apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Having Thanksgiving at your house this year? If you're like us then you're already starting to feel that curious mix of excitement and stress. Of course the week of Thanksgiving is going to be a mad dash no matter how much you prep and plan in advance. But there are a few things you can do now that will help lessen the pressure on the Big Day.

Like many people, I have been a vegetarian for at least some part of my life. These days I choose to eat meat but on a very limited basis and I'm very particular about the conditions in which the animal was raised. I've written about my ambivalence towards participating in the killing my supper here before and my coming to terms with that it still an open question. But today I want to talk about a related trend that has hit the Bay Area (and, it seems, NYC) hard: butchery as a spectator sport.

We've been celebrating color this month in The Kitchn and it's been a blast! But as the month draws to a close, I find myself ready to turn towards the simplicity of cool white porcelain. The handmade bowls gathered here have a timeless, organic quality. I can just feel my hands circling them and my shoulders relaxing. Perfect for your kitchen altar as well as your morning cornflakes.

About five years ago, filmmaker Douglas Gayeton began recording foodway traditions in the town of Pistoia, Italy for a project he was doing with PBS. While most Pistorians had never heard of Slow Food, Gayeton observed that they were in fact exemplars of the movement's basic principles. So he focused his camera on his friends and neighbors, discovering many stories along the way.

Throughout time and many traditions, the household altar is often placed in the kitchen, the heart of the home and the place from which all activity flows. In some ways, the hearth itself is an altar, centering the household with the offering of food and nourishment, warmth, and a place to gather.

Nikki MClure is a master paper-cut artist, creating pictures with an X-acto knife from a single sheet of paper. Her work often features a word (usually a verb) or short phrase, many of them having to do with the kitchen, gathering or sharing food, and community. This fall she has several new offerings, including a free pumpkin stencil and her famous wall calendar.

It started with an innocent impulse buy several years ago in a cheese shop in San Francisco. A square cardboard box with a lady in an orange sari on the cover and the intriguing promise of unique, triangular tea bags within. Now it's an everyday ritual almost impossible to skip: wake up, boil water, PG tips, milk, back under the covers with a steaming cuppa and 15 minutes of slow sipping and emerging into the day.

It's taken homeowners Scott McDougall and Ray Goodenough almost 10 years to renovate the kitchen of their 1923 house in San Francisco's Mission Terrace neighborhood. They approached the project in steps and stages, resulting in a kitchen that feels warm, authentic and evolved, not at all contrived or designed. Read on for tales of their renovation adventures, some amazing 'Before and After' shots, and a look at what's cooking now in their kitchen.

Gesine Bullock-Prado, the sister of the famous actress Sandra Bullock, spent ten years in the belly of Hollywood, heading up her sister's production company before she chucked it all to move to Montpelier, VT. There she became a pastry chef and owner of a busy pastry shop. Somehow she found the time in her crazy schedule (she goes to work at 4 a.m.) to write a book about it. Read on for the review.

My farm box delivered the most exquisite treasure a few weeks ago, the fairy tale-like Musquee de Provence Pumpkin. It's been sitting on my dining room table and as much as I would love to keep it around for it's voluptuous beauty, this pumpkin (which is technically a part of the squash family) is also quite delicious to eat.

Read on for a favorite recipe!

When Gourmet was shuttered this week, the food blogs were ablaze with the news. Here in The Kitchn, we had a number of comments on our post. One in particular caught my eye. The commentor said that at one time Gourmet was just about cooking but today's Gourmet had become more about eating.

How interesting. Personally, I had never thought to separate the two. I am most definitely a cook AND an eater. But when thinking about it, I realized that I could see where our commentator was coming from. A passion for cooking doesn't always mean a passion for eating and food culture. Some people just want to cook, to follow a well-crafted recipe that will result in something delicious that they can serve to themselves and their family. Everything else is just extra.

I'll come clean (ahem!) right away: my kitchen indulgence is fancy dish soap. Times are tough and I'm a slave to my budget, but a pleasant washing-up experience is one thing I still spend top dollar on.

What about you? What little kitchen treat keeps your spirits up?

We're still getting fresh local tomatoes in in the Bay Area and will continue to do so into October. Such glorious abundance! So far this season, I have canned whole San Marzano's, tomato jam and am about to make and can up some ketchup. Still, I have a large bowl of dry-farmed Early Girls sitting on my counter, perfect for slow roasting.