Boone / Jones

A real Ham

2010-09-19T17:20:00.000-07:00

Calvin and Baby

2010-09-06T13:22:00.000-07:00

unexpected + good

2010-08-27T16:18:00.000-07:00

almond butter, bacon and apple sandwich. saw it in the most recent oprah mag and had to try. next time would use thin slices of toasty bread instead and also maybe crispier and less thick bacon. but tasted yummy overall and was so easy.

The Stairs

2010-08-20T11:37:00.000-07:00

...is the current favorite spot.

Summer Drinks

2010-08-08T14:29:00.000-07:00

Raw Milk Homemade Strawberry Sour Cream Ice Cream Milkshake
Chamomile Mint Ice Tea
Muddled Raspberry Spritzer
supedy-duper!

It has been a long, only semi-unintentional, time since I've been here. But today... well, there are these delicious summer drinks to share and feels like time to start up again.
*The Strawberry Sour Cream Ice Cream recipe can be found in The Perfect Scoop & these photos were taken by Rissi

Morning Light, Happy Baby

2009-11-15T19:45:00.000-08:00

2009-11-07T11:53:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-03T16:45:00.000-08:00

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

2009-10-21T21:45:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-16T17:40:00.000-07:00

(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...

2009-10-02T19:37:00.000-07:00

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

Out in Andes

2009-09-26T19:22:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-02T21:01:00.000-07:00

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...

2009-09-02T20:47:00.000-07:00

High Chair

2009-08-29T17:41:00.000-07:00

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

Peach Blueberry Sour Cream Pie

2009-08-18T14:00:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-15T22:00:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-13T19:10:00.000-07:00

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...

2009-08-11T20:55:00.001-07:00

Tomatoes!

2009-08-06T22:48:00.000-07:00

The classic delicious combination - tomatoes and basil from the Farmer's Market that day, fresh Mozzarella, salt, pepper, olive oil. Brad also made up this really lovely simple dinner with bow-tie pasta, fresh ricotta, herbs, some greens, cherry tomatoes and pine nuts. The tomatoes from our little garden patch have started ripening too - we took some with us down to Ashland and my mom included them in the yummy taco salad she made.

Birthday!

2009-07-27T16:40:00.000-07:00

It was Brad's birthday on Thursday. He had to work all day which was a bummer but when he got home the three of us had a little celebration with cake and gifts. The little cake - devil's food cake with vanilla buttercream and hazelnut toffee was from Bakery Bar, the same place that did our wedding cupcakes.

Cannon Beach

2009-07-13T12:57:00.000-07:00

Calvin had his first trip to the ocean last week. We stayed overnight at Cannon Beach on the Oregon coast. Calvin seemed to like the sea air and kept sticking his tongue out to taste it. We walked along the beach while the sun was out, but Calvin got too cold in the wind. My dad took the picture of the three of us on the bench at sunset. There were a lot of families on the beach with campfires going. Maybe next year we'll try roasting marshmallows on the beach when Calvin is a bit older. Also, for anyone frustrated by my lack of memory in the previous post, Melanie remembered that the lettuce we liked so much was called Brunia.

Final Fava Beans of the Season

2009-07-12T23:30:00.000-07:00

We're a bit behind with this post...this is the meal from our Saturday Farmer's Market trip a couple of weeks ago. Our favorite farm stand at the market belongs to Square Peg Farm, and they had their final crop of fava beans for the year. They also have had this amazing lettuce the past few weeks that I can't remember the name of...that's not very helpful, but you can see it below. We have been inundated with requests for some recipes with the posts (well, two requests so far) so a rough recipe for the fava bean puree we made is included at the end. We don't get to cook dinner together as much anymore now that I am working evenings, so we tend to make ourselves a bit of a feast on at least one of my days off. This week it included the fava bean puree with raw vegetables and toasty bread for dipping, as well as a crab salad with lime, cilantro and creme fraiche alongside some cucumber, avocado and green salad.

Fava Bean Puree

3 or so pounds of fava beans (yielding around 2-3 cups when removed from their pods)
zest of 1 lemon
1/2-3/4 cup of olive oil
2 cloves of garlic (roughly chopped)
salt to taste

First step , remove the beans from their pods (I'm not sure why I enjoy this process so much...shelling peas, and cleaning squid are 2 other potentially tedious kitchen tasks that I find pleasing). Get a large pot of salted water boiling, and prepare a bowl of ice water. Drop the beans in the boiling water for 20-30 seconds, then scoop them out and plunge them into the ice water. After the fava beans are thouroughly chilled, drain them and use your fingers to remove the pale green outer skin so that you are left with the beautiful dark green inner part of the beans. Cook the beans, garlic, and lemon zest in about a 1/2 cup of olive oil over medium or medium low heat. The goal is to slowly stew the beans for a few minutes until they are cooked through, you don't want the heat to be so high that you are frying and browning the beans. Let the mixture cool for a couple of minutes and then transfer to a blender. Carefully blend the mixture (remember the oil may still be hot), you will probably need to add an extra 1/4 to 1/2 cup of oil to achieve the right consistency. Add salt to taste and enjoy.

Ariel took this one...

2009-07-10T20:36:00.000-07:00

...of Calvin sleeping at the market when she and Ted were here. It was so good to see them and for Mr. Baby to get to spend time with them. He seemed to really enjoy it - some nights I felt like he didn't want to go to bed for fear of missing out on any fun.

What we did in the heat yesterday...

2009-07-03T13:35:00.000-07:00

Napped in our one air conditioned room. Spent a lot of time in just a diaper and had many "wipe downs" with a cool cloth. In the early evening we walked to the neighborhood farmer's market and got a half flat of berries! As many raspberries and blueberries as my heart desires - that's one of my favorite things about Oregon and this time of year. I've been eating them by the bowl full! It's not just that they're bountiful. It's that they're bountiful and delicious and perfect. It goes a ways towards making up for the heat - which, ever since our first summer here, I've found more uncomfortable and oppressive than anywhere else I've lived (including Florida and Los Angeles). And now I have a baby who seems so sensitive to the heat. It doesn't take much for him to get very overheated and sweaty! What is it about here?? Maybe that it gets hotter as the day wears on rather than cooler? Maybe I'm still not used to living someplace where it's not an easy option to just head to the beach? My thoughts frequently turn to wishing we could head up to Orcas Island this summer... be on the water and outside most of the day.

P.S. Today is Calvin's 5 month birthday! I cleared all of the now-too-small things out of his dresser to make room for new things (and so that we could stop having to fish through the piles each time he needed a new outfit asking ourselves, does this still fit??). It's amazing all that he's grown out of already. It felt a little hard and emotional to put away some of the tiny first things that kept his little body warm but I feel so proud at how thriving and full of life he is! I still have a feeling of disbelief that we have a 5 month old baby - 5 months already!! How can that be?! There can be entire lifetimes in 5 months! All the growth and and presence that's happened... It's interesting balanced with that lovely magic feeling that says he's always been here, that I can't remember what my days were possibly full of before him... Here are the piles of outgrown items waiting to be put away until future use:

Chicken Soup

2009-07-01T22:00:00.001-07:00

Melanie was sick a couple of weekends ago, and stuck at home alone with 4 month old Calvin to boot. We shared a rotisserie chicken when I got home from work. The next morning I headed out to the local produce market and loaded up. I made a lemon-ginger chicken soup with the veggies and left over chicken. It was a bit of an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink affair including: chicken, lemons, lemongrass, ginger, carrots, celery, onions, potatoes, kale, napa cabbage, scallions, cilantro, chilies, and probably something else I can't remember at the moment. It lasted for three meals, including a welcome dinner for our friends who had just arrived from Los Angeles.

Picked Strawberries. Made Jam.

2009-06-18T23:11:00.000-07:00

We went out to Sauvie Island with a few friends to pick strawberries. It was a little early in the season but we still ended up with a full flat of gorgeous berries. The weather was perfect - slightly cloudy and cool and it wasn't crowded. Calvin had his first hayride out to the fields!

Here is a good pointer: it is neither wise nor practical to undertake a jam making session less than 2 hours before one of you needs to get to work. It was a little nuts but we made 6 lovely jars of jam and Brad made it to work with seconds to spare.

After looking at several different recipes - all very similar with just slight variations for the most part - we decided to use the recipe from Apples for Jam for reference. Very simple: berries, lemon and sugar. It was fun. And delicious. We will make more!

This morning we enjoyed newly made jam on toasty buttery croissants along with yogurt and berries.

Loving reading...

2009-06-11T21:33:00.000-07:00

I just got this 'On the Night You Were Born' book, which is lovely, for Calvin. He seems to love all the books we have for him so far but has really been taking this one in - looks from page to page and kicks and waves his arms and listens. It's so wonderful. (Another early favorite: Matisse Dance for Joy)

Dinner Dinner the Trip to Sauvie Island

2009-06-11T21:26:00.000-07:00

Fresh peas from Kruger's Farm became simple supper. Oricette with peas, basil, mint + cheese. Yum!

Saturday Farmer's Market

2009-06-03T11:08:00.000-07:00

We went to the very crowded downtown market this past Saturday. Bradley made 3 gorgeous meals from what we got there!

First: a salad of carrot, radish, cucumber, fennel with lemon vinaigrette.
Second: halibut with quinoa, spring onions, beets + beet greens, and lemon thyme.
Third: bowtie pasta with pancetta, snap peas, and a fresh basil mint pesto

This Year's Porch Roses So Far...

2009-06-02T21:25:00.000-07:00

Thursday Night Dinner

2009-05-30T16:27:00.000-07:00

Seared Rib Eye, Asparagus, and QuinoaEndive, Fava Beans, Raspberries, and Fennel

Memorial Day Feast

2009-05-30T15:38:00.000-07:00

My sisters were visiting for Memorial Day weekend, meeting Calvin for the first time. We fired up the grill for the second time this year and ate a huge feast in the backyard. Grilled salmon, grilled veggies, blue cheese burgers, bratwurst, chicken kabobs, three dipping sauces...there were plenty of leftovers for Tuesday.

Parsley Pesto, Garlic and Anchovy Aioli, Mustardy Creme Fraiche

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Grilled Asparagus, Prosciutto, and Parmesan

This morning

2009-05-13T14:00:00.000-07:00

Cold and rainy outside but for breakfast there was warm toast with cheese, avocado and egg. And of course tea...

Mother's Day

2009-05-11T14:10:00.001-07:00

What I get to see first thing in the morning

Brunch! Fresh mango, potato and pepper hash with salmon, poached egg and hollandaise

Napping

Car ride to Wendy's house

Time in the grass

Posing with our wonderful midwives and all the other babies for a photo

With Linda

Calvin loves his changing table!

2009-05-08T15:37:00.000-07:00

Ranunculus!

2009-05-08T15:31:00.000-07:00

I took a bunch of ranunculus photos in the hopes of figuring out a good way to draw them to use on Natalie's wedding invitations, which we are currently working on. They've been around for several days now but seems seem to get brighter, softer and more open. These are my favorite flower but very difficult to translate into letterpress-ready art! Lynn at Satsuma Press is going to print them for us and I can't wait to see the finished pieces.

Our first trip to the Farmer's Market this season!

2009-05-07T15:00:00.000-07:00

For breakfast Brad made scrambled eggs with cheese and herbs, roasted asparagus with crispy breadcrumbs, rye toast and avocado with bacon and and a lime parsley vinaigrette

Dinner the next night: salmon, ramps, caramelized baby turnips, beet and turnip greens, quinoa.

Rhubard + strawberry crisp about to go into the oven

Green salad with peppers + carrot

A few old pieces recently recovered from storage in Boston

2009-01-21T19:45:00.000-08:00

Baby Central In-Progress

2009-01-21T19:35:00.000-08:00

2009-01-18T12:42:00.000-08:00