AWEsome Cookery

  It’s late June so time for the willow weavers to converge on our town at the 2015 Willow Gathering: A North American Conference focused on the art of the Willow.  People traveled from all over the U.S. and Canada to learn weaving techniques and enjoy each other’s company.  And to eat good food.   This basket was a gift to me from one of the Danish instructors, Eva Seidenfaden, as a thank you for providing them with nourishment throughout the week.  Lucky

  It’s Spring and there is no getting away from recipes about spinach, kale, eggs, nettles, peas and asparagus…so just get used to it.  Embrace the green.  Green is good.  There’s a lot of green activity going on right now by that greenifying chlorophyll, absorbing the blue and red then reflecting the green to our eyes.  But its most amazing superpower—maybe the most amazing superpower ever—-it converts sunlight into food, trapping the solar energy which excites an electron in the chlorophyll that transforms carbon dioxide and water into glucose and oxygen.

  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

      “These are the Best Days of our Lives”   This calligraphy is what I wake up to in the morning and see before going to sleep every night.  My friends Greg and Jenny brought it back from China and now it lives in a frame above the bed spanning the entire width.  We’re such a forgetful species, we need our regular reminders—-not just for the good days, but even (and most especially) when the times are turbulent or uncertain.      

  Coffee lover that I am, I have to secretly admit I’ve been enjoying this dark liquid lately.  That’s right, roasted chicory is carving a new spot in my heart.  It has similar components to a coffee description–acidity, body, aroma, bitterness, sweetness, aftertaste–and a deep rich satisfaction that is almost meaty.   I know there are at least a few individuals who don’t love coffee: my honey pie, his brother, my cousin Barb, and maybe three or four more people who don’t care

  Many gardeners in these cold climates overwinter their parsnips in the ground, letting the back-and-forth thawing-and-cooling spring weather sweeten their starches into sugars.  So when little else is local in early April of the upper Midwest…parsnips can be found.   Related and similar to carrots (they look like an albino carrot), they’re often cooked into soups, boiled and mashed with potatoes, or roasted in the oven with other vegetables.  They do well in kimchi and can be added to your favorite juicing mix—especially with ginger, spinach and fruits.  Nutrition-wise

  Another sister’s weekend—lots of laughing and nobody was strangled, I would call that a great success.   We met in the Omaha area because you can’t get much more centrally located and because of the great arts and food scene that has been emerging over the last few decades.  We wandered around the Old Market District drinking tea, eating, shopping, and eventually making our way to the Artist’s Co-op Gallery on South 11th Street.  Our cousin Pam King is one of

    Here’s the deal…I don’t have a recipe.  We came home to a maelstrom of paperwork and whatnot and I cannot get it together to cook anything other than squash, pintos and the last of the frozen catering leftovers.  So instead here is a celebration of being outdoors in the winter…even though winter is melting before my very eyes.     You may or may not care one iota about cross country skiing…but I promised you last week to say more about the FIS

  It was a beautiful day in northern Wisconsin last Saturday for the 42nd American Birkebeiner marathon.   We had a two day window on Friday and Saturday with temperatures in the teens —the days preceding and days after the race eked out highs of only -1 and -4 Fahrenheit…a recipe for frostbite, hypothermia and frozen corneas during a race.  I’m sure the dozens of medics and ski patrol were also relieved for the mild weather.  Having witnessed hypothermia for the first

  I’m beginning to understand why people do this.   A year ago I signed up for my first cross country ski race on a 12.5 kilometer classic-only course. Having started this sport as a not-so-young adult it was not an obvious trajectory for me to race, but hanging out with enough people whose lives are somewhat shaped by the races they sign up for, I thought I could give it a whirl. Last year the temperature was a couple

  A few more shots of ABR in Ironwood, Michigan.  Datsa lotta wood.     I forgot to bring my coffee cup out to the ski-in cabin the first night so I made it in a jar in the morning.  The heavy cream went in first and the coffee on top—a beautiful little melding point.  Note the wood stove in the background.   While we’re at the remote cabins at ABR we use a small insulated bag for the ‘refrigerated’ items like cream, cheese,

  The International Paralympic Committee’s Nordic Skiing World Championships, right here at Telemark Lodge in Cable, Wisconsin near our winter home-base.  The paralympic equivalent to the World Cup, this is the championships for athletes from around the world competing in biathlon and cross country skiing.  It’s incredible to be this close to world-class skiers, watching their smooth techniques and stamina, and all of this combined with the phenomenal spirit of individuals overcoming the challenges of missing limbs or being visually impaired.

    On my way to bed recently I happened to glance at this window…what an incredible creation!  The streetlight gives the orange hue, but the morning sunlight would erase this temporary masterpiece so there was to be no waiting until daylight.  I know that my frosted marvels are indicative of poorly insulated windows in an old house, but at this moment it was a wonder to behold.     Playing with the hue… Did you know there is a Guide to

  Hmm…   Crystal Caves in Naica, Mexico?     An inside peek at the Ice Caves on Lake Superior?     Tibetan quartz?     Bolivian Salt crystals??     As the world turns… May you create the time for what matters most to you during this new Revolution of our Big Rock.  Once and a while we’re given flashes of clarity, glimpses through the magic glasses that help us focus on that which we love.  Wear those glasses often and don’t worry about the rest.  Forgive and be kind as

  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

  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

  I was able to spend some time at an amazing place last weekend.   Scattergood Friends School is a small boarding college-prep high school in rural Iowa that nourishes their students with both progressive academics AND an organic farm that produces much of the food for the school.  How cool is that?!?  Youth from around the country and around the world live together in community with staff and teachers: working on crews, harvesting, learning both in and outside of classrooms, cooking meals, eating together, playing,

  October days are either stunningly orange with sunlight filtered through turning leaves, or it’s grey, rainy and chilled giving us a hint of the November to come.  This potato soup with a tang of buttermilk, yogurt and dill seed will not let you down during this season.  There is something about being cozy and eating hot soup while watching the squall outside that increases our appreciation for the warmth.     I’ve been buying up my winter supply of root veggies

  On the way home from a conference this summer my sister and I stopped in at the house of a friend.  She proceeded to lead us around her town of Mt. Vernon to inspect milkweed leaves and search for monarch eggs or larvae that could be brought in for safer incubation.  A few hours later each of us packaged up a little critter and instructions on how to be a good foster parent to a monarch then went our ways homeward.