This is the bed.

It's really tough finding a mid-century style bed. Clean design, simple headboard, tapered legs... I've looked at a lot of vintage pieces, but they can be pricey, or too small for modern mattresses. This one from West Elm really fits the bill for me, and it's on sale right now for $799 for a queen, $899 for king.

...with this duvet cover by Orla Kiely. $179-199. This bed is pretty great, too. It's not sourced, however...

+westelm.com

The lost art of matchboxes

I'm glad we're all quitting smoking these days (or trying), but I do miss the proliferation of matches and their cover art that used to be found everywhere from smoke shops to restaurants. Here are some nice examples of early to mid- twentieth century Indian matchbox covers from the flickr set of Agence Eureka.

+pillpat (agence eureka) on flickr

The street photography of Vivian Maier

The works of nanny and photographer Vivian Maier (February 1, 1926 – April 21, 2009) can be seen on this wonderful website. So much to see there, and beautifully presented in large images organized into portfolios. A documentary about her fascinating life "Finding Vivian Maier" will be released in theaters in March 2014. See the trailer here. Can't wait!

October 29, 1953. New York, NY | vivianmaier.com — October 29, 1953. New York, NY | vivianmaier.com

June 1954. New York, NY | vivianmaier.com — June 1954. New York, NY | vivianmaier.com

November 4. 1955, San Francisco, CA | vivianmaier.com — November 4. 1955, San Francisco, CA | vivianmaier.com

+vivianmaier.com

Curried seitan panini with slivered collard greens, red onion, grilled zucchini & gruyere

I like experimenting with meat alternatives, so I'm always picking up items at the grocery store that interest me. My local Whole Foods Market carries Sweet Earth Seitan (Wheat Meat) in a curry flavor, and since I'm keen on curry these days, I picked it up. I've had such great vegetarian sandwiches at some of the wonderful restaurants here in Los Angeles, such as Mendocino Farms, Veggie Grill, Native Foods and Juicy Ladies. The things they do with Tempeh, tofu and Seitan!

I made this panini on a Wednesday afternoon when I was feeling the need for a splurge... but being early in the New Year, I wanted to keep the cheese, bread and calories on the low side. In the top photo I used homemade sandwich bread from my friend Susan Valiant from Mabel's Kitchen in Fresno, CA., a thick, dense and salty white bread. The second version uses a lower calorie Sourdough bread from Francisco International from Ralph's supermarket. Each slice is 60 calories, and although the sandwich looks flatter after pressed, I assure you it's still delicious and satisfying.

INGREDIENTS
4 slices sourdough bread (Francisco International Sourdough Sliced Bread)
1/4 cup Light shredded Mozzarella
2 oz gruyere cheese
2 pieces Sweet Earth Curried Seitan, sliced lengthwise as thin as possible
1/4 thin sliced red onion
1 cup Collard greens, sliced thin (Trader Joe's is actually selling packaged shredded collards right now)
1/2 medium zucchini, sliced thin on the diagonal
Olive oil spray

Heat skillet on medium high, add olive oil spray, add onion, then thin-sliced zucchini. Cook until onions and zucchini are browned then add collard greens. Toss until wilted, add seitan strips and cook a bit more until setean is warm. Set aside.

In panini press, oiled grill pan or on grill: spray olive oil on one side of each slice of bread. Add gruyere cheese on bottom, then add veg and seitan mixture. Add Low-fat cheese on top. Place second slice on top and press on grill until cheese melts and bread is browned to a nice crunch. If you don't have a paninii press, just use another pan or even your spatula to press it, and turn sandwich as each side gets brown.

2 SERVINGS

+www.sweetearthfoods.com

Vintage cook books

If you enjoy looking through cook books, here are some interesting early twentieth century examples. What's fascinating about some of these is how the culture of food changes over the years. While some recipes remain constant, others seem quite bizarre in retrospect. I also love having a few vintage cook books in my kitchen to remind me of my mom and grandmother.