Cheers to you, Dads

I adore my father.
It's kind of ridiculous how much.
My daughter's father is an incredible human being, too. The bar was set high for my expectations for my child's father, and yet he always surprises me with all that he does for us.

My favorite thing is seeing the two of them together, my father and my husband, laughing hysterically, usually over a glass of red wine. So, this little column from Dottie & John about chilled reds for summer seemed appropriate today.



Cheers to you and to my father-in-law who has my love, too, as we laugh hysterically over cold Miller Lite.

**for more of Dottie & John, read their memoir Love By The Glass, one of my all-time favorite love stories.

Whatever You Love, You Are

I'm reading Molly Wizenberg's thoughtful, delicious, heartbreaking memoir, A Homemade Life {me reading is brought to you by finally giving up cable and TiVo}.

In the book, she mentions a Dirty Three album called Whatever You Love, You Are . It was the phrase that led her create her wildly successful blog Orangette and the book too, I suppose.

It has me thinking about this question of what I love. I'm working on a list which, after my family, is quickly followed by the almond macaroon cookie I had at Magee's on Saturday that was pass-out amazing. But then again, the question isn't who you love or what nouns you love, but what en general you love. Hmmm.

What do you love?
And, in turn, who are you?

It's like a fortune cookie game. If only they were almond macaroon fortune cookies.

Plateworthy II: Honolulu Anyone?

Another recipe post from my husband.

Honolulu Skillet Beans



Serves: 4
Time: 25 min.

This recipe, adapted from the Moosewood Collective, is particularly nice at this time of year, when some days the weather promises summer is approaching, but the cold isn’t quite gone either.

If you’re not familiar with the magic that is hoisin sauce, prepare thyself for sweet-and-sour heaven. If it's not near the soy sauce at your grocery store (and it probably is), it is worth schlepping down to a nearby Asian food market (which will have more varieties than the grocery anyway).

1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 clove garlic, minced
2 (16oz.) cans of pinto beans (or red, kidney, or cannellini beans), drained and rinsed
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
2 tablespoons ketchup (or tomato paste)
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon soy sauce
½ pineapple, peeled, cored, and diced (or 16 oz. can, diced)

1. Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat. In the meantime, stir the hoisin sauce, ketchup, mustard, and soy sauce together in a large bowl.
2. When the oil is hot, sauté the garlic for about a minute. Then add the beans and pineapple, stirring for about a minute, and finally add the sauce from the bowl.
3. Turn the heat down to low, cover for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent beans from sticking to the bottom of the pan.

Plateworthy: The Salad Days

From my husband. We'll just call him Plateworthy. He is quite a dish.


Pineapple, Spinach, and Avocado Salad
Serves: 4
Time: 10 min.

Refreshing, light, packed with vitamins, this makes a perfect springtime salad. Using fresh pineapple here means an extra five minutes peeling, coring, and chopping it yourself, but if you’re used to the canned yellow-white stuff, the sweetness and soft texture of fresh pineapple will be worth your while. If your supermarket sells freshly chopped pineapples in the produce section and you’re willing to shell out a little extra, all the better.

For the salad:
3 oz. spinach, loosely packed
1 avocado, peeled, seeded, and cut into large dice
1 1-inch ring pineapple, chopped (about ¾ cup)
1 carrot, peeled then shaved with peeler
2 handfuls crushed walnuts
2 oz. grated farmer’s cheese (or Swiss) (optional)

For the dressing:
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 teaspoon soy sauce

Combine all the salad ingredients in a large bowl. In a separate small bowl, whisk the dressing ingredients together. Taste for seasoning before adding to the salad.

To See You, To Hear You

I am sorry the posts have been sparse lately. So far, in 2009 I have been very, very blessed with work and travel. I am praying to keep up and at the same time not lose my enthusiasm for creative endeavors which are such an important part of how I organize (or pretend to order) chaos.

I am re-stocking inspiration. I know you are much more interesting than me. I would love to see you, to hear you -- your voices, your stories, your photos. Blogging can feel like a bit of a solo enterprise at times. Leave me a comment or link about what is exciting or inspiring to you these days.

Thank you for stopping by and I hope to post more in April.

In the meantime, here's a potpourri post to give you something to snack on:

Books

I'm still working through this insightful book, Thomas Moore's insightful A Life At Work


Moore writes, "A life work is a multicolored, tattered quilt. It is not simple, monochromatic, one-size-fits-all template that you simply adjust to. It may have gaps and holes and incomplete sections. It may not even feel like a life work, especially when you are in the middle of it. There may come a time when you can look back and see the sense in all the parts and glimpse a true life work, but even then it may be full of holes made by a long history of struggles."

He says that your life work doesn't have to fit into one job description. It appears in different aspects of your life and you don't have to choose just one. Amen.

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Films:

Looking forward to seeing the Sundance Festival darling, 500 Days of Summer



and Spike Jonze's take on Where The Wild Things Are.
Both look like movies with good soundtracks, too.

...this preview gets me with the boats, the sunflare, the sense that -as I have always felt- children understand the tension and the balance of it all. It reminds me of the Children's Defense Fund motto, "Dear Lord be good to me. The sea is so wide and my boat is so small."
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Music
This week, my husband is teaching Pride & Prejudice, {which makes this English major nostalgic about being a student} so I've been listening to this soundtrack from the most recent film adaptation. It's really, really good for writing, cooking, editing photos, whatever you happen to be doing. Here's a link to my favorite song:

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Food

Speaking of my husband {who has a passion for cooking} I've asked him to share a few of his quick-veggie-simple recipes here and asked him if I could videotape demonstrations of how to prepare the food and he agreed and said, "let's call it Plate Worthy." Love it. A new Plate Worthy series coming this Spring!

Can't get enough of Intelligensia Coffee which tastes amazing and also cuts out the middle-man putting money directly into the hands of the growers. I found mine at Fresh Market, but I know it's available elsewhere.

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For those of you who have written that you want more essays, thank you so very much. I am working in that direction. I didn't realize how much I need that outlet until now.

Healing Things

1. The Hotel Cafe Presents: Winter Songs



2. Cipriani Parapadelli Pasta

3. Photographs like these of the joy of being a momma.

4. Visits to places like this.

5. Inspired shopping guides for children like this one.

6. Simple suppers like ratatouille from the Moosewood Cookbook.

7. The promise of books unread. A list of the year's 10 best from the NYTimes is here.

10. Bolla Valpolicella - it's cheap, perfect red table wine for any occasion. Like a field trip to Roma.

11. Good friends like these who are taking time to live full time. Love their post here about making a holiday wreath.

12. Pink Christmas Trees.


13. Being home.


14. Songs of Joy & Peace from Yo Yo Ma and also this one from Sixpence None The Richer. Though, I have to say, if looking for a Joni Mitchell remake of River, look no further than Corrine Bailey Rae's version on the Herbie Hancock record River: The Joni Letters.

As I drove to court this morning in another county, snow was falling and I listened to Corrine singing,
"It's coming on Christmas. They're cutting down trees. Their putting up reindeers and singing songs of joy and peace. I wish I had a river I could skate away on." I know it's crazy, because I don't know her, but I say prayers for her from time to time knowing this will be the first Christmas since she has lost her husband: a loss I cannot imagine.

15. Old Ornaments


16. New Ornaments



Here's to peaceful winter evenings.

Summer Recipe

• add salt
• chips
• salsa
• mango
  
• cold beverage
• a sunkissed afternoon
• and my new favorite song (If I Had Eyes, by Jack Johnson)
  
• repeat if necessary
  

Welcome Summer! We've missed you.

"And the day came when the risk it took to remain tight inside the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom."
-Anais Nin.

Quote discovered in Ali Edwards's wonderful collection of quotes archived here.

This morning in my yard...a new addition. I hope I can keep her happy here.


Morning dew in morning light.


My husband (in the watch) buying vegetables at the Farmer's Market today.


The first pant of Summer. It's good to be warm.

"Summer afternoon - summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language." -Henry James.

Discovered in Laura Stoddart's beautifully illustrated, The Sweet Life: Reflections on Home and Garden.

It All Began With That Shoe On The Wall

My most recent obsession all began with this delightful post from Spagat about her upcoming trip to Procida, the gorgeous Italian island where they filmed The Talented Mr. Ripley. Then it started to grow when I read this post about a trip to Portland. Then I remembered a vacation spot which seemed like a good idea at the time, but would be a much better idea now that my daughter is older. And, just like that...the vacation obsession is born. I've planned about 60 in my head since Friday. One includes an amtrak up the west coast.

I've planned a weekend in my mind to Maine and trips to Bainbridge Island. And to the Greek Isles and Hawaii. Or back here to my favorite place.
And just for kicks, check out this place in the Maldives.

There are so few consecutive blank days on the calendar this summer, that I'm desperate to find a break in the work. We've looked at places close by and places far and I'm still coming up with not enough of something to make it happen. I'll keep looking.

Where ever it is, I hope it will be a new adventure, have salty air, a little bookstore, sandy paths and time to read, and carve out a space for just us.

In the meantime, maybe I will plot these imaginary vacations on the calendar and during those weeks, eat food that would be local to that area, play music from the region.

Where are you going this summer?

24.

Dorothy Gaiter and John Beecher. I love their recommendations, appearances on CBS Sunday morning, their WSJ column Tastings and most of all their memoir, Love By The Glass: Tasting Notes from A Marriage, which always makes me cry happy tears.

My husband once sent them a book and a self-addressed envelope to them to sign for me for a special occasion, and they did!

This Week's Good Chi: Perfect Fall Colors

Something about the peppers at the Farmer's Market this morning inspires red patent leather accessories. I'm thinking shoes, handbags, a rain coat, bangle bracelets. Maybe I'll just wear the peppers. What a perfect color. I love that the seller put them in such a comfy container.

Because it's summer

Let's go to the Farmer's Market, listen to Pink Martini, eat some double chocolate chip Graeter's ice cream and not read the nutritional information. Why not.

Mail your favorite summer camper something with color, like these cards from Ink & Paper.



I found these (no kidding) scratch-n-sniff cards at the quirky Fred Flare.


Find a different-kind-of-read at Bas Bleu where their team has already made great book lists for every kind of reader and they have sweet little illustrations for the categories, like this:


To date, my favorite summer reads remain:
A Good House by Bonnie Burnard which may be out of print. Email me, you can have my copy.
Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
Interpreter of Maladies by Jumpha Lahiri
2 of the 3 of those were the author's first novel. Inspiring!

Grand Women

Remember in Fools Rush In when Selma Hayek’s character goes to her great grandmom’s house in Mexico? Her Grand is this beautiful, Georgia O’Keefe, Eudora Welty type of gal and you just want to go to her house and quilt or make something fabulous to eat with tamales. I love that movie.

Or there’s the scene in An Affair to Remember when Cary Grant goes to his Grandmother Janou's house and she is beautiful and wise and she hugs on Deborah Kerr (who is sort of in need of some support) and they play the piano together. I love that movie.



My Grands, and the Grands I’ve adopted in my life, are (and were) those kind of girls: huggable, filled with experience, adoring women who walk into the kitchen and come out with something that tastes like every ingredient is the result of someone’s best day.

My husband’s Granny, who I have claimed as my own Grand too, makes mouth-watering apple pies that actually transform a cup of coffee. I’ve noticed they are usually made in celebration of a homecoming.

My 95-year old Grandmom, who has a “gentleman friend” because, as she told me, “he’s too old to call a boyfriend,” is still staggeringly beautiful and makes coconut pie every time someone she loves passes away. There was a time when people at her church looked for coconut pie as a comforting staple in times of grief. And no celebration is complete without her cheesy squash casserole with Ritz crackers and loads of butter.

The Farmer’s Market is starting up here again for the summer and I’ve been thinking about another one of those kind of girls, Diana Kennedy, and how we need to go get some fresh vegetables and try out a recipe.

Ms. Kennedy is this lovely, curious English woman who moved to Mexico with her husband Paul where he was writing for the New York Times. And then he died of cancer. But instead of heading home, she decided to live in Mexico and became sort of an anthropologist, traveling to remote villages and learning from the local people, cooking in their kitchens, quietly respecting and preserving their unique recipes. Her mission is to collect recipes that have been passed down for centuries, but have never been written down or published. I just love that.

She has built a solar-powered adobe eco-house where she grows her own vegetables. In photos, it looks like something from Under the Tuscan Sun.



I did some research and found out that she’s been traveling around Mexico for 47 years now. She asks these great questions from people about what something tastes like and then, before you know it, she’s in their home and they are cooking together. Now there’s a diplomatic approach I can get behind.

One website quoted her as saying, “I never travel in straight lines. The important discoveries in my life have always happened by chance.” Awesome.
Here’s a link to her work: http://www.powells.com/s?kw=Diana+Kennedy&x=0&y=0

Sparkly Snack

Sand-Pail Popcorn from Coastal Living Magazine


1 (3.5-ounce) package butter-flavored microwave popcorn

Prepare according to package directions. Open carefully; pour into a sand pail.
Cheese Popcorn: Add 1 (1 1/4-ounce) envelope cheese sauce mix. Toss well. Yield:about 10 cups.

Mexican Popcorn: Add 1 tablespoon taco seasoning mix. Toss well. Yield: about 10 cups.

Asian Popcorn: Add 1 (5 ounce) can chow mein noodles, 1 cup dry-roasted peanuts, and 1 teaspoon ground ginger. Yeild: 11 1/2 cups.