Yum!

With an abundance of cilantro and basil in the garden, I've been trying to find good recipes for fresh salsa and bruschetta.  I'm hopeful (fingers crossed) that we'll have some success with tomatoes this year... so I'm practicing different recipes to get ready!  This week, along with these tasty dishes, we enjoyed the Tofu King's tofu kabobs.  I could share his barbecue sauce recipe... but then I'd have to kill you (just kidding).  Honestly, I have no idea how he makes the sauce, but I'll try to get him to share a few of his secrets.  And when I find the perfect salsa and bruschetta recipes, I'll be sure to share those as well.  Hope your weekend is yummy!

A new (to us) desk...

I've been looking for a kid desk for a few months now... something small to fit into their room, but with some storage to keep their supplies in check.  The other day I came across this sweet little number at a local second hand store and though I do not love the color (and plan to paint it soon), it is perfect!  It's solid and sturdy and well made.  And it's just the right size with a deep space to stash stuff.  My girl immediately moved in... she didn't want to wait for paint.      

Sweet live music...

Last night we got to see Ryan Gustafson (the Dead Tongues) play at the Haw River Ballroom (a gem of a venue... as someone said last night!).  The Mr. and I we were both really really impressed.  I loved his last album (Donkey), but his newest record (Desert) is even better!  Can't recommend it highly enough.  

Triangle Music said it better than I could...

Four and a half years since his last acclaimed solo record (Donkey LP), Ryan Gustafson, as The Dead Tongues, returns to his strength with the spectacular Desert.

The wait was worth it. Desert is stewed to perfection. It’d be easy to group this record in with all the other dark Americana coming out of the south recently, but it sets itself apart with brighter harmonies reminiscent of 70s folk rock accented with hints of Gustufson’s experiences in Max Indian, The Light Pines, Mandolin Orange, and his experimental project The Daughter Is Ambiguous.

Gustafson is clearly the star, but the organ steals some spotlight on Desert. The instrument is allowed a ton of range from low-key, soulful accenting (“Exit Song”) to soaring lead voice (“The Desert”). 

The album reaches its peak with “Depression,” the front runner for best song of 2013. It sucks the listener in with an irresistible guitar hook and a knock-out first line: “I get in depression like you get into cars driving you home. Like she got into cuttin’, like I got into drinkin’ on my own.” The organ takes over and really belts it out, before setting up the gradual fade out over Desert’s final two tracks.

This complex mix of tones pushes the album beyond simple melancholy and into nuanced emotions that are harder to pin down.

Desert is about momentum and the fear of lacking it. Gustafson is afraid of getting stuck in one place, of time passing him by, of leaving the world unmarked.

“Look in the mirror. Boy, I have grown. Once just a pebble, now a sinking stone,” he sings on “The Desert.” Gustafson looks ahead as much as he looks back, but it all kind of looks the same when he’s in the middle. “Life is a desert that I’m meant to roam.”

To deal with his restlessness, Gustafson examines what’s worth stopping or, more severely, dying for (often love) and what’s not (“corporate government”). It’s all brought to life with compelling weariness by Gustafson, who wavers between vulnerability and nonchalance.

“If you want to know about something — well, something true — I don’t care about nothing, but I care about you,” he opens “Milestone.”

Gustafson isn’t a character here. He doesn’t have an agenda and there’s no bullshit.

“I’ve got no intention of pleasin’ or romancin’,” the weathered troubadour sings on “No Intentions,” “All I can say is what I feel.” That, more than anything else, is what makes Desert essential.

Here is a little peak of the magic (found here)...

If you'd like to listen to the new album or buy it... go here!  It's worth a listen to be sure!

Happy Friday...

Seeing rainbows...

One of my favorite things about having a kitchen garden is the color it adds to both our yard and our meals!   I decided to grow as many "rainbow" varieties as I could this year... radishes, carrots, and chard.  I figured the colors would be extra fun and might get the kids to eat more veggies.  I underestimated just how gorgeous this would make our little harvests.  The chard is simply blowing my mind right now... it is almost too pretty to eat!

Oklahoma...

I sometimes get into phases where I stop listening to NPR and pretty much avoid the news.  Life is busy or I want to focus on what's in front of me.  Late in the day yesterday, I came across the news of the destruction in Oklahoma.  My heart goes out to those who are suffering.   

Once again, I'm reminded never to take this sweet life for granted.  I'm holding my little ones extra close today... 

Well that worked out...

We had a birthday party and a school picnic yesterday.  That meant two things:  1) I had to wrap a present; and 2) I needed to make cupcakes!  I wasn't feeling super motivated and didn't want to go to the store so that meant using whatever we had on hand.

Part I:  We didn't have any tissue paper or wrapping paper or ribbon or gift bags.  I did have the very cute bag from buying the book and some garden string... oh and tape (a small miracle considering how quickly my girl goes through the stuff!)... so that helped get things started.  Once the book was wrapped, I decided it needed some sprucing up so I added a few wooden beads to the string and found some flowers to add. Voila... the gift was wrapped in a way that made me smile!

Part II:  I had the basics for making carrot cupcakes, but didn't have big cupcake papers or cream cheese.  I did have a million miniature cupcake papers (go figure!) and some heavy whipping cream and powdered sugar.  Maybe this is common knowledge, but I'd never made frosting with heavy cream and powdered sugar (and a little vanilla too!).  When you whip it up (like you're making whipped cream), it makes the fluffiest frosting... and it was tasty too (as tasty as frosting that isn't cream cheese frosting can be at any rate).  I did a pretty terrible job piping it onto the cupcakes (the added sugar flower/star things didn't help the aesthetic much), but it was good enough and most importantly, I didn't have to drive to the store.  A win-win in my book!

Rainbow radishes...

Our first radish harvest was super colorful and has been adding a pretty kick to our daily salads around here...

$1.50...

Last October, I spotted an academic robe in the thrift store's Halloween section.  It smelled like moth balls, but it was $1.50!!  I know it might be hard to believe, but these robes cost hundreds of dollars.  I've been renting one for graduation ceremonies ever since I graduated (at $40 a pop... which is such a complete waste of money!).  So you can imagine how excited I was to score this number... and perfectly happy to take it straight to the dry cleaner (where it cleaned up great for $7).  I wore it last Saturday for my college's graduation... and I told everyone who would listen the story of my thrift store robe.  No one could believe my luck.  It just goes to show that you really never know what you'll find at the thrift store!

Rose petals take two...

I went ahead and harvested more rose petals (as you can see we have an abundance of them around here!) for a second batch of rose petal liquor.  This time I followed this recipe!  Fingers crossed it will taste as good as it looks...

On camping...

I grew up car camping with my mom and backpacking with my dad.  As an adult, I was a bit of a camping snob and only camped (almost always backpacking) in remote, off the beaten track, back country destinations.  Then I had kids.  Camping was totally out of the question for a good long time.  Then camping in the back yard became doable... and then we started borrowing a Euro-van for bigger adventures.  This past weekend, we were invited to join a few folks at a nearby state park on a reservoir for some good old fashioned camp ground car camping.  Our group had our own cul-de-sac with nothing but views of the lake in every direction (it honestly felt like we were on an island).  The kids rotated between riding bikes, swimming in the lake, and tent hopping.  The grownups ate, drank, watched kids, and enjoyed the many simple pleasures of camping out (not including washing dishes in the spigot... decidedly not one of the simple pleasures of camping out, but necessary nonetheless).  Dish-washing and all, it really was an unequivocal success!  It made all of us really happy... and it might not have been a pristine mountain lake in the Sierra Nevadas, but it was just what we needed!  I have the feeling we'll be doing a whole lot more of this family style camping for the foreseeable future.

Here are a few things I learned in the process:

• Table cloths and flowers make your campsite feel like a little home away from home (I learned this from my own mama!)
• Air mattresses are dreamy!  
• Having a rug outside your tent's front door is key.
• You can never have too many chairs (or hammocks).
• After getting the campsite set up, be sure to have a cocktail ready to help you relax from all that hard work (gin and tonics were a very delicious choice!).
• Potluck dinners are especially awesome when camping out (we had the Tofu King's famous mac'n'cheese with broccoli and garlic, corn on the cob grilled over the campfire, hot/not dogs, salad, baked beans, strawberry shortcake, and s'mores... yum!).
• Coffee (I remembered both the french press and coffee mugs!!) is even better when you add left over whipped cream from the strawberry shortcake... and even if your air mattress is comfortable, you'll still need coffee in the morning (trust me!).
• Pancakes are even better with leftover strawberries... I think strawberry shortcake is now required on all camping trips from here on out.
• Never go camping without bikes.
• Ditto the Sunshade.
• Baby turtles are amazing!
• Even the local reservoir can be filled with beauty and wildlife... and there is nothing better than falling asleep to a chorus of singing frogs.

Rose petal liquor...

So I thought I remembered how to make rose petal liquor from when I did it last year, but it turns out, I did not!  Oops!!  According to this recipe, you pour vodka (or brandy or rum) over petals in a screw top jar and let the petals and booze hang out together for 28 days before adding a cup and a half of sugar.  You let that sit for an additional 14 days (leaving it in a cool, dark place turning the jar occasionally).  Unfortunately, I looked up the recipe after I made my batch (that's how I roll)!  So we shall see what happens with my version.  I had already decided to put half as much sugar as last year... so I'll just embrace it as an experiment!  My version goes like this... harvest rose petals (make sure they are clean, bug free, and dry!).  Add 3/4 cup of sugar to a little under 3 loose cups of petals.  Then add a lime rind and top it off with cheap vodka.  I'm going to try to make another batch while the roses are in bloom... this time with fresh lavender and mint (recipe found here).  I'll keep you posted!

This first batch might not end up tasting great, but it sure looked pretty...

Busy...

Between grading papers and tending my garden, there isn't a whole lot of time for thrifting, stitching, or making right now.  But watching my small garden explode with life is so good for the soul.  I do have some plans to get good and busy with some fun projects and thrifting adventures once the semester comes to a close.  In the meantime, I'm making some rose petal liquor tomorrow (the roses are blooming like crazy right now... they smell amazing!).  Until then, here is a little garden eye candy for you (because I can't help myself):

April showers bring May flowers...

... and butterflies!!