Finding My Tribe and Weekly Randoms

It seems with the somewhat slower pace of cold weather, I have had the time to focus on some more reading.  I finally seem to have gotten my book reading mojo back after a bit of a slump, and I also have had a good run coming across great articles, recipes and ideas online.  As new graduates we found ourselves with first jobs in Las Vegas and tried to make it our home for eight years.  It was the perfect place to live for young people just getting started and at the time of Vegas' evolution that we were there.  One thing that plagued us though was how difficult it seemed to be to meet and make close friends.  We were coming off of our college experience when friends would always just be dropping by and it was a bit of a letdown.  Maybe it was the more transient nature of the location, but not knowing or being able to confirm that, we did not really set expectations on ever having a tribe.  Now after almost fifteen years in Wisconsin we are more fortunate than I could ever have imagined.  Not only do we have a tribe of families we are very close to, but I am part of a group of amazing and dynamic women in our town who are all vital, engaged and tremendously supportive.  I began thinking about this in depth when I came across this fantastic article from the Rebelle Society, well worth the read!

Also check out~

:: So often I see recipes for healthy breakfast bars and cookies and am disappointed once I have made them, they tend to be good for you, yes, but also dry and tasteless. I decided to give it another try when I came across this recipe, and they are fantastic!  Super easy, versatile, healthy and something the kids are eagerly asking for!

:: I love this list of 22 Tiny Things You Should Do Everyday, there is not a bad tip there and very simple things to remember in order to get the most out of each day.

:: Bi Partisan Food for Thought:   A Psychologists Open Letter to US Voters

:: Have you  heard about the Capsule Wardrobe?  I think I may just have to look into this!

What fun things have you found this week?

Food & Family = Home

As always our New Year began with our Tastebuds preparing brunch together.  This year was a bit bittersweet as there was a hole in our gathering without our dear friends who moved last summer.  It was a relaxed day with quiet conversations, kids playing, and food preparation.  We each fell into our roles, prepped food, helped where needed without a word or a need for asking.  It is really interesting how a group can begin to anticipate over the years and just click in place.   It was Mastering the Art of French Cooking (as we had all watched in the movie Julie and Julia), that had inspired our group to begin with oh so many years ago.  So we always begin each new year with Julia's Formage Souffle.

Our theme for the brunch was food as good luck symbols for the new year.  We had a pulled pork with chipotle apple butter panini, cheesy polenta topped with collard greens and lentils, oyster hush puppies, and finished with eating 12 grapes and molten chocolate cakes.

I transitioned the house from being peppered with holiday cheer, to warmed with winter white candlelight.  The trees are down, and only a few snowmen and white glittered pine cones sparkle in the flickering light.  There is a clean simplicity that happens when you transition into the new year, one that has many blank pages to be colored on and written in.   For me, home is comfort.  It is filled with food and laughter and always has family, of all stripes, at its center.

Living Care Free

 I can't seem to keep shoes on Sidney.  She loves the feel of grass on her toes.  She's so used to walking around bare foot, she can walk on almost any surface and not worry about it.  In contrast, Charles has been known to hop into bed with his shoes on.  So once out bare footed he's like the prince and the pea and oh-ah-ech-oh's his way over even the smoothest surface.  Since we've gone to more pasture, areas of grass it has become quite lush.  It struck me the other day as Sid frolicked care free and contented through the world of tall grass and her imagination.    Happy Friday!

august break

Commitment

 Look The Maples Are Beginning To Get Blooms!

Today was a day full of forward progression.  We had lunch with friends planning this year's garden.  Tallying last years totals and brainstorming what and how much to plant this year. We need to accomodate ourselves and to begin to supply farm baskets for our small group of guinea pigs good friends who have eagerly agreed to participate.  Planning like this really gets the adreneline flowing and we're eager to start.  B is planning on spending his weekend constructing cold frames.  Why this weekend?  Because once done, our cold weather crops are going in!  Yes, we're going to get this party started, even if we do live in the great white North!  Optimism, always!

Today was also chick order day.  So I ordered 15.  Yes, you heard me 15, well 12, three of them are for some friends that are planning to keep them as contraband in town; while many are trying to change the no chicken ordinances.  I guess the up side to still owning the house in town, is I can participate in emailing aldermen to voice my support of backyard chickens.  So come the 31st of this month we will once again have a big basement box for 5 Partridge Rock chickens and 7 more Araucanas.  We've had some challenges in our learning to raise chickens.  And now that I've ordered bulk and B has completed an iron clad chicken tractor, along with the barn area we've made, I'm certain that come fall we'll have eggs to supply all who want them :)

Today I picked up pieces for 4 scarecrow costumes for Charlies first grade musical.  I'm to sew the pants for the costumes to start.  I have officially taken the sewing skydive, and I hope I get my chute open before I hit the ground.  I've been proud of my progress in making aprons and owls.  Now it's time to learn and on a deadline, with 24 total costumes to be completed (12 of them very involved dresses) by 5 ladies, of which this novice is one.  Ask me in May, I may no longer be a novice

What did you commit today??

Around The World

Back in January (it already feels like a long time ago doesn't it? Time seems to be flying at record speed) I sent out a dinner party idea to some friends. We've done an annual round robin for years, but it's gotten a little bit more difficult for us to host since we don't live in the neighborhood anymore. So, I invited everyone to bring a dish reflecting some aspect of their heritage and a complimenting drink, aka lots of wine!

What that produced was an evening of gastronomical delights and great friends. We began with an amazing Swiss fondue, provided by Simply Spent, that we bathed bread chunks, apples and celery in, and truly could have been a meal onto itself. We contributed Jaeger Schnitzel over mashed German butter potatoes (from the garden), which was accompanied by a Polish/Middle Eastern combination of a stuffed cabbage roll that was to die for, thanks Krystyna! At this point we needed to take a digestion break before we started dessert, Jackie brought two! A fantastic Scandinavian almond cake and a Swedish cheese cake.

All in all a great evening and amazingly, virtually no left overs! We successfully ate our way around the world! How was your Saturday night?

Attempt #2

Freshly finished reversible apron (notice I'm sporting the lovely Tommy Hilfiger tunic sweater that I scored in Friday night's clothing swap)

I'm happy to report that round two went much better than round one! I still had to battle the bobbin, it was epic, but as a result of having fifty or so false starts, I think I'm approaching amateur status.

Far from perfect, this was my first attempt at touching something even resembling a clothing item, unless you count sewing on Girl or Boy Scout patches. As I worked my way through this project (that took much longer than the stated 1 hour) I did begin to gain some confidence in the technique involved. I also began to relax a bit and enjoy the process. Here's to baby steps!

Garden Brainstorm

The first few tomatoes from last Summers harvest

A light snow, hot coffee, quite morning, the new Mother Earth News magazine, and my thoughts turn toward spring. Thinking about the garden and how to organize for this year. I loved the dehydrator last year and am inspired to plant loads of lavender so that I can continue to make sachets. We plan to increase our chickens this year for a few apparent reasons. Though we won't have much this year, installing our berry patch will bode well for the future. And the area where the old berry patch was has opened up several more rows in the main garden. Through all of these considerations I've have begun to formulate and idea. I was reading this article the other day from Domestic Sensualist and I realized that a farm box can be much more versatile than I'd first thought.

So here's my idea. This year we find a few families to receive a weekly/bi-monthly farm box from us. We'd provide the best of what's ripe, or what we've created from our farm. I'd say at the beginning of the season that we'd be looking at bi-monthly, then from Jul/August through October we'd be looking more weekly and in the fall we should also be ready to put some eggs in the boxes.

I know this is not a new idea, but why not start small and see if people we know are interested. We've considered setting up shop at the farmers market, but I like this idea better. Maybe $10 a box? Anyone interested in being a farm Guinea pig?

As I Look Out The Window

As I look out of the window this is what I see. But today is the day we begin to envision much more. Yes, it's only January 11 and we've just caught a glimpse of our first seed catalog. When we were in the car this morning, I prompted: "you know we really need to start thinking about this berry patch if we're going to put a big one in this year" to which Brian said "oh, did you see what I was looking at online this morning?" No in fact I did not, but I can see we're both on the same wave length and ready to jump in with both feet.

The garden is truly a labor of love, but I think that the most satisfying are the things that we put in that become a sort of infrastructure. I talked here a bit about the history that we contribute for future generations. When we pulled the diseased raspberries out at the end of last season, our commitment was made. Now we're researching sod removing equipment and different trellising techniques so that we may plant and/or transplant our raspberries, boysenberries, gooseberries, black and red currents, lingonberries and we're looking at the very non berry hardy kiwi. Yum!

So this afternoon we will turn some of these wonderful peaches, that have been waiting for months for the perfect time to make an appearance, into a sweet peach crisp. We will then get a taste of the sunshine that will inspire our future berry garden.

**I think I will turn my 'garden harvest' area into the 2010 garden plan for now so we can chronicle this years plans as we make them.

Growing, Cooking & Learning

We've really been focusing on using the produce we have stored and I've found that my grocery bills have been significantly diminished so far this winter! Last year we used what we had, but oh so sparingly. It was almost like I was paying homage to it. It was all so carefully stored I hated to disturb it. Almost like all of the summer work we had done was too pretty a picture to disrupt. Totally crazy! So, this year we have been digging in with wild abandon and loving every minute. I still feel a bit wistful as the beautifully displayed mason jars diminish, but it's been well worth it.

We are such foodies. I think I'm raising a mini-foodie too. We've developed quite a web and cookbook collection. My most recent acquisition is "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" and I've been cooking from it all week. Sidney has seen me putting together a casserole roast chicken and gotten out her own little cookbook and made the accompanying muffins.

The food frenzy of the grown-ups, using wonderful new recipes with what we've mostly grown, must be catching. Today Sid's cooked breakfast for us and this afternoon made us all egg nog from scratch. I love that she's enthusiastic about cooking and I hope that she can see how much fun and how rewarding it is too. We spent the evening with a few foodie friends cooking impossibly difficult recipes, laughing at the chaos of preparation, and then relishing in the rewards. I've learned that even the most challenging of recipe's is doable. I look forward to continuing to find new and innovative ways to utilize the treasures stored in my root cellar. As I write this, Brian is turning some of our gorgeous summer tomatoes into a savory spaghetti pie and I didn't even have to run out to the grocery store to pick anything up!

Bon Appetite!

Christmas Treats

Kolachky's are an old family favorite that has a wonderful cream cheese cookie stuffed with yummy jams.

Today was the day, cookie baking. As I write this, the kids are thrilled to be decorating delicious ginger bread men (I finally found an awesome recipe that tastes great, like a crisper version of the wonderful gingerbread I've been making all fall).

I got my doughs ready this morning and then baked this afternoon, once they'd chilled sufficiently. I did two vastly different cookies and it never ceases to amaze me how simple cookies are. They all virtually have the same base and all you need to do is add a pinch of this here or there and viola. I'm about 8 dozen in and think I'll do one more batch tomorrow. The house is filled with such wonderful warm holiday smells. I think Santa will be pleased with this years treat!

Kolachky Cookies
1/2 Cup Butter
1-3 oz. Cream Cheese
1 Cup sifted All-Purpose Flour
Strawberry or Raspberry Jam
Powdered Sugar

Cream butter and cheese together. Gradually work in flour. Chill. Roll out paper thin on floured board. Cut with 2 inch round cutter. Spread with; jam. Fold 2 edges to center, overlapping slightly. Press down lightly so cookies won't spread too much. Place on lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 for 15 minutes. While warm, sift powdered sugar on top.