Blueberry shortcake weather

Saturday I slept till the cows came home and when I woke up I knew, it's blueberry shortcake weather. this kind of weather is when you can hear the birds outside (they are deafening) and the grass is wet even though it's sunny, and there are huge clouds only slightly obstructing the the sun that is hitting your window like a searchlight. "wake up!" it says, and bake.
















Obediently I set a pot of blueberries on the stove with some blackberry liquor and let it simmer. still in my pajama's and covered in flour I am as happy as I will ever be. next I make a simple batter, (completely vegan and sugar free no less) folding in bluberries, nutmeg, and lemon zest. as they bake the berries burst and begin to ooze down the side, my hands are stained blue.




















To complete this breakfast of champions I sandwich each cake with honey greek yogurt and the blueberry liquor that's been simmering this whole time. It taste like dessert, and the best part is that everything in it is absolutly good for me. now THAT is truely a masterpiece.
















My mom wakes up and her mouth is instatnly as full as mine. by noon we are just finishing what should have been lunch, our plates stained with blue and creamy paintings. what a good way to start a saturday.

peace/pēs/
Noun: Freedom from disturbance; quiet and tranquility.








My definition included sitting on the pourch under cool, dark ferns. watching the kids, naomi with her knees up to her chin playing chess. getting up from my wicker chair only to mix up this drink.






















White Wine Cooler

- one Tbs of Blackberry Liquor
- 1/2 cup of Cold White Wine (Riesling)
- Fresh Mint
- Blackberry puree

Pour the Tbs of blackberry liquor into the bottom of a wine glass along with the puree. pour the wine overtop and garnish with fresh mint. make sure all your ingredients are very cold, the frostier the better!











As I sat sipping my wine, tasting the icy bite of garden fresh mint, watching peace being exhibited throught the movment of my day I was so thankful for the times I am not busy. not preoccupied. What a joy to take joy in life, and just like the definition above says, there truly is a feeling of freedom when you realize you are experiencing a moment of peace.

Strawberry Headline!

Breaking news. some of you know I have been on this program since March for my health which allows me no dairy, fruit(natural sugars) or sweets of any kind. It also includes no white flours, everything organic and so on. the first few weeks were pure torture, but after awhile my taste for sugar slowly diminished and I felt SO GOOD! It forced creativity out of me in the kitchen like nothing else could.









well today, the doctor told me to start incorporating fruit ever so slightly back into my diet. after a brief dance around the kitchen I composed myself and pulled this perfect specimen of a strawberry. only the best for this occasion.







let me tell you, it tasted like drinking a glass of sugar. overwhelmingly sweet and juicy, and OH so good! now I can truly enjoy summer. thank you doctor.

We're going to the herb farm!

It's a slightly damp, but sunny day. I have set up my potting station on one of our open porches and have my hands up to the elbows in dirt by nine in the morning.I find that once you surrender yourself to being dirty, it's one of the most pleasant feelings there are, provided that you have a place to get clean afterwards. I seem to have a soft spot in my heart for herbs. If you are trying to cook fresh, and you had to use one fresh ingredient, it should be herbs. a sprig of still muddy dill for your eggs in the morning will leave you feeling like you are Martha Stewart.








I chose to buy my herbs from a local farmer who owns a place called "Reminiscent Herb Farm." It's kind of a magical place, full of little hothouses you have to stoop to get into, and the smell is amazing!







I Bought Parsley, Basil, Rosemary, Dill, Lemon Thyme, and Peppermint. It was all I could do to restrain myself from adopting every type of herb they had, but I stuck with the staples. every cook will have their own favorites.





Here are some of the things I have made using my herbs since buying them: Multiple kinds of Frittatas and Quiches, Balsamic, Basil Tomato Sauce on pasta, Cucumber and Radish sandwiches with Dill Aioli, Minted Chicken and sweet pea salad, Herb crusted Meatballs, and probably several dozen eggs sprinkled with dill. it's a favorite.
Here is my recipe for Dill Aioli Sauce. Aioli is a quick emulsion sauce that goes with almost anything, this is extraordinary paired with grilled fish, on a sandwich, asparagus, or even to dip french fries in! remember, use your fresh dill!

Dill Aioli Sauce
Ingredients:

1 egg

1 egg yolk

3 tablespoons lemon juice

4 teaspoons Digon mustard

¼ teaspoon salt.

1½ cups vegetable oil

1/3 cup fresh chopped dill

¼ cup minced or crushed garlic

Directions:

In a food processor, combine egg, egg yolk, lemon juice, mustard and salt before blending well.

With the processor still blending, slowly drizzle in oil through the feed tube as the mixture is whipped together. You can also do this by hand with a whisk, but it takes allot more muscle. ;D

Just before turning the processor off, add in dill and garlic and give a brief pulse blend.

This recipe can be stored in the refrigerator for a week.

A Radish sort of day

Today is the essence of spring. there is a chill in the air and it is thick with water. not the cold damp kind, but the sweet, fresh droplets that tag along excitedly with spring. I decide it is a radish sort of day.There is something about their pale flesh, and pink trim that says spring. they are almost human, full of delacate veins.


I slice up a cold salad of zuchini, cucumber, green onion, boiled egg, lemon, and of course... radish. drizzled with olive oil this is the perfect marriage.






















Everything is crisp, including the corn on the cob which I simply boil, flushing out it's brilliant yellow outfit. No one in the house is anxious for lunch today, that is my favorite. no requests, no pressure, just quiet creative space and the sound of water boiling.













To round it all out I decide on chicken cooked in wine with almond cous cous. the deed is done, spring has just reincarnated as a plate of food. this is what I love to do. It has begun raining again and the patter on the pourch brings a rythem through the open kitchen window. I ask Naomi to set the table.












Everything is dripping outside by the time we sit down to eat. There is a burst of sound as soon as the prayer is finished, dishes clinking, "pass the butter's" and then we settle into silence, relishing our lunch.

No Direction Anymore... and i'm ok with that.

I keep trying to upload photo's onto here and it ends up being hell on earth. it locks up my entire computer and gives me all these futile messages such as "we have come accross an error," or "are you sure you want to upload?" of course i'm sure i wnat to upload! what are you trying to scare me out of it or something? i guess this is what i get for purchasing a Windows instead of a Mac.
I had a wonderful picture of me perched at an outdoor table here at angelfood bakery. it is the perfect day, and i'm supposed to be studying but instead i'm sitting here surrounded by fower boxes and eating blueberry cake and coffee.

seince i last talked to you allot has happened, and i do mean allot. i lost my job, and got another one all in one week. my car got towed. i found out i have to come up with about one grand by september 1st, and school has amped itself up to a dizzying speed. this entitles me to blueberry cake. I am happy to say that God has undoubtedly provided throughout this storm of tornadic events. i have learned, and grown so much i wouldn't be surprised if my shoes didn't fit. I think i needed to be tossed for a loop, i got to the point (and am still there) that i had absolutly no clue what i was doing anymore. i've gone ahead and thrown all my grand blueprints in the toilet because i know that nothing i ever come up with will match what God has come up with.... from the beginning of time may i add. after you get over the somewhat terrifying idea that you are no longer in control, a peace and a freedom settles in like I've never felt before. I had become so used to putting my earpluggs in and putzing away with "my life" that now it feels like i see and hear everything to the fullest. it's so much brighter, cleaner, free-er (i know that 's not a word). having that said i can't really tell you where i'm at cause i've completely lost my map. i do however have my compass, and He's treating me just fine.

school has gotten harder than i ever thought it would. we are in class well into the night(after 11:00 pm)and are stuffed and squeezed with so much information i honestly don't know how i retain it. we take on about five sometimes six dishes a night wich is a huge undertaking considering most if it's french, and they tend to include fifteen hideous steps in preparing everything. it's not all bad though. the other night i made a chocolate mousse that filled even my chef with pride. it took me about an hour in total until all the whipping process's were done... and there were many of them. but the effect was a mousse that just sat on your tounge, you could hardly tell it was there. at the same time it had this wonderfully rich and devilsh taste that left my chef eating half the bowl with his fingers before i could even get it into the fridge to chill. a sucess like this is made up for by five or so mistakes however, but i'm learning.

i move to my new place next monday... i cannot wait! despite the air ionizer humming the basment smell away it really is an adroable little nook. there is something about living in a plase that has taken sweat and elbow grease to create. it means more, it's truly yours. i painted the walls a rich tuscan yellow, and bought canvas pictures of prarie field. i miss the green of kentucky, the smell of woodsmoke in the air, the hardly ever wearing shoes. i'm trying to bring some of home into this new place with me. mama gets here in a few days.... more home is on the way.

ok, i'm gonna try one more time to get you guys a picture..... wait for it..... nope, it's sitll a Windows.

Thunderstorms

They have come to be one of my greatest comforts and something i actually look forward to. partly because i am without air conditioning in both my apartment AND my car, and they bring much needed relief from the 90 degree weather we've been having. also, i think there is the reminder that God is real, and He exists. tonight we had a record of a storm, it raged outside my open windows and set off the car alarms on my street with it's noise. one minute the sky was blue, the next it was green and there was a tornado siren going off. then after the storm had it's say there was a lightning display that was breathtaking, and an orange sunset not to be rivaled with. it was a majestic, and peacful night. i curled up beside the open window and felt the fury on my face. I also managed to down several chocolate chip cookies while i watched the show. it was a challege to be sure.....

These pictures don't do justice, but i thought you needed to be in on the greatness of God.