"March"ing Forward

We are so thankful to be transitioning into Spring. We welcome the sunshine and look forward to seeing patches of earth below the remaining snow. Double Cheers!

New Year, New Hope, New Zodiac

Happy Everything, Everyone! We hope your holidays were filled with warmth, love, and good family. I was trying to figure out why I haven't posted in awhile and I realized that I've been busy shoveling! We have been lucky to be so completely hammered by loads and loads of freshy, fluffy, magic snow. In the spirit of embracing the season, we have been actively riding a new mountain each time we venture to the slopes. The snow is copious, powdery, and nothing like I remember.

The holidays were festive and filled with lots of family and friends. I feel blessed that Dandy was able to be on the east coast for the 1st time with me on my birthday and Christmas. As it happened, my Dad had a stroke right before Christmas. He's in rehabilitation now as he continues to make progress and heal. We feel reassurance that our decision to be here for a time is the right one. We continue to take life one day at a time.

Jim is presently in Lake Tahoe, CA embarking on yet another Blu home building journey! I feel so envious that he is flying all over the country and soon, internationally, to build these homes. He's working full speed when he's away and he continues to experience the highs and lows of working for a new company. I count the minutes that he's home with me again.

As far as the stars go...we always knew that Mik was more of a gemini. Wishing that the stars

align for you in 2011!

Soupsearching.

It's winter in vermont and there's not much else to do except cook! Well, in my case, learn how to cook! So far, here are the keepers.

This one was adapted from the Rodale Whole Foods Cookbook.

Potato, Chorizo, and Winter Green Soup (It's Portuguese!)

Ingredients

-4 tbsp extra virgin oil

-2 medium leeks chopped (all we had was yellow onion)

-5 large russet potatoes (slice them thin)

-a bunch of garlic chopped

-6 cups of broth (chicken for us)

-2 cups agua

-6 oz hard, cured chorizo (we used more and we used some farm fresh stuff)

-1 pound of Kale thinly sliced

-salt and pep

Next, you heat 3 tbsp of oil over medium. Add the leeks, let em sweat, until they're soft. We did this but with onions. Next, add the taters and cook until browned (10-15 min) Add the garlic and cook for 1 min. I also added a bunch of salt and pepper to taste.

Add the broth and water. Bring it to a boil. Simmer, cover, and cook until taters are soft (20 min.) I'm not sure how long it took us, I just kept checking it. Remove from heat. Then slightly mash the them, leaving some texture.

Well all this is happening, cook the chorizo until lightly brown. Ours took longer because we had to cook it.

Once the chorizo is cooked/browned, add it to the soup with the greens. Simmer it about 5 minutes. Be sure not to overcook the kale. They should still be bright green.

We were pleasantly surprised by all the flavor in this soup. it was very tasty. it's best if eaten that night. it's still good on the second day but the kale is not as vibrant in color or in flavor.

Next up, Tortilla Soup!

I got this one from my a fellow knitter. She's actually the owner of this place in town called Knit or Dye and i love her because she welcomes knitters to come in while the shop's open for business to just hang out and work on projects. So the other day while knitting in the shop, she shared this recipe with me. It's adapted from the Horizons: The Cookbook.

Tortilla Soup with Roasted Seitan

2 quarts of stock (we used chicken)

2 cups of veggie trinity (equal parts of celery, bell pep, onion)

1 cup corn

12-16 oz seitan chopped/browned (we used chicken but want to try seitan next time)

1 tbs minced garlic

2 tbs cajun spice blend (this is a wonderful yummy blend, could be used for many things)

1 chili pepper

1/2 cup cooked rice

1 cup tomato diced

1 ripe avocado diced

Tortilla chips

Bring the stock in giant pot to a boil with the veggie trinity, corn, seitan or chicken, and spices. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. this way the veggies are not soggy and flavorless. Right before serving add the avo and tomatoes to the pot and simmer 2 minutes.

Cajun Spice Blend

1 tbs paprika

1 tbs cumin

1 tbs granulated onion

1 tbs granulated garlic

1 tbs salt

1 tbs pepper

2 tsp thyme

2 tsp oregano

1/4 tsp clove

1/2 tsp allspice (we didn't use this but it was still great)

1/4 tsp cayenne

Let us know if you get to try any of these or have a must have for us.

Salvaged wood meets black piping

Here's a quick peek at the lovely table that Jim and I co-created. well, jim made it and I helped design it:) it was a fun collaboration. I guess the idea behind it all was to create something using old stuff. So we got the wood from this place called Renew. They go all around the state collecting old cool materials that will just be trashed and then re-sell them for a small profit. The picture is kinda dark but in a better light, you can see that it's pretty stellar.

Strawbale in VT

This past september I had the opportunity to lay an earthen floor with some local natural builders. The house is a beautiful timber frame structure with strawbale infill, plastered with all natural materials near Chelsea, VT. The very talented builder, Liz Johndrow, posted on a local natural builder network that she needed a hand, and I responded. To me, that social aspect of natural building is one of the things that is so attractive. So I met some great people, learned alot, and hopefully can do more of that next spring when the building season picks up again.

home sweet high street.

Hello Folks! We've been meaning to start this for some time now! So here we are in Vermont! It's cold and cloudy and wet here but somehow we are really happy! The fall was just beautiful here...truly spectacular. Jim and I started trail running. There's tons of forest access right up the hill from our house. Mik, of course, loves it too! Jim and I have been welcoming the exploration of our new state! We so easily forget the beauty of a place over time. But now, we see the beauty of everything here and also, remember how incredible our old home is too.

I've been cooking a bunch. Trying to fill our bellies with all things healthy and whole. I bought the Rodale Whole Foods Cookbook and it's fantastic. I've taken up knitting too and man, it's not easy. Jim's insisting on my first scarf having his name on it but he may change his mind after he sees the end product.

Jim started his new gig at Blu Homes. I think he's learning a lot. I am not sure how whole-heartedly he's feeling about it but it's a good experience and for now, it's paying the bills! Jim already made his way to and from North Carolina...on business and now he's off in western massachusetts putting up a Blu Home. He will be home tommorrow:)

For now we are happy and well and hope to hear from you soon! xoxo