reflections

Well, somehow the end of another year has come, which means it's time to slow down, take a step back, and think about what life has brought over these past 365 days. There's something so beautiful about the way the years of our lives are made up of cycles...the seasons, the ups and downs, the joys and the sorrows, the lessons learned. We begin every new year thinking we know who we are and what we're about, and somehow believing we have an idea of where we're headed, but things never turn out the way we expect. It's really almost a little ridiculous that we even have the audacity to try and see into the future with any kind of certainty. Looking back on the things I was anticipating, planning, and dreaming about one year ago, it makes me smile...I had no idea what 2012 was going to bring. No idea.

And gosh, it's been quite a year. So much I never expected...but it's been so good.

I'm just so thankful...for so many things. I don't even know how or where to start. The blessings I see every day are more numerous than I could even begin to acknowledge.

So I'm going to relive and reflect on these last seasons of my life through pictures. Some of my favorites from this last year. Here they are.

 And finally, I can't even express my gratitude to all of the wonderful people in my life, just for being who they are. I'm surrounded by such fantastic people...I love you guys. 

Bring on 2013. I'm ready.




"Trust in the LORD with all your heart, 
And lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths."
   Proverbs 3:5-6

chickpea and potato curry

Today it is raining. It's a cold rain, not the kind you want to go out and twirl around in, but rather the kind that makes you want to make tea, put on warm slippers, and curl up under a blanket. And you know, as much as I love the sunshine, sometimes the rain is just as good--it's what the soul needs.

October rain, cozy rain, reminds us that sometimes what we need is just to rest. To stay in, to spend time with music and books, to play in the kitchen, to write, to fall asleep in a chair, to take extra time. October rain has a smell, a feeling...kind of like the smell of woodsmoke from a campfire or fireplace. It makes you want scarves, flannel, and long socks.

late-harvest bounty from the Mill City Farmer's Market. gorgeous.

Today, today the rain feels so good. It feels so great to rest. Honestly, these past few months I've become a person who is very good at taking time to rest--it's something I really think I need to work on, as absurd as that may sound. A state of stillness is not one that my mind or body is accustomed to. I'm always up to something, needing to be moving, seeing, doing. Today, though, I'm going to stay in my pajamas and drink chai. I'm going to be creative, sing out loud, and bake something with cinnamon...because, after all, chai and cinnamon = comfort. Just like curry.

This curry recipe is one that I actually got from a professor at Augustana, where I spent four years as undergrad. He and his wife were both science teachers, and both so invested in their students...really great people. I think this curry, served at a late-summer get together before my senior year of college, was the first I'd ever tasted--Dr. Matzner's famous curry. It was delicious, and I've adored curries ever since. And in the cold months of the year, especially on days like these, they are just what the body needs.

Dr. Matzner's Chickpea Curry

Curries are awesome. They are so flavorful...and so versatile, not to mention that many of them involve coconut milk, which is one of my all-time favorite ingredients. Also, don't skip the fish sauce--and don't be afraid of it! Fish sauce is one of the things that can separate a curry that is fine from one that is amazing--it adds a depth of flavor you don't get from salt alone, and it's a common ingredient in many Indian and Asian dishes. Believe me on this one!

2-3 cloves of garlic
1/2 tsp whole peppercorns
2 tbsp coconut oil
1 can (14oz) coconut milk
1 tbsp yellow curry powder
2-6 potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 can diced tomatoes
2 dried chiles
10 basil leaves
2 tbsp fish sauce
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar


Grind garlic and peppercorns together to form a paste.

Heat oil briefly and add paste. Stir quickly and add coconut milk; stir to combine. Add all remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Simmer til potatoes and chickpeas are cooked al dente (about an hour on the stove, or a few in the crockpot). Serve over aromatic rice (like basmati or jasmine).

ALSO, curry is one of those things that is better the next day...so if you can handle letting it sit in the fridge overnight before you eat it, it'll be even more delicious.

Thanks Dr. M,
--ginger

kale chips with chili and parmesan + autumn

Just a few words today--first, on food. We made some kale chips, which are awesome, delicious, and so good for you. ALSO, it's almost ridiculous how easy they are. You should try them...we spiced ours up with chili and a little parmesan, but you could be creative and flavor them any way you'd like. Salt + vinegar? Cumin + lime? Cinnamon + chipotle? Endless possibilities! They really are good!

In other news, Fall is here, and it has been stunning. We are surrounded by such beauty...it overwhelms me sometimes. But I don't need to say any more. I'll let my pictures speak for themselves.

She liked anything orange:  leaves; some 

moons; marigolds; chrysanthemums; cheese; 

pumpkin, in pie and out; orange juice; 

marmalade. Orange is bright and demanding.

You can't ignore orange things.

-Catherynne M. Valente

kale chips with chili & parmesan

1 bunch of kale
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp sea salt
finely grated parmigiano reggiano

Preheat the oven to 350 and line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or foil.

Trim the tough stems from the kale and discard. Cut or tear the leaves into large chip-sized pieces and place in a large bowl. Add the olive oil, toss once, add chili powder and salt, and toss again. Spread the kale on the baking sheets in a single layer, put in the oven, and bake til the edges are just beginning to brown, around 10 minutes. Be sure to keep an eye on them though, they can burn quickly! When they're done, remove them from the oven and sprinkle them with the grated parm. Either let cool or devour. Mmmmm...

ahhh...I'll never be able to get enough. Beautiful.

guest post: fall fennel salad

This is a guest post from my friend Hannah, a fellow foodie and lover of earthy things. She's got so much creative energy I can hardly stand it, and she's another one of those rare people who will geek out about vegetables and dirt and nutrition with me. You can visit her over at her blog www.landfoodlife.com. Thanks Hannah!

While I profess to love vegetables, there are some that I would never buy for myself. And for better or for worse, those very vegetables regularly turn up in my CSA share from Mhonpaj's Garden. Last week it was fennel.

they look so relaxed

 Fennel's strong licorice flavor of has never pleased me. The last time I had to prepare its swollen leaf base, I roasted it with a mess of other vegetables for a Build-Your-Own-Pizza dinner.

that fennel in the upper right corner looks appetizing, does it not?

But it just could not compete with the other, far more delicious options, and was tough to boot. So when I got four bulbs in the last delivery, I sighed, and asked my sister-in-law if she wanted some. "I'm not sure," she said. "If you can tell me of a good way to make it, sure. My previous experiences with it left a lot to be desired."

Those words inspired me to take up the gauntlet once again. Luckily, a relative had sent me a copy of Mollie Katzen's Vegetable Dishes I Can't Live Without, which has several intriguing fennel recipes. I picked the only one without citrus (!), made a few modifications, and served it up.

"This is really good," my dinner partner said. Not once, not twice, but three times he gave this approbation.

I liked it, too. Crunchy, salty, savory, and sweet, this salad has it all.

fennel salad with apples, figs, and cheese

Fall Fennel Salad

adapted from Mollie Katzen's Vegetable Recipes I Can't Live Without

Yield: 4 servings.

2 fennel bulbs, very thinly sliced (about 2 cups)

scant 1/2 cup kalamata olives, quartered

6 dried Black Mission figs, slivered

1 Cortland apple, very thinly sliced (about 1 1/2 cups)

2 T olive oil

1+ T apple cider vinegar

Salt, to taste

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1/2 cup sliver almonds, toasted

1/4 cup shaved Romano cheese

In a medium-sized bowl, toss together the fennel, olives, figs, and apples. Drizzle in the olive oil and apple cider vinegar and toss until everything is coated. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and toss again. Taste, adjust the flavors, then cover and refrigerate up to one hour.

Just before serving, sprinkle some more apple cider vinegar to taste and add the almonds and cheese shavings. Toss lightly but thoroughly, and serve immediately.

sweet & spicy oven-roasted chickpeas

With the beautiful fall weather we've been having these past few weeks has come a renewed desire to spend time in the kitchen--and I'm quite certain it has something to do with the arrival of the cool weather, but it also seems like maybe life is slowing down just a little bit, and there is more time for just sitting and sipping warm things and reading. More time to spend stirring, roasting, smelling, and tasting. Almost like the cool weather is a small reminder to take a step back, put on a sweater, and remember what it feels like to relax. Gosh it feels good.

I'm not sure if life really does slow down in the fall, that could be completely counterintuitive, given that school starts again, and vacations are over, but there is certainly something to be said about the comfort of routine and warm slippers. Or maybe it's just because I adore this season so much...so I somehow make myself more present. Not sure. Either way, I want to cook. Lots of things.

Now concerning these chickpeas, I've admittedly never been a big 'bean' person. Might be the texture?My mom never served beans when I was growing up, save for the occasional baked ones from a can, which are not awesome, let's be real. Having given beans more than a few chances on my own, I still can't say that I'm sold on them...I don't want beans on my burrito at Chipotle, wrinkle my nose at cold bean salads, and am more or less terrified of the refried variety. I do love hummus, which may be the exception, but the relationship really stops there.

Now beans can be a great source of protein and fiber, especially if they're prepared well, and they are dirt cheap, especially if you buy the dried kind in bulk, so they actually are pretty great. They are most easily digested and utilized by the body when you take the time to pre-soak them before cooking. Beans contain an array of important minerals in addition to their fiber and protein, so they really are an excellent thing to include in your diet. It's just a matter of making them attractive to the palate...

Claire's acorn squash she roasted with garlic and jalapeños...awesome.

Enter my beautiful friend and fellow Spanish-speaking-artsy-food geek, Claire. The girl knows a thing or two about making good food, oh yes. I got to spend the afternoon playing in her kitchen the other day, and it was fantastic. I'm so lucky. I learned so much, and the time we spent was just lovely. These oven-toasted chickpeas are simply a revelation. They are so good. Ooh, and so easy! The sweet and spicy variation was what we went with this time, but you can really use any combination of spices, sweet or savory, tangy or spicy. They get crispy and chewy and salty and sweet...mmmm. Fabulous for snacking...and maybe even sharing. Thanks Claire, you're an inspiration :)

sweet & spicy oven-roasted chickpeas

You can use either canned chickpeas or those you cook yourself. For maximum nutritional benefit, pre-soak dried beans with a splash of vinegar, and cook them in boiling water. If you go for the canned ones, no worries, two 15-oz cans should equal roughly 4 cups. 

4 tablespoons olive or coconut oil
4 cups cooked chickpeas
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper*
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

If you're using canned chickpeas, drain them in a colander and give them a good rinse. Put them in a large bowl, add the olive or coconut oil and the next four ingredients and toss everything together really well--it works best when you use your hands, in my opinion.

Spread the chickpeas on a large baking sheet, and make sure there is enough room so they're not crowded--you want them to get crispy! You may also want to use foil on your baking sheet to help with the cleanup...just a suggestion of course.

Bake them in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes, giving them a good shake after about 10 minutes, and making sure to keep an eye on them--they get toasty fast!

Try not to eat them all before they're cool, they get even better when they're more crispy!

*Like I mentioned, you can do whatever you want with the spices here. The next batch I make is probably going to have some curry spices and maple...just saying, you can go so may directions--be creative!

"we cannot cure the world of sorrows, but we can choose to live in joy."
-joseph campbell

--ginger

muffuletta

Not only has it been forever since I've written anything on here, it seems like it has been an eternity since I have had a minute to sit and take a breath and think, or just be. It's funny how life can get so full sometimes that you start to lose yourself if you're not careful...it's a dangerous spiral downward, and one that is so consuming that you don't realize what's happened until you've been sucked in and who you were starts to slip away. Priorities shift, and things that were important are all of a sudden disregarded or forgotten, like the people who matter, the hikes in the woods, the sunsets, the ability to take time and just rest. These are important things--the things whose significance or place should never waver, and I think I've really finally started to understand why.

It has been a great summer, but I think it's time to slow down a little, now that fall really is on it's way. It's time to remember and re-discover the things that make this life beautiful...time to find my creativity again. So here we go.

This post has been a very long time coming--it's not going to be current in really any way, but that's okay. I'm actually going to write about a wonderful trip I took earlier this year to southern California to visit one of my very favorite people in the world. Alyssa has lived in Pasadena for the past two years, and I finally had an opportunity to go out and visit her and see her world. The trip was lovely, refreshing and relaxing and just so good. Southern California is beautiful--there are flowers everywhere, just growing as they please, the sun shines nearly every day, and there are always peaches at the farmers market. I've always found that nothing renews my appreciation of God's creation quite like traveling. It is so amazing to see the different parts of the country and the world, and see how different nature can be. There is so much to see, so much to be in awe of. I had the sweet opportunity to go off on my own for a day and explore, so I headed to Santa Monica, got on Highway 1 and just started driving. The Pacific coast is gorgeous...the ocean is stunning. I could sit on the beach and watch the waves for days, I think. It's crazy to think just how big the ocean is. Made me feel so small.

This has been lengthy already, I know, and I apologize. I'll get to the part about the food soon, I promise. To preface that, though, the reason I had a day to myself during my "visit-Alyssa" time was because she had planned to spend that day with her man, to celebrate their anniversary. I'm not one to mess with love, so I had no trouble giving her up for such an occasion. I love being on my own sometimes anyway, so it was perfect. They had an entire day planned, and Alyssa had informed me that a picnic on the beach was one of the things they were going to do...so of course I asked her if she'd let me make them a picnic lunch. Luckily she trusts me.

I don't remember everything that made it into the picnic basket, but what I will share is the sandwich I made for Alyssa and Nathaniel--something called a muffuletta. He loves olive tapenade, and for some reason I knew that was one of the defining characteristics of a muffuletta, so I think that might have been where the idea came from. I had never made or eaten one before, it was just something that I had apparently tucked away in my mind along with the rest of my random food-geek knowledge. The sandwich used an entire loaf of sourdough bread, lots of tapenade, and plenty of meat, cheese, and arugula. It was gorgeous, and it was really easy to cut into wedges and wrap in foil for the picnic basket...I'm totally making this for a picnic sometime. Oh, and if I remember right, they liked it quite a bit. I think I might get another chance at making them dinner sometime...I sure hope so. I'd love to go back for a visit.

Muffuletta
recipe adapted from Giada De Laurentiis

You can be awesome and make your own tapenade from scratch, but since I wasn't in my own kitchen, I opted for the pre-made Trader Joe's stuff, which was still really great. Just saying, there's always the option if you're feeling ambitious.

Ingredients

1 (1lb) round bread loaf, preferably sourdough
4 oz thinly sliced ham
4 oz thinly sliced mortadella
4 oz thinly sliced salami
4 oz sliced provolone
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
arugula leaves
prepared olive tapenade

Cut the top part of the bread off (about the top 1-inch or so) and set aside. Hollow out the bottom and top halves of the bread loaf to make room for all of the goodness. Spread plenty of tapenade onto the bottom of the bread and also onto the cut side of the bread top. Layer the meats and cheese at least twice in the bread bottom. Top it off with the onions, arugula, and more of the tapenade.

Carefully replace the top of the bread loaf and either refrigerate or cut into wedges immediately for serving. I think the sandwich might actually get a little better with time as the oils from the tapenade have a chance to soak into the bread a little bit. Either way, enjoy!

"Blessed are they who see beautiful things in humble places, where others see nothing."
--Camille Pissarro