WYSTERIA..

Wysteria blooms around the beginning of April and man does it grow like wild fire down here in NC..it happens to be one of my favorite flowering vines, although like kudzu (an incredibly invasive vine), consumes everything in its path.  But it sure is beautious!

BROCCOLINI MELTS

So it shouldn't come as any big surprise to those that know me well, but, i LOVE broccoli.  Always have.  Broccoli soup was my fav and was what i asked for every year for my birthday meal. I was flipping through one of my Moosewood cookbooks the other day, Simple Suppers (thanks Dave Mac) and found a really simple, fairly effortless meal which involved four of my favorite food items:sharp cheddar cheese, dijon mustard, bread and a close relative of broccoli-broccolini..which looks like a shrunken version of broccoli, with small florets and long, thin stalks. It is often misidentified as young broccoli, but is a cross between broccoli and kai-lan, Chinese broccoli. A natural hybrid of the cabbage family, it was developed by the Sakata Seed Company of Yokohama, Japan. Broccolini's flavor is sweet, with hints of both broccoli and asparagus. Jess-i know how you feel about conventional broccoli so you may prefer the flavor of broccolini..and besides, it's a fun word to say! Sounds kind of italian...

Anyway, all that went into preparing this meal was spreading some dijon on the bread of your choice, toasting for a moment while sauteing the vegetable in olive oil with some garlic, salt and pepper, then pulling the toast, topping with the broccolini and laying slices of cheddar on top to broil until cheese has melted. Yum. 

a.clay 

returning to spring!

Oh wow! It has been a while and it appears as though Anna and I have been neglecting our blog.  There is a perfectly good explanation for this... we actually got to see each other in North Carolina this past week!  Oh yes, and boy, it took an 18 hour car ride from Spruce Head Island, Maine to Hendersonville, North Carolina, then another 1 1/2 hour car ride to Charlotte, NC where Anna (with boy Phil and friendy friend Nick in tow) picked me up in a hotel parking lot.  We then proceeded another hour to Star, NC.  Arriving at their second floor apartment on Main St. in Star at 9p.m.   We woke the next morning to travel 40 min. to Southern Pines (aka Star's Hollow he he) where Anna had to work all day (so I took to wandering the streets of this small town over and over again).  We did squeeze in a small demo on an old Letterpress by a friend of Anna's and a little bar-b-que with bonfire.  The next morn, we were in the car once again for the 3 1/2 hour trek back to Hendo.  Just chillin' with my gal was worth all the car time.  

The rest of the trip to North Carolina was fabulous.  Lots of good food, spirits, and laughs with old friends. . . we always love a good trip to North Caroline!!  (However, the laundry upon return was a bit daunting, but we took full advantage of the wonderful spring weather and used the line at my mothers house...ahhhhhhhh SPRING!!)

a sure sign of spring

j.may

my first button hole

We celebrated my sisters 31st birthday on the ninth...and, with things the way they are (financially) I dug through my stack of favorite prints and decided to sew her up a little hand clutch.  I found some material I had bought in France and a button from an Oregon purchase.  I added a quote that I found and typed it on my old Smith & Corona and added it to the inside of the clutch.  I hope she gets some use from it!  

j.may

yup...this is our friend!

Sambones just sent some pictures of all her....what would you call them....epoch adventures?! and this is one particularly good one.... just had to share!

j.may

oh wait....this is good too.....

Grey mornings, Meet warm thoughts...

warm thoughts....

 

j.may

after a rough day, I feel inspired!

So, while researching Marvin "Popcorn" Sutton (the legendary moonshiner who just killed himself to avoid a jail sentence for my other blog Squash Blossom), I came across a blog of his daughters, which led me to her website, which is her myspace.  Anyway, long story short, this is her quote and I LOVE LOVE LOVE it so much I want it tattooed all over my body:

"Ladies, live your life in such a way that when your feet hit the floor in the morning, Satan shudders and says: "Oh, shit - she's awake!"

j.may

Salt Art

So i was peeking around on the Free People blog this afternoon and stumbled upon some very interesting art..salt art!...who knew?  Done by Motoi Yamamoto. 

This one in particular made me feel calm and reminded me of springtime which is upon us..but there are quite a few on the blog that are a million times more elaborate and amazing to look at..there is quite a story behind salt itself...so seeing it used this way only enhances it's uniqueness..check out the other pics and the artists site if you have a sec..

the sea bag...

I can always tell when it is Spring . . . 

I want to redecorate

I want every Free People item I lay my eyes on

I want to reinvent myself....  and this year, I want a Sea Bag.

I just discovered these today and they are even better in person than they are in pictures and they don't even show my favorite bag on their site!  But here are a few images to whet your appetite and I would highly recommend glancing at their web page for a better view.   All the bags are made from recycled sails so they are durable, eco-friendly, and enchanting!  What more could you ask for??...oh, did I mention they are made right here in Portland, Maine?!

j.may

A Cooking Obsession..

My love of food-good, wholesome, food-hasn’t always been such a huge part of my life, but i do believe i was destined to get there at some point when considering my upbringing. When i was  little, my mom made all of my baby food from scratch. And as i grew up, smashed apples and pureed sweet potatoes for breakfast turned into puffed wheat or cheerios. There wasn’t a whole lot of unhealthy stuff in the house (especially since my grandmother also lived with us and she refused to put sugar in ANYTHING-thankfully now, all her baking includes sugar) until i was about 15 or 16. So i grew up enjoying tastes and flavors that the most kids maybe weren't exposed to, and although i fought my mom on this tooth and nail during those lovely years of adolescence,  begging for her to buy me Lucky Charms or something that had a sugar coating on it, i am so glad that she was insistently against it. My parents also cooked almost every night, but i never wanted anything to do with the kitchen or any of the food preparations. I didn’t even want to boil water-nor could i..So it came as a shock to my mom when i became very interested in my eating habits-reading food labels, experimenting with the vegetarian diet, and eventually, cooking. Now i can’t get enough of it. I’ve become obsessed with cookbooks, buying the best ingredients, and the creative outlet and satisfaction cooking can give you. I believe the best meals are when they are shared with friends-or close family-and that has only become more true since living in a small town in the south with little to do. When we first moved down here, and i was jobless for 4 months, it was a great opportunity for me to educate myself on kitchen basics, tools and techniques, which i did by reading most of my cookbooks cover to cover. Man, i learned alot! But being bored and jobless for that amount of time also gave me the opportunity to experiment with all kinds of different recipes, and feed those experiments to a couple of hungry men..ie Phil and Nick. But above all, there is really no better feeling than cooking a meal, sitting down at your table and watching everyone enjoy the fruits of your labor.

a.clay

how i spent my afternoon

wow, I need a job.

j.may

this one's for you chris...

I found this blog and I LOVED the name so much that I checked it out.  Not so bad, I must say, but the name just out does the entire site!!  So, when I read the title, I immediately thought of my best friend over there in the great state of North Caroline and it made me laugh so hard that I couldn't resist posting it.  And really..............how GREAT is this title!  

My Love For You Is A Stampede Of Horses

j.may

just one of those days

Today has been one of those days.  Nothing exceptional or exciting - even, I would dare to venture, below average - and it seems as the day progressed, the more bland it got.  The sun was out, I went to my 7am yoga class, the dog park, caffeinated, made pumpkin whoopie pies, a carrot cake, kaiser rolls for veggie burgers tonight, and walked to the beach with Finn.  Nothing seemed to satisfy or relieve me from this funk I am in.  However, not all was lost.  I think right now, I just hit my high point.  I have Finn snugged up beside me all warm, cozy, and sleepy on the porch and I FINALLY found these mugs I came to obsess about that I wanted to share. 

I found these mugs at a couple of different shops during Christmas time and I contemplated gifting them, because they are so great.  I couldn't bring myself to do it because if I gifted one, I would need to have one for myself as well (sounds selfish I know, but I just couldn't do it!).  I dream of sipping my morning coffee out of these sweet sweet mugs.  

1

These great cups are made by Iittala Group

Iittala group is a leading company in modern Scandinavian design with a philosophy against "throwawayism."  Not only do I absolutely adore these cups, I love what the company that designs them stands for.  They say it so well:

"For a long time, Iittala has been part of an ongoing revolution. This is based on the belief that all human beings can make conscious choices in everyday life. Choosing objects that will last in design and quality will please our senses and create harmony in our everyday lives. Fortunately, this is also a choice for a more sustainable society, and against buying short-lived things destined for the rubbish bin. "

 I encourage everyone to check out their website and read the rest of Iittala's philosophy and what's even better? You get a two in one - a visually stimulating AND educational experience.  Happy reading!  

j.may

JAMIE OLIVER'S MINESTRONE SOUP

I find once i discover a soup i like, i want to try different variations of it and then decide which one i like the best, or pull elements from the ones i've tried and make a whole new rendition.  It's fun and a great way to find what you like or don't like, and then end up with something really yummy in the end that has characteristics of each recipe you've experimented with.  It's always a such a great feeling to have an experiment turn out well after all the flops..

Serves 6

10 large ripe plum tomatoes (or two 14oz. cans of tomatoes)

3 medium carrots

2 medium leeks

5 ribs of celery 

2 red onions

1 cabbage (or equivalent mixture)

1 T. olive oil

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 heaping T. of fresh chopped rosemary

3 c. veggie or chicken stock

3 good handfuls of fresh basil, torn

6 oz. pasta (or cannelloni beans, which work basically the same-and you'll get a bit more protein)

salt and fresh ground pepper

olive oil

parmesan cheese, grated

Score the tomatoes and place briefly in boiling water.  Then skin, seed and roughly dice. (unless you're using canned tomatoes)  Peel carrots, quarter lengthwise and chop.  Remove the outer layers of the leeks, quarter lengthwise, wash well and chop. Peel the celery to remove the 'stringy bits' (can't ya just hear the accent?!), then cut in half lengthwise and chop.  Peel and chop onions.  When chopping, try to make them all more or less the same size, about 1/4" dice.  Wash and roughly chop the cabbage.

Put olive oil into a warmed, thick bottomed pan and cook the carrots, leeks, celery, onion, garlic, rosemary over medium heat until just tender.  Add tomatoes and cook for 1-2 minutes.  Add stock, bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes.  Add the cabbage, cover the pan and simmer 10 minutes more, then adding the basil and pasta or beans-which will absorb the flavors of the soup-simmer 5 minutes. Taste and season.  The soup should be thick, full in flavor and the cabbage should not be over cooked.  Serve with some grated parm...

Hope you enjoy as much as i did!

a.clay

She has arrived..

That's right folks..New Belgium's Fat Tire has finally made it's long anticipated journey east of the Mississippi to our shelves in North Carolina..and let me tell you, you've never seen such pandemonium...this is good....Drink up!

a.clay

if only i had a fireplace

(photo by Iguana Joe)

This is what it feels like here in Spruce Head Island, Maine today. Cold, wet, dreary...I think I will stay inside, watch a movie, drink tea, finish my book, and brainstorm about our cozy bakery.  

j.may

a really nice TUSCAN MINESTRONE soup..

Sweat:

3t. olive oil

2c. onion

2 c. fennel bulb, sliced

1 c. celery

1c. carrot

4 garlic cloves, smashed

 

stir in and bring to boil then reduce and simmer 20 min:

4 c. veggie broth

1 can diced tomatoes in juice

 

 sauté in non-stick skillet and add:

1c. zuchinni

 

1 can cannelloni beans, drained and rinsed

2t. pesto

salt and red pepper flakes to taste

sauté in batches in 1t. olive oil:

4c. spinach

Put spinach in bowls and pour soup over top.

a.clay

This Speaks Volumes..

"I must learn to love the fool in me--the one who feels too much, talks too much, takes too many chances, wins sometimes and loses often, lacks self-control, loves and hates, hurts and gets hurt, promises and breaks promises, laughs and cries. It alone protects me against that utterly self-controlled, masterful tyrant whom I also harbor and who would rob me of human aliveness, humility, and dignity but for my fool." -- Theodore I. Rubin, MD

The Queen is Always right...

My Aunt Carol sent me this card for one of my birthdays (can't remember which one it was but..) and i just loved it and it has been in a frame ever since-traveling with me from house to house. It felt truthful, in it's purest form to me.  And it reminded me of myself..daring to believe the impossible, always scheming the most wild & outlandish ideas, in which my mother would try and talk me down off whatever faltering branch of rediculousness i happened to be on at that moment.  I find myself, now that i'm older, being a bit more levelheaded, trying to formulate rational plans and wanting so much to revert back to those days when i didn't question everything-i just did it.