Baguettes and Food Rituals

Even though I wouldn't classify myself as a raging Francophile, there's no question about it: those French folks do know their bread. And their butter. And their wine. And their fashion. Okay, so maybe I'm a Francophile in training. Anyway, I've been making these baguettes for a few years now. In fact, this was the first homemade bread recipe I tackled, and it has definitely become a standard in our house. Growing up in the south, most of the time, bread with dinner meant biscuits. My mom makes the absolute best biscuits in the world. Light, fluffy....truly exquisite. However, when I started making them myself and realized the amount of shortening that goes into those little pieces of heaven, well, let's just say that for me, biscuits have been relegated to the occasional splurge category. But these baguettes are simply flour, water, a bit of salt, yeast, and an egg wash on top to give them that pretty gold color. So, while they may not win any health food awards either, I think it's fair to say that compared to lard laden biscuits, they are the sure way to go. Besides, I actually prefer the chewy, dense texture. Except with gravy. With gravy, only a biscuit will do.

This recipe comes from one of my favorite books, French Women Don't Get Fat. Warm weather always brings the inevitable urge to slim down, and while I wouldn't classify myself as overweight by medical standards, like many women I've got a few vanity pounds I wouldn't mind shedding. But, at the same time, I'm definitely not the type to "go on a diet." The entire premise seems set up for failure. That's why I love this book so much. It focuses on fresh, seasonal, mindful eating. In particular, the rituals surrounding what and how we eat. As a general rule, we eat well. While we don't always adhere to strict "health food" rules, I'm pretty adamant about scratch cooking, and we steer clear of processed and packaged foods. The main area that needs work around here, is being mindful of creating and observing rituals around mealtime. We do eat most meals at home, but I must confess that sometimes rather than sitting and mindfully eating and enjoying my dinner, I'm gobbling it down, thinking the whole time about the ensuing clean up. Clearly, this is not giving mealtime the proper respect it deserves, and I'm vowing to improve.

I was inspired by this post a few weeks ago. With a two year old, we're still not quite at the place where we can enjoy daily candlelit family dinners and consistent stimulating conversation, but as Kate becomes more proficient at feeding herself, and the amount of food on the floor after dinner daily decreases, I definitely have hope. In any event, I'm inspired by both Amanda's post and this excellent book to treat meal time as a sacred ritual, not something to be rushed through.

Baguette Recipe

From French Women Don't Get Fat by Mirelle Guiliano

-1 tsp. active dry yeast

- 2 cups warm water

- 4 to 5 cups unbleached all-purpose white flour

-2 tsp. kosher salt

- 1 egg, beaten and mixed with 1 tablespoon cold water

1. In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast in 1/2 cup warm water. Stir with a fork. Set aside for 10 minutes.

2. Combine the flour and salt. Add the yeast mixture, and sti in the remaining 1 1/2 cups water. Mix the dough until it is sticky enough to knead. On a lightly floured board, knead for 6 - 10 minutes; the dough should be sticky and smoth. Put the dough in a bowl, cover with a damp tea towel, and let rise at room temperature until doubled in volume, about one hour.

3. Punch down the dough and divide into 4 pieces. Roll each into a ball and shape into a baguette. Transfer the loaves to a lightly greased baking sheet and let rise until nearly doubled.

*My sister bought me a special baguette pan for Christmas this year that I love! If you don't have one though, you can just lay them out on a regular baking sheet. I made them without one for years. They'll still taste great, but will be flat on the bottom as opposed to the traditional baguette shape.

4. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Brsh the baguettes with the egg-water mixture. Score the loaves diagonally across the top with a sharp knife.

5. Pour 2 cups of hot water into a pan and place in the preheated oven next to the baguettes to provide moisture. (If we're being honest here, I don't always do that. I'm sure it can't hurt, but I really can't tell the difference). Bake the baguettes for 15 minutes, and then lower the temperature to 400 degrees and bake for 5 to 10 minutes more until golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool on a rack before slicing.

*In related news, while doing a quick google search for the image of the book, I discovered that Hilary Swank is doing a movie based on the book, French Women Don't Get Fat. I never could find anything in terms of an official release date (and didn't spend a great deal of time looking, so it might be out there), but this article was interesting.

Weekend Snapshots

Another gorgeous spring weekend! Saturday we spent the day back in the garden, this time prepping my herb beds. More on that little project later. Of course, what you're not seeing here are any photographs from Sunday of my poor little girl with her runny nose and watery eyes, suffering through a pretty serious case of hay fever. Pollen: the dark underbelly of springtime.

Spring Planting and General Warm Weather Giddiness

Spring can be a fickle season here in the mountains of western North Carolina. For the past week, temperatures have been holding steady in the very summery high 70s/low 80s. After the long, bitter cold winter we just endured, I'm certainly not complaining. I could sit and soak in the sun for hours. Still, that's a bit unusual for early April, so naturally we're cautious. And while we're perfectly willing to ahead and sow the lettuce bed (with baby lettuce and kale!), plow, weed eat the perimeter, drain ditches, and generally lay the foundations for the season, we won't be doing any major planting until May.

But this past weekend's gardening preview was absolutely delightful. It felt so good to dig my fingers deep into the earth, and obviously, Miss Kate couldn't agree more. I don't believe those little hands will be clean again until Thanksgiving, but I don't even care. My little one is quite the enthusiastic fan of dirt and worms, and planting lettuce and kale was the most fun she's had in ages, after being cooped up all winter.

I've always sort of enjoyed winter. I wouldn't call it my favorite season, but there is something to be said for the quiet, peaceful contentment of engaging in the more sedentary pursuits of reading and watching movies, curled up by a roaring fire. But this winter was so extreme (again, I'm from the south, so this is all relative), that even I tired of it. We all suffered from cabin fever in the very literal sense. Needless to say, I've been overjoyed to see, hear, smell, and taste the bustling of the natural world coming back to life, the budding trees, the buzzing bees, the daffodils, the dandelions! I'm just thrilled. In those dark days of winter it was hard to imagine, but spring, of course, always comes again.

Happy Easter!

Well, I had intended to wow you with some fancy photographs of the festive hot cross buns I got up at 5:30 this morning to make. Unfortunately I scorched the little beauties, and while they were still edible (after we sliced off the crispy, black bottoms), they were hardly photogenic. The tops were quite delicious, and I'm going to definitely try the recipe again, at a lower temperature. Knowing that my oven tends to run on the hot side, I should have automatically done this, but ah well. I'm no stranger to domestic catastrophes. So, we have a gratuitous cute kid with Easter eggs picture instead.

We had a family lunch over at my parents' house this afternoon, followed by a big Easter egg hunt. Or, more accurately, several mini-Easter egg hunts. Kate was quite the enthusiastic egg hunter, and I'm pretty sure I'm going to be bombarded with requests to "find eggs" for the next few weeks.

Even though my poor hot cross buns didn't pass muster, I did much better with Kate's Easter basket. It was so much fun to put together, so I thought I would share what we included:

The Story of the Root Children: This is a charming, nature focused story about the coming of spring and the changing of the seasons. Gorgeous, whimsical illustrations.

Emily and Daisy: This is a lovely story about a little English farm girl. When my dad saw this book, the first thing he did, in all seriousness, was give Kate a lecture about how she was NEVER to pull our cows tails like the little girl on the cover of the book. :)

The Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes: This is a sweet story, and in my opinion, will appeal to grown-ups as much as children. Again, such pretty, colorful illustrations.

Stockmar Crayons: I debated long and hard over whether or not I was willing to spend $12.99 on a box of crayons (you'll note that they're actually $18.95 on Amazon; I found them cheaper at our local food co-op.) But, I'm glad I did. Kate was fascinated with the color blocks (and the cute tin they came in), and when we tried them out, they really do have a simultaneous vibrancy and transparency that Crayola can't quite compete with. Assuming we don't lose them within the week, I'll consider them a good investment.

Jewel's Lullaby CD: Arguably this was as much for me as Kate, but I expect we'll both enjoy it. Jewel's voice is beautiful to the point of being surreal, and is especially well suited for the dreaminess of these beautiful lullabys. You definitely don't have to have kids to enjoy this album.

You may notice an absence of candy, but lest you give me credit for being a more health conscious mother than I deserve, I should point out that I knew perfectly well that she would also be getting Easter baskets from grandparents, aunts and uncles laden with Cadbury eggs, Jelly Beans, and chocolate bunnies galore. Deprived she is not.

*You'll note that I've linked to Amazon, but that is just as a matter of convenience. I'm not an affiliate, and in fact, would always recommend searching your local independent bookstore if possible!

Constant Motion

I just try to keep up!

A Book for A Rainy Day

Oh dear. What a weekend of ups and downs! Bad news first. Two pretty major unforseen technological problems: Thursday night my laptop crashed and died and then on Friday, when he was ready to leave the office, Mark's car wouldn't start. So in addition to quite a bit of inconvenience this week, we also now we have some pretty hefty repair bills to look forward to. Oh well. I suppose, in the grand scheme of things, if a problem can be easily fixed with money, then it's probably not such a serious problem after all. We're all healthy and happy, so we'll just be thankful for that. :)

Plus, there were some very good things about this weekend too. For one thing, Saturday heralded in the official arrival of spring, and what an absolutely gorgeous day! Bright sunshine, gentle breezes, dandelions and daffodils peeking up to say hello. Just perfect. And even though I didn't get to go to the Asheville Artisan Bread Festival, as originally planned, what with the car fiasco and all, I did get in some quality front porch time. We had our first "wing ding" of the year Saturday night. We invited my parents, grandmother, and sister and brother-in-law over for grilled chipotle glazed chicken wings and (this is the best part) the first batch of homemade ice cream of the year! The ice cream machine hasn't been out of the shed since the maple ice cream extravaganza of October, so it was pretty exciting. We made strawberry, with some of the last frozen strawberries from last year, and each bite tasted like spring!

The weather turned on Sunday, gray and gloomy again, and there are rumors floating around again about snow in the higher elevations, but I'm choosing to ignore them. It's overcast and chilly today too, and what with Mark having to take my car to work, we're sort of stuck at home. But fortunately, I'm completely engrossed in the book I'm reading right now: Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell. At first I was intimidated by the size of this book. There was a time when big, hefty books were the norm in my world, but ever since Kate was born, my novel reading has taken a back seat. But this book is simply fantastic! If Tolkien and Jane Austen had teamed up to write a book, the result might have been something like this: full of magic and fantasy, but also charged with wry humor and social comedy. I stayed up way past my bedtime last night, reading "just one more chapter" until I could barely keep my eyes open, and reluctantly went to bed.

Catnaps and Studio Plans

This is what Friday afternoon looks like around these parts. Those two are the best of friends. Hope everyone is gearing up for a nice weekend. We've had an entire week of spring-esque weather, and I'm practically giddy from it. This afternoon turned a bit rainy, forcing us back indoors, but at least it's not snow.

We're staying cabin bound this weekend, but we have big plans. Miss Katie Mae is spending the entire weekend with the grandparents, and Mark and I are locking ourselves into the home studio to finish up some recording projects that have been lingering around for awhile. Because our little cabin is, well, little, we don't have a separate room to keep a studio set up permanently. That means every time we want to record, we have to set up mics and such all over the house, and that gets a bit dicy with a two year old running rampant.

So, we've set aside an entire kid free weekend where we can leave everything set up and pretty much plow through as needed. We have two new songs on the board, and a third waiting in the wings if we get really ambitious.

I'm determined to improve my production chops this weekend. Usually I've just let Mark handle all the computer and equipment stuff, and merely pushed buttons or whatnot, but this weekend I'm breaking out a pen and notebook and what I'm sure will be a slew of annoying questions. But, I am determined to learn. It would really speed up production if I had more than a mere working knowledge of the process. Besides, I'm really shooting for a co-producer credit, rather than production assistant. :) Baby steps.

Wish us luck! I'm almost nervous about it, even though essentially, we're just spending a weekend at home, but the stakes are high and the red light's coming on.

I'll leave you with a few of my favorite links from this week:

This poster pretty much sums up my life philosophy.

I can't wait to make this cake for St. Patrick's day next week.

When I look through my bank statement and realize that the grocery store somehow ends up with most of my money, this great article from Martha Stewart hits home: 12 Ways to Prevent Food Waste

Lilith Fair lineup looks AWESOME! Emmylou Harris, Loretta Lynn, Heart, Sheryl Crow! And so many others! Mark and I are just trying to figure out which concert to go to: probably Raleigh, Charlotte, or Nashville.

And don't forget we spring forward this week folks. Here's to long days again!

Glimpses of Spring

I realize that March is a fickle month. Some might call her an all out flirt. A tease. Well, despite all that, and despite the fact that the forecast calls for a return to rain and cold weather later in the week, I'm reveling in these glimpses of spring. Days like these are a call to action. It's time to:

Skip down the driveway.

Gaze at Carolina blue skies.

Laugh at the antics of silly dogs who are just as enraptured with a bright sunny day as we are.

Dig in the mud, and come home with dirt caked under your fingernails.

Hitch a ride back up the hill after a jaunt to the mailbox. In fact, today marked the very first ride in the back of a pick-up truck of 2010. All in all, the makings of a lovely, spring day. So, to quote my hat, life is good!

Last Days of Winter

More snow this week. I suppose you could say that March came in like a lion, which leaves me hopeful for the whole easing out like a lamb at the end of the month. We'll see. In any event, snow in March is not so bad. In fact, it's much easier to enjoy it because there is a definite light at the end of the tunnel, which is not the case in January or February when winter seems dark and endless. Plus, this weekend is supposed to be gorgeous, in the 50s and 60s.

Today is Kate's Kindermusik class, and after that she is having a little friend, Molly, spend the day with her. I'm looking forward to it, because Molly is a real sweetheart. Her mom and I went to both high school and college together, and I used to work with Molly's dad. I'm a wee bit nervous though, because, well, two toddlers!

This weekend, we're headed down to stay with some friends in Lenoir, NC. Patrick and Kay put on the yearly Caldwell County Traditional Music Showcase (a consistently amazing show!), and after the show they always host a big soiree at their lovely home. It's one of those pickin' parties that last until the wee hours of the morning, if you can make it that long (which I rarely do).

I'll leave you with a few things catching my fancy lately:

• Kate and I made these granola bars yesterday and oh my! They're rather homely there on the plate, but they taste delicious! I've made my own homemade granola for ages now, but until yesterday had never tried to make actual bars. Well, they were quite a success, albeit more squares than bars. Still, yummy and portable. For the three cups of fruit/nut mixture, I used: 1/2 cup wheat germ, 1 cup almonds, 1/2 cup chocolate chips, 1/2 cup dried cranberries, and 1/2 cup of coconut.

• I read this book, Girls Like Us, a few weeks ago, and never got around to posting about it, but it was exceptional. It's a bit hefty, but reads quickly, much like a novel, and the lives of Carole King, Joni Mitchell, and Carly Simon certainly provide a wealth of fascinating material. Besides being a simple biography of these three women, the book is really a sort of social history of feminism and what it meant to be a woman during the tumultuous years of the 60s and 70s. I found Joni Mitchell the most intriguing, although not always the most likeable, and watched this documentary after reading the book. It's available on Netflix instant play, if you're interested.

• We've been led (okay, pushed might be more like it, by a very strong willed two year old) into the realm of kid's music lately, and to save our sanity, have been seeking out adult friendly kid's music. I'm sorry, but I do not allow obnoxious purple dinosaurs into my home. We just wanted music all of us could enjoy. Elizabeth Mitchell is one of the first such artist's I discovered, and both Kate and I love her! The whole sound is mellow, folky, and acoustic, but very kid (and adult!) friendly. I've spent a lot of time perusing her website, and that of her adult indie band, Ida. I LOVE her independent record label's manifesto. A great NPR interview can be heard here.

Homeschool Preview

Studying the greats with Daddy.

Farewell February!

It's Sunday evening and we're in that zone of both relaxing and gearing up for the coming week. Things have been pretty low key around here this weekend. We got to stay home for one thing, and for another, No Snow! The probability of those two things happening simultaneously has been quite low of late. And even though February went up in my estimation when Miss Katie Mae was born (on Valentine's Day!) two years ago, I can still say that I'm not too sad that it's reached it's end this year. How is it that the shortest month of the year feels soooooo long?

Anyway, a good weekend all around. Saturday, Kate stayed with my Grandmama (how lucky am I to have folks who call me up and insist that I go out and do something, anything, whatever, just so they can spend the afternoon with my little one?), so I got in some serious browsing at the Habitat for Humanity homestore and my favorite antique store, The Tobacco Barn. I brought home a milkglass vase and several books for my new etsy shop. I can't wait for the spring yard sale bonanza!

Saturday night we played at the Blue Mountain, a restaurant here in downtown Weaverville. Mark's best buddy, Milan, was in town from Nashville, so he sat in. And Milan's lovely wife Melanie came along too, which is always fun for me because I come away with a huge list of books to read and movies/tv to watch. Like this. And this.

And that's pretty much it. Excited to welcome March, one step closer to spring.

Snow

Snow, snow, and more snow. This is easily the longest, coldest, snowiest winter I remember in my adult life. It's the kind of winter kids dream about: each day a fresh dusting of snow, a beautiful, magical winterwonderland, a world that mirrors winter storybooks and old Christmas movies.

I'm trying very hard to continue to see it that way. I live in the mountains of western North Carolina, and while we're no stranger to snow (we even have a few ski resorts nearby), this is still the south, and we're just not prepared for this kind of snow and cold. In our former mild winters, I would dream of a good old fashioned New England style winter.

Well, we sort of got one of those this year, and ever fickle, I'm longing for spring more than ever. In the grown up world, snow brings not only magic and beauty, but also oodles more responsibilities and difficulties. There's wood to be brought in, fires to be stoked, water pipes to worry about, treacherous roads to travel (if one has to go out to work, which Mark does, every day, although I will say that snow has been most polite, seeming to be most intense on the weekends), not to mention the crazy school schedule that has everyone from teachers to parents going insane and depressed as they kiss spring break and summer vacation goodbye.

But, despite all that, I can't help but feel that first initial wave of giddy enthusiasm when you wake up and find the ground (still!) blanketed in white. Spring will come, and before long we'll trade in these cumbersome snow jackets and mittens for sundresses and sandals. Until then, another cup of cocoa and a warm, crackling fire, and all is well.

Chocolate Chip Cookies and A Wee Bout With the Plague

We're digging out of a full week of the plague around these parts. I started the whole wretched affair, of which I'll spare you all the gory details. I firmly place blame on the communal yoga mat I used at the Y the other day, against my better judgment!!! Oh dear. I get sick so rarely, and it's a good thing too, because I'm not very big and brave about it. I don't try to keep going or muddle through or anything so noble as that. Before Kate was born, if sickness struck I would cowardly slink to the bedroom, burrow under a mound of quilts and blankets and hibernate for as long as it took to return to normalcy. As it turns out, Mamas are not allowed to be sick, because hibernation ceases to be an option with a little one to care for. And, in the course of caring for said little one, you end up infecting her as well. So, the nasty little germ made the rounds, laying us all up for the better part of last week.

Whining aside, we're much better now, and since saltine crackers and chicken noodle soup have been the cuisine of choice lately, yesterday Kate and I celebrated a return to wellness by making a batch of chocolate chip cookies. Ever so humble, there's nothing in this world quite like a chocolate chip cookie, fresh from the oven. I tried a new recipe (you can find it here), and was very pleased. As a connoisseur of chocolate chip cookies, I'm a bit particular. I was initially skeptical about using cold butter and the fact that the cookies are baked at 300 degrees for 18 minutes (most recipes I use are more of the 350 for 10-12 minutes variety). My skepticism veered into cynicism as my mixer strained and whined during the creaming of the butter and sugar (to be fair, my mixer is an inexpensive handheld one, veering into middle age), but when they (finally!) came out of the oven, I was pleasantly surprised. This cookie is deliciously chewy, yet remarkably light. The walnuts added in are perfection, and really, you must toast them first. It makes all the difference in the world. And probably the best thing about this cookie is the high chocolate chip ratio! A winner for sure.

A Busy Bee!

My little miss is quite the industrious one. Just under two years old, and already holding down two full time jobs! :)

Production Assistant

Sous Chef

Bright Star and Weekend Travels

Hope everyone enjoyed their weekend. I certainly did. Friday night I went to see Bright Star with some girlfriends. It's the film about Romantic poet John Keats. There's no way Mark would have gone to see that one with me. When he asked me who John Keats was, I told him he was sort of an 18th century literary Hank Williams. Well, they both were brilliant wordsmiths who died tragically while still in their 20s, right? Anyway, I had high hopes for the movie, and while I don't mean to bash it, I must say I was a wee bit disappointed. It was, of course, really sad, but that's almost like going to see Titanic and then complaining that it was sad. If you know the story, you know it's not going to end well, so I was prepared for that. But, the movie was sooooo slow. One film critic called it "restrained," which I suppose means "boring for long stretches with the occasional burst of interest." Also, I didn't find any of the main characters very likable, even Mr. Keats himself! But, since my mama taught me that if you can't say anything good, don't say anything at all, I will say that, in terms of sheer cinematography, it was one of the most beautiful films I've seen of late. It was full of such exquisite imagery, I almost wanted to pause certain frames, take a picture, and hang it on the wall.

Saturday, we drove up to Boone (about two hours north of us) to visit Mark's folks. The autumn leaves are at their peak in the High Country, and it was a gorgeous drive. We spent the night with Kate's Grandbob and Mimi and then came home Sunday afternoon, where we spent the rest of the afternoon taking a short hike and then settling in for an Andy Griffith marathon.

Really a lovely weekend. And yours?

Mountain State Fair

We inaugurated a new family tradition this weekend: the Mountain State Fair. Until Sunday, it had been ages since I'd been to a real fair, and what a shame! Kate was in heaven, a big toothy grin permanently plastered across her face as she pointed around, taking it all in and squealing with delight at the sights, sounds, and smells. And of course, not at all surprisingly, her favorite thing about the fair was the animals. I made a point to enjoy this as probably the only year she wouldn't be clamoring to ride all the rides and was quite content (and dare I say, enthralled!) watching sheep herding and goat milking demonstrations.

We went with some good friends who have an 8 month old son, and the six of us had the best time gorging ourselves on fair food, browsing exquisite handmade art and mountain crafts, and tromping through the straw lined barn areas to peek in at prize winning goats, llamas, sheep, cattle, chickens, and big floppy eared bunnies. Being a parent seems to give these simple experiences a new level of importance, as you become conscious of the fact that you are making memories and creating traditions your kids will carry with them forever.

Attending the fair puts me in the mood to dive into all things domestic and I immediatley began a mental to do list of winter projects that would make Laura Ingalls Wilder proud. I also felt a rush of sporting blood as we browsed the blue ribbon entries in the preserved food categories. I make a mean black raspberry jelly, and my homemade salsa is nothing to be ashamed of, if I do say so myself. Who knows? That blue ribbon might be mine next year! Well, one can dream.

Vintage Photo Converter

I have a longstanding love affair with old pictures, so it comes as no surprise that I'm completely obsessed with this website that converts your photos to vintage styled pictures. Fair warning: this is a majorly addictive time waster. I spent an hour there this morning, before realizing my daughter was still in her pajamas and an entire shelf of books had been strewn across my office floor. But it was worth it. I love the faded, blurry quality of old pictures and this site replicates that well, especially considering it only takes a few seconds to do. The site is in Japanese, but it's pretty self-explanatory (if I was able to figure it out, believe me, your chances are good).