End of Summer

Summer seems to peak and decline in August. The last of summer's vacations and outdoor get-togethers start to wind down as the weather becomes a little more unpredictable later in the month.

Fortunately blackberries are in season that gives us a little more of a summer push we may be hankering for. We found this simple blackberry sauce recipe from PBS that sounds so delightful and easy!

Simple Homemade Blackberry Sauce

Prep Time: 3 min(s)

Cook Time: 5 min(s)

Total Time: 8 minutes min(s)

Servings: Makes just over 1 cup

A simple fresh homemade blackberry sauce recipe that can be made in under 10 minutes from start to finish. Great for pouring over ice cream, pancakes, waffles, and French toast.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups fresh blackberries, washed

1/2 cup water

3 Tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Instructions

1. In a medium non-stick sauce pan, cook the blackberries, 1/4 cup water, sugar, and lemon juice on medium high for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

2. Transfer the berry mixture to a blender or food processor and puree the fruit for 30 seconds in two 15 second intervals.

3. If the sauce is completely pulverized and pasty thick, add the remaining 1/4 cup of water.  Blend again for 15 seconds.  The sauce will be fluid.

4. Transfer the sauce to a serving dish.  Store any remaining sauce in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

With all the fresh produce starting to dwindle down, now would be a great time to start canning for the winter months. Peaches, beans, tomatoes all could be enjoyed from the garden or CSA when the dark days settle in. There are all sorts of different canning recipes that can be found online or elsewhere but you need to be careful on where they come from. Always trust a reliable source like the Ball company who sells the majority of canning products on the market. They have a ton of canning recipes, tips, and instructions to help you with starting or improving your canning skills. If you don't have the time or space to do full blown canning, pickles and freezer jams are very easy to make. Canned goods also make great gifts in a pinch.

August is a great month to get some of your outdoor projects wrapped up. Painting your front door, staining your deck or having your windows replaced is best to do before the rain hits. Also, if you're doing any renovation work the light is still good until around 7-8pm and it's less likely to have mud tracked in and out of the house. It is also a good time to get your yard work taken care of just in case the rain starts after the weekend. 

If you're fortunate to have garden space, some of the most gorgeous flowers are in season right now. Dahlias are spectacular and come in so many shapes, sizes and colors. They are relatively easy tuber to grow they just need plenty of sun (native to Mexico), prefer sandy soil , need to be cut back and dug up in the fall, then stored in a cool dry place. In some areas you can leave your tubers in the ground over the winter but can be risky. If you do decide so, make sure they are in well drained soil and add a hefty amount of mulch to the top before freezing temperatures. If you don't have a garden or don't find pleasure in gardening, Pike Place Market, local farmers markets or farm stands will have many varieties to choose from. 

Pacific NW Magazine Article

We had the pleasure of being featured in Pacific NW Magazine in the Sunday August 17th Seattle Times. Rebecca Teagarden did a wonderful job of writing the article and Benjamin Benschneider took great photos of my space.

You can click on the link or just scroll and read!

Small downtown condo lives luxuriously large

“I brought the office home during the recession,” says interior designer Paula Devon Raso. “It’s in the bedroom. And the bedroom came out here. It took quite a bit of juggling around.” And judging by the surroundings, Raso is quite an accomplished juggler.

By Rebecca Teagarden

Pacific NW associate editor

Nico, the current house Pekingese, relaxes on the linen cushion of an Oly Studio occasional chair. The antique daybed serves as a sofa while preserving the view. It is also used as seating for dinners at the table, left. Walls appear golden, but Raso calls them khaki with a creamy yellow.

There are many reasons to downsize.

For interior designer Paula Devon Raso it was a bum knee and a Pekingese with a bad back.

So, in 2003 Raso sold her two-story, 1,000-square-foot town house in the 98 Union building in downtown Seattle and took a 750-square-foot one-bedroom, one-floor unit there.
She gutted it and set about doing what interior designers do, carving out space and storage where none seemed possible, disguising ductwork and throwing light into even the deepest passages.

She painted and primped and made it her own; walls the color of a child’s blush in the bathroom, the rest of it old gold. There are cherubs on those walls and hanging from the bathroom chandelier, candles glimmering from tall holders set on the floor, antique silver trays, cups and bowls out and about, antique mirrors, etchings, drapes that puddle. Whitewashed oak floors cede to the kitchen’s honed limestone, substantial marble counters there adding old-world splendor to that compact space.

Outside, Raso turned the narrow wrap deck into a formal hedge garden, bay trees as green exclamation points. Beyond, in front-row views, lie Puget Sound, Alki Point, the Olympic Mountains, Pike Place Market and much of the city. (She has no need of the Great Wheel. Her view is better.)

When Raso finished, she thought her place was just about perfect, European glamour wrapped in a small gift box.

And then it was 2007. Everything shifted.

“Once I got the bed in here, that was something,” Raso says. And by “in here” she means the living room.

“I brought the office home during the recession. It’s in the bedroom. And the bedroom came out here. It took quite a bit of juggling around.”

Doesn’t show. The double bed (she sold her antique French number and bought this one at Restoration Hardware) next to the antique Italian dresser seems like the most natural thing in the world. “The silk curtains had been on the bedroom windows,” she says of her technique for separating, but not hiding the sleeping space.

“It’s been really tricky,” she says, a little weariness in her voice and Nico, the current house Pekingese, in her lap.

She takes it all in and says, “I wouldn’t call it French. The reason I hesitate is I think my love of European antiques ruins people’s perception of what I do.”

There are a few well-placed modern touches here, too. The dining table. Raso designed it; metal legs, MDF top, all treated to an antiqued golden finish.

She moved a daybed before the windows to serve as the sofa, and it does, while also keeping the view to the water wide open. Shifted, it becomes seating for three at the table.
“The designer Thomas O’Brien has his bed in his studio,” she points out. “And he uses that for his dining chairs.”

You will not find even one coaster in Raso’s home. “Oh, no. Never in this house.” Things are meant to be used and worn in, then worn out.

“With me, it’s all an evolution. What we like to say is that our work shows a timeless quality, and this holds up pretty well. Having storage (along the hallway, in double-sided cabinets in the kitchen, living room) doesn’t hurt. And the view.”

“I never would have dreamed to do this,” she says of her compressed home. “But it does work. And I’m saving at least $1,500 a month.

“I like to think of it as efficient

“A friend of mine says it’s like sleeping in a little Parisian garret.”

Rebecca Teagarden writes about architecture and design for Pacific NW magazine. Benjamin Benschneider is a magazine staff photographer

Feeling Hot Hot Hot

Temperatures rise so high in July that sometimes being indoors is unbearable. Fans and air conditioner sales soar in Seattle with the first 85F day. A couple good tips for conserving “the cool” are to keep your blinds and windows closed during the day and, when the temperature dips in the evening, open up the windows and/or doors to create a cross breeze through the interior spaces. If you're looking to take a quick local dip, Lake Washington has many parks and beaches to accommodate relaxation and cooling off.  Even Nico made a trip to the lake!

 Nico out for a swim!

Cold salads are usually all I crave during the hot weather. I created a spin-off recipe from the  Barefoot Contessa At Home book  and changed a few of the key ingredients to create more of a Mediterranean salad. 

Tomato, Artichoke & Orzo Salad – Serves 6

       ·         kosher salt

       ·         good olive oil

       ·         ¾ pound orzo pasta

       ·         ½ cup fresh squeezed lemon juice (3 lemons)

       ·         freshly ground black pepper

       ·         8 oz pitted kalamata olives, cut into halves

       ·         2 cans of artichoke hearts, cut into quarters

       ·         2 pints of cherry tomatoes, cut into halves (orange have a great sweet flavor)

        ·         ½ cup minced scallions

        ·         ½ cup chopped fresh dill (in season now!)

        ·         1 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

        ·         1 hothouse cucumber, unpeeled, seeded, and medium diced

        ·         ½ cup small-diced onion

        ·         ¾ pound good feta cheese, large-diced

      Fill large pot with water, add 1 Tablespoon salt and a splash of oil, and bring the water to a boil. Add the orzo pasta and simmer for 9-11 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it’s cooked al dente.

Drain and pour into bowl. Whish together the lemon juice, ½ cup of olive oil, 2 teaspoons of salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper. Pour over hot pasta and stir well. Add dill, parsley, cucumber, onion, artichokes, olives, tomatoes, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper. Toss well. Add the feta and stir carefully. Set aside at room temperature for 1 hour to allow the flavors to blend, or refrigerate overnight. If refrigerated, taste again for seasonings and bring back up to room temperature before serving.

I’ve made this salad 3 times for Lake Union Rotary events and it has always been a hit, meaning that there are no left-overs!

Lake Union Rotary was also a vendor at this year’s Bite of Seattle, educating crowds about exactly what Lake Union Rotary is all about and teaching kids of all ages how to tie different sailing knots. I’ve been an official Rotary member for about a year now and have met wonderful people and helped out at many of the worthwhile events that Lake Union Rotary puts hosts. Our meeting place is located next to the Center for Wooden Boats, which is a great place to learn everything you might want to know about sailing and wooden boats and the instruction is always free!

 Speaking of sailing and ships, Seattle Seafair Fleet Week is just winding down and what a whirlwind of people and events it was. I know not everyone is a fan of The Blue Angels flying overhead,  but we enjoy their entertaining patriotism as they soar, dive, and spin with amazing displays of teamwork. The parade of boats around Elliot Bay is also fun to watch and some of the ships docked are open to free tours. Fleet Week has been a tradition since 1950 to honor the men and women in the military with this premier summer festival.

Seattle summers are magical for visitors from out of town. The weather, though warm, is still mild compared to many places around the US. If you’re expecting out of town guests, plan ahead to make their visit fun and welcoming.

Here are a few timely tips:

     

      1.       Make a list of possible events or things that you think your guests would like to do. Avoid a daily agenda where they are subjected to a schedule. Keep it casual.

      2.       Stock the fridge with food and drink your guests enjoys. This will also save time and prevent you from having to run to the store while they are in town. Less shopping means more visiting.

      3.       Provide toiletries. Your home, filled with guests, is somewhat like a mini hotel, and guests are bound to forget at least one item like a toothbrush or lotion. Bringing along all the potions and lotions of daily life makes for a heavier suitcase. I always tell my niece, “Don’t bother with shampoo, etc.  I’ve got it all.” Also,  this gives your guests a chance to try a new product or brand of something. 

      4.       Having spare keys made takes the stress of having to rush home and attend to your guests. Usually while guests are in town,  we still have to work. A key for their personal use means more freedom to come and go when they please.

      5.       Let guests help out. Small tasks like helping make dinner or taking sheets off the bed for washing makes them feel more relaxed. Also, it takes the pressure off  you with the addition of daily tasks. If they ask “can I do anything” take them up on it.

 

U P C O M I M G  from PDR:  A long-time client of ours has asked us to help them “refresh” their guest room. New paint, bedding, and great artwork were added to create a welcoming space for guests. (Pictures will follow later this month).