Valentine’s Day 2015

We shared such a beautiful day together yesterday.  Will woke up early to cook the thickest, most delicious heart shaped chocolate pancakes.  Studded with chocolate chips, these rich pancakes reminded me of soft baked cookies, still warm from the oven.  We ate them with butter and a generous drizzle of pure maple syrup.  Piper and I also soon discovered a slew of Valentine’s Day goodies all wrapped up and nestled in glittering tinsel waiting on the table for us to open during breakfast.  After a morning filled with both leisure and excitement, we rushed through the house getting showered and dressed for our drive to Bee and Papa’s house.  Very generously, they watched Piper while the two of us spent a few hours in St. Pete.

Will and I enjoyed a long lunch together at Meze 119.  Our waiter was kind and attentive.  We shared an appetizer of roasted cauliflower florets and creamy dipping sauce.  Then, Will enjoyed a super house salad, dressed lightly and tossed with green and Kalamata olives and sundried tomatoes.  I sipped a spicy vegetable soup garnished with toasty strips of tortilla.  For our main, we both ordered falafel pitas stuffed with cucumber and tomato salad, shredded purple cabbage, Israeli pickles and thickly cut fries.   Oh, and several large, round, herby falafels, of course!  We ordered extra tahina to drizzle all over everything, and ate quietly and quite happily.  Our extra fries came with an awesome creamy hot sauce that sent little vinegary sparks across our tongues.  We shared a bowl of soy ice-cream for dessert, which came with crumbled sesame candy and pistachios that tasted better than the ice-cream itself.  Mmmm…

Afterwards, we enjoyed a lovers’ stroll through the colorful streets.  A Valentine’s Day race had people trotting by in wonderfully pink and sequined garb; some wore fluffy tutus, tinsel wigs, and bedazzled running shorts that read “I’m with Cupid.”  Still others actually dressed as Cupid, or ran in as little as their red and white Speedos.  A bit further down the road we ran into an indie market, where artists sold handmade knit hats, scented candles in sand encrusted coconut shells, and lots of vintage and bohemian clothing.  I came home with a button down dress and a blue and white striped shirt from a $5 trunk, and bought Will a green shirt from Ecuador.

He looked so handsome wearing it, especially later when he rolled his pant legs up a bit and ran along Ben T. Davis Beach chasing after Piper.  When Piper fell asleep in the car, we decided to drive over to the beach and look out upon the water and listen to the waves break.  Piper soon woke up, though, which was all the better because we wanted to enjoy the beach with her, too.  We felt satisfied running back and forth along the shore and building sandcastles, but let it be written that some brave young souls in bathing suits did jump in the icy water for a nippy swim that day.

How was your Valentine’s Day?

An encounter at the park on a quiet morning.

We took the wagon to the park this morning.  I packed two mason jars filled with homemade strawberry banana smoothies, and we set off through the neighborhood.  Today is a beautiful day; although it is windy, warm beams of sunlight would sometimes rest upon our skin when we found a particularly open area outside.  Once we truly started playing, we hardly needed our winter jackets.  The park was quiet, and for a while we were the only two there (except for the man who sometimes uses the equipment to exercise, and a few passersby).  Then suddenly, a moon-faced young boy–about six or seven years old–peered playfully over the rails atop the playground equipment.  Piper walked toward him, holding a stick she had taken interest in as some sort offering.  He came down and accepted without words, and the two began to play silently for the next several minutes.  For a while they parted, and the boy continued to play on his own.  A man walked down the path with a large orange dog.  We exchanged humble good-mornings before he addressed the boy in what sounded to my ears like fluent German.  I felt delighted inside; for one, I now knew why the boy was so quiet, and for another, we seemed to be having a very special adventure this morning, meeting by chance these friends from far away.  When I had the chance, I asked the man if he was from Germany.  To my surprise, the man emphatically told me that he was full-blooded American.  I thought for a moment I was having delusions, until he explained that the little boy was in his care this morning, and was part of his extended family.  I asked what language he was speaking earlier, and he answered, “Deutsch — German.”  I bent down a bit and looked at the boy standing patiently by his guardian and said, in quite horrible accent, “Guten tag!” and tried a “Wie geht’s?”, though the shy boy did not reply.  The man then asked me how I came to know any German, and I told him that I have some German ancestry, but I also used to work as a tutor in college, where I met many students from other countries.  We spoke as we pet the family’s large orange dog, and it gave us sloppy kisses with his long black tongue.  I was surprised to learn that the man shared my experience as a student of literature.  The little boy then showed the man a fresh cut on his knee, and they were about to go home.  I offered a quiet goodbye in German, and the little boy softly replied, “Auf wiedersehen!”  It felt like magic to form this bridge of communication, to acknowledge this child who seemed interested in us but did not know the words to say to speak with us.  The boy wanted to play a bit longer after that, so the man settled down into a park bench.  I wanted Piper to run along and play with this little boy, but just as we were about to walk over to the other playground equipment, the older man called out “So who is your favorite author?”  That question is always loaded, and I sometimes imagine people asking me, and wonder at what I will say in response.  I told him about my love for Thoreau’s Walden, and that I had recently read The Count of Monte Cristo, but admitted that I had been reading a lot of contemporary novels lately.  He mentioned that he enjoyed Robert Frost, and then said confidently, “I have a book that you should read.”  “What’s the title?” I asked, and he shouted from across the park “All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr”  “Foer?  Like Jonathan Safran Foer?”  He disregarded my rambling, and repeated again — this time gesturing toward the sky — “All the Light We Cannot See.”  Then he and the little boy left, without another goodbye.  Isn’t this all such a curious incident?  This brief encounter seems to have run deeper than a lot of interactions of a similar nature that I encounter from day to day, and so I wanted to share it.  Auf wiedersehen!

Snapshots on the eve of a new month.

Cherished children’s books and stories

I love reading time with Piper.  On dreary days especially, we like to climb into bed with a few baskets filled with our favorite stories.  I thought I would share a few titles with you here, as I know some of you have children, while others still are childlike at heart.

Favorite Winter stories (and a few dreaming of Summer stories, too)

One Snowy Night by M. Christina Butler and Tina Macnaughton

• A deep winter story about a little lost hedgehog and his friends Rabbit, Badger, and Fox.  I love the cozy illustrations of Rabbit’s warm home in the base of a tree.  Our copy is a touch-and-feel book as well; youngsters will enjoy the velvety softness of a certain red hat.

Caillou Makes a Snowman an adaptation of the animated series by Roger Harvey, with illustrations by Eric Sevigny.

• Piper loves Caillou, so we surprised her with this book for Christmas.  In this story, Caillou’s friend Sarah teaches him how to build a snowman.  I love being on this journey of discovery with Piper; at just over two years old, the world is still new for her, still fresh.  This story in particular is a reminder of the simple pleasures of childhood.

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening Robert Frost’s poem, beautifully illustrated by Susan Jeffers

• My sister gave Piper this wonderful book for Christmas.  The illustrations bring that enchanting, mystical quality of the woods to life and are sure to captivate both young and young-at-heart readers.  I’m grateful for Jeffers for making Frost’s poetry accessible to children.  This will be one we read even in later years, with Piper’s understanding of it growing as she herself does.

A Day at the Seashore by Kathryn and Byron Jackson, illustrated by Corinne Malvern

• Some of you may remember me buying this book before our fantastic beach adventure down in Sarasota a while back.  It has since become one of Piper’s cherished favorites, so much so that she has a lot of it memorized.  I love the classic illustrations (the book was first published in 1951).  This is the perfect book for a cold and dark winter’s day, when you’re most craving a trip to some warm, sunny beach.

Harry by the Sea by Gene Zion, illustrated by Margaret Bloy Graham

• Another classic beach story that will have you dreaming of Summer, Harry by the Seawas first published in 1965 and used to be one of my own favorites while growing up.  There’s no room for poor dog Harry under his family’s beach umbrella, so he sets out along the shore to find someplace cool to sit.  Instead, he ends up tangled in seaweed and confused for a sea monster.  This quirky adventure will keep you and your little one giggling as you read aloud such zany exclamations as, “Holy Smoke! — It’s a Bushy-backed Sea Slug!”

Favorite Classics

The Gingerbread Man told by Nancy Nolte, illustrated by Richard Scarry

• This one is another childhood favorite of mine that I picked up for Piper during Christmas.  This book is very easily read aloud, and provides many opportunities for little ones to chime in.  Piper and I both love Richard Scarry’s whimsical illustrations; Piper seems to find something new to look at each time we crack open the book.

Richard Scarry’s Best Mother Goose Ever, a collection of nursery rhymes illustrated by Richard Scarry

• Richard Scarry’s humorous depictions of classic rhymes will keep you and your little one smiling.  The collection includes all of your well-known favorites, as well as some that may be less familiar, such as the following:

As I was going to St. Ives,

I met a man with seven wives.

Every wife had seven sacks,

Every sack had seven cats,

Every cat had seven kits;

Kits, cats, sacks and wives,

How many were going to St. Ives?

The Twelve Dancing Princesses by the Brothers Grimm, retold by Diane Muldrow and illustrated by Fred Marvin

• This particular telling of The Twelve Dancing Princesses story is great for reading aloud.  It begins, “Come a little closer, and I will tell you about a king who had twelve lively and beautiful daughters.”  Muldrow’s engaging tone holds children’s attention throughout an otherwise rather long tale.  The story itself is a fantastic adventure, filled with a secret entrance that leads to a mysterious palace surrounded by trees glittered with silver, gold, and diamonds.

Eloise Wilkin Stories – Nine Beloved Classics (various authors)

• I fell in love with this collection while shopping for books for Piper during Christmastime.  Eloise Wilkin’s illustrations are so sweet, even a bit idealistic.  However, I so enjoy reading to Piper from this collection, and she so enjoys listening to the stories and looking through the pictures with me, that some days we almost make it through all nine stories in one sitting.  What I love about classic Little Golden Books are the various authors’ and illustrators’ abilities to portray the simplicity, innocence, and beauty of childhood.  This collection is no different–some of our favorite stories included are Busy Timmyby Kathryn and Byron Jackson, Guess Who Lives Here by Louise Woodcock, Wonders of Natureby Jane Werner Watson, and the Baby Listens and Baby Looks stories by Esther Wilkin.

Corduroy by Don Freeman

• Another sweetly illustrated book, this one about that beloved department store bear looking for his lost button.  Rather than finding his button, in the end he finds a friend (he has always wanted one of those).  Another childhood favorite of mine, perhaps because of the retro feel that I love so much.  The story is surprisingly adventurous, particularly the pages involving the night watchman.

Donald Duck and the One Bear A Turn-About Tale with no author or illustrator listed, unfortunately

• Donald and his nephews Huey, Dewey, and Louie are on their way to Daisy’s house while their pizzas cool on the counter.  While they are away, a very hungry bear climbs in through an open window and makes himself at home.  Upon their return, the ducks find themselves in a situation not at all unlike the beloved Goldie Locks and the Three Bears tale.  Piper loves this quirky story.  Perhaps Huey, Dewey and Louie remind her of her triplet cousins?

Madeline story and pictures by Ludwig Bemelmans

• If you have been following my blog very long, you know how much Piper and I love the Madeline story.  Now the both of us have it memorized, and when Piper sees crying babies she sometimes says “Cried and cried her eyes were red!”  I love to hear Piper tell me the story in her own way.

Favorite Garden/Nature Stories

The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter

• I have been reading The Tale of Peter Rabbit to Piper since she was just an infant, and she is finally beginning to enjoy the story.  Unlike his siblings Flopsy, Mopsy, and Cotton-tail, Peter is a naughty bunny with an appetite for grumpy Mr. McGregor’s garden produce.  When spotted snacking on radishes and the like by the old farmer, Peter must outrun him, or at least find a good hiding place.  No sooner does poor Peter escape the man than he realizes he’s lost in the large garden.  All ends well, though, with Peter safe at home at last, and in bed with a cup of chamomile tea.

Who is hiding in the Garden? a lift-the-flap board book, illustrated by David Crossley

• Piper enjoys peeking behind shells, plant pots, flowers, and grass to see what kind of critters are hiding in the garden in this sweet book that we bought for a few bucks at the bookstore.  Lift-the-flap books are a fun and interactive way to get children interested in reading.

Lily’s New Flower Hat this little board book unfortunately has no author or illustrator listed.

• Another cheap find from the bookstore, and merely a few pages, but we like it nonetheless.  Lily the littlest fairy has lost her flower hat and tries a few others on for size before the queen of the fairies gives her a crown of thistledown.

I hope this short list is of help to those of you who are looking for different books to read to your little ones.  They are the few stories that we are reading through lately, though I’m excited to explore the others in Piper’s collection as she begins to show an interest in different tales.  Reading time with Piper is truly one of my favorite parts of the day.  It’s a quiet activity, and super bonding.  Do you have any favorite children’s books?  What do your children like to read, or what did you like to read when you were a child?

In and around the house.

We have the windows open today to let the nippy January air freshen this stale house.  The sky is Florida blue and the sun pours into our rooms, splashing its light across the wooden floors, warming them.  This is the weather that brings vitality to our humble backyard garden.  I imagine the space a few months from now, blooming with flowers and heavy with Spring’s first harvest.  Until then, our seedlings gather strength, and perky baby lettuces relish the chilly air that comes before the coming season’s balm.

We planted a mix of greens, and this came up in our pot. Any ideas as to which lettuce we have growing?

The kitchen has been quiet lately, as we have all been sick.  Soft noodles, and plainly boiled honey gold potatoes were a treat for our healing stomachs.  Homemade hummus sits in the recesses of the refrigerator, uneaten for three days and perhaps destined for an unfortunate demise in the garbage bin.  A box of organic baby spinach sweats in its container, next to varying sized bottles of electrolyte drinks and applesauce.  I do need to sort it all out today.

Memories of healthier days

While Piper naps and during some evenings before we all sleep, I read a bit from Dubliners.  These short stories are my first experiences with reading Joyce.  They are only a few pages long, but are so thought provoking that I often reread passages and refer to the book’s introduction for an analysis of each story.  The collection offers an honest glimpse into the lives of the Irish middle class in the early 1900’s.  Also, an interesting movie (although somewhat graphic) about Joyce and his wife is titled Nora, with Ewan McGregor as James and Susan Lynch as Nora Barnacle.  The story The Dead in Dubliners is apparently inspired by Nora’s own experiences, though I have yet to read it as it is the final story in the collection.

That’s all that is new around here; I hope in a few days’ time we will have healed completely and have some better stories to share.

Happy New Year & The Hundred-Foot Journey

Happy New Year everyone!  I am curled up on the couch after having eaten my fill of chickpea salad sandwiches.  Piper is napping after a long morning filled with fluffy pancakes for breakfast, playtime at the park and a romp through the garden.  I’m somewhere between sleep and wakefulness; the house is all warmth and my toes are cushioned snugly inside the most comfortable new socks.  Naturally, I’m thinking about books.

For my birthday last month, Will bought me The Hundred-Foot Journey by Richard C. Morais.  The novel is an adventure that begins in Bombay, but takes the reader through London and eventually to a small village in France.  Hassan, the main character, suffers the devastating loss of his mother early on, and it is this loss that pushes his large family out into the world unknown.  In London he comes of age, but it is not until Hassan and his family reach the town of Lumiere in the French Alps that he truly begins to discover his calling as a chef.  His is a story both tragic and comic.  The passages throughout the book about his mother are poetic in nature; her character is brought to life through Hassan’s ethereal recollections of her.  On a lighter note, the conflict between Hassan’s father (also a cook) and his mentor-to-be Madame Mallory plays out in a series of hilarious, if not overly dramatic, events.  Many of their “best” fights take place in the town market, where each chef tries to assert his claim over the freshest produce.  Eventually, Hassan must make the hundred-foot journey over to the restaurant next door and begin to develop his culinary talent under the tutelage of Madame Mallory.  Morais treats the reader to some delicious food writing, and also offers an imaginative glimpse into the competitive world of French cooking, set during a time when the cuisine was changing.  As I’m sure is true in reality, the Michelin star becomes a source of underlying unhappiness in many of the character’s lives.  Remember Pixar’s Ratatouille, where Chef Gusteau dies shortly after learning he has lost a star, which prompts the restaurant to lose yet another star?  The end of the novel feels very much like this.  Yet, Hassan does succeed, even if he is still haunted by memories of his mother, the scents of Bombay, and the taste of home cooked Indian food that reminds him so much of family.

Garden update

Our garden is beginning to fill out again.  At the end of November, I started a few lettuces in small pots on the shady shelves outside.  Many of them sprouted, especially the Black Seeded Simpson.  Will transplanted the little seedlings, and they seem to have taken to their new homes already.  Our cilantro plants are large enough to pick from now.  We have four of them, and have already picked here and there from them to top our bowls of quinoa chili the other week.  I brought some Florida rosemary and a small pot of thyme home from the garden store last week as well, and they also took well to transplanting.  I missed having fresh herbs growing out back, as we had last year.  Perhaps not surprisingly, the tomatoes are beginning to sprout up again everywhere in the garden.  We have sorted through most of them and put the largest ones in cages already.  What I am happier about is the surprise borage plant that has taken up residence in one corner of the garden (it seems a bit out of season, but it must have self seeded), and the little head of broccoli hiding among its thick green foliage.  We have still been picking pole beans here or there, and thanks to Piper and her magic beans, we have kidney beans growing as well.  They have already formed pods, but we will wait for them to dry before we harvest them — probably much later in the season.  Piper’s sunflowers are also beginning to sprout again.  We planted them in a big pot this time, hoping to avoid some weeds.  Our radishes are tasty as ever, and they are perhaps my favorite thing to grow because they are so reliable and quick.  Still, I would love to have success in some other plants — but I think our soil needs a bit of TLC and some warmer weather, first.  That’s about all I can think of now, save for our little black racer that we see hiding sometimes in the hay next to the house.  Oh, and the horrible wasps that keep taking up residence in Piper’s play house, no matter how many times we knock their nests down and move the house around.  Any tips on that?

I’m off now to take care of a pot of chickpeas that has finished simmering.  I’m planning on a batch of hummus, and I’ll save the leftovers for falafel and stew on another day.

Christmas Eve Eve

All is mostly calm around here.  Little Piper is sitting on my lap snacking on pretzels while I get a quick post in.  We are steadily recovering from a cold we all caught last week.  For lunch we ate a kale salad with purple cabbage, capers, hazelnuts, and an avocado dressing from Judita Wignall’s book Raw and Simple.  I baked some gingerbread (from David Bowers’ Real Irish Food) while Piper napped.  Will finished off a thick cashew and hazelnut smoothie with banana, dates, warm spices and cacao chips from one of my favorite bloggers, Lane from Green Spirit Adventures.  If you are looking for new healthy recipes that will leave you feeling vibrant, certainly take a look at her blog.  I’ve tried a few of her recipes these past few days, while nursing my cold.  Just yesterday morning, Piper and I both enjoyed a bowl of vanilla kissed amaranth porridge with maca.  The night before, we ate a hearty chickpea and sweet potato stew, thickened with millet and more amaranth.  We also made hazelnut milk, and warmed it on the stove (as per Lane’s recipe) with turmeric, maca, ginger, vanilla, cacao powder, coconut milk, etc.  Well, it is play time now at the Wren’s Nest — Piper is eager for some fun.  We are looking forward to spending the next couple of days with our family, but for now I’m enjoying the (relatively) slow pace here at home.

Lunch

What are your plans tomorrow and the day after?  Have you tried enjoyed any particularly healthy meals lately?

Oh, and in case I don’t get on here sooner —

Merry Christmas :-)

Wren and family

Manatees

Last weekend we drove to Apollo Beach in search of manatees.  A Tampa Electric power plant right by the shore provides an unlikely refuge for the mammals during cold winter months.  Warm salt water flows from the discharge canal and back into Tampa Bay, thereby attracting manatees to its source.

We noticed the smoke stacks from the highway.  The manatee viewing center is literally a stone’s throw away from Tampa Electric’s Big Bend Power Station.  The building is impressive and anomalous.  Towering smoke stacks rise from their grassy plot on the earth and into the endlessly blue Florida sky.  Nearby, in cool gray waters, the gentle curves of several manatees’ backs break surface.  Smooth and dark like some river rocks, their skin shines in the sun.

The Manatee Viewing Center sometimes feels like an amusement park, though really it’s not.  What it is, in all actuality, is a bridge you climb and look across in hopes you’ll spot a manatee.  There’s a gift shop, and a learning center, and a few funny cartoon cut out stands where you can stick your head inside and take a photo as a manatee, but that’s about all.  Since we visited in November, we were fortunate enough to see many of these magical creatures.  They are truly captivating; I found myself staring out into their stillness several minutes at a time.  Sometimes they kiss, roll around, or flash their tails, but most of the time they are at rest.  Their faces are large and whiskered, with dark, deep set eyes that give them their gentle–almost sad–and altogether mysterious appearance.

Big Bend Power Station

More manatees

Each speck is another manatee.

Lately

Sounds of rainfall greeted us as we stumbled out of bed this morning.  The house appeared shadowy and dark all around, save for when a bolt of lightning streaked the sky in its transient fire.  I set last night’s leftovers on the stove, a soothing cauliflower and green bean curry with coconut milk and white rice that Will cooked.  The storm passed over while we cradled warm bowls in our hands and laps.

How many mornings have we enjoyed just like this?  In quiet times I can easily feel what usually comes in more fleeting moments–that is, a sense of connection and being.  I realize the cyclical nature of my life, the comings and goings of seasons, and I am filled with gratitude.

On Saturday we transplanted two large avocado trees that sprouted up in our compost.  One had been growing in a large pot, the other was in the ground already, though too close to the house.  The larger one seems to be having some difficulty adjusting to the transplant, but the smaller, younger one looks strong.  The trees look really beautiful in the yard.  Will dug up some soil from the compost for me, and I sat at our table looking over seeds and then planting them.  I’m hoping for Lavender, Calendula, and a few different lettuces.  I also planted more radishes, and even a couple of Fava beans.

Sunday we helped my parents put up some holiday decorations outside.  My aunt came over to make Sancocho.  I still cannot believe how quickly that woman can take the skins off a root vegetable.  The soup was very hearty, and included veg like boniato, malanga, yuca, green plantains, and chayote.  She grated the plantains and formed the pulp into balls, which she dropped into the soup.  They cooked into dense sort of dumplings.

Last week I did quite a bit of cooking myself.  I set the smoke alarms off when I tried to make sticky-buns, but had more success the following day when I baked up some little crackers for Piper using both vegan cheese and butter.  I adapted the recipe from Catherine McCord’s recipe for goldfish crackers in her Weelicious Lunches cookbook.  I also brought the Dutch oven down to cook an adzuki bean and squash stew one night, and cocoa-spiked chili to go over spaghetti another night.  Along the chocolate theme, I also baked double chocolate brownies with walnuts — and feeling overly indulgent, brought them over to my family’s house to share the next day.

I’ve been reading a few of your blogs, and see that so many of you are enjoying the season as well.  I’m inspired by all of your crafting, cooking, and baking.  Here’s to time spent with loved ones, in and around the kitchen table.

Wren