Happy Feet

It is so easy to knit cool socks these days. Gone are the days of my first kniittng life that you had to carry yarn! These summer cotton lovelies were made with Plymouth Socketta yarn in just a few evenings. The yarn comes with the varied colors so the pattern is effortless.

My First Galette's

In anticipation of the release of Julie Julia...I used the recipe for dough and the Cheese and Tomato Galette from Baking With Julia and Joy of Cooking's Apple Galette recipe.

Pastry dough
3 Tbsp sour cream, buttermilk or yogurt
1/3 c ice water
1 c flour
1/4 c cornmeal
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
7 Tbsp unsalted butter

Mix the sour cream and ice water and set aside. Mix the dry ingredients and then cut in the butter with a pastry blender until until the texture of wet sand. Add sour cream mixture a Tbsp at a time till just wet enough to hold dough together. Do not overwork. Divide dough in two and pat each into disk, wrap in wax paper and chill (Julia says an hour, I cheated and put it in the freeze about 25 minutes.) The dough may be sticky so sprinkle parchment paper with flour and roll out to an 11 inch circle on parchment with wax paper on top.

Apple filling
Peel and slice 2 apples in thin slices. Brush the center of the dough with 1 Tbsp of unsalted butter and sprinkle with 1 Tbsp of sugar. Arrange apples in a layered circle leaving 2-3 inches of dough around edges. Layer a few slices in the empty space in the center. Carefully roll the edges of dough over apples, lifting the parchment or floured fingers. Pour 2 Tbsp of melted butter over apples and then a mixture of 3 Tbsp sugar and 1/2 tsp cinnamon. Bake at 425F for 20 minutes and then at 350 for 25-30 more minutes until golden.

Cheese and Tomato Filling
Mix 4 oz of mozzarella, jack or aged white cheddar with 1/4 c fresh basil. Thinly slice 2 flavorful tomatoes (heirloom or cocktail tomatoes are my favorite) and spread on rolled dough, leaving 2-3 inches of dough around edge. Carefully roll edges over filling. Bake at 400 for 35 minutes.

And the best part, wait till you taste them!

Summer Salads

We had a traditional Salad Nicoise last night with green beans and fingerling potatoes from our trip to the Madison Farmers Market on Saturday. It was delicious.

If you are looking for summer salad ideas the 101 ideas in the NYTimes Minimalist column is great: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/22/dining/22mlist.html?em&emc=eta1 .

If you don't view the Times online - you should! For now it is free and it offers great reads on a myriad of subjects. There is nothing like the Sunday paper, in your mailbox and live and on your lap though. Let's hope they stay in business.

Guilty Pleasures

My friend Dee advised me "don't should on yourself." Still, my inner voice always tells me what I should do. Usually that has to do with getting things done, working harder, improving myself or this world I live in. Those, I know, come from my upbringing. I owe my Type A to my dad - cArl. Since I retired though I am discovering my inner Type B - Betty. Is it always true our parents are our ying and yang?

Still my guilty pleasures these days aren't anything to be ashamed of. I knit. I leisurely read the New Yorker with coffee on Sunday mornings. I walk the beach barefoot thinking of what matters most. I get a massage once in a while and think I should have (oops, there I go....) donated the money to charity.

It's all about balance, right? I am going to pick up the house - then I'll walk the beach.

Speaking of Faith...

Fortunate to have my church located across the street.


I have long known that being outdoors nourishes me. There have been times, in the quietest places that I swear I have heard the "voice" of eternity, truth, something/someone bigger then myself.

Growing up Catholic I came to love and hate rituals. I have peaceful memories of incense, rosary chants, Latin hymns, though these are no longer my practice. During my adolescence awakening though I found much of the doctrine too "hokus pocus." Like a family dinner, the image my five siblings and parents and I filling a pew and singing and praying together was surely a positive force in my life. My journey of truth though started at fourteen when I realized I couldn't believe in virgin birth, though I still liked the story and concept of Mary. And who could deny the power of the myth/reality of Jesus in peoples lives? Living in a small town while raising my kids, choices were very limited - we chose a Lutheran Church. Out of habit and belief in community we still belong, but can I honestly say that is an expression of my faith? No.

I do have to separate Religion and Faith. I must admit my true church these days is found walking the beach solo. NPR's Speaking of Faith http://speakingoffaith.publicradio.org/) nourishes me more then any book or sermon. Practicing yoga, a walk in the woods and sharing insights and lives with the wonderful people in my life blesses me with inspiration that is no doubt the hand of god, where ever she is.

I Have a Thing for Nuns

My confession: yes I spent eleven years in Catholic schools and glad I did. Ever since writing "I love you" to Sister Mary Henry on my first grade phonics sheets , I have had a thing for nuns. They were mother-like, they were smart and they were the only ones who held boys accountable in my 1960's male dominated growing-up world.

I love the memory of long black and white habits and rosaries flowing in the wind as the nuns jumped rope with us. It calms me to remember sitting in a circle singing folk songs with Sister Jean Baptiste. I am sure part of me was formed by attending an all female high school where indeed "girls ruled."

Though it probably had more to do with wanting to be with my friends , I even paid my own way through three years of parochial high school. Like any teenager, we found ways to rebel by drawing on our saddle shoes and rolling our wool plaid uniforms into miniskirts. Self expression came from colored knee highs and ribbons in our hair - they missed those in the dress code. The sisters had their own form if fiestiness. They taught us how to put on mascara. We had Anti-Vietnam War protests in the gym. My Junior year I took a class "Revolution and Social Change" and studied Gandhi, Martin Luther King and Saul Alinsky.

Though I don't recall the title, years ago I read a book on the history of nuns and their compelling contributions in education, health care and support of those in need. We miss that in society now. Sisterhood also presented an alternative to marriage and a means to have a profession in the era that alternatives did not exist for women.

For a laugh and a great podcast with on nuns by a gay Jewish guy talking about nuns (if that isn't art...), visit: http://www.newyorker.com/online/2009/07/20/090720on_audio_rudnick

A Taste of Monet Anyone?

Had several lovely journeys while at the cabin. My favorites were paddling into Little Boy Lake and hiking down to the creek on Knoll Road. These places nourish me.

Test Cake

Here it is. Your vote Anna???

Davyd's Paddle

I am proud of my nine year old. While at the cabin he paddled a kayak solo for four hours. I had a grand time too. Life is good! Can you hear the White-throated Sparrow?

Carrot Cake

So, Anna asked my to make her and Jessie's wedding cake. Now I am a pie and cookie kind of gal, so the idea of baking and transporting a cake to northern Wisconsin has my spatula shaking. It's true though, I love a challenge. Today is the day - the test cake is in the oven, my kitchen smells like warm cinnamon and brown sugar.

For starters I have my Aunt Annette's carrot cake recipe. Carrots, pineapple, walnuts, coconut - it must be good. Next, I do have a history or decorating layer cakes with wildflowers (kept alive in little plastic test tubes) and they always look great. For an adventure the test cake is in layers, I bought a special cake frosting knife (cream cheese of course) and decorating fondant to try my hand at swirls around the wildflowers.

But first a word about Annette. She is my dads younger sister. As I child I remember her nursing her babies and my Uncle Bob sitting next to her with his arm around her (nice!) She studied nursing and raised six kids. And baked carrot cake. Annette died in far too young of leukemia but her memory and cake lives on.

Carrot Cake (I modified Annette's recipe to use half brown sugar and increased the eggs and cinnamon here.)

1 cup brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
4 eggs
1 cup canola oil
1 tsp salt
2 tsp soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 cup crushed pineapple (crush fresh in food processor)
2 cups grated carrots
1 cup unsweetened coconut
1 cup chopped walnuts
2 cups flour

Mix sugars, oils and eggs and then all other ingredients except flour. Finally add flour and stir by hand until blended. Line two 9 inch cake pans with parchment and spray edges. Bake 30-40 minutes until knife comes out clean. Cool on wire rack.

Cream Cheese Frosting

4 cup powdered sugar
16 oz cream cheese
1/2 cup butter
4 tbsp vanilla

Stay tuned, I'll post a photo of the test cake.