Monkey Lobster

even more fun with friends

It was so fun to see Elsa skiing with a friend. They had so much fun. Nordic skiing is something that not a lot of people do, it was great to discover another family who shares the same passion.

scenes from a dreamy kitchen

Here it is, the big unveiling........ It's been so amazing working on this project, a dream come true.

I had a long wish list, it went something like this: locate kitchen in the center of the house, open to the living room and dining room, but enclosed so no one is unnecessarily walking through it, have a counter I can use for bigger project as well as function as a breakfast bar and evening drink area, have ready to cut on butcher block counter top, a compost chute, a baking area, an easy to clean, big, deep, sink with a fauset like the one I had at camp, open, hanging stainless steel storage, a good range hood, and a soft floor.

I love this sink. It couldn't be more perfect. I got to draw and erase and draw and erase and draw it out on a big piece of plywood that we then bought to stone soup concrete where Micheal made it all come to life. I was determined to have a compost chute, and I wanted to be able to reach it from the sink and the butcher block cutting area. So it was located right in the middle with some curvy lines to match the curved on the other counter. The compost just falls into the pull out trash drawer, into a big plastic container.

Steve from Valley Home Improvement, who happens to be the best carpenter in the Valley and possibly the world, could make anything I dreamed up happen. He helped me get everything just right. He taught me how to tile, convinced me to use black grout and never tired of caulk jokes and "name that hip-hop tune". 

I really wanted a peninsula vs an island. I don't need to be able to walk all the way around it and this way I get an extra couple feet of counter space as well as storage underneath. I chose to have the counter top hang over all the way around, this way I could sit in the kitchen and look out while I worked, and sqeeze a few more seats in. I also wanted to have some of the drawers open from the outer side of the kitchen for things like pens and scissors and napkins. I really wanted to have the kitchen as open and as enclosed as possible. I am happy to say that I have achived that.

I love that grown-up and kids all love to sit at the counter and keep me company while I am in the kitchen. I love how easy it is to serve and clean up breakfast. I love that it's always the first seat anyone entering the house takes. I love that it's where home-work gets done. I love that it's where music gets played. 

The lighting really brought it all together. My electrician helped me get it just right so that all the lights could be dimmed and that not a corner was left in the dark. 

Well I think it's the coolest kitchen I've ever seen, stop by for a drink sometime.

cross country

I'm still hopeful for some local skiing this winter, but this time we had to drive over an hour to Vermont to find enough snow. 

We love cross country skiing. We're crazy about it. We love being out in the quiet of the winter woods, we love covering many more miles than we would on foot, we love swoooshing down the hills, we love coming home cold and tired.

It's not an easy sport, it takes a lot of balance and a lot of hard work. Big uphill climbs take a lot of "motivational voice raising", but they always end with a "thanks for making me do that, it was really fun". We think it's worth the pushing.

We do most of our skiing on wooded trails around here, but a few times a year we head up to the cross country touring centers. They are supper fun.  Miles and miles of wide, mapped, groomed trails, fire warmed lodges with warm drinks, and friendly staff to make route recommendations. Graftons Ponds Outdoor Center offers snow tubing as a bonus and luckily ski rentals as we discovered that morning that Elsa had out-grown her ski boots.

We are praying for snow in these parts and itching to go again (a little closer to home).

In the flesh

Cyrus has been really into the "shuman" Raymond Briggs' "The Snowman" this year. We are really into all of his book, Ug: Boy Genius of the Stone Age, and Father Christmas just to name a couple.  So at the first fall of snow I got busy bringing him to life (we'll see what happens at the stroke of midnight).

I considered whether or not this was the best of use of my time and decided that indeed it was. After all, when you stop to think about it what in life is more important than taking the time to building a snowman? If you have other ideas please let me know.

I have made many snow sculptures but building the snowman was surprisingly challenging for me, I'm not sure he is just right, but seeing Cyrus' joy, disbelief, and songs of praise make me think I got close enough.

settling in

Cyurs is spending a lot of time cooking in his kitchen. I love how this kid can just play and play and play.

I have managed to make some room in my studio and put away enough things to clear off a small work space. I am having some guilt about spending time crafting when I should be painting but, the crafty project is for the organization of my mudroom, which now has to live up to this article (keep reading we're in there).

Ginger Oatmeal Scones

mix

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup white flour

1 tbsp baking powder

1 tsp soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup brown sugar (white works fine)

2 cups rolled oats

1/2 cup chopped candies ginger

Grate 1 stick of butter into the flour mixture and toss.

On one side of the bowl beat 2 eggs with a fork and add 3/4 cup yogurt and then mix it into the flour mixture. Make into balls and bake 15-20 minutes at 400.  

I double it and freeze them in small bags and pull them out at night. They get us through most of the week. MMMM scones and tea for breakfast.

 

 

10 resolutions

I've never done New Year's Resolutions before, but I am inspired this year so here goes:

1. make time to play more music
2. spend more time teaching Elsa to play the guitar
3. read more to Cyrus
4. become a runner
5. grow and eat more kale
6. make 2 new friends
7. play more soccer
8. be less judgemental of others
9. do things in moderation (excluding gardening)
10. talk to my mother more often

 

Just saw this message pop of for the first time, "No misspellings found".

Must be a good sign.

(I just noticed that I wrote pop-of instead of pop-up, oh well can't win 'em all.)

celebration

This was our first Christmas in our new home. And in our family since Christmas is all about cooking, we settled more into our new kitchen, and had our first meals in our new dining room.

As wonderful as this was, it was very bittersweet for me. The last time I shared a meal with my father was two Christmas ago, we sat crammed into the middle of my kitchen, shuffling up and down as things went in and out of the oven. My father tied a ribbon on the door and said he hoped that one day he would be able to give us a dining room for our growing family. With his passing came the wonderful gift of this beautiful home.

I am learning to embrace the sadness along with the joy. The sadness helps me to remember how dearly I loved my father, and how much of my soul he is still a part of.

Hope your holiday was full of people you love.

revealing recipies

We have been making lots of yummy things in our new kitchen, and what a pleasure it is. Every year I seem to spend way too much time looking for my recipes, so with this free moment I will archive them and know just where they are next year.

Almond Crescents

1c butter

1/2c sugar

1c raw, ground almonds

1 2/3c flour

powdered sugar with vanilla bean grated into it, in a little tin

Cream butter and sugar, add almonds and flour. Pinch off walnut side piece and shape into crescent. Bake at 325 F for 30 minutes. Once cooled coat them in powdered sugar.

These cookies are AMAZING and store well if you wait to coat them before eating. Next time I will double the recipe.

 

French Almonds

1/2c butter

1 1/4c brown sugar

1c white sugar

2 eggs

1/2 pound ground raw almonds

4 tbs honey

1tsp soda

3c flour (i often end up using just a little bit less)

Cream butter and sugar, add eggs and mix well, mix in almonds and honey and finally flour.

Pinch off walnut size piece and flatten slightly, top each cookie with an almond or candied cherry and bake at 350 F for 10-15 minutes. These will spread so give them enough room.

These are really tasty too, and get better after a few days. This recipe makes plenty of cookies.

 

Almond Brittle: 

Otherwise known as Christmas Candy. My husband grew up with a tin of this in his stocking every year, so I must cary on this tradition.

1 1/2 cups slivered almonds, toasted

1 cup butter

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 tablespoons water

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

3 ounces chocolate (chips work great)

*sprinkle 2/3 of the nuts in a buttered 9x13 dish.

*melt butter, sugar, water and bring to boil stirring constantly.

*leave it alone over medium heat until mixture reaches 300 degrees. (I usually pull it off at 275 because of the brown colour.) Mix in soda and pour into pan over nuts.

*let cool a minute or two and them sprinkle chocolate chips and let them melt. spread chocolate evenly with a fork to give a design and sprinkle with the rest of the nuts.

*once cool break into pieces.

The other cookies are gingerbread cookies frosted with icing sugar, meringue powder and water. They taste O.K. but are really fun to make and look so festive. 

The peppermint bark can be found here.

The containers are just re-used nut, oatmeal, coffee and tea containers wrapped in paper. Next year I will squirrel away all containers that comes through my home. Feel free to save any you have. I think they add such charm to home made treat gifts.

There is so much more cooking for this here new kitchen. Can't wait to share it with you.

make this

Last year I made a few different kinds bark, but this one was something special. My very good friend Alya was surprised that I made it and even more surprised that I liked it. I know that peppermint bark is the kind of thing that you buy in a tin from the drug store this time of year, but if you use the right ingredients and fill the middle with a peppermint tinted ganache, it becomes something special. If you come by my house I'll give you a taste.

Recipe found here.

goose is getting fat

Christmas is now 9 days away and at this point I have made peace with not having a hand-made Christmas. Actually its been kind of (or even really) fun shopping, and I have been putting the pain brush down more and more lately to make room for some Christmas treats. It's nice not having all that pressure to complete big projects with a December 25th deadline, and the house has been the biggest project I've ever taken on. I am not generally easily overwhelmed but this past six months has been CRAZY,in a good kind of way (most of the time).

Just so you know I'm not trying to hide my new house. I'm just waiting for it to be complete for the big reveal. It's just killing my poor mother who lives on the other side of the world, but I'd like to wait for the finishing touches, like light fixtures, switch plates, little bits of trim and paint.

I hope that you are enjoying this time of year as much as I am.