Heart Wide Open

I don't think I can adequately describe the rush of life force

that has shot through me today as the earth relaxes its grip

the sun shines, the snow melts, the birds sing 

I drove to all my favorite farms picking up

chicken hearts, eggs, grass fed beef and luscious thick cream

As I drove on roads I've driven on hundreds of times

I felt that I was seeing everything for the first time

I thought of maple syrup and my garden

and came home to see my cold frames peeking out of the melting snow!

I leave tomorrow for Washington DC with four excited mentees from 

our Ready By 21 Mentoring program

and remembered what it was like when I was 16 and would

drive into Manhattan with my family

Seeing that sky line, feeling that electricity shoot through me

much like how I felt today

Isn't it wonderful how excited about life we can get?

Just by letting go of our minds and seeing

with our hearts wide open.

What a gift.

Something we can open over and over and over.

I came inside for a meeting with my graphic designer extraordinaire

Julie Morengello

We have just finished the wonderful project of designing a website

for Ready By 21 Mentoring

www.readyby21mentoring.com

Check it out!

It is amazing for me to see in print

the comprehensive program that has been created.
I am so grateful.

We also worked on some new looks for Lily's House

to go along with new handmade qualities I'll be selling

Stay tuned!

Turn that mind off a little

Allow your hearts desire

Kyra

Maple Sugar Shortbread

This has been a winter for rearranging furniture hasn't it?

  I am continually amazed how I can go from wanting a new house

 to loving the one I'm in just by turning a table.

That's exactly what happened last week after I had to mop up a bit of ceiling collapse

 from an ice dam on the roof.

I turned the keeping table in the kitchen and wondered out loud for an hour 

why I had it the other way in the first place

I'm still tickled with it!

With the wine bar on hiatus until late April 

I am hoping to catch up on some other projects

( I must admit, I miss the wonderful warmth and energy of those wine bars

and look forward to them resuming)

But, I finished the baby quilt I started for my bartender extraordinaire

and had the lovely pleasure of presenting it to her today

It is made of many special bits and pieces of my quilting journeys

and feels like it echoes love and growth from the center of a loving home,

much like the space I feel this baby will be born into. 

Exciting.

The recent Pop Up Fabric Shop with Alewives Fabric 

and Rhea's Lucy Boston workshop were a wonderful success and filled Lily's

with vibrant color and creativity

 Born from the this lovely weekend

 was my development of 

a maple sugar shortbread cookie

 that I served for dessert on that Saturday

It is so good I just have to share the recipe.

It's gluten free, no refined sugar and delicious with frozen strawberry yogurt, 

but I think I'll dip the next batch into melted chocolate

Yum!

Turn that oven on and warm that kitchen up

Spring is coming, I promise!

Enjoy,

Kyra

MAPLE SUGAR SHORTBREAD

3 ounces best quality unsalted butter

Seeds scraped from one vanilla bean

1/4 cup pure maple sugar

1 cup rice flour

(I use Anson Mills, its phenomenal)

3 ounces ground almonds

 (if you have time to roast them first, even better!)

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

~

Place the flour, ground nuts, salt, maple sugar and vanilla bean

in the bowl of a food processor, process to combine

Cut butter into small chunks and add to processor

Process until butter is cut into the flour mixture

and a "short" dough appears.

This will be very crumbly, especially if your butter is cold.

That's fine.

Press the mixture into a parchment lined or buttered 

8x8 baking pan

Score lightly into 9 squares and poke each square with the tines of a fork

Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes

or until golden brown.

~

Allow to cool, cut apart and enjoy!

Follies and Fabric

Helloooo! 

 I have missed you all so much and it feels so right to be sitting here

 in this place and sharing again.

 I hope you have been happy and healthy while I have been away and

 thank you so much for encouraging me to take the time I needed

 to catch up on other creations.

When I began blogging

 I wrote very emphatically

 that February was my most favorite month of the year

 here on this sweet little island.

And I am happy to report I still feel the same way even in the

midst of this very cold and snowy winter.

In fact, as I was shoveling this morning in the warmth of the sunshine,

amidst dozens of chickadees and a woodpecker at the feeder 

I noticed these buds on the lilac bush by the back door.  

 They must have swelled in the odd warmth of late fall

 and have been hanging on, waiting to bust open

 in God knows when -

 and I remembered I just love February!

So much to be grateful for 

Like my 2003 rusted out Chevy Silverado that has let me drive

through everything that has come at us this winter,

-My partner (even though she wanted me to sell the truck)

 who knows how to defrost pipes and fix leaky ceilings from ice dams,

The Mansard roof on Lily's that hasn't had any ice dams,

-The incredible myriad of teenagers 

that I have the pleasure of sharing company with each week

(several of whom convinced me not to sell my truck)

-Thursday night wine bars which have been as few as 4 of us to

as many as 40 of us throughout these winter months

-The beautiful creations and enthusiasm from

 my students in the textile classes I have been teaching

 and the joyous news that

I will be teaching my first one day class at Haystack 

in May during the HIP Community Day Workshops!

I am so grateful that

 I was who Aaron called to say he was coming to clear my back woods 

in literally the only 4 day window we have had

 with frozen ground and no snow this entire season

Not to mention the incredible joy and optimism

 my onion seedlings germinating gives me

and for this wonderful garden shed Renee got the roof onto

before the winter of 2015 hit.

Scrap wood and windows from the dump,

way too pretty for the lawn mower and planting paraphernalia

 I will be storing inside.

As I take stock this February

 in all this winter has had to offer,

 I would say the best has been the real chance to

 slow down,

 burrow,

focus inward, 

and

 get some crazy things off my to do list!

Like taking two days this last storm to sort through

and remove the excess yardage of quilting fabric from 

my very large stash

There is everything.  Whites for background, large lengths for backing,

great florals, civil war reproduction, blending prints....

and I am selling it all on the back table at Lily's this Friday, February 20th

during a combo Pop up Shop/Wine Bar with Alewives Fabric

Rhea will have the newest, most beautiful fat quarters etc. in the dining room

I'll be pouring wine at the bar and Renee will be cutting fabric in the back!

$2.00 a yard, all you want!!

Plus Rhea is teaching a Lucy Boston hand sewing workshop on Saturday and there are 

just a few spots left if you are interested.

Phew, that's enough of me for now!

Much love and excited to continue,

Kyra 

Diversity

This is a picture from the Storm King Sculpture Garden

in New Windsor New York - only one hour from New York City.

That blows my mind.

Millions of people living on a 12 mile island choosing to be all smashed together

While I strolled this amazing land in breathtaking afternoon light

So be it.  And thank you.

The reason for the journey was a 50th birthday wish of mine

to eat at Blue Hill at Stone Barns

Which was an extraordinary experience on so many levels that I will never forget it.

Before I went, a dear friend turned me on to Dan Barber's book

"The Third Plate"

This book was a spiritual read for me and I have been urging

all my farmer and sustainable foodie friends to read it.

Well written, deeply researched, human and no pretense

The incredible thing is, the sound idea of our soil, land and water health

counting on diversity, segued into my mentor work

As I continue to revel in the individualities of the youth

I am so fortunate to work with I  had this epiphany

that our society calls for a monoculture not just in its fields

but in its members as well

I am continually reminding folks that not everyone has to 

follow the same path that we seem to dictate in order to be happy and fulfilled

And then a wonderful paragraph from another book I'm reading

that really pulled it all together;

"So the reason that you took the job in the temporary agency that placed you in the office may be to teach you a skill that you will use years later when you are doing something quite different.  You have no idea how these things unfold until you realize how wonderfully informed you have been by your past experiences.  You can be a garbage man of great dignity and actually have a life of the mind that has nothing to do with trash cans.  But that is a wonderful way to work out the anger at the end of the day by throwing the bags into the back of the the truck.  You are helping people." 

So, I continue to celebrate in the bounty of this season and feel so thankful

for all the wonders that make up the moments of my days.

Here's to a happy, healthy, diverse life.

Kyra

Summer Musings

I promised myself that I would go straight to my office this morning

and do some long awaited desk and computer work...

...no getting lost in my gardens for what seems like 15 minutes and

ends up being 2 hours...

I couldn't do it! The morning sun was out after a lovely early rain shower

I had to check the cucumbers, and then of course go on slug patrol in the winter squash

and then there were beans to pick...

What a beautiful summer it has been, not a day over 80

the perfect amount of water for the gardens

long full days

so much bounty

I am so grateful for all the moments

I miss the "Peas" (Ally is missing in the picture)

Such good people. 

 I gave them my time and my reputation

and they honored both

Never missing a day and putting out some delicious food

Stay tuned for info on their soon to come Cookbook

The wine bar on Thursday nights has been a blast

So much so that I will continue into fall and 

 see who wants to keep coming as the days darken into winter

Eddie gave me a lovely rock wall, dividing the parking lots

and Renee is promising a garden shed on the old barn foundation sometime

After coveting the sweet peas at the farmer's market mine finally started dancing

 

Boating has been less this season so far, but we had a lovely island picnic
last weekend and hope to make up time in September

I've been preserving bounty like crazy

jams, blueberries in syrup, pickles of all sorts, hoping I get some tomatoes to roast

Breakfast on the porch on Sunday was buckwheat crepes stuffed with 

Spruce Hill Farm's goat cheese and my blueberries in syrup

Lunch gatherings with summer friends at Lily's has been a highlight

Last week Becky and I cooked straight from the garden

with cipollini onions in balsamic vinegar and olive oil, stuffed squash blossoms,

purslane and avocado with lemon juice and sea salt

and a cabbage and kholrabi slaw with fresh dill and dried cherries

Just as we were ready to dig in, Karolyn from Pine State showed up

with new red wines to try!  I couldn't have planned it better if I tried.

I keep rejoicing in the bounty, knowing August is winding down

But there is always so much to look forward to...

I so hope you are enjoying these last days of summer.

Be well,

Kyra

A Day To Remember

A country fair in my gardens 

A dream come true.

 Phenomenal artisans, chefs, growers and musicians

 

A little wine, a lot of sunshine, but not too hot,

 ( muddy and wet from all the rain, but you know I don't enjoy focusing on the negative)

And to end a perfect day, Tim spotted

chanterelle mushrooms under my trees!

I sautéed them in butter and sage

and tossed them over some gf egg fettucine with this devine cheese
from Cowgirl Creamery a friend and fellow chef left behind.

Delicious.

Someone asked me yesterday if I drink a lot of coffee.

I said I don't drink any!

I've been sipping on fresh red clover blossom tea with a little mint lately.

Seems to do the trick. :0)

So, so gratefully,

Kyra

Fancy

I just made strawberry jam with my last quarts of berries

from Long Cove Farm

Honey for sweetener with

 Cinnamon, Vanilla Bean and Pinot Noir

Really delicious, and special

I mentioned this book at the end of last year's season 

and wanted to share it again as the season of saving begins

His methods and ideas are awesome

(for jams - high heat and quick reduction, no pectin)

and I've had wonderful results so far -

even with my tweaking

This jam is a version of what he calls a "fancy" jam

and was inspired by the open bottle of Pinot Noir 

left from Thursday night's wine bar

STRAWBERRY JAM

WITH VANILLA BEAN AND PINOT NOIR

6 quarts strawberries,

washed, hulled and quartered

2 cups honey

1 cinnamon stick

1 vanilla bean

Zest and juice of 1 lemon

1/2 cup pinot noir

12 jelly jars (8 oz.) 

Place the berries, honey, cinnamon and vanilla bean in a bowl

and allow to macerate for 30 minutes

Turn the fruit-honey mixture into a large pot

Bring to boil over high heat.

Stir vigorously and often over the coarse of cooking to break berries into a paste

After 10-15 minutes add the Pinot Noir.

Continue reducing to the gel point, another 6-8 minutes, stirring all the while

Discard the spices  and stir for another minute or so or until as smooth as you want it

Ladle it into prepared jars , leaving 1/4 inch headspace 

Seal jars and process in a water bath for 10 minutes

Enjoy!

Kyra