Morning Light, Happy Baby

L A S T N I G H T:
Waiting patiently with "Spot Visits His Grandparents" for the bath to fill...

O c t o b e r 3 1, 2 0 0 9: H a l l o w e e n !
THE KING, THE SOUTHERN BELLE AND SPAGHETTI CARBONARA

With the wonderful company of Annie and Holly, Calvin got to trick-or-treat for the first time in a near-by, very friendly neighborhood. In the car on the way there Annie kept saying, "The King and The Southern Belle are holding hands" (Calvin was in heaven having Annie visit). After The Southern Belle was satisfied with her candy collection we stopped by Stephanie's house and the King and Harlan The Little Chicken got to play a bit. It was perfect Halloween weather - cool and clear with a big bright moon and some moody clouds. Very fun night. Halloween is one of those Holidays that I think is going to be so much more fun, joyful and interesting now that we have a babe... Wondering what he'll want to dress up as once he's old enough to choose for himself.

Before we went out, Brad made us this delicious meal, which for some reason felt very pre-trick-or-treat appropriate: spaghetti carbonara, with sides of roasted herbed beets and sauteed beet greens, and brussel sprouts with parmesan, pecans and red onion.

Some Fall Things

Like soup + salad + squash and our favorite little woodland creature hat. The soup is creamy cauliflower leek with some grated asiago cheese on top. The salad is kabocha squash roasted with some herbs, maple syrup and olive oil over arugula and radicchio, served warm. October is so wonderful here...

Some things to share

(happy with his spoon choice, shirt off, ready for his first taste of something besides milk!)

FIRSTS ARE HAPPENING LEFT + RIGHT!
foods! so far he's had avocado, sweet potato, winter squash, banana and prune. it's messy and so so fun. the
faces he's making are amazing - mostly he looks grossed out and confused but then instantly opens his mouth for more. sometimes he sputters, looks surprised or delighted. Last night he put his entire face into the bowl... For inspiration, guidance and information we've been using two books, both of which I really love and am valuing. Real Food for Mother and Baby and Feeding the Whole Family.

swinging! on a cold dreary day up at Mt. Tabor.

new ball! for the first time he's delighting in a ball - a lovely new one from Dress Me Up.

Someone learned Peekaboo this morning...

Much to his and our delight! Can you hear the laughter?

Out in Andes

Our wonderful friends live pretty far from everything in upstate New York. Got to spend a couple of days with them while back East. At their house in Andes there are: 4 lovely fat chickens, which Calvin really enjoyed, providing fresh eggs. 2 naughty goats that will eventually provide fresh milk. A beautiful vegetable garden providing oh so much. An amazing view of the mountains. Black black nights providing deep wide clear time with the stars. And of course, most importantly, there is time together. Which is rare now. And so missed...

New jammies, yellow hat

I was trying to find a hat to bring with us on our upcoming cross-country trip (Calvin's first time on an airplane!). This one was too small but also too cute not to share.

Afternoon in the Grass...

High Chair

This was quite short-lived. But Calvin spent his first 5-ish minutes in a highchair!

Peach Blueberry Sour Cream Pie

The other day I shared the first design work I've completed since Calvin arrived and now I am sharing the first baking I've been able to do. Somehow, miraculously and unusually, his nap, my energy & inspiration and our ingredients actually lined up perfectly to create this delicious pie. I combined a few different recipes and came up with Peach-Blueberry-Sour-Cream-Crumble-Top Pie. It was such a treat and so satisfying to make.

I started with the Peach Pie from Alice Waters' Chez Panisse Fruit and decided that instead of a top crust I would use the crunchy top from The Moosewood Cookbook's "Crunchy Top Peach Pie." Also, when we originally bought the perfectly ripe peaches at the Farmer's Market, I had in my head "Sour Cream Peach Pie" (I'd woken up that morning imagining it) which is something I thought I remembered my mom making. When I asked her about it she couldn't remember an exact recipe but said that one of her her old friend's had shared the idea many years ago. I tried to get her to be more specific but things really came down to "just add sour cream". So I did. I also added blueberries. And ginger and cinnamon. The result was wonderful! Not too sweet, beautiful and delicious.

First, make dough.
Use your favorite pie crust recipe! My personal opinion is that the best pie crusts use both butter and vegetable shortening. You should make the crust first so that it can have chilled and be ready to roll out into your pie plate. Once you have it rolled and into place, prick it with a fork a few times.

Second, make the filling
peach pie
3-ish lbs. peaches
3 tbsp quick cooking organic tapioca
juice of a whole lemon
pinch of salt
1/4 cup of brown sugar
1 tbsp butter (cut into slivers)
ground cinnamon
ground ginger
1 pt. blueberries (or more)
1 cup (or more) sour cream

Peel and slice peaches. Add tapioca, lemon, salt, sugar, butter and spices. Stir it a bit. Cover with plastic wrap, touching the surface directly, and let sit for about half an hour so juices start to come out and the tapioca begins to soften. Add blueberries and sour cream. Mix well. Next time I make this, I think I will use more sour cream. But you could also use none.

Preheat oven to 400.

Third, make the crumble top.
crumble top
2 cups rolled oats
6 tbps butter
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup slivered and chopped almonds
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt

Melt butter, honey and sugar together. Pour over all other ingredients and mix well.

Fourth, assemble and bake your pie
Pour pie filling into your rolled out pie dough. Sprinkle with your crunchy crumble topping. Put in the oven and bake for 10-ish minutes. Then turn down to 375 or 350 to complete baking. I would say it was close to an hour for this pie, which was very tall. For our oven, I needed to put it down to 350 rather than 375, because the top was getting done too quickly - I also covered it with foil about half way through, which you should do if the crumble looks like it could burn before the pie is fully baked.

Fifth, let your pie cool and then enjoy eating it!
If you're anything like me, you will spoon some whipped cream, slightly sweetened with maple syrup, over the top.

Fish Tacos

It's oddly cool and cloudy for August right now, but a few weeks ago it was unbearably hot. Inspired by the weather and a menu from A Platter of Figs, Bradley created a Mexican feast while my mom and sis were here. We had fresh watermelon juice with lime, halibut tacos and grilled vegetable tacos with salsa and guacamole, and homemade tortilla chips.

Natalie + Adam's Wedding Invites

I've been meaning to share these for some time now. Like so many small and big things, it's just been another thing hanging out on the "to-do" list... Here are Natalie + Adam's wedding invitations - my only work so far since Calvin's birth. Lynn, at Satsuma Press did the wonderful printing. We leave in 3 weeks to travel East for the celebration!

Tuesday...