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ISSUE 01INTROS

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WELCOMEWelcome to Mish Mash, an online source for those who want to fulfill their needs for creativity! We cover fashion, home decor, and cooking all with the common thread of doing it yourself. Some of our DIYs will work, and some of them won’t, the key is to just have fun.

Let the trial and errors begin!

Jenn & Karenxx

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Editors Karen La Jennifer Perutka

Contributors Jennifer Chiu Jennifer Kim Alex Mazerolle Natalina Percival Lauren Thompson

Special Thanks To Alexander McNaughton Ron Oliver Annabelle Choi

Photographer Jennifer Perutka

Layout Natalina Percival Jennifer Perutka Karen La

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KITCHEN ESSENTIALSPhotos and words by Natalina Percival

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AFTER YEARS OF DEALING WITH DULL KNIVES, SHITTY PANS AND ELECTRIC OVENS, YOU KIND OF REALIZE THAT YOU SHOULD PUT YOUR BIG GIRL PANTIES ON AND GET YOUR HANDS ON A FEW OF THE FINER THINGS. I SPOKE RECENTLY WITH A GOOD FRIEND, AND WE HAVE DECIDED THAT THESE ARE A FEW KITCHEN ITEMS THAT WE FEEL ARE ESSENTIAL TO ANY GIRL’S REPERTOIRE. NOT ALL THIS SHIT IS EXPENSIVE. IT’S WORTH IT IN THE END. GO SLOW AND BUILD A COLLECTION.

CITRUS SQUEEZERIn baseball, a clinch hitter is someone who is exceptionally good at hitting with runners in scoring positions. Fresh citrus in a cocktail is the best clinch hitter ever. It doesn’t take a lot of effort. Make a Tom Collins for your Mr or Mrs and I’m pretty sure you’d be in a good scoring position.

(aside: Go for a bit of a twist, and try an infused simple syrup from The Syrup Trade, a Vancouver-based company. We tried the Lemon Ginger!)

CAST IRONBraise, fry, bake, and serve in this. It makes a beautiful rustic presentation. Never wash with soap. Scrub, if needed, with kosher salt mixed with water and rinse. Dry immediately. Season with olive oil.

GOOD SALTOne day, we got stoned and talked about salt for an hour. There is that much salt in the world! Maldon is a good start. We like grey salt for its crunch. What about truffle salt?

PEPPER GRINDERI don’t see nothin’ wrong with a little bump n’ grind.

CHEF’S KNIFEYou’ll make less mistakes with a sharp knife. You’ll be less likely to cut yourself, as the blade won’t slip. Apparently all you really need is one good quality, multi-purpose chef’s knife. Bon Appetit says an 8-inch classic is best.

WOODEN CUTTING BOARDIf you use a glass cutting board, we can’t be friends. Put a damp dish towel underneath your board to ensure a slip-free surface.

MICROPLANEPut this on your Christmas list. It’s the best. One thing I’ve learned in cooking recently, is to have some sort of fresh element incorporated into anything cooked. Citrus zest is one of the easiest ways to do this. On fresh pasta, with parsley and breadcrumbs. On top of baked cauliflower. Try cheese, even. Get some fresh parmesan on top of crispy beans, arugula and scallions (following page).

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CRISPY BEANS WITH ARUGULA, SCALLIONS AND PARMESANAdapted from Yotam Ottolenghi’s recipe in Plenty

+ 1 can cannellini beans + good olive oil + good salt and fresh ground black pepper + sumac (if you have) + chili flakes + lemons (for juices, and zest) + couple handfuls of arugula + 1 bunch scallions/green onion + parsley, very roughly chopped, or simply pulled

from stem (whole leaves are better and prettier)+ I added sorrel from my garden, and some beet

leaves. Add what you like!

When seasoning, I don’t really go by quantity. Try a bit, add more if needed and adjust to your tastes.

Drain a can of beans and mix with a bit of olive oil, salt, pepper, a few pinches of sumac and some chili flakes. Heat your cast iron on medium-high and add a bit of olive oil to the pan. When the pan is hot, add your beans and spread out to form a single layer. Wait. Resist the urge to stir them. Take a peek underneath and flip after they’ve formed a nice, crispy crust. Add more olive oil as needed, and let crisp on the other side. Towards the end, grate in some fresh lemon zest and squeeze the juice over the beans.

Wash and dry arugula/sorrel. Place in a bowl. Pinch leaves from parsley and add. Wash and chop green onions into 2” pieces. Mix into salad with hands. Add a bit of cracked pepper, a bit of salt. Mix in the beans while they’re still hot. Squeeze more lemon over the whole thing. Plate and serve with fresh grated parmesan on top.

SERVES 2

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GINGER TOM COLLINSA real good ol’ boy

+ citrus (lemons, mostly. maybe try a tangerine in the mix?)

+ gin+ ice+ simple syrup (we used ginger lemon)+ soda

Put some ice in a short cocktail glass. Free pour/measure a shot (or two). Using a citrus squeezer, fresh squeeze some lemons, and add about a shot or so to the glass. Swirl some syrup (adjust to your sweetness level) in. Top with soda.

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BOULEVARDIER

THERE’S SOMETHING UNDERSTANDING, DIGNIFIED, ALTOGETHER YOURS ABOUT A DRINK MADE FROM YOUR OWN HOME BAR.

The first year I moved out I relished this notion of the perfect little alcoholic nook in my room (I lived in a shared house, but I wasn’t going to share my booze). I finally managed the following: two big bottles of spirits (wild turkey bourbon and stolichnaya vodka), a smaller bottle of dry vermouth, a thing of olives, and a shaker - all prettily placed on a wooden tray I found near a dumpster. After licking pages all day at school, or even more, after some eight hours of thankless waitressing, my mini bar was the best part of coming home. Not necessarily for the drinks themselves really (I had and still have no talent for mixology), but somehow this arrangement of bottles and glass signified a certain comfort and promise: that I was building myself not just a bar, but also a life, and washing it down on my own terms.

I sat down with Ron of the Diamond for his wisdom on what makes a good, serviceable home bar for neophytes that may want to go beyond the highball. True cocktail aficionados will point you to this second floor Gastown establishment that’s gaining more and more international attention thanks to Ron, voted top bartender in Vancouver too many times to count.

Ron’s 5 tips: KISS, fresh juice, fresh ice, options, work in batches

Prepare to dish out around $250 for these basics and you’ll be set for 20-30 cocktails: A good couple months of after work wind-down drinks, or one well-lubricated party.

INGREDIENTSTequila (El Jimador)Rum (Havana Club)Cognac (Henessay)Bourbon (Buffalo Trace)Gin (Beefeater) Cointreau Campari Dry Vermouth Sweet Vermouth Bitters (Angostura, Peychaud, Regan’s)

UTENSILS:Hawthorn strainer Fine strainer Julep strainer/straw Measuring vessel (with a variety of increments) Bar spoon Knife and cutting board Muddler Speed spouts (optional, for parties particularly) Glassware (as you please)

Words by Jennifer Kim, Photos by Jenn Perutka

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STEP 1 STEP 2

30ml Bourbon20ml Sweet Vermouth20ml Campari

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STEP 3 STEP 4

Combine ingredients into a boston glass, add ice and stir for one minute TURN

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STEP 5 STEP 6

Strain into a glass filled with ice and garnish with an orange twist

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BOULEVARDIER

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FALL FEAST

LOCALLY MADE VEGAN GRAIN AND SEED PATE, FROM PÂTÉ PASTICHE, SERVED WITH WILD ARUGULA GREENS AND FLOWER TIPS, BABY CARROTS AND FRENCH BREAKFAST RADISHES, AND GOLDEN EARS CULTURED BUTTER, LOCALLY MADE BREAD FROM NELSON THE SEAGULL.

Words by Jennifer Chiu

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A GOOD FRIEND OF MINE ASKED ME WHAT I WAS DOING FOR MY BIRTHDAY THIS YEAR. I TOLD HER I DIDN’T KNOW EXACTLY AND SHE RESPONDED, “WELL, IT SHOULD PROBABLY INCLUDE FOOD, BECAUSE YOU LOVE IT”. INDEED, I DO. I ADMIT, I CAN BE A LITTE OVERZEALOUS AT TIMES—I HAVE A LONG HISTORY OF OVERLY DETAILED DESCRIPTIONS OF ALL THE FOOD I PUT IN MY MOUTH AND I HAVE ANIMATED DISCUSSIONS ON ALL TOPICS OF FOOD INCLUDING CAST IRONS, CURED MEATS, OBSCURE SALTS, GARLIC PRESSING AND HOW MANY RECIPES I’VE TRIED OUT IN THIS MONTH’S BON APPETIT. BUT IF YOU SHARE MY OBSESSION WITH WHAT YOU EAT, I CAN BE VERY GOOD COMPANY.

I have made a lot of friends over food in my life, but none who have seen me through as many food-firsts as Alexander McNaughton.

A few years ago at the farmer’s market, he introduced me to Walla Walla onions (which made me see onions in a new light) and very recently, he presented me with a fresh fig—the first I have ever seen! He taught me how to eat it and then took me to the secret spot where he forages for them, right here in the city. For all of you who have not yet had the pleasure of eating a fresh fig, they are green, slightly spotted and shaped like mini-pears. Inside, they look like alien tentacle pods and when you bite into them, you are at first underwhelmed by the subtlety of their flavour, but by the second bite you are determined never to go back to a dried fig again.

Alexander is a food enthusiast, urban agriculturalist and local food systems consultant, who spends his time foraging for mushrooms in the wild, connecting farmers to restauranteurs and volunteering and fundraising for Growing Chefs, a local non-profit organization committed to starting garden sites at schools in the Vancouver area.

Klipper’s Organic Acres heirloom tomatoes with shisso leaf, jersey milk blue cheese from Golden Ears Cheesecrafters, high polyphenol olive oil from the Vancouver Olive Oil Company tasting bar, smoked salt to finish

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It was Alexander who invited me to attend my first outdoor, farm-to-table dinner. On a late July evening, twenty of us were seated at two long tables in the middle of Brewery Creek Garden, just off Main Street. We drank cocktails and wine and ate food that was grown and prepared by Alexander in the garden. While not a formally trained chef, his culinary finesse revealed a long love affair with cooking. “It’s easy to make food that tastes good when you start with the absolute freshest ingredients and prepare them simply”, he says. It’s an approach and methodology to food and to cooking that is pretty much fail-safe.

Each course was simple, yet succulent. All the flavours relied on the freshness of the produce and the delicate pairing of ingredients. After five courses, the last of which was prepared by pastry chef, Annabelle Choi, you could see how satisfied and content everyone was. The evening was picturesque and romantic and a friendly reminder that growing our own food, or at least supporting those that do locally, should be something that each of has to be personally committed to if we want to change the way food is grown and consumed on a large scale. Now I know that I have to step up my game. If I care about food as much as I say I do I have to start my own garden. Maybe Alexander will see me through another food-first…

Roasted beet with fennel seed salad with garden fresh baby beet greens, Klipper’s Nectarines and pumpkin seeds

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Fresh heirloom tomatoes with garden basil drizzled with olive oil by Vancouver Olive Oil Company and a dash of smoked salt

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Almond and Fig tarts with cardomom creme with quarter sliced figs. Gluten free option was a fruit plate of nectarines and figs

Prepared by Annabelle Choi.

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FIG SMOOTHIEWords by Alex Mazerolle

This smoothie is chalk full of protein, nutrients, vitamins, and the good green stuff and it makes a seriously delicious and filling breakfast. I added a few superfood ingredients to boost the smoothie’s superpowers. Flaxseed Oil contains omega-6 and omega-9 essential fatty acids, B vitamins, potassium, lecithin, magnesium, fiber, protein, and zinc. Phenomenal for skin, hair, lungs and digestion. Also, the one serving of Spiralina has the nutritional equivalent of two servings of fresh vegetables. Its rich in antioxidants, boosts energy and cellular health and is high in B-12 and easy-to-absorb iron. You will need:

1 frozen banana4 fresh figs2 dates1 cup of almond milk1/4 cup of raw almonds1 tablespoon of flax oil1tsp of spiralina1/2 cup of icestevia to taste (optional)

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Combine all ingredients in a blender

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Blend until smooth

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BALMAIN DIYCreated by Karen La and Jenn Perutka

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GLUE GUNBEADS OF CHOICEFABRIC GLUEDECORATIVE STRIPS

CHALKBLACK BLAZER

USE CHALK TO DRAW LINES ALONG WHERE YOU’D LIKE TO GLUE BEADS

YOU WILL NEED:

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PRETTY MUCH GLUE BEADS UNTIL YOUR FINGERS FEEL LIKE THEY’RE ABOUT TO FALL OFF

GLUE ANY DECORATIVE STRIPS YOU MAY HAVE PURCHASED.

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UPON COMPLETING ONLY THE LAPEL IN A SPAN OF TWO HOURS WE CALLED IT A NIGHT. IF YOU HAVE THE TIME AND ARE UP FOR THE CHALLENGE, YOU CAN TAKE THIS TO THE FULL BALMAIN LEVEL.

NOTE: WE BOTH AGREED WE WOULD NOT WEAR THIS JACKET.

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STRING ARTCrafting by Lauren Thompson Instructions + Photos by Karen La

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To start pick any canvas size you’d like, we used a 20X20 canvas. Then paint it whatever colour you’d like, it can be a solid background or you can go nuts and do a little Jackson Pollock action on there. This will be the foundation for your string art DIY. Follow the next six steps to achieve your own inexpensive wall art. Note: this is just a guide, the sky’s the limit, you can tie your thread whichever way to achieve different effects. Enjoy!

EQUIPMENT THREAD TWO DIFFERENT SIZE NAILSHAMMERSCISSORS

CANVASPAINTPAINT BRUSHES

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STEP 1: HAMMER NAILS ALONG THE EDGE OF THE FRAME, LEAVING 1/4 INCH SHOWING. MAKE SURE THE CENTRE NAIL ON EACH SIDE IS SLIGHTLY LARGER THAN THE REST.

STEP 2: TIE A PIECE OF EMBROIDERY THREAD TO THE LARGE NAIL.

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STEP 3: FROM THE LARGE NAIL TAKE THREAD AND LOOP AROUND EACH SMALLER NAIL ON THE ADJACENT SIDE.

STEP 4: REPEAT THE SAME THING ON THE OTHER SIDE.

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STEP 5: CONTINUE THIS PROCESS AROUND THE ENTIRE FRAME.

STEP 6: TO CREATE A TRIANGLE, LOOP THREAD AROUND ONE LARGE NAIL AND THEN TO EACH NAIL ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE. CUT THREAD AND SECURE THE END.

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ISSUE 01