taking some time

i'll be taking some time away from the computer, heeding gary snyder's words: 

stay together

learn the flowers

go light

--from "for the children"

have a wonderful week!

this moment: happy-mess

a moment from this week that i want to remember.

see what others want to remember here.

csa day + lots going on in the kitchen this week

Half of Finger Pickin' Farms CSA share for the week of July 6, 2010:

This is only our half because I forgot to take my camera over to my dad's house. 

From left to right, starting at the top:

Row 1: Zucchini, squash, peppers 

Row 2: Pattypan squash, white cucumbers, green cucumbers

Row 3: Tomatoes (from one of my dad's patients, not the CSA), onions, and carrots

Not pictured: flowers and basil

And because I've been so gung-ho about cooking lately, I thought I'd share what I've been up to. I made a cinnamon coffee cake for a tea party I had with my friend Julia. The topping was very crumbly at first, but really got good on day 3. That's good to know, but who bakes a cake and then waits three days to eat it?

A couple of you asked to know how the beet gnocchi turned out. It was really good! I don't get many opportunities to eat such bright pink food, and I loved it. 

Beet gnocchi is made from beets, potatoes, and parmesan cheese mashed together with some flour to form a dough. It's rolled out and sliced, then boiled like pasta. I tossed the gnocchi with basil, walnuts, olive oil, garlic, and parmesan cheese. The beet flavor was subtle in the final dish because the garlic and basil were the stand out flavors. I was really surprised how light yet filling the gnocchi were.

I would definitely make beet gnocchi again, but would pick out one big beet to use instead of the tiny beets I used here. Our CSA beets were really sweet, especially after roasting them, but it was a bit of a hassle to peel so many little ones. Also, I would be up for making regular gnocchi without the beets, though I would miss that bright pink color!

This week I checked another thing off of my 2010 to-do list because I made mayonnaise (I know, how strange, who puts "make mayonnaise" on their list of resolutions? Forgive me, I had just watched Julie and Julia). I used my mixer to make the recipe from this book, though someday I suppose I'll try to make it by hand to gain some serious kitchen cred. Despite the fact that the recipe stated that making mayonnaise with a food processor or mixer "takes no skill whatsoever," I'm still pretty impressed that I could get egg yolks and oil to come together to make such a creamy sandwich spread. 

This mayonnaise turned out much creamier than store-bought. I love knowing all of the ingredients that went into it, plus I got to flavor it how I wanted it. I left most of it plain, but did add basil to a small portion. The basil mayonnaise has been great on sandwiches and the plain made a great potato salad.

I had 3 leftover egg whites after making the mayonnaise and so I got to make pavlovas, which I've wanted to try for years. The recipe comes from my new favorite cookbook. These mini-pavlovas (meringues) are so fluffy, crunchy and sweet. Topped with whipped cream and fresh fruit these are a wonderful summer dessert, so light and refreshing. Mmm...I would highly recommend making these!

Weekly Menu:

*Fourth of July cook out

*Enchilada Stack

*Green eggs (scrambled with cream cheese and basil), corn on the cob, green beans

*Picnic food--Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, potato salad, plums. Ideally eaten at the park, if we can catch a breeze.

*Dinner with Kristie (maybe that squash and pasta casserole)

A place to rest your head

We all need a place to stop. A place to put up our feet. A place to breathe deeply and let go of worries, if only for a moment. A place to close our eyes and dream.

K and I recently received a bed for our guest bedroom/office/sewing room (perhaps we should call it the room of requirement? it is what we need it to be). We lucked into it when my uncle sold his house in town and needed to unload some furniture. We were more than happy to take this bed off of his hands.

I've spent time making it comfortable--I added vintage floral sheets from my own childhood bedroom (they were my mom's before that), a quilt we received as a wedding present, a thrifted embroidered pillowcase, and a patchwork pillow sewn from fabric Liesl sent along with an order. Maybe you remember seeing these patches before? I started this pillow cover months ago with no idea where it would land in our house. Now it has found its home, nestled next to a quilt and embroidery.

This bed is the perfect spot to spend a few hours with a novel or even a textbook if you have a bit of summer studying to do. The room gets plenty of light, stays cool with the help of a ceiling fan, and makes me want to read just one more chapter again and again.

Ideally this spot is for overnight guests in our home, and I'm excited to say the very first one will be coming by tomorrow! I hope it's just the beginning of our overnight guests because I love friends who like to linger, and it's also the perfect excuse for a breakfast party!  

* * * * * 

Where are you putting up your feet these days? And are you reading anything good? After 7 years on my reading list, I'm finally reading Slaughterhouse-Five. And The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo is sweeping through my family like wildfire. It looks like a fun book to curl up with this summer.

weekly wanderings: i went down to the river to play

oh i just love holiday weekends! there's always so much to do and so many people to see. this past weekend was no exception. i took my camera along to a welcome back party for my aunt donna and uncle earl. they've lived away from louisville for 30 years but are now coming back home for good. the party was held at my uncle's brother's house down by the ohio river. it was a beautiful place to spend the day and catch up with family.

spotting boats by the river. i couldn't resist this goofy one of my sister julie acting like such a serious scout. that's my uncle denny on the right...he catches up on what i've been doing by reading my blog every friday. *hi uncle denny! thanks for reading!*

we played in this shady grove. well, i chatted. other people played cornhole, badminton, and jumped on the trampoline. k and my uncle denny were the undefeated cornhole champs. i'm so proud.

we were close to the sailing club, so i walked down to get a better look. 

apparently the club was having a meeting. lots of boats were in attendance. 

dinner was a shrimp boil with lots of vegetables and some mussels and clams, too. 

and we got to watch an apricot sunset over the river. after the sunset bonfires popped up along the riverbanks. it was such a beautiful, magical night.

i hope you had a lovely weekend, too! 

this moment: crafting doesn't stop for injuries

the ice pack that soothed my burn and let me keep on crocheting.

* * * * * 

ice pack inspired by this post on the poppies and milk blog.

this moment inspired by soulemama.

csa day: time to get creative with squash

Finger Pickin' Farms CSA for the week of June 29, 2010.

Left to right, top to bottom.

1) Zucchini, golden zucchini, zephyr bicolor squash, purple carrots

2) Zinnias, sweet basil, green cucumbers, white cucumbers, pattypan squash

3) Beets, candy apple red onions

We got a lot of good food this week, but I'm most excited about these sweet onions. The color is such a brilliant ruby and they taste amazingly sweet. I'm trying to come up with ideas to use up some of the squash and zucchini we've amassed, and I can't decide what to do with all of those cucumbers. Maybe a salad or perhaps some pickles.

Weekly Menu:

*Veggie Burgers and oven fries

*Cold soba with dipping sauce

*Egg Fu Yung with Cabbage, Carrots, and Candy Apple Onions, Rice

*Pizza with Tomato, Basil, Garlic, Feta and Parmesan

*Beet Gnocchi (wish me luck!) from Apples for Jam, a cookbook that is on my Christmas wishlist already even though it's only July. I start my wishlists early.

*Pasta and Squash Casserole. I'm making this one up as I go. I'm picturing a layer of cooked pasta, topped with sauteed squash and zucchini, garlic, and tomatoes, bechamel or marinara sauce, a sprinkling of parmesan and bread crumbs. Baked until golden and bubbly.

Maybe the best pizza I've ever made

Blackberry Buttermilk Cake from Apples for Jam

I also made a breakfast cake this past weekend because I hosted a little breakfast party for my uncle who was in from out of town. I just love having breakfast parties these days! The food is easy--I usually do fresh fruit, eggs, a baked good, and maybe some bacon if K wants to cook it. Pour everyone a cup of coffee, put on some records, and start the day off right. 

I'm having a friend over for tea tomorrow before we go thrifting, so I get to bake a little something for that, too. I've been reading Anne of Green Gables for the first time and it makes me want to bake lots of cakes, have teas, and go play in the woods. Thanks to Amy for recommending it!

* * * * * 

What's on your plate this week? And what's on your mind?