by Krista | Jan 29, 2010 | Spring
I am so excited about this weekend! My aunt and uncle, Janet and Clint, are coming to visit from Canada and we have grand plans for delicious meals and girlie days and movies and popcorn and long walks and much visiting. 🙂
It’s been a doozy of a week. Pain has been my close companion. I have severe endometriosis and it’s been giving me grief this week so I canceled everything and have been resting, resting, resting. Thankfully the pain is easing up now and my world is getting brighter again. 🙂
It’s actually been kind of lovely to step away from life for a bit, to huddle under a quilt, read books, write, or just look out the window and think. While this week may have wreaked havoc on my body, it’s done wondrous things in my soul.
As I’ve been working through the aftermath of my youth spent in a religious cult, I noticed that I have kept a lot of stuff from those years. Books, music, movies, mementos, things that I used to create spots of beauty in that dark place, or allowed me to escape, if only for a brief moment, the traumatic situation I found myself in. Some things I kept as “proof” of what happened, feeling I needed them to validate myself or my past. Others were trinkets I had kept from my abusers, oddly enough. I was so starved for their approval and affection, that I clung to any little scrap they tossed me. I have them all.
But this week I realized that I don’t “need” them anymore. I don’t need to keep evidences of false love, reminders of darkness, or even my feeble attempts to make a bit of heaven in the midst of hell. I don’t need them because I have real love in my life now, I have healing and friendship and peace. I don’t want those things cluttering up my physical or emotional life.
So last night, when my pain miraculously ebbed for a few hours (yay!!), I became a One Woman Clearing Machine!! I went through boxes and bookshelves and bins and sorted my little heart out. I filled box after box with books and movies, decorations and clothes, linens and, mercy, who knows what all! The “bad” stuff I tossed immediately – shuffling outside in the dark, in my slippers and pjs to the apartment dumpster because I didn’t want them in my house one moment longer. 🙂 All the good things I’m going to take to a Woman’s Shelter. I hope that they will bring comfort and solace to another hurting heart, and perhaps give her light in a dark place like they once did for me.
Afterward I eased myself down onto the couch, surveyed the stacks of boxes by my front door and had a little weep. Understanding, awareness, change, they’re all good things, but they hurt like blazes along the way. Then I sighed and smiled and felt like a huge weight had been lifted. And golly, is my office ever clean! 🙂
So dear ones, in the spirit of new beginnings and fresh starts, I thought I’d share some peaceful and oh-so-green pictures of the area around the Italian villa my friends and I stayed in last spring. I hope they delight your hearts as much as they do mine. 🙂
Lane wending through the trees to an olive grove.
Battered and buckled old church door.
Hazy look into the valley at Perdifumo, Italy.
I could spend a happy hour sitting here.
I’m exceedingly fond of this door. And the little stone bench.
I dearly wanted to fix up this little place.
Sure would love to know the story behind this.
The wall, the path, I love it all.
Just because he’s cute. 🙂
Happy Weekend, dear ones!
by Krista | Jan 28, 2010 | Winter
I am related to some seriously good cooks. On my Dad’s side of the family, every birthday, anniversary or holiday is spent around tables laden with Danish specialties, family favorites or dishes featuring the fruits of my uncles hunting and fishes trips.
But there’s one dish that has no Danish roots whatsoever, and it most certainly does not feature salmon, trout or moose steak.
We grew up calling it Nigerian Stew, though I have no idea if it really is Nigerian. Oz, perhaps you know? 🙂
Whatever it is, I love it! 🙂 It’s the strangest concoction of meat, fruits, vegetables, rice and peanut butter. Yep, you read that correctly. 🙂
It’s the perfect dish for large groups since everyone can pile on what they like and skip the bits that make them squeamish.
When my cousin Nina invited me over for her birthday dinner this month (Happy Birthday, Nin!!), I was thrilled to hear she was making Nigerian Stew. She did a fantastic job, spending ages chopping everything beautifully. 🙂
The meal starts with a rich stew of hamburger, tomatoes, onion, peanut butter and cayenne pepper.
This is ladled over fluffy Basmati rice.
Then the fun begins!! You start to pile on whatever topping suits your fancy. Me? I like them all – except mushrooms. Blech. 🙂
You can choose from cucumber, bell pepper, tomatoes, strawberries, honeydew and cantaloupe…
…and don’t forget my absolute favorite ingredient: bananas. It’s just not the same without them.
Finish it off with a sprinkling of Golden raisins…
…ground peanuts and coconut, and you’re all set.
Now there’s nothing left to do but sit back and dig into the mound of strange deliciousness on your plate.
Nigerian Stew
Ingredients for the Sauce:
1 pound hamburger
15 ounce tomato sauce
15 ounce canned diced tomatoes
1/2 – 3/4 cup peanut butter
1 onion, chopped
1 tsp cayenne pepper
salt
Directions:
- Fry hamburger, mix in rest of ingredients and simmer until ready to serve.
Remaining Ingredients:
basmati rice, cooked according to instructions
fresh tomatoes
cucumber
onion
green pepper
shredded coconut
mushrooms
ground peanuts
bananas
pineapple
honeydew
cantaloupe
grapes
raisins
Directions:
- Chop all fresh ingredients and assemble in small bowls with spoons.
- Spoon rice onto plates.
- Top with sauce.
- Add whatever ingredients you like.
by Krista | Jan 27, 2010 | Compatriot Wednesday
I’m in a summery frame of mind, looking at pictures of Greece and Italy, dreaming of beaches and sundresses and long, hot afternoons. I may be shivering on my couch under two quilts, but it’s summer in my heart. 🙂
Mumsy’s fairytale flower garden
I was too sick for CEC this Monday, so I can’t share with you the lovely Pub Food they made, BUT, I can share photos from some of our fabulous grilling parties this past summer. 🙂
Don would start our evenings off with one of his fabulous concoctions. This one was chocolatey and icy and smooooth. 🙂
Cameron would hike out to the woods for some poplar to smoke salmon straight from the docks. We all swooned and swore it was the best salmon we ever had in our lives.
Darren grilled kabobs until the prawns were beautifully smoky and the vegetables lightly charred and sweet.
I made grilled prosciutto-wrapped haricot verts with a caper lemon sauce. I think I could quite happily eat this every week for the rest of my life. 🙂
One afternoon Kat made us the prettiest tea I’ve ever seen…
…then read aloud to us while we nibbled on desserts from the bakery. It ended up being one of my favorite nights as after dinner we all got cozy in the living room under quilts and blankets and took turns reading aloud from “Politically Correct Bedtime Stories.” Toby had us doubled over with laughter as he did all the voices for “The Three Codependent Goats Gruff.” 🙂
Now it’s time for a hot cup of tea. 🙂 Happy Summer Dreaming!
by Krista | Jan 26, 2010 | Spring
We arrived in Greece cheering with whoops of joy and relief, so happy they let us out of Albania without proper paperwork.
This lack of adequate documentation was not our fault. We have the naughty, naughty rental car company to thank for that. Those charming folks who thought it would be perfectly fine to send us on a road trip through the Balkans with only a COPY instead of the ORIGINAL documents. Yeesh. Needless to say, each entry and exit of places like Bosnia, Croatia, Montenegro and Albania, were fraught with anxiety, irate border guards and visions of Third World prison cells. 🙂
It was a grueling yet exhilarating trip through Albania. Nine hours over the worst roads we’d ever seen, through achingly beautiful countryside with people who looked like they’d stepped right out of an Old World painting.
One of the “roads” we traversed. Seriously. The rocky part, not the concrete bit.
We were scared and awed and loved every moment of it, but didn’t realize how grateful we were for “civilization” until we arrived in Greece and suddenly we had GPS (yeah, we went through Albania with an inaccurate, indecipherable map the size of a small car :-)), cell phone coverage and even the occasional English-speaker. 🙂
We arrived just before dark, settled our jostled bodies with a frosty bottle of Mythos and a lovely Greek pita filled with greens, chicken, tzaziki and, of all things, French Fries. Then we boarded our ferry to Corfu, finding seats on the top deck so we could soak in the sunset over the ocean.
The gorgeous view, cool sea breezes and gentle rocking of the ferry dissolved the last of our stress and we arrived in Corfu ready to start the next phase of our adventure. We had chosen our hotel online, expecting little for $12/person. Imagine our surprise when we woke the next morning to find THIS!
We couldn’t believe it! 🙂 To top it off, all our rooms overlooked the sea AND the $12/night included breakfast every morning. Not just any breakfast either, we’re talking the whole nine yards: juices, coffees, pastries, sausages, eggs, casseroles, sliced tomatoes and cucumbers, spanikopita, fresh bread and butter, cereal. Oooee! We were thrilled. 🙂
Our first morning we spent by the pool, soaking up sunshine, reading books, falling asleep, recuperating from 8 days of cross-country driving. Mid-day we dined poolside on Souvlaki, French Fries and sparkling water.
Finally we dragged our groggy selves away from the pool, got dressed and went to…Starbucks. 🙂 Yes, I know you’re “supposed” to only do local, native things when you travel, but every once in a while it’s such a comfort to duck into a place that “feels” like home. If home had everything written in Greek. 🙂 Besides, this particular Starbucks had a view to die for and was right above a little church we wanted to explore and an island we wanted to visit. So off we went, touristy as can be, not caring in the slightest. 🙂
Refreshed by cold drinks and ocean breezes, we hiked down the hill to the church shown above. It is a tidy little place, white-washed and weathered, with a teensy courtyard inhabited by pots of flowers and a slumbering dog.
It is my personal policy that whenever traveling, if there is a boat ride available, I will take it! 🙂 Particularly when the captain is a scruffy local with weathered skin and a battered hat. It simply must be done. 🙂 Thankfully my travel companions were of the same mind and we all piled on board: Ben, Ry,
Trish, Viss, Stace, Nat and me.
Content with a boat trip out to Mouse Island, my cup of joy overflowed when the captain offered me the wheel. WOOHOOHOO!! 🙂
Mouse Island is a quiet, secluded place, peaceful and serene dotted with trees, ringed with craggy boulders and fields of grasses, with a white church perched atop a hill.
After trekking about the island for a while, balancing on stone walls, dipping our fingers in the water, we rode back to shore.
We drove back through town, past an old fort we knew we’d have to explore the next day.
We found a little restaurant recommended by a local (Ry’s surefire trick to always eating well in foreign countries), enjoying the setting sun as we dug into fresh bread with marinated olives and tomatoes, tender calamari with lemon, Greek salad topped with thick slabs of feta, fresh grilled fish (Ben and Ry even got to pick our their own fish!), and linguini with prawns.
At last we drove home under a pearly sky and fell fast asleep.
by Krista | Jan 25, 2010 | Bootstrap Monday
It’s been a truly blissful weekend. Feeling well and truly under the weather, I canceled everything and tucked myself in at home to rest, read and write. It was just what I needed.
Comfort food was definitely in order, and I was happy to oblige. 🙂 Saturday I only wanted to cook once, so I juiced oranges and ruby red grapefruit then made a massive batch of my favorite breakfast: fried potatoes with sausage, peppers, onions and garlic.
Sunday I had a lot of leftover bits of this and that: cilantro, shredded beef, cherry tomatoes, chunk of sharp cheddar, wheat tortillas. A Breakfast Burrito was just the ticket.
When I checked my email this weekend, I was thrilled to find a note from the oh-so-lovely Oz at Kitchen Butterfly informing that she had given me two blog awards!!!
I have loved Oz’s writing, photos and spirit ever since I stumbled across her blog last month. With roots in Nigeria and the Netherlands, her recipes and experiences are an ever-changing delight. Thank you, dear Oz! 🙂 You absolutely made my weekend. 🙂
According to the rules of the first award, I must provide readers with the answers to the thirty-five questions below in one word. I also must thank my award-giver for this fun award (see above!) grant six of my favourite bloggers this award, then give them the heads-up that they have been nominated. Here goes! 🙂
Where is your cell phone? Couch
Your hair? Mess
Your mother? Creative
Your father? Dependable
Your favourite food? Potatoes
Your dream last night? France
Your favourite drink? Tea
Your dream/goal? Writer
What room are you in? Livingroom
Your hobby? Traveling
Your fear? Hopelessness
Where do you want to be in six years? Happy
Where were you last night? Home
Something that you aren’t? Jealous
Muffins? Bran
Wish list item? Plane-ticket (a hyphen makes it one word, right? ;-))
Where did you grow up? Canada
Last thing you did? Scrabble
What are you wearing? PJ’s
Your TV? Mystery
Your pets? Eventually
Friends? Precious
Your life? Brighter
Your mood? Peaceful
Missing someone? Yes
Vehicle? Silver
Something you’re not wearing? Slippers
Your favourite store? Thrift
Your favourite colour? Red
When was the last time you laughed? Night
Last time you cried? Today
Your best friend? Honesty
One place that I go to over and over? Europe
One person who emails me regularly? Tabby
Favourite place to eat? Paris
For the second award, I’m to share ten things which make my day:
- Knowing all my dear ones are safe.
- Being told I am loved.
- Sunshine after lots of rain, rain after lots of sunshine.
- Handwritten letter or package in the mail.
- Surprise latte.
- Unexpected day off.
- Hearing from you folks. 🙂
- Someone cooking for me.
- Starting a really good book and have an afternoon free to read it.
- Discovering a new song that cheers my heart and playing it loudly and repeatedly.
And now for six blogs that inspire me. Since I already chose ten a couple of weeks ago, I’m going to list new blogs that also bring me joy. 🙂
- My Marrakesh – Maryam is a treasure of creativity, beauty and genuine love for others.
- Amuse-Bouche for Two and Words Just So – different blogs, same delightful woman. I love how her words beautifully set the scene for simple pleasures of food, homeyness and life with her man, Roberto.
- Little French Garden House – she presents such beautiful ideas and inspiration.
- Morning Light In My Room – Yvette has a gift for capturing beauty in simple things and soft light.
- Maison Cupcake – I love her “postcards” and honest portrayals of her triumphs and flops.
- I’m squeezing two into this last slot, because I can. 🙂 Ellie from Almost Bourdain and Lorraine from Not Quite Nigella – two delightful Sydney-based women who thrill me with the beauty of their photos and the lushness of their lives and recipes.
- And, I’m adding one more, because I recently discovered Kevin’s fantastic Closet Cooking blog and figure we need a worthy male addition to this list of inspiring people.
Happiest of Mondays, dear ones. 🙂
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