boonzaaijers

We are in the rainy season here (such that we have in Colorado that is), which is perfect for morning bike rides, then lazy afternoons of reading and dozing! This morning one of the girls rode with me to Boonzaaijer's, a cute little Dutch bakery on the west side--they made the cake for Laura's wedding last year. If you are in the mood for delectable European pastries, check them out...you won't be disappointed!

satisfied and ready for the ride home.

Laura's cake (picture by Rachel Hope Photography)

summer spaces

best mini burger ever (at dbar)

(my birthday)

birthdays (Michael 22, Lydia 24)

beautiful vocal recital of my good friend, Linda.

the youngest just before her ballet recital

 

Some of our favorites of summer in Colorado

food

celebrations

flowers

reads

(coming up...more food, from farmer's markets to table, hikes, bikes, and books--still need to hang the hammock!)

hope you are enjoying your summer space.

something about a tea party

When the girls were little, they loved having tea parties. They had valentine teas, teddy bear teas, summer garden teas. They could (and did) attach almost any theme to tea, whip out the tiny tea cups, and Voila! a tea party. 

The girls are all grown (or almost), but they (we) still love a pretty tea table. Now it's a time and space to slow down, to talk, to laugh, to knit, to savor warm cranberry bread and chai latte (or a cafe au lait for me). -- Just what we needed this Sunday afternoon after a somewhat busy, stressful few weeks. 

 The tea set and tablecloth are from Austria, where I spent the early years of my life.

 This afternoon tea was her idea...

In Austria, with my sister, where we also spent many happy hours having tea parties.

cranberries

We are not huge cranberry sauce fans around here, but discovered an amazing recipe this year. If you use cranberries for Christmas cooking...here are two delicious recipes:

    

Cranberry Sauce:      

1/2 cup  agave nectar

1 cup orange juice

1 cinnamon stick

12 oz. fresh cranberries

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, mix agave nectar and orange juice. Add the cinnamon stick. Stir in the cranberries, reduce heat to low and cover pan. Simmer until they start to pop (about 8-10 minutes). Remove from heat and let cool for about 5 minutes. The sauce will thicken as it cools. Transfer to bowl and remove cinnamon stick. Refrigerate any leftovers.

Christmas Cobbler (with pear and cranberries)

1/4-1/3 cup Agave nectar

1/3 cup sugar

1 T. cornstarch

1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries

2 medium pears, unpeeled and sliced

3/4 cup flour 

1/2 cup sugar

1/3 cup butter

1 cup uncooked oatmeal

1 egg, slightly beaten

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Spray 9 inch square or round baking pan. In medium saucepan, combine first 3 ingredients. Stir in cranberries. Heat to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes or until cranberries pop open. Stir in pears. Pour into baking pan. Combine flour and 1/2 cup sugar. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in oats; mix well. Add egg, mixing until just moistened. Crumble evenly over fruit. Bake 30-35 minutes until top is golden brown. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream (we devoured this!).

at last

 rainy day.

fireplace day. studying and reading day. 

baking day.

Easy Banana Quinoa Muffins
3/4 cup Quinoa flour
3/4 cup Quinoa flakes
3 t. baking powder
1 1/2 t. baking soda
3/4 t. salt
3-4 T. honey
3 eggs
3 ripe, mashed bananas
Mix dry ingredients and wet ingredients in separate bowls. Add wet to dry until just moistened. Pour batter into muffin tins till half full. Bake 400 for 15-20 minutes. Makes 1 dozen.

grilled butternut squash

Fall was definitely in the air this morning after a rather long, Indian summer. Cool temperatures, strikingly blue skies, the perfect morning for a hike with my daughter at Ute Valley Park, just around the corner from our house.

And a perfect day for grilling. It gave me a chance to experiment with a recipe from a new friend who cooks exclusively vegetarian. Grilled butternut squash, with peppers and onions, topped with feta cheese and almonds and served on fresh spinach leaves.

1 butternut squash, peeled
1/2 red pepper,
1/2 orange pepper,
1 small yellow onion
1 clove fresh garlic, minced
2 T. extra virgin olive oil
 sea salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/4 cup nuts (you might use walnuts or pistachios instead of almonds)
6 oz. fresh spinache leaves

Slice the squash into 1/4" rounds, scooping out any seeds with a spoon. Place in a bowl with 1 T. olive oil and toss with salt and pepper. Slice peppers and onions lengthwise (any combination of vegetables might be used: e.g. zucchini and eggplant).  Toss in a large bowl with 1 T. olive oil and minced garlic and season with salt and pepper. Grill the squash on a medium hot grill. I use a vegetable grilling pan, but you could place the squash directly on the grill racks. Sear about 3-5 minutes per side. Place the squash on a plate and grill the peppers and onion/stir fry if you have the vegetable grill pan a few minutes till hot yet still crunchy. Add the squash briefly to heat.  (All the vegetables might be stir fried in a skillet on a stove top too).

Place the spinach leaves on a large serving platter, and add the vegetables, feta cheese, and chopped nuts. Perfect colors for a beautiful fall day!

Here's another gluten free dish I prepared last week.  The pizza dough was adapted from gluten free day, a lovely blog full of delicious recipes.

best of times...

I love having my daughters and son(in-law) so close by. I love that they love hanging out together. Though I missed their apple picking outing this year, my youngest captured these lovely pictures.

 



Then she made this yummy pie...

and the oldest made this amazing strawberry rhubarb, her specialty. It's been pie heaven around here lately! (see her fun post of their pie making adventures)

and finally a Banana Walnut Quinoa Bread --my launch into gluten free baking.

Combine dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl: 

1 1/4 cup Quinoa flour

2 t. baking powder

1/2 t. baking soda 

1 t. cinnamon

 pinch of nutmeg,

 pinch of salt 

Combine wet ingredients in another bowl:

2-3 mashed ripe bananas

2 eggs

1/4 cup melted butter

1/2 cup raw honey

Stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients until just moistened. Fold in:

1/2 - 3/4 cup chopped walnuts 

Spray loaf pan with Organic Canola and bake at 400 degrees for 20 - 25 minutes. Enjoy warm from the oven...the quinoa adds a sweet, nutty flavor to the bread.

rain and blueberries

I love the mountain thundershowers that cool the afternoons in July. Perfect for reading, napping, baking. And I love blueberries--the lemon blueberry coffee cake below is one of our family's favorites. It's light and not too sweet. 

Lemon Blueberry Coffee Cake (recipe from my Light Desserts cookbook):

3 cups flour

2 t. baking powder

1/4 t. salt

1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries

1 c. sugar

2 eggs

1 c. low fat milk

3 T. vegetable oil

1 t. vanilla

1 t. lemon extract

Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Sprinkle 1 T. of flour mixture over blueberries and toss gently to coat; set aside.

Beat sugar and eggs in a large bowl at medium speed of an electric mixer until light and fluffy (3-5 min). Combine milk and oil. Add flour mixture to sugar mixture alternately with milk mixture, beating at low speed of an electric mixer until blended. Stir in vanilla and lemon extracts. Fold in blueberries.

Pour batter into 10 inch tube pan that has been coated with cooking spray and dusted with flour. Bake at 350  degrees F for 50-55 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool cake in pan 10 minutes. Remove from pan and cool completely on a wire rack.

Combine 1 cup powdered sugar and 1-2 T. fresh lemon juice; Stir well. Drizzle glaze over cooled cake.

This banana blueberry bread is easy to make and delicious, served warm from the oven with butter and honey.

 Banana Blueberry Bread:

3 large ripe bananas, mashed

1/2 cup butter, melted

1 egg

1 t. vanilla

1/2 cup agave nectar (add more for extra sweetness, up to about 3/4 cup, or substitute honey)

2 c. flour (I use half whole wheat flour)

1 t. baking soda

1/2 t. baking powder

1/2 t. salt

1 c. fresh blueberries

1/2 c. chopped walnuts

Combine butter, agave nectar, vanilla, and egg.  Add bananas. Toss blueberries in a little bit of flour to coat. Add flour, soda, salt, baking powder. Fold in blueberries and nuts. Pour into greased loaf pan and bake at 350 F oven for about 50 minutes. 

Unhurried

So far our pace this summer has remained remarkably leisurely. These long slow days admit bike rides to the grocery for fresh salad greens and fruit or to the library for the books saved for hammock reading. And the best part is none of it feels hurried. Time even for a simple homemade dressing. The lemon garlic one below adds a light but savory touch to red leaf lettuce, spinach, carrots and cucumbers. Simple and perfect with bruchetta.

                                                          6 T. extra virgin olive oil

                                                          3 T. fresh lemon juice

                                                          1 clove garlic, minced

                                                          coarsely ground sea salt and pepper to taste

Mix well and allow to sit for 30 minutes before adding to greens.

...and the books--so far I would recommend them--along with the hammock of course.

Veggie Cheese Lasagna

              Ingredients:

1 T. extra virgin olive oil

2 cloves minced garlic

1/4 cup chopped chives

1/4 cup veggie broth

2-3 carrots, sliced and steamed for 1-2 minutes in microwave
2 jars (24 oz. each) spaghetti sauce
1 T. lemon juice

1 t. dried oregano

1-2 t. dried basil

1/8 t. nutmeg

8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
3 cups shredded Mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1/2 T. dried parsley
3-4 oz. of fresh spinach leaves
12 whole wheat lasagna noodles, cooked to al dente.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Heat olive oil over medium high heat until hot. Add garlic and chives and saute for 1 minute. Then add carrots and veggie broth and simmer over low for 5 minutes. Stir in spaghetti sauce, lemon juice, basil, oregano, and nutmeg till hot. In a separate bowl, combine cream cheese, mozzarella, and parmesan cheeses. Stir in parsley. Place 4 noodles in bottom of 13 x 9 pan. Spread 1/3 of cheese mixture over top. Top with 1/3 of spaghetti sauce mixture and 1/3 of spinach leaves. Repeat layers 2 more times: noodles, cheese mixture, sauce mixture, and spinach leaves. On last layer, sprinkle about 1/4 cup of parmesan and 1/4 cup of mozzarella cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 15 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 20 minutes until bubbly. Take out of oven and let sit for 5 minutes before serving.

This vegetarian lasagna is packed with healthy vegetables and delicious cheeses. I think zucchini squash would be delicious as well (substitute for carrots or spinach). And ricotta would probably be excellent instead of cream cheese, although the cream cheese was yummy! The family agreed it is a new favorite!

For dessert, I made a sumptuously rich white chocolate and blackberry pie (recipe adapted from anecdotes and apples). I used a store bought graham cracker crust, Greek yogurt (about 1/3 cup) instead of silken tofu and covered the blackberries with whipped heavy cream sweetened with 1 T. Agave Syrup.  Chilled in the fridge, it was perfect for this sunny, warm Sunday.

Food Rules

One of the blogs I love to read is PreacherMike because his interests are as varied and random as mine. You can find sports updates, theological reflection, adoring grandpa, travel, humanitarian issues, excellent book reviews, and this last food! (combined with a book of course, Michael Pollan's Food Rules: an eater's manual). Here are some of my favorite rules...they are not only true, but  funny! 

From Section 1: What should I eat? (Eat food.):

• Rule 13 -- Eat only fodds that will eventually rot.
• Rule 21 -- It's not food if it's called by the same name in every language. (Think...Cheetos...)

From Section 2: What kind of food should I eat? (Mostly plants.)

• Rule 24 -- Eating what stands on one leg is better than eating what stands on two legs, which is better than eating what stands on four legs.
• Rule 36 -- Don't eat breakfast cereals that change the color of the milk.

From Section 3 -- How should I eat? (Not too much.)

• Rule 57 -- Don't get your fuel from the same place your car does.

And speaking of healthy eating, how would you like to attend one of these dinners? (link from a cup of jo)

Palm Sunday

Encouraged to practice paying attention by Barbara Brown Taylor's beautiful book, An Altar in the World: a Geography of Faith, this spring break I determined to devote my body and mind to the space around me and the people who inhabit that space. To notice and open fully to the touching, the seeing, the hearing, the smelling, the tasting--what Taylor calls the "practice of wearing skin."

So this spring break at the dmv where my 16 year old was applying for her license (every 16 year old in the city wanted a license that day...of course! it was spring break!), I minded the people there. But not how I usually mind. On that day, my habit of irritation when I have to wait or feel claustrophobic with strangers was forgotten in the minding, in the mindfulness of the space and the people there. Like the white haired man taking information and typing it into his computer. While Lynnae answered his monotone questions, I watched his weathered and gnarled fingers hunt and peck at the keyboard. That day, I wondered what those hands had done in another era, who they had touched or what they had made. And on that day, he looked up and smiled at last when we thanked him and noted that he pronounced Lynnae correctly.

And on this day, the last of spring break, instead of going to church and waving palm fronds, Lynnae and I volunteered to do the food run for the community soup kitchen. This day dawned spring and the Whole Foods Market employees cheerfully directed us to more and more food to fill our van--so much bread--the crusty outside but fluffy inside kind. And loads of organic fruits and vegetables. And it was full to the very top. And on this day, the fresh smell of the store permeated the van as we drove to Shove Chapel, the location of the soup kitchen. When we arrived, several homeless men helped us unload. And they were smiling and one man raised his hand and grinned, "It's Palm Sunday!". Yes, it is. On this day we are glad that those bodies won't be hungry.

And this day I tried two new recipes to serve to my family, Rachel Ray's Taco Pasta Toss, and Monet's Sweet Lime pie.  Thanks to Laura, who tried the pie recipe first and loved it and to Lydia for pointing us to her friend Monet's blog, full of deliciously healthy recipes and interesting book reviews. It is Palm Sunday and on this day I am glad to savor home cooked  food with my family. 

This day I walked behind my husband and held the spool of wire to keep it from tangling as he anchored it to the perimeter of our yard. It is Palm Sunday and this day I savored the sun on my skin and the easy companionship of working with my husband. 

It's a good practice, this practice of paying attention. It's a sacred practice, this practice of wearing skin. Two I think I really need to keep.