Christmas decorations

Hello Ladies, near and far! I've been a busy bee trying to add some decor to this ol' house in Highland Park, and I've started with a wreath. At Trae's parents' house in Jasper, I chopped a small cedar down (while Trae watched. big help!) and we're going to use it for our Christmas tree. I've never ever decorated for Christmas before, but now that we're in a house together, it seems like more of an occasion. What are y'all doing for Christmas? Anything big or small?

p.s. - some good listen'ins:
Lay My Burden Down by Caroline Herring; Beasts of the Southern Wild soundtrack

Daisy's Garden Stir Fry

Plus some.

Hello Ladies!

I am garden-sitting for our lovely Daisy while she is up in New York, and it is truly a treat to tuck myself up in that quiet, lush space for half and hour every few days.  It's twice as nice because it's right up the hill from the Farmer's Daughter.  I was down there the other day, feeling a little panicked and a little frustrated for various reasons, but up the hill I went to pick Daisy's luffa and snip off yard-long beans.

As soon as I'd stepped over the chain onto her dratted burmuda grass, I felt 3/4 of my stress drain away, and the last thread was gone by the time my arms were in the luffa vines, sniffing their singular nutty smell.  It's like my own private Urban Farm.  And best of all, it's not mine.  I can reap the benefit of all her hard work (plus some of Jesus') and use it purely for my own relaxation   She's got it all- flowers, bees lazily buzzing, herbs, bird baths galore,  exotic Asian veggies, rocks, rabbits....

Since she was so sad to miss her bolting Baby Bok Choy (although I'm trying hard to save some for her- it's truly precious), I thought we'd all share it in a virtual one-dish potluck....  No pictures of the garden; I may snip snap one next time I'm up there- it's Magical though so it may not take to (extremely) amateur photography...

I rarely make stir-fry, but I sure do love to eat it... Plus, it take to time at'all... What's my problem?

Daisy's Garden Stir Fry
with shiitake, tofu, and some other stuff too

• 1 inch of baby ginger (I got some at the mkt in ATL!) (this is a very baby-focused meal), thinly sliced 
• 1 small hot pepper, minced
• 1/4 hubbard squash, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1/2 block firm tofu, cut into your favorite-sized squares
• 5 shiitake, destemmed and sliced
• 1 luffa, peeled and sliced into rounds
• 2 heads of baby bok choy, rinsed, and broken apart
• 1 cup of rice, cooked like you know you know how 

I marinated the tofu in a bit of fish sauce, soy sauce, tofu water, honey, and vinegar for about 10 minutes.

Heat a wok or skillet til hot with about a tablespoon of oil.  Toss in the ginger and hot pepper, stir briefly, then add the squash.  Cook til the squash begins to soften- about 7 minutes.  You can add the mushrooms with the squash, but I actually prefer to cook them separate in a dry skillet, as I think this makes them taste more mushroomy.  Add the tofu and luffa, cook a few minutes, and then, at the very last minute, wilt the baby bok choy.  Season with salt or soy sauce and serve right away.

Love!

-Ann Middle

missin y'all

Hello lovely ladies, wherever you are.
My cousin just had a baby, and my mind is filled with thoughts of wonderful ladies and healthy babies and good home cookin. I wish we could be together more often, but...since we can't, here are some pictures of the lovely prairie that I've been seeing these past few days in North Dakota. Thinkin of y'all!

Love,
Laura

readin:Unaccustomed Earth by Jumpha Lahiri

listenin to: The Blues Run the Game by Jackson C. Frank

Sunday

With the grey rainy weather and Fletcher napping I have some time to write a posting. It's been a while so here go some more sweet pictures of Fletcher, of course, and a little window into our Sunday.

While Kelsey and Fletcher entertained one another I made some bread. The recipe is a slight variation on Deborah Madison's Cracked Wheat Honey bread. It's a nice bread to make especially when I don't have a lot of time to invest. And a warm slice of it slightly after it emerges from the oven, with a little butter and honey brings a big smile.

Sorghum Wheat Bread

- 1/4 cup warm water

- 1 tsp. sugar   

- 2 1/4 tsp. dry yeast

- 1 and 1/4 cup farm milk or buttermilk

- 1/4 sorghum, honey, or steen's syrup

- 1/4 cup oil

- pinch sea salt

- 1 cup all purpose flour

-1 cup oats

- 4 cups Sonrisa whole wheat flour

* Combine 1/4 cup warm water with sugar and yeast and set aside. Oil 2 8x4 in. bread pans.

*Combine 1 1/2 cups hot water and milk then stir in sorghum, oil, and salt. Add yeast mixture then the oats. Then you can start adding the flours. Knead for around 5 minutes or so. 

* Put dough into an oiled bowl and let rise until doubled in size. Around 1 1/4 hours. 

* Push dough down and divide in to two loaves. Set into the greased pans and let rise again covered for around 45 minutes.

* While rising preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes. Enjoy!!

In the afternoon it began to rain finally and so Kelsey and Fletcher stepped out on the porch to soak it up. 

And then we read the Tailor of Gloucester. I went to the Knitting Mill one day and stumbled across a whole lot of Beatrix Potter books. They are just the right size to fit in this little fellows mouth.

And later on we went and scoped out an apple tree on Sequtachie Mountain. The lady said we could pick some so the next day we went back and got 6 bushels worth! I've made apple butter, a cake and soon I'll put up some sauce!

Love to all - Ashley

Reading: The Tailor of Gloucester by Beatrix Potter

Beating the Summer Heat

Now if only that bucket was a little bit bigger.....

Love, Ashley

Books to read: David Haskell's 'The Forest Unseen'

aprons away!

Well, I finished my first (and only) apron! It's been on my mind for a while, seeing all these pretty aprons hanging up in people's kitchens, thinking, Oh! that'd be nice to have...

So here it is, (I think the floral print was from Elspeth's giveaway pile last year):

It's also the first thing I've stitched together all by hand! I was surprised at how fast and satisfying it was to do it that way. I liked how much you can tailor it when stitching by hand, adjusting as you go, without having to worry about pinning it as much.

Now, time to make some biscuits!

reading: Ely by Ely Green

listening to: Ann-Marie Slaughter's interview with Terri Gross, about women in the workplace (check it out here!)

Farmer's Daughter

Although Shane and Elf have already seen it, I promised (Laura) I'd put it up here.  So here it is.  I know what I think about it, but let me know what you think.  It is possibly for our logo, words to come- drawn by the impossibly amazing Yuri.

Love, Ann