honeyflake

pine meadow lake

today was a fine day for a late summer/not-quite-autumn hike. chuck margaret and i wandered a few trails around harriman state park. we kicked off the afternoon with a picnic lunch by sebago lake while we simultaneously skimmed through a few old hiking guide books and trail maps to figure out our general route. the lakeside picnic alone was a nice way to end the week together, but our aim was to adventure a bit under the trees... so we headed out and upwards on the seven hills trail ascending towards pine meadow lake.

backpacks on, waterbottles filled,we walked... and we breathed it all in... with the sweet detail of the ever-switching color coded trail blazes leading the way. rocks of all shapes and sizes to walk over and scramble up and down, acorns underfoot and a nice, easy stillness that blankets the mountains and quiets the mind.  

 i liked this hike... i think it's accurate to say that all three of us really enjoyed it. we eventually followed the diamond mountain trail up to the peak of diamond mountain. an open vista is always a happy reward before heading back down... back to the trailhead, where the thermos of warm chai and a supply of oatmeal-cranberry cookies await. (more rewards of sort for finishing up a 4 mile fresh-air-filled loop with laughter and smiles all the way.)

thinking sunny thoughts

 
 portrait of the artist's mother

my new favorite sketch... by margaret. of me. me sitting on the couch, posed and propped by the artist herself. me just sitting, quite still, straight up, feet on the floor, watching her consider things like shadows, highlights and pencil colors... it was interesting to be on the other side of the sketchbook - i think within mili-seconds i felt the urge to move and fidget... but i resisted as best that i could, turning my awareness to my breath and using the time as a bit of a mini-meditation session. but i must admit that my thoughts were wandering here and there and to a topic that has been on my mind quite a bit lately... "spring". march is here and and so are some hints that the fresh green season is nearing...  a few small sunny, spring-like thoughts i'd like to share today, enjoy:

• outside, our tulips have broken through the earth and are showing their pointy tops. that's always a great late-winter discovery, right?

• for some sunshine-filled garden inspiration, take a look at emily's video tutorial for making stepping stones. i've always loved all the warmth and creativity at her blog. this latest project of her's is very sweet - can't wait to scatter a bunch around our yard this spring.

• the beginning of baseball's spring training! so good. we love, love, love the baseball and are so excited to start cheering on the home team for 2010 and resume the seasonal tradition of quoting from the old man and the sea. see? i knew the curling withdrawal wouldn't last long...

• surya namaskar, yoga's sun salutation, even on the yoga mat my thought's are coming back to the sun. one time, two times, six times (there are times when i even lose count). i love the steadiness and consistency that comes about by practicing this deeply and often. steadiness and consistency through the transitions — delightful!

from the kitchen elves

  

some gifts cooked up from our table to theirs. a few of the foods prepared around here that we brought along with us to family celebrations, passed on to some neighbors and enjoyed quietly here ourselves. edible gifts prepared with intention in the kitchen as the sounds of the season jingled all the way in the background. 

as always there were cookies. the thumbprint and sugar cookies (both martha stewart recipes) i've been baking for several years now as a christmas tradition. last year we added the gingerbread (love! we decided to add it to the mix again this year). some good, simple ingredients mixed up with love and holiday cheer.

now, the whole "i'm going to make my parents, nonnie and siblings (+ their families) each their own batches of homemade ravioli as a christmas surprise!" ?... yeah, that was new this year. days before christmas i started rinsing and chopping organic spinach for the filling... mixing it up... making the dough (again, with the love and holiday cheer) and eventually rolling it out by hand... making the littlest of pillowy spinach/cheese filled bundles row by row.... then wrapping them up with brown bag paper and some salvaged bakery twine. they had just enough time in the freezer to set before it was time to deliver them...  and, um, having to tell your loved ones "oh yes, we have a little something for you here, but lets get these brown paper parcels back into the freezer quickly now shall we?" was a bit... non-traditional — however fun, festive and merry nonetheless. we'd like to think they'll bring a little comfort and joy to their tables this winter.

   

and a giveaway

a few weeks ago i received a copy of a cookbook. it is a sweet collection of stories and recipes from the blue heron ranch zen retreat center — good food and meals that they've prepared over the years for all the family, friends and visitors that stayed at their very dreamy off the grid locale. 

i immediately connected with the vibe of this cookbook (meditation + risotto + tent life? right on!)... i really liked the hand drawn illustrations throughout — images of teepees, patchwork picnic blankets, mamas wearing aprons, mamas toting babies, mamas preparing food in the lotus position, trees, flowers, oh yeah, and food too.  

 

there's a mix of recipes and stories — tales of self-sufficiency, living amongst nature, family and their zen gatherings. i liked finding a mix of recipes — some that were familiar already to us and our cooking around here (like the simple polenta on a board or the oatmeal with warm fruit) along with some new-to-us foods that we've never thought of ever whipping up (like the apricot pudding). so far both chuck and i have created a few meals from this book (chuck made the the ojai bouillabaisse for us all over the weekend with some local clams which...  was... awesome). we've also tried  the chocolate marble bundt cake, the black bear apricot pudding and the blue heron beans... i loved the simplicity of the blue heron beans! and i thought they looked quite cool too.

so, did i say i received a copy of this cookbook?  well, actually i received two. i have a fresh, new extra copy here ready to pass along to one of you! woohoo. if you'd like to leave a comment below -  please do so and on friday i'll close the comments and draw a random winner. simple as that. good luck and thanks so much to nadia for sending out these books!

•   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   • 

congratulations to the winner of the cookbook giveaway:
"it all sounds good so good" posted by rachell

thank you to everyone who stopped by and left a comment. it is always so great to hear from you. and thank you also to nadia for passing along these copies of her cookbook.

•   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   • 

outdoor fare

no matter how long or short our stay in the woods will be, i inevitably find myself putting a lot of time and thought into the camp friendly foods that we'll be bringing along with us... breakfasts, lunches, dinners and snacks. i flip through clipped magazine articles, cookbooks, scan a few websites — jotting down ideas old and new, doodling image after image of simple and dreamy eats to be consumed  out under the trees and sky... and always appearing on these brainstorming lists is the iconic sketch of a marshmallow on a stick over a few flames... you know, for smores: good chocolate, good fire-toasted marshmallows and good graham crackers. 

before we left i baked up a batch of graham crackers using this amazing recipe. so much better than from the box -  these are softer and more cookie-like and they travel just as well. i protected them by wrapping them up in a little parchment paper and a recycled piece of a brown paper bag....

and kept on going... by then stamping the sweet parcel... and tying a little cotton twine... (and i wonder why it was that i forgot to pack any socks for margaret. but i think the smores we ended up having outside our tent may just have made up for that little fact. and thank goodness we did remember the winter hats)

happy happy fun hat

sunshine and butterflies... little bits of summer goodness which inspired this season's sunhat that i made for margaret a few weeks ago.  a hat that has become known here as the "happy happy fun hat".

this fringey brimmed hat pattern came from one of my japanese craft books. in the book, it is originally done in a simple, natural linen but we (margaret and i) decided to change it up a bit and go for a fun print. the butterfly fabric was something i purchased back in the fall and have been waiting to use... it worked out nicely for this hat — the busy pattern nicely disguises all the bumps and puckers due to the nature of being *hand made*. ahem.

 

even though summer has not quite officially begun, this sunhat has been out and about many times already and i'm happy to see that it fits and is holding up well... and that there is a whole season ahead of us for some happy happy fun.

a little bit of print

this i've been waiting for. issue #3 of mixtape zine! it made it all the way from australia to my mailbox this past week. have you seen a copy? i had no idea how small and adorable this sweet zine would be. but it really is. perfect size to sit down with, flip through and enjoy the printed pages. which i've been doing all week. reading a recycled pillowcase article here... a hippy-weta bug article there... i'm so happy it is finally here. the little articles are all so nice. i'll also say that it was pretty exciting to flip through immediately upon its international arrival, to find, amidst this bunch of crafty, eco, musical info, the book review i submitted to nichola and justine a few months back. (i have to thank molly for setting this up. thanks molly!) writing and submitting the review was one of those spontaneous things i found myself doing, but i'm so glad i did. being able to contribute to and be a part of this project from the other side of the globe was quite cool... and now i'm so very much looking forward to their future issues. aren't you?

a few days... and a few japanese craft books later...

a few details to share from wednesday's trip into the city to see martha... let's see..

1. the show will air on monday the 25th.

2. the day was really fun. i was able to scoot up to midtown before the taping began to browse the craft section of kinokuniya (and picked up a couple japanese craft/sewing books since the bag project flowed so nicely). after perusing the book store for slightly longer than i had planned, i walked down to the studio, arriving plenty early for the show.

3. i got a lot of knitting done on my legwarmers during the whole process (while waiting to go in, while waiting for the taping to start, while watching the taping, on the trip home, etc...) and while i got to knit, i got to talk to knitters...

4. the audience was truly filled with knitters and their creations of all types. there were some serious knitting skills in that group - sweaters, hats, toys, blankets, etc... most of it didn't make it on camera i don't think, but a few cool things like toys should be on. (they were really amazing.) and there was something so cool about being surrounded by so many knitters. people were so friendly, asking what you were working on, what pattern you used, how long you've been knitting... all these people with the same interest gathered together in one spot, sharing their happiness was just so nice.

5. the taping of the show went fast. lots of bright lights, clapping and energy. there was an adorable craft/baking segment on making marzipan look like knitting. and a just as sweet segment on projects from sock and glove, which was originally a japanese craft book (do you see a theme here?) that has recently been translated into english. then at the end, as we all left the show, we were handed a copy of our own to take home with us. excellent.

new favorites

a few fresh new books and tunes that are being read and played in heavy rotation around here lately:

• necks out for adventure (love, love this one about a bunch of little sea dwelling creatures, and margaret does too. the amazing illustrations have a very different, edgy feeling but still keeps everything sweet at the same time. i like that. this one has us planning a warm weather trip to the bay to see if we can spy some sea clams in the sand.), little hoot (very sweet. by the same author and artist who created little pea. the images are all quirky and adorable — and it puts bedtime in a new perspective!) and zen ties (i've had this one up on my sidebar... again, the illustrations are amazing here and the story/message is great to read again and again. now, this one has us digging up every old haiku book of ours that we can find from boxes up in the attic. i thought we'd find one or two... right now the haiku book pile is at seven, perhaps they belong in their own post "old favorites"?)

• sleep through the static. just yesterday i downloaded this new cd from jack johnson. its pretty dreamy. if you feel like checking out a video of the new song it can be found here (can't everything be found on youtube these days?). enjoy!

here today

• zippers
• warm chai tea
• acorns
• sewing with coduroy
• nature smart
• bathing suits? (yes still warm enough to enjoy a beach trip in our suits, to have lunch on the blanket and play in the sand)