Showing posts with label weekend. Show all posts
Showing posts with label weekend. Show all posts

Sunday, November 15, 2009

the sweet rewards


I love my garden that I have created in our back yard. This fall I planted garlic that was given to me from a co worker. In the sping I will be greated by green shoots poking their way through the mulch making way for a bountiful harvest. As spring rolls in (it seems like an eternity from now) I will sow an abundance of seeds ranging from greens, root vegtables, as well as a varity of squashes, beans and of course cut flowers.

Fall harvest fruits and vegtables may be my favorite crops. I love the dense, sugar, often storable gems gleaned from the garden. Carrots, beets, apples are gifts that after months of sunshine and heat become prime as the days get slightly cooler, shorter and the rest of the harvest has been taxed.


These root vegetables store so much flavor, nutrition and potential, I will be the first one to admit that they are a pain in the rear side to get to the final product. First they must be dug out of the soil, the greens removed, rinsed of excess dirt, soaked, scrubbed, rinsed, then cooked which usually takes considerable more time and heat than other softer veggies. 

The reward of the patience and work is so satisfying, nourishing and rewarding.
Like tonight....

On Sunday I usually have the energy and motivation to cook a proper supper. Today is the perfect example. I waited to harvest all of my carrots at once which led to me being overwhelmed and baffled by what to do with several pounds of fresh carrots. For a loss of what to do, I boiled them down in chicken stock, mashed them up and tossed it in the fridge Friday afternoon. Not until today was I inspired enough to acually created a meal that was more than boiled carrots. I am really trying to empty out the cuppords, utilizing the stock pile of dried/canned goods I have aquired. I dumped coconut milk in the carrot puree, added the rest of the spinich, onion and garlic (the only fresh produce in the house) and finished it with a healthy scoop of red curry paste. I cracked peanuts that have been neglected and baked the final bagutte that was left from a party last week to add the final texture to a perfect supper which will turn into lunch tomorrow that rounds out a very social, relaxing weekend.

Friday, November 13, 2009

This and That

Tech question! Where is spell check in the new blogger editor?
Sorry for any misspelled words. It is obviously my shortfall!

Another week down, days closer to the holidays, days closer to getting my knee taken care of and best of all... the weekend is here! There is nothing sweeter in my life these days than leaving work on a Friday afternoon, picking up J and not having to worry about the dreaded four letter "w" for a couple of days. Our Fridays usually entail a celbratory dinner date, friends and usually a few cocktails in the evening. Tonight..... where to go...mmm......Pho? Bellweather? Casa? The usual delimea... Life is full of these important decisions. Pho because it is 1. cold (STORMY!) outside 2. it is the perfect comfort food for me. Or Bellweather because it is 1. cheap 2. we "know" the waitress 3. I like the menu 4. did I mention that the menu is half price for happy hour? 4. glasses of wine are $4. Or Casa because we  1.can share a $6 burrito and be stuffed 2. have friends gladly meet us there 3. drink margarits (J's poison of chose) 4. it is a loud, dirty, full bar.

Then on to the weekend! We are going to Lummi Island Saturday afternoon. It will be J's first time on the island. We are going to a friends house for a hike around the island and then a BBQ with co workers. What to bring..... hmmmm..... I think THIS! Thank you Smitten Kitchen.
Saturday night is one of my all time favorite girl friends 40th! Sorry to broadcast it but she doesn't look a day over 25. Seriously! And what to bring..... How about a little of THAT! Because I have a wonderful fresh bag of Texas pecans in my freezer!

Mmmm.... weekend....

Saturday, January 24, 2009

State of Bellingham's Trails

John has been hitting up Galbraith several times this week, coming back and raving about it. I have been hunkered down in the yoga studio, getting too hot rather than too cold. This morning I ventured out to the trails on my bike with John and Bryan in hopes to squeeze in a ride before the precipitation comes. Woa! I know what he was raving about now. The trails are perfect! perfect! PERFECT! There for 1. no foliage, as in nasty blackberries vines exploding, devil's club, nettles, and other "pesky" shrubbery 2. it is too cold for most people to venture outside 3. the ground is frozen, the trails are frozen solid. They just don't move, it is spectacular. It is like riding on pavement. 4. I haven't ventured out in the evening but John says that with lights the ground just twinkles.
For the love of bikes!
I didn't even freeze this morning! It was "ear to ear" as John describes it.
Yes John, this is what it is all about.