Enjoy the silence

So...yesterday was the first day in a long while that I didn't post anything.  Perhaps a signal of the quiet shutting down that accompanies the approaching Winter Solstice and season in the northern hemi.

Don't do more during this time (hard, I know, in this culture we live in), do less.  Much less.  Allow yourself to rest and relax and reflect.  Let go of the stress of perceived needs and uncover the true ones.  You may be surprised by how few these are...how doable...how peaceful.

Enjoy the silence...

Umbreon

I have a favorite Pokemon.  Her name is Umbreon (this Pokemon has no gender differences so she can be a he, as well :-)  In Japanese, she's called Blacky.  She has proven quite powerful/resilient in the games I've played with the kids today.  I want to play more, but they are now watching Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, not to be distracted by my pleas for a playing partner...

You can read all about Umbreon here at Bulbapedia, "the community driven Pokemon encyclopedia".

Cap comes home tonight.  I am looking forward to a return to life as a foursome, a lovely state of affairs.

Pokemon tournament

I took the kids to their first Pokemon tournament today.  We were in the comic book store for nearly five hours.  It was only by chance that I had eaten a substantial breakfast and was wearing shoes with good support.  I had no idea we would be there for so long.  (I had no snacks/water and Sag had not eaten breakfast.)

Pokemon gaming culture is fascinating.  I learned today that most Pokemon card gamers come from three states: Washington, Florida and New Jersey.  (There were world champs present in the room today!)  I found it refreshing to see girls, boys, men and women, with an unexpected diversity in age and ethnicity.

I am too drained to go into much else.  The kids enjoyed themselves despite the incredibly long periods of waiting.  I bought myself some cards.  I'd like to learn the game to be able to play the kids.

Here are some pics:

Registering at 10:30 am having no idea what we're in for...

Sag trading with a "Senior" before the tournament started (an hour late).  (The boys are both in the "Junior" division.  Gem will move into "Senior" when he turns 11.)  Here you can see the visor Sag decorated with some Pokemon stickers on the brim.  He made his own tournament gear...how freaking cute is that?!  In the pic above you can see one of the judges wearing a handmade hat, too.  A space where one is free to get their geek on.  I love it.

Gem doing some trading.  He has made the observation that playing Pokemon has made him braver about talking to people he doesn't know.

Commence Round 1!!!  (The "Juniors" played four rounds today before breaking for "lunch" at 3:30...)

Want to smile?

Gettin' my braise on

I love braising.  'Tis the season.  Braised beef short ribs or pork butt?  Exponentially yum.  

This afternoon I kind of braised the shit out of some daikon.  The recipe called for a micro braise leaving the daikon "crisp-tender"...the thought of which didn't appeal.  I texture-tested at the time called for and did not find it to my taste.  So I braised it for longer and then got distracted, so now the daikon is really quite soft.  I'm sure there's a happy medium somewhere.

I have been inspired though.  I'm going to make some "nimono" sometime soon.  Daikon, tofu, mushrooms, maybe some meat, hard-boiled egg, greens, shirataki...everything braised in a broth with soy sauce and sugar...

Celebrating light

Happy Chanukah!

Love louie

Everything's amazing and no one's happy...

Sweet

I tried another new recipe...Erin's GFCF Sweet Potato Biscuits.  The Spinach with Chickpeas were hers, as well.  As you can see, they were enjoyed.  If Cap had been home that plate would have been empty, no doubt.

When the kids came running into the kitchen for dinner, Gem asked what we were having and what were "those", as Sag asked what "that disgusting smell" was.  Sag, like me, has a very sensitive nose.  Before I could consciously process an answer for him (I remember distinctly thinking, really? something smells bad? what could it possibly be?), my brain went into intuitive mode.

"Those are biscuits," I proclaimed, "biscuits are a type of bread."  Something blocked my usual often bordering on TMI honesty (another trait Sag and I share...see above) and left out the sweet potato part.  Nice move, I told my brain.  So, the kids didn't know that there was sweet potato in the biscuits.  (I think that's what Sag had smelled when he walked in, the sweet potato mash pot that was still on the stove.)

And they loved them.

Sweet.

P.S.  As Erin states in her post, the crumb of these biscuits is lovely.  And they are light and simultaneously substantial.  I thought they were tasty and easy to make (you just have to allow for the extra time of cooking a sweet potato or two...I peeled, cubed and boiled mine, but next time will bake them).

Burst

If you've got blueberries from the summer in your freezer, these muffins will inject your winter-bound system with a wonderful burst of bright light.  (Our blueberries are local and organic...yum, yum, yum.)

I subbed 1 cup of white rice flour, 1/2 cup of garbanzo flour and 1/2 cup of tapioca starch for the 2 cups of all purpose flour called for in the recipe.  My muffins were very sweet (I used 3/4 cup of sugar).  In part, because the blueberries were so sweet and juicy, but also, I just don't need my sweets to be that sweet.  Next time, I will decrease to 1/2 cup of sugar.  I used rice milk and safflower oil.  I subbed orange extract for the lemon extract because I had it and didn't have the lemon.  I'd be interested in trying it with lemon extract sometime.  I used the dregs of my apple cider vinegar...and wondered how it would taste with rice vinegar, which is my usual go to vinegar.

The batter was extremely liquidy.  The muffins baked up nicely in 22 minutes at 375º.  They were a bit challenging to remove from the muffin tin cleanly.  The crusty edge was a bit sticky.  I think the same issue would arise using paper liners...

Gem didn't like the muffins, Sag hasn't tried them yet.  Cap is missing out on these this time around.  Me?  I loved the one I had which was still warm.  The burst blueberries inside were luscious.

Dusting off

the ugly.

the pretty.

Some day when my life looks like the photos in a glossy magazine (grin/grimace) I wonder if I'll be mortar and pestling my spices, creating only what I need.  The spices off the tray in the pic above have expiration dates from 2009 and early to mid-2010.  Look at how nasty the tops get when stored next to the oven and alongside bottles of oil and vinegar...for years.

When do you chuck your spices?  This situation is such an argument for more mindful purchasing and using of spices.  Mortar and pestle or dedicated coffee grinder, I'm looking at you.

I made the fabulous brownies for common meal tonight.  It's been ages.  I'd stopped making them because the moist dark chocolate crumbs would get tracked around the carpet and ground in pretty good (and this is in a home where no shoes are allowed...festive eating by a group begets a mess, what're you gonna do :-) 

As we enter the season of celebrating light, these brownies are a must.  They will light you up from inside.

Light

We seek it in different ways.

Last night as I snuggled with my 9yo I don't know why but I asked him if he felt bad a lot of the time.  He said yes without hesitating.  I wasn't surprised.  And of course I felt sad.  I prodded a bit and we came to understand that it's not a lot of the time but sometimes.  And my nerves dialed down.

I thought, though, wondered...if he will be vulnerable in adolescence...more than average.  As I gazed at this beautiful sensitive soul filling the soft yet solid body alternately folding into me and rolling away from me.

During this time where night is longer than day I connect naturally to the dark.

This morning I decided to go for it and catch some light.  Outside the tall old trees sway and buck as rain and wind pelts down and around.  Inside, I reverted to the original plan and used the big head of cabbage to make Cole slaw.

I was going to make it yesterday so it would have the time it likes to season overnight in the fridge.  Didn't happen.  After a lengthy session with Vinny which revealed just how tight my back and body is, and a solid 90 minutes at the comic book store, I was beyond done by the time the kids were fed dinner and the 50+ pounds of veggies were carried upstairs and stored in the coldest-spot-in-the-apartment linen closet now also root cellar.

I'll just braise the cabbage, I thought as I finished off the mint choco ice cream.  That's more wintry anyway.  (Eating ice cream that has chocolate in it at 10:30 pm, while comforting, is really a bad idea.  I didn't fall asleep till after 2am...)

This morning I am seeking light where and how I can.  So I made Cole slaw after all.  I look forward to its cool crunchy tang as I sit down at common meal tonight.  I look forward to the taste of summer it will bring to the table in a warm well-lit room keeping pitch black 5pm at bay.

From the kitchen

Trying to remember to breathe.  Deeply.  (Haven't been too successful so far...)

The quinoa-sweet potato salad is lovely.  Today I made it with rice vinegar and the olive oil my mom brought back from Sicily this summer.  Also, didn't mention this in the earlier post which included the recipe, but I have been using roasted red peppers from a jar.  I'm trying to keep away from raw foods as much as possible...

I also made some spinach with chickpeas.  I tasted it and have already downgraded the amount of cayenne for next time from 1/4 tsp to 1/8 tsp.  Erin, the blogger, likes her food hot :-)  I was going to serve this as part of dinner, but I think it will be too hot for the kids and I discovered that I do not have the main ingredient for what I had planned to make for lunch for myself, so I'll be having some of this for lunch :-)

Gearing up for a hella busy afternoon.  Picking up 50+ pounds of root veggies and crop leftovers, a visit with Vinny, Pokemon card gaming at the comic book store, picking up the eggs.  I'm going to try to squeeze in making something for tomorrow night's common meal before we leave the house again (we dropped Cap off at the airport this morning).

Hope you're eating something yummy and nutritious today.  This making more food from scratch and decreasing processed foods is time consuming.  Fun in its own way and rewarding, but time consuming...

Lovely

Ahhh...  What a wonderful way to start the day.  With a pause for a delicious drink for the mind and soul.

http://www.themorningnews.org/archives/personal_essays/i_reader.php

Dusky walk

The monday after

Today is one of those days that while fully cognizant that I am living the life I want to be, I find it tough.  I slept like crap last night, set my alarm to go food shopping, endured the kids' difficult re-entry to non-holiday routine, did not finish a project in the time allotted (needs to get done by tomorrow, it's gonna be tight), made a turkey vegetable soup, made tamari almonds for the first time in forever, will make corn bread in a bit, vacuumed three rooms, am cleaning out and reorganizing the fridge and pantry as I go...guided the kids through their 'school' work, made them meals, listened to their Pokemon tales, gave them hugs and kisses...I'm hoping to squeeze in a walk with them before it gets dark and after dinner will fold laundry.

Reading?  Writing?  Knitting?  Talking to a friend or two?  Nononono.

Light and love to you on this Monday.

More cozy

My father-in-law and my step-mother-in-law showered us with gifts from their recent trip to Finland.  I love my lambswool mittens...they have quite the Nordic flair, yes?  Kiitos!

Cozy

The new comforter is here!  So, so cozy.  It is much more blue than it looked in the catalogue photo (where it had green tones which turn out to be non-existent...)  Pussy willows are an unsung favorite of mine.  I always forget how much I love them.  And birds are sweet.

Good-bye apples...

Central park

It was nippy and dusk is coming earlier and earlier...  A wonderful way to cap off the holiday rounds of extended family time.  (Today was the annual taking of my folks' holiday pic :-)

Family-izing

Dudes, we made it out at 7:20 am Wednesday morning!  I felt quite accomplished.  We had a lovely holiday, the Cape is so quiet this time of year.  We slept well and late both mornings.  Posting a few pics before I fall into bed.  I am bushed.  Tomorrow we head into the city to see my side of the family for the annual taking of the holiday photo.  All this family time is nice.  I am feeling very grateful.

shooting himself swinging.

ocean love.

cool as a New England born Capricorn Finn.

Jamie love.

Mummu's table.

late lunch with Evie and Pops.

Day before

image pulled from web.

Leaving for the Commonwealth in the morning.  Our goal is a 7am departure.  (Insert snorts here.)  We can always try!

I've food shopped and begun packing.  The kids and I chose some games to bring (Labyrinth and Othello.)  I've organized birthday gifts and cards.

Oh, and I've looked into our visit here.  (Insert sighs here.)  We're going to Japan in February and this place is very high on our things we want to do.  (I'm not off track here...I may pick up the tickets at JTB when we head into the city Saturday :-)

We leave for Vinny in an hour (did I mention that last week's visit didn't happen?)  Then home for a snack before I drop the kids off for their last 2D Animation class (they loved it and are planning on signing up for the winter session) and run up to Donna's for the last CSA pick-up.

Then dinner and prepping the road trip food.

There's other stuff on my mind, but I can only do what I can do.  Life will still be here when we return, awaiting my attention.

Oh, but the library books, CDs and DVDs need to go back today.  Mustn't forget those...