My bread, my way: The Tartine diary.

Bread - the most basic food that is shared at almost every meal in every home across the world.  We eat it fresh, toasted, on a sandwich or bruschetta, cuban style or french baguettes for breakfast, lunch and dinner without giving it that much thought.  In Brazil, I remember my dad going to buy fresh "pao frances" every morning at a bakery for breakfast.  But it was not until I went to Spain with my husband that I gained new appreciation for bread.  For the first time in my life, I saw fresh bread being delivered home just in time for lunch - at 3pm.  It was the perfect side dish for every meal and the perfect combination for the wonderful Spanish tapas.

Since then, I have always kept my eyes open to where I could buy good bread here in the US.  Unfortunately because there is not many local bakeries, I settled on buying bread in large grocery chains thus compromising freshness for convenience.  Little I knew, this was about to change when I stumbled upon the book "Tartine Bread" at Barnes & Nobles recently.  I immediately became inspired by the author, Chad Robinson, owner of a very successful bakery in San Francisco - Tartine Bakery.  In the book, he describes his search for the perfect bread made the old fashioned way, with natural leaven and calls upon the baker within you to replicate his bread at home.  So, I wanted to share with you my journey into baking my first fresh loaf of bread.



My first loaf of bread

 I started by creating a starter, or a natural yeast culture that would be used to ferment my bread about a month ago.  "Jake", the name I call now my third child, after my daughter and dog, had to be fed every day until it grew strong enough and looked like this.

The bad news is that after this stage, there is no exact instructions to follow.  In other words, the book gives you an in depth explanation on how to make bread and the things you need to look for in each stage but you need to use your guts and call upon your inner baker to complete the process.  That is why I love this book, because I think cooking is a passion and you need to invest time, thought and care into doing it in order to come up with something great. 

The truth is the first time I attempted to make bread didn't work out.  I prepared my leaven the night before as the book suggests only to wake up with a sour culture that had fermented too long.  I figured it is because it is too hot here now in Florida, so I needed much less time to prepare the leaven.  I tried it again yesterday starting in the morning, which allowed me to finish the loaves at night for the final rest and have them ready to bake in the morning.  The good news is that I enjoyed my fresh hot bread for breakfast and it was priceless. 

I hope I have inspired some of you to go into this adventure.  I recommend it to anyone with a passion for cooking.  I am truly amazed at the results and still can not believe that a bread that looks this good and tastes this great is coming out of my own oven.  I know that my husband is happy and we've enjoyed our bread for breakfast, lunch and dinner, the way it is supposed to be!!!

Art Deco tour in South Beach

I have been living in Miami for 8 years but last week I was just a regular tourist taking my first walking tour of the Art Deco district.  And there is plenty to see and learn when you are taking a stroll in the largest collection of preserved Art Deco buildings in the world.




Congress Hotel - Art Deco District on South Beach

 
Architects and designers will fall in love with the number of hotels featuring the "Tropical Deco" style of Miami Beach with plenty of whimsical flora, fauna and ocean-liner motifs.  All building have some of the elements characterizing this period: glass blocks, decorative sculptural panels, eyebrows, round porthole windows, terrazzo floors, curved edges and corners, elements in groups of three and plenty of neon lighting.



Neon lights at the Art Deco District on South Beach


However, if you are just a regular guy or girl like me, there is plenty of stories about the period that will catch your attention.  For instance, the controversial Calvin Klein ad for Obsession perfume in the roof of the Breakwater hotel in 1987 that catapulted fashion to SoBe.  My favorite though is the facade of the Commodore hotel where rumor has it that Madonna and Jean Paul Gaultier took the inspiration for her iconic cone bra.



1987 Calvin Klein Ad on South Beach





Commodore Hotel - Art Deco District


Truth or tale, it really doesn't matter.  What I guarantee is that you will have a wonderful time.  Make sure you take the tour guided by Kent, a Chicago native with a passion for Miami Beach history.



Kent - Art Deco Walking Tour Guide



Fashion night out: Fall Trends fashion show

Drinks, cocktails, music, friends and fabulous clothes are just some of the things you missed if you did not attend this year Fall Trends fashion show at the Neiman Marcus store in Bal Harbour.  It was a first for me, but definitely not the last.  I had a great time sipping wine, meeting new friends and enjoying my first runaway show with gorgeous styles by Valentino, Prada, Alexander McQueen and Oscar de la Renta among others.

The trends for the fall season highlighted in the show include: Colorblocking, Handheld bags, Bold Gold, LadyChic, Bordeaux and Pumps.

Let's start with Colorblocking which is very familiar to us by now.  This trend continues into the fall but the bright colors are transformed into the beautiful autumn tones like pumpkin orange and brown leaves.  Here are the runaway looks:

Second, I have to talk about Pumps because I absolutely loved this Alexander McQueen heart shaped pump displayed in the store.  After all what's not to love?  High heels, animal prints, bourdeaux accents and a to die for heart shaped peep toe.  It doesn't come cheap though, with a $955 price tag it is only good for my eyes, not my toes... unfortunately!!!

Another accessory turned into trend is the Handheld bag.  I love the runaway look below combining the handheld bag and the hat in Bourdeaux, which is another must have trend.  Since we cannot talk about fashion without the French influence, this deep purple color reminiscent of the French Bourdeaux wine made it to the runaway once again this year.  Finally, the last accessory trend for the Fall is Bold Gold jewelry, where large cuffs and tiered necklaces are definitely in.

Lastly, I hope we all have some LadyChic trend in all of us this fall. 

So, at the end, itt was a great Fashion night out... some of us couldn't get enough!!!



Hope to see you next time.  Until then, keep looking fabulous!!!
xoxo

Weekend Meals: Vietnamese Ribs and Lemon Sorbet

I had never tried Vietnamese food until recently when my good friend bragged that her husband cooks the best Vietnamese food.  So I figured if he can cook it, so can I.  Luckily, one of my cookbooks had a few recipes inserts from chef Luke Nguyen, owner of the world famous Red Lantern, a Vietnamese restaurant in Sydney, Australia.  My first attempt at his recipes was with the Shrimp Sauteed with Fish Sauce and it was delicious.  I have made it a couple of times when I've had friends over and it was a hit every time.

This weekend, since we are home bound with the visit of Emily, which now is only a Tropical depression, I decided to try his other recipe - Vietnamese Braised Pork Spareribs.  Let me just say it, it was delicious.  Even my 2 year old loved it!!! The ribs are first marinated, then roasted and simmered in coconut water with Asian spices, what's not to love.                                                                            

For desert, I made it for the first time Lemon Sorbet.  It's easy, light and refreshing, a perfect blend of sweet and tart to end the meal. 

Here is the recipe:

- 5 or 6 lemons

- 1 and a half cup of water

- 3/4 cup of sugar

- 1 tablespoon of lemon zest

Start by making the syrup, boil the water and sugar for 1 minute until it dissolves.  Add the lemon zest and let is steep for 10 minutes.  Add the lemon juice and cool it in the fridge for 3 hours before putting in an ice cream maker.

Bon apetit everyone!!!

Trend Alert: Color Block

I have been mentioning color block as a trend in my previous posts, so I figured it's time to give its proper time and attention with a post of its own.

Let's start with the basics, what is color block?  Color blocking as the name implies is the pairing of two or more bold colors that you normally wouldn't wear together - think reds and fuchsia, tangerine and purple.  It gives you plenty of room to be creative and the final result has been said to make women look slimmer due to an elongating figure.  Needless to say, they also look fabulous as some of the celebrities below.

This trend is not new, however, this time around it is hard to ignore with so much popularity.  Designers all over the world embraced this trend in their spring/summer 2011 collection and here are my favorite runaway looks.

By now, if you are like me, you are asking yourself how to pull this look off as a regulary gal, right?  Well, lucky you, I came up with a solution.  I've been thinking about this a while since I know that #1, this look is expensive because you need to buy an entire ensemble and  #2, you probably are not going to wear it very frequently.  So, how to solve this fashionista dilemma and still look fabulously trendy?  Think accessories, accessories, accessories!!!

You heard it first here at "miami, moda and more...".  Accessories are the way to go.  It's a simple, inexpensive and easy way to pull off the color block trending without breaking the bank.  Check out my favorite accessories:

As you can see, you can probably start off with somethings you already have stashed in your closet.  The list above includes:
1.Wide heel sandal ZARA 2.Suede mini grab bag ASOS 3.Suede and leather clutch MARC JACOBS 4.Three-tone ballerina ZARA 5.Shoulder bag MEREDITH WENDELL 6.Platform sandal JUNKO SHIMADA 7.Leather wallet COMME DES GARÇONS 8.Two-tone leather belt JIL SANDER

So girlfriends, I did my homework.  These are the color blocking accessories that I found in my closet.  What hidden treasures are you going to find in yours???  Let me know, I'm dying to find out.
xoxo.


Purple Belt

  

Green Belt



MB Miami Fashion Week Swim Part 2: Brazilian Designers

Brazil is famous for many things but when it comes to fashion, swimsuits or "bikinis" make the top of the list.  Beautiful people in sexy "bikinis" and "sungas" meet everyday at the worldly famous beaches of Rio de Janeiro to socialize.  It's a way of life where people gather to play sports, swim or sit around the many bars and cafes alongside the beach.

Tom Jobim and Vinicius de Moraes captured this lifestyle in the famous song "Girl from Ipanema".  Listen below to enjoy the runway pictures of the 2012 swimsuit collection for DiNeila Brazil, Poko Pano and Cia Maritima at the Mercedez-Benz Fashion Week Swim Miami.



Ipanema Beach - Brazil


This year at the MB Fashion Swim Week in Miami, 3 Brazilian brands showed off its 2012 collection in style. 

1. DiNeila Brazil - The 2012 collection for DiNeila is a collaboration with Sports Illustrated supermodel Christine Teigen.  The end result:  a perfect fitting swimwear that is is simple and elegant.  The block colors in the collection feature purple, orange and green and are beautifully mixed together.  I also love the look of the models in the runaway with the tiaras in the hair.

2. Poko Pano - I was very surprised to see this brand making it big in the fashion world.  I actually own 2 bikinis from Poko Pano that I bought over 4 years ago when the brand was not as famous and I love it.  Their collection is surprisingly more elegant now with plenty of embellishments and hardware in all the pieces, but the fun prints are still a trademark. 

Celebrities that are Poko Pano clients include Janet Jackson, Jessica Simpson, Beyoncé, Elle Macpherson, Mischa Barton, Angie Harmon, Marisa Miller, and myself of course.

3. Cia Maritima - This is the most famous brand and a veteran at the Fashion Week. I love how their design stays true to the Brazilian look and feel with the triangle tops and string ties bottom.  I was also surprisingly happy to see how they put a fresh spin on the old animal prints mixing it with bold colors to give it a fresh look.