Tis the month of spinach and greenery and our livers are thanking us for being drawn to these deep rich colors then serving them up for dinner.  Right now the local spinach is delicate and young, you barely need to add anything.   A side of black tea with a splash of milk looks on the menu as well.  We grew up drinking black tea with a bit of milk and sugar—our father bicycled across the British Isles in the 1940’s and brought back with

  More woodland flowers from a walk on the bluff top, a pair of Bloodroot blooms.  This North American native is a member of the Poppy family and the root was used as a dye for baskets and clothing.  Here are more tidbits about the medicinal uses of this beautiful Bloodroot, or Sang de Dragon.       I can’t stop eating these little buddies!  High protein and no grain—this has been a handy breakfast treat as I try to eat less carbs.  I made them without

  Yay, another pea soup!  I knew that was what you were going to say.  We’ve had a week of spring-emerging: from chill to rain to sunny days which means the buds and grass are finally beginning to explode in greenery.  I even saw blooming wildflowers in the woods on my walk yesterday.  And spring means green soup, yes? Green it is.   The bones of this recipe were resurrected from a 1984 Café Beaujolais cookbook by Margaret Fox.  My friend Frances passed

    I finally got a good photo of the Ukrainian jackets at the International Paralymic Championships here at Telemark, they’re beautiful.  I wish I would have had a cool jacket to trade with him…     Twenty countries! For more amazing footage check out the video of the 2014 Paralymic Winter Games in Sochi.     A much better shot of the Russian jacket.  The Russians and the Ukrainians were even hanging out part of the time….   A week after the IPC

  If it’s going to continue to be gray outside, it might as well snow a little—and it is!  White flakes are showering down and I’m grateful for even a small change in these overcast days.   Here’s a tasty and healthy little snack for the holidays. ‘Sikil P’aak’ is the Mayan name for this kind of dip, though usually it would include tomatoes since ‘p’aak’ means tomato.  ‘Sikil’ means pepitas, or pumpkin seeds, which were also an important part of the diet

    “When it is dark enough, you can see the stars.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson. . This week’s quote can be taken different ways, but it seemed good for the long nights of the solstice season.  Our weather pattern has been stuck in a dreary, foggy, drabness for the last week and I’ve kept my colored holiday lights on all day just to have some hue in my life other than gray.  November and December have reversed themselves and we have no bright snow

  Another Faroe Island dinner delight. All I had was a blog photo from a dinner at the Faroe Islands restaurant KOKS and the deducing began.  Regardless of what their version actually was, these niblets may have been my favorite part of the dinner—this and the celeriac purée.  Fortunately there were extra burned leeks for snacking as we cleaned up the feast and sipped our sherry and aquavit.       It takes a zen approach in separating these leek layers intact…ease…don’t rush….    

  This is a stone tile creation by Scott of limestone and onyx.  A fun little bathroom design and another photo distraction to entertain—like the previews before the movies, sometimes they are the most captivating part of the show!     Speaking of star anise… A couple of months ago I heard on the radio (my main form of outer world communication these days) an interview with my former chef/teacher Lenny Russo at the Minnesota State Fair.  He made the comment that star anise is grossly overused in the

  I often trot through our nearby wooded parks and recently stumbled upon this fire pit.  Most of our trails were built by volunteers in the mountain biking community…can you tell?  Knowing some of this crew I would guess this pit will be used well into the winter months, for “neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds” …or at least from having fun in the woods with their buddies.  

  My sister and I recently went to this display of Flora Metamorphicae, 4,000 flower sculptures created by six Norwegian artists.  The flowers travel the world and the displays are changing and unique to the surroundings in which they reside.  Each flower is different, some resemble natural flowers and some spring from the imagination realm of its maker.  All are incredible.     More images of Flora Metamorphicae                  .   This exhibit is