A Magical Day

I would just like to say that I am so grateful for the

chances I have created to spend quality time with my community's youth 

and the adults that care so much

Yesterday, Rob Benson and his crew aboard the Sunbeam

took the Sophomore class and my Ready By 21 Mentors

to Isle au Haut for the day

We mixed community service with fun and bonding

and I can honestly say with my whole heart that

a magical day was had by all

If you have never been to Isle au Haut it is this little mystical

place that feels set back in time, just a short boat trip away

from Stonington's main land

With only 50 year round residents and a quiet peacefulness

Every guest is offered the chance to leave their troubles behind

for a little bit

and remember the simple joys of life

With a lot of laughter

and of course some good food

I think we all came back the better for it.

I would like to end with the idea that the youth of today

may not be as apathetic as you think, or disconnected.

I believe they are motivated by honesty, integrity and purpose

and are desperately searching for these qualities in a culture

that has lost a bit of its way.

I am so grateful to them all for inspiring me to

dig a little deeper inside and so hope that

they mirror a new direction for us all.

Enjoy your day and thank you,

Kyra

Change

Taken by Debby Chappell

A friend's text yesterday asking how I was prompted

a thoughtful response;

 "all my new ideas are starting to become a reality and 

my garden is keeping me grounded"

I woke up this morning amazed by

 how the scene through 

the french doors has changed

 from winter's black and white

to spring's soft greens and yellows, 

the sudden bursts of life so abundant and reassuring

And I realized how very important

 change is in our lives

I know that change freaks a lot of people out,

viewed as a disruption or disturbing and avoided

at all costs

BUT...

Change is what keeps us constant.

It keeps us learning, creating, recreating and challenging ourselves.

"If you never had to change anything, you would have no point

of reference.  You would never know what you like, what you don't 

like and you would not know how powerful you are...."

As I watch the season change and

feel the sense of happiness in my life's new directions

I know in my heart that we are all

very capable of the constant change and unfolding

of this weird wonderful thing we call life.

Embrace it and make it yours.

Enjoy your weekend,

Kyra

In the Swing of Things

After months of planning what I'd like my working summer to 

look like things are starting to roll

It all started Monday with my first mowing of the season 

of the lower fields - my free fitness plan has begun :0)

I made scones and lemon squares yesterday morning for a small

catering and realized how much I've missed

creating some of my staples

For their lunch I made flatbread sandwiches with chorizo, peppers and onions

and added spring goodness from my garden to local goat cheese to finish them off

It was magical to be back out there foraging around again

and I must say I absolutely love to cook good food for people.

There is just no denying it.

The day was finished with my first "Quick Bite" cooking class

We made scallion pancakes and dipping sauce

They were a success!

I've been filling in my calendar on the Lily's House website

with more cool stuff like one day quilt workshops,

 a wine tasting at a farm, chef's dinners ...

I'm pretty excited 

Thank you so much for coming along!

Enjoy your day

Kyra

p.s. the next "Quick Bite" will be Butterflied Chicken (from Old Ackley Farm of course)

with herb butter, roasted over spring onions

yum.

Sweet!

Happy Monday!

Spring on Carding Brook Farm

Chai Tea

Yesterday, my dearest friend who lives thousands of miles away,

checked in because she hadn't seen a blog post in a while

I told her I was good, just in a bit of a spring brain fog

See, it was winter here two weeks ago

and now it is full on spring

 The forsythia in my yard isn't even fully open yet

 and the trees here are just beginning

to think about leafing out

I just opened the french doors in the bedroom last weekend

And hung the bedding on the line 

-My MOST favorite thing about spring-

I've been gardening like crazy, 

the weather change leaving me feeling behind

 Getting ready to regularly create food again at Lily's

I teach my first "Quick Bite" Cooking Class

this Tuesday on Scallion Pancakes with Dipping Sauce

Farmhouse Lunches start in June, lots of special events planned

Whew!  Deep breath.

AND

I've been making my own Chai Tea with Rooibos and Almond Milk

It is delicious and I thought I'd share the recipe

I hope you are all well and happily settled into spring

It is truly lovely here

Enjoy your weekend,

Kyra

CHAI TEA WITH ROOIBOS

AND ALMOND MILK

This makes enough for 2 cups

feel free to double it  and invite more friends

 to share a quiet moment together with you

4 cups water

3 cardamom pods

3 whole cloves

1 cinnamon stick

3/4" inch piece of ginger, roughly chopped

1 T honey

1 T loose Rooibos tea 

1 cup almond milk

Bring the water to a gentle boil

add the spices and honey and simmer for 5 minutes.

Turn off heat, cover and steep for 10 minutes

Add the tea, bring back to almost a boil

and simmer gently for 5 more minutes

Strain, stir in almond milk

pour and enjoy

Note: I add my homemade almond milk at the end because 

it separates in the heat.  If you are using regular milk

you can add it in with the water at the beginning of the recipe.

Mentoring

Yesterday was my and Amy's first day back at the high school 

in over 10 days and I was strongly reminded of how much I truly enjoy spending time

with the students in our Real World classes.

Everyone was feeling a bit of spring fever 

as the sun finally poked its head from the clouds

and school is winding down for the year

The room was organized chaos as we made peanut butter balls

AND popovers with jam and butter

 ( some kids dipped the popovers in chocolate and I must say that looked delicious)

 Amidst the heightened energy I realized that Amy and I

have begun to succeed in creating a "community" in that room twice a week

And that "Real World" is appropriate in so many more ways

than just cooking skills or interview skills... etc.

  To me, the real world is all about us getting along.

All of us working together;  distracted,

 introverted,  extraverted,  focused,  comedic,

tired, exuberant, etc. and doing it with kindness

and tolerance.

There have been so many moments over the year

where I have witnessed just this and I feel so pleased and grateful.

I would like to thank the students for being a constant

source of inspiration to me.

  I constantly see in their smiles

the incredible joy we are all able to feel

in those moments that we are safe and loved

If I hope for anything, it is that these moments,

for all of us, go from fleeting to lingering.

Enjoy your day,

Kyra

Spices

My desire after my "spring mind cleanse" was to jump

back on and have lots of eloquent words and inspirations 

for you all.

And as much as I enjoyed my little respite and was equally 

happy to be connected again,

the recent stretch of cold, rainy weather we have been

experiencing has caused me to feel a bit lackluster in the

sharing department

However, I was inspired last night by the joys of freshly purchased

 dried herbs and spices 

After a slight flop in my culinary endeavors when I made

chicken sofrito last week with old paprika

 (from a beautiful cookbook called Jerusalem by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi )

 I want to share with you that it really does make

a difference in your food when you use fragrant, freshly dried

quality herbs and spices.

I roasted a chicken last night with organic thyme

from Bulk Herb Store and this new Turkish chile pepper

I bought from The Spice House called Urfa Biber, described

to me as 'rich, smokey and raisin-y with moderate heat'

It was delicious!  I quickly sauteed some baby bella mushrooms

with dried marjoram, and served them over polenta

And the blessings of some Carding Brook Farm mesclun 

with champagne vinegar and olive oil

 to make me believe that spring is actually

on its way.

I hope you are all well!

More soon and sunshine too....

Kyra

p.s. here are two other wonderful cookbooks that I

cooked out of over my little break;

Plenty also by Yotam Ottolenghi

and for wonderful gluten free baking,

Small Plates and Sweet Treats by Aran Goyoaga