by Krista | Jun 21, 2011 | Gulliver Tuesday
“Why do we love the sea?
It is because it has some potent power to make us think things we like to think.”
-Robert Henri-
Hi my lovelies! xo
It’s been a doozy of a day. My car broke down this morning (busted radiator), and my camera broke this afternoon, and my poor ankle is black and blue and hurts like blazes, and my ex-landlord doesn’t want to give me my damage deposit back because I “caused much trouble” by reporting the bad man to the police. Ayiyi.
On the bright side of things, I DID get my passport renewed on time (hooray!), I got my ticket to Amsterdam for only $337 (yahoo!), a detective friend at the Sheriff’s office is helping to resolve this situation with the naughty landlord (thank you!!), and I got to spend time with dear, dear friends at cooking club.
Isn’t life so very crazy sometimes?
All things considered, I decided today is the PERFECT time to whisk us all away on a vicarious jaunt to the beach.
I’ve saved a chair for you next to me, so let’s lean back, prop our feet up, close our eyes, and let the crashing waves and hot summer sun soothe our rumpled spirits and restore our strength.
“All shall be well,
and all shall be well,
and all manner of thing shall be well.”
Julian of Norwich
Greece
Bosnia
Montenegro
Italy
Cancun
“I am not afraid of tomorrow, for I have seen yesterday and I love today.” WA White
by Krista | Jun 19, 2011 | Bootstrap Monday
How do you renew your creativity when it is flagging?
Do you listen to music? Spiff up your entire house in a frenzied cleaning spree? Disappear into a novel for a few hours?
As I transition from part-time freelance writer to full-time, creativity is on my mind a lot. The other day I was feeling quite overwhelmed and rather daunted by this change in my life.
Since I was fretting about it, I assigned myself the job of taking an hour or so to just sit out in the sunshine and get settled and restored.
I spread oatmeal toast with butter and jelly, filled a cheery green cup with blueberries, and toddled out to the back yard with a stack of cookbooks pillaged from my friends kitchen.
For a while I just sat with eyes closed, feeling the hot morning sun warm my skin and dry my hair. I reminded myself to take a few deep breaths and could feel the stress ebbing away.
After a bit I dug into my breakfast then cracked open the first cookbook. Soon I was shaking my head in wonder at stunningly decorated cookies and cakes. I have no desire to do such painstaking work myself, but I was in awe of the detail and beauty of each little creation.
The next book was my favorite and I can’t wait to track down my own copy. It is the oh-so-brilliant and inspiring “The Improvisational Cook” by Sally Schneider. After reading only a few pages my creative self was off and running, darting this way and that with one idea after another.
It reminded me again of how much we need each other. Yes, we can and must work hard on our own, but sometimes our better selves and ideas are brought out by the inspiration and creativity of another.
A few days later I went outside again. I had more blueberries – sure love those little beauties – but this time I had my journal in tow instead of more books to read.
I find great comfort in putting pen to paper, letting random thoughts and snippets of ideas filter down into coherent sentences and helpful to-do lists. Slowly but surely general dreams are simmered into specific plans of action, and frazzled nerves are calmed.
Although my life is still crazy, taking time to get renewed has eased my anxiety and given me clear priorities. It’s going to be a good week.
How do you renew your creativity, luvs?
by Krista | Jun 17, 2011 | Fabulous Friday
Good morning, dear ones. It’s with great joy that I tell you I have my plane ticket and I’m moving to Amsterdam next month!!
I will be visiting my brother and future sis-in-law for the summer helping get ready for their wedding in Italy and getting restored in body and spirit before moving to Australia this fall.
I am so excited to see them and hug them tight and get cozy on the couch for good long talks.
While in Amsterdam I will continue my freelance writing assignments as well as work on a series of cookbooks to share with you dear folks. It will be so nice to have my bro and sis as guinea pigs for my experiments in the kitchen.
I will also do as much exploring as possible. I can’t wait to take you with me (vicariously at least!) along the canals and streets of Amsterdam and the Netherlands. If all goes well, I also hope to spend time with dear friends in Germany, and I will share those adventures with you too.
Mostly I’m looking forward to being safe with people I love, spoiling them with good meals when they get home from work, and building memories together in this wonderful city.
In the meantime, there is much to be done: paperwork, selling most of my belongings and shipping the few things I need to start my new life in Australia.
I had to laugh today because, wouldn’t you know it, the day I get my ticket and have a mile-long to-do list I fall and sprain my ankle!!! Yeesh. I have impeccable timing. 🙂
Thank you so much for loving me and cheering me on through this very difficult year. You’ve shared my heartaches and pain and I’m SO glad we now get to celebrate good things.
Love you dearly. xo
by Krista | Jun 15, 2011 | Plucky Thursday
What do you look for when you’re at the beach? Sea glass? Smooth white stones? Perfect seashells?
I love how at first glance a beach can look like pristine sand or a blanket of water-smoothed pebbles, but once you get down on your hands and knees there are SO many treasures and delights to be found.
I look for different things according to the beach I’m exploring.
When I lived in Portugal I found hundreds of teeny-tiny shells about the size of a lentil. I collected them and have them safe in a pretty glass jar.
In Italy and the Balkans I looked for smooth sea glass in shades of green, turquoise and blue. I have those bits in a different jar.
In Washington I always look for the shells that are like a purple watercolor inside, and display them in a pale gray dish on my coffee table.
After a long day of exploring in the wind and sun, I love coming home to something hearty and healthy with bright colors and flavors like this Black Bean Salad with Lime Dressing. It’s so simple to make if you don’t mind a bit of chopping.
Just drain and rinse two cans of black beans and add whatever diced fresh veggies you like. My favorites are sweet bell peppers (capsicum to my Aussie readers), sugar snap peas, and celery, with lavish amounts of fresh cilantro. Then I toss everything with a simple dressing of lime juice, olive oil, and a good, grainy mustard. I made it for the family I’m staying with and they cleaned up every morsel. 🙂
What are your favorite treasures from the beach?
Black Bean Salad with Lime Dressing
Ingredients:
2-3 cans black beans, rinsed and drained
2-3 stalks celery, diced fine
1 red or yellow or orange bell pepper, diced fine
1 cup sugar snap peas, sliced fine
2-3 scallions, sliced
1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped
Dressing:
1/4 cup lime juice
1/4 cup olive oil
1 Tbsp grainy mustard
salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
- Combine beans, vegetables and cilantro in salad bowl. Toss to mix.
- In small bowl combine remaining ingredients and whisk until emulsified.
- Add dressing to salad and toss to incorporate. Best eaten right away.
by Krista | Jun 15, 2011 | Compatriot Wednesday
My heart sank this morning when my car heater stopped working (yes, I know it’s summer time, but apparently Washington doesn’t ;-)) and the temperature gauge surged past the H mark. From a recent experience involving billowing steam, burnt rubber, and getting stranded for hours in a freezing Canadian winter, I knew that something was amiss.
I pulled over and called a mechanic who advised me to turn off the car (check), let the engine cool (check), and not drive it anymore. Hmm. That was a problem seeing as I was at the Canadian border miles from home with no access to a tow truck. Apprised of my predicament he then advised me to drive slowly, keeping an eye on the temperature gauge and stopping whenever it got too hot.
So off I went, putt-putting along the shoulder at whopping 15 mph, stopping every 2-3 minutes to let the engine cool down.
2 hours later I was still going. Ayiyi.
The first leg of the trip was the most vexing as I gnashed my teeth and woe-is-me’d and wished to high heaven I didn’t have to use the loo, but finally I sighed and decided it was high time I started embracing this unwanted adventure, seeing if I could find something good in it.
And I did.
If you ever need to go on a 15 mph, 2+ hour road trip with countless stops, I highly recommend you take it in the back country of Whatcom County in Washington State.
It is gorgeous!!
At each stop to let the car cool down, I grabbed my little camera and hopped out for a walk to see what I could see. I was never disappointed.
The ditches were filled with wild lupines, Queen Anne’s Lace and wild roses that smelled perfectly heavenly.
Meadows were carpeted with bright yellow blooms drifting back in great swaths into the woods.
I got “stuck” behind a tractor going 12 mph and unlike any other day wasn’t perturbed in the least. We idled along like two turtles, going so slow we could easily hear birds singing and the wind in the trees.
While this episode was stressful and frustrating, it also ended up being a beautiful part of my day, giving me time to rest, think, and capture photos of stunning things I might never seen had I gone whizzing past at normal speeds.
By the time I got home life looked much better. I got a sudden burst of inspiration and simply had to get into the kitchen to put my thoughts into action. My friends gave me free reign so I bustled and stirred and chopped and mixed and made absolutely scrumptious BBQ Shredded Beef sandwiches with aged cheddar on toasted raisin buns.
One of my friends has a deadly allergy to tomatoes, so I made up a special sauce for her with pureed roasted bell peppers, caramelized onions, and sweet chili sauce. She loved it and insisted that I post the recipe, so here you go. 🙂
Toasted Cheesy BBQ Sandwiches
Ingredients:
4 cups shredded meat (I used beef and chicken)
1 1/2 – 2 cups bbq sauce
1/2 cup Peppercorn A-1 sauce
2 large onions, chopped
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp butter
2-3 Tbsp brown sugar
6 raisin buns, split and buttered
6 slices extra sharp cheddar cheese
Directions:
- In saucepan combine meat, bbq sauce, and A-1 sauce and bring to simmer over medium heat.
- In separate pan heat oil and butter over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook, stirring often, for 20-30 minutes. (Add a little water if they start sticking to pan)
- When onions are nearly melted, add brown sugar and stir to combine. Cook another 5-10 minutes.
- Add onions to meat mixture and stir.
- On cookie sheet place raisin rolls cut side up. On top piece place slice of cheese.
- Set under broiler for 1-2 minutes until rolls are toasted and cheese melted.
- Place bottom roll on plate, top with meat mixture then cheese roll and serve.
Tomato-free BBQ Sauce
Ingredients:
1 jar roasted bell peppers, drained
1 large onion, chopped and caramelized (see above)
1-2 Tbsp sweet chili sauce
Directions:
- Combine all ingredients in saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir and cook for 5 minutes.
- Set aside to cool a bit.
- Pour in blender and puree.
- Mix with shredded meat then follow above recipe.
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