this moment: like college

dancing, drinking, and laughing like crazy. gotta love visiting with old friends.

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this moment is one that i want to keep with me for a long time to come.

see other moments on soulemama's blog.

csa day: a pot of sun gold

Finger Pickin' Farms' CSA contents this week:

Top row: Sun gold cherry tomatoes, wax beans, onions, carrots

Bottom row: Beets, red peppers, potatoes

(Not pictured: Candy-colored zinnias. They're beautiful, but my camera blurred all of the pictures. I repeat, it was the camera's fault.)

These tomatoes are seriously oozing sunlight. 

Bread from the oven in my hot hot hot kitchen. Worth the heat.

Yes, I'm still baking. I just can't help myself. I've been making bread all week long from this easy recipe. I made the dough at the beginning of the week, stuck it in the fridge, and whenever I need bread I cut off a hunk of dough and bake it.  Plus, the bread tastes amazing! Chewy, light, and really flavorful. We've used it for sandwiches, dipping in soup, and alongside pasta. It's definitely a recipe worth keeping around.

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Weekly Menu:

Homemade pasta with tomatoes, squash, walnuts and garlic. Garlic bread.

Grilled teriyaki vegetable sandwiches  

Quinoa pilaf with zucchini, mint, cucumbers, and feta (didn't get around to making it last week)

Summer vegetable soup with white beans and black olives

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So, I know it's hot. Yes, this summer has seen some record temperature days. But I'm still going to try to talk you into trying this soup recipe (unless you're reading this in the Southern Hemisphere, in which case this recipe might sound pretty enticing just about now). 

This soup is perfect to make in the summer, while you're getting lots of great produce from your local farmers. Heck, I got to use five different vegetables from my CSA box (including some leftover from last week). 

I think you'll like it. The flavors run the gamut--the carrots lend sweetness, the tomatoes and lemon give it some tartness, and the olives add a delicious brininess--but all come together to create a really balanced taste. If you just can't bring yourself to make this now, tuck the recipe away until colder weather. It's one worth trying.

Feel free to substitute with the vegetables you have on hand. Fresh herbs would also be wonderful in this. I wish I'd had some basil to throw into the pot. Next time...

Summer Vegetable Soup with White Beans and Black Olives

(adapted from The New Moosewood Cookbook's White Bean and Black Olive Soup)

1 large onion, diced

2 medium carrots, diced

1 tsp salt (or more to taste)

2 small sweet peppers, diced

1 small squash or zucchini, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

4 cups vegetable broth

1 cup tomato sauce

2 cups cooked white Northern beans

1/2 cup sliced black olives

1 TBSP lemon juice

Chopped tomatoes for topping.

Heat a good dollop of oil in a soup pot. Add the onions, carrots, and salt and cook over medium heat until tender (about 8-10 minutes). Add the peppers, squash/zucchini and garlic and cook about 5 minutes more, until peppers are softened. Add the rest of the ingredients, except the toppings, and cook for about 15 minutes. Top with tomatoes (you could also add herbs, sour cream, or whatever makes you happy).  Tastes great served with crusty bread slathered with herbed cream cheese. 

Happy eating!

weekly wanderings: a little bit wild

[the rainbow house]*

i absolutely love my neighborhood. it's eclectic. it's fun and funky and is home to a great mix of people. there are many restaurants within walking distance--falafel, sushi, barbecue, tacos, indian, sandwiches, and pizza galore. we've got coffee shops, parks, bookstores, and a great library. it's a neighborhood where walking and biking are the best ways to get around and an afternoon's entertainment can be found sitting outside and people-watching. 

it's the kind of neighborhood where you never know what you're going to find around the next corner. 

like the rainbow house. 

the wild mix of colors always makes me happy, but i think the crepe myrtle blooms really add to the revelry. 

whenever i pass by the rainbow house, i can't help but try to imagine who lives here. i'd like to be friends with them. 

i also love the wildness of the tall grasses in front and the way the rough wooden siding contrasts with the colorful facade. 

nearby, i spotted this monkey hanging in a tree. he's even got all of his...um...monkey parts. it cracks me up.

* * * * * 

what's your neighborhood like? i'd love to hear what things are like where you live!

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*the rainbow house is what i call this place. i have no idea if it has an official name. 

Honey Pie: A song for a happy Monday

I'm absolutely loving The Beatles song Honey Pie these days. As in, I'm afraid I might wear out that song on the record. I just want to listen to it again and again. It's so catchy, and fun to sing and dance along with. Go have a listen--I bet it will make you smile.

Also, it makes me really hungry. I can't help but dream up recipes for a Honey Pie.

Here is my dreamed up recipe, which I have not attempted at all because I've been too busy dancing in the living room.

Honey Pie

Fill a baked pie crust with vanilla honey custard, top with meringue, sprinkle with toasted walnuts and crushed bits of honey toffee,  and drizzle with honey. Eat in a pool of sunlight. Dance between bites.

What recipe would you dream up for a honey pie?

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Hope you are having a marvelous Monday!

csa day: summer rainbow and backyard eggs

There were lots of good things in the CSA box this week from Finger Pickin' Farms. 

Left to right--

Top Row: Squash and zucchini, flowers, yellow wax beans

Middle Row: Carrots, sweet peppers, chiles

Bottom row: Onions, tomatoes, cucumbers

We've also been eating these lovely eggs. K and I walked over to my cousin Ryan's house and were lucky enough to receive a dozen eggs from his backyard chickens. He's had them for a little over a year now and seems to really like them and the eggs they lay. He said the heat has slowed down their egg-laying, but that in cooler weather he has more eggs than he knows what to do with. Seems like I should visit him more often, huh? Especially since these eggs have the orangest yolks I've ever come across.

Things on the menu this week:

*Homemade pasta with squash, tomatoes, and walnuts

*Baked tofu, roasted potatoes, and yellow beans in cream sauce

*Japanese curry over mashed potatoes

*Quinoa pilaf with feta, mint, and squash

*Homemade peach ice cream

*Mint lassis

*Tassajara whole wheat bread

**What are you eating this week?**

sunshine on a cloudy day

Tiny crochet motifs

At this very moment my kitchen floor is covered with flour, the counters stacked with dirty bowls and measuring cups, but there's bread in the oven. My couch is littered with hooks and yarn; the living room floor looks like it's laundry day circa 1970-something because of all the vintage linens scattered there, but I've got creative energy to burn. The skies are filled with heavy dark clouds threatening to expel a summer storm, but as the thunder rolls through, I've got a happy tune on my lips (more on that later).

So, I thought I'd share the little things that are making me happy this week. It's a good reminder to myself that life is full of sunshine if I just stop to look for it. I don't know about you, but I certainly need the reminder sometimes.

New addition to the living room

Sunshine chair and rainbow zigzag were instant best friends.

Studying for my Spanish translation exam

That's not the happy part. The happy part is that I passed! One step closer to my M.A.

Pigtails*

Because everybody needs to act like a kid now and again. 

Vintage floral sheets

Thrift store score. Cheap and bright. Woohoo!

**What's making you smile these days?**

* * * * * 

*I laughed my little pigtails off that night because I went to see Nunsense with my friends Julia and Lucas. The show is hilarious and if you're in town you should definitely go see it. It plays through this weekend. Lucas is the assistant director, and he did a great job!

weekly wanderings: morning on the dock

one morning last week i found myself alone on a dock at the lake with a cup of coffee. the water was still and quiet. the birds were awake and chirping, and the fish were nibbling my toes. it was a wonderful way to start the day.

breakfast time

shore view

treasures from the beach--i'm pretty sure the second object is an unripe persimmon

* * * 

i won't lie. it felt very nice to be away from the computer last week. i enjoyed not having the pressure of coming up with new blog posts. i liked being able to just go and not have to worry about when i'd have time to blog. life felt very full and calm. that said, i missed this space. i missed writing and hearing from all of you. have any of you felt this push and pull, the love and hate of blogging? how do you strike a healthy balance?