitzgerald’s extravagant descriptions in the Great Gatsby.

Source: laviepartagee.com

While we rode down the Enchanted Hill after our tour, I contemplated how the building of such a structure was inspired by a man’s childhood travel reflections, brought to life by the architectural tenacity of a pioneering woman during the period.

That night, my family and I stayed in the city that deems itself the “happiest place in America.” San Luis Obispo is located halfway between San Francisco and Los Angeles off Hwy 1 along Californa’s Central Coast. On average, the city boasts 315 sunny days a year! We spent the morning walking downtown to stretch out our legs before getting back in the car for another day of driving.

I picked up a map at the reception desk of our budget hotel and led the way toward Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa near city center. My parents enjoyed seeing the historic mission, founded by Junipero Serra in 1772.

I was intrigued by the San Luis creek on the map, originally the water source for the mission and later the city, that ran adjacent to the Catholic church. Accessible by a footbridge through Mission Plaza, we discovered such a pleasant walk along the creek that took us through the city from Chorro Street to Nipomo Street. We saw ducks, jumped on rocks, and gazed out at the public art work along the path.

Source: laviepartagee.com

Many restaurants run along the creek with outdoor seating. I imagine it would have been a wonderful area in the evening to explore if only we had more time.

Source: http://www.locallinks.com

When we left San Luis Obispo, our original intention was to find a wild horse sanctuary that I read about. We headed down Jamala Road in Lompoc county where driving became a twisting journey through rolling ranchlands.

Source: laviepartagee.com

About 7.5 miles in, with no horses nor humans in sight, we saw a UPS truck following us in our rear view mirror. Surely, the driver must be going somewhere! So we pulled to the side of the road, with my sister hailing him to stop along side us. “Where are YOU going?” she asked. The UPS man, a bit baffled by our question, replied, “There’s a beach at the end of this road.” My sister insisted, “Worth seeing?” The UPS man nodded. “I think so.” And that’s how we found ourselves at Jamala beach…by following the UPS man another 7 miles down, up, and around some more rolling hills.

Source: laviepartagee.com

Source: laviepartagee.com

In addition to having a pretty secluded beach, one can also enjoy an amazing burger at Jamala Beach Store and Grill.

We finally reached our last destination, Santa Barbara, by four thirty in the afternoon. It was just enough time to hop on the local bus toward city center and then walk down State Street amid the bustle of others going into and out of boutique stores and shops. We made one detour to see the county court house in Santa Barbara, one of the most photographed buildings in the city.

Source: weddingmapper.com

By six thirty, we were ready to eat, having made our way south to Stearns Wharf. My dad said he was craving seafood. He meant crab. As blue crab eating Marylanders, a seafood meal would never associate itself with a fine dining establishment. Forget Michelin rated Los Agaves or Bouchon. We wanted to eat with our hands and a wooden mallet! The Santa Barbara Shellfish Co., a shack bar located at the very end of the wharf, fit that bill, spot on. There were at least 10 to 12 people in front of us when we put our names on the wait list. But the wait actually allowed us to catch some sweeping ocean views against the soft light of sunset.

Source: laviepartagee.com

When we were called, we grabbed our seats at the bar that overlooked the cooks make no-nonsense lobster tacos, shrimp pastas, and hearty cioppino among other menu items. My dad ordered the steamed Rock crab and liked it so much, we had to get a second order just for him.

Our night ended thus as did our road trip. With our tummies happy and a beautiful sky still present in our minds, we raised our glasses to toast and celebrate the ocean, the mountains, the open road, and of course, family.

Author: Jenny Lam

Picture Perfect

Published by La Vie Partagée

A big empty wall in your space and you have no clue what to do with it. You only have 2 art pieces and they are not enough to fill in the space properly. Sounds familiar? Well, there is an art behind hanging art.

There are sites that sell prints and originals of many styles that are very useful to fill in gaps or to be statement pieces: minted.com, etsy.com, etc.

Other ideas for cheaper options are to go to flea markets and find old posters in good shape such as maps, landscape pictures, or anything you find interesting. You can pretty much hang anything.

Source: pinterest.com

One interesting, fun idea was to get this “grandma” style gold leaf frames with landscape art but have half of them painted in a solid color (including the frame). Check first to be sure it is not a valuable piece!

Source: athomeinlove.com

Mirrors are another useful item to add to your collection. They help multiply light and space. They can also become fun pieces.

Source: House Beautiful

One fun and retro trend is to add hand woven tapestries. They can be made from many materials and have tons of color.

Source: nativeline.com

Let’s start: bring together all of the art or pictures you want to hang. Remember that the frames (and if needed, the mats) are very important. We will work on ideas beside the typical symmetric arrangement.

The trend is to use the wall as your goal so your pictures can overlook your furniture. This will create a fuller look.

Source: Pinterest

For the office, the ceiling and the floor are the limits:

Source: inyourbackpocket.blogspot.mx

For the bedroom:

Source: pinterest.com

You can put an oversized picture on top of your night table. You could achieve this look with just a piece of wallpaper and framing it:

Source: elementsofstyleblog.com

For a nursery, you can even frame fabrics:

Source: Pinterest

Family pictures are also a happy way to create interesting wall art.

Source: melangephotographyblog.com

Now, how to hang them without making 50 holes for 10 pieces:

1) Arrange the frames on the floor the way you want them hanged. Play with the sizes, and use as much as you want from the wall, but always try to keep a balance.

Source: apartmenttherapy.com

2) Make paper cut-outs from the frame shapes and mark the location of the hangers.

Source: http://www.lulaandgeorgia.com

3) Use tape to locate them on your wall so you can see how they will look. You can move them as you like without making holes.

This last picture is a great example. There are one big piece on each side. The small frames are on top and the other small frames are on the bottom. Good Balance!
So go and add new pieces to your collection. You will be surprised to find some pieces in your basement. Have fun creating!

Share with us your pictures and comments!

Author: Daniela Olmedo

Sauce Series: Caramel for Braising Food

Published by La Vie Partagée

One popular way to cook Vietnamese food is to braise meat and fish in a caramel sauce. You get that sweet, slightly bitter, and salty mixture with the protein of your choice. My all time favorite meal in the countryside of Vietnam, especially around the Mekong Delta, is catfish braised with the caramel sauce in a claypot. It does take some time to master this caramel sauce but it will last in your fridge for a while.

Getting this caramel sauce right takes a few tries. There is a crucial period when the melted sugar foams and turns into a dark coffee color. The caramelization process stops when water is added. I had a few incidents where I waited for just a few seconds too long and was left with either burnt caramel or caramel splattering all over the stove. Be cautious when you are attempting to make this sauce for the first time. Once you master this sauce, the possibilities are endless.

This recipe makes about 8 oz of caramel and has a medium rating in terms of the level of difficulty.

Ingredients:

1 cup of sugar

½ cup of water

Directions:

Add 1 cup of sugar to a big pot. Turn the heat to medium.

Source: laviepartagee.com

Once the sugar starts to liquefy, lightly stir the melted sugar.

Source: laviepartagee.com

Watch carefully as it starts to foam and turn to a coffee color. Turn the heat to low.

Stir until it turns to a dark coffee color which will take only a few seconds.

Source: laviepartagee.com

Slowly add water. If the mixture foams too much, the sauce will splatter and burn.

Turn off the heat and keep stirring.

Let the mixture cool to thicken.

Source: laviepartagee.com

Store at room temperature.

Now that you have mastered the caramel sauce, it’s time to make catfish braised with caramel in a clay pot. Check our next Eat post for the recipe and tutorial.

Source: laviepartagee.com

For more recipes, visit our EAT page or Recipe Index.