14
Sep
Art journal day 2. Book pages and acrylic paint a la Katherine Center. The pages on my book aren’t meant for the painting that I’m doing, so I’m having to glue pages together to make them stronger.
carving out a simpler life
Fine Folk
Esquire Theme by Matthew Buchanan
Social icons by Tim van Damme
14
Sep
Art journal day 2. Book pages and acrylic paint a la Katherine Center. The pages on my book aren’t meant for the painting that I’m doing, so I’m having to glue pages together to make them stronger.
13
Sep
I love the idea of writing emails to some future version of myself. What would I say to myself 1 year from now? 10 years from now? I will definitely be writing a few this fall.
Had time to play today in a new art journal. It was really fun to try out some new products (watercolor pastel crayons, fluid acrylics, india ink pens).
15
Jun
my new goal for the summer: no goals
01
Jun
”The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe is as good as dead, his eyes are closed.
31
May
Loving this for lunch with feta and tomatoes and red peppers.
(via Picnic Salads: Red Lentil Vinaigrette « Tea & Cookies)
26
May
“There is more to life than increasing its speed.” – Gandhi
(via Enjoy Your Weekend Like a Minimalist | Be More with Less)
18
May
…what’s crucial to well-being is not how cheerful you feel, not how much money you make, but rather the meaning you find in life and your sense of “earned success” — the belief that you have created value in your life or others’ lives.
16
May
Grateful for my friends (and sisters) who would move a body with me. You’ll get it when you read the article…
04
May
The passing moment is all we can be sure of; it is only common sense to extract its utmost value from it; the future will one day be the present and will seem as unimportant as the present does now.
29
Apr
Monday - Thai lettuce wraps with pork and mushrooms, brown rice, oranges
Tuesday - Corn chowder (modified this recipe and pureed to thicken) with fresh bread (in bread machine!), greek lentil salad for lunches with feta, peppers, and tomatoes
Wednesday - Mom’s spagetti with meat sauce (prego from scratch with ground pork), 24 hour salad, fresh bread
Thursday - Banana pancakes and canadian bacon, smoothies
Friday - Roasted chicken thighs with prunes, sweet potato coins, brown rice, fresh bread, GF peach cobbler
Saturday - Cobb salad with egg, bacon, chicken, avacado, tomatoes
Sunday - Lentil and brown rice tacos with corn tortillas
27
Apr
If you lose today, win tomorrow.
I’ve had several requests for my recipe for steel-cut oatmeal and am happy to share it with you today. I’ve been making oatmeal once a week based on this recipe from the NYTimes and I’ve blogged about it here before. But a couple of months ago I ran across an article on soaking oatmeal to improve the nutrition of your whole grains. We’ve been doing it ever since and have found it easier to digest too. Here’s what I do each week to make sugar-free and gluten-free oatmeal for my family.
Basic soaked oatmeal
Take 3 cups of steel cut oats (I buy them in bulk) and put them in a large saucepan with 6 cups of hot water. Add a splash of cider vinegar or the juice of 1/2 a lemon and 2T all purpose or buckwheat flour (gluten-free) and let soak for 8-24 hours.
When you are ready to cook the oatmeal, add 6 cups of milk, 1 vanilla bean, 2-3 cinnamon sticks, and two handfuls of dried fruit (pineapple is my favorite). Bring to a boil and then turn down the heat and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. The key is to cook this low and slow - it can burn (especially if you add sugar). Store in the fridge and warm up one portion each morning for the week. Makes 12 servings.
Variation: Sweet potato pie oatmeal
After soaking the oats overnight, substitute 1 cup of milk for 1 15 oz. can of sweet potato (or pumpkin) puree. Add vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and a little bit of cloves and allspice. Dried raisins or craisins or dates are recommended to sweeten it up. Proceed to cook as directed above. You can also sweeten with brown sugar or agave if desired. Enjoy!
26
Apr
I just made the most AMAZING sugar-free and gluten-free low-fat chocolate treats! So excited to have found something sweet to feed my kiddos and feel good too. This took all of 5 minutes to make in my food processor with a handful of ingredients from my pantry. Buying more dates at the store tomorrow because I know we’ll eat them all in the next couple of days. I eyeballed the recipe and added a tablespoon of cocoa powder to this. I ended up using equal parts dates and walnuts.
(via Gluten Free and Vegan Chocolate Power Bar Balls Recipe | Elana’s Pantry)
22
Apr
I realize the goal is healthy, inter- and independent children who go off to seek their fortune. I realize a measure of mothering well-done is in the letting go. But for just this moment, I want to stop time. I want to filter through every mundane moment home with my boys and savor it anew.
