holiday – Peaceful Reader

So many things

I’ve had a lovely holiday season with my family. We’ve had good conversation, eaten good food, played games, and opened gifts together. Christmas Eve we had a delicious tofu curry with jasmine rice, a vegan scramble for breakfast Christmas Day and homemade pizzas for dinner that night. The Friday before Christmas we hosted a Christmas party for theatre friends and I made.an Italian Sausage lasagna and Japhy made pesto pasta for her and I (no tomatoes, no meat). I made Whoville ‘s Spiced Up Margaritas for the party and French 75s on Christmas night. We tried our best to play Chameleon all together and then the next day a few of us tackled CodeNames together which was a blast! Most importantly it was just great to see our grown up kids having fun, laughing together.

I got everything done that I needed to do before the holiday. The presents were wrapped, menus planned, house clean and I did it all on very little sleep. It’s been a rough month or so starting around Thanksgiving I’ve had the worst trouble sleeping. I’ve been sick with a cold for about the same amount of time that has compromised my immune system.

Sleep is so important and lack of it causes me to forget things and not be my best self. I’ve tried many of the recommended suggestions for better sleep including melatonin, staying off screens, drinking relaxing tea, going to bed early and while I might do any number of combinations of those ideas I still might lie awake at night getting only a brief amount of sleep either right away or toward morning. I’m frustrated. I started menopause years ago making this a ten-year-old problem. Our beautiful Tarah dog above fell asleep one night so deeply right on top of the gifts and all I could think was “I am so jealous!”

I am still doing yoga both at home with Adriene and also with Sam at Cota Studios but many things like blogging just don’t get done because of this sleep deprivation. My goal for this coming 2024 is to get back on a better schedule. For the last couple of months Japhy has been home because she is about to go on a grand adventure but that’s a whole other post for later.

Take care, get some rest, and happy holidays to you…

Positive Encounters

Last weekend we had a quiet family outing to pick out a Christmas tree and see Groovy Girl at the same time. We delivered groceries and dark chocolate to her for her first semester finals week, picked her up and headed 20 minutes outside of Iowa City to pick out a tree. I’ve researched over and over the greenest way to get your tree and it’s clear that means buying from a small business tree farm.

Wilson’s Orchard came up as a tree source when I looked for a place close to her and this was a win for me because I’ve always wanted to check out this orchard’s apples and ciders. I admit I always planned to be there during the summer or fall seasons yet we arrived on a rainy, cold Friday night. Not the best night for picking a tree. It was actually pouring when we pulled up and we drove the long driveway up to a tall barn building that turned out to house their restaurant and bar. We don’t really get out much anymore what with the pandemic and all so we were very excited to find out they were serving food and that the place was empty. The hostess/wait person asked if we had reservations and I held myself in check by answering politely that we did not. She was happy to seat us, chatted with us, and moved on. I did notice several other tables that were set up for dining and sure enough within 20 minutes we had four other groups of diners seated at tables well spaced out and with the high ceilings and everyone masked up it still seemed very safe. Funny we have all this to think about now.

We ordered two different hard ciders and one warm cider for Groovy Girl and then browsed the menu for food offerings. The restaurant, Rapid Creek Cidery, is farm to table, uses a lot of local products, and is expensive yet once we had our food it was delicious. My mind was set on a spicy buttermilk tofu sandwich and hand cut French fries. While we waited for our food the rain turned to big wet snowflakes and while it looked beautiful out the window we could also hear the wind howl. My only wish was for a large wood fireplace near by. My sandwich arrived and I didn’t pay attention to much else after that and I ate the entire thing it was that good. It was almost too spicy with vinegar-soaked jalapeños popping up all over the sandwich but the buttermilk-crisped tofu balanced with the homemade creamy dressing pulled it all together. I know my husband and daughter loved their meals as well because there was good eating sounds coming from across the table. Our waitress was courteous and efficient as she managed take-out orders as well as the four other tables.

At the end of our meal as she swept my empty plate away I made the off hand comment that I enjoyed the meal so much that I would like the recipe and within minutes the chef was at our table ready to talk food. She shared how she soaked the Iowa City-based tofu in buttermilk and then flour and back and forth to create the layers. It was a joy to chat with her and so very thoughtful of the wait person to send her over to us.

We made our way out the door and into the winter snow to drive down the lane and to the right for the tree. The staff there also made our visit worth it. We browsed the gift shop packed full of sweet offerings, locally made gift items, books, t-shirts, and gorgeous blankets. We braved the cold again after chatting with staff and then went out to pick our tree and back in as quick as possible. It was dark, cold, and snowy and at the end of our tree and cider transaction I asked Groovy Girl if she wanted an apple cider donut to go and before she could even answer we were handed a giant bag of donuts. They said they were done for the night and at the end of the day a bag of free donuts, a delicious meal, and a lovely tree all made us feel well tended to at Wilson’s Orchard. Now after my last week of school I am ready to decorate the tree! May all your holiday encounters be just as bright.

Are you ready?

There is magic in the air! Are you ready? I feel like I am in a good place with my lists and plans. I just need a little voodoo magic to get it to all come together. Everything seems to sparkle just a little bit more right now.

Today is my first official day of break and I started the day by sleeping in a little, which felt so lovely and going to have brunch with friends. While we were brunching we sampled the new Resilience beer coordinated for fire relief by the Sierra Nevada Brewery. It was pretty good for an IPA but more importantly an amazing effort to pull together to help others.

Last weekend we made it through the graduation~ it was amazing. Everything came together in a magical way like the universe was simpatico. We now are the proud parents of two college graduate adults, making their way out there in the world. One left and I’m in no rush for that to happen.

I have all my shopping done, my menu is planned but everything still needs to be prepared. If I waved a magic wand the food could all be thrown together at once but then I would miss the joy of tying on my apron, pouring a glass of wine, and mixing things myself. I hope the next few meals go together as smoothly as the graduation food did.

I just finished Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine by Gail Honeyman. I loved it and wanted Eleanor to find her way to happiness. I highly recommend this title and just ordered it today for a friend’s birthday. When I finished it I compiled a new stack of books from bookcases and piles about my house, trying to decide which one to read next.

Here are just a few of my choices:
Reconstructing Amelia by Kimberly McCreight
The Library Book by Susan Orlean
My absolute darling by Gabriel Tallent
inward by yung pueblo (this one is perfect to read to start/end the day)

and I also brought home an armful from school to read. Now I need to carve out some time to read in between cooking and family time.

Merry Christmas and happy holidays to all! Enjoy the magic.

May Day! May Day!

No May Day baskets this year. I asked and Groovy Girl was like “I’m too busy, I’m too tired!” It is a stressful time for a sophomore, her first year in high school. We used to always do May baskets that we would deliver to a set group of friends before school began. I delivered May baskets when I was young as well and it is one of those wonderful traditions that I love to see continued. I was very happy to see a kindergarten class making May baskets to deliver to a 6th-grade class.

I did bring her some treats today after grocery shopping; some french bread, a Mexican coca-cola, and a small bag of Bob’s Chia seeds – odd treats, yes, but she loves them.

It’s really the thought that counts. But if I want this tradition to continue I’m going to need to work a little harder myself. Already I’m thinking of little friends that I (we) could quickly deliver to near us. It would put a smile on their little faces and the tradition would continue in some fashion. Did you do May baskets growing up?

May Basket traditions (NPR)

Holidays

{G.G.had to take a panorama shot before
we ate thus annoying her siblings just a bit}

I hope everyone had a very merry winter break. We had a lovely holiday together with all three kids at home. Kaylee came from Brooklyn, Tristan from Iowa City, and Groovy Girl emerged from her lonely only child funk to enjoy her siblings. It’s tough to be the youngest.

I’m enjoying this last little bit of break by catching up on sleep, on a few shows I like (This Is Us, Empire, and Atlanta), and end-of-the-year reading, more about that in my next post.

My refrigerator is full of leftovers so I do NOT have to worry about cooking for a few l-o-n-g days. Everything I made for our Christmas meal was fantastic! This is unusual my friends. Normally something goes wrong just by the law of averages. Prepping in the two days before helped me immensely. It’s a little weird to spread recipe love before you’ve actually made them so here is what worked:

Turkey brining is always the way to go. I brined it outside for about 24 hours in my grandmother’s crock with snow packed around the outside. I let the gorgeous 12-lb bird air rest in the fridge. It cooked in about 2 hours and it was very tender and flavorful with a crispy skin. I also thanked the bird for giving its life for us to sustain us. To counterbalance this meat at our table Tristan’s vegan girlfriend brought a Gardein turkey roll with it’s own gravy and it was good also. We’ve always loved to mix up our meals and almost everyone tried some of the turkey roll. I did not follow Emeril’s brining recipe to a T; just simplified it to the bare minimum. I did stuff the turkey as per his recipe though.

Wild Rice and butternut squash-huge hit. I will make this again and I have enough leftover for lunches. I forgot how much I like wild rice. The whole carrots-delicious as well.

I did a trial run on the sweet potato dish from Thug Kitchen and while I liked it, I didn’t think my people would love it so i scrapped that recipe for simple baked then smashed together. No brown sugar, no marshmallows; just the deliciousness of sweet pots. Love ’em.

Brussels sprouts were amazing. I just cleaned them, halved them (except for little ones), tossed them with coconut oil and olive oil, sea salt, pepper, and roasted them on a baking pan. They were good although I would have preferred them crispier. It is a fine line between almost burning them and crisp and I’ve crossed that line before. I served them with shaved parmesan on the side.

Clam Chowder was a huge hit on Christmas Eve but the oyster stew not as much. I don’t know if it was the recipe or just something I did; it was lacking the wow! factor.

Enchilada breakfast dish made everyone happy I think. It might have been the mimosas though. But you have to eat and I did play with this recipe adding in our regular green enchilada sauce and made only a 1/2 batch of the heavy cheese sauce. I didn’t need it to be THAT cheesy. We had a whole plate load of toppings as well; sour cream, avocados, cherry tomatoes, cilantro, and our own family-made salsa)

I love it when meals come together. It makes everyone happy to sit at the table and know that we are blessed to share food in the same space for just a few days. We are ready to rock another year even when we are not in the same place.

Menu for this holiday week…WOW!

I like planning and putting together meals that everyone will love through the holidays. Planning truly is half the fun.

I should be cleaning right now and instead I’m plotting and finding recipes. Tomorrow morning it will be the first meal we all have together since-well, we were all in Chicago for Thanksgiving! Still it will be special around our big table, ready to start the festivities off.

I’m going to make a french toast recipe in my slow cooker. I can get up early, pour it all in, and then go back to bed and read for a few hours until the eggs are set and the bread is crusty. Breakfast for Christmas morning is going to be an egg enchilada dish with some grits, fruit, and bacon (husband only).

{breakfast enchiladas}

At Mississippi Market in St Paul I located a MN farm-raised turkey and my husband picked it up today before he picked up our oldest daughter at the airport. Our turkey is now riding home with the two of them-hopefully doing a little un-thawing. I spent days and many phone calls trying to find an Iowa turkey but none were available. We have not had a turkey for years. I’ve been creative over the years making meatless or fish meals. While we were in Chicago over Thanksgiving though Groovy Girl mentioned that she didn’t remember EVER having had a “traditional” T.giving meal. She’s exceptional.

{squash and wild rice}

While I’m not one for tradition I thought it would be fun to give it a go for Christmas. I plan to brine the bird just like my mom and I used to do years ago. I’m not even a fan of turkey but we’ll see how this one turns out. I hope Groovy Girl will be happy with the results. That meal will be rounded out with cranberries, butternut squash/wild rice dish (if I change the honey for maple syrup it will be vegan), some roasted sweet potatoes (I just found this recipe in the **Thug Kitchen 101, roasted brussels sprouts with shaved parmesan (on the side), regular mashed potatoes and gravy, whole carrots roasted, maybe a small salad (it makes me happy). What a whole lot of love this will be. I plan on dinner lasting at least an hour. Groovy Son’s girlfriend is coming over after work so that is why so many vegan dishes are infused into our meal. I heartily laugh about the fact that she became a vegan as he complained for years about eating mainly vegetarian as a child until we added in sustainable local meat. I seriously love the universe. Our meals over the years did teach him to be a flexible, more versatile eater which is just a good thing for anyone.

So anxious was I about our amazing meal that I jumped ahead with the Christmas dinner paragraph. Backing up to Christmas Eve; also a tangle of recipes because I grew up with homemade oyster stew and champagne. I love oyster stew and champagne! I’ve never been a vegetarian that couldn’t eat a little fish along the way. My husband happens to be allergic to shellfish. I know. Almost a deal breaker. I started making clam chowder as a replacement. It does not hold the same appeal though. Clam chowder is like oyster stews’ half cousin, twice removed. So this year I’m making a small batch of BOTH! I found a recipe on Epicurious that takes it up a notch or two-no once removed and will see how it fares. Yes. Enough for all to have some of each except the husband. We’ll have baguettes and salad to go with this meal.

Are you hungry now? I am.

**I have this in my house b/c it is the girlfriend’s Christmas gift. I read a review somewhere about this book and wanted to check it out anyway and then it appeared on her wish list so win/win. It’s definitely cheeky and the recipes are appealing.

The God of Small Things

Happy New Year! This is going to be an exciting hear I can feel it! 2016.
Major change, major happiness. Simple.

This blog which began as a place for me to chat about books and life easily moved into a cooking, life, lifestyle, and sometimes book place. I could reassess but I like how it is, how it’s transformed. I talk about books a lot anyway and I use GoodReads to discuss. Sometimes books are part of a stream of what I’m already connecting to which makes them worth a discussion here.

The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy is worth it. I listened to a podcast about writing by an author I cannot recollect right now. My complaint about podcasts is that I listen to them while driving and can’t write down a thing as a reminder. The host asked questions and the author spoke about becoming a writer, books she liked, authors she respected and I listened. At one point she brought up Roy’s novel as a turning point for her as a reader/writer; a striking example of great writing. My ears perked up when I heard Roy’s name and the title of the book; I’ve had that book languishing on my beautiful living room bookcase right next to the Barbara Kingsolver section. I don’t know how the book came into my life; used book sale, friend, Barnes and Noble sale but it’s been sitting there waiting for me.

Winner of the Man Booker prize, published in 1997, it tells the story of twins Rahel and Esthappen and the season their cousin came to visit from England. The story, set in India, is interesting enough filled with unique characters that pull you in but the real winner of this story is Roy’s language. She surprises you with ideas and word choices giving me new ideas for writing.
I’ve got proof, parts that surprised and delighted me as I read.

“Slowly the old boat sank, and settled on the sixth step.
And a pair of two-egg twin hearts sank and settled on the step above the sixth.
The deep-swimming fish covered their mouths with their fins and laughed sideways at the spectacle.” (195)

The image of fish giggling behind their fins strikes me as funny. It’s a good image.

“In his clean room in the dirty Ayemenem House, Estha (not old, not young) sat on his bed in the dark. He sat very straight. Shoulders squared. Hands in his lap. As though he was next in line for some sort of inspection. Or waiting to be arrested.
The ironing was done. It sat in a neat pile on the ironing board. He had done Rahel’s clothes as well.
It was raining steadily. Night rain. That lonely drummer practicing his roll long after the rest of the band has gone to bed.” (279)

The short sentences. One thought. Quick. Descriptive sentences flow from them. The story is not linear and sometimes I don’t know where I am the language and her captivating style keeps me reading.

Have you read it? I would love to know your thoughts.

May all my 2016 reading be just as thought-provoking.

Weekly Recipes 10; the Christmas Edition

It snowed here on Christmas Eve afternoon. I was out last minute shopping with my son and as we were leaving our small mall I saw huge flakes flurrying around outside the big glass doors of Von Maur. My face lit up-I know it did. It was amazing. It was magical. I was glad he was driving so I could watch the flakes flying. I guess reading my snow books to Kinders really worked!

Our Christmas has been like that small snowstorm; fast yet filled with joy. Eldest daughter arrived safely into O’Hare airport where her dad gleefully picked her up and drove her here. We feasted on clam chowder, fresh bread, and salad with pomegranate seeds in between church services. It was a peaceful night, happy to be all together our meal was filled with lots of laughter and sounds of soup slurping. After eating we had time to play a favorite card game of spite and malice.

Christmas Day we achieved our goal to stay in pajamas/comfy cozies all day long. Kids were happy with gifts given and received. We lounged, napped, and colored in new themed coloring books. We played Pictionary, another game of spite/malice, and foosball throughout the night. And we ate and ate. Breakfast started with delicious Bloody Mary’s, grits, omelettes, and fresh fruit. In the afternoon we had a small cut of Brie with french bread and rice crackers just to tide us over until our late dinner which was lasagna, broccoli, fresh bread, and pecan pie.

I completely made up the lasagna recipe and I am ecstatic on how it turned out. I have a few butternut squashes from a school friend and I sliced one up and sautéd it in a skillet with coconut oil and cumin seeds. Our family is varied on the meat they will eat/not eat but the one that almost everyone will eat is ground turkey. I, myself, am not a fan as I cannot find high-quality or organic here in town. I have a farmer I could ask but didn’t get around to it this time. And turkey is a bit of sore subject right now with the whole avian flu outbreak. I digress though.

YUM!

I cooked the meat thoroughly, tossed it in a bowl to wait and then sautèd onions and mushrooms together with lots of oregano, thyme, cracked pepper, and sea salt. I added the mushroom mixture to the cooked turkey and I was ready to layer. I totally cheated on my sauce because who wants to spend the entire day in the kitchen so my friend Paul Newman helped me out with his more than adequate jar. I tossed a little of that down first in my glass 13×9-in pan, layered some flat noodles, four across, added a layer of turkey/mushroom mix, a layer of mozzarella cheese, four more flat noodles, the amazing slices of butternut squash, sauce, cream cheese (I completely forgot I needed ricotta cheese until 4 minutes before I started making this, lucky I had cream cheese for a kid-friendly substitute), four more flat noodles, last of the meat/mushroom mixture and mozzarella sauce sprinkled over the top. I poured a glass of water over the top which seems weird but helps the noodles cook. I baked it for 45 minutes with tinfoil over the top and took the foil off for the last 15. I let it rest on the counter top for about 20 minutes as I finished other items and got things to the table. It was bubbly and filled with flavor. Myself I would have just had two layers of squash. Groovy Girl hated the mushroom part and the squash part. Too bad.

I hope everyone’s holiday was filled with as much joy as we had and no arguments which are bound to happen even in the coolest of families. We have more exciting events planned for the next few days but eldest daughter returns to Chicago on the morrow and flies back to Brooklyn to continue her work with Gimlet Media. Happy Holidays!

Let it snow, Let it snow (so we can build a snowman)

{young groovy girl with two snowpeople creations}

We don’t have any snow here. A relative has shared gorgeous snow photos of Colorado but no snow here in the Midwest or at least in our corner of Iowa.

This is unacceptable for Groovy Girl. She believes snow is part of what makes Christmas magic. She loves pulling on her tall furry boots and heading out into the snow to play still. But the snow has to come for her to do that. She is the only one of my kids who loves winter weather.

In order to help her out I’ve read books about snow and snowmen at school to kindergarten classes. Here is a list of my favorites:

1. Alice Schertle’s All you need for a snowman (2007): softly illustrated by Barbara Lavallee with flowing text that moves you forward from one page to the next. The pictures make you want to linger though. I love everything that Alice writes. The cover art above makes you want to flip inside.

2. Alison McGhee’s Making a friend (2011): Illustrated by Marc Rosenthal with soft wispy pictures and text that tells the reader the simple water cycle as the boy builds the snowman and watches it melt only to come back to life the next winter. Great for seasonal conversations as well.

3. Lois Ehlert’s Snowballs (2001): My classic go to story of a snow family taking on new life with a variety of crazy fabrics and household items. Kids love the end pages that shares all the items Lois’ used to create her snow family of kids, dog, cat,mom, and dad. Will inspire you to grab your craft bag and head out into the freezing cold to create the perfect Ehlert snowman.

4. Carl R. Sams II and Jean Stoick’s Stranger in the woods (2000): With exquisite photographs we see woodland animals all trying to discover who has come through the woods. The lyrical text is filled with kid-catchy sounds making the pictures come alive. I love reading this aloud with the chick-a-dee-dee-dee and the stuttering porcupine. The mystery is bigger than just the snowman though so keep turning the pages. I love ending with a few suggestions on how students could help feed local animals through winter.

5. Daniel J. Mahoney’s A really good snowman (2005): I like this book because it’s more than just a snowman story. It’s about family and sticking together. Jack wants to build a snowman with his friends for the annual snowman competition held at the town park. His little sister wants to help but they send her off to do her own thing. When Jack realizes she needs his help he leaves his friends behind to stick with his sister. It’s a lovely story, cute illustrations, and a good lesson in teamwork.

6. No snowman post of mine would be complete with out mentioning my favorite snowman movie…Jack Frost with Michael Keaton as the aging rocker who is killed in an accident after playing a gig on Christmas Eve. Sounds tragic and their are tearful moments but the story is a light-hearted look at a young boy dealing with grief and a father-turned snowman dealing with leaving his family behind. Love to watch it every year.

Most links for books lead you to Red Balloon Books in St. Paul, MN when available. Buy independent this holiday season. Buy everyone on your list at least one book. And send us some snow…

Half a dozen books worth giving…

{source}

In the midst of holiday shopping I came upon this thoughtful image that snapped my attention away from shiny baubles and to what really matters. I’ve always leaned this way yet this year it made a bigger impact on me. Do you shop with this in mind?

We all have so much we should be grateful for; roof over our heads, plentiful food at our table, games in the cupboard, and books spilling off the bookcase. Keeping that fun mental image in my head I am almost finished with my holiday shopping. I have four books to pick out and then I will be done. If you are still looking for a few yourself I have a few pictures books I’d love to recommend.

1. Last Stop on Market Street (2015) by Matt de la Pena: I love this beautifully illustrated (by Christian Robinson) and well-thought out book about the world around us. We go on a journey with C.J. and his nana as they leave church. He questions her with the whys and what ifs that occur naturally to small children. Why don’t we have a car? Why is it raining? Peppering his grandmother with curiosities she answers back kindly each time, sharing empathy along the way until C.J. feels the warmth of Nana’s words. I love the diverse and unique people Robinson depicts on each and every page. This book is 10 stars and deserves to be wrapped up for any holiday.

2. Is Mommy? (2015) by Victoria Chang and Marla Frazee: Mothers get the short end of the stick often and their book illustrates this perfectly. In the course of a day we often appear mean, messy, boring, and little ones see us as short, ugly, and funny. No matter what, mothers are loved as the young ones in the book shout at us gleefully. I love books like this because it can be a call and response reading with children. Might there be a new title in the wings “Daddy Is”? I would love that as well.

3. Mixed Me (2015) by Taye Diggs and Shane W. Evans: I was lucky to receive a free copy of this lovely book but if I hadn’t I would happily buy it. The message is a cheerful look at acceptance by Mike who loves his blended color and who he is. We don’t need to match to get along and I wish Mike could teach that to quite a few adults in today’s world. Mike’s crazy hair bounces through the pictures just as Joe Cepeda’s illustrations for Nappy Hair. Love it.

4. Once upon a memory (2013) by Nina Laden and Renata Liwska: This is simple a beautiful book for all ages. A little boy playing in his room spots a feather as it floats in through the window and it makes him wonder if the feather remembers the bird, does a book remember it was once a word…playing the sequence out several more times until we are reminded to remember that we were once children. Such a lovely way to be reminded. Every time I flip through this book I am filled with a sense of peace.

5. Plant a Pocket of Prairie (2014) by Phyllis Root and Betsy Bowen: For nonfiction lovers this one illustrates beautifully the reason for prairies and why it is important to refurbish prairies around us. Betsy Bowen’s Antler, Bear, Canoe; a Northwoods alphabet is a family favorite and this book is just as unique. Both Root and Bowen hail from Minnesota which is a land I love.

6. 28 Days; Moments in black history that changed the world (2015) by Charles R. Smith and Shane W. Evans: I discovered this gem inside one of the Scholastic boxes for my recent book fair. Combing through the glossy pages I discovered a great deal of cool history; surpassing what we already know about Rosa Parks and Dr. King. I learned that Daniel Hale Williams successfully performed open heart surgery on a stab wound patient on July 9, 1893 in Chicago and that he opened his own hospital to welcome patients and doctors of all colors. Each page focuses on a person or event with a poem and facts. On the inside flap the books says it is perfect for Black History Month (February) and every month. I hope the book is picked up often. Buy this one and share it with someone you love.

All titles are linked to The Red Balloon, one of my favorite bookstores in the Midwest. Have a holly jolly whatever you celebrate and buy a book for everyone on your list.