House Beautiful

Monthly Archive for April, 2010

Recipe of the Week: Spring Succotash

Published on April 30, 2010 in Eat & Drink. 4 Comments

Ahhh… Spring.  As invitations for BBQs and picnics start showing up in our inboxes and visions of bathing suit shopping (…gulp…) appear in our heads, now is the perfect time to start integrating some lighter fare into our diets for the coming months. (That means you, Stephanie.  Easter is over… time to put away the Reese’s peanut butter bunnies.)  This time of year, there’s nothing better than discovering an easy, healthy and delicious dish that can be whipped up in no time.

This Mayan succotash is so simple to make.  A perfect alternative to traditional salads, succotash is an incredibly light, tangy dish to be eaten on its own or as a side dish.  It’s PERFECT for all the upcoming BBQs and picnics this spring and summer.  Everyone else will bring (SNORE) chips & salsa to the party.  Or grocery-bought cookies and mini-cupcakes.  Or worse yet…  potato salad.  But YOU can bring something delightful and refreshing that pairs perfectly with anything from the grill – and sends people home with their waistlines intact.

(Picture-perfect BBQs… brought to you by succotash.)

BONUS!  This succotash is great ALL year-round!  Case in point:  Just as me and my family were about to drift into Holiday carb comas this Christmas and were reaching in slow-mo to unbutton our pants, my beloved Uncle Frank threw this little ditty called succotash into the carb-y, buttery, casserole-y mix.   We all took a break from devouring inordinate amounts of turkey, rolls, mashed potatoes and gravy, to study it…  Hmmm…  what IS that? Is that…  candy corn?  Are those jelly beans?  It doesn’t LOOK like it has 400 fat grams in it.  It’s not made up almost entirely of butter…  We don’t get it.

And then we tried it.  And had some more.  And then we were hooked.

Recipe courtesy of Uncle Frank:

To start:

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup Italian red wine vinegar
5 drops Tabasco Habanero Sauce
Splash of soy sauce
Sea salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

Whisk the above ingredients together in a bowl, then add:

1/3 cup coarsely chopped red bell pepper
1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh jalapeno
1/4 cup coarsely chopped red onion
1 can Whole Foods “no salt added” Kidney Beans
1 can Whole Foods “no salt added” Garbanzo Beans
1 can Whole Foods “no salt added” Whole Kernel Corn

Mix everything with a big spoon and enjoy!

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Interior Designer: Kishani Perera

Published on April 28, 2010 in Decor. 4 Comments

If the world of interior design was like a high school, Kishani Perera would be the elusive, rocker chick/artistic girl with an eccentric, ahead-of-its-time wardrobe and no desire whatsoever to conform to convention.  Years later, she’d be the person you hear has moved out to LA and is designing celebrity homes and being hailed as an up-and-comer about to take the world of interior design by storm.

Perera’s story isn’t far off.  Based in LA, she’s become the toast of the design world, transforming the homes of celebs like Molly Sims, Kate Bosworth and Christine Taylor.  She is my faaavorite designer, not just for the pure aesthetic of her work, but for the feeling it conjures when viewing it.  I find her style inspirational, glamorous, whimsical, and – most importantly – personable and warm. Whenever I’m helping friends decorate their places, I often turn to Perera’s work for ideas:

(Above): The glam chandelier juxtaposed against the rustic beams and warm tones in the room creates a chic elegance that feels unmistakeably cozy.  And check out the black secretary – it’s painted lime green on the inside (!)  The attention to detail is perfection.

(Above): That big, beautiful mirror is to DIE for.  Wisteria is currently carrying one similar to shown.

(Above): Notice the soothing, neutral paint color that brings a certain calmness to the room.  Layer this monochromatic backdrop with punches of color and patterns, and you get the Kishani effect.  Check it:  Her repetition of pink as an accent color – the roses, the pillows, and the suzani throw – adds to the sense of calm.  The black in the rug, the suzani and the lamp help to anchor the room…  the lucite coffee table gives the room an airy quality…  and the metallic touches – the silvery urn on the hearth and the inside of the lampshade – polish it off with a hint of sparkle.

Perera is always daring, using bold colors and unexpected pieces of furniture or accessories to put together a space.  And yet somehow she always pulls it off.

And now the part that makes me love Kishani even more: Not only is she ridiculously talented and original, but she is a master bargain hunter!  To her, redecorating one’s apartment or home shouldn’t entail spending hundreds and thousands of $$$ buying only high-end furniture and pieces.   Perera is outspoken about how she always mixes in furniture and accessories from stores like Linens ‘N Things and Crate and Barrel, as well as Craigslist and Ebay.

She believes a lot of basics, like end tables, side tables, mirrors and other accessories, can be found at flea markets, thrift shops (see Stephanie’s “GOODWILL HUNTING” post), online sites (Ebay, Homedecorating.com) and mass market stores (Target, Z Gallerie).

(Above): Similar capiz shell lighting at Home Depot, Amazon.com or West Elm

Also, she loves to use bold, strong, colorful paint as a relatively inexpensive way to completely change the mood of a room.

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(Above): Similar shag rug can be found at Home Depot.  A couple years ago I found an almost identical ottoman to the one in the above pic at JC Penney.

If I could make Covet Living a shrine to the fabulous Ms. Perera I would… but I guess that wouldn’t be all that interesting to the rest of ya’s.  For anyone interested in checking out more of her work (and her blog!!), go to www.kishaniperera.com.

And stay tuned for Steph’s upcoming post about decorating Kishani-style on a shoestring.

Happy decorating!

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