Last night an Oscar recipient said to his wife,
“I love you more than rainbows”.
Cute or corny?
I guess both.
It all reminded me of this pencil and the joy that comes
from writing in rainbows.
writing in rainbows
March 8th, 2010nice to meet you, flapjack.
March 3rd, 2010
If you asked me before yesterday what a flapjack was I would of told you a pancake.
After reading through this month’s issue of Bon Appetit I learned that it is also a British cookie involving four ingredients. I was intrigued. I love that kind of simplicity.
I was drawn to these flapjacks for two more reasons:
One. Sadly, our good friends are moving away from us here in Portland to start a new life in London. They are packing up their stuff as I write these words. I thought it would only be appropriate that I make them a batch of these British cookies to give them the sweet energy boost they need as they run around trying to get everything in order.
Two. The article was written my Molly Wizenberg (Orangette, A Homemade Life) whose writing style I admire. The style where when I am reading her words I think to myself, if we knew each other we would be friends. (Not in a creepy stalker way, of course!) By the last paragraph I could almost taste the chewy, toasty, golden granola-y, yumminess and was practically out the door to fetch myself some golden syrup, which I had never heard of and hoped my local market carried, to whip up a batch of these flapjacks.
Golden syrup, check. Stick of butter, brown sugar, quick-cooking oats, check. She said they are as easy as Rice Krispee treats, with the exception that you have to wait 25 minutes for them to bake before you can eat them. She was right.
These are lovely! Just the right amount of sweetness and for a moment you feel like it’s a healthy-good-for-you treat until you hit the buttery undertones and remember that whole stick of butter for 16 cookies. Maybe I’ll just have one with my tea. Okay, maybe two.
So happy I made them but even happier that it is such a simple recipe. It seems we enjoyed them so much I’ll have to whip up another batch to bring to our friends.
leapin’ lamb
March 1st, 2010
Found: Vintage little leaping lamb vase. Made in Japan.
Those big eyes, floppy ears and blushing cheeks were calling out to me through the forest of dusty bric a brac.
Don’t worry little lamb, there is room in our home amongst the other big-eyed creatures that I seem to be drawn to.
Would it be strange if I said she sort of reminded me of Clementine?
And something else. Ah yes, I’ve seen eyes like this before… thisismarybel.
glitter photo corners, oh my!
February 26th, 2010Oh martha!
Sparkly is so hard for me to resist.
spoons in the grass
February 24th, 2010
Clementine loves
her new brightly colored silicone spoons by amy coe.
Especially when I keep them in the freezer so they are nice and cold against her gums.
They have a non slip grip and are long and flexible. I swear, she’s been eating better since we started using them. They are also refrigerator, freezer, microwave and dishwasher safe.
Most importantly they are cute and BPA free.
What is that grass, you ask?
Oh, that’s just our new crazy drying rack by boon.
I love it! It really holds things up.
I can’t wait to rinse off tomatoes and let them dry in the grass.
because that’s how mondays go sometimes
February 23rd, 2010Something motivated me to make quiche yesterday.
Little individual broccoli, red pepper and gruyere quiches made in large muffin tins. I was excited to make the spinach crumb crust like my cousin, Stacie, makes. I really enjoy that crumb crust. So buttery. I especially love how it looks kind of wild and jagged with flecks of green spinach.
That Stacie, she makes a mean quiche.
Off to a good start.
Looking good!
Beautiful. A slice of tomato on top with a little sprig of thyme.
These were going to be great.
But alas, I got sidetracked feeding Miss Clementine and these beauties cooked a little too long turning their crusts a deep brown and that lovely green spinach was charred and crispy.
That’s just how things go sometimes as a mom on a monday.
Edible but not photographable.
Imagine that they were great.
something i found
February 20th, 2010in our mailbox.
i imagined the small hands cutting out the images
and pasting them in just the right spot,
standing back to admire their work
and smiling.
except i don’t know this person
or the person it’s addressed to.
they live three streets away at the same number house.
it’s probably wrong that i scanned in their mail
more wrong that i posted it
(maybe even illegal)
but it made me smile.
don’t worry.
i did deliver it to the rightful owner.
thank you, strangers, for sharing your mail.
something i saw
February 17th, 2010on my walk today
under a table.
it made me smile.
the east moreland market and the best sandwich in portland
February 16th, 2010
“We’re going deep South East,” my friend Alice said as she gave me directions to meet her at the East Moreland Market. She wasn’t kidding. I ventured to a part of Portland I had never been before. As I made the right off 39th onto Knapp, I found myself in a quiet neighborhood. Could this really be it?
The answer is yes.
The East Moreland Market is just that, kind of a deluxe small neighborhood grocery with basic necessities on the shelf next to gourmet items like Spanish and Italian imports in addition to wine, beer, olives, cheeses, locally raised meats, fresh produce, coffee drinks and baked goods.
And sandwiches.
Oh, the sandwiches.
I ordered the smoked turkey with goat cheese which is served on ciabatta with mixed greens, house made apple chutney and caramelized onions. The onions or the chutney was warm, I don’t remember which (or if it was just the toasted ciabatta), it melted together with the turkey and the goat cheese for an unbelievable super yummy bite.
A ridiculously good combination that made me drive back there the next day with my husband and a friend of ours.
They were equally impressed with the muffuletta: layers of ham, salami, provolone, swiss, and mortadella, topped with house made pickled vegetables and olive salad on ciabatta and the meatloaf and swiss, which I nicknamed the ‘man-wich’ with its hearty slice of meatloaf, bacon, pepperoncinis, roasted tomatoes and spicy ketchup on ciabatta.
Those who live near-by may be well aware of this little gem they have in their neighborhood. As for me, a girl living in North East, this was like a secret spot that I would trek across town for any day, cursing at the red lights and traffic, ignoring my rumbling hunger pains, knowing that soon I would find sandwich bliss.
I’m sticking to my claim.
This is the best sandwich I’ve had in Portland.
I can’t wait to go back!
french toast with heart
February 14th, 2010
This morning my husband wanted to make heart shaped french toast.
Yes, he’s a festive guy. I’m a lucky lady.
Somehow our heart-shaped french toast evolved into french toast with hearts cut out of them and filled with pink scrambled egg whites. Of course we griddled up those little heart cut outs as well.
What a fun breakfast!
