I have been walking the lake early each morning before the sun rises, while the street lamps are still lit. The past few mornings have felt overwhelmingly balmy, and I was beginning to think I lost a bit of my punch. However, I found this morning that the humidity broke; I could breathe and move… Continue reading Humid memories
I sit with my afternoon coffee on the front porch on another slow April Sunday. Will rides his bike through the neighborhood while the children watch Clifford the Big Red Dog on television. A car door slams shut, birds chirp everywhere, and I smile to myself as I imagine Will chuckling quietly upon reading more… Continue reading Peace, Love, and Sourdough
Last week Piper helped me bake a loaf of Irish soda bread, and we ate it alongside creamy white bowlfuls of cauliflower soup. Will cut the bread into thick slices. We buttered them generously, and I put out a jar of orange marmalade as well. The bread recipe is Ina Garten’s, found here. When we… Continue reading Food and poetry
I have been cultivating a sourdough starter for the past week. I am following King Arthur Flour’s method (found here) that begins with setting out some whole wheat flour and water for 24 hours, and eventually leads to feeding 4oz of starter 4oz of water and 4oz of flour. The process seems easy enough, but… Continue reading Early April Kitchen Notes
Just boiled eggs are cooling in a bowl on the kitchen counter, waiting to be turned into salad for lunch. I’m on the front porch desperately trying to fit in a moment of writing. My mug filled with coffee warmed over a second time on the stove, let’s try this again. Rowan is barefoot on… Continue reading Life in quarantine
Grocery stores have been hit or miss lately, as people have been stocking up on all sorts of things to prepare for a long time spent at home. Fortunately, we have been able to find enough for our family between sourcing from grocery stores and the farmers in town. With that said, I have been… Continue reading Late March kitchen notes
I’m sitting on the front porch looking out on the last streaks of sunlight fading over the lake. The street lights cast a warm glow across the water, and the peaceful sounds of a long day coming to an end can be heard in the form of soft laughter, contented sighs, and quiet chatter. They… Continue reading Notes on a Friday evening
Tuesday we ate fish sticks and salad for dinner with homemade dressing. Afterward, the children perched over the table as I gathered ingredients to make strawberry crumble. We followed the recipe from the illustrated children’s cookbook Lunch at 10 Pomegranate Street by Felicita Sala. Piper sliced through two boxes worth of local strawberries, and Rowan… Continue reading Strawberry crumble and cinnamon roll dreams.
Rowan and I walked to the library this morning. We listened to the birds and felt a light drizzle of raindrops fall from the gray sky onto our skin. It was otherwise very quiet out, which is unusual for our neighborhood. We spoke in whispers and strolled into the coffee shop before returning our books.… Continue reading Monday Notes
In The Kitchen Last week our kitchen was filled with nourishing meals like a garden kale, sweet potato and chickpea skillet, one pan caramelized Brussels sprouts with bacon and onion, and a quinoa salad with roasted butternut squash, chickpeas, parsley and currants. As the weekend approached, our meals became whatever we could throw together —… Continue reading Late January Notes
