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Posts Tagged ‘mmmm food’
Well Vegan (Hold the Pickled Herring)
The most recent project I’ve been working on, Well Vegan, just launched at the New Year. I enjoy eating healthy food frequently and on a regular basis, so when my friend Katie asked if I would help make it easier for vegans to do the same, I jumped on board. I’m not a vegan, but I have some vegan friends, and seeing some of them struggle with finding a variety of things to make that were also meeting their nutritional needs made this project hit close to home. Katie’s personal motivation to start Well Vegan stemmed from having her young daughter suffer from food allergies that were only ameliorated by switching to a vegan diet.
The first task was to create a logo for Well Vegan. After a short design brainstorm, the theme of “it’s in the greens” bubbled to the top, and resulted in a happy pea pod bursting with, well, veganism.
Well Vegan logo in various color ways.
The second and main task was to design a website. Katie wanted the site to reflect her healthy, simple, and homespun take on veganism. Visually, this is reflected by using the approachable and versatile font Skolar alongside rough-edged and spare illustrations.
The font Skolar pared with a simple illustration style.
Basically, Well Vegan is a repository of vegan recipes that are partnered with shopping lists and weekly meal plans that take all the hassle out of planning how you are going to sustain yourself. Sure, some people take joy in shopping and figuring out each and every meal, but others just want to get the job done without spending hours poring over recipe books and making lists. Using Well Vegan for $9.99 a month gives you all the tools necessary for eating home-cooked meals most every day. And if that’s what it takes for some vegans to eat healthier on a regular basis, I’m all for it.
How the Well Vegan plan works. Pretty simple, and then you're full. Also, beets are pretty rad.
Some people might have the misconception that vegan food is bland, but with the right recipes it can be anything but. A series of illustrations were made to let the ingredients take center stage and focus on the uncomplicated nature of the vegan diet. I’m not sure eating a tofu cube that large is realistic, but it gets the point across! Send me some giant chopsticks and I’ll let you know how it goes.
Food for giants! Or very hungry vegans!
I even got to use my new favorite phrase on the error screen, making this my favorite error screen second only to the consolation trout I made for Under the Table with Jen.
If you’re interested in checking out the site and what Well Vegan has to offer, visit www.wellvegan.com, or follow them on twitter at @wellvegan.
Guidebook Launch Party
Last night, my friend Jen hosted a long-awaited launch party at Olympic Provisions NW for her guidebook Portland’s 100 Best Places to Stuff Your Faces. For the past year+, Jen, Shellie and I have been working on this as a side project, and it is so exciting to have the finished book in our hands.
Thanks to my landlord and photographer Steve Bloch, who is a staunch Face Stuffer supporter and took the party pics below.
Olympic Provisions NW provided a great space for the party, with appetizers and bubbly.
Lisa of Jacob's Creamery gives a toast in celebration of Jen's finished guidebook.
Jeff, myself, and Darin - we were there from the start, and we were there at the end.
The belle of the ball.
We did it!
Interview with a Professional Face Stuffer
Jen Stevenson is the most food-obsessed person I know, and also the author of the guidebook I’ve been working on called Portland’s 100 Best Places to Stuff Your Faces. Like a true food celebrity, she recently did an on-air interview with Koin’s Studio 6. Check it out below, or visit www.bestplacestostuffyourfaces.com for the full scoop.
For Champion Eaters Only
Being a champion eater doesn’t come without some drawbacks, including a paltry wallet and an overly developed mid-section. In celebration of the latter, I made these face stuffer buttons for the launch party of Portland’s 100 Best Places to Stuff Your Faces.
If you want to make absolutely sure you finish 2011 with a muffin top, beer belly, love handles AND a spare tire, download the Eat Sheet to mark your progress on foraging your way through the dining spots included in the guidebook.
Portland’s New Food Pyramid
Enjoy a good gastro-challenge? Love making tiny checkmarks? Need more refrigerator swag? Don’t we all! That’s why my friend Jen compiled the Eat Sheet, a stalwart Facestuffer’s best friend, to go along with her new guidebook. Affix it to your fridge, steering wheel, elliptical machine, or antacids bottle, then Go Forth And Eat!
You can download your very own Eat Sheet right here.
Portland’s 100 Best Places to Stuff Your Faces
For the past five months I have been working on a side project that IS…NOW…FINISHED. Written by Jen Stevenson, it’s a guidebook of all the best places to eat in Portland, Oregon. Between her hilarious writing style, meticulous research (seriously, who else eats three dinners a night?) and single-minded obsession with food, I think this one is a keeper.
Your chance to become a champion face stuffer.
Jen writes the blog Under the Table, and follows the mantra of “if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say it at all”. It’s refreshing to work with somebody who focuses on the positive, and we all know it gets a bit tedious to sift through thousands of polarizing Yelp reviews. Instead, Jen only features what she considers is the best, and leaves the rest up to you. How you decide to stuff your face is, as we all know, a personal preference.
Primary Diagram: How to Properly Stuff Your Face.
This project was a labor of love in many ways. As a fledgling self-publisher the budget was in the pro-bono range, so instead of cold hard money I accepted a few free meals, a flexible timeline, and a fair amount of creative freedom in exchange for my efforts. Having a single pro-bono project at a time is also a good way to get some kicks that you might not otherwise get from paid projects. Kicks like hand drawing maps of Portland…
Put a bird on it, Southeast Portland!
To Jen’s credit, she chose the high road in the production phase by printing the book at local Brown Printing instead of producing the book in China or through an online vendor with less material options and size limitations.
With 220 pages of reviews and tips, over 80 illustrations and the afore-mentioned custom maps of Portland (whose streets do not care if you want to be orderly and label things in a consistent manner) this project was an undertaking, but well worth it. If you’re interested in the guidebook, you can buy it directly at www.bestplacestostuffyourfaces.com. If you’re competitive or like checking things off of lists, you can track your face stuffing progress with the Eat Sheet. Enjoy!
Much More, Coming Soon
Here’s a sneak peek at a very large side project I’ve been working on for the past 5 months. Much more, coming soon!
Super Fresh Type
Summer is almost here, and you know what that means…BBQ season! So I’ve created a miniature ode to the two most common condiments used at outdoor soirées, picnics, beach bonfires, camping excursions, tailgate parties and Fourth of July fests. Here’s some typographic ketchup and mustard for all your summer celebration needs.
Bar Gelato Logo and Packaging
I looooooooooove to work on food identity and packaging, so when Substance contacted me to help work on a new gelato product, I was psyched! Their long-time client Gelateria Naia was preparing to unveil a gelato in bar form, and needed branding to support their pilot efforts. While Substance managed the project, marketing and created the Bar Gelato website, I was focused on making a custom logotype and labels for their first run in stores.
After lots of sketching, we agreed a “just gelato” approach was best, using a simple and bold type treatment reminiscent of window signage. Orange worked two shifts as a bright and cheerful color that stood out against the bars while nodding to colors used in Naia’s branding.
Created from a scanned type sample called Kent Sans, and altered generously to become Bar Gelato.
To get into the gelato mindset wasn’t hard, as I often think of what’s for dessert after I’ve finished lunch. And I was in luck, because Naia had sent Substance a batch of sample gelato bars, which I nabbed six of for a personal tasting session. And thus began the Great Gelato Hoarding of 2011. Knowing that I only had a limited supply, each night I cut 1″ chunks off of each bar and then stapled shut the cellophane wrapper to keep it fresh for the next “serving”. Out of 6 bars, I made about 30 mini-desserts (except for the hazelnut bar which I ate in one sitting because I couldn’t help myself). These gelato bars are the most delicious thing I’ve tasted in a while!
Nom, nom, nom. There are plenty more flavors in a select central coast California Whole Foods.
The first roll-out of Bar Gelato in San Francisco and other Central Coast California locations has gone very well, and I encourage any of you Californians to stop into a Whole Foods to try a bar or two. OR, buy some and put them in one of those styrofoam coolers made for shipping things like special Danish hotdogs or other perishables, and send them to me. I will take gooood care of them, I promise.
Label close-up and gelato bar seal quartet.
Thanks for having me, Substance…and to any other artisan food creators out there who provide samples to inspire their designers – bring it on!
Technology Used to Find Dinner, Hunger Averted
A recent brush with hunger left a North Bend, Virginia, man shaken, yet thankful for the support of his wide network of digital acquaintances. Local field correspondent Noilly Prat sat down with John Davis to recount the events leading up to his stomach rumbling near-miss.
Davis recounts, “You shouldn’t settle on where you’re going to eat dinner lightly, so I tweeted ‘NEbody know wings joint with HH deals between Woodby street and 6th ave?’ as well as updating my Facebook status to ‘going out to eat tonight, any suggestions?’ After 45 minutes passed without a response I knew I’d have to dig deeper to find my evening meal.
Social networking isn't always on time.
“First, I tried to think of all the places I might like to eat, but nothing seemed quite right. I wanted something light but savory, but not too greasy, with wings on the menu but no cracked peanuts on the floor, and of course a screaming deal on happy hour,” he explained. “That’s not too much to ask, is it?”
Keep reading »
Eat Eat Eat
Whether I’m stuffing myself silly, drawing food while thinking about my next meal, or planning my next smorgasbord, food is always at the top of my mind. So, below I have outlined the major events that will be taking place today, involving Blenheim’s Ginger Ale, some frikadeller and homemade chocolate-chip-walnut-oatmeal cookies.
Hoo boy, today is going to be a good one!
For all you font people, the top font is hand-traced from a sample called Marbleheart, the middle font is from my food-addled mind, and the bottom font is Phosphate.
The Soda Pop Man
Some people’s joy is effervescent, and John Nese is one of those people. He owns a soda shop that carries over 500 varieties, including cucumber. Boy would I like to try that. This man is soda incarnate, spreading the gospel of REAL soda (not Pepsi or Coke and the like)! Amen.
MMMM, FOOD
Did I ever mention that I like to eat? It comes up every once in a while, so I thought I’d share a compilation of all the illustrations I did for “Under the Table with Jen”, an online compendium of all the best places to eat in Portland, Oregon. Check out the site at www.underthetablewithjen.com.
Fish Bonanza, Now We’re Talking
When I saw this painting at the Hamburg Art Museum, I felt like I had met a kindred spirit. After seeing about 200 paintings about crucifixion, I was finally among artists who understood my obsessions. A two-month long binge on tuna melt sandwiches – YES! Mackerel in tomato sauce – YES! Pickled herring by the pound – YES! Fried and breaded fish – YES! Octopus rings – YES! (Well, technically there aren’t any octopus in the picture, but a girl can dream).
Large Still Life with Fish, 1927, by Max Beckmann.
How to Eat Lunch Like a Dane
I have a love love relationship with food. I love it, period. Even when I eat too much, I hold no grudges. The ability to eat a lot comes in particularly handy in Danmark, whether it’s at a Julefrokost or just your typical Danish lunch. Because Danes like to eat, and they take it very seriously, as you can see by this poster of different Danish sandwich combinations.
Mmmm, nothing like a banana and ryebread sandwich.
This summer I visited my family in Danmark and checked off a good number of Harald’s suggestions. My Danish sandwich eating habits have drawn strange looks and complaints of fishy smells from my American friends and co-workers, but finally I was in the motherland where I could eat pickled herring with wild abandon and nobody complained about the wafting scent of mackerel.
In case you’d like more insight into eating Danish sandwiches, you can follow my personal guide for a typical Saturday lunch.
First, fish.
- one or two pickled herring sandwiches on ryebread with white onion garnish
- a mackerel in tomato sauce sandwich
- if you’re lucky to have it, a breaded fish filet sandwich with remoulade
- or a fried bit of torsk with lemon
Then, more stuff, sans fish.
- liverpaste, perhaps with some bacon or crispy onions on top
- various salami on ryebread combinations
- my favorite: roast beef on rye bread with both remoulade and crispy onions
- assorted pålæg like cold mixed salad toppings, and other kinds of pressed meats
- cucumber slices, tomatoes, and hard boiled egg
And don’t forget you can add a round of cheese on white bread and crackers at the end! By now you should be full, and starting to plan your next meal. Tak for mad!
Last Friday, in Food
I tend to metabolize quickly, to the point that I consider it a defining feature of myself. As far back as I can remember, much of my waking time is spent thinking about food. Having a Danish mother reinforced the importance of food; being raised in a culture that reveres Julefrokost isn’t quite sane, or so I’ve been told. Which might explain my actions last Friday, in which I consumed enough food for a bus full of teenage boys.
I admit, it wasn’t the first time I’d overdone it in the food department. One time my uncle Henrik asked my sister and I what we wanted for dinner, and we simultaneously yelled “fried octopus rings” and “stuffed turkey”. So he made both, and threw in some bacon-wrapped pork chops for good measure, because he’s nice like that. After our menagerie of meats and their appropriate side dishes, we feasted on a solid marzipan cake until my aunt brought out a liter of ice cream, plopped it in front of me and declared “If you don’t eat it, it will melt!”. You can’t argue with that logic.
So, yes, I tend to eat a lot. If I had traversed the Oregon Trail I would have been the first left behind, huddled next to a barrel of flour and a sack of jerky. Put in perspective, last Friday’s trail of foraging doesn’t really compare to my previous gluttonous episodes, but seeing as I was out of eating shape, it sure made my gut question my mind. Would I do it again? No questions asked. Now, I think it’s time for some pie.
