Beets!

"There is no use blaming the rain and mud, these are only

elements.  The disaster is the failed expectation"

-Barbara Kingsolver from "Flight Behavior"

While I've been whining about the lack of carrots and beans

developing in my garden

Many other beautiful things were happily growing,

waiting for me to notice.

Notice I have! and Beets had my full attention today

Since winter I've been dying to try this

raw beet ravioli I had seen in some

beautiful blog post, and look!!!

Aren't they gorgeous?

I marinated some fresh goat cheese in; olive oil,

chopped nasturtiums, basil and garlic

and then sliced my 

Chiogga beets really thin on my mandolin to make the

 ravioli "noodles" - sandwiching the goat cheese in between -

and drizzling the marinating oil on top,

finishing with a pinch of Maldon's Sea Salt

Then I roasted the Golden and Detroit Reds

and topped them with some of the goat cheese,

oil and Cassis vinegar.

Yum! and SO. Pretty.

I had to share.

Happy Summer!

Kyra

Ice Cream!

I am completely enamored with this frozen concoction

And, now that I understand how easy it is to make it -

and make it healthy even -

I have been going like gang busters.

The first biggest decision was eggs or no eggs

Traditional French ice cream has a custard base

made with lots of egg yolks for that rich, creamy, coat your mouth ice cream

And then there is the American or Philadelphia version, with no eggs, but still really

creamy, yet lighter - and I can eat more in one sitting!

I've made ice cream with greek yogurt and strawberries,

coconut milk and cocoa

and the latest one; fresh cream, lavender and vanilla bean

The basic process is two simple ingredients:

Liquid

and

Sweetener

and for the life of me I can't figure out why all the stuff in the 

grocery stores and shops have so much crap in them.

Even a local ice cream maker uses dextrose - what?!

I use a Cuisinart, Pure Indulgence  ice cream maker

and just ordered a second freezer canister so I can 

make enough for everyone at lunch 

Here's my recipe for the

 LAVENDER, VANILLA BEAN ICE CREAM

(I bet it would be outrageous with shavings of dark chocolate)

3 cups fresh organic cream

1 cup organic milk (Burnt Cove carries Moo Milk!)

2/3 cup raw honey

Heavy pinch of sea salt

4 T roughly chopped lavender sprigs (stem, leaves and buds)

1 Vanilla bean, split lenghtwise

Place cream, milk, honey and salt in a medium saucepan

Bring to a low simmer, stirring occasionally

Scrap seeds from vanilla bean and stir into cream mixture

along with the bean and the lavender

Remove from heat, cover and 

chill for 4 hours.

Freeze in an ice cream maker

Eat some right away like soft serve

and freeze the remainder until firm

(over night is best)

For frozen yogurt I made a mash of fresh fruit, sweetened

with a bit of honey, add some flavorings like orange zest, pepper,

fresh mint or whatever, stir it into greek yogurt,

chill for an hour and freeze it up!

For a vegan delight I use coconut milk for the cream

you can use mashed banana for the sweetener,

Let your imagination run wild.

I haven't had anything not freeze up yet

Just taste your base before you chill it

to know if it is what you want.

Enjoy and have fun!

Kyra 

Raising

Happy Monday!

What a weekend. 

My first craft show was a wonderful success

Look at all that color!! 

My linen aprons were such a hit that I made more on Sunday morning.

And I sold all my pin cushion caddy's.  Even mine!

It was so great to see everyone and I am so grateful

for the kindness, generosity and support.

I'm thinking.....maybe a textile show at Lily's in the future

with all my sewing friends bringing there finest.

I'll keep you posted.

One more thing:

My partner, Renee (Tomboy Construction, Inc.)

and Jon Ellsworth (Carding Brook Farm Timber Frames)

have been collaborating on a barn project 

all winter.

The raising occurred last week and I really want to share

this beautiful process.

Isn't it gorgeous?  

It seems so powerful to me, so full of spirit

And then I found out that Jon blesses his barns

with a ritual of bread, salt and wine.

Everything seems to evoke such feeling in me.

Then I read my affirmation for today and it says,

"It is safe to have feelings and you are safe to feel"

Nice, because I feel full of awe and gratefulness for

all the rich experiences in this life and my wonderful connections

to so many.

Enjoy your day,

Kyra 

Take a Minute

I have been spending the last few days in my sewing room

finishing up my stash for the 

Blue Hill Fine Craft Show next weekend

This morning I looked up from my work

and saw the green grass, my garden and

the dappled sunlight through the window.

I felt my soul sigh... its summer!

We all get so busy these months, cramming every moment

with active enthusiasm

I just wanted to shout out a reminder to 

look up every now and then

and breathe summer in

Slow down for a few moments, stick your feet in the grass

smell a flower, lay looking at the sky,

feel the warm sun on your skin

It goes so quickly.

Be well,

Kyra 

White Gazpacho

Last night was part two of the

 wine and food adventure with Chris Campbell

 Lily's House hosted its first

"Chef's Dinner"

I piled 12 willing patrons around the bar and front kitchen

for an interactive evening of wine and food

Everyone said they had such a good time!

 The white gazpacho was a refreshing hit and

I've included the recipe in this post

We had Socca (chickpea flatbread with lobster

that Renee and I caught that morning!  on top of

goat cheese and fresh basil

The best part was getting to use veggies from

my garden on the polenta dish

with little chicken meatballs and a vegetable broth

Delicious!

Chocolate Sweet Potato Donuts with

homemade Vanilla Ice Cream for dessert

And a wonderful (gluten free) evening had by all

One last thought before the recipe:

 I receive so many kind words from you all about

this blog and I would like to say thank you 

I feel so fortunate in my life and my little place

on this special island.  I am very grateful to have you share 

all these moments with me.

WHITE GAZPACHO

1 cup seedless green grapes, sliced in half

3 T chopped fresh dill

2 cucumbers, peeled and diced

1 firm tart apple like granny smith - peeled, cored and diced

3 scallions, sliced thinly

1 1/2 cups yogurt

1 1/2 cups cold water

Juice of 1/2 a lemon

1/2 tsp aleppo pepper

a dash of Ume vinegar

Salt and black pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients

Remove half the solids and place in a food processor - not a blender

Pulse briefly and stir back into soup.

Chill for 2 hours before serving.

I was going to garnish with slices of radish, but forgot to!

Enjoy

Kyra

Farm meets Wine

 Wow.

The wine tasting at Carding Brook Farm

was a great idea!

Jen filled baskets with bounty

We added some vinegars, oils, salts and pepper

Stripper kept everyone in line

Chris Campbell from C&P Wines and Steve from Wicked Wines

matched Spanish goodness with vegetables, fruit and herbs

Folks walked the farm with Chris and Jen, 

tasting wines and vines and sharing how this

"loyal to the soil" thing all works

Then into the barn for the grand finale

"White Rioja and fresh peas....who knew!" said Ross Mills

Everything I love all together, who can beat that.

Thank you!

P.S. I'm almost ready for the Blue Hill Fine Craft Show 

July 20th and 21st.

I hope you get a chance to come check

out my first official "body of work"

Enjoy your day everyone!

Kyra

Whirlwind Week

 The days between my returning home from Nova Scotia

and this morning were completely action packed 

even for me!

But what a whirlwind of wonderfulness to report on:

Wednesday kicked off with a quilt workshop at Lily's House

with teacher Debby Chappell, featuring her streamlined design

of a wonky lob cabin

She had 10 students, many first time quilters, and

 the work and camaraderie was incredible

 Thursday was Lily's Farmhouse Lunch

Featuring two favorites; asian noodles and crab cakes

and a full house

 

My awesome A team, all whom have never worked in a restaurant before,

did a fantastic job keeping the whole day on track

Friday was spent around the big wooden table in the back kitchen,

everyone offering their free time to help me

prep for the Ready by 21 Mentoring Summer Party at Edgewood Farm

on Saturday.  I love times like Friday, all of us cutting and chopping

and sharing stories.  Just what I was hoping for around this table.

Saturday was the big fundraising Bash and I do believe

a good time was had by all!

Generosity flowed both in all the volunteers that helped this

to actually happen with such success and by the wonderful,

wonderful turnout of people who paid to come and support

this important program

We even had dear friends of mine come from MDI!!

A rocking jazz band - Isle of Jazz- playing for food,

had everyone kicking their heels

Lobster rolls, strawberry shortcake, lamb meatballs, 4 salads,

wine and beer -  lots of laughter and conversation.

PLUS - a chance for me to hang my bunting!!

Who could ask for more?

Thank you so much everyone!

And, yesterday, I was in my first gallery show with a quilt-

more on that later.... 

Happy Monday!

Kyra