Thoughts

All that we are is the result of what we have thought.

The mind is everything.

What we think, we become."

-Buddha (563 - 483 B.C.)

How often do we take time to be silent and listen to inner most thoughts?

To say that what we think we become is very powerful and true. Our thoughts are our beliefs... think good ones.

That is your challenge today!

Esty Poster Shop!

I just love this poster shop of ESTY!

This designer has some wonderful designs and captions.

Growing up I had a lot of fun posters on my walls, Charlie Brown, Snoopy posters... dates me doesn't it?! But they were fun. Haven't really found any that were quite the same until I found this site.

I may just need to purchase this bicycle poster and put it in my office!

Self Portraits and Scrapbooks

Recently while doing a scrapbook of our spring break trip I got to thinking... why am I not in these photos? That's because I was always the one taking them! Sometimes when we were out I'd ask a stranger to take our photos together so I could remember when I'm old and gray that I did actually go on that trip too! I also want my kids to know that I am comfortable with who I am and not afraid of having my picture taken. So many people resist having their photo taken by themselves or in a group. Why is that? What are they trying to hide? We see them already. This summer remember that you went on that trip or were represented at the outing. Don't leave yourself out!

A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberg

A Homemade Life

by Molly Wizenberg

I am probably the last person to read this wonderful book. I had been following
the blog Orangette for sometime and Molly would refer to her book so I finally put it on hold at the library. It came in and I read it in three days.

This was a really wonderful read. I'm not very detailed on book reviews so I'll give my quick perspective. I think Molly has done her family proud. This book is destined to be a Wizenberg family heirloom. I just wish I had one in my family.

Molly takes you in and out of her relationships with her family, her mother, father, her Parisian boyfriend and eventually the future husband. The stories revolve around their relationships and food. Each chapter doesn't let you down...
at the end there is a recipe that you will have to try.

I found the chapters surrounding her father very touching... and I won't give the contents away but they are wonderful stories.

Molly has a knack with language and she draws you into her world and your reading just flows from one chapter to the next.

I'm just sorry I didn't purchase the book because there are too many recipes that I want to make and it would be easier if I was able to pull it down off the shelf when needed for a quick glance.

My kids are gone this weekend but when they get home,
Molly's "Winning Hearts and Minds Cake" will be waiting for them after dinner!

Rosemary Kissed Orange Thumbprint Cookies

Rosemary Kissed Orange Thumbprint Cookies Tuscano

I found this recipe in the April 2010 Better Homes and Garden Magazine and it was a $2500 winner in the Holiday Category and it was submitted by Mary Louise Lever from Rome Georgia.

I tried to find a link to the recipe on their site but nothing came up so I'll type below. With the Rosemary I got from the CSA last week I knew I had to try this cookie. They were very good!

Prep 30 min, bake 14 min. chill 1 hour. Oven 325 F

1 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup cornstarch

1 tsp snipped fresh rosemary

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup powdered sugar

a few drops of almond extract

1/4 cup orange marmalade

powdered sugar

1. In a small bowl stir together flour, cornstarch, rosemary and salt. set aside. In medium mixing bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed 30 seconds. Add 1/3 c powdered sugar and almond extract and beat until combined. Add flour mixture and beat until combined. Wrap and chill dough 1 hour or until easy to handle.

2. Preheat oven to 325 F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside. Shape dough in twenty-four 1 1/4 - inch balls. Arrange 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Use thumb to make indentations in each cookie. Spoon about 1/2 tsp. marmalade into center of each.

3. Bake 14 minutes or until edges are lightly golden. Coll 1 minute on cookie sheets. Remove and cool completely on wire racks. Sprinkle with additional powdered sugar to serve.

Makes 24 cookies!

First Day of Summer!

Today is the first day of Summer!

Longest day of the year, Summer Solstice, you name it!

Here at our home summer means two teenagers running in different directions, never home at the same time.

For me it's leaving notes on the kitchen counter before I leave for work instead of packing lunches.

We are still looking forward to some sunshine here in Seattle!

What will you do on the longest day of the year?

Think about it and go for it!

Swiss Chard, Yum!

On my way home from work this evening I picked up my CSA basket of wonderful vegetables.

In the basket was Rainbow Chard... yum! One of my favorites! Along was a recipe for a Swiss Chard Frittata. Since I could pick the herbs as well at the farm I had everything for a Friday evening dinner. Nice and light since we didn't eat until 8:30 pm! After baseball practice! I thought the recipe was so good that I wanted to share it with you.

Swiss Chard Frittata

1 onion

1 garlic clove, minced.

2 T olive oil

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp thyme

1/4 tsp rosemary

freshly ground pepper to taste

1 zucchini chopped

1 bunch of Swiss Chard chopped

1 green bell peper, chopped

mushrooms sliced

5 eggs

1 c. shredded cheddar or grated parmesan cheese

In a 9 or 10: cast iron skillet, saute onion and garlic in olive oil with salt, basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary, and freshly ground pepper for 5 min. Add zucchini and Swiss chard leaves. If desired add green bell pepper and sliced mushrooms. Beat 5 eggs and shredded cheddar or Parmesan cheese. Turn heat up in frying pan. Pour egg-cheese mixture over veggies. Place pan in the oven at 400 degrees and cook for 12- 15 minutes, or unit it sets.

I have to tell you this was really very good.

I have to give credit where credit is due. They copied it out of a cookbook, and don't know the title but at the end of the recipe it says:

Anne Morgan

Lakes and Valley CSA/ Midhaven Farms

Park Rapids, MN

Thank you Anne!

In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan

In Defense of Food

An Eater's Manifesto

by Michael Pollan

I have to say this is some book and would be very difficult to recap in a paragraph. If you are interested in how our western diet has evolved and the progression from whole foods to processed foods than this is a very comprehensive book.

In some respects I was very disturbed by what I read and it really made me think about what I now purchase at the grocery store. The book is due today at the library and as I run thru the pages to recapture some information for the blog I wish that I had time to read it again as I read some portions that are great to read again.

Michael goes to say

" A hallmark of the Western diet is food that is fast, cheap, and easy. Americans spend less than 10 percent of their income on food; they also spend less than a half hour a day preparing meals and little more than an hour enjoying them"

" Foods have long been processed in order to preserve them, as when we pickle or ferment or smoke, but industrial processing aims to do much more than extend shelf life. Today foods are processed in ways specifically designed to sell us more food by pushing our evolutionary buttons- our inborn preferences for sweetness and fat and salt. Tastes great,less filling! could be the the motto for most processed food , which are far more energy dense than whole foods: They contain much less water, fiber and micro nutrients, and generally much more sugar and fat, making them at the same time, to coin a marketing slogan, " More fattening, less nutritious! "

Michael's number on rule: If you grandmother wouldn't recognize the food... don't eat it!

Another wonderful quote from the book:

" Is it a coincidence that as the portion of our income spent on food has declined, spending on health care has soared? In 1960 Americans spend 17.5 percent of their income on food and 5.2 percent of national income on health care. Since then, those numbers have flipped: Spending on food has fallen to 9.9 percent, while spending on health care has climbed to 16 percent of national income. "

Don't you think that spending a little more on healthier food would reduce the amount we spend on health care?

In his last chapter of his book he gives us tips on how to make healthier choices in the types of foods we eat and how we consume our food!

One last mention that stuck with me in the book. He mentions that gas stations are for fueling up your car... not you! How much garbage is sold in those stores attached to the gas station? And yet we see people there every day picking up lunch, snacks, or heaven forbid... energy drinks!

This is a must book to get your hands on.... You can read it cover to cover but then it's perfect to also go back and reference certain sections.

Thursday- Color

Thursday, a dreary morning here in the Pacific Northwest and we all anxiously are awaiting summer. We wonder if it will ever come? Usually after the fourth of July. So... I felt like I needed a little bit of color to get me going this morning! These pictures were taken on a recent trip to Central Oregon.

The candy photo was taken at Powell's Candy Shop in Bend Oregon and the fabric and yarn was taken at The Stitchin Post in Sister's Oregon. Both great vacation destinations.

A Weekend of Baseball In Wenatchee

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It's that time of year! End of school and lots of baseball. This weekend a tournament in Wenatchee. Lots of sun and baseball. Hopefully cooking and reading soon!

Farm Chicks Weekend!

This last weekend was all about the Farm Chicks Show in Spokane Washington! If you love antiques, shopping, and being around very creative women this is the show for you! We shopped until we dropped on Saturday and then again Sunday morning before heading back to Seattle. Took too many pictures to post them all. Spokane is a very happening city with lots of shops and great restaurants! We are definitely looking forward to our trip next year with additional spots to see on our list! Might just need to make it a longer weekend.

Now or Never

Now or never!

You must live in the present,

launch yourself on every wave,

find your eternity in each moment."

-Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)

Lately I've felt that instead of launching myself in a wave it's been a hurricane instead!

Too much going on at the end of the school year!

Hope your June got off to a good start.