Deborah’s entire street is beautiful. I know she can’t take credit for a whole street, but it is tree lined and cozy. Deborah is lucky enough to have a studio in the attic of her house. Skylights let in extra piles of sunlight. We begin here, get a little tour of current works, and then head down to the kitchen.
The kitchen is both rustic in feel and charming. Rows of cast iron pans demonstrate that this room gets some use. First Deborah shows us how to make her somewhat famous apple pie. She has taught a few people this recipe, and her family loves it. “They will fight over the leftovers,” she says. Deborah uses honey instead of sugar, and gluten free flour if she can. This day she happened to have spelt flour on hand. To make a vegan crust you can use vegan butter as a substitute for the regular butter listed in the recipe. She also makes a wetter dough, but this spelt flour is more absorbent than all purpose flour. You’ll want to use as much water gets you to the stiff dough stage. Depending on the flour thats anywhere from 1/4-1 cup.
After starting with the dessert first, Deborah pulls out a warn cookbook from the shelf and begins to teach us Indonesian Squash Soup from its pages. It’s a well used book, so we know we’re in for another favorite. She says we can use any green, and that she happens to have collard greens today. Soup in general is a simple thing to make, and something that you don’t have to follow any recipes for. This specific book suggests pureeing the soup for consistent texture, but we happily enjoy ours with chunks of vegetables.
We eat outside in the plant filled back yard. The space is pretty naturally layered with plants above us and all around us. Its a fantastic hideout from the bustle of the city and a peaceful end to our visit.