Monday, Monday

While staying up and watching

 the entire presentation of the Oscars last night

I spent a lot of time questioning myself

 on whether or not I should be staying up

Where did I learn these silly head games of mine?

I awoke this morning to find this daily message

and thought I'd share;

Accept yourself just as you are. Love yourself.

Have a great day

Kyra

One Recipe Leads to Others

photo from Sarah Britton's blog My New Roots

The recipe for a "life changing loaf of bread" from

one of my favorite blogs My New Roots

started me rustling through my cupboards

for the listed ingredients

Where I found 2 bags of puffed millet.

which lead me to researching and developing

an idea for Millet Squares, a healthy take on 

Rice Crispy Treats, to use the millet up

Millet, in case you didn't know is high in protein and Vitamin B,

making it a wonderful substitute for puffed rice

The recipe called for nut butter, which I didn't have any of, so

I decided to make my own.  I always heard all you have to do

is process the nuts long enough for them to turn into butter

Well, I put two cups of my roasted almonds into the food processor and

about 4 minutes later, I had Almond Butter!

I then set out to make my Millet Squares and they

were a big hit with Renee so I thought I'd share the recipe

Oh yea, I made the "life changing bread" too.

It is delicious - check out her recipe.

MILLET SQUARES

1/2 cup nut butter

1/2 cup honey (I used brown rice syrup)

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

3 1/2 cups puffed millet

1/2 cup chopped dried fruit ( I had raisins on hand)

Grease an 8x8 pan

Place the millet and dried fruit in a large bowl

Combine the nut butter, honey and salt in a small sauce pan

Stir until melted and just comes to a boil

Remove from heat, stir in vanilla and pour over millet and fruit

Stir to coat completely

Press mixture into your greased pan and let cool 1 hour

Enjoy!

Kyra

Friday

Happy Friday Everyone!

Enjoy your weekend,

Kyra

In Defense of the Stash

The size of my fabric stash has been the topic of

many conversations over the years, even on other people's blogs :0)

I admit I have felt self conscious about opening

the two sets of closets in my sewing room

that hold my palette.

But Palette it is my friends

And as I have time in my life now to actually quilt

I find myself so grateful for all my choices

Like the yellow border that makes this quilt sing.

It's vintage Denyse Schmidt that I picked up at Marden's

last month

Do you like the sixteen patches on point?

They kind of dance don't they, and they are all scraps

And, the center of this medallion quilt is made from the mitered corners

I had left over from another one I made.

I am having so much fun!

I'm headed to Lily's for a jam packed day

Hopefully more quilting tomorrow.

I hope you enjoy your day,

Kyra

Best Fries in Portland, ME

While eating lunch at Nosh in Portland on Friday

I realized that I had never publicly announced that they have the

Best. Fries. Ever.

Renee agrees.  

No one I've told this to has disagreed yet

and yes, I like them even more than Duck Fat.

Enjoy your day!

Kyra

Snow Storm

I spent the whole snow storm this weekend at Lily's

Cooking and baking for 35 people coming to dinner

before John Cariani's play "Last Gas" at the Opera House on Saturday

I truly enjoyed myself; chopping, stirring, singing to music

and watching the snow storm swirl around me outside

from my warm haven

At one point I looked up and saw my vase of dried hydrangeas from

late summer and smiled at the contrast in weather.

By 4pm all but 4 people had called to say

there was no way they were getting out of their driveways,

much less back in them and sadly had to cancel dinner/theatre plans

But how cool is this?!

They were truly disappointed to not be eating

at Lily's and I think a bit concerned for me and all the food

So, most of them are coming on Tuesday night to

 dine on what I have prepared.

 I am so grateful to them, 

and the chance to extend some hospitality,

 and not have all this food be for naught.

I hope you all had a great weekend

We ended up with over 2 feet of snow and

drifts well over 5'!

Happy Monday,

Kyra

Simple

There are moments when I think -

Wouldn't it be easier if I just joined the masses?

What if I stopped worrying about where my food came from

or the effect our corporate food practices have on

us as a whole, including our planet

Then I see a picture like this in a lovely coffee table book

about kitchens that a friend was so kind to give me.

The simplicity sings to me.  Look at the fresh ingredients

and the beautiful soup they are enjoying from them.

I know, I'm a little crazy, but the idea of SIMPLE

has just been renewing my spirit lately.

Each time I simplify;

 my life, my thoughts, my goals, my expectations

I am filled with a feeling of joy and possibility

Maybe its the pile of seeds I ordered from Fedco last night,

or the menu I'm planning for Dinner/Theatre night at Lily's that

highlights chicken raised 30 minutes away from me with no GMO's

or the fact that its February and snowing

but it feels like everything can be okay and 

easier isn't always better.

I've also set the date for my Spring Quilting Weekend 

April 19th -21st at Lily's House

$250 for the weekend, snacks, lunches, design wall and instruction

for three days, all included

Not to mention all the joy that comes with settling down and

quilting for three days with old and new friends.

Feel free to contact me if you would like more information or to register.

Enjoy your day!

And, as always, thank you for listening

Kyra