a perfect fall day

Our fall welcome home party went off without a hitch, (despite the fact we were probably over capacity  in every room of the house!) and we were blessed with joyful fellowship and laughter. Some of the images from the event follow. The menu turned out to be perfect for an oversized crowd... We didn't get an official head count but are thinking at lease seventy people came and went over the course of the day's festivities. Thank you all for coming, bringing cards, gifts, smiles and hugs. We were overwhelmed with your love! It was a day for the record books.

fall+friends & family+ food= freakin awesome. 

menu & recipes:
pumpkin maple soup (i believe 6 pumpkins donated their lives for this hearty dish)
proscuitto wrapped pears & blue cheese bites
dark chocolate sea salted caramel krispies (these were addicting!)

Power Nachos

hey sorry about the lack of post over the winter! (was catching up on important things like my twitter feeds and facebook statuses) but i am back baby!

had to make dinner last night with what was on hand, refusing to thaw anything from the freezer, I utilized fridge components: 

• baby kale, Mozzarella & Colby cheese, pico de gallo, and (frozen) corn.
• Then leaned on the pantry for GF humus chips (they are the bomb!), black beans, the Seeds of Change brown rice-black quinoa combo. 

Talk about fiber, protein, color, vitamins and flavor! My son asked for seconds! I think what was missing was fresh cilantro and lime juice. Diced mangoes on top would've been sublime, too. Anything you would've added?

bounty

ok, i know your kitchen counters probably looked like this too, but i couldn't resist capturing their beauty. with the late dry sun, for once, our normally wet climate allowed the tomatoes to ripen. favorite tomato varieties? Black Krim (a gift from my dad), Cherokee Purple and Sweet 100. Yours?

it's all you, grill

On one of the rare hot days in the Pacific Northwest, it's a welcome relief to not have to turn on any heating elements in the kitchen. So we take our food (and our piña coladas) outdoors.

The Menu?

• salt & pepper potato 'chips'
• Cilantro Lime Halibut
• grilled Romaine Heart with pecans, cranberries and creamy balsamic
• pineapple skewers

Directions:

take a few potatoes, clean and slice thinly or with mandoline. Toss with olive oil, sea salt & pepper. Grill on sheet of foil so it doesn't fall between grates.

Take fresh or thawed halibut fillets pat dry with paper towel, place in baking dish and cover with a bit of Italian dressing, coarse chopped cilantro and juice of 1 lime.

Spray Romaine Hearts with olive oil or canola, place on grill briefly just for charred effect. Top with grilled pecans, cranberries and *balsamic dressing (recipe to follow)

Skewer large chunks of pineapple and grill on foil for a few minutes to achieve slight grill marks and thus releasing caramelized rich flavors of the fruit.

*Balsamic Dressing:
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar 1 teaspoon chives, minced 1 teaspoon parsley, finely chopped 1 1/2 teaspoons plain greek yogurt 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard 1 teaspoon sugar 3/4 cup olive oil, extra virgin salt fresh ground black pepper

belated: Fall Soup Recipe

 Autumn Curry pumpkin soup



 

3 lbs or 2 med. Sugar pumpkins, halved, seeded and cut into quarters
1 cup water
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cups thinly sliced carrots
2 small onions, thinly sliced
3 tsp ea. yellow curry powder and salt
2 tsp ea. cinnamon & ginger
2 tsp . white pepper,  ground
32 oz. chicken stock
1 can coconut milk
1 tbsp real maple syrup



1. Preheat oven to 450. Place cut pumpkin skin side up on rimmed baking sheet- add water and roast for 30-40mins or until able to pierce with a fork.

2. Sauté onion and carrots in olive oil until onions are transparent and tender. Add pumpkin when finished roasting. Cook until all ingredients are soft. Combine seasonings in separate bowl, whisk with a fork. Stir seasonings to sauté mixture and let sweat for seasonings to permeate squash for 10 mins. Add chicken stock and simmer for 20 mins.


3. Puree soup in two batches in blender or food processer.

4. Place pot back on stove and add coconut milk. Simmer. Salt & pepper to taste.


5. Garnish with spoonful of crème fraiche or greek yogurt and toasted sage leaf.

Added to the menu:

Serve with a luscious glass of Chinon from the Loire region in France

• Wilted Rainbow Swiss Chard with toasted pecans & Balsamic glaze
•  Grilled White Cheddar on Onion Poppyseed Bread

grilled pizza

while this picture is a belated summer dish, it looked so lonely sitting in "my pictures" folder with no attention. So here's a recipe that you can still do out in the snow this winter, just bundle up at the BBQ or you can use your oven's broiler for the same effect.

• using naan or other flat bread, begin by grilling one side until slightly crispy (to prevent from getting soggy after adding toppings)
• spread a thin layer of pesto, and add sliced marinated mozzarella.
• Then top with a cornucopia of various grilled veggies. (I used red onions & tomatoes.)
• Sprinkle some sliced fresh figs, coarsely chopped basil, grilled flank steak & feta on the top-
• grill with closed top for about 4 mins or until cheese is melted.
• Before serving give a drizzle of strawberry balsamic vinegar or balsamic reduction to add a nice ZING to the overall flavor.

voila! a gourmet dinner for two in less than 30 mins. oh, and don't forget a nice bottle of Amarone or Pinot Noir from the Willamette Valley would go nicely.

SEASONS

here is a jewel of a book that i checked out from the library for my kids. little did i know how i would fall head over heels with its vivid, iconic depictions of the seasons. fit for any age- i want to buy 2 of these books- one to set on the coffee table and one to take apart and frame pages. arguably the best whimsical decor i've seen thus far. what a bonus that i found a youtube video of it! enjoy!

i am a bunny and i live in a hollow tree...

 there is a season for everything and that especially means all things in the art and creative realm. my wonderful husband helped me realize this inclination that i had, and now it removes the "creative guilt" that sometimes overtakes me when i have left one endeavor for another. it also reminds me of my favorite book growing up as a kid, where the bunny basks in each picturesque setting of the seasons and describes each activity. i mirrored that style in regards to my creating seasons...

• in the summer i spend time sketching plans for the garden, getting my fingers in the soil and letting them be stained by the green of the grass and letting them dance over the grill or skillet as i saute fresh green beans or swiss chard. this season i let my inside passions go and walk barefoot.

• in the fall my mood changes to an energetic melancholy- what this looks like i can't explain. only that suddenly i want to read milan kundera, wear a skirt with a tweed blazer and walk the 'quad'. my canvas starts to look more like a real canvas with acrylic paint and charcoal on it. there is also a bounty of harvest and that leads me to milk all i can with the season's highlights. (i also learned to crochet and began to write more.)                        

• in the winter, for some odd reason becomes my deepest longing and need to experience a serious rendering of art. less in this time to i reach out for inspiration, but instead i dig deep and pour out. if i chronicle the past 5 years i see a history of this. standing out in my garage/studio with fingerless gloves huddling over the heat lamp, watching my breath as i sing at the top of my lungs a Bon Iver song (aptly named, too as it means 'Good Winter') and step back and sigh. it is in this season i received my first easel, showed my first pieces at a gallery and a festival, i sought out an amazingly talented encaustic mentor, and framed one of my biggest pieces to date. in this season, i come alive, i am ready- the cold brings out something in me. it affirms my hunch that cold cities produce true art and artists. (think Russia and Dostoevsky, Pushkin, Nabokov, think Seattle and all the amazing musicians, think Paris and A Movable Feast, painters and musicians alike, etc, etc, etc) this also becomes a cozy and perfect time to sew and create functional pieces for myself and loved ones.

• i like to lump spring in with winter somewhat in that we have a very non-distinct break from the storms and wet gray. but this is okay as the symbol of spring matters more to me and my art in that the birth and renewal of foliage reminds me of this life and how i am most alive when i have put to death the things of this world. ("for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live." romans 8:13)

as always, here's some music that is inspiring me at the moment: the National