Obsessions!

Current Obsessions, I just can't get enough!!

Cotes Du Rhone..new favorite wine?

Just Us "Rise Again" Coffee. Not only is it bold and the perfect thing to wake up to, but it is witty and the packaging talks about Stan Rogers!

Market wild flowers...I love black eyed susans!!

Sailing with Rebecca!

Beach days (followed by ice cream.... obviously)

Fun and bold details in a restaurant's bathroom!

Beautiful shoes at un-beatable prices....

 A blurry but talented Jill Barber at Jazz fest with her fabulous costume changes!

One Must Ask Children And Birds...

"One must ask children and birds how cherries and strawberries really taste!"- Johann Wolfgang

Strawberries...I don't know if we had too much rain fall this year or what happened but the strawberries that are grown locally have been utterly disappointing! I look forward to big, juicy, red berries, the kind that stain both your mouths and fingers red. Instead I have only seen small, mushy ones that smush in a spongy way when you pick them up! Ew.

A couple of friends and I cooked dinner for each other the other evening (good food, good company and the most adorable four year old boy I have ever met!) and I was in charge of dessert. Wanting to make something special with a summer touch, I thought my mothers fresh glazed strawberry pie would be perfect. The conquest of finding decent berries took me to three different stores..THREE! That is crazy for the east coast.  After the third stop I finally succeeded (the berries did not beat me that day!).  I made my crust and baked my pie and everyone seemed to enjoy it! I would give you the crust recipe but then I would have to kill you...it's my mom's and it is thick and flaky and wonderful every time (if you do not over do it with the mixing).

 As for the filling, simple as can be...

-Fill a baked pie shell with washed and halved berries. In a sauce pan pulverize 1 cup of strawberries to a fine mush (potato masher works perfect, also a great stress reliever!). Add 1/2 cup H20 and simmer on medium for 5 minutes. In a separate bowl combine 3/4 cup of white sugar and 1/4 cup corn starch and whisk them together. Pour into mix on stove and heat/stir until mixture is thick and clear. Take off heat and mix in 1 tsp of lemon juice. Pour this mixture over berries in shell and chill for at least 2 hours. Voila! Perfect East coast dessert for a perfect East coast summer evening!

The Cure For Anything Is Salt Water...

"The cure for anything is salt water- sweat, tears or the sea."-Isak Dinesen

Over the last couple of weeks mother nature has been humoring us a little bit. We have a day or two of beautiful weather followed by grey and rainy evenings with a chance of thunder showers. I have been working far too much as of recently (think 72 hours at work over a six day period..gag) resulting in a very tired nurse who just wants to sleep the days away. With nice weather sleeping all day seems like a crime so I have found the perfect way to maximize both sleep and beach time...napping on the beach. This is a virtually flawless plan, minus the side of sunburn (so be sure to heavily apply sunscreen and to have an alarm set!).
-m

Life Is A Great Big Canvas....

"Life is a great big canvas, and you should throw all the paint you can on it!"- Danny Kaye

Always looking for a hobby (yes at twenty-five "hobby" is still in my vocabulary), I have dabbled in many different hobby-type projects over the last year. I have provided life support to dying and sad furniture, I have painted canvas and tried my hand at card making. I have also been enjoying water colors, although I am not great, I think everyone should try this at least once. It is relaxing, fun and a very forgiving medium to paint with (not to mention a very small start up cost). This week it is a pottery class (!!!). Turnstyle Pottery on Agricola has a drop in class on Thursdays and I have managed to round up a few pottery die hards and a couple skeptics to possibly come with me. I am so excited! Results of the first drop in class will be soon to come but for now I will leave you with some very simple attempts at water colors..just some quirky little brush strokes!
-m

A Bad Review...

"A bad review is like baking a cake with all of the best ingredients and then having someone sit on it."-Danielle Steel

Always on the hunt for the next favorite recipe to add to my cook book (that is filled with perfect-every-time- favorites) and with an abundance of fresh blueberries, I decided to be daring and to live on the dangerous side...I tried a new muffin. Gasp! I know what you are thinking... branching away from all time favorites, the never let you down kind of recipes may seem like a risky idea when baking for people other than yourself. I would have to agree. However, sometimes it pays to live dangerously on the edge like I do (ha!) because these are one of the very best muffins to come out of my little lime green and life vest orange kitchen.With a few subtle changes like orange zest as opposed to lemon and tossing in some vanilla (just because it makes everything smell better when baking), these decadent muffins were the perfect pick me up for my grandfather after a short stay in the hospital. Live on the edge, I promise it will pay off!
-m

Yummy Blueberry Muffins (adapted from Smitten Kitchen)
...Or whatever fresh local fruit you have on hand (raspberries will be my next trial!)

-5 tablespoons of butter
-1/2 cup of sugar
-1 egg
-3/4 cup sour cream
-zest from an orange
-1 tbs vanilla
-1.5 c flour
-1.5 tsp baking powder
-1/4 tsp baking soda
-1/4 tsp salt (I used sea salt)
-3/4 cup of fresh or frozen blue berries

Preheat oven to 375 and line or grease muffin tin. Cream butter and sugar. Add vanilla and egg (continue to beat) followed by sour cream and zest. Sift in half of dry ingredients and mix. Sift in second half, mixing only until you can no longer see dry ingredients (aka do not over mix!).  This will be very thick batter...That is normal! Fold in fruit gently and scoop into muffins tins so they are 3/4 full. Bake for 25-30 mins until knife or tooth pick comes out clean. Let cool and enjoy!

I Am Queen Of My Own Compost Heap...

"I am queen of my own compost heap, and I am getting used to the smell."-Ani Defranco


When I was home just over a week ago, I was enjoying a coffee when my mother came home from yoga toting a big silver bag that was warm to the touch. Turns out that Starbucks saves their coffee grounds, packages them up and sends it home with customers for their gardens at no cost. What a wonderful, environmentally friendly idea! The label told me that it was not acidic like I would have thought and to use within a couple of weeks to get the most out of them. Just mix with your soil to make your plants even happier! Now if only those customers would start using travel mugs and not double cupping...a girl can dream right?
-m