by Krista | Jul 19, 2010 | Bootstrap Monday
I can’t stop smiling when I think about this past weekend. My heart is fairly bursting with memories of dear friends, beloved family and great food.
Friday night I drove down to Seattle and had absolutely fantastic bbq and happy catching-up with long-time friends from California.
Saturday and Sunday I got to spend with my oh-so-fabulous brother Dana and sis-in-law Rachel. We talked for hours tucked up all cozy in our favorite spots on couches and chairs, laughing ourselves sick, sharing a tear now and then, and parting dearer friends than ever.
And tonight I got to celebrate the visit of my friend Darren’s parents with a bbq par excellence.
The sun was shining gloriously as we sipped Moldavian wine on the deck and munched our way through one delicious thing after another.
We started with Jon’s chunky guacamole piled high on salty tortilla chips.
He was clearly in an appetizer frame of mind, for he then served us grilled salt and vinegar potato slices topped with chorizo, cheese and fresh cilantro. Yowsers!! Those were tasty little bites!
Darren grilled up steaks and sizzling bratwursts and we ate them with….
…my roasted dill potatoes and….
…and Selwyn’s smoky grilled asparagus.
After our splendid dinner settled, we dug into bowls of Darren’s Pina Colada ice cream made with coconut milk and fresh pineapple topped with dark rum.
It was a glorious end to a splendid weekend with people I love.
What is your favorite memory from your weekend?
This is my contribution to Chayas’s Meatless Mondays.
Krista’s Roasted Dill Potatoes
Ingredients:
6 Yukon Gold potatoes, washed, dried and diced
1-2 Tbsp dried dill weed
4 cloves garlic, halved and sliced thinly
1/4 cup olive oil
salt and pepper
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees F
- Toss all ingredients in glass bowl and mix well.
- Pour onto baking sheet and shake to distribute evenly.
- Bake 20 minutes, stirring halfway through, or until potatoes are browned and crispy, but not burnt.
by Krista | Jul 12, 2010 | Bootstrap Monday
Good morning, dear ones! It is a dark and cloudy morning as I write to you (brrr!) but I’ve had several days of glorious sunshine so I don’t mind one bit.
How was your weekend? What did you get up to?
Mine was jolly, full of simple pleasures, tea with an old friend, bbq with other dear folks, reading in the sunshine by the creek. I awoke early Saturday morning – not the dreadful kind of early necessitated by an alarm, but the delicious sort of early where you wake up naturally, feeling quite rested, only to discover that most of the world is still asleep and you have a few blissful hours of quiet with no lawn mowers, weed whackers, or loudly cackling neighbors to disturb the peace.
It was marvelous. 🙂 So I decided to indulge with a rather decadent breakfast of French Toast made with dark chocolate chip banana bread, drizzled with sour cream thinned with milk, and topped with a lavish helping of blueberries. With a large glass of fresh spearmint tea, it was a rather splendid breakfast to eat out on my little patio, looking up at the trees and blue sky, listening to the tumble of the creek and the wind in the leaves.
I spent the rest of my weekend happily puttering. I tended my little container garden, bought a gorgeous oregano plant, thinned the lettuces I’d planted and transplanted them to their own pots. Hopefully they will start flourishing soon! I ran errands with Mums, chatted with my grandies, and got to cuddle my friend’s beautiful Indian foster baby who grinned and drooled contentedly while I kissed his fat cheeks and squeezed his oh so chubby legs.
I also ate more blueberries (I do so love them!), this time with fresh strawberries and plain yogurt mixed with agave and vanilla. Delicious!
And I watched the sun set behind the trees, making such beautiful etchings of the leaves and branches.
Now it is a new week and I have a couple things I’m looking forward to: dinner with friends I haven’t seen in a while, eating the first fresh spring rolls I’ve ever made, and finishing this rather ripping novel I started this weekend.
What are you looking forward to?
This is my contribution to Chaya’s Meatless Mondays.
Banana Bread French Toast
Ingredients:
6 slices banana bread
butter
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1 shake tsp nutmeg
1 shake cinnamon
1 shake cloves
1/2 cup sour cream thinned with 1-2 tsp milk
fresh blueberries, washed and drained
Directions:
- Mix egg, milk and spices in wide shallow bowl.
- Melt butter in saucepan over medium high heat.
- Dip each slice of banana bread in milk mixture, both sides, and place in buttered pan. Fry until each side is browned. Remove to plate.
- Drizzle with sour cream mixture and top with blueberries.
by Krista | Jul 5, 2010 | Bootstrap Monday
North America is mighty festive this weekend as Canucks celebrate Canada Day and the Yanks, Independence Day. So, dear Americans and Canadians, may this day find you with people you love delighting in the freedom we all cherish.
Special thanks to my brother Evan who is fighting in Afghanistan and coming home soon. I love you!
I’ll be back tomorrow with a special post for the Tour De France organized by my lovely Aussie friend Barbara at Winos and Foodies.
Now I’m off to enjoy this holiday!! See you soon! 🙂
by Krista | Jun 28, 2010 | Bootstrap Monday
Good morning, dear ones!
I’m happily writing you today from an astonishingly tidy house. It was the scene of much mayhem this weekend as I decided the time had come to rearrange everything and make my apartment more conducive to hospitality and creativity. As you can imagine, such a venture resulted in utter disarray and chaos before order was restored, but it was worth it!!
Mums came over and helped me with the heavy bits and we got it set up just right. Then I parked myself among the stacks of papers, piles of boxes and mounds of who-knows-what-all to have a think. I’ve been stressed and overwhelmed lately, and it was time to settle down, be still, and work out a plan.
Gorgeous flowers on Mum’s table.
It was so good for me. Taking those hours to think through my life, goals, hopes, frustrations, talents, weaknesses, knowledge, ignorance, fears, bravery. I still have some things to sort through, I think I always will, but today I feel purposeful instead of harried, focused rather than distracted, peaceful not flustered.
I have a plan, it’s a good plan, and, as a dear friend always tells me, “if you change your mind tomorrow, that will be good too.” Yes it will. 🙂
I did a lot of cooking this weekend, some complicated, new recipes and other simple, stand-by dishes like Chiffonade Lime Brussels Sprouts. I first made it several years ago when I was trying to incorporate more vegetarian dishes into my diet, and it quickly became a favorite.
I was used to eating Brussels Sprouts whole, so I thought this Chiffonade version would be an interesting change. Chiffonade refers to stacking leafy herbs or greens, rolling them tightly, then slicing the roll thinly into little strips. Since Brussels Sprouts are naturally tightly layered, it is quick work to cut them in half then into small strips. I love how some of the strips get caramelized in the butter and lime – mmm. It’s not a pretty dish, but is healthy, fortifying and tasty.
What is one thing you do to stay stress-free and organized, my friends?
This is my contribution to Chaya’s Meatless Mondays. Pop over and discover other vegetarian dishes.
Chiffonade Lime Brussels Sprouts
Ingredients:
2 cups Brussels Sprouts, trimmed and washed
3-4 Tbsp butter
2 limes, juiced
Salt and pepper
Directions:
- Cut each sprout in half, then cut in narrow strips.
- Melt butter in saucepan and add sprout strips. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Cook, stirring often, until sprouts begin to brown. Stir in lime juice and remove from heat. Serve warm.
by Krista | Jun 21, 2010 | Bootstrap Monday
Good morning, dear ones! How was your weekend?
I was off to Seattle area on business and got to stay in a darling little bed and breakfast and have Baked French Toast with Apples. It was so fun to have a little excursion, sleep under a down comforter, and oh, that big ol’ clawfoot tub was fabulous. 🙂
After the business conference was over I got to spend the weekend with my dear friends Bekah and Trish. These women never fail to inspire me with their creativity and fabulous talents as photographer and writer/social media strategist. It was so nice to get to see them face to face, sharing fears and frustrations, thrills and accomplishments, laughing hard about our muss ups and celebrating the good things in our lives.
We talked a lot about creativity and beauty, how essential they are to our happiness and well-being. So Sunday afternoon was devoted to sprucing up my blog, feeling so excited when I figured out how to design my own header!! I also added some of my sketches to Facebook and am so happy to be developing these little creative outlets.
What is your creative outlet? Is there something you’d like to learn that you haven’t tried yet? Painting? Sewing? Photography?
After happily indulging in a steady diet of donuts and Cheerios today, I am ready to get back to healthy, nourishing food like this dish of kale sauteed with tomato and garlic topped with Parmesan cheese. Mmm, it’s one of my favorite quick ways to get greens into my diet.
This dish is my contribution to Chaya’s Meatless Mondays. Pop over to see more inspiring dishes!
Sauteed Kale with Tomatoes, Garlic and Parmesan
Ingredients:
one bunch kale, rinsed and chopped
olive oil
2-3 Roma tomatoes, diced (or 1 can diced tomatoes, drained)
2 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper
1/4-1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
Directions:
- Place kale in skillet of boiling salted water, simmer for 5-10 minutes until kale is tender. Drain.
- In another skillet cook tomatoes and garlic in olive oil for 5 minutes.
- Add kale and cook another 5 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste.
- Pour into serving dish and top with Parmesan cheese.
by Krista | Jun 14, 2010 | Bootstrap Monday
It was an idyllic summer morning when we arrived at my Aunt and Uncle’s lakeside home after a gorgeous drive through the mountains of Southern British Columbia. After a flurry of hugs we chatted up a storm while soaking up sunshine on the deck, then sat down to bowls of steaming soup and warm, grainy bread spread with butter and strawberry jam. Bliss.
After lunch my uncle came in and asked if I wanted to go four-wheeling up in the mountains with him. Did I?!! You bet!! I hustled to get ready, joined him in the truck and off we went down some back roads until we found the perfect ditch to unload the four-wheeler. I clambered on behind my uncle and we were off!! The sun was blazing down on us as cool mountain breezes fanned our faces and whipped my hair into an astonishing set of knots. I loved it! We tore along wooded trails, splashed through massive puddles, groaned our way up super high inclines and plunged down others so steep my heart was in my throat. A grouse flew up from the undergrowth right onto my head, batting me with her wings before she landed a short ways away and started running down the trail after us. We chuckled heartily and continued on our merry way.
Then, oh THEN we emerged from the woods into the most glorious alpine meadows.
Sunlight danced off waving grasses and illumined millions of wildflowers in vivid pinks, purples, and creamy whites. My uncle stopped the four-wheeler and we gazed in awe around us, listening to the wind in the grass and birds singing their hearts out. My uncle said it best: “It doesn’t get any better than this.” Grudgingly we got back on the four-wheeler and headed down the other side of the mountain, back into the sun-dappled forest, getting wetter and muddier with each gigantic puddle we forded, and not minding a bit.
As we turned a corner we were momentarily stymied by the sight of two large poplar trees fallen right across the trail. My uncle scoped it out and figured that with me alternately jumping on then steering while he pulled and lifted the tree trunk with his shoulder, we could, perhaps, shimmy it under both trees. So, with much grunting and groaning and hollers of “jump now! steer right! push hard!” we made it.
Feeling quite pleased with ourselves we motored down the trail only to be startled when a huge mother black bear came bolting across the trail while her cubs went darting up a tree on the other side of us. Hmm. You know that saying about never separating a mother bear from her cubs? Well, we had just done that. As we stared in shock the mother bear skidded to a halt and came barreling back looking for her cubs. As soon as he saw her, my uncle put the four-wheeler into reverse and we torqued back up the way we had come while I kept my eyes glued to the cubs and tried to catch a glimpse of the mother bear. Suddenly my uncle braked and decided that if the bear was going to come after us, he’d rather go straight down the mountain where we at least had a chance of getting away than get stuck back at those wretched trees trying to maneuver ourselves back under them.
Heavens.
So, with pulses racing (and every scary story I’ve heard about bear mauling rushing through my mind) I held on while my uncle whooped and hollered to warn the mother bear of our location, gunned the engine and sped right back down the trail. I saw the cubs slide down the tree and scamper off into the woods, but I couldn’t see the mother bear anywhere. While my uncle floored it, I kept watch all around us, ready to holler a warning if a large black bear suddenly bore down upon us. A minute or two down the trail and we came to ANOTHER fallen tree! GAH!! This one we couldn’t get under so I hopped off and climbed over it while my uncle drove into the woods, found a way around it and picked me up on the other side. Then we zoomed off again, bouncing over ruts, flying through puddles, whipping past low-hanging branches, not stopping until we were safely back at the truck. Lordy, lordy!! I tell you I was never so glad to see civilization.
Twas a grand adventure, though! I was super proud of my uncle’s quick thinking and my utter lack of hysterics.
