The Winning Ticket

I put all the names in a bowl, and Joseph's nimble fingers pulled out "Suburban Prep" as the winner of the giveaway. I'll be contacting you by email shortly. Thanks to all who participated. Wishing you a day in which many treasures come your way.

Silly Dog Saturday

My Mom recently sent me a link that has had me giggling every time I've thought about it since. It's silly and involves a big dog... works for me! My favorite part comes close to the end, so don't give up on it. It may not be terribly high tech-- you can hear the videographer laughing throughout, but I'm right there with her. I've been admiring the primroses that other bloggers have shown, and picked one up yesterday. It says it's a perennial, but I suspect it's a tender perennial. More research is in order. You've got a few more hours to enter the giveaway if you haven't already. Just go right here. I'll announce the winner tomorrow.

Fresh Food

I don't know about everyone else, but right about now every winter, I'm craving some good, fresh food. I used to buy broccoli slaw & compost my broccoli stems, then decided that was pretty silly, so have been making my own. Last night, I grated a couple of small carrots-- one yellow, one orange, 3 peeled broccoli stems, and 2 small sunchokes. For the dressing, I used 1 tbs mayonnaise, 2 tsp apple cider vinegar, and 2 tsp agave nectar. It turned out pretty good, and colorful, and made just enough for 2 people. It's pretty flexible. Use what you like & have on hand. I can see kohlrabi, apple, red or green cabbage working well. Any natural sweetener will work, though I'd start out with 1 tsp honey or sugar, or 5 drops of stevia, and adjust to taste. Be creative. The more colors the merrier, giving you a broader range of nutrients.

I saw a post I could relate to this week. One of the things Christina said was that handmade goods have a certain quality that mass-produced goods don't. I think I've always felt this way. Never been one for "unecessary plastic objects", as Nanci Griffith so aptly says. It may be one of the reasons I settled in this area, around so many who make their living fashioning things out of the earth. There's a soul to things that someone has created with their heart and hands. It feels good to have those things in my home, and to support those who make their living creating them.

Winter Gardening

I fixed some favorite winter foods for dinner last night. Grandma's Pumpkin soup, bread and a Winter salad. The soup recipe came from Jackie Clay of Backwoods Home magazine. My pumpkin/winter squash harvest has always been good here, but I've never loved a pumpkin soup recipe before this one. The soups were edible, but left me wishing I'd made pie instead. This one's wonderful, and pretty to boot. We had dinner guests not long ago, one of whom didn't care for pumpkin soup. Well, um, he asked for seconds. The Winter salad was the creation of my ex-husband, and it's a keeper. Lots of zesty flavors, which is sometimes just what is needed in the depths of winter. I grow a blend of greens in my cold frame through the winter. In these parts, they call it Grandpa's salad mix. It's a blend of a dozen or so winter greens; several mustards, kales, rape/canola... I get it at the local feed & seed, and ask them to blend mine a little heavier on the kales. Oh, I almost forgot. I also made the Buttermilk Apple Cake posted by Rhonda on down-to-earth . We're feeling pretty fat and happy! If you haven't entered the giveaway, go here.

Grandma's Pumpkin Soup

2 tbs vegetable oil

1 minced onion

1 minced sweet pepper (I used frozen from last year's garden)

3 cloves crushed garlic

2 c cooked, pureed pumpkin

1/4 tsp curry powder

1/4 tsp ground cumin

2 c stock

1 c cream (more or less to suit you)

salt & pepper to taste

In a large pot, heat oil & saute vegetables until soft. Add pumpkin & spices, and saute until aroma is released from curry & cumin. Add stock & cream. Heat through. Double for company.

There really isn't a recipe for Winter salad, & it's a little different everytime, but always good. You'll need:

a large bunch of winter greens

the best olive oil you've got 

feta cheese

oil-cured olives (we've been using black Provencal herb from the local coop instead recently)

lots of garlic, pressed or minced finely (maybe 6 cloves,or to your taste)

Wash & tear greens into bite sized pieces & drizzle with some olive oil to moisten (it helps things mix better). Mix olive oil, feta (break into small pieces if needed)and garlic in small bowl.

Pour over greens & mix well. Throw in a good handful or two of olives & mix. Tastes best if allowed to sit a bit, allowing the greens to wilt a little.

More Blooms and What Makes Me Happy

The amaryllis is having it's second round of blooms. My newest one is sending up a bud too. I'm looking forward to seeing what it looks like. Carolyn, in Rose Notes tagged me to list 10 things that make me happy:

a cup of strong black tea
big dogs
a good book
falling asleep to the sound of the surf
seeing the chickens run when I let them out for the day
cashmere socks
seeing the twinkly lights on when I drive up
meeting a friend for a glass of wine
the sound of the peepers down at the creek
planting flowers in the sweet-smelling earth

Now I'm picking:

Meredith
Anne
Jennie
Kiki
Jen
Catherine
Lesley
Jan
Chloe
June

So, consider yourself tagged. Pick 10 things that make you happy, & pass it on to 10 more. For all I couldn't pick, what's making you happy today? And if you haven't been by already, make a comment to enter my giveaway.

It's Time for a Giveaway

I've been having such fun creating lately, I wanted to share some of my new products. Too, in these often cold, gray days of winter (for many of us), I thought a little pick-me-up was in order. So, the giveaway will include a set of Lavender Bath Melts and a Wake Up & Smell the Coffee soap set. All you need to do to enter is leave a comment. It'll be a random pick. The giveaway will end the night of Sat., 2/27. I'll post the winner on Sunday. Please check in on Sunday, and leave your address if you're the winner.

Ugly Soap

I made an ugly batch of soap yesterday. I'd been wanting to try another batch of Kitchen Thyme & another using vegetable glycerine leftover from the biodiesel process. I've been tweaking both recipes, but thought I'd figured out the problem with both, so decided they'd be a good match. Well, the soap seized, which means it very quickly gets too thick to pour. I patted it into the mold, & had to hand cut this batch, just like I always did up until last year. On a happy note, it's the first batch of the Kitchen Thyme that hasn't separated. It smells delicious & will be perfectly usable soap. But pretty... not so much.