108 F

summer lovin'

second annual corbin palms campout...











same place as last year

at my Gramma's house.

Shanna is running a beautiful series of guest posts on grandparents this week on her blog. I am honored to be included. You can view my post here.



This is another picture from one of those bags. And by the way, that's my Auntie Marilyn - of brickle fame - with the ponytails.

Auntie Marilyn's Butter Brickle

2 cups flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
scant 1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup butter
1 cup pecans
1/2 jar caramel sauce
1 pint vanilla ice-cream

Melt butter - add flour, oats, sugar & pecans. Pat thinly on a large cookie sheet and bake at 400 for 15 minutes. Crumble while hot. Drizzle 1/2 the caramel sauce over crumbs. Spread ice-cream over top. Put remaining crumbs over ice-cream and drizzle remaining caramel. Freeze.

Mmmmmmm

xo

4th

x 4






pool. ice cream. and. really good people.

camp mom

the first week of vacation is a blur. we dubbed it "camp mom". aside from increased work obligations. an exciting proposal. and sleepless nights worrying about all that. we celebrated d's birthday. (we love you daddy-o!) adventured around town with school-friends in tow. battled a stomach bug. spent an inordinate amount of time poolside. and threw in a visit to the getty center.








the gardens there continually inspire me.  (i have a not-so-secret crush on robert irwin.)

::

check out the interview over at cafemom.  that's me with my school-garden-mom hat on :)

thank you shari!

last night

of the school year. goodbye kindergarten and third grade. (long sigh.) it has been a phenomenal year. (i will miss you, but the girls, they seem more ready than ever for what comes next.)

where you will find us

poolside.

in the news.

so thrilled to have a pretty good article on our project show up in a local paper. a few points a little off the mark. (pond life! we are going native - even in the pond - thanks to USFWS!) i do wish it went into the diversity of our school - and the phenomenal commitment by LAUSD, our community members and businesses. but not bad.

check it out here


that's e last spring next to our newly planted greenbelt

just like that...

she turned 6.

it still hasn't sunk in.




she told me today she isn't a little girl. but she isn't a big girl either. just a medium girl.

i love you medium girl. there is actually very little medium about you. it is all big. and beautiful. and so full of love it takes my breath away.

happy birthday sweetie pie.

not for dinner tonight. but soon...

before the kale and mustard greens are all gone!

from today's LA Times

quesadillas with greens and feta cheese

::holiday::

we talked about our childhoods. about our memories. and wondered if this would be one for them. i hope so. i hope they don't take this time at the seashore for granted. i hope not. but they might. it has become such a part of our lives.

::this saturday::

a weekend spent with such very good friends. who could ask for more?

dinner tonight

adapted from the Whole Foods Recipes app

Italian Wedding Soup with Carrots, Kale and Meatballs
Serves 5 to 6

While the name indicates that the soup might be served at an Italian wedding, it is actually a mistranslation of minestra maritata, which refers to the "marriage" of greens and meat in the soup.

Ingredients
Meatballs
1 pound ground beef
3 tablespoons chopped cilantro
3 tablespoons grated Parmesan
2 tablespoons chopped garlic
2 tablespoons chopped oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 egg, beaten
Pinch of ground nutmeg
Pinch of paprika

Soup
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 cup chopped white onions
3/4 cup chopped carrots
2 tablespoons chopped garlic
Salt and pepper to taste
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
3 cups shredded kale

Directions
For the meatballs, put beef, cilantro, Parmesan, garlic, oregano, salt, pepper, egg, nutmeg, and paprika into a large bowl and use your hands to mix well. With damp hands, shape into 1-inch meatballs balls and transfer to a large plate. Cover and refrigerate until ready to cook.

For the soup, melt butter in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add onions, carrots, garlic, salt and pepper and cook until translucent and fragrant, about 4 minutes. Stir in broth, tomatoes. Cover and cook 10 minutes over medium heat or until soup comes to a boil.

Add meatballs to the boiling soup and stir to make sure they are fully submerged. Cover and simmer for another 15 minutes over medium heat. Stir in kale. Test a meatball to ensure that they are fully cooked. Taste and adjust seasoning. Serve immediately.

A resounding "Yum!" around the table.

life is full. the sewing machine. idle.

i have to say first off - i am loving our csa. more than i expected. and i expected it to be good. our meals are bringing me more pleasure than ever. and right now - are the heart of my day. a time to pause together, that we all seem to need.  (that, and i could spend my days taking photos of our bounty.)

i hate to admit - but i absolutely flaked on this. i haven't given up all hope. (though almost.) 

the school gardening gig i have taken on has taken me out of the house more than i expected. it is good. it is exciting. but it is also exhausting me. (alongside my "real" job that is also good and exciting right now.)

life is full.  we are blessed.  so it goes.

heaven

french breakfast radishes with butter and sea-salt. perfect mid-morning snack.

miss moxie.

rules were discussed. a vote was held. complete with secret ballot. and it was unanimous. moxie is a keeper.

she's a great fit. a little goofy.


and serious as needed.


she came from a litter of chihuahua pups our friends' dog delivered a couple of months back. d has always been skeptical of a dog in the house. i have always been set on adopting - and wanted a puppy - mainly to help ensure a good relationship with the chooks. (i'll fill you in on how that is going later!) the timing was never right. until now.

the girls named her moxie. "'cause she has guts."

and d built her a fancy new bowl.

welcome miss moxie!

I {heart} Mark Bittman

Another hit. (From How to Cook Everything.)

I have the app - and use it frequently in my meal planning.

Braised Chard with Olive Oil and Rice

1 lb chard
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 small carrots*, roughly chopped
salt and pepper
1/4 cup white rice
juice of 1/2 lemon

Cut stems out of the chard leave and then cut leaves into wide ribbons and slice stems. Keep separate.

Put all but a tbsp of the oil in a large skillet over med heat. When hot add chard stems and carrots, along with sprinkling of salt and pepper, and cook until tender.

Add the chard leaves, some salt and pepper, the rice and 1 1/2 cups water. Cover, adjust the heat so the mixture simmer and cook for about 30 minutes, of until the water is absorbed; should be moist but not soupy. Just before serving (hot, room temperature, or cold) drizzle with remaining olive oil and the lemon juice.

*I used 3 carrots - since I have an abundance of them :) and also added two leeks to the mix

Roasted Veggies

David bought me a mandoline for Mother's Day. I've been using it to slice beets, turnips, potatoes, kohlrabi then bag it in foil with garlic, rosemary and olive oil and throw it on the bbq. mmmmm....

app-etite.

i broke my "don't pay for an app over $1.99" rule and purchased jamie oliver 20minutemeals for myself for mother's day. i have yet to try a recipe, but find myself mildly obsessed with the video component. amused to hear jamie tell me about the essentials i should be storing in my pantry. (this technology stuff still blows me away.)

on the other hand, i don't like it as much as this one. (the option to search by ingredient is key for me...)

do you have a favourite recipe app?

::catch::up::

soccer has ended for now, and violin will close-up shop in a couple of weeks. i am so very much looking forward to the summer.

i tried to spend the week preparing for this. but didn't do much more than pull a bunch of patterns and fabric out of the cupboard. in any case, i have a project for my hour today - and am looking forward to the challenge.

and oh, right! we got a puppy! more soon on the newest addition to our family and menagerie. but for now, meet moxie. (she has plenty of it.)

mom's the word

a selfish morning helping to promote a favourite cause. (after a yummy breakfast of waffles, strawberries, bacon, and coffee with my sweeties, of course!)



an afternoon with d's family - mom and brother's and their wives and kids. though they live close-by, we don't get together that often. it was great to sit-back and let "the boys" run the show.

a constant awe of the two girls that have made me a mom. so many blessings.

i hope you had a wonderful day. xo

"that lettuce is bigger than your head!"

as is the fennel bulb.

another joyous moment brought to us by our csa box!

Arugula and Goat Cheese Mashed Potatoes

The girls loved this one. I substituted 2% for the whole milk, and sheep feta for the goat cheese, since they were already in our fridge.

(from the Join the Farm website)

3 lbs russet potatoes, peeled, quartered
1/4 cup butter
1 1/4 cups whole milk
5 oz soft fresh goat cheese, crumbled
1 cup packed chopped arugula leaves

Cook potatoes until tender (about 30 mins). Drain. Return to pot and stir over low heat until excess moisture evaporates. Add butter; mash until smooth. Bring milk to a simmer in saucepan. Remove from heat. Add cheese; whisk until melted. Add milk mixture to potatoes; whisk until smooth. Stir in arugula.

so very good.

hard to say goodbye to this habit. i have enjoyed the exercise so very much. stretching myself a bit. i hope. my favourite images:











of course the words change everything. bump it to a new place. you can find them over there if you care to look.

i hope i can keep it up. i tried a picture a day last year but found it began to be a chore - so different from a habit. i will try again without the pressure of everyday. just adding to the set.

thank you lovely ladies, for having me!

may day, may day.

inspired by made by joel, we decided to follow his instructions for may day baskets.



i was not at all familiar with this holiday, until seeing baskets pop up on blogs over the last few years. i think here first. it is a lovely tradition. (e immediately related it to the distress signal, which we learned, is completely unrelated.)

we invited a few younger neighbors over to our house to make the baskets and fill them with blooms. we all chose older neighbors to deliver to. perfect. they were so pleased to see us. and knew may day from their childhoods. i think we will make it our tradition too.

happy may day!