Andrew Bird featuring Dianogah – “Lull”

I’m all for moderation
But somtimes it seems
Moderation itself can be kind of extreme

Andrew Bird is awesome, and I especially love the stop-motion animation in this video.  Beautiful.

Happy July everyone!

I’m all for moderation
But somtimes it seems
Moderation itself can be kind of extreme

(yes, that is high school musical paper towel under the banana chips. and it’s awesome.)

glastonbury

Blur is  back. sigh…….. wish i was there. will have to settle for listening them on the radio tonight and watching them online. not the same, but what can you do?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/glastonbury/2009/lineup/

Chocolate-Coconut Ice cream

To celebrate our 4yr anniversary, I surprised Noah with a chocolate flavoured coconut ice cream. It’s dairy-free and only uses a few tablespoons of honey for a sweetener.

For the cream:

• 2 cans full fat coconut milk
• 6 eggs
• pinch of salt
• 4 tablespoons of honey (more or less to taste)
• 2 heaping tablespoons of cocoa powder (I used green & blacks)
• tablespoon vanilla
• teaspoon of nutmeg
• chocolate chunks (optional)

In a medium bowl, mix the honey, salt and cocoa powder into a paste, add the eggs and mix well.   Heat the coconut milk in a saucepan on medium heat.  When warm, pour it slowly on to the egg/honey mixture, a little bit at a time and whisking constantly (to prevent the eggs curdling).  Pour that mix back into the saucepan and reduce heat, add vanilla and nutmeg and keep stirring until the cream coats the back of a spoon.  Pour back into medium bowl, and cool in the fridge for about an hour.

That’s your base.  At this point you could throw it in an ice cream machine (lucky you!). Or go about it the low-tech, primitive way, but warning–this will take a few hours and you might eat quite a bit of the cream on it’s way to becoming iced. siiigh.  When the ice cream is almost solid and scoopable, add in the chocolate chunks or any other toppings/fillings you might like.  David Lebovitz has a great tutorial for making ice cream without a machine here.

Horatio and the Princess of Lilliputtia. On the set of Gulliver’s Travels.

 

Horatio and the Princess of Lilliputtia. On the set of Gulliver’s Travels., originally uploaded by –Barbara–.

free publicity for the Gulliver’s Travels adaptation, filming now in Greenwich. It will be out next summer. They have been using the old royal naval college and noah’s school grounds for shots of Lilliputia. Jack Black wil be the digital giant, we didn’t see him, but my friend met him and got a photo with him. Lucky her! Emily Blunt was very sweet, and Jason segel was in Freaks & Geeks, so he’s awesome in my book.

//starstruck.

pancetta and leek frittata; I <3 the allium family

 

frittata, originally uploaded by –Barbara–.

I love frittatas. like a crustless quiche– but even quicker to throw together.
This one is just fried pancetta, leeks, garlic and spring green onions. 6 organic eggs, scrambled, mixed with the goods, s+p and baked in a hot oven for a half hour. If you can tolerate dairy, top with parmesean cheese, and you’ll get a delicious crispy top.

—–

My mom is in town, and it is wonderful. It’s been 18 years since she has last been to London, we are going to revisit some of the places she took me as a young girl, and now with my daughter. What a treat.

the colors of england

red and white might be the nation’s colors…. but green, grey and blue are what come to my mind when thinking of the landscape. okay, maybe a little golden sunshine here and there…(but not too much ;)

i dwell in possibility

I dwell in Possibility–
A fairer House than Prose–
More numerous of Windows–
Superior–for Doors–

Of Chambers as the Cedars–
Impregnable of Eye–
And for an Everlasting Roof
The Gambrels of the Sky–

Of Visitors–the fairest–
For Occupation–This–
The spreading wide my narrow Hands
To gather Paradise–

–Emily Dickinson

tomato & egg spelt tart

I tried doing some pastry making for the first time yesterday… and it was a success! a very delicious one.  I used wholemeal spelt flour, and sunflower spread (a dairy-free margarine type thing), and the tart turned out light and flaky. perfect.

Here is the “recipe” I emailed to my mom yesterday… don’t want to bother with rewriting it when I should be cleaning!!

i dont know the exact recipe– i just made it up as I went along lol! umm.. .maybe a cup and half of flour, half a cup of fake butter, maybe a 1/3 cup of ice water and a pinch of salt.  mix flour and butter in a large bowl with a fork, so it looks like bread crumbs, and then add a little water at a time til it comes together, then  put it on a large piece of cling-film/plastic wrap and put another piece on top and roll it out to the desired size. put in an oiled pan, put plastic wrap back on top and stick in freezer til chilled. then bake in a hot oven (around 400 degrees F/200ish celsius) for about 15 minutes, take it out and then add the topping/filling. bake til it looks ready!

The tomato filling was super easy– one can of chopped tomatoes, drained, mixed with 2 cloves of garlic (minced), half of a small onion, finely chopped rosemary, salt and pepper, and one egg.  I added a little cheese to mine before baking. 

I love making things with just whatever you happen to have in the pantry and fridge, so with the leftover pastry dough, I made a little apple tart:  roll the dough on to a pan, grate a little apple on the dough, add some thinly sliced apples, some cinnamon, brown sugar, and  dab of butter. bake that little gem in a hot oven til its brown and carmel-y.   I think we will be eating tarts a lot more now.

east enders

so I haven’t found an appreciation for the show….. but I really enjoyed wandering around the east end with Maggie on saturday while Noah did a choral workshop.  I was able to hear his piece performed, and it  was beautiful… After doing a little browsing on Brick Lane, Maggie and I also went the Geffrye Museum in shoreditch– an interiors museum.  Fun!  she really liked that they had a place for her to color, most of the museums in London are really quite kid-friendly, I love this.  Warning, brick lane appears to be the Hipster capital of London.  Only bad part about this is I felt constantly frumpy in my practical shoes and comfortable jeans, surrounded by people in head-to-toe vintage (complete with hair straight out of Hairspray on some!!)…. sigh.  I really loved the energetic vibe, and the great music shop Rough Trade, where I picked out an early birthday gift for myself :)  I could have easily stayed in there for hours (sans Maggie) and I would definitely come back to this part of town again.

 

 

a little apron

 inspired by the tie-one-on apron challenge, i made a little apron for maggie out of a cloth napkin and some ribbon left over from christmas. sewed with wool yarn, this was easy-peasy. maggie preferred to wear it as a dress, so i might have to try and make her a proper dress she can go out in public in :)  (though i think it would be adorable…maybe a bit chilly)

homemade donuts – something sweet

homemade donuts made with leftover pizza dough. I must give credit to my two favorite tv chefs, Jamie Oliver and Giada De Laurentiis.

 I followed this recipe for the dough, (which made awesome pizza last night) substituting a mixture of wholemeal spelt and plainflour for the white flour.  I looooove his show Jamie at Home, where he cooks fresh food from his garden in England, and features an ingredient each episode.  The show definitely makes the whole process of eating what you grow at home more realistic–something Noah and I really want to do some day, but the thought of actually accomplishing it can be intimidating. (so thanks for the encouragement, Jamie!)

The first episode I ever saw of Everyday Italian years ago, Giada made simple donuts out of pizza dough.  I know I ’m a dork, but that show really inspired me to try cooking and baking–she made it look so elegant, yet authentic at the same time. instructions for making donuts here.  (so thoughtful of you to share, Giada!) ;)

I topped mine with a mixture of cinnamon/nutmeg/brown sugar, and even glazed a few with icing sugar and oat cream.  I also suggest pretending while you eat them that they are even somewhat healthy because of the wholemeal and the homemade factor.  But of course, anything deep fried in two inches of hot oil is not anywhere close to being healthy… I’m sure they were still healthier than krispy kremes?? Oh, well….they were delicous. And Maggie and Noah approved, so all is well.


these photos have nothing to do with donuts….but she is sweet, soft and yummy :)

shrove tuesday – pancake day

“Shrove Tuesday is a day of celebration as well as penitence, because it’s the last day before Lent. Throughout the United Kingdom, and in other countries too, people indulge themselves on foods that traditionally aren’t allowed during Lent. Pancakes are eaten on this day because they contain fat, butter and eggs which were forbidden during Lent.”

—project britain

“Caster sugar (superfine sugar) is sprinkled over the top and a dash of fresh lemon juice added. The pancake is then rolled. Some people add golden syrup or jam.”

—project britain

Well. We definitely don’t celebrate (participate?) Lent, but any excuse is a good excuse to eat pancakes.   On sunday, we went out for dinner at My Old Dutch, a great restaurant on King’s Road, London.  A couple of my cousins couldn’t reconcile eating savoury toppings on a pancake, and Noah was hesitant too, but ordered a mediterranean pancake anyway and really enjoyed it. 

 

…so the English version of carnivale, or mardi gras may be a little ( a lot?) more calm, but still really tasty.   And though we don’t give anything up this time of the year, reminders of being grateful and not wasteful with your food are always welcome.

(for a recipe buckwheat spelt crepes: go here.   I added baking powder and a bit more flour for thicker ones today)

red

Blogging Toast: spring 2009

The spring Toast catalogue dropped in England today. Also, we got a mail from Magnolia’s Great-Grandma. Yay! Both inspiring as usual. :) Here are some of my favorites from the catalogue:








The new catalogue isn’t up on the Toast website yet, but I imagine it will be within a week or so.

Unending Love

I seem to have loved you in numberless forms, numberless times...
In life after life, in age after age, forever.
My spellbound heart has made and remade the necklace of songs,
That you take as a gift, wear round your neck in your many forms,
In life after life, in age after age, forever.

Whenever I hear old chronicles of love, it's age old pain,
It's ancient tale of being apart or together.
As I stare on and on into the past, in the end you emerge,
Clad in the light of a pole-star, piercing the darkness of time.
You become an image of what is remembered forever.

You and I have floated here on the stream that brings from the fount.
At the heart of time, love of one for another.
We have played along side millions of lovers,
Shared in the same shy sweetness of meeting,
the distressful tears of farewell,
Old love but in shapes that renew and renew forever.

-Rabindranath Tagore

We had a really lovely valentines day. I am so in love with two very special people, and so lucky to give and get hugs and kisses from them every day.

okay, if that all made you nauseous: watch this.

remembering summer: maggie and her babies

 

from left to right: shaniqua, maggie, Baby.

lisa hannigan – lille

her website: lisahannigan.ie

out my window: clothes on the line

out my window: clothes on the line, originally uploaded by –Barbara–.

 

happy saturday

 

happy saturday, originally uploaded by –Barbara–.

so grateful for the sun and the warmer weather today. still a bit chilly out, but felt like a glimpse of spring. looking forward to spending days in greenwich park… reading, playing,exploring, relaxing. until then, we will read inside, color a lot, dance to the radio, and watch the moomins . oh, and lots of play-doh and “cooking”–two of maggie’s favorite activities at the moment. will be doing some rearranging to give maggie more space to play and create, am really encouraged by her interest in ducks and bees right now– a great place to start our project-based learning, I think. Magnolia is becoming quite the avid little drawer and color, and likes to put her artwork up on the wall. Her favorite things to draw, or what she requests me to draw for her are babies and daddy. :)

it is rare that noah is home on a saturday, so I’m going to get back to enjoying my family and this much needed down time and “together” time.

Good morning, Mr President.

What a memorable day.  Maggie has been singing this (okay, we have too) since yesterday morning.  It might get stuck in your head, but that’s okay.

 

and a great post on the camp creek blog:  learning for a new world