Jane Taylor Jewelry

…Hot Messes

Cleo Zancope — Fri, 04 May 2012 16:07:58 +0000

I found this on Pinterest the other day and cracked up because it reminded me of one of my best friends (hi Shaine!)… I showed it to Jane and she started cracking up because, 1. it reminded her of Shaine as well and 2. it’s just plain hilarious. She made an immediate request that we share on the blog, as we feel like crazy hot messes preparing for the Couture show!

Happy Friday to all!
Cleo

Homemade bread!

Jane Taylor — Wed, 02 May 2012 16:42:34 +0000

The anticipation of finishing up all the new show samples has me doing all sorts of crazy things. If they don’t get finished soon I may start jumping out of airplanes. Over the past couple of weekends, I redirected my extra (anxious) energy into teaching myself how to bake bread.

Here’s a look at my first whole wheat baguette made with locally grown wheat that I stone milled in town. It actually tastes good too!

-Jane

Keeping calm, trying to carry on…

Jane Taylor — Tue, 01 May 2012 18:49:01 +0000

Since my last post was about freaking out, this post is about being excited for the debut of our first ever silver collections at Couture(!!!). We’re in Booth 514, if you want to come visit!

The rings shown below were the first test-run of our new silver designs, hence the .925 logo. These rings were made way back in last fall… The really NEW NEW stuff we haven’t finished or had photographed yet. These rings are a part of one collection, called Bubble & Squeak, and I can’t wait to see the necklaces and earrings. There are the 2 more collections called Hex and Lily Pad…I am so excited! Hex is edgy and very cool while Lily Pad is softer with some floating stones…I can’t wait to show you guys!!!

XO,
Jane

Realistic Goals….What are Those?

Jane Taylor — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 17:23:01 +0000

It appears to be time for a reality check!

If any of you are signed up for Dr. Oz’s Transformation Nation emails, you may have already seen that headline.

I really had to laugh though…. I am not sure what is funnier, the idea of mental acuity tips or setting “realistic goals.”

It is officially crunch time. We are in the last 4 weeks of prep before our most important annual trade show in Las Vegas. This is where all us jewelry trade insiders meet up and see who has the biggest, best, baddest ass new products and which fabulous stores will buy them. It’s a pretty intense 6 days that takes all 365 days to prepare for.

Some years we just design line extensions for the show. That is when we add on new pieces to an already existing collection selling in the marketplace. And some years, we introduce an entirely new design direction. The line extension years are not so risky, more of a necessity than anything. But the whole new design direction years are killer. It is always stressful making new samples; engineering jewelry is not glamorous, and not remotely a fast process.

This year….we came up with 50 completely new designs and several color combos of each for a total of….a LOT of new pieces in a metal we have never worked with in production before! This may not sound like a big deal, but in tandem with coordinating all of the custom stones being cut for us across the globes, the delayed shipments of said stones, and the rest of the prep work that goes into planning for the show, we are freaking out! Well, I am really freaking out. Maybe the title of this post should be “Keep Calm and Carry On!”

Mental Acuity tip: remove head before it bursts into flames!

I want to wish all of my fellow jewelry colleagues smooth sailing to the finish line. Good luck everyone!

Lots of love,

Jane

Colors….336 more!

Jane Taylor — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 17:04:13 +0000

Black & white is cool…but I LOVE COLOR! So does Pantone, they added 336 more. Look how pretty:

Have a great weekend! Jane

Creamy Mashed Cauliflower with Spinach

Cleo Zancope — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 18:00:57 +0000

This was one of the yummiest vegetable side dishes I have thrown together in a long time. Born out of the need to do something with the gigantic head of cauliflower about to go bad in my fridge, I decided I would lightly steam it, then make a quick sauté the following night with spinach and cannellini beans. Then I sat down to eat dinner, forgot that the cauliflower was on the stove and burned my house down. Only kidding! I just ended up steaming the cauliflower until it was mush, no biggie. The next evening, I sautéed my spinach and cannellini beans with a bunch of dried herbs, added in the thoroughly cooked cauliflower at the the end, and as I folded it all together, it looked liked mashed potatoes! The softened beans lent the mix creaminess, and spinach always goes well with mashed potatoes, so it all seemed to just make sense together…Gotta love those happy food accidents!

Shopping List

5oz baby spinach (those Olivia’s packages are great for this)
1 15.5oz can of cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 large head cauliflower
2 TB olive oil
1-2 TB butter
3 cloves of garlic, minced
a few healthy shakes each of dried: rosemary, sage, red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste

What & How to Do It

Cut your head of cauliflower into floret chunks and steam until they are easily mashed with a fork, approximately 20-30 min. Once done, mash with a fork. Meanwhile…
Add the oil, garlic and herbs to a medium-large pot (you’ll need the extra room for your spinach), then turn the heat to medium. Let the ingredients slowly infuse their flavor into the oil as it heats and once you start to smell delicious aromas wafting from your pot, add in the butter, letting it bubble and brown for a couple of minutes.
Add the beans to the pot, tossing them around for a couple of minutes, then add in the spinach and give the leaves a good coating in the oil mixture before popping the lid on and letting them cook down for another few minutes.
Once the spinach is just shy of being cooked to your liking, add in the mashed cauliflower and fold it all together, adding salt and pepper to taste. Let this come together for another couple of minutes over the heat, then enjoy!

Crustless Quiche, Part 2

Cleo Zancope — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 15:40:32 +0000

As a fan of crustless quiches, I have made this recipe so many times that I feel pretty confident in adjusting other recipes, and sometimes winging-it based on my knowledge of the essential ingredients and ratios. But the recipe below involved a component I had never thrown into the mix before, quinoa! So I followed this recipe without any major adjustments and it was pretty delicious. The texture was really unique, and the kale/quinoa combo made for a pretty hearty little slice of quiche! My only contention was that it was a touch dry, so next go around I may add a couple splashes of milk and possibly an extra vegetable that will release its water content into the quiche while baking.

PS: If you’re not already on Pinterest, you should join! I find tons of delicious recipes on there, including this one.

Shopping List

1/2 cup Quinoa
1 cup water
2 tablespoons Olive Oil
1 bunch Kale, stems removed and cut into ribbons
1 Vidalia Onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 cup white cheddar cheese
3 ounces cream cheese, cubed
4 eggs
salt and pepper to taste

What & How to Do It

Preheat the oven to 350° and prepare a 9″ pie dish (either butter the dish thoroughly or spray with baking spray). Rinse the quinoa, then combine it with the water in a small pot. Bring to a boil on medium-high heat and then reduce to a simmer and pop the lid on. It will take about twenty minutes to cook, so take a peek around then and if all the water is gone, put the lid back on, turn off the heat, and leave it covered for another five minutes.
Meanwhile, start to caramelize the onions. Heat the olive oil in a large saute on medium. When the oil is shimmering, add the onions. Slowly cook until the onions are soft and browned.
Remove the onions from the pan, and place them in a large mixing bowl. Add the kale into the hot onion pan. On medium heat, cook until the kale is wilted and bright green, about two minutes. Allow the greens to cool, then squeeze out any extra liquid using a sieve or a clean dish towel.
Add the kale, quinoa, garlic, cream cheese and cheddar to the mixing bowl. Stir the ingredients so that they are evenly distributed. In a small bowl, whisk the eggs, then add them to the quinoa/kale mixture. Stir until the egg clings to the greens. Add salt and pepper. (We like some hot sauce with our eggs, so at this point we added a few dashes for some extra umpf!)
Pour the mixture in the prepared pie dish. Bake for about 45 minutes, until the top is golden and the pie has started to pull away from the edge of the baking dish.

Cleo’s Spring JT Jewelry Wish List

Cleo Zancope — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 19:38:07 +0000

Now that it is officially Spring- YAYYY- and an especially warm spring for the Northeast at that, I am ready to shed some clothing layers and replace them with accessories! No more chunky scarves all day, every day, means that I can finally wear dangly earrings again, and bare arms mean that bracelets are back. HALLELUJAH. I wish that I could wish to be wearing our new silver line this Spring, but it’s not ready yet, so I guess that wish will have to wait until Summer… *le sigh*

__________________________________

Item #1: Ladylike double-drop earrings with green quartz and rose gold would make a sweet accent to many an outfit.

Item #2: This black rhodium finished sterling silver and prehnite ring packs a feisty mint punch! (And the fashion gods/blogs tell me that mint is IN for Spring)

Item #3: Clearly, I am jonesing for some minty green accessories right now! This delicate station necklace would be an easy, every day piece.

Item #4: My forever favorite color, orange, shines bright in this dangly carnelian number. The addition of diamond and orange sapphire accents lends these earrings some extra pizzazz.

Item #5: This bypass ring features a double dose of blue that can’t be beat. Sleek and comfortable, my fingers and I wish we could own this beaut!

Crustless Quiche, Part 1

Cleo Zancope — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 18:16:58 +0000

Upon discovering this recipe last winter for “Broccoli-Cheese Pie,” it became one of those instant classics that I’ve made over and over and over again. With only a few slight modifications, it’s a pretty easy meal to whip together that is just as good for breakfast as it is for dinner.

Shopping List

2 tablespoons plain dry breadcrumbs
4 large eggs
1 1/4 cups 1% milk
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce, such as Tabasco
salt and pepper to taste
1 slice of cubed whole-wheat bread, crusts removed (this is optional- I don’t think it really adds all that much to the dish)
3 cups broccoli, florets and some stem
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 slices bacon, diced (about 2 1/2 ounces)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 cup grated cheddar cheese (4 ounces)
sometimes I add in few mushrooms too, if I have them around

What & How to Do It

Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat a 9-inch deep-dish pie pan with cooking spray or butter, then add the breadcrumbs, tilting to coat bottom and sides.

Whisk eggs, milk, hot sauce, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Add bread (if you want to) and stir to coat. Set aside in the refrigerator.

Steam broccoli until just tender, 3 to 4 minutes. Have an ice bath ready to dunk your colander of drained broccoli into, because you don’t want to it to get tooooo mushy. Then coarsely chop up the broccoli into bite sized chunks.

Heat a medium nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Add bacon and cook until you reach your desired level of crispiness, then scoop out the pieces with a slotted spoon, leaving the fat in the pan. Turn the heat up to medium, and add in the onion, cooking either until they are soft and translucent, or become a little crispy if you prefer them that way. Add the bacon, onion and broccoli to the egg mixture, then stir in cheese. Pour into the prepared pan, spreading evenly.

Bake the quiche until light golden and set, 45 to 50 minutes.

Let it rest for a few minutes before slicing yourself a portion of guilt-free quiche goodness.

Cleo

PS: Be on the look out for Crustless Quiche, Part 2 to follow next week…

Quinoa Comfort Food

Jane Taylor — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 16:17:58 +0000

I could never have imagined that Quinoa would become a comfort food, but I could be hallucinating since I’m eating so many fewer calories than before and am a little light headed (just kidding). This recipe has delicious flavor, like something your grandmother would make, if maybe she hung out at Woodstock.

*Note: you will need a deep saucepan for this recipe

Shopping List:
1 large red pepper (1 1/2 cups, finely diced)
2 cups onion, finely diced, any color
2 large garlic cloves, pressed
1 tsp red pepper flakes
2 tsp olive oil
flat leaf parsley, to taste, chopped finely
2 skinless chicken breasts bone in (or whatever parts you favor)
1 cup or so chicken stock/broth
1 cup quinoa
salt & pepper to taste

What & How to do it:

Cook the quinoa first, then set it aside to cool down. I spread it out on a flat plat so all the little granules cool. Cooking quinoa is like cooking most grains, the ratio of water to grain is 2:1. Boil 2 cups of water with pinch of salt, throw in the rinsed quinoa, get another boil going, turn it down to low and basically let it steam. When you see the air holes appear it is usually very ready. It can take around 20 minutes, but check the back of the package you buy for specific instructions.

While the quinoa is doing its own thing, get started on dicing the onions and red pepper.

Pour 2 tsp olive oil into your pan, heating it on med-low. Press the garlic into it, and then add the red pepper flakes, but don’t let anything burn or it will become bitter. (I actually used 1 tsp of oil the first time I tried this and less onion and it was just as good.)

Add in the onions and let them cook for a good 10 minutes or so. They will release their juices and once they become really creamy looking, you’ll know that the onion flavors are fully developed . This is probably a good time to admit that this is not a fast dish. What really gave this the grandmother flavor was that I let the flavors develop….I’ll explain that as I go along.

Next, add in the diced red pepper, parsley, salt & pepper and also let it cook for a while. You will want to get into a similar stir pattern to making risotto, where you add broth a little at a time, enough to cover everything, stir well, then let the broth reduce. Add some more broth, reduce and add more, reduce and add more, etc… The more you “reduce and add broth,” the richer and more “developed” the flavors will be in the end. The reduction concentrates the flavors. It is possible that you will need more than 1 cup of broth, maybe even 2 (!) when all is said and done.

After about 40 minutes, it is time to add in the raw chicken (you can season it with salt & pepper too). Throughout the cooking process, you will want to flip the breasts at least once, and cover the whole pot with a lid. I cook the chicken until the internal temperature is 150°-ish, and the juices run clear. The chicken will release more broth into the existing liquid, so let this broth cook down a little, but not entirely. When the chicken is ready to pull out of the pan, you will be adding the cooked quinoa into the liquid to soak up the chicken flavored broth, so you don’t want an excessive amount of liquid when you are adding the grain; you are looking for enough liquidity to toss the quinoa in to flavor it, but not to swim in.

Now, it’s time to plate up! The chicken has had a few minutes to rest while the quinoa soaked up the delicious liquid, so everything is going to be juicy and tender. I hope you love this experiment as much as we did. Let me know if you taste your grandmothers cooking in every bite, the way I was reminded of mine.