end of the week

oh, friday did not come too soon! i'm so happy to see the weekend near and to have three full days of relaxation. do those of you in the states have any memorial day plans? any weekend plans in general? i'm not doing much besides catching up on house-work and preparing for a short trip to minneapolis the following weekend. i've got my plane reading to plan out and that is important stuff.

hope this friday is bright for you.

book love

hi there! i am stopping in today to say that i posted some beautiful book pictures for my work's blog, the shelf life. i have been doing some work boosting up our blog identity as a purveyor of book culture and ideas, and making things look pretty around there. i'm excited about this post because i got to bring a little of my flickr love into my work life.

i do hope you will check it out. maybe even say hello over there.
thanks!

p.s. this shot is of the new elliot bay book co. on capitol hill!

a nice dinner

i like dining experiences that take me away and make me feel like i am in another place, on vacation, outside of my day-to-day life. i also love dining with good friends and i love the every-now-and-again splurge of a long, multi-course meal.

you know what is inspiring me today? sandra's animation. just brilliant.
also, i am pumped that in june i get to meet anthony bourdain, for his new book medium raw. seattle-ites, come out for this event!

have a good day!

farmer's markets

it is a funny point in the year where spring produce is in full abundance, but our csa hasn't started up weekly and our garden is only on the verge of bursting, not yet plentiful enough to eat off of. because of this, we have made it a weekly habit to visit the farmer's market. i love watching the dark leafy greens and roots slowly give way to asparagus and rhubarb, and now to see those fade out and make room for the spring onions and green garlic. soon, beans and peas will show up and i will get a cup of ice cream as we shop around.

yesterday was a busy day, so we got to the market just as it opened, reaping the benefits of smaller crowds and first pick from every stand. i got a bunch of mustard greens, green onions and a bunch of collards then went home and stir-fried them all together with some chard pickings from our yard. lately, this type of cooking is so satisfying to me. roasted potatoes and beets are standard and i'm sprinkling chives or green onions over everything. it is all so wonderful.

happy monday and thanks to those of you who left sweet comments encouraging me through my rough week, last week.

bike to work day

it's bike to work day! may is bike month and all month i've been joining some coworkers in striving to bike to work more often. some of my coworkers bike everyday, year round and others used to bike more and now are being pushed to get back on the saddle with our enthusiasm. i myself had not ridden my bike to work habitually until may started. it is rejuvenating to have this new goal for myself - to hop on my bike as much as i can. my ride is very short and pretty easy so it is a doable goal that makes me feel great. and my coworkers cheer me on.

today is the actual bike to work day, where there will be stations at heavy bike commuter roads all over the city to hand out fun goodies. i think it's funny that i'm writing this when i so recently posted about seattle transportation last week. i don't think it will be a theme, since i'm no expert just an enthusiast, but in a way it is fitting because seattle's mayor just released an initiative called walk. bike. ride. it's very cool.

happy bike trails!

trying to surround myself with happy

good morning! i've had a bit of a rough week, emotionally and i'm trying to surround myself with more things that make me happy. yesterday i had a sweet lunch with a new friend and i got a sneak peek inside a new chocolate factory. it's not really a factory yet, more of a chocolate making area. i've really been enjoying all the new uploads of my flickr friends. it is exciting to see new photos pop up and i really enjoy the ongoing conversations that will come up there.

i baked a leek bread pudding because baking always brings me some calm. it came out delicious, but very very rich (and i even used reduced fat milk!).  i harvested some beautiful and tender kale in our garden, then steamed it for dinner. tonight i plan on using up the rest of our multi-colored potatoes. i also plan on a long walk.

i have to work all weekend, so taking little bouts of pleasure where i can is important right now. staying calm and happy can be hard sometimes.

edible plants

a couple weekends ago we finished up our garden shopping at the seattle tilth edible plant sale. every year i look forward to this sale. seattle tilth stocks so many unique varieties of edible plants that it is hard not to resist wanting to get creative in the garden. seattle tilth is also a really great resource for gardeners in the seattle area.

we ended up with a box full of eggplant, two types of peppers, basil, edible flowers, broccoverde, two heirloom tomatoes, herbs and more. jon and i rode our bikes to the sale and we took jon's cargo bike, which was able to fit our box of edible plants plus a bag of compost. it was such a fun adventure!

now the plants happily sit on the window sill waiting for warmer weather.

p.s. graham, i have more pictures of the sale for you. let's talk.

rhubarb season

rhubarb season is upon us! okay, so it has been for a few weeks. but, oh! just when i think it is the end of rhubarb at the farmer's market, i see more. and so i keep buying more. usually i can't stray from my usual rhubarb compote recipe, which is so easy and so delicious (chopped rhubarb with water and some sugar, simmered for 10 min). but this year i have branched out with rhubarb cake, roasted rhubarb and rhubarb simple syrup that i put into mojitos. i have one last big bunch of rhubarb before i cut myself off and i want to ask you what i should do with it. i had originally intended to make rhubarb ice cream or sorbet this season and  that is still an option. 

but, i want to know, what is your favorite way to eat rhubarb? any special recipes? from simple to elaborate, bring it on.

p.s. jon took this pretty pictures of our csa rhubarb.

light rail

taking a break from quotes (though i hope you enjoyed the past two, they both meant a lot to me when i first read them), i wanted to share some seattle excitement today. i finally rode on our light rail! i rode from king station all the way to the airport and it was great. living in the north end of seattle, i haven't had a chance to take advantage of this exciting new development in seattle's public transportation, which currently runs from the airport to downtown. in the next few years, the light rail will creep its way up north and finally reach me. i am excited and hopeful to see how this benefits the city and i anxiously await the day when i can hop on a train and easily travel from north to south.

the next exquisite moment

 trying to be thoughtful in the first brights of dawn

i am thinking, or trying to think, about all the imponderables
for which we have no answers
yet endless interest all the range of our lives

and it's good for the head, no doubt,
to undertake such meditation
mystery, after all, is a god's other name
and deserves our considerations surely, but

but, excuse me now please
it's morning, heavenly bright
and my irrepressible heart begs me 
to hurry on into the next exquisite moment

--mary oliver, many miles

*transcribed from audio, so i don't know the correct punctuation or spacing

alice waters

"The most policitcal act we can commit is to eat delicious food that is produced in a way that is sustainable, that doesn't exploit workers and is eaten slowly and with reverence."

--Alice Waters' philosophy, as quoted in Spoon Fed

three lemons

i am excited to be a part of words to shoot by! it is a fun collaboration organized by steph parke. these lemons are my contribution to the current post. go check out the other interpretations of the word "three."

this week i have some quotes to share. things that are running around through my head and inspiring me. i'll post the first one tomorrow.

for now i will leave with a few notes from my weekend:
i am slowly falling in love with my bicycle.
we put our hot weather plants in larger containers so they can have a roomier wait on the windowsill.
i've been thinking a lot about worm bins--anyone have experience with them?
have you heard the new joanna newsom album? she's so good.
cooking with the windows open is an amazing thing.

happy friday!

all i want to do is sit in a light filled spot with some tea and read. a scene like this photo above.
right now i'm reading kim severson's spoon fed and it is just knocking me off my feet. she is a food writer for the new york times and her book is about how her career developed and how food culture in america has been developing--all of this told through profiles of 8 women who are influential in the kitchen. there is so much inspiration in this book. more on that next week, where i will have a few quotes from my recent readings to share.

for now, have a great weekend. i have a lot of cooking planned.

may

it's already may 6, and i haven't even done my list for the month. may, you rolled in so quick i hardly had time to think about you. here we go:

may is...
fun fun fun
hands in the dirt, gardens growing
vegetable based meals
long weekends
the first thoughts of camping
peonies, my favorite
sun sun sun
unexpected rain
late dusk
bicycles
sandals and skirts and spring coats


okay, that's my list--what's yours? share what may is to you in the comments, or post on your blog and leave a link in the comments.

little vintage bits

hello. i am stopping in today to share these pretty bits from an antique store downtown. the life magazines were from the 40's-60's and so so cool. they were shrink wrapped, though, so i couldn't see all the pages of what i imagine to be amazing american lifestyle pictures.

tonight i was treated to drinks at tavern law a mock saloon/speakeasy with a historic and rich cocktail menu. their bent is that they want to make a cocktail that suits you exactly. the bartender even came over to ask a few questions about flavor preferences, which led to a cardamom-lime gimlet. floral, sour, spicy and delicious.

this weekend we biked to the edible plant sale and picked up heirloom hot weather plants: fish hot peppers, jaune flamme tomatoes, thai basil, broccoverde, the list goes on. i will be sure to have more garden details soon.

my goal this week is to catch up on everyone's blogs and say hello again.