I was thinking about some recipes here on yum drops, and went to look them up this morning. I taking a few minutes to remember some of the post I wrote last year and realized how much I missed it. I really wish I could figure out all the technical garbage that keeps me frustrated with this project, and there for inhibits progress. I hope to get it worked out and return to Drops soon!

I ran across these cool sophisticated architectural models they are calling dollhouses- brinca dada (beautiful fun). I never dreamed I would have one of these but I am thinking about asking for it from Santa. The Bennetts tall skinny lines & minimalist style are my fave.

But the Emerson is so cool too.

Frank Loyd Wright would approve.

My obsession for tiny houses is matched only by hanging chandeliers  made of recycled products like paper. So I am so excited that the Magpie Chandelier (anthropologie) is on sale! It’s about two THOUSAND dollars cheaper, I wish I could buy one! I think I’d hang it over my pedestal tub so while I soak I could gaze up at my lovely.

Just minutes before slipping into my skimpiest article of clothing for the first time this season, I had the breakfast of champions.

This southern delicacy is best eaten fresh and slightly warm with a tall glass of ice milk.

Its not an everyday breakfast mind you or I might look more like this. (There is an uncanny resemblance).

(BTW- love this- what confidence !)

We reserve this naughty little tradition for our summer vacation to the beach and yes the irony is not lost on me.

Oh, but don’t worry we worked out before we ate.

Our turn to host supper club was a delightful excuse to throw a mid-summers night dinner party in the courtyard.

I suspect I was invited to join supper club because: I’m a great cook, I set a great table, & I am totally fun to be around. The other members are willing to overlook my Mormon observances, ie serving a non-alcoholic aperitif and pairing fish with pear soda from target, by just BTOW (bringing there own wine). We gather every few months and host the other 3 couples plus a guest couple of our choosing. Mercedes and her better half booked a sitter and filled the extra two seats.Check out these great photos (courtesy of Mercedes ) of the night and be inspired to throw mid-summer dinner party of your own.

Check out the cute votive candle holders that I made! I love this shot. I took some aluminium easy bend wire that came from the hardware store and shaped it around tiny baby-food jars. We hung the jars strategically in the courtyard trees, not to dangle too closely to anything that might start fire. It looked magical at twilight.

The sound of trickling water, and the old fashioned cafe lighting strung above us, set the stage for my mediterranean-esque menu. I think it’s these little  details that made the evening perfect in every way.

Sharing funny stories between courses stretched out the evening until nearly the next day, what fun!

While everyone gathered we nibbled on antipasto and blackberry spritzers in the comfort of our air conditioned kitchen. Salami, prosciutto, olives, bread-sticks, capers, a savory selection of cheese and peppers.

After appetizers, we adjourned to the courtyard where menus awaited everyone, promising tasty delights and culinary surprises.

We started late for many reasons:

1. The theme was loosely Italian, and those Europeans never start eating before 8pm.

2. It has been HOT – AS- HADIES in South Carolina! I wanted to do a courtyard al-fresco dinner and it isn’t tolerable outside before about 8pm.

3. I wanted to make sure my little weasels were fast asleep. As you can see from the photo above Boo was dying to join the party, even well past bedtime. He kept reaching under the door way and waving into the hall, I supposed he was hoping someone would invite him for an appetizer.

Second course was my favorite recipe for chunky gazpacho and crostinis. I garnished the soup with creamy chunks of avocado and fresh sprigs of cilantro. We probably could have stopped there, but it wouldn’t exactly be a dinner worthy of Supper Club, so we pressed on.

Third course was a crunchy romaine salad with grilled artichokes and a balsamic dressing, roasted fennel ( I am addicted), tomato-basil pasta ribbons (homemade by a little shop in Charleston that sells on Saturdays at the local farmers market) tossed in a fresh tomato sauce and topped with a garlicky grilled shrimp. The pasta sauce was an interesting recipe that came from my file- I think Martha Stewart magazine, the fresh tomatoes are torn into a bowl and mixed with olive oil, garlic, oregano, basil, and crushed red pepper. It marinates all day waiting to coat tender ribbons of pasta. We passed around chili oil and top-quality Parmigiano-Reggiano. DELISH!

Fourth course was my favorite, and SOOO easy. Roasted figs with a sweet Marsala reduction stuffed with a dollop of Greek yogurt and whipped cream. I garnished it with grated dark chocolate and fresh raspberries. I was going to use a more traditional fresh ricotta with the figs but I don’t know of a good Italian market here in Greenville, or anyplace to get a fresh homemade ricotta cheese. I wanted to serve something lighter in lew of a cheese course, but that would be loosely related… does yogurt count?

The final course was a struggle. I love dessert! Once when we were traveling in Provence France. We had an amazing dinner at a tiny unpretentious restaurant in Roussillion. Sparticus had the daily menu, which included a selection of herbal sorbets- I think about 5 different scoops. We were both SHOCKED when the plate arrived at the table and not only was the presentation stunningly beautiful in its absolute simplicity, but the refreshing flavor combinations where surprisingly delicious. I wanted to go for a refreshing dessert that would not leave everyone wishing they had not eaten so much or worse, not eaten dessert. So I ended on a light note- sort of. An ice cream trio with sesame wafers. Basil, lavender honey, and strawberry rose. The flavors were interesting, complimentary, and left everyone delighted and refreshed. I love to eat food that seems to unfold on my taste-buds, and the strawberry rose did not disappoint. The honey lavender was a sweet creamy and lightly floral taste. And finally the basil ice cream ( a member of the mint family) added the prettiest “pistachio” color green to the pallet, while being the best surprise of the evening. The flavor seemed remarkably logical and intriguing. I couldn’t eat a gallon of any of it, but a small scoop of each was a perfect happily- ever- after.

The best part was when Mercedes text-ed me shortly after they left and declared me the MASTER!:)

This is coco, she is one year old. Its fun to remember her birthday. I had a natural delivery with a midwife and was home 3 hours later. It was great. I recovered so much quicker and was much more a part of the process than the first time around with Boo (hospital style). I know that must sound crazy, “being part of the process”, but when I got induced and had a team of nurses monotoring everything, I felt I was not taking ques from my body or my babies. It was an un-natural experience in comparison and felt almost out-of-body. With Coco we worked together and when she was born I felt better instantly. It was wonderful, quiet, spiritual.

So Happy Birthday little one, we are so happy you picked us!

before & after!

Here is the NY times article and photos:

http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2010/06/23/garden/20100624-chic-slideshow.html

This is crazy cute!!! I am a little obsessed with these tiny houses – especially when they are made from an old shed!? But what’s the bathroom like? How about the plumbing? I would love to put one of these doll houses in my backyard. Its precious! I would retire there for moms weekend away (yes I am obsessed with that idea too).

Find more of these little goodies here.

First of all, I want to make it clear, I am completely aware of the contradictions of my behaviors. Smoothies for breakfast and Bloody Mary(s) for lunch…Raw, whole foods one day, greasy pizza & ice cream the next.  I choose to see this as a strange form of balance, but then again, I fully own that I have a tendency to look for the positive.  So that said, while I’m about to go off on a Raw-eating evangelical tangent, don’t be surprised when later I post pictures or a story about cocktails and chicken nuggets. The way I see it, it’s like the eating equivalent of a carbon off-set or something…A consumption off-set!

So here we go…

I’ve been contemplating a cleanse of some sort for about 5 years now. I became slightly asthmatic (‘reactive airway disease’) after a bout of bronchitis just before I became pregnant w/ Pi.  I suffered terribly for my entire pregnancy and through the 9 months that I was nursing because I was unwilling to take meds that might effect my baby.  All that untreated wheezing and coughing probably worsened my issue, but it was the choice I made.

During that time I did a lot of research and learned that the colon, lungs & skin are the three major cleansing organs for our bodies.  Basically if your colon’s crapped up, pun intended, your lungs will have to work too hard.  Hence the beginning of my research on herbal cleansing.  The thing is, for a number of reasons, I’m pretty anti-medication regardless of it’s ‘naturalness’ so they all freaked me out.

So I became interested in shifting to whole and spelt grains, unprocessed foods & all that good stuff.  Time went on I began to feel better slowly but surely. I also gave in to using an inhaler sometimes and other measures, so I’m by no means saying it was just the way I was eating (again, I’m not so great at being fanatical).

And while I feel like I’ve been eating pretty well for the most part, I haven’t been altogether satisfied that I was looking or feeling as well as I could or should be.  And as I took stock of my body’s workings, I kept coming back to the idea of cleansing. But how?

Enter Natalia Rose…My food guru on this journey.

The basic premise of this book, and of Natalia’s approach to a raw lifestyle is this: The more quickly food can be digested, nutrition can be assimilated and it’s waste eliminated the more nutritious it is.  So raw fruits, vegetables, nuts and oils with their high fiber & readily-available vitamins are where it’s at.

She also teaches you about food combining, which is essential to promoting good digestion.  For example, if fruit takes 30 minutes to leave your stomach and cottage cheese takes 4 hours, that pineapple/cottage cheese classic diet combo you’re eating is actually quite hard on your system.  The pineapple sits in your stomach literally fermenting and creating gas (think wine or beer-making) while the stomach’s doing what it can to deal with that cottage cheese.

None of it’s very complicated & it all makes so much sense to me.   Basically, I eat 80-90% raw until dinner. My exceptions have been Ezekiel sprouted grain bread to make veggie sandwiches (think avocado, tomato, zucchini & lettuce) for lunch when I need a break from salads & a few dips into hummus when I want something rich and savory around the 3 o’clock hour.  Per Natalia’s instructions, I am careful to start my dinners w/ my raw veggies first and I do not combine grains with flesh at dinner time. It’s one or the other.

I am a novice at this and Natalia’s pretty emphatic about easing into this lifestyle in order to allow your body to digest, so for now I’m not going crazy w/ raw salad dressings (for which she provides recipes) and stuff like that.  But I did finally order the juicer I’ve been coveting for about three years from Amazon.com that should be arriving any day now.  Natalia’s BIG on juicing as a way to get a maximum nutrition w/ minimal strain on your digestive tract & she provides many suggestions.  You all already know I’m a fan of smoothies, so this is just the next step…

Oh my, so much has happened since I last sat down to write.  Here’s a brief synopsis to get us caught up…

First, I am proud to announce that my darling boy IS POTTY TRAINED!!!

Even while travelling, we kept the potty with us and pulled over to a safe place to use it when nature called.

It took about 2 weeks of hourly reminders and about a handful of accidents, but sweet Budrow seems to have it dialed!  I still remind him periodically, but in recent days he has recognized his body’s needs to eliminate and made his way to the “frog potty” all by himself!  I am so very, very proud of him.

Second, after about a month of ‘undoing’ Pi’s attitude from her weekend away, I can report that she is showing signs of her former, more pleasant self again.  Hallelujah!  It’s been a hard road on both of us & one I’d hoped not to travel again until she was oh…FIFTEEN…But alas, I am feeling confident that we’re moving on less treacherous ground.

Third, the pool (a.k.a. My Summer Salvation) reopened over Memorial weekend and we have begun our  almost-daily pilgrimage to our watery playground. Pi is swimming like a fish and enjoying playtime with summer friends. Budrow is happy to wear water wings with his shades & trunks, so my biggest concern during those blissful hours is overexposure to the intense sunshine.

As an aside, have you guys read the new information about sunscreens actually containing ingredients that at worst cause cancer and at best feed tumorous growths?  Here’s a link to what I’m talking about www.ewg.org/node/26212: . It’s equally scary and aggravating stuff, and I’m still not sure what to do about it.  For now, I’m trying to stay out of the harshest sun of the day (from about 12pm-2 or 3pm) and when that isn’t possible we’re wearing rash shirts (the kids are, I need one for myself), hats, sunglasses and the sunscreen recommended to me by a dermatologist years ago (Neutragena Helioplex SPF 30).  Our pool does have umbrellas, but there aren’t enough to go around so you can’t count on them.

We joined our community club the year Budrow was born as a means of survival.  I knew that I could not manage a 2 1/2 yr old spitfire and a 4-month-old baby in the sweltering, humid SC heat.  It’s the same means of survival my own mother employed when I was growing up in South Florida.  Now in our third year, it’s fun to reconnect with moms who’ve watched my children grow and whose children I cannot believe are so big.

And lastly, my latest obsession.  I’m kicking up my dietary health efforts a notch by ‘going (mostly) raw’.  I’ve pretty much been eating all raw til dinner for a couple of weeks now, with the exception of sprouted grain bread and occasional dips into hummus.  Early results are in, and I’ve got to tell you I FEEL AMAZING.

I didn’t come to this from a weight-loss position, though I’d be lieing if I said that it wasn’t a factor.  It’s really a natural progression that I’ve been working on for some time. The culmination of years of searching and years of Knowing, combined with a new enthusiasm for a local plant-based diet for my family and my planet’s health.

Then over Memorial Weekend I read my friend Ori’s blog (www.couchsurfingori.com) entries about his adventures in the land of Raw, and I thought, You know, if Ori can do this on the road, surely I can do it at home! And while I lack Ori’s eccentricity, something you’ll be certain of if you check out his blog, I was non-the-less intrigued.

I’ll write more later about my Raw endeavors, but for now I just want you to know that I have energy unlike any I’ve had before. I am waking feeling more rested, accomplishing far more with my days, going to bed later, and doing it all with good cheer.  I’ve had so much spare energy, in fact, that three times this week I have worked til late in the night at friends’ houses helping them move furniture, paint walls, and unpack moving boxes. And it’s only Thursday!  Amazing. I am truly delighted.   I am, quite literally, a better me.  I’m not sure if it’s all anecdotal, but I sure don’t think so.

Wishing you all the very best.  Stay tuned!

These are the new Sanuk flip flops I ordered. I love their flip flops, my old ones lasted for years and were sooo comfortable. So I was looking for a replacement and ran across these cute gold ones- I figure my faded yoga pants (my uniform) could use a little bling. Not only did I get  comfortable and fashionable new pair of shoes, but I feel like quite the environmentalist thanks to the company’s commitment to saving the planet.

The shoes arrived in this biodegradable bag (just like Sun Chips) with with an environmental message and some creative clever graphics that remarkably caught my attention. The graphics are teaching you ways to reuse the bag. I say teaching because in America we are so used to everything being disposable. Just ask Mercedes- she washes and saves other people’s  zip-locks (she won’t buy her own), she insists that she has not purchased any in years.  She also doesn’t buy napkins or paper towels; she uses wash cloths & rags. Remarkable! But she is always gently making me aware of simple changes, that even I, can make.

With the recent catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico, that stands to change life for so many people, I cant help but consider how I might be contributing to our dependence on oil.

And I am certain that my laissez faire attitude in regards to most environmental measures, is part of the problem. And I am not alone; we Americans (God bless us) are LAZY. We are a privileged bunch who have become quite good at shortcuts that make for a convenient life full of leisure time.

I never reuse zip-locks, and until I lived in Switzerland I didn’t even do a bang up job at recycling. Its just easier to toss a used zip-lock into the trash- or a tin can or cereal box, etc. But I have been an excellent recycler (is that a word?) for about 8 years now and have even started bringing bags to the grocery store. (We always had to do this in Switzerland because they provide you with such good incentives- grocery sacks are about 25 cents each!)

Because I grew up on the Gulf Coast and have anguished over the inevitable for over 50 days now, watching daily for news of the globs of oil products that reach the coastline staining the immaculate white sand, and killing the unique wildlife that is critical to the ecosystem, I am taking this personally.

Today I will start to make a difference in how I contribute to this problem, and if you all do too, maybe we can prevent these kind of things from happening again. Maybe we can bring our soldiers, our loved ones, home from the Middle East. Maybe we will quit funding their misplaced aggression and they will be forced to consider other worries. Maybe we can save the whole planet by making a bit more of an effort in our own lives. From today on- I will be more mindful about how I can, and Sanuk is there to help.