. . . in gratitude, that is.  I’m going to try and put some extra work into cultivating gratitude this week.  Care to join me?

I’m thankful for being reminded of my expanding potential for strength.

I’m thankful for Elisabeth and Lisa’s thoughts at Threading Light (they seem to be reading my mind lately!)

I’m thankful for Ella, who started this morning with a song and dance routine of her own invention.

I’m thankful for all your kind words of support, and our friends and family as well.

I’m thankful for Heather’s incredible description of real serenity.

I’m thankful for this fun seed-starting idea.

I’m thankful for my sweet husband, who spent his day shoveling – muck, manure, rocks.  Oh yes, and broadforking.

Wishing you moments of gratitude, even in these busy days.

Hello everyone – thank you so much for your kind words and wishes for us and Ella.  I really, deeply appreciate it.  I thought I’d do a little bit of gratitude today, with some photos of some of the things making me smile these days (I am feeling much better).

And now, enough about me – let’s talk about food.  With an extra busy week ahead, I’m focusing on simple, nourishing foods for our family.  If you are a serious foodie and haven’t read any of Thomas Keller’s cookbooks, (The French Laundry is the most famous, and I’m using recipes from Bouchon this week, his “bistro”), stop reading this and go get them.  Check your library, buy them used, beg someone to buy you one new, just do it.  Keller is a genius, and his respect for food and understanding of how to get out of the way and let the ingredients sing is unparalleled.  So now you have your homework assignment, haha. (Be forewarned – looking at his books will make you very, very hungry.)

This Week:

* Pan-fried porkchops with onion gravy, mashed potatoes & sweet potatoes

* Winter veggies a la greque (from Thomas Keller’s Bouchon)

* Spring Nettle Tonic Soup (from Full Moon Feast by Jessica Prentice)

* Celeriac Remoulade and the Simple (Perfect) Roast Chicken (from Thomas Keller’s Bouchon)

* Potato Cheese Soup and Roasted Beet Salad with Roasted Walnust (similar to Keller’s)

* Wild Polenta (from Petit Appetit by Lisa Barnes) and Sauteed Swiss Chard with Almonds and Balsamic Vinegar

* Pasta with Pesto Sauce (from the freezer) or Bolognese (if I’m feeling up to it)

There you have it – have a great week everyone and Bon Appetit!

Ok – onward!  Our friends over at Storey Publishing also sent this book our way.  Even though I’m not thinking about selling handmade goods at the moment, it was a total pleasure to read.  A lot of it is about the creative process, photography, and blogging, and I got some fun ideas.  Now I’d like to pass on the goodness – leave a comment in this post by Monday at 8 pm to be entered in the giveaway. Have a great weekend, and good luck everyone!

Thanks to everyone who entered, and Congratulations to Grace who said: This looks great! I’ll try for it!

I had an entirely different post planned out for today, talking about the joys of knitting.  But.  I am really struggling with gratitude this week.  Among other stresses, we found out yesterday (after over a year of trying to find a dentist to work with us) that our daughter needs a lot of very expensive dental work done.  She is two and a half.  I am trying really hard to move past my anger and fear about this, but I’m not sure how much I’m succeeding.

Last night, as I was waiting for Ella to fall asleep completely, I was reading Mommy Mantras, by Bethany Casajarian and Diane Dillon.  I will confess that when I first picked up this book it seemed, well, fluffy.  I put it down, and then I picked it up again.  I was on the chapter on anger, and I reached this mantra: Within me there is a peacefulness that cannot be disturbed.

My heart softened a bit, towards myself, the dentists and pediatrician who had not helped us, towards our entire predicament.

Within me there is a peacefulness that cannot be disturbed.

And then, this one:  Bring it on. Part of their description for this mantra reads, “Bring it on can shape a negative event into a warrior act of service for a greater good.  Think of it as being a really assertive monk.”

It’s safe to say that these two phrases are going up on my wall, the dashboard of my car, possibly on my forehead.  Today, I’m grateful most all to Ben, who is at my side for all of this, and for Mommy Mantras.

A little of this . . .

And stitches cast on for my first sweater for myself (the Shalom cardigan).Ben’s World’s Warmest Hat is halfway done (he tried mine on and had to have one of his own), and Ella’s Provence sweater got finished before all the snow melted – hooray!  One note: this pattern was quick and simple, except there aren’t really instructions for how to piece it together – I used the mattress stitch and piecing instructions from Knit One For Baby by Melanie Falick.

Some of the stitching didn’t come out quite perfect (note to self – don’t use a chart and try to talk at the same time.)  But it’s still pretty sweet, and I think it’ll fit my little bean even next fall.Wow, when I put it all together that seems like a lot of crafting.  How fun.  What are you working on today?

What a day!  Ben and our fellow farmer and friend Seth spent the day in Burlington at the Northern Grain Growers Winter Conference.  Ella and I started boiling our sap and took our first bike ride of the year.  We’d planned to boil sap in late March, but the weather has been so warm that I think the sap may be near the end of its run, plus I was worried about the sap spoiling if we didn’t start it going.  So, somewhat to my amazement, I managed to get it going today, using this somewhat kooky set-up from previous years (we had dreams of building a real brick set up this year.  Oh well!).

Exciting!  We had a picnic lunch out by the cold frames Ben built, and soon we’ve be harvesting salads from them – hard to believe.  I suppose since winter started early this year, an early spring makes sense . . . sort of. I’m trying to just enjoy it.

On to the Barley Carrot Kugel!  This is one of the first recipes I tried from Whole Grains Every Day Every Way when we first got grains in.  It’s quite tasty, and I’ve made quite a few changes – the biggest one is that instead of just carrots, I use part apples or root vegetables (as you’ll see below).  This really adds a nice round flavor, while still keeping the recipe simple, and so easy to prepare.  Definitely kid friendly, this is also a great one to make ahead, and bake at dinner.

(I know I have a photo of this kugel, but can’t find it anywhere!  I’ll have to make it again just to photograph it.  The photo above is of raw barley from our share.)

Barley Carrot Kugel

butter (to grease a 8-in square baking dish)

4 large eggs

3 Tbsp honey

2 tbsp butter, melted

1/2 tsp salt

2 cups cooked barley (instructions follow below)

3 cups peeled, grated carrots

1 cup grated apples, beets, parsnips, rutabaga, celeriac, or turnip (truly, these are all good, and allow nice variations on the same dish!)

1/3 cup raisins (optional)

1/2 cup walnuts or pecans, toasted and chopped

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Lightly grease a 8-in square baking dish with butter, and set aside.

In a large bowl, lightly beat the eggs.  Blend in 2 tbsp of the honey, the butter, and salt.  Stire in the barley, carrots, apples/root veggies, raisins if desired, and walnuts.

Pour the mixture into the pan, and drizzle the remaining tbsp of honey over the top.  Bake uncovered until the kugel is firm in the center and lightly golden, about 45 minutes.  If the top browns too much before it firms up, you can cover it with foil to finish it.

Take out of the oven, and cool for 5 minutes before serving.  You can either scoop it with a spoon, or cut it into wedges and lift it out with a pie server.

To cook whole barley: 
1 cup barley
3 cups water
pinch salt
2 qt pot

This will yield 2 cups cooked barley.  Bring the water and salt to a rolling boil.  Turn off the heat to avoid boil-overs.  Add the barley, and return to a boil over medium heat.  Reduce heat, cover, and simmer 40-55 minutes.  To test for doneness – the barley will be tender but still chewy, and one color throughout when cut in half lengthwise.  Drain off any unabsorbed water, and return barley to the pot.  Cover, and allow to rest off the heat for 5-10 minutes.
You can also bake this in the oven, After adding the barley to the boiling water, place it in a 350 degrees F oven, in a covered pot.

Bon Appetit!

Well, in truth, with all this unseasonal (and freaky but beautiful) warmth, we’re sort of simultaneously in hunger moon and sap moon right now.  A little tired of the same root veggies perhaps, but when I think about the fact that usually this was the starving time – when winter supplies have run low, but no veggies or wild edibles are really available yet, I don’t feel too sorry for myself.

We got our last share from our winter veggie CSA last week, which means I have my last stash of fresh celeriac, beets, potatoes, onions, cabbages, parsnips, rutubagas, turnips, and carrots.  We won’t get another CSA share until The Kitchen Garden’s begins the first week of June – three months!  It was time to eat some chocolate, take a deep breath, and take stock of what was left in our late winter kitchen.  Amazingly, I found a ridiculous abundance.  (Due, in no small part, to the amazing canning efforts of last year’s WOOFer, Jeanine.)  Not to mention that soon, thanks to Ben, we’ll have fresh greens out in our newly built cold frame!  Wow.

I unearthed everything from the deep freezer, set aside what didn’t seem to have made it (some kale, some tomatoes) to feed to the chickens, and counted it up, then put it back in.  Neatly.  (Crazy, huh?  In the mad rush at harvest time, it seems a miracle anything gets preserved at all.)  Then I counted all the canned food we had left.  It was thrilling to see how much we have, and also to see what I need to start using.  My favorite discovery, which I had no idea was hiding in the deep freeze: 3 quart jars of raspberries from our garden.  Three quarts!  This feels shamefully lucky.

So, without further ado – our menu this week.  I’ll be back tomorrow to share a yummy Barley-Carrot Kugel recipe.

Notes from last week:

I made this sourdough pasta, which Kelley recommended (thank you!).  I’d never even heard of sourdough pasta before, but had to try it of course!  This is a great way to use your starter, keeping it fresh and happy.  I only made half the recipe, and it still made two meals worth for us – one with pesto, the other with the Swedish Meatballs.  It was super delicious, and I’ll definitely do it again.  Especially with those meatballs.  Yum!

*Granola (from Whole Grains Every Day, Every Way by Lorna Sass)

* Enchiladas with Mole Sauce (found in the freezer!) ans swiss chard

* Straciatella (Roman Egg Drop Soup) with Kale (from Full Moon Feast by Jessica Prentice)

* Rye Grits with Sausage and Potatoes (from Whole Grains Every Day, Every Way by Lorna Sass)

* Leek, Celeriac, and Beet Soup (from Farmer John’s Cookbook by John Peterson; I’ll be using onions not leeks)

* Maple-Glazed Carrots and Parsnips roasted in the oven

* Carrot-Beet Muffins (from Farmer John’s Cookbook by John Peterson; using leftover Disappearing Carrot Salad from last week, and substituting a small amount of maple syrup for the sugar)

* Boston Brown Bread (from The New Laurel’s Kitchen by Laurel Robertson, Carol L. Flinders, and Brian Ruppenthal )

* Kale or Green Beans with Tangy Cheese Sauce (from The New Laurel’s Kitchen by Laurel Robertson, Carol L. Flinders, and Brian Ruppenthal )

* Ben’s Simple Emmer – recipe below

* Goat Chops (so surprised when these showed up in our meat share!)

* Porterhouse Steak

* The Lady Killigrew’s Brown Rice Salad, with wheatberries instead of brown rice – their recipe is kindly shared here

* Jambalaya (I use the recipe from the incredible Encyclopedia of Cajun & Creole Cuisine by John Folse)

Ben’s Simple Emmer

1/2 cup emmer
1 cup water
pinch salt
2 tbsp butter
Parmesan cheese

Bring water to a boil in a 2 qt pot.  Add emmer and a pinch of salt, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes, or until tender but not mushy to taste.  (You can also cut open a grain to test – the interior should all be one color).  Let rest off the heat for ten minutes, then drain off any excess water.  Stir in butter, add more salt to taste, and grate some Parmesan cheese on top.  Bon Appetit!

Alright folks, this is your last chance.  If you live in our beautiful Pioneer Valley, we have only a few spots left in the local bread share program.  If you didn’t get a grain share this year, (or if you did but you’re not a bread baker) this is a great way to have delicious, fresh bread made from 100% locally grown wheat on your table every week!

The nuts and bolts are:  A Local Bread Share is $175 for a 6 month share, with one loaf of bread per week.  If you are interested, you can bring a deposit to Wheatberry, 321 Main St in Amherst MA.  Once we have the spaces filled, we’ll tell you the pick up day and time, and we’ll start making these truly special, delicious loaves.

Check out Ben’s original post for more photos and the story behind these beauties.  See you tomorrow for Monday Night Menu!

This week, I’d like to take a few moments to be grateful for a daughter who’s two and a half.  There’s plenty of challenges at each age to be sure, and it is so easy to wish for things they did when they were smaller, or all the things they will do, someday.  A good reason to stop and think about some of the delights I’m enjoying right now.

Each day’s discoveries – that the red handle is hot water and the blue is cold, that Wendy and windy sound the same, that vinegar and baking soda make an awesome fizzing explosion when you clean the drains.

Walking up and down the stairs by herself.  Hallelujah.

Her joy in being outside, rolling around in the snow, stomping through the mud, nuzzling the sheep.

Reading together – oh how I love reading books together, her small frame in my lap, listening to a story, “again and again and again and again.”

Cooking together – my bean loves to stir, add seasonings, measure, and pour, sitting on the counter while I make dinner.

Playing pretend – anything can be anything, and Ella, especially, can be anyone.

Wishing you some moments of gratitude for what’s in your life right now.  Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

Do you see how tantalizingly close this sweater is?  Must. finish.

Even though truly warm weather is a ways off, and I’ll probably still be wearing the occasional sweater in May, my little polar bear was already walking around in short sleeves yesterday.

And also, some new words.  Definitely in progress, but here we go.

* * *

March

by Adrie Lester

Not yet

ready,

but here we are.  The moon, full,

startling on the snow.  The taps

on the maple trees, gathering, pulling out

that life blood, as if we thought

it was owed us.  And what is owed us?

This night, this moon?

Or this breath, in

out, ours for now, soon to be taken back

and taken

forward.

(c) 2010