by Krista | Apr 15, 2014 | Autumn
Bear and I are continuing our oh-so-relaxing holiday at home with popcorn and movie nights and coffee dates in town. We’ve been sleeping in too, and that’s been heavenly. One of the things that makes me smile every day is Bear bringing me my morning cup of tea. Yesterday he spoiled me rotten by bringing me breakfast too! As the wind raged outside we were cozy under a feather bed, sipping cuppas, eating homemade bread topped with fresh tomatoes, and reading good books. Pure bliss, I tell ya. 🙂
My friend Tom sent me a box of new books to read, and I’m thoroughly enjoying this whodunit written by JK Rowling under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith.
It was downright chilly and windy yesterday, so I had to bundle up a bit for my late afternoon hike. It felt so wild and wonderful out there, the cold turning my cheeks red as I headed into the bush with Luna.
Each day I find new treasures and this day was no different. I love these new pink spires blooming next to tiny purple orchids.
My artist friend Leslie has me on the lookout for a kangaroo skull to use in a piece she’s creating, so now I’m seeing bones all over the place! I think they are amazing things, especially bleached white by the sun, looking like their own pieces of art in a woodland setting.
But it’s the colors that charm me most. Great swathes of yellow in a sea of green with little pops of red, purple, and blue.
Our comfort food treat this week was scones, fragrant vanilla oat ones topped with maple cream, plump cherries, and a scattering of pomegranate arils. Scones are lovely any day, but on wildly stormy dark ones, they’re perfection.
What is your favorite treat on a blustery day?
Vanilla Oat Scones
Ingredients:
1 1/4 cup whole grain flour
1 cup oat bran
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp sea salt
1 Tbsp sugar
1/2 cup butter
2/3 cup milk
1 large egg
1 Tbsp vanilla
1 egg beaten (for brushing scones)
raw sugar
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 450 F (240 C)
- Stir together flour, oat bran, baking powder, salt, and sugar.
- Add butter and cut in with fingers or pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
- In cup, whisk together milk, egg, and vanilla. Pour into flour mixture and toss gently with a fork until well incorporated.
- Dump dough onto well-floured surface and knead lightly just until dough comes together. (If dough is too wet, add more flour.)
- Press into large circle about 1-inch thick. Cut into wedges and place on baking sheet covered with baking paper. Brush tops with beaten egg and sprinkle with raw sugar.
- Bake for 12-14 minutes until scones have risen and tops are golden brown.
- Serve warm with butter or maple cream and cherries.
Maple Cream
Ingredients:
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 tsp maple extract
2 Tbsp maple syrup
Directions:
- Beat whipping cream until soft peaks form.
- Stir in extract and syrup.
- Chill until ready to serve.
by Krista | Apr 11, 2014 | Autumn
“Into the woods–you have to grope,
But that’s the way you learn to cope.
Into the woods to find there’s hope
Of getting through the journey.”
Stephen Sondheim
I like these lines very much, especially as I face some great changes in my life. They’re good and wonderful changes but still scary as I figure out my place in them.
I’ve been going to the woods nearly every day this week, taking advantage of gorgeous Autumn weather to get my daily exercise in a place that never fails to calm rumpled spirits and clarify scattered thoughts. It’s lovely to head out there feeling overwhelmed or uncertain knowing I will return with my priorities realigned and a clarity of purpose restored.
As I leave the fields behind and enter the woods, worries about finances or deadlines dissipate, lost in vistas of lush undergrowth dotted with delicate wildflowers and sturdy mushrooms.
I’m delighted by these sprays of tiny yellow flowers providing cheery spots of light across the dusky forest floor.
It’s so pretty in here at dusk. The light is soft and gentle and it’s so quiet you can hear the thump of a kangaroo hopping by in the distance and the rustle of an echidna waddling past.
Echidnas are also known as spiny ant eaters, and they are the most amazing creatures. Until this week I’d only seen them at a distance before they disappeared into the undergrowth. But this one stayed right where she was, curling up into a spiny ball at first before realizing I had no intention of hurting her. Then her little snout came out and I was even able to touch her, gently stroking her spines that felt like the sharpened quills at the end of a feather.
Luna was delighted by her but then got distracted by kangaroos hopping in a nearby paddock. Apparently kangaroos are much more interesting than a spiny ant eater.
Yes, I love this place very much at dusk, especially when the grass is set aglow by the sun even as gathering storm clouds cast an eerie darkness overhead. It’s pure magic.
Where is your favorite place to go when you’re feeling anxious or overwhelmed? xo
by Krista | Nov 19, 2013 | Summer
Bear and I were sick with an awful, achy, fevered flu for the past week. We felt miserable, and by day five we were both going a bit stir-crazy. So we took our sick selves outside, Bear to potter away with his tractor and me to amble down our driveway to pick a big bouquet of the Queen Anne’s Lace I’d spotted the day before.
The cool wind felt heavenly on my fevered face and the walk did me good. With all the glorious rain we’ve had, our ditches are full to bursting with feathered grasses and wildflowers that dance in the wind.
Queen Anne’s Lace has been my favorite wildflower since I was a little girl. It grew abundantly in Canada too and was handy for tucking into a blonde braid or stirring into a made-up concoction consisting primarily of dirt, hose water, and weeds.
“Magic exists.
Who can doubt it, when there are rainbows and wildflowers,
the music of the wind and the silence of the stars?
Anyone who has loved has been touched by magic.
It is such a simple and such an extraordinary part of the lives we live.”
Nora Roberts
I love the look of wildflowers against old wood, don’t you? They seem to belong together.
I bet Bear never thought his old workbench would be such a perfect spot for a bunch of wildflowers to rest.
When I got back home, I tucked the unkempt and rowdy bouquet into my Russian teapot and it has provided endless delight to me ever since.
When I’m feeling crummy I want good, simple, easy food. Food that comforts and nourishes and doesn’t make me want to groan pityingly at the effort. Thai-Spiced Roasted Cauliflower fits the bill nicely.
Poor cauliflower is often neglected in the vast array of more beautiful and interesting vegetables, but it shouldn’t be! This cruciferous vegetable is full of vitamin B (6 different kinds!), K, and C, a powerful antioxidant and detoxifier, anti-inflammatory, and excellent for your digestion and cardiovascular health.
Roasting is a delicious way to eat cauliflower, especially when tossed with a Thai-inspired spice mix that is heady with lime zest.
What things comfort you when you’re ill?
PS – My November Newsletter is out today! “A Little Christmas Dreaming” Click here to read it and click here to subscribe and receive future newsletters. xo
Thai-Spiced Roasted Cauliflower
Ingredients:
Thai Spice Mix Recipe
Mix together the following:
1 tsp each of coriander powder, garlic powder, and onion powder
1/2 tsp each of sea salt, sugar, cumin, turmeric, dried mint, powdered ginger, and chili powder
zest of one lime
Roasted Cauliflower Recipe
Ingredients:
1 head cauliflower, trimmed and cut into florets
2 Tbsp grapeseed oil
1 Tbsp Thai seasoning (see above for recipe)
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 400 F (205 C).
- Place cauliflower pieces in large mixing bowl, drizzle with grape seed oil. Toss gently to coat.
- Sprinkle over seasoning and toss to coat.
- Place baking paper on cookie sheet and spread cauliflower evenly. Add more salt if necessary.
- Bake 25-30 minutes until cauliflower is browned and edges crispy.
- Serve warm.
by Krista | May 6, 2012 | Bootstrap Monday
How I love Autumn in Australia. Each morning I bundle up in sweater and socks, wrap a blanket tight around my legs and park myself in front of the heater. Within an hour or two I step outside into glorious sunshine and brilliant blue skies with air so warm I have to don a sundress or I get too hot.
Heavenly.
Last time I shared a few of the beauties to be found on our Australian goat farm in Autumn, and today I’ll share a few more.
I never cease to be amazed at the brilliant snippets of color to be found in what looks at first glance to be a sea of gold and brown.
Like these bright pink blossoms bobbing in the wind down by the pond.
Or these fabulous spiky, lime green pods dangling from long branches.
And these cheery little fuchsia blossoms nearly hidden among the long, golden grasses.
There are also the lovely things you expect to find in autumn: fallen leaves.
This green one caught my eye with dew drops glistening in the sunlight, and I liked the look of these rich brown ones caught on an old barbed wire fence.
Yesterday we had a marvelous time with several of our medieval friends from Black Wolf. The air rang with the clash of swords and the cheers of kids. I loved it. 🙂
We had a medieval feast on the back porch with all sorts of Turkish fare: garlicky flat bread and creamy yogurt dip, hot buttery hummus with toasted pine nuts, and a hot carrot dip with caraway, dill and paprika.
I’ll share the other Turkish recipes soon – but I promised two of my aunts that I’d post the carrot one immediately, so here goes. 🙂
What’s your favorite moment of your weekend?
Turkish Hot Carrot Dip
Ingredients:
10 carrots, peeled and sliced
1 Tbsp caraway seeds
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
2 Tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp paprika
2 Tbsp fresh dill, minced
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup to 1/2 cup crispy fried onions
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Steam or boil carrots and caraway seeds until carrots are soft enough to mash with a fork.
- Drain and place in food processor (or blend by hand) and add all remaining ingredients except onions.
- Taste for seasoning, add more if you like it stronger.
- Pour carrot mixture into pie pan or earthenware pan. Top with crispy fried onions and bake 20-30 minutes until mixture is bubbling around the edges.
- Serve warm with slices of Turkish flat bread.
by Krista | Nov 20, 2011 | Bootstrap Monday
Well, I’ve been officially sick for two weeks now. Bear has been too, and folks from work are coming down with this wretched cold/flu thing left, right and center.
I’ve drunk copious amounts of tea, bowls of soup, and, it must be admitted, a whole lot of salty potato chips that somehow are just the thing for upset stomachs and sore throats.
Last week my friend Ann surprised me with a bread machine and taught me how to use it the way she does. Ann is a clever soul and with five kids to feed she has found every possible shortcut to making healthy food for her family. She uses the bread machine to do the mixing and kneading – a process she doesn’t have time for – then shapes and bakes it in a regular oven which she’s found results in better texture and taste.
I’ve been trying all sorts of flavors and styles and each one has turned out beautifully. It’s been especially nice when I’m unwell since I can just dump in ingredients, press the button, and rest until it’s ready to pop in the oven.
Now that I’m perking up a bit, I finally have time to share the rest of the photos from my trip to my friend’s goat farm. (You can read Part I here)
After a scrumptious lunch, we donned our wellies and with a herd of curious goats at our heels, headed down to the creek for a stroll.
My first visit to their farm was in January after devastating floods swept through uprooting trees and depositing mounds of mud and debris. (Click here to see photos of how it looked then).
I’m so happy to see what ten months of time, sunshine and Joe and Shirley’s hard work have done to turn that disaster into something beautiful once again.
The entire creek is like this now, water gurgling through towering trees with banks thickly carpeted with a tangle of wildflowers.
I love it here. 🙂
Now I think it’s time for a slice of fresh bread and butter and another cup of tea.
Do you have any tricks for making healthy food quickly?
It was downright chilly and windy yesterday, so I had to bundle up a bit for my late afternoon hike. It felt so wild and wonderful out there, the cold turning my cheeks red as I headed into the bush with Luna.
My artist friend Leslie has me on the lookout for a kangaroo skull to use in a piece she’s creating, so now I’m seeing bones all over the place! I think they are amazing things, especially bleached white by the sun, looking like their own pieces of art in a woodland setting.
Our comfort food treat this week was scones, fragrant vanilla oat ones topped with maple cream, plump cherries, and a scattering of pomegranate arils. Scones are lovely any day, but on wildly stormy dark ones, they’re perfection.
What is your favorite treat on a blustery day?
