For Les Madeleines’ Romina Rasmussen, throwing a summertime dinner party begins with a visit to the Farmers Market
It’s Salt Lake’s favorite celebration of summer. Foodies, friends and families gather at Pioneer Park Saturdays and Tuesday evenings to socialize, savor the weather and, of course, load up on fresh produce at the Downtown Farmers Market. Among these locavores are some of Utah’s top chefs, including Les Madeleines’ pastry pro, Romina Rasmussen.
Rasmussen hits the market focused and with a shopping list. “I actually prefer the Tuesday evening market in the late summer,” she says. “I’m usually in a hurry and like to avoid Saturday’s Labrador-and-latte crowds.” On this particular evening, Rasmussen is taking a break from the bustle of her downtown bakery and is marketing with a mission. She’s planning a small party, so as she chats with her favorite vendors, she caresses glossy tomatoes, breathes in the sweetness of fuzzy Utah peaches and scans bins for shiny, plump berries in preparation for her summertime menu.
Rasmussen heads home with a box of peaches and tote bags overflowing with fresh-picked loot. Rolling up her sleeves, she begins preparing “a loosely-inspired Spanish menu” built around sangria cocktails and seafood paella.
After hours of chopping, blending, sautéing and baking, Rasmussen greets her guests with a tray of sangrias. Behind her, a table set with fresh blooms and tableware from the hostess’ world travels invites guests to gather around. After toasting her friends, Rasmussen dishes up her traditional gazpacho. Next up, a beet and chèvre salad—her “go-to” summer salad—followed by a spectacular seafood paella. “I like to plan my menu with one wow-factor dish and everything else becomes the supporting actors,” Rasmussen says.
Toward the evening’s end, Rasmussen presents the grand finale: a straight-from-the-oven galette. Encircled by a browned crust, the free-formed tart oozes local fruit—fresh-picked peaches that only a short while before she bought at the Market. For Rasmussen, that makes it more than just a dessert. That makes it a taste of summer.
— Val Rasmussen
A well-executed trip to the farmers market can yield high returns. Find tips here.
In the (farmers) market for peaches? Find a peach galette recipe here.
Roll the puff pastryinto a circle 1/8” thick. Work quickly to keep it from getting warm. Spread the almond cream in the center out to 1.5” from the edge of the circle. Starting from the outside working in, slightly overlap the slices in a spiral toward the center. Fold the edges over the peaches crimping as you go. Brush the crust with egg wash and sprinkle with vanilla sugar. Bake at 375 F for 35–45 minutes until the crust is golden brown and the fruit has been caramelized.
Almond Cream
6 Tbsp. butter
5.5 oz. almond paste
1 egg
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 tsp. rum
Cream butter and almond paste. Add eggs one at a time to mixture, and then add cornstarch and rum (if using). Wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes.
Vanilla Sugar
2 cups sugar
1 new vanilla bean or two used beans
Slice the new bean down the center lengthwise. Using the back of the knife scrape the seeds out and mix into the sugar. Place the sugar and the bean into an airtight container for at least a week. The sugar will absorb the oils in the bean.
— Romina Rasmussen
Click here to tag along with our editor at the farmers market.
A well-executed trip to the farmers market can yield high returns. Find tips here.
Last evening, O.C. Tanner Jewelers heralded in the season with their chic Spring Soirée. Festive guests celebrated the season as well as the new Home & Lifestyle Boutique where spectacular accents, art, accessories and more sparkled in inspiring vignettes curated by O.C. Tanner’s Visual Director Bob Martin and Utah Style & Design editor Brad Mee. These spectacular set-ups will remain on display through mid-May. Photos by Natalie Simpson
Mary Brown Malouf, editor-in-chief Salt Lake magazine, Dominique Anderson of O.C. Tanner Jewelers, Brad Mee, editor-in-chief of Utah Style and Design and Val Rasmussen, editor-in-chief of Utah Bride and Groom together at the event.
Check out 10 things editor-in-chief, Brad Mee is obsessed with right now. Nancy Le Kathleen Fuhriman of European Marble with Cody Derrick of City Home Collective
This past week, I had the experience of photographing a recently completed home on a ranch-sized property east of Heber City just outside of the National Forest boundary. The lakeside home with its beamed ceilings and wooden floors were as comfortable to stretch out in front of the fire as any mountain cabin, but modern in amenities and the careful craftsmanship of John Ford (J. Ford Construction) in executing the home’s design by Darin Shaw of Salt Lake City.
Some of my favorites in the home were the reclaimed wood barn style doors that slide from the hardware on top, the entry with views to the upstairs bridge, and the open floor plan that flows out to decks to watch the elk and other wildlife. I have never seen an outdoor theater like the one on the lower deck. The screen drops, and it’s movie time. In case the film isn’t interesting, one can just turn around and watch the shadows on the lake or look up to the mountain stars. — Scot Zimmerman
It’s my job to see and photograph some of the best homes being built. The nature of my work is to arrive at every project ready to see, appreciate, and photographically interpret something truly outstanding. But sometimes I have to fight a rising dialogue of complacency because I sometimes doubt luxury home design can get much better—it’s already at such a high level.
Not too long ago, Carla Lehigh of Elliott Workgroup in Park City invited me to photograph the kitchen and master suite of a renowned local artist’s home. I had photographed the home several decades ago when it was new.
I have to say, the redesign of the kitchen and master bath simply stunned me.
The kitchen has clean, sleek modern lines that made the space feel exciting, and the design opened to floor-to ceiling mountain views. At the same time, the warmth of the room made me feel like I just wanted to stay and soak up how welcome and comfortable I felt. The kitchen manages all the necessary efficiencies for a very large dinner party with storage, work surfaces, utility pantry, lighting, and conveniences like the subtle pass-through to the dining room.
My favorite convenience? Hands down, it is the smartphone-controlled Scanomat Top Brewer coffeemaker. My photo features it in the window with two espresso cups placed to the left—a subtle installation that makes for an incredible cup of coffee.
The master bath continues with clean lines and innovative uses of glass for extreme efficiency that adds to the aesthetics.
As someone very wise said a long time ago in Park City when rents were cheap and plentiful, “You never know, you know?” My takeaway is to never think that something incredible won’t behind the next door I open.
First a home and then a law office, a small SLC house now performs as Arte Haus Collectif’s gallery and shop courtesy of creative owners Holly Addi and Heidi Jube
By Anna Stevenett | Photography by Kate Osborne
Arte Haus Collectif, the gallery and dwell shop near 9th and 9th in Salt Lake City, is beautiful, but it wasn’t always this way. Once a small home converted into a law office, much of the building’s original structure and old-style beauty was lost over time. But early last year when owners Holly Addi and Heidi Jube saw it, they realized it had potential.
The two women shared a vision of the building revived and spent several months transforming it to look like they imagined. Much of that time was spent stripping it down to its original makeup. “The neutral white palette mixed with the wood and exposed 100-year-old brick gives this little gem an authentic, European feel. We wanted the space to feel as though you’d walked into a little place in Paris, Berlin or Copenhagen,” says Jube.
Now back to its roots, the shop houses works from different local designers and jewelers, international artwork and their own in-house brand, Collectif. Monokle Collection candles—Jube’s own—are sold almost exclusively at Arte Haus. Purchases are boxed, not bagged, and the space is perfect for hosting parties, gallery strolls and pop-up shops.
The Downtown Garden Stroll is back for a second year! In April and May, downtown bursts with colors of spring. The Garden Stroll builds upon one of the premier urban gardens in the west, at Temple Square, and provides a sense of playfulness, surprise and discovery for downtown visitors.
There is new thinking from a generation ago about making offices appealing for employees. This recent Salt Lake office completed by Brian Hennessy Construction demonstrates a vibrancy and warmth unheard of not that long ago. Before, the sterile office designs seemed to resonate “You are lucky to have a job, so get to work.”
Far from dimly lit spaces with mismatched furniture and sticky floors (you can infer what my early lunchrooms were like), the break room/cafeteria is an appealing place for recharging and relaxing. The lobby’s reception desk is especially striking, and it carefully screens the paperwork of the receptionist. These unique yet practical reception desk designs are a signature of Brian Hennessy. On closer look at the construction, it is evident that the materials will last and maintain the level of design over time.
For the photos, I captured the large spaces and connections, made medium shots of some of the smaller areas that demonstrate how the definition was accomplished, and caught some smaller details that reflect the care in the construction—the quality of the selected materials and how carefully they were joined. I did little supplementary lighting—just enough to guide the eye through the photograph. — Scot Zimmerman
A husband and wife tackle a renovation project together.
By Val Rasmussen
After four years of cramped New York City living followed by a ten-year worldwide music tour, Juilliard-trained classical pianist Melody Brown—along with her husband Casey—completed a new composition: a historic home renovation in Salt Lake.
Using salvaged materials and savvy design ideas, musician Melody Brown and husband Casey renovate a century-old duplex in Salt Lake City.
By Val Rasmussen
After four years of cramped New York City living followed by a ten-year worldwide music tour, Juilliard-trained classical pianist Melody Brown—along with her husband Casey Welch—completed a new composition: a historic home renovation in Salt Lake.
Many first-time homebuyers might run from a dilapidated 3,200-square-foot 1906 duplex, but not Melody and Casey.The couple looked past the home’s lead-based paint, cramped layout and questionable foundation andsaw mature trees and a convenient downtown location. Plus “it had clean, simple exterior lines,” Melody says of the Victorian-era, commercial-style building. “With good lines, we could achieve a loft feel that’s modern and industrial.” And they could create it themselves.
“We spoke with several contractors, yet none were interested in using reclaimed materials and didn’t understand our aesthetic,” Melody says. “So we decided to do it ourselves.” While juggling the schedules of Melody’s tour dates as one-fifth of the sibling piano quintet The 5 Browns and Casey’s development and construction career, the duo spent two years renovating both sides of the duplex. They dug out a basement, added a rear addition, removed walls, stripped horsehair plaster and sanded down seven layers of old lead-based floor paints. “We had grand ideas, but once we spent most of our time and budget on a new foundation, we had to rethink how to achieve a modern, expensive look with a tight budget,” Melody explains.
The couple shopped local. They browsed boutiques and online resale outlets. Local steel vendors and salvage shops began to know them by name. And at the end of the process, Melody and Casey had the salvage-savvy, contemporary loft they dreamed of as well as words of advice for others who may be tackling a similar redo of their own.
1. Reuse
“Here there was dirt covering about 700 bricks that we dug out,” says Melody, who relaxes with Casey and dog Morty on the new front patio.“When we laid out the patio, we were about 150 bricks short.” They turned to George’s Architectural Salvage in SLC for help. “When we showed George the bricks we needed to match, he immediately said, ‘Yeah, I have those in back.’” George also traded Melody and Casey’s old front door for a new one. Casey designed front canopies using reclaimed steel salvaged from local mills, and the newly painted brick house now features double-pane windows the couple acquired at a local fundraiser.
2. Reconfigure
Melody and Casey expanded the kitchen by removing a main wall. Now, gleaming surfaces like a fridge covered in Plexiglas (which cost only $60) and stainless steel cupboards reflect natural light through the galley layout. “We first considered using all white cabinets,” says Melody of the sleek-lined Ikea cabinets, “but decided stainless steel ones on the bottom would look more cohesive next to the stainless washer and range.”
3. Recycle
The duo reused the wood from 30 bowling alleys available from an Ogden teardown for kitchen countertops and stairs.
4. Refine
After removing a lowered ceiling and exposing clerestory windows, Casey and Melody kept the windows minimal, devoid of casing and muntins typically found in turn-of-the-century residences. Ikea pendants and a stair railing made with pipe and cable introduce an industrial edge, while Melody’s grandmother’s mirror, sister-in-law’s hand-me-down table, and pre-owned retro dining chairs define and refine a vintage-meets-minimal look.
5. Repurpose
Old junior high school bleachers provided flooring for the master bedroom. “We had to sand out graffiti names and remove chewed gum,” Melody says of the local online purchase. Family heirlooms—like this hutch used as a headboard—anchor the simple addition.
6. Rethink
By digging out a basement, the couple created space for a laundry room nook, lounge area, bathroom and guest room. A window well large enough to allow the duo to move Melody’s piano inside delivers sunlight to the guest quarters. Meanwhile, a DIY wall mural adds a punch of color. “We spent my birthday water-coloring sheets of 8 ½” by 11” paper,” Melody explains. “We chose the one we liked best and had it blown up.”
7. Revamp
”The bathroom was the only room in the house that didn’t have natural light,” says Melody. By removing an existing pantry, the couple increased the square footage of the space. Next, they positioned a clerestory window in an interior wall to reflect light from the dining room into the bathroom. “That one window changed everything.” New plumbing, paint, fixtures and tile shaped the bright and modern design.
8. Relocate
To provide adequate space for the main-floor kitchen and dining area, the couple located the lounge area downstairs. There, a board-formed concrete wall backs an entertainment center. Melody adds, “We used commercial carpeting here because it cost less than residential carpet and the low pile feels modern.”
9. Refresh
“Because it’s such a small space, we wanted it to be an extension of the house’s style,” Melody says of the backyard. “Sod didn’t make sense here.” After researching modern gardens, they excavated and leveled the yard, then added concrete squares, gravel and ground cover purchased from local grower Butterfield Gardens.
Homeowners Melody and Casey Brown
Click here for more images of this spectacular renovation.
