Alive and catching up

Good morning!
I have been dreaming of a lazy Saturday morning all week. I need some time to catch up - on everything. Taxes, bills, books, physical therapy workouts, and WRITING! I have changed positions at work, I now run frantically here and there anwsering questions, asking questions and being increadibly confused about almost everything for the time being. A challenge is always near to my heart and has been what I needed but it has left me physically exhausted at the end of the day. I feel like we have ate out all week, which I really enjoy doing, but is expensive and leaves me craving a home cooked meal. So today I plan to root through the kitchen, make a healthy and hearty dinner, get some bread dough going and cheerish being at home.

 And dream of the summer, good weather, biking, and adventures!

Tres Anos

As of today, it has been about three years since we were on the road, living out of a van, traveling through Mexico, meeting crazy wonerful people and following our bliss. Three years ago today, Febuary 13, 2008 J and I got hitched, tied the knot, made the plunge, we got married on a beach surrounded by family and a friend.
I would love to post some of the fantastic pictures that we have from the trip but we are in Bend, OR spending the weekend with friends, skis, climbing and a little R&R.
So here is to the day three years ago that I made one of the best choices of my life.
I have the best husband, like some of the finest foods, he just gets better with age.
Thanks for being so wonderful J, I love you!

For the love of bitters!

Oh my, a life with out Manhattans or pink gin, tell me it is not true.
I am sure glad I have a fresh bottle at home that will last me forever!
For the love of Bitters!

no need to knead

I have done it.

My house smels exactly as my Grandma's did.

J and I came home from watching the Super Bowl and there was a very particular aroma to the house. He thinks it smells musty, it took me awhile to put my finger to it but I know exactly what it smells like, my Dad's mother, my grandma. Her house smelt of bread rising, that yeasty, fermenting smell, almost too pungent to stand. Now my house smells of the same aroma, it is odd but I just want to take it in, I don't want to go to bed, I don't want this memory to escape me.

The memory of her may com and go from day to day but the lasting impression that she has had on my life will forever be part of me. Like the fact that I can take the time to enjoy baking bread. I remember when she got one of those automatic bread machines, it was probably like when the first vacuum was introduced to the house wife. The women no longer had to drag those heavy wool carpets outside and beat them with a stick, they just ran this machine over the fibers and removed the dirt. The bread machine took the kneading, the raising and the guess work out of bread making but still produced the perfect loaf every time. Grandma always had fresh baked bread. 
We had better get used to it because as soon as I made a "no knead bread" **yes, it is true** I don't think that buying a $4 - $6 loaf is worth it. I am talking about four of the most basic of ingredients that are mixed together and sit in the fridge over night. whal - la! Bread! Baguette to be exact. I didn't even lay a finger, nor once ounce of kneading effort on this loaf. Thank God! Over at Bakers Banter, the brainchild of King Authors Flour, they have a whole slew of no knead recipes, and even more recipes for the astute bread maker, which I aspire to be.Yes I made a perfect baguette for the first time and will never turn back, we all can make bread. Really, if I can do this you can too! With some high quality flour, warm water, salt, and yeast.... some time (little effort) I folded together a bread that will rival any bread that I can find in Bellingham (mind you we live in a small town with one artisan bakery). No chemicals, no additives, four ingredients, some time and some love.

There is always some more room in my life for some carbohydrates. Really!?! Why deprive ourselves of fresh homemade bread. My Grandma was on to something, she was so damn happy for a reason. So here is to making my own bread at the fraction of the cost of what it costs to buy, far less "stuff" in the ingredients and for doing what makes us happy. I will eat fresh baked bread by goll!
SSSSSSoon I will mow down of fresh bread after a long bike ride! Today I lost the ugly brace that has wrapped my leg for seven weeks. I will break bread to that!

Blog Aid 2010: Haiti

I follow A LOT of foodie blogs, hardly a day does not go by that I don't catch up on all my favorites. I will drop what I am doing and be whisked away to a kitchen across the country or across the world and see what they have cooked, baked or mixed. I LOVE it these days. I feel as if I am discovering this underground culture, a group of peers all talented and incredibly passionate about food, writing and which creates this strong community that supports its self. I aspire to reach the level of beauty and creativity that many of these people/sites produce.

This was in network proved to be strong and thoughtful with the amazing feat of creating a beautiful cookbook in three weeks with the proceeds going to Haiti. Julie Van Rosendall from Dinner with Julie is the brain child behind it all. It was released last night and this morning, I had to support such an effort and such a worthy cause. It is the least I can do. ALL of the proceeds from the cookbook will go directly to the Red Cross and Doctor’s Without Borders to assist in their efforts in Haiti. But it gets better: Both West Canadian Printing AND Blurb are matching the dollar amount of the proceeds raised, to TRIPLE those dollars going to Haiti. AND until February 12th, the Canadian government will match that!!!! So, we have the potential to raise quite a bit of money here.
It’s a POD (print-on-demand) system, meaning the books are printed and shipped as they’re ordered and arrive at your doorstep in about 8 days. You can purchase yours in softcover ($25US) HERE or as a hardcover ($50US) HERE.
For more on the book, including a complete list of contributors, click HERE.

Tightwad Tuesday in the ‘Ham

Oh Bellingham how I love you. Last night reaffirmed my affection to the ‘City of Subdued Excitement.’

J and I know for scoping out happy hours and I can ramble off about a dozen locations around town and what libations they offer as well as the hours. Last night, with reason to toast J and his new challenge, we (he) assembled my new toy and we decided that the best way to spend the evening was over a pint at the Green Frog Acoustic Tavern.

The Green Frog (for those “not from these parts”) is a little hole in that wall touts, “no crap on tap” including my FAVORITE beer on tap (of the maybe six or so that I have ever ordered in my life, but I am learning...) but what I love even more are the posters on the wall and the music that they bring in. The walls are littered with framed memorabilia that makes my heart skip a beat. Guy Clark, Townes Van Zandt, and about a dozen different stringed instruments line the walls for anyone to play, peanut shells cover the ground making the floor slide under foot and the air smell sweet, need we forget that dogs roam about. It is as close as Bellingham will ever get to southern culture. I will take it and I think it makes J a little soft on the inside (as far as we could tell he was more Texan than anything in the bar last night).

On Tuesdays they offer $3 pints and some live music later on in the evening. The pizza joint that is next door will deliver any pizza to your stoop at the bar (7 bones on Tuesday gets you any 10” pie) making this the best Tuesday night outing in Bellingham.

See you next Tuesday, pint and pizza in hand!

Coming out on top

Life is better when the bright side shows. Really, the light is so much better than the dark.

Instead of sharing my unhampered desire to go for a run, bike ride, yoga, get out of a chair with out looking like I am 87... I want to share with you the light that I have gained through this whole process.
First the lyrics to one of my favorite songs right now by Leonard Cohen titled, "Anthem"

The birds they sang
at the break of day


Start again


I heard them say


Don't dwell on what


has passed away


or what is yet to be.






Ah the wars they will


be fought again


The holy dove


She will be caught again


bought and sold


and bought again


the dove is never free.






Ring the bells that still can ring


Forget your perfect offering


There is a crack in everything


That's how the light gets in.






We asked for signs


the signs were sent:


the birth betrayed


the marriage spent


Yeah the widowhood


of every government --


signs for all to see.






I can't run no more


with that lawless crowd


while the killers in high places


say their prayers out loud.


But they've summoned, they've summoned up


a thundercloud


and they're going to hear from me.






Ring the bells that still can ring ...






You can add up the parts


but you won't have the sum


You can strike up the march,


there is no drum


Every heart, every heart


to love will come


but like a refugee.






Ring the bells that still can ring


Forget your perfect offering


There is a crack, a crack in everything


That's how the light gets in.






Ring the bells that still can ring


Forget your perfect offering


There is a crack, a crack in everything


That's how the light gets in.


That's how the light gets in.


That's how the light gets in.



If I hadn't came through this experiance with my head held high and surround by encouragement, well, I would probably laying in bed asking someone to bring me more pain meds, bread, and chocolate. Here I am, behind a computer, a zest for life that cannot be put out. The spring is slowy coming back into my step, I feel as if I can move again, I can walk with long confident strides, covering ground with purpose and intent. My body has waken up from its slumber and is full of life. I have a fresh twinkle in my eye because I have been patiently waiting, waiting to get back to my life in whatever form that it may take on.
Every day I am discovering the things that came through the cracks, the light that shines in my life. This bump in my life was meant to happen, and I am grateful for what I have learned. Let me share...
The most important thing I have learned so far is my invincability. I was strong and strong willed, but there is a fornce stronger than me out there (gasp) and it is not gravity (which is a very strong force that tossed me from my skis and then sent me tumbling off a ramp on my mountain bike, not at the same time though) it is something else. It is the force that keeps our checks and balances in order.
Health is our greatest wealth. Seriously, I am not trying to be catchy. If the body is not healthy, it is extreamly hard for the rest of the body to be happy and healthy. If the body is weak and injured the day to day activities are comprimised. I have also learned that wealth can buy health (or at least new body parts).
Through this incident I have slowed down and as I haved shared previously I have learned to appreciate other things in life a bit more. I have made dinner almost every night the last couple of weeks, taken on new hobbies and just slowed down in general. I love to be in my house, there possibilities are endless in our little nook and I actuallly feel comfortable. The best part about slowing down has been the time I have been able to spend with my husband. I feel that we have grown closer through the whole ordeal. Our lives have came closer, in a healthy manner and it is not just from him having to wait on me hand a foot for a couple of weeks.
I have had more time to spend with friends and make new ones in the process. Ususpecting people have reached out and helped me through the process and for this my life is richer. My physical therapists are great people, everyone at the gym is encouraging, and my family takes the time to make sure I am still sane. For the most part I am, but there are moments....
I am seeing the light...

JD Salinger

JD Salinger passed this morning at the age of 91.  Salinger, one critic put it best, "he was in this world, but not of it."

I read my first JD Salinger book in high school. The Catcher in the Rye is the first book I ever stayed up all to read, laughed out loud and cried. My favorite teacher gave me Franny and Zoe as a gift which I ate up as well.

I suggest reading Salinger's obit at the new york times and add The Catcher in the Rye to your re-read list.


here are some  favorite salinger quotes:

That's the thing about girls. Every time they do something pretty, even if they're not much to look at, or even if they're sort of stupid, you fall half in love with them, and then you never know where the hell you are. Girls. Jesus Christ. They can drive you crazy. They really can. - holden caulfield

Boy, when you're dead, they really fix you up. I hope to hell when I do die somebody has sense enough to just dump me in the river or something. Anything except sticking me in a goddam cemetery. People coming and putting a bunch of flowers on your stomach on Sunday, and all that crap. Who wants flowers when you're dead? Nobody. -holden caulfield

I have a feeling that you're riding for some kind of a terrible, terrible fall. But I don't honestly know what kind.... It may be the kind where, at the age of thirty, you sit in some bar hating everybody who comes in looking as if he might have played football in college. Then again, you may pick up just enough education to hate people who say, "It's a secret between he and I." Or you may end up in some business office, throwing paper clips at the nearest stenographer. I just don't know. - mr. antolini

The true poet has no choice of material.  The material plainly chooses him, not he it. - from Seymour: an Introduction 

If a girl looks swell when she meets you, who gives a damn if she's late? Nobody.- holden caulfield

i was sixteen then, and i'm seventeen now, and sometimes i act like i'm about thirteen. it's really ironical, because i'm six foot two and a half and i have gray hair. i really do. the one side of my head-the right side-is full of millions of gray hairs. i've had them ever since i was a kid. and yet i still act sometimes like i was only about twelve. everybody says that, especially my father. it's partly true, too, but it isnt all true. people always think something's all true. i dont give a damn, except that i get bored sometimes when people tell me to act my age. sometimes i act a lot older than i am-i really do-but people never notice it. people never notice anything. - holden caulfield

it was nice, though, when we got out of the dining room. there were about three inches of snow on the ground, and it was still coming down like a madman. it looked pretty as hell, and we all started throwing snowballs and horsing around all over the place. it was very childish, but everybody was really enjoying themselves. - holden caulfield

Granola

Another week  is before us and it is already shaping up to be a good  and full week. After spending the weekend with friends, eating and drinking, my Monday seems to be a bit foggy and I am in desprate need of a second cup of coffee and some super food.

I adapted a granola recipe from Lottie + Doof and created a hearty, flavorful breakfast treat that my friend called "peacan pie" while others have said that I should sell it. I think I have hit the granola jackpot and I am so excited to share. I suggest, as with most of the recipes that I like to share, use this as a base and expand off of it. This recipe is a good cornerstone, but please use your imagination and create the perfect mix for yourself.

We are so fortinuate to have a freezer full of fresh pecans thanks to the lovely folks in Texas. Growing up in Washington, pecans were never on the menu, now having family in Texas means that I will never run out of pecans to pull from the freezer. I think that it is very important to include a healthy amount of protien for breakfast and the fats found in peacans are one of the ultimate powerfoods. So I don't minds being a bit heavy handed when adding nuts and if you were like me for many years, a combination of almonds and pecans would be just as tasty and healthy in this recipe.

J's good friend lives in Mass. and now I feel even more blessed to know that I will never run out of fresh maple syrup. Well, I should say that If I make this granola for him in exchange for syrup, I will forever be rich with gallons maple goodness. I have tried over the years to create a granola that tasted good, had all the right ingredients, was fresh and didn't require me to pay upwards of $9.99 a pound for it at the co-op. There has been many failed attempts, but finally I have found success and it all revolves around maple syrup. Maple syrup is stable enough to get to a high temprature without burning. I was always facinated by the idea of using honey but it always seems to burn. Maple syrup or agave syrup are the perfect sweeteners for homemade granola.

Granola (adapted from Lottie + Doof)

2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

2 cups spelt

1 cup raw sunflower seeds, hulled

1 cup coconut chips

2 1/12 cups raw pecans, very coarsely chopped

3/4 cup pure maple syrup

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons Kosher salt

1 tablespoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 300°F.

Place oats, spelt, sunflower seeds, coconut, pecans, syrup, olive oil, sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl and mix until well combined. Spread granola mixture in an even layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Transfer to oven and bake, stirring every 10 minutes, until granola is toasted, about 45-55 minutes. It should be nice and golden brown.

Remove granola from oven and season with additional salt, if desired. Remove granola from pan before if cools or simply line pan with parchment paper. Let cool completely before serving or storing in an airtight container for up to 1 month.

eight(.)five

On a scale of one to ten he said I was an 8.5, not something he would like to see in a person my age. My knee injury was an 8.5, really?
It has been about five weeks post surgery. As of TODAY I have ditched the crutches completely, I am hobbling at lightning speed with one hand on the wall like I am two sheets to the wind (well not yet, at least), I can actually start to work on my range of motion, past the 90 degrees I have been working with and I can start to swim, even get on a stationary bike *gasp*. Now the real work begins. What I have been doing has been productive and self-satisfying, but I now feel like I have a neon sign above my head that only the physical therapist can see that is blinking, “begging for pain.” I can handle all the strength training you can shove at me, I will not get tired and complain about it and I can stretch for hours, but breaking down scar tissue is like running over your own leg and then as if that wasn’t enough you have a friend back up over it for you as if it brought so much pleasure. It is just not fun, I have yet to meet a person who will tell you otherwise. My doctor was very candid with me, bringing me back down from my 26 year golden cloud in the sky; this is going to take a good nine months, Michelle. I have yet another obstacle in the recovery road, I am a “skinny athlete” *hhhmmmmm* kind of like “skinny fat” where sure I am fit but I have no bulk to my muscles. My quadriceps look like my calves and that has to change to prevent any further injury. That neon sign just started to flash “she loves squats and lunges!”
On the bright side, because there is always a bright side; I can walk and my knee is incredibly stable, a feeling in which I have not experienced in almost one and a half years!
Cheers, here is to the recovery, the long recovery, the ups and the downs and most of all: the light at the end of the tunnel!

Your story

What is your story? No, seriously, I want to hear it, most everyone I run into, mostly strangers have one. Let me share because apperntly I am not the first person to have knee surgery ( I know, who would have thought?) and there are some people out there that have over came tremendous hurdles.
This morning while pumping gas, the most ususpecting attendant  befriend me, I knew she has had an injury because these are the only people that run to get doors, pull things off the shelf and are extreamly eager to chat.  She had the door open for me before I even realized that I was going to go into the service station and proceed to be amazed at the fact that I could have a knee problem, I think she thought that the only knee injuries were from obesity. I waited because I knew her story was coming, sure enough, she slipped at "pump 5" on gasoline and water which caused her to have over 150 stiches in her left shin which is holding a large metal plate in in her leg. We both agreed that having a good (i.e. good looking) doctor is a major up side to the whole ordeal AND never step on spilled gasoline while the pavement is wet. Never!
Yesterdaywhile I was at the gym, a fellow gym rat (I mean this in a very positive way) wanted to chat, his interest was sparked while he overhearn me talking to another woman about the amount of movement in my knee because her husband had the same sort of injury/surgery (twice) and had a hard time getting his range of motion back (she was a stranger). The man (he remembered me from last fall at the gym pre surgery) chatted about biking, keeping fit, and of course his injuries. His were impressive, mine isn't too bad. He was bench pressing a lot of weight and his bicep tore off his arm, just tore right off. He has the scare to prove it. Don't lift too much! His stories went on (kind of how J. can rattle off his injuries to his knees and ankles) like how he had his meniscus removed from a skiing accident and three lower back surgeries. He told me to stay active or else scare tissue runs your life and I will.
I could go on for hours about the stories that I have heard but I won't because if you are fortinuate enough not to have gone through something of the sort these are probably as boring as watching paint dry. For those of you who might find this interesting I have a few more for you.
My co worker was going up some icy steps and slipped breaking her leg, she had to recover on crutches all winter while it was icey. I know of two more women at work who have slipped on ice and broke their ankles.
While I was donating blood (well just tried to because my ACL is a cadaver I have to wait a year) the lady in the waiting room wanted to chat about my injury, she of course tore her MCL while playing with her dog at the dog park and an excited dog clipped her in the side square on the knee. Again, be careful of loose dogs (I am not advocating living in fear)!
Need I forget my yoga instructer who was playing professional football in the 70's, blew out his knee and killed his career in football when they cut a huge gapping whole in his leg and wrapped his leg muscles around his knee (or something gross like that) and then of course as decades passed and technology advanced he had his knee replaced. He says that yoga is the only thing that keeps his body moving after years of football injuries.
Our good friend had four knee surgeries in three years. He is a ski guru. Needless to say he can relate to what happens during knee surgery. His wife, also a skier, had knee surgery and walked out of the hospital that day.

Okay, I will stop there.
Please tell me about your story and what advice you can share with the rest of us, because it is all very interesting!

Friday's Happy Hour

classic margarita with salted agave rim


1 1/2 oz 100% agave tequila

1 oz lime juice

1/2 oz Cointreau

agave syrup

kosher salt

1

Squeeze about a Tablespoon of agave on a small plate.

2

Place a tablespoon or two of salt on another plate. Dip the rim of a glass in the agave, then quickly dip it into the salt.

3

Combine tequila, Cointreau, lime juice and ice in a cocktail shaker and shake for 10 seconds.

4

Pour margarita into salt-rimmed glass and enjoy!


As you know, Fridays are a glorious thing. We are free from the ball and chain for a few days, given the freedom to do as our hearts please. We usually welcome the weekends with happy hour and dinners on Fridays and today is no exception. Thanks to EatMakeReady I will delve into a sure winner this evening.