A Sunny Day

Do you ever have those moments? You know the ones that can last just a few minutes, or a few hours, or a few days, maybe even a few weeks, or possibly years where you sort of forget who you are. For me, I recently experienced that feeling, it lasted a short while a few days where things just seemd out of sorts, confused.

I know a lot of it was just timing. Where I'm at mentally & emotionally, the weather being so cold recently, the unknowing and uncertainty of so many things, it just got to me. I had a moment where everything got to me, deep into me and I felt it. I had to pull myself out of it. I called on my mother, my friends and my husband to listen and help me process.

Yesterday I realized that I felt afloat and was needing grounding. The sun was shining today and I figured that there wasn't a better way to get grounding than to play in the dirt.

The house we are renting has a small garden area with pre-existing beds simply in need of a little TLC. Even though the future is not set Ian and I gathered some tools and went out to weed and prepare the bed that is already fitted with hoops for a plastic covering.

We took turns raking and forking and pulling weeds. We saw earthworms, and centipedes, and found sea shells and snail shells. We built up the brush pile and Tonka truck bulldozer even made a special visit towards the end of the work project.

After we finished working, and my fingernails were caked with rich soil and the freshly turned earth smell invaded my olfactory I felt alive. I remembered deep inside who I am. Who I want my boy to remember me as. That I often smell of cinnamon, jasmine, and spanish amber. That I love and miss working the land and growing food and harvesting and preparing. I love the sunrise and sunset and the colors as they splash across the sky. I smile everyday as I lay awake in bed and hear songbirds outside my window.

Tomorrow I will plant greens and lettuce.

I am glad to be.

Snow much fun

Last week we had a winter snow here in GA. It was the first time in a while I had seen a good snow, and by good I don't mean as good as 10 years ago in Madison County, NC, but still 4 inches can certainly be a lot of fun. I realized that I didn't have any recent pictures of me and my honey and so I made him stop mid snowman build and take one with me. Here we are flashing winter smiles at the camera

Four inches of snow is also the most snow our little guy has ever seen in one place in his young life. Talk about excited. He was totally beside himself with joy. "Mom, it's so amazing isn't it? Look at the way it's falling." He loved it so much and we made a real effort to get out into the snow as a family and enjoy it to its fullest.

evolution of a cake

Vegan Chocolate Cake

So, I have been working on a chocolate cake recipe for a number of years now. I think that I have finally come up with an extra chocolatey, really moist, delicious winner. So here it is for you to try out at home if you wish. It also makes an excellent cupcake.

For those of you wondering, this is the same recipe I used to make Dr. Rhoades cake.

Vegan Chocolate Cake

2c unbleached all purpose flour
1 & 3/4tsp baking powder
1tsp baking soda
1c cocoa powder

1c vanilla soymilk (i prefer edenblend)
5T canola oil
1 & 1/2c grade B maple syrup
1 & 1/2tsp apple cider vinegar
3T vanilla extract
1/2tsp sea salt

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly oil a 9inch springform pan, sqaure baking pan, or cupcake pan.

In a large bowl combine the dry ingredients excluding the salt and using a whisk stir gently.

In a seperate bowl whisk all of the wet ingredients and the salt until well blended.

Pour wet into dry and whisk until the liquid is absorbed.

Pour batter into pan and bake 20-25 minutes until the cake pulls away from the edges and it is done in the center. You can use a toothpick to check the center.

Allow to cool, remove from pan and frost with your favorite icing.

I'm still working on a vegan "buttercream" but that will be a while.

abstraction

i awoke to a world
washed with gray
the wet colors dripped
in muted hues
swirling together
forming deep, foreboding
tidal pools
waves, foam roaring
crashed
upon the bleached shoreline
an akward step
over rocky terrain
i stumble down
my face planted
in the fresh mud
it is rich and soft
i can taste the millenia
and forgotten lands

below me
the ground opens
i slip into darkness
quiet and stillness
reign in this place
of sensory deprivation
there is time to contemplate
if i really exist

Citrus Herb Marinade

Citrus Herb Marinade

1c fresh cilantro, chopped
½ onion peeled and chopped
¾ c orange juice
½ c chicken broth
1tsp dried oregano
½ tsp red pepper flakes
1 garlic clove

Place all ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.

This sauce makes an excellent marinade for both chicken and fish. I think it would taste especially delicious fresh halibut.

I made a chicken dish with this.

I placed 1 pound of skinless, boneless chicken breast in a large ziploc bag and poured the marinade over it. I let the chicken marinade in the refrigerator for about 8 hours. (I think next time I will let whatever I'm marinating sit over night).

I heated about 3-4T olive oil in a large cast iron skillet. I browned the chicken breast on each side. After browning the chicken I poured the remainder of the marinade over the chicken and allowed it to simmer until the chicken was cooked through.

It was really delicious. I would love to hear any comments if you try this out.

Birthdays

Six year old snuggles are simply a great way to start the day!

Every year that goes by we age. What age does to us is similar for all; we grow taller, longer, wider, etc... our mental abilities increase (hopefully) we learn how to relate better to others (possibly) and we gain more knowledge about ourselves. This I guess is more refelctive of an adult growing older.

When a child grows older their changes are impossible to miss. My boy turned 6 this month and it seems to me that these past 6 years, ok 7 including pregnancy have simply flown by so quickly. At least at first without retrospection that's how it seems. However when I really take the time to think on the flight of time, I relaize how very many experiences I have had the opportunity to share with him. each one comprising varying amounts of time from a few seconds, to a few hours, to the entire 6 years since birth.

Amazing!

Each experience for a child is still new to them. I take for granted the skills I have learned and known now for most of life. Simple tasks like tying my shoe laces and enjoyable tasks like reading are all second nature to me and yet for my boy, he is just embarking on those.

For his birthday Ian requested an Incredible Hulk theme. However as hard as Jeanne and I tried we could not find one piece of Incredible Hulk anything for decorating a party, no plates, napkins, cups, hats, stickers, or even a coloring a book.

So I thought I might as well do my best to capture the essence of the Hulk onto a cake.

A year or so ago I started noticing these "cupcakes" in the grocery store. essentially they were cupcakes that had been set out into a pattern and then iced to look like a full cake. I'd been dying to try it and so I was excited to have my chance at it.

I asked Ian what he thought about that idea and he smiled his bright smile at me and said, "Can he still have big arm muscles?" When I assured him that Hulk could still have his arm muscles he was all for it.

So, here you have it: The Incredible Hulk in cupcakes complete with the requested arm muscles and all.

I made these cupcakes with a modified chocolate cake recipe and I used my favorite once a year (well maybe twice) icing recipe that came from Stick Boy Bakery in Boone, NC. Funny, vegan cupcakes with buttercream icing priceless.