2010.2

july


corbin palms campout

august

a walk in the woods

september

::40::

october

sowing seeds

november

pie for breakfast

december


reflecting on a full and wonderful year. looking forward to the next. see you then!

2010.1

inspired by a friend.

january


muddy boots

february


morning light

march


beach day

april


habit 4

may


moxie

june


summer night

Slow Cooker Split Pea Soup

The rain has returned and we are back in soup mode... (The girls were thrilled to find celery in this week's delivery!) We threw this together before our violin recital and returned to a wonderful smelling house.

Adapted from the Whole Foods website


Serves 4

Ingredients
8 oz dried green split peas, rinsed
1 cup diced ham
1 cup sliced carrots
1 cup chopped yellow onion
2 ribs celery plus leaves, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
Salt and pepper to taste
4 cups chicken broth

Method
Layer ingredients in slow cooker in the order given, adding the broth last. Do not stir ingredients. Cover and cook on high 4—5 hours or on low 8—10 hours until peas are very soft. Served with biscuits - as we are on a yeast-free diet, but would be just as yummy with a crusty loaf of bread.

crinkles

made 36 of our favourite molasses crinkle cookies for E's class cookie exchange. and some extra for us.

Cori's Molasses Crinkles
1/2 cup melted butter
1/4 cup blackstrap molasses
1 cup sugar
1 egg :: beaten
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp allspice
1 tsp ground ginger
2 cups unbleached white flour
2 tblsp additional sugar

Preheat oven to 350
Put melted butter into a medium mixing bowl. Beat in molasses and 1 cup sugar. Add egg. Sift together dry ingredients (except additional sugar) then add to wet mixture, stirring until well combined. Use your hands to form 1 1/2" balls of dough. Roll in additional sugar then place on cookie sheet with silpat baking mat.
Bake 12-15 minutes. Until firm to touch. Do not over cook - you want these chewy on the inside.

perfect sunday

that followed a perfect saturday. (that culminated in a perfect annual neighborhood progressive dinner.)

here's to a perfect week!

4th annual

tonight was the night. it is so great to see everyone together - ages ranged from 2 to 92. stories flowed along with the wine. good food. and great company.

::

i had to leave the house at 6:15 this morning. i was reminded how much of a morning person i am. i have been staying up too late too often. i was reading here about going to bed the same time as your kids. i am going to give it a try. and i'm going to try to get up earlier too.

full weekend ahead!

seventh night of hanukkah

hanukkah is coming to a close... and christmas is just around the corner. d surprised the girls with a tree last night. they were crazy happy. tonight we lit the seventh candle, and tested the tree lights.

Jolly Old St. Nicholas

Today is the patronal feast of St. Nicholas - the patron Saint of our church. Yesterday we celebrated by combining the English, Spanish and Farsi services (I love L.A!) into one big celebration. It was lovely. We were reminded of the history of St. Nick. Of Santa Claus.

::

this weekend was a whirlwind of activity. and i am trying not to look ahead too carefully. the calendar is full to the brim for the next two weeks. the last two weeks of school. i am content. and don't want to jinx it by fretting about all that needs to get done. the big stuff is all checked off the list. there is time for the little stuff.

it is cold and rainy and i just want to sit by the fire and savour it.

on the third night of hanukkah

shared with a sweet friend. so wonderful to see the girls share their traditions. joined by more friends later on, the house filled with love and laughter. so wonderful to share our traditions.

the 2nd candle

a quiet night together for the second night of hanukkah.

an old habit

i am absolutely thrilled to have been invited back to habit this month, alongside so many wonderful contributors. such a great space to spend the holidays.

december 1. the first door of our advent calendar opened.

menorahs and candles and singing and giggles.



this month is all about light and love.

Happy Hanukkah!

keeping cozy

we've had record low temperatures at night. it has finished up some of the veggies in the garden - but has also motivated me to get on with planting more winter crops :: brassicas in particular. not sure about my gourd. thinking it may end up a teeny tiny bird house. note to self to definitely plant earlier next year.

the girls still share the bottom bunk and the duvet cover - purchased when k first went to a "big bed" was completely thread-bare. i kept telling myself that i would make them each a quilt this summer. but i didn't. it is still on the "to do" list, but until then, i whipped up a simple new duvet cover out of two thrifted sheets. easy peasy. simply used the old one as a template. extra happy that the fabric matches the roll pillow i thrifted some years back.



cozy too.



back to school tomorrow. it has been a full and wonderful break. next stop: Hanukkah!

walk around the block

damn good.

our wonderful Thanksgiving dinner with dear friends was so amazingly yummy. to quote his mother-in-law..."you're a damn good cook john".










of course the table was beautiful.  and the  apertif, wine, and digestif well chosen.

(good food with wonderful beverage pairings is something our hosts are famous for.)

the pies turned out very well too. so good we are finishing them up with our morning coffee.



no shopping for us today. (though i'll admit to some early morning perusing over at the apple site.)

just reveling in another quiet day at home.

so very much to be thankful for.

Giving Thanks

we are in full prep mode. we are in charge of desserts this year and the girls and i are busy. we made pumpkin puree with the beautiful long island cheese pumpkins we had been saving from our CSA deliveries. we threw in some candied pecans to nibble on while we work.



rosemary and thyme candied pecans

on the menu:

chocolate pecan pie


pumpkin banana mousse tart




and of course... pumpkin pie decorated with pastry leaves and served with fresh whipped cream.



Happy Thanksgiving!

::

the unexpected thing about discord and upheaval, is that it offers perspective. it serves as a reminder that we are not alone. we have built something around us that protects us. we have a support system in place to bolster us up when we need it the most. to give us strength. we are reminded of what is truly important.

i feel so very blessed.

(don't worry - nothing earth-shattering going on. saddened by a misunderstanding. life. having d out of town for a few days.)

loving this song...

long road to the old place

we celebrated eleven years today. eleven years since our wedding on a rooftop with those nearest and dearest to us dancing under the stars. eleven years of ups and downs and to-s and fro-s and long walks together. eleven years of defining "home" and "family" and "friend".

we celebrated at a new old favourite place. with our girls. such a part of our eleven years.

yep. i love you cowboy.

back on the farm...

we returned to "our farm" today. the girls had the day off for the holiday so we decided to lend a hand and drive out to pick-up all our neighborhood subscribers boxes and save the farm staff a trip. while we were there we weeded. for two hours.

they love it there.

we love it there.