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| sunshine and happiness |
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12:11pm | jul.02.09 |
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mood:  accomplished
| while work has continued to be a nice, steady-but-deliciously light pace, i have been totally sucked into many garden and house projects that leave me feeling fantastic. i am pretty sure july into august will see a slow return to normalish work hours, so i am trying to soak this up while i can.
( let's move back here, shall we? )
and aside from all of that, i am looking forward to a lovely holiday weekend. we are volunteering for the salmon bake on saturday, and the seattle entourage is coming out to spend the weekend with us. yay for good friends and long weekends! |
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| as i sit here eating... |
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01:09pm | jun.24.09 |
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mood:  calm
| a lentil and black quinoa chili, i cannot help but ponder how amazing it would be to put this in cornmeal crepes, with a chipotle sour cream sauce.
this might need to be concocted :)
and i believe this also qualifies as evidence that if i were left to my own devices (read: the boy didn't gag on both lentils and beans), it is very likely that i would be an even bigfat cookinghippie. |
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| eating, growing, composting, and fun with rocks |
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11:54am | jun.16.09 |
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mood: calm
| this week, i am apparently feeling driven to cook outside recipe or food-rut land. saturday was pork loin, sauteed zucchini, and a salad. sunday was pizza (NOM). monday was browned tempeh with a tamari, rice vinegar, lime juice, sriracha, & garlic dipping sauce and a spinach salad with strawberries, raspberries, dried cranberries, cashews & trader joe's raspberry dressing. who knows what today will bring!
the garden continues its slow progress. my goal this year is alternating fish emulsion fertilizer with sidedressing steer compost. more nutrients, more growing!! the temps won't really get steadily above the mid-70s for a while yet, so i am more or less coaxing everything to get as big as it can before it explodes with the nommy bits.
on saturday, i attended a free worm composting class put on by pierce county, and i think i learned a bit more about how to have a successful compost experience. all 1000 worms hope so :)
the boy got a bit in his teeth about a landscaping project, so we are knee-deep in installing more slate under the rest of the deck and planning the general walkway space that will be to the side of the eventual carport. $700 of materials have been acquired and the ground has been dug out. this week is gravel and sand acquisition, layering of materials and the ever-tedious layout and mortaring (which the boy pronounces MOR-TOR, with an ominous lord-of-the-rings tone to it). but i am stoked about the potential end result. |
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| it's wednesday and all is well... |
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10:24am | jun.10.09 |
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mood:  content
| yesterday, a hummingbird was rescued from our greatroom. poor little guy was next to the new deathstar trying to get out the front window. fortunately, the boy has become a good mouse and bird catcher thanks to our little monsters :)
the garden is flourishing this year. we had a small warm burst in late may/early june and it gave all the seeds a chance to poke their heads out and get going. it helps that this year we can be attentive and good little farmers, and they are getting a regular regiment of fish or worm fertilizer, side-dressing with steer manure, regular watering and lots of whispering "grow! grow!"
(speaking of worms, i am taking a worm composting class for free from pierce county, so maybe this year i will stop slaughtering hundreds of innocent worms annually!)
this year's garden has 3 kinds of lettuce, soy beans, snow peas, miniature bell peppers, 8 kinds of tomatoes, strawberries, potatoes, lots of corn, carrots, zucchini, squash and cucumbers, plus various widlflowers. once there are pictures of something other than tiny green specks, pictures will be presented :)
on another related note, the eggshells in the flower garden out front seem to be doing a fairly good job of discouraging slugs. they are only eating up the plants that are so far unprotected. yay for plant armor that has extra nutrients for plants!! |
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| you know how you know it's a good day? |
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01:09pm | jun.08.09 |
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mood:  bouncy
| when it's monday and your husband finished his last bite of pizza, claps his hands and looks at you with glee, stating:
"it's one o'clock, tide is out, its sunny - let's go rock collect on the beach!"
and *you* having nothing pressing on your plate either.
hooray! :D here's to a lovely walk and time on a sunny 72-degree stone-pebble beach!
and this afternoon, i will come home, pre-prep a brown sugar cinnamon apple crisp and we'll head over to friends for dinner and gaming.
if only all mondays could be this delightful. |
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| the library system is very pessimistic :) |
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04:26pm | jun.04.09 |
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i just checked to see if any books needed renewing and saw that this book:
The Zen of Zombie : better living through the undead
is checked out to us until:
5/26/2116
i mentioned it to the boy and he gave a wry chuckle and said,
"clearly the library thinks our journey toward zombie zen will be a long and arduous one"
:) |
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| if we have such good taste.... |
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08:58am | jun.01.09 |
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we really need the money to match :)
so on friday, the design company unveiled the "we tried to cover all the bases and then some" of the DreamBathroom budget.
$58k+
<sighs>
this send david to the bottle and i have not yet allowed myself to consider it too deeply, aside from the fact that no bathroom will be remodeled this year.
there are perhaps preferences i am willing to scale back that might bring the materials and labor down into a range i would consider, but that will also involve being my own general contractor.
<SIGHS> i *really* wanted to avoid that, particularly since i can't predict how busy work will be next summer.
when i am ready to let this dream-shattering number sink in, i will likely give ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) pistolette_la a call so she can either give me a pep talk or tell me to run for my life ;) |
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| domesticity |
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12:51pm | may.25.09 |
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mood: content
| it's no wonder i have no desire to leave my little nest on holiday weekends.
there is always some quaint event going on, and 3-day holidays where no one is tugging at me, my list of obligations is tossed aside, and i can bask in the joy of digging in the dirt, working on the house, snuggling the boy and entertaining ourselves is just so delicious.
maybe this is why i don't take vacations either....there just isn't anything here i need to get away from ;)
the veggie garden is almost completely ramped up. i still have some cucumbers, squash, zucchini, and bell pepper seedlings that haven't gone out yet, but everything else is transplanted or seeded.
we are just about done juggling the calendar to include a trip to yachats, portland, a family wedding in minnesota, d's parents visiting, and a venture out to yakima to camp and booze it up. i also signed up for a worm composting class - god help me, i will learn how to be a good worm-owner if it kills me!
75 degree sunny days and blue blue skies are just intoxicating. i am giddy with the joy of summer in the northwest :D |
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| may is a busy little month! |
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01:47pm | may.13.09 |
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mood:  cheerful
| i must say that it is more pleasing than exhausting, which is always the way you want it to be :)
it started with 3 deliciously relaxing days with wingology as a welcome home.
the day after her departure, patchworkalice & sodayak forged the moat to make HomeBase while in the seattle area. they took a couple of days to decompress, then flitted off to tour the rain forest and seattle, and then came back for another few days of cozy homeness. i have to say that it never ceases to delight me when friends can come to our space and just slip into an extraordinarily comfy roommate dynamic...it removes the Hosting aspect and just makes it a big happy household.
while they were about, we got a semi-spontaneous evening with royalbananafish and lexicat filled with food, wine and happy chatter.
the following weekend, patchworkalice's sister and sweetie came out to the island, and our neighbors came over and we have a nice big pizzanight.
AND, while we had sodayak here, she dazzled us with her henna skills. she is a woman of many talents...as well as an utterly charming propensity to be clumsy, and deliciously easy on the eyes - so you know, she fits right in with this collection of lovelies i call my own ;)
this week has been about wrapping up some work and gearing up to head to california for a week. the boy is going to go spend 4 days in seattle with the grads, and then my plan is to hunker down for memorial day weekend and get the garden fully planted :) ....and you know, play with the wii!
it is so strange to slip back into this life, and yet still feel the tug of sadness for missing things like rowan's first steps or savin's launch into the world or weekly sushi night in austin.
the upside, i suppose, is that i never take it for granted....the quiet little moments or the big special ones. |
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| speak your mind |
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| yes, yes, yes, yes, yes |
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08:58am | may.12.09 |
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mood: calm
| from an op-ed in the NYT today:
Is My Marriage Gay?
By JENNIFER FINNEY BOYLAN
AS many Americans know, last week Gov. John Baldacci of Maine signed a law that made this state the fifth in the nation to legalize gay marriage. It’s worth pointing out, however, that there were some legal same-sex marriages in Maine already, just as there probably are in all 50 states. These are marriages in which at least one member of the couple has changed genders since the wedding.
( [read the rest behind the cut] ) |
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| san francisco recommendations? |
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08:54am | may.08.09 |
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mood:  busy
| so i am looking for some suggestions of things my sister and i might do with our mom while we are in san francisco next week. i don't want to be turbo-touristy, but i figure a few structured things will likely help make things go more smoothly.
is alcatraz at all interesting? how about the go-see-the-bay-from-a-ship-and-sip-some-booze-maybe-at-sunset deals?
we are staying in the fisherman's wharf area, so obviously we'll wander the parks and waterfront.
any restaurant suggestions?
hit me! :) |
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| RECIPE: Berry Crisp with Spiced-Oatmeal Crumb Topping |
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08:59am | may.07.09 |
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mood: content
| BERRY CRISP WITH SPICED-OATMEAL CRUMB TOPPING
From Bon Appetit - July 2008
yield: Makes 6 to 8 servings
The topping on this is to die for. The recipe called for nectarines, which I really want to try it with when they are in season. However, I made it with strawberries and raspberries and it was divine. I look forward to trying it with blackberries in the fall :)
I prepped the berries and topping in advance so that throwing it together for guests after dinner was quick and easy.
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INGREDIENTS
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Topping:
* 3/4 cup all purpose flour
* 3/4 cup old-fashioned oats
* 1/4 cup sugar
* 1/4 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
* 1/4 teaspoon (generous) ground cinnamon
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/8 teaspoon (generous) ground cardamom
* 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted, cooled slightly
Fruit mixture:
* 2 pounds nectarines, halved, pitted, cut into 3/4-inch-thick slices (about 5 cups)
* 1 1/2-pint container fresh raspberries
* 1/4 cup sugar
* 2 tablespoons cornstarch
* Vanilla ice cream
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PREPARATION
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For topping:
Mix flour, oats, sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, and cardamom in medium bowl. Add melted butter and rub in with fingertips until mixture comes together in small clumps. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.
For fruit mixture:
Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 375°F. Butter 11x7x2-inch glass baking dish. Combine nectarines, raspberries, sugar, and cornstarch in large bowl; toss to blend. Transfer mixture to prepared baking dish. Sprinkle topping evenly over fruit. Bake until fruit mixture is bubbling thickly and topping is golden brown, about 50 minutes. Cool 20 minutes. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream. |
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| RECIPE: French Toast with Pears and Pomegranate Sauce |
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08:54am | may.07.09 |
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mood: cheerful
| FRENCH TOAST WITH PEARS AND POMEGRANATE SAUCE
From Bon Appetit - Sept. 2008
yield: Makes 4 servings
active time: 30 minutes
total time: 30 minutes
This recipe sparked moans of pleasure :) Rather than try to follow a new recipe before coffee, I prepped the egg goo and the sauce the night before, as well as sliced up the pears and put them in a storage container. That meant in the morning, all I had to do was dip and cook the eggs, saute the pears and warm the sauce.
NOTE: We all thought the sauce needed to be more syrup-y. I think they make it liquidy so the toast soaks it up, but I believe I will try melting the sugar down into a syrup and then adding the juice next time to see if I can get it a bit thicker.
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INGREDIENTS
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5 large eggs
1 cup whole milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/4 teaspoons ground cardamom,divided
4 3/4-inch-thick slices egg bread
4 tablespoons butter, divided
2 firm but ripe unpeeled red Anjou or Bartlett pears, halved, cored, cut lengthwise into 1/3-inch-thick slices
1 cup pomegranate juice
3/4 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
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PREPARATION
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Whisk eggs, milk, vanilla, and 1/2 teaspoon cardamom to blend in 15x10x2-inch glass baking dish. Add bread slices; let stand until egg mixture is absorbed, turning bread slices occasionally with spatula, about 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, melt 1 tablespoon butter in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add pears; sauté until beginning to soften, about 3 minutes. Transfer pears to plate. Add 2 tablespoons butter to skillet; stir to melt. Add pomegranate juice, sugar, and remaining 3/4 teaspoon cardamom; simmer until liquid is slightly thickened and syrupy, about 5 minutes. Remove sauce from heat.
Melt remaining 1 tablespoon butter on griddle or in another large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add bread slices and cook until golden brown, about 3 minutes per side. Cut French toast slices diagonally in half; divide among plates. Top with pear slices, spoon sauce over, and serve. |
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| recipes that make people moan in pleasure |
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08:46am | may.07.09 |
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mood:  satisfied
| this week has been a flurry of visitors, which of course means cooking, drinking, and that easy reveling in the pure joy of people i love.
apparently i was particularly adept at selecting and sometimes concocting recipes that made my lovelies make fantastic noises as they ate :) the more i cook from my bon appetit magazine recipes, the happier i am - the recipes on average produce dishes that i look forward to eating again, but quite often actually turn out spectacular - and none of them are terribly labor-intensive.
so for now, i'll post the ones that were the show-stealers, and hopefully soon i will get around to writing up the more belen-experimental ones.
enjoy! |
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| speak your mind |
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| in case you needed more examples of my overachieving ways... |
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01:20pm | apr.30.09 |
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mood: accomplished
| i give you the bathroom plan notes in all their glory.
www.belen.net/schneider-bathroom_043009.pdf
at this point, i expect that the design firm we are hiring can hit the bulls-eye with 95% accuracy. in truth, the goal was to minimize their cost by really thinking through and fleshing out the ideas we did have to the point we could. in many ways, i am hiring them to double-check me and make all the suggestions for materials that i am loath to locate and obtain myself.
though i suspect that if i did a few more projects like this, i could call myself a professional ;) |
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| today's silly hippiness |
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10:47am | apr.29.09 |
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mood:  chipper
| royalbananafish mentioned NPR talking about the benefits of human hair mats in the garden (week control, fertilizer, and deer/animal repellent!) and that made me poke around for more information on it. there are two companies weaving hair mats out of donated hair, which is very cool.
that got me thinking that in our household of 3 cats and 2 humans, we produce more hair than you can imagine. so this year, my stupid-ridiculous-uber-hippie project is going to be to collect a year's worth of hair and try different ways of working it into our gardening. i imagine some combination of hair and readily-available woodchips might be a very effective way to wind down my gardens in the fall, and then another 6 months of collection will give me good materials to work with for the spring.
i have no idea if a home-brewed solution will be as groovy as a purchased woven product, but i certainly think it would be interesting to try it. i mean, right now, i just throw it away in gobs! :)
and in other news, there is a nest with 4 teeny tiny blue bird's eggs in my garden at the farm. pictures to come! :D |
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