Just Like Honey

I randomly pulled out my book on fermentation last night
and started flipping through it.  I landed on the page for how to
make Mead and it seemed so easy, the husband and I had to try.




















1 part raw honey to 4 parts filtered water in a jar with a lid
shake vigorously to combine and continue to shake a few
times a day for about 10 days. (a jar without a lid is recommended for
honey that isn't raw)  Be sure to release the pressure
that will build up by unscrewing the lid after shaking.
The natural yeasts in the raw honey should start the fermentation
and the bubbling should begin.

This is a shot of day 2, after shaking there is a thick foam of
bubbles at the top.  I was told our honey was raw-I guess
this will be the true test!




















After our little experiment last night I started really
reading through the book and it is extremely fascinating.
Just the history of fermentation, the current war on bacteria,
and all of the things that you can ferment.  I told the
husband that I thought it would be awesome if we had a whole
countertop of jars with fermenting foods in them.  We already have
the kombucha looking like an alien specimen-why not add a few more?

The Meal Plan

Something that I have been trying to work on
is cutting down my food waste.  I read that each year
Americans waste 33 million tons of food, an absolutely
nauseating amount - don't you think?
I've definitely been guilty of this-I'll buy too much
of something or forget about some leftovers in the fridge
next thing I know, they've passed their prime and it's time
for the trash.  I feel like this is a common issue, especially for
people that cook a lot.

The husband and I are putting ourselves on a bit of a budget
for the next month or so, and one of the things that we've decided
to do was to plan out our weekly meals before shopping
and then buy accordingly. This way we have food to eat throughout
the whole week, and (hopefully) nothing will go to waste.

I'm hoping to keep our weekly budget around $80

This week's menu options look like this
Breakfast
Oatmeal
Apple/Banana Muffins
Juice
Eggs

Snacks
Channa Nuts (roasted chickpeas)
White Bean dip
Raw peanut butter cookies
Fruit

Lunch
Salad
Sandwiches

Entrees
Roasted Portobello Mushrooms with Kale
Mushroom and Leek Barley Risotto
Enchiladas Verdes con pollo
Westphalian Beef Stew with root vegetable mash

I think it looks pretty good for week 1

I'll keep you posted on the progress.

Only in My Dreams

The Whale Hugger by Don McMichael

Latest Obsessions

*Angie's Truffle Risotto
couldn't.stop.eating.

*The Battle for Wine and Love-or- How I Saved the World from Parkerization
by :Alice Feiring
Great book about natural wines, raised a lot of questions
highly recommend it if you love wine.

*Spring Cleaning
The give-away pile is getting pretty huge-
I also discovered dresses that I forgot I had.
bonus!

*Charles Joguet Chinon
dreamy, dreamy cab franc.

*The baking soda/apple cider vinegar hair treatments are finally
agreeing with my hair.  Took about 5 weeks to adjust
Mission accomplished. No more chemicals.

A Farewell

Goodbye, beloved Vans slip-ons.
2004-2013















I got these shoes before I left for Charleston,
I'm fairly confident that I was the only girl down
there wearing skull sneakers and not Rainbow flip flops.
(very popular in the south-for whatever reason)

These sneakers moved up to NY with me and that is
where they really met their demise.  The city is so cruel to shoes.
I did try to wear them last summer but they barely functioned
as footwear at that point. I had to part with them, and as
I put them in the trash my heart did break a little.


I should note that I'm not a hoarder, just a sucker for nostalgia.

The Pursuit

If I experience/hear/see something twice in a short period of time

I consider it something worth delving deeper into.  Happiness

is the latest of those things.  The Happiness Project sparked this.

I read about it briefly yesterday, and then last night- in a 

continued conversation about being happy- my friend also

mentioned it.  

This is something I've been working on in my personal life,

finding happiness.  When I say that I don't mean that I'm struggling

to get through a deep depression or that I'm unhappy with my place in

this big world.  It means that I'm trying to enjoy life.  Being able to
look back on each day and be happy about the decisions that I made
for myself, whether or not people agree or understand.  

The husband and I have started reading about Buddhism

(part the inspiration? MCA) Because let's be honest, 

you cannot find something if you never start to look for it.

And we felt like that was a good place to start.  I was about to write

that it's less about religion when it became apparent that labels

are so important to everyone, why did I have to clarify that
it's not about religion? Why do I feel the need to ascribe my
eating habits to an -ism? Why do we constantly have to justify
our choices?  Maybe true beauty (and happiness) lies in living without
some of the constraints. By forging your own path and finding ways
to make things fit for you.

It's really an interesting concept, happiness, but also something

that is so different for everyone. On the materialistic level I used to 

find happiness in shopping at Burberry, at the sweet age of 19 I felt that 

being able to afford these"luxury" items gave me a sense of feeling fancy.  

Now, in terms of consumption happiness I find the most happiness 

getting lost in used bookstores, buying wine, and shopping
at the greenmarket.  It changed from items to experiences, engaging with
the farmers at the market, taking the food home to make dinner with
the husband, sitting down and enjoyinga bottle of wine together or with
a group of friends.  What makes you happy? How has it changed from
a decade ago?  It's interesting to see how priorities and beliefs shift.
I think it's possible to see so much beauty in those changes.

I started to wonder why happiness played such a big part in the minds of
people. Then I realized that it's part of  the American mantra.
"Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness"
What they don't tell you is that you need to find your own form of happiness.
So I encourage you to find it. Whether it is something huge and life changing
or something as small as taking time to cook dinner or enjoying how the warm
sun feels on your face.
Make thoughtful daily decisions, stop and enjoy things, do what is right for you.
Perhaps that should be the new mantra..


for further curiosity:
The Happy Movie
The Happiness Project

A Year in Books: February

I did a lot of reading last month, but I really only finished one book

The Moving Finger- Agatha Christie.  

Everything else has been sections of  bigger reference books (Vino Italiano and 

other wine books) or it's been from magazines (Living, Bon Appetit, Lucky Peach)

This Lucky Peach issue is especially worth reading.  The article by Michael

Pollan is excellent, and the content is always way more interesting than your

standard food magazines.  Pick it up if you can find it.