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{Finding the lovely} week 3

  • February 17, 2012 2:51 am

I am a tad bit tardy this morning with my post – so sorry! I woke up so excited at the thought of an entire day at home, doing all of those tasks that I have been putting off for too long.

Once again this week raced past, but I was more present with my handy-dandy iPhone and captured a few more moments than usual. I hope you had a wonderful week and that you have a lovely weekend planned, whether it is filled with fun or destined for some relaxation.

I look forward to seeing what you share – link up at Jeanne’s blog today!

xx

Roasting {Peppers}

  • February 15, 2012 11:41 pm

{to be clear, this post is about sharing information on roasting peppers. it is NOT about great photographs – it seems I am unable to work with fire and focus on “the shot”…}

Roasting peppers. I know many of you already know how to do this, but for anyone who may not have, it is something you really want in your “cooking toolbox”.

{sidebar}
On my “Toolbox” philosophy…

I have this whole “tool box” thing that I carry around with me. I have a “tool box” for parenting”, a kitchen “tool box”, a gardening “tool box”. Well, you get the picture. For me, collecting tips and tricks on how to do things well gives me great satisfaction. I don’t think that things like parenting come naturally for everyone – but everyone can build their “tool box” with advice, suggestions, and tools from others. So that is what I have always done. If I don’t know how to do something – I make a point of learning how and add that skill to whatever “tool box” it belongs in. Okay, back to our regularly scheduled blog post…

While hanging out at a girlfriend’s house a few nights ago I was inspired to roast some peppers that I had so that I could pack them in oil and use them for a variety of things. I love grilled paninis with roasted vegetables and a good cheese, salads with roast peppers on top, putting them on pizzas – the list goes on.

The great thing about roasting peppers for me is that you can take those peppers that may have been sitting around waiting to be used a little longer than you would like. They might have wrinkled a bit, but as long as they aren’t going bad, you are good to go.

The one thing you will need to do it the way I choose to is a gas stove. They can also be done by putting them in a pan with a bit of water in the oven, but this post is all about the fire-roasting. Truly, it couldn’t be any easier – you simply put them on your burners, turn on the flame to med-high, and turn them as they burn. To make peeling afterwards a breeze you really want to get them evenly burned over the entire pepper.

Once the peppers are sufficiently seared, put them in a bowl and completely seal the top with plastic wrap. The moisture will build and loosen the burnt skins. After about 20 minutes you should be able to remove them from the bowl and simply rub the blackened outer layer off. If they were completely blackened all you will need is your hands – no knife required!

After the outsides are cleaned off, simply clean out the insides, slice them however you wish, and then put them in a jar with some good olive oil. I occasionally add some dried oregano or basil from the gardens but it isn’t necessary. I store them in the fridge and take them out about an hour before I want to use them.

Please feel free to share any ideas on how you like to use roasted red peppers – great ideas are always appreciated!

Happy Thursday mes amies,
xx

day for {love}

  • February 14, 2012 1:56 pm

I like Valentines day. Not for the cheesy Hallmark holiday that makes anyone not in a “romantic” relationship feel left-out. I like it because while we are a very loving family, Valentines allows me a “pass” when it comes to saying things to my boys like “will you be my valentine?” and there seem to be more hugs, kisses, and snuggles – just because. And then there is lots of pink. Oh how I love pink.

So, I am wishing you a very love-filled rest of your week. As for me, I will be enjoying these champagne cupcakes!

xx

Weekend {brunch} on the farm

  • February 10, 2012 10:00 pm

When thinking about sharing the farm with you, and trying to help you get a real feel for life here, it seems that sharing the meal I love most makes a lot of sense. So, you should know, my very favorite meal of the week – the one that I would love to invite each and every one of you to, is weekend brunch. Honestly, if you told me that I could only make one proper meal a week, I would opt for weekend brunch. No question.

There are so many things I love about it. First of all, most of the preparation for brunch begins while my family of boys are still asleep. I make myself a cup of coffee, turn on some music, and start pulling out whatever it is I plan to make. Now, most weekends it is the same basic fare – eggs, bacon, sausages, toast, orange juice, and coffee. There are always jams and jellies, maybe local honey.
Then, I will either add pancakes, waffles, or crepes, the latter of which is a huge hit, as there is always fruit compote and whipping cream from our newest toy – our Isi – on top. There will be real maple syrup as Mr. Taylor insists upon the good stuff. Sometimes there are chocolate croissants (thank you trader joes!), other times – like this weekend – cinnamon chip bread from Great Harvest Bread Co.

The second thing I love about weekend brunch is how leisurely it is. We don’t start before 10 am, but more often, it is closer to 11. By then I have it all ready, the animals have been fed and put out to their pasture, and we can really sit and enjoy our time at the table. A later start time also allows me to get to the Farmer’s Market before we eat if I want. No one complains about having to get up, and everyone is hungry. The house always smells delicious after the bacon and sausages have been cooking on the griddle, which entices those feeling a bit sleepy to get to the table.

Another thing I love about brunch are those times when we are able to eat outdoors. Now, I am a fan of eating any and every meal outdoors when the weather permits, but honestly, sitting outside on a cool summer morning, the sun shining down warming the table, and the sound of birds chattering as they play in the trees is pretty much my idea of bliss. And the thing I am really excited about this year? The plates that we will be using will all be made by Mr. Taylor. He is rocking the pottery scene! So far I have a selection of smaller dinner plates – all of the plates in this setting are his – and he is nearly finished with my soup bowls. I have a number of serving bowls as well, which look wonderful mixed in with my vintage collection. Have I mentioned how spectacular that man is?

Occasionally we entertain friends or family for brunch. I like it because it is not as common as having them for dinner, and it is so nice to gather with friends early in the day, before everyone heads in different directions, weekends filled with activities. It seems a bit more leisurely – and the littles are always well-rested, thus able to sit at the table longer visiting without getting fidgety.

There is something wonderful about wide open weekends with little to no commitments aside from hanging out together. However, when the weekend does include places to go and people to see, it is so nice to begin the day around the table, with a great meal centered around our delicious eggs and homemade jams, gathered as a family.

{Finding the Lovely} week 2

  • February 9, 2012 11:27 pm

Hello sweet friends! I have to tell you, our little linky party is inspiring me to take more photos with my phone. It is so convenient as it is always with me, and it really does capture moments that I wouldn’t otherwise capture! (It does, however, make it look like I only have one child!)

Make sure to visit my friend Jeanne’s blog where she has really been enjoying snapping photos of her fabulous life!

Happy Friday!
xx

{My Life List}

  • February 8, 2012 9:06 am

My life list. Not something I had really thought about until today. Oh, I had tried a “40 before 40″ list, but that didn’t go very far. Maybe I wasn’t in the right place. Who knows if I am now. Alas, after reading this by Jeanne, then following her link to Erin, who credits Maggie with starting this whole movement, I decided to take the plunge. These wildly inspiring women have given me the push I needed to make a list of things that I dream of doing. Some of them are simple, some a bit outrageous, but all are potentially do-able. I will admit it took me a while to come up with 50. What does that say about me? Does it say I don’t have a lot of dreams? Does it mean that by struggling to find them, I am holding myself back, not believing I can do them? Or does it mean that I feel like my life is so wonderful, filled with such amazing people and incredible adventures, that I can’t imagine dreaming for more. I don’t know, truly. But I did get a list put together, and I plan to stick with this one, crossing off things as I complete them. The interesting thing will be seeing if I am able to get them done – I am excited to try! Any suggestions, assistance, or support that you might offer in completing this list will be greatly appreciated.

My Life List

1. make money making photos
2. plant a garden that sustains us through the summer
3. keep bees
4. spend a summer in France with my family
5. rent a cabin on the island my grandparents lived on with my family for a week in the summer
6. take a writing workshop
7. go on a road trip
8. go to Alameda with girlfriends
9. own a Frenchie
10. go on a trip with my mom
11. take each of my boys on a special “just for them” trip
12. learn to pull Mabel
13. visit the village where my French ancestors lived
14. see the grave of my great great great great grandfather in France
15. go back to India
16. visit Vietnam
17. publish a book
18. start an annual girls get-away long weekend with inspiring friends
19. rent an apartment in Paris for a few weeks by myself
20. collect all the old family recipes I have and put them together in a usable format
21. shoot a roll of film
22. be hired to shoot a business for their marketing/PR
23. make butter
24. have a proper family photo taken
25. make a new recipe every day for a month
26. Do a website make-over
27. visit my brother and sister-in-law in Arizona
28. visit my brother and sister-in-law in Colorado
29. go on a trip with my dad and all of my boys
30. rent a cottage on the beach in hawaii with our boys
31. visit the “other” Blackberry Farm
32. replace all broken glass panels in any of our windows
33. build a deck off of our kitchen
34. put french doors out to the deck
35. visit the south pacific
36. learn to make tagine
37. raise meat chickens
38. take a class at the pantry at Delancey
39. build a greenhouse
40. host a farm-to-table dinner on the farm
41. eliminate the excess clutter in our home
42. shoot a cheese shop in Paris
43. visit Paris on business
44. stay in a cabin by myself for a weekend with no technology to experience silence
45. take #4 to the peninsula – and any other # that wants to go
46. shop only at farmer’s markets for a month
47. renew our vows in a terribly romantic ceremony
48. meet Ina Garten
49. see the upper east coast in the autumn
50. complete everything in this list

Welcome to the Farm {Chez Poulet}

  • February 6, 2012 4:20 am

Our chalkboard in the kitchen reads: “Welcome to the farm, so glad you are here!” It really is a true sentiment. We enjoy having guests. There are times when I wish that many of the incredible people I have met over the years were able to visit – that the miles between us weren’t so many. The farm is such a large part of who I am, and while I post photos or stories about it, nothing really compares to an actual visit.

That being said, I am planning to do regular posts on visiting the farm. I want to introduce those of you who aren’t able to visit to the parts of this property that I love and that make this place our home. While it isn’t the same as an actual visit, I hope that it gives you a sense of this space, and of the wonderful, simple, sometimes messy day-to-day goings on here on Blackberry Farm.

Today it is absolutely gorgeous out. There is still a wintery chill in the air, but the sun has warmed the farm for the past three days and I am soaking up every moment that I can. Bonfires have been lit, lawns have been mowed, and gardens have begun to be tidied in anticipation of spring. Everything is so much prettier when it is sunny out. Granted, this isn’t a “pretty” time of year – the property is fairly muddy, the trees are bare of their leaves, and the gardens look barren. However, when the sun shines, it brightens up those dark areas and creates a golden hue that invites you out into it’s warmth. I am certain that the birds’ songs are more robust on days such as this~

So, while it isn’t the prettiest time to photograph Chez Poulet, I thought it was a good time to begin planning the gardens and painting projects that I hope to accomplish this coming spring. She is a blank slate of sorts right now, and it gives me a clearer idea of what I would like to see come summertime.

Mr. Taylor built this coop for me that first summer after we had come to the farm. We had moved in at the beginning of October and that Christmas, I was presented with a beautiful letter from him, explaining that, in the spring, he would begin construction of the “penthouse of chicken coops”. I would like to say that my husband truly spoils me, and when we moved in, he knew that my dream was to have chickens of my own. Thus, chickens I would have.

Over the years I have brought home day old chicks from the feed store, ordered chicks online, ordered eggs online, and hatched (not intentionally) our own chicks. They really are such fun to watch as they run around the property, chasing each other, finding bugs, and enjoying our kitchen scraps. We have a hammock that hangs near the coop, and a vintage bed that is under the pergola to the right of the coop – both places that make for wonderful summer reading spots as well as fabulous chicken viewing areas.

And then there are the eggs. Have you every enjoyed farm fresh eggs? I must tell you that I have become a bit of an egg snob. I am unable to eat eggs at restaurants anymore unless they are incredibly fresh. The yolks are so bright they are nearly orange. I love knowing that the eggs have been laid by hens that are able to free-range on our property and have a very happy life. Do they taste better because of that? I like to think so – but for me it is more than that. For me it is the way things should be done – the animals that give us our food should be treated with respect and are entitled to enjoy their lives rather than be treated as a commodity. I wish all farming practices were the same.

I do promise to post more photos this summer, when the beautiful climbing rose is in full bloom over the pergola and the projects have been completed. Chez Poulet really shines then!

Tomorrow I am going to share some of our favorite egg recipes. It is amazing how creative you tend to get when the girls are laying a lot of eggs~

{Finding the lovely} week 1

  • February 2, 2012 11:24 pm

Last month I had the pleasure of spending a few days with one of my dear friends Jeanne Oliver in Salt Lake City. We talked of inspriration and plans and collaborative projects. We also discussed ideas of how we could do something fun on our blogs for the month of February – something that spoke of love. We agreed that one thing we both love is photography – not only of big production photography, but of making simple photos of the things in our lives give us joy and make us grateful. We wanted to find something that would include as many people as possible and we wanted it to be easy. We didn’t want people to feel burdened, but we did want to encourage people look around them throughout the month of February and be more intentional (one of my words for 2012!) and present in their lives.

Thus, we thought that we would have a linky party!

Here are the rules:
1. Be present
2. Be open to the lovely things and people in your life
3. Have fun
4. Include your children and family and I know they will have fun too
5. Take your photos with any kind of phone or phone app
6. Share your favorite images each Friday on your blog and link up with us on ours.
See – simple as can be!
Here are my images that make me happy this week~

We will be alternating weeks and this week we will be linking onto Jeanne’s blog, so head on over to link up! As it is the first week, you can always use photos of lovely that are already on your phone. I can’t wait to see what sorts of things you have that bring joy in your life! Make sure to leave me a comment if you participate so that I can find your photos~

xx

Sunday {baking}

  • January 29, 2012 2:27 am

Good morning my friends and happy Sunday. I so love weekends – truly – they are my favorite time with my family. I love how laxidazical they are. Our time seems to be our own and we do with it what we please. We also eat. A lot. I love preparing big farmhouse breakfasts and planning for wonderful leisurely dinners. On these wet cold winter days I also enjoy spending my afternoons in our kitchen, listening to my French music sent to me by my sweet friends while baking cakes, or pies, or cookies. It is my happy place.

This is a cake I made recently that was quite a hit with the boys on the farm. I found it here and made a few minor changes. I didn’t use red beets as I had found some fabulous golden beets at the farmer’s market. It is dense and not overly sweet – until you add the frosting that is. It is also really moist (and I know how much my friend Jeanne likes moist cake). I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

mid-winter surprise from the {garden}

  • January 27, 2012 1:12 am

When winter is upon us we turn indoors for much of the time. Daylight seems fleeting, the ground is soggy, and the gardens seem to be resting for the coming spring when they will burst with every sort of flower and a variety of fruits and vegetables.

But yesterday I found a little surprise in those sleepy gardens – something I hadn’t expected. These beautiful Jerusalem artichokes, all nubby and covered with mud. I gently washed them under cool running water, and discovered that even in the long dark and wet days of winter, the gardens still provide small treasures for our family.