The heart bandit and a poem

Every year for about 10 years now I would arrive at Lily's on Valentine's Day to find a lovely heart taped to my front door.  To this day I still don't know who this wonderful heart bandit is, but they leave their joyful greeting on the doors of every island business.  I woke up this morning a bit melancholy, thinking that I would not be worthy of a heart since my dooryard is darkened to customers this February.  My heart is now singing, as you can see, I have been hearted again this year!  Thanks Bandit for making my day.

Here is what I did with the chocolate bark recipe I shared with you on Friday.  I bought the little cellophane bags years ago when I thought maybe I would make crackers to sell.  Never did it.  But, they sure came in handy this morning!  A little red ribbon and I'm all set.  Now I'm off to spread some more cheer on this sunny day.

I am going to leave you with a poem by Charles Bukowski that was shared in a program from a recent performance at the Opera House.  It hit a tremendous cord for me and my gap year "of pause"

Enjoy your Valentine's Day!

the area of pause

by Charles Bukowski

you have to have it or the walls will close

 in.

you have to give everything up, throw it

away, everything away.

you have to look at what you look at 

or think what you think

or do what you do

or

don't do

without considering personal

advantage

without accepting guidance.

people are worn away with 

striving,

they hide in common habits.

their concerns are herd concerns.

few have the ability to stare

at an old shoe for

ten minutes

or to think of odd things

like who invented the

doorknob?

they become unalive

because they are unable to

pause

undo themselves

unkink

unsee

unlearn

roll clear.

listen to their untrue

laughter, then

walk

away.

A weekend project

Snowy, blowy and super cold.  A project weekend forecast!! Actually the first one of this weird weather winter. Snow gives me this wonderful permission to slow down, quiet myself and focus on favorite inside projects.  I spent Saturday in the kitchen, which I will share about later this week.  But Sunday was all sewing, with no football to distract me.  The first thing I pulled out was that luscious piece of velveteen I scored at the Alewives pop up fabric shop from the quilt workshop several weekends ago.  I made this throw in less than two hours and it was in use just in time for Downton Abbey Sunday night.

Here is the quiet before the storm

Alewives has a wonderful little instruction booklet that you get with the velveteen.  You lay your batting out first, then your velveteen right side up and top it with your backing, wrong side up.

Pin like crazy all the way around, leaving a pocket for turning and sew all three layers together

Once you've sewn it together, flipped it right sides out and stitched your opening you get to tie it with embroidery floss to "quilt" it together.  

That is Barley helping me again, (we fought for leadership thru this whole process)

                                         

Several years ago, for Valentine's Day, friends gave me vintage boxes

 full of cotton embroidery floss. 

       

Look at these rich colors!! I love spreading them out and each color would have worked. 

 I finally decided on the pumpkin orange shade of floss

Here it is in all it's glory.  What a great shot of instant color for my living room, just when everything is beginning to drag in my house with that long winter drab thing that sets in while we await the blooming colors of springtime.  

This final picture was not staged, I came in to watch Downton Abbey and Renee had already claimed the throw.  It is super cozy and the velveteen and voile are so soft around you.  I have a feeling this will move to our screened in porch as well for those cool summer evenings.  Truly a great weekend project.

Enjoy your Monday

Kyra

Chocolate-Caramel Almond Bark with Sea Salt

I thought I'd leave you with a recipe idea for a Valentine's Day treat to make this weekend

Ingredients:

1/2 cup sugar

2 T cold water

1 T unsalted butter

1 cup roughly chopped almonds

1 lb. good quality dark chocolate - I use Guittard at Lily's -

Flaked sea salt for sprinkling

Line a baking sheet with foil.  In a small saucepan, combine sugar with 2 T water.  Stir over medium-low heat until the sugar dissolves.  Bring this mixture to a boil and cook without stirring until caramel is a deep amber.  This will take anywhere from 5 - 10 minutes. 

 Tip: Don't leave it unattended for too long, once it starts to caramelize it will go from perfect to burnt in 2 seconds.  While it is boiling, you can swipe the sugar gathering on the sides of the pan with a pastry brush dipped in cold water.  When it starts to turn amber, give it a swirl or two to blend.

When it is deep amber, remove pan from heat and immediately add butter.  Whisk until melted and stir almonds into caramel, stirring to coat well.  Spread the caramelized nuts onto the foil lined tray and spread into a single layer.  Let cool.  Break up any big clumps of nuts that might form.

Place chocolate into a glass bowl and microwave until almost melted completely.  Remove and stir until melted and smooth.  You may also do this step over a double boiler of water.

Immediately add 3/4 of the caramelized nuts and stir quickly to combine

Spread chocolate nut mixture on same foil lined sheet , keeping nuts in a single layer.  

Top with reserved nuts and sprinkle with sea salt ( I use Maldon's)

Cover lightly with plastic wrap or waxed paper and chill in refrigerator until chocolate is set, anywhere from 1 - 3 hours

Break bark into pieces and store between layers of waxed paper, keeping it chilled until sharing 

Enjoy your weekend!

Kyra

Inspiration

I will say this, I was far more efficient vacuuming the house when I worked 75 hours a week.

Now it takes me all morning.  I keep finding other things to do in between each rug or floor.  

Is this relaxation or procrastination?

At least I don't have to clean the screened in porch.  Although this February sunshine is giving me a bit of spring fever.  Dangerous, we have an awfully long way to go.  

I do seem to be finding inspiration in every corner of my house. 

I am so grateful to have some time at home.

Enjoy your day!

Kyra

Multi tasking

Blessed February, I spent the whole day yesterday off island and had the luxury of driving home in the waining sunlight.  Familiar faces happily greeted me everywhere I journeyed and I truly had such a great time chatting with you all. 

 This morning I have decided to make soup with the last sad pumpkins from my autumn hoarding.  

 Now, I am an incredible multi-tasker.  This talent has made me quite effective in the restaurant business.  However, I'm finding it to be a bit of a hinderance in this whole year's project of slowing down and being present.  While making this soup I had to really talk to myself about the fact that the joy is in the doing, not in the getting it done.  Why is it so hard for me to just enjoy myself with the task at hand and not spend the whole time thinking about what else I should be achieving?  Once I settled down I had so much fun this morning, I love to create, and experienced the joy of being present in the moments of creating.
 I would definitely like to incorporate this into my future. 

When I'm creating a new recipe I get a vision in my head of what I'm trying to create.  Today I wanted a thick, homey soup with familiar flavors and healthy ingredients.  Not wanting to leave the house, I worked with ingredients I already had on hand.  While gathering and cooking I write each step down so I can tweak it as I go.  Here is what I came up with:

Pumpkin Soup

Ingredients:

1 medium sized pumpkin ( I had a long Island Cheese pumpkin handy plus a little dumpling squash) roasted and flesh scooped out

Approx. 2 cups rough chopped onions

2 leeks, white and light green part only, chopped

1 clove garlic, chopped

2 apples, cored, peeled and chopped

2 T coconut oil

2 - 3 cups stock (chicken or vegetable)

2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp allspice

1/2 tsp ginger

pinch of two of red pepper flakes ( I love Aleppo)

Salt to taste ( I needed about 2 T because I don't salt my stock when I make it)

1 1/2 cups coconut milk

I roasted the squash at 400 and while that was happening I melted the coconut oil in one of my favorite yard sale finds, a good size lined copper pot (nothing burns in it!) and added the onion, leeks, apple and garlic with a bit of sea salt to season.  Sautee this until the leeks start to soften and everything looks kind of melted.

My lovely assistant

When ready, add your pumpkin, stock, spices and salt to taste.  Bring to a boil, turn down heat to a simmer and cook, stirring often, until the apples and leeks are very tender and flavors have a chance to meld, about 25 minutes.

Puree the cooked mixture until smooth and stir in the coconut milk.  I like a thick soup, but if it is too thick thin it with some more stock.  Taste for seasoning.  I added a bit more salt (Maldon's this time) and some cinnamon because I really wanted to taste it.  I like to let my soup sit for at least an hour before eating it, I just think it tastes better, and the leftovers will be even better tomorrow.

Yummy!  I can't wait to gather with Renee for lunch and hear about her day.

You enjoy yours,

Kyra

An auction adventure

This house that is Lily's posses such a magic spirit.  Arriving early in the mornings to open the cafe I would feel it so clearly.  But then the bustle of daily creating and nurturing would begin and the essence of the house would be taken for granted.  As much as I loved running the cafe I secretly longed to feel the quiet of the house and to let it's spirit shine.  As I begin recreating the spaces here I feel it speaking to me and I ask myself constantly to have the patience to hear it all the way through.  

I say patience, because that is what you really need when designing a space for work, play, cooking, reading, creating, etc.  Let it happen slowly, no matter how excited you are.  Things take better shape over time.  Listen, and be prepared to change it a bit until it is just right.  Then, if you are like me, you'll change it all over again.  That is why I don't spend precious amounts of money on furnishings.  I don't want to be eternally committed to a piece of furniture because I spent SO MUCH money on it.  I like to find things that I love but can lose as my taste changes from time to time.  Auctions are my favorite place to find these unique items and I found two awesome treasures this weekend.

It is an all day affair, in a badly lit room with lots of competition.  I bid on several things, but only ended up with two, but was so excited with my finds that I treated myself to brunch at Chase's in Belfast

I also have to say that without my partner Renee (Tomboy Construction) I would not be half as cool as I think I am :0)  Of course the huge work table I bought for the back kitchen weighed a ton and wouldn't go thru the door.

Renee to the rescue - she made the door bigger -  She says it is an easy fix, I'm just trusting her.  And am so grateful.

Here it is in all it's glory.  Ain't she a beauty!  It beckons me to cover it with food or fabric and just start creating.  At the auction someone said, "nice legs" I realized before I embarrassed myself that they were talking about the table. 

And this chair!!  Doesn't it look great with the drapery?  And it is so comfortable!  

Things are starting to take shape, and I love being here. 

Enjoy your day.

Kyra

Chicken wing recipe

All philosophical stuff aside, football is the real heartbeat of my winter and my team (the Patriots) are playing in the Super Bowl this Sunday.  Chicken wings are on the menu and I thought I'd share my recipe from"Cooking in The Moment"

 Ingredients:
3 lbs. chicken wings, joints split and tips discarded
3 cloves garlic, sliced
3/4 cup dry red wine
1/4 cup water
1 tsp smoked paprika, sweet or hot, your choice
1 1/2 T sherry vinegar
2 tsp brown sugar or your favorite natural sweetener
2 tsp sea salt

Place wings in a sealable plastic bag.  Whisk remaining ingredients together and pour over wings.  Toss to coat.  Marinate wings in the refrigerator 4 hours or overnight, turning occasionally.  Preheat oven to 400, line a baking tray with parchment paper or foil and arrange wings on tray in a single layer.  Discard marinade.  Roast until browned and cooked through, 25-30 minutes.

Dipping Sauce:
1 cup mayonnaise, 1 tsp sherry vinegar, 1/2 tsp smoked paprika.
Whisk together and serve along side wings.


I'm starting to receive pictures of finished quilt tops from the quilt workshop.  They are wonderful!

Enjoy your weekend!!

Kyra