What’s Cooking? Tying the Knot!
Wedding season has arrived, and it seems like all the lovebirds you know are getting ready to tie the knot. It’s time to see what treasures you can find on the Paradise City Marketplace to help them feather their nests! A great “gift match” is so satisfying. It can be something you know they’ll want and use in their lives together – or an amazing find they don’t even know is their heart’s desire until they receive it.
Clockwise: Kitchen, wedding arch • Khalsa, rings • Addison, Kiddush Cup • Cohen, wedding album • Boogaerts, firepit
The Paradise City Marketplace is the perfect, easiest place to look for memorable gifts. It can be a set of hand-thrown ceramic bowls, a firepit or garden sculpture for their yard, or serving utensils made of wood, metal, or glass. Give them a beautiful photo album made of paper or leather to hold their memories. Perhaps something ceremonial fits the bill, like a Kiddush cup, a turned wooden treasure box or a champleve vessel. Maybe the sea or the mountains are special places for the happy couple – look for an evocative photograph or painting of that reminds them of someplace they love as a very personal gift.
It’s also the ultimate resource for gorgeous wedding and engagement rings, custom made just for you. Whether it’s an ethically sourced pink diamond set into a pink-gold band, an out-of-this-world pair of wedding rings fashioned from meteorites and gold, or a grandmother’s heirloom stone incorporated into a modern platinum ring, you can have pretty much anything you can imagine created by a Paradise City jeweler.
What are you wearing to all these weddings? Even summer nights can get chilly, especially in New England. Look for a lovely shawl or wrap to accent your little black dress, add a splash of color, and keep your shoulders warm. Speaking of that dress, an eye-catching necklace always rises to the occasion, giving both you and the dress a sophisticated, glamourous touch. And when you pull out the fancy shirt that goes with your tuxedo, think about a stunning new set of cufflinks.
Browse Art & Sculpture, Fashion & Jewelry, Furniture & Home Furnishings. Each image links to an artist’s site. Some links take you directly to their online store while others show work that can be ordered via phone and email. Just like at our shows, you are buying directly from the artist. Take your time, have fun, and see what treasures you can find!
This Week’s Recipe
Bouillabaisse
Also known in Italy as Cioppino, this fisherman’s stew is easy, sophisticated, and comes together very quickly. If you like, make it heartier by added chunks of parboiled potatoes. This recipe makes 4-6 servings.
Ingredients
A few tbsp olive oil
Stalk chopped celery
1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 leek or 2 shallots, chopped
½ tsp thyme
½ bay leaf
2 cups crushed, peeled tomatoes (they can be canned)
1 cup bottled clam juice or homemade fish stock
1 cup dry white wine
½ tsp fennel seeds or 1 tbsp Pernod
Pinch saffron
Salt & pepper
About 1 lb. firm, white-fleshed fish (monkfish, haddock, snapper, etc) cut in big chunks
12 littleneck clams
12 raw peeled shrimp
12 sea scallops
Optional: lobster, calamari, mussels. Use the seafood you can get easily – nothing is written in stone.
Good bread – sourdough, French, whatever you like, cut in thick slices.
Olive oil and garlic for bread
Instructions
- In a large pot with a cover, heat the oil, add the celery, onion, garlic, leek or shallots, thyme and bay leaf and cook for five minutes or so until the onion is soft.
- Add the tomatoes, clam juice, wine, fennel if using, saffron, salt & pepper and simmer about 15 minutes.
- Cook the clams separately because they take longer if you cook them with everything else. You can steam them in a little wine in a small, covered saucepan, or roast them in a hot oven until they open.
- Add all the fish & seafood except the clams. Simmer for barely 15 minutes, or until everything is done (if using calamari and/or cooked lobster, add them the last five minutes).
- Add the clams and their juices and the Pernod, if using.
- Meanwhile, brush the bread slices with olive oil and garlic. Toast or bake until lightly browned.
- Ladle soup into shallow bowls and top with a slice of garlic bread. You can sprinkle each serving with parsley if you want to get fancy. This is good with a nice white French Burgundy or white Cotes de Rhone.
