...treat!

Tomorrow is Halloween and our house is buzzing with anticipation even though we once again live in a city that doesn't celebrate the holiday. We'll manufacture a great evening of fun with costumes, trick or treating behind the doors of our home's rooms, some games and a spooky meal. (Closely followed by a sugar crash, scrubbing off of face paint and collapsing into bed.)

A particular thrill this year is that we have real pumpkins to carve. It's been four full Halloweens since we were able to carve pumpkins. Our last home was located in Thailand where pumpkins were essentially non-existent. So, I've been giddy at the sight of women sitting on neighborhood corners, selling home grown pumpkins. I may have slightly overstocked and lost my mind a tad bit. The back garden, which we view from a wall of kitchen windows, is illuminated with a small patch of carved pumpkins that have been turned into an assortment of spooky faces.

And, perhaps the greatest thing about this Halloween is that my parents have flown in from the States. See that giant plate of candy-corn colored crispy treats? My mom whipped up the favorite childhood treat. That plate is empty and our hands are sticky... and we're all smiling hugely.

trick or...

...treat! There's not a single plastic spider or marshmallow ghost in sight, and yet these apricot carrot cakes  provide a sweet treat with a nod to all hallows eve.

Ingredients:
Cake...
3/4 cup butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 vanilla bean, scraped
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups of carrots, finely grated

Frosting...
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons flour
2 sticks of butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
pinch of salt
vanilla bean, scraped
1 tablespoon apricot jam or sauce (purchase or make your own by boiling down apricots to a thick sauce and strain to remove skins)
orange food coloring, 1 drop, optional
12 wild huckleberries (or other dark berry) as a garnish

Method:
Start with the cake. Cream the butter and sugar until light in color. Add the eggs and buttermilk. Beat until combined. Add the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Add the carrots and stir. Place cupcake liners into a cupcake pan, fill halfway with batter and place into an oven preheated to 375 degrees. Bake for approximately 12 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cake comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool completely before frosting.

To make the frosting, place the milk and flour in a sauce pan. Place over low heat and, whisking constantly, cook until thick. Set aside and cool completely. Then, whip the butter and sugar. Add the milk in two portions, whipping between each addition. Beat until light and fluffy (approximately 8 minutes). Then, add the salt, vanilla bean and jam/sauce. Whip until well combined and creamy. Add color, if desired.

Decorate by roughly mounding the frosting onto each cake. Top with a dark berry. Will keep, refrigerated, for 4 days.

grape juice.

I've already shared the harvest going on at our home. Here is one way we're using some of the grapes we've been busy picking. As we've been making this in small batches, it's not an exact recipe. Depending on the amount of grapes you use and their sweetness, you'll need to adjust the amount of sugar added to suit your own taste.

Grape Juice:
Fill a large, heavy bottom pot with grapes that have been removed from their stems. Then, fill the pot about 1/4 full of water. Bring to a hard boil, then cover and simmer over low heat for about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and cool. Using a fine mesh strainer on top of a large mixing bowl, pour the entire pot's contents through the strainer. Push the grapes down so that the juice is extracted and the skins and seeds are left behind. Once complete, discard the skins and seeds. Then, strain the liquid once again and return it to your heavy bottom pot. Place over low heat. If your grapes are not sweet enough for your liking, add sugar to taste and allow it to dissolve. Remove from heat, chill and then serve.

harvest.

It's harvest time at our house again! We started with the cherries in early summer, then moved to the local fruits of the Caucasus and landed on (my favorite) the figs. Those have all come and gone and now the grape vines are groaning under the weight of their juicy green globes. So, we've been picking and picking and picking. Lucky for me, I learned very young how to form grapevine wreaths. My parents created a mini vineyard in our backyard when I was a kid and I remember many a fall 'harvest' out soaking vines and watching my mom twirl them into wreaths. So, with my own kids watching and helping to strip leaves off the vines, I took my mother's place and twisted the green strands into wreaths for our home. My childhood home in the Pacific Northwest corner of America may be many miles away, but the experience of standing in my Tbilisi backyard during a grape harvest brought my feet right back to their roots.

pear croque monsieur.

These are yummy. Really yummy. And, they make for an equally perfect after school snack, fast dinner, creative breakfast or an 'my husband is out of town, it's 11 o'clock at night and how on earth have I not eaten dinner yet?!' meal. Plus, my one picky eater devours (yes, devours) them. Fresh baguette, full of melting strings of cheese and a soft slice of pear, dipped in an egg batter and cooked just until golden and slightly crisp on the edges. And, then... topped off with pear butter?! Yes, please.

Pear Croque Monsieur.


Ingredients:
1 fresh baguette, thinly sliced on the diagonal
slices of gruyere, emmentaler or swiss cheese
1 pear, thinly sliced
3 eggs
1/8 cup of cream
a pinch of salt
pear butter (purchase or make your own by cooking down peeled pears, stirring frequently, until thick in texture)*
butter for cooking

Method:
Assemble sandwiches by layering a slice of baguette, a piece of cheese, a slice of pear, another slice of cheese and close with a piece of baguette. Assemble all and set aside on a tray. In a shallow bowl, beat the eggs with the cream and a pinch of salt. Melt some butter, in a shallow frying pan, over medium heat. Working in small batches, dip the sandwiches on both sides into the egg mixture. Fill the pan with a single layer of dipped sandwiches and cook just until golden before flipping and repeating on the other side. Once golden on both sides, serve immediately, topped with a dollop of pear butter.

*This is also great with apple slices and apple butter.

there. here.

I grew up devouring books. I loved them and still do. And while my reading preferences have changed over the years, there is still a place reserved deep in my soul for Pippi Longstockings, Mrs. Piggle Wiggle, Dr. Seuss,  Roald Dahl and Shel Silverstein. In these stories, everyday boundaries are blurred, life looks a bit different, creativity is celebrated and all of the annoying 'adult' words are banished.

I have thought endlessly what it would be like to have chandeliers sticking up from the floor and to sport bright red hair twisted into out of control braids.  I've wondered how far ickle me, pickle me, tickle me too's flying shoe could really travel. And, I've racked my brain to figure out how a cat could balance a fish bowl on a cane without spilling the bowl's water.

The stories were vibrant and filled with grand gestures. But, perhaps the most intriguing aspect is that the books had many tiny surprises. Things you would find only after a second or third reading. Layers that kept building on an already exciting adventure.

To this day I continue to love tiny unsuspected surprises. Which is exactly why, tucked next to the molding of a door frame in our house, there are two tiny shims from a painter's canvas lettered to reflect one of the stories of a childhood author. A tiny surprise for anyone who happens upon it. And, a reminder that a flood of great memories are here and there.

mushrooms.

Returning home from a recent trip to the Caucasus Mountains, my husband gave me a kiss and handed me a giant grocery sack. Sweet scents of earth wafted out and a vibrant orange radiated from within the bag. I had to make sure I still had a pulse as I recognized one of my favorite vegetables ever. Heck, forget the term favorite vegetable and just replace it with one of my favorite foods ever. My husband knows that mushrooms make my heart beat a bit faster. And, for the following several mornings, I lightly cooked a huge pan of these gorgeous chanterelles with a teeny swirl of olive oil, a pinch of salt and a grind of black pepper. I'm certain that this is the breakfast served in heaven.

playlist: school run.

I needed a serious pick-me-up for today's school run. Caffeine alone wasn't going to cut it. Enter a quick compilation of feel good music for the kids and I. We turned it up loud and scream-sung our way through town. We arrived with eyes open and smiles on our faces. (Click on the iPod above to scream-sing along to this playlist.)

playlist: school run.

• Let's Play. The Subdudes.
• Vampire. Antsy Pants.
• Better Way (War Mix). Ben Harper.
• Close I've Come. Ben Lee.
• Don't Worry, Be Happy. Bobby McFerrin.
• Superman. R.E.M.
• The Sound of Sunshine. Michael Franti & Spearhead.
• The Outsiders. Needtobreathe.

wrapped sandwiches.

I'm taking advantage of the tomatoes left at our produce stand (since I'm not sure when they might disappear) and trying to inject a bit of fresh crunch into our autumn. These sandwiches use the locally produced flat bread which is salty and a bit chewier than other flat breads I've tasted. If you can find a lavash flat bread (or other thin flat bread) at your specialty market, you'll be able to recreate a fairly similar sandwich.

Wrapped Sandwiches
In a small bowl, mix 6 Tablespoons of mayonnaise with 1 Tablespoon of finely chopped dill and 1 scallion's green top (omit the white bottom) finely chopped. Spread the mixture in a thin layer on a piece of flat bread. Cover with thinly sliced tomatoes and cucumbers. Add a generous twist of your pepper mill and a good pinch of salt. Roll tightly and slice into rolls. Stand upright on your serving plate. And, squeeze a lemon wedge over the slices. Serve immediately and smile at the fresh crunch!

iGrateful.

Source: imgfave.com 

"Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary." – Steve Jobs

My first MAC didn't come along until I began studying design in San Francisco. I instantly, deeply, fell in love and have never looked back. It was the G4 with a bright turquoise shell that looked like a menthol cough drop. The machine was big (small for that time, though) and ran with more power than any other computer I had sat in front of. That thing got me through the painfully long nights learning Illustrator and designing ads for an internship. And, it hosted a two month fling when my husband and I discovered Sim City. Children hadn't entered our life yet and we could afford to go weeks on end with late nights, choosing a slow and caffeinated start the next day.

Fast forward roughly five years and the G4 was replaced with a glossy snow white MACbook. As a new mom to two, the chosen lack of sleep during the child-free years gave way to baby enforced late night feedings and groggy mornings. My MacBook sat next to me as I was awake for various hours of the night. I jotted notes for my next writing session, made lists for the next day or searched for details on a new baby food recipe.

I woke this morning, walked across the chilly floors and ended up in our art studio where I keep my laptop. As the start-up chinnnnng rang on my chrome-colored MacBook pro, I wondered why I was checking my computer so early. My usual weekday routine is to wait until the school run is complete before catching up with my computer. As the thought passed, the screen lit and Apple's start page glowed through the dimly lit morning. A thoughtful, black and white photograph of Steve Jobs accompanied by 1955-2011 stared out at me. My throat became dry and my eyes teared.

I've returned from dropping my two oldest children off at their individual schools and I'm holding a sleeping baby. I'm typing on my Mac, sipping coffee and listening to the calm silence around me. The sadness of knowing that our society lost a visionary has been replaced with gratitude. Steve Jobs forever changed the landscape of how we interact with technology and I am grateful for the enjoyment his inventions have brought to my life.

May we all continue to think different.

freedom.

The summer days have left and autumn is upon us. The kids have settled into school and the days are no longer entirely new as a bit of a routine has been established. Here's a secret: I actually don't enjoy routine and find myself yawning at the thought of waking up, getting ready and doing the school run (again, again, again). Around October 5th every year, I think 'Ohhhhhh.... I have to do this for many more months on end' and then sigh and take a deep breath. Routine equals boring, to me.

But, I know that it's great for the kids to have a steady pace so that their school days are familiar and comforting to them. So, I get up, embrace the day (with a big cup of coffee) and load everyone up for school where we say our good-byes and get them into their days.

While their development may thrive on some established schedules, it's really important to me that my kids have an understanding of the freedom that comes from having some unscheduled time. I deeply love that they can think of lots of activities to fill their unscheduled time and want to foster that skill further. Enter my favorite time of the day-- after school. That's when I scoop the kids up, hug them tight and return home to dig into some time to discover, explore and enjoy each other. We've been digging out the sidewalk chalk and marking up the backyard with our masterpieces. We've enjoyed time to talk about our days-- what they each did at school, then what I did too while they were away. We flip through books collected from our bookshelves and from their school lending libraries. We cook, we order katchupuri, we walk to the corner store and buy some water or ice cream 'just because'. We hang out and talk about subjects new to us now-- the changing of the seasons, a word discovered in this foreign culture, our shared excitement over getting to wear boots! We crank up the music and dance.

So, gone are the 'lazy days of summer' but in our house we're welcoming autumn by claiming our afternoons as a time to explore a lack of routine. How are you spending the after school hours?

autumn gnomes.

My kids piled on the bed, closed their eyes and listened.

"Out in the gardens of Tbilisi, tiny people known as the Autumn Gnomes are busy working-- right this very minute. The gnomes get to rest for most of the year, but not right now as they have an important job to do! You see, Autumn Gnomes are the keepers of the roots. Without strong roots that reach deep down into the earth, our trees can not weather the winter storms. I know, we can't see the trees roots. But, the roots are there-- weaving deep under the ground of our garden. And, our little garden gnomes are busy creating tiny tunnels through the earth so that they may check on all of the roots. They make sure the trees get their water and and are encouraging them to grow stronger and longer and deeper so that they may survive the cold winter ahead.

But an Autumn Gnome's work is not done once the roots are checked. Then, even though they are very tired, they help the squirrels and birds and other garden animals collect seeds and nuts to store so that they may have enough food for the months ahead.

It's Autumn-- a wonderful, magical season!-- and our garden gnomes are working hard I'm certain. But, there is one problem that I need you to help me with. Today, I went into our garden to see if I could spot a gnome. And, it seemed awfully quiet out there. So, I happened to find these boxes with your names on them. Why don't you open them up and see if, perhaps, you could add a few friends to the garden and encourage some more gnomes to join in the work?"

This entry is linked at Today's Creative Blog.