Sunday January 09, 2011
I live in a magical place. Not only do I have beautiful, adorable farm animals, a love of a dog and a pet guinea hen, I also have access to a plethora of wildlife. However you never know when the photo opportunity will arrive. Jim and I were strolling near the swamp below our house and on a lark I threw my camera in my pocket as we were leaving the house - "just in case!". Jim lagged behind me and when he caught up I asked what he was looking at. Jim said, "I was just standing there and all of the sudden the beaver was swimming with some sticks in his mouth and climbed on top of the beaver hut to add more material - he's building a frickin' hotel." I hurried back to the spot to see if the beaver was still there and he/she allowed me to take several photos...so here they are...nature delivering its finest moment when I had my camera!!
Friday January 07, 2011
Winter is a time for soup. Well, hot soup. And boy do we LOVE soup in this family. This week I made onion soup and pea soup. What's great is that they can be eaten as lunch or dinner and generally sates my appetite. I just bought all the ingredients to make Portuguese Kale soup this weekend - can't wait.
Here's my pea soup recipe.
Here's the onion soup recipe. And it's true - not a good first date food - the cheese is extremely stringy!!
Wednesday January 05, 2011
Mark Kurlansky is truly a renaissance man but it is his writing and his food writing that have resonated with me. Mark shares that he was an adventurous eater as a kid - a true omnivore and became keenly interested in food writing when he worked with Waverley Root in Paris at the International Herald Tribune. Food writing could be literary, witty, historical and more. Mark has proven that food writing is all of those and more!! I highly recommend his books Cod, Salt, The Food of a Younger Land and his latest book, Edible Stories. All are great reads. Mark was also a wonderful radio guest. Thank you Mark!!
Tuesday January 04, 2011
By now you may have figured out that I am chicken obsessed - both live and representations!! This tabletop is all about chickens. 
From the runner that I've bragged about in the past with great fabric from England called "Feather and Egg," to the mugs and napkin holders I found on eBay a few years ago. It's fun to have a collection of items and a theme for your tabletop.
What are your favorite tabletop themes?
Monday January 03, 2011
I am using the restart of our seasonal spring as a symbol and metaphor for the new year. Afterall, it started on the 31st which I thought was quite telling.
The water is pure and delicious!! And so should the food that we eat. I am also starting a bit of a diet - although I hate that word. We are revising our intake. As 2011 gets off to a start, I want to offer you a little more content each week. I am also going to start putting up weekly menus so I can help all of you move toward the pure and delicious. I will let you know how successful I am at trimming down and I hope that you will let me know how you are doing!!
One of the things that I find works wonders in the winter is soup. It warms your tummy, satisfies your hunger and is generally really healthy and lower in calories. So, I will make up batches of soup with my spring water. I just started some onion soup....
Look for this week's menu later today in my menu section.
Sunday January 02, 2011
Icelandic horses and Scottish Highland cattle seem to live for winter!! One would think that they'd head for the shelter of their barn but instead they stand facing the wind, bangs blowing, snow piling on their backs in complete peace with nature. It's a magical sight!
I'll remember this in the middle of summer when they are miserable - they hate the heat, and they hate the flies more.