I don’t think I’ve ever been this excited to mop my floors! This Esty find came in the mail today: a knitted and reusable swiffer head! I’ve stopped buying the disposable covers since they seemed like such a waste, and until today my swiffer sat lonely in the corner. But no longer! I wanted to document it before my floors get all over it..the yarn is just beautiful and gleams in the light!

Want one? Check out Ollies Boutique on Etsy.

I was taken with this this flag of an Episcopal church when we were in Salem. Maybe I am noticing it because Eric and I are going to an Episcopal church, but the denomination has a strong presence out here—with a long history to match it. These shapes and colors of this flag translate into a simple yet traditional brand identity that works well; “Like an old comfortable sweater” as my rector, Rev. Sara says.

French Philosopher Albert Camus said, “In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.”

I love the quote, but perhaps I need a few more winters to finally get to that invincible summer. These past few months I’ve slowed down, holed up and hibernated in way that I didn’t know I could, and yet seemed second nature. There is something very balancing and rhythmic about this that I appreciate. Yet now that we’re in March and the sun is shinning, temperatures are above freezing, I am about to explode with anticipation to see buds on these barren trees. Come spring. Come.

The sun has started coming out, and spring is on its way. I can’t believe how warm 50 degrees feels. To celebrate, Eric and I took a day trip out to Salem and walked around the historic houses and seafront, and of course found a local coffee shop to get some reading in. When the barista brought this latte to our table, I was so glad my camera shook off a winter’s worth of dust and came along too.

[Note: If you're reading this on the site you'll notice a redesign. It's more a design in process. I'm fiddling with wordpress themes to find one I like for this blog. While I won't be shooting everyday, I want to drive this blog with photos and post at least a few times a week. And if I'm posting photos - I want to post them BIG. So this is where I am - bare with me as it gets fined tuned and let me know what you think! :) ]

Don’t you love the last one? I almost missed it, and noticed it on the Subaru’s rear window as I was heading in. We think we know who’s responsible…

I took these in the bright afternoon light today as it was all dripping away. I know this weather will get tiring and more annoying than anything, but right now I look forward to it again. Perhaps in the next storm I will work on some tripod shots of snowy streets. Hmmm. Well, regardless, it feels like I’m getting my photo work flow back as I took these pictures and am posting in the same day! Speed demon!

There have been already been two babies born to families in Eric’s program in the few months we’ve been here. This is one of them, Nathaniel. He was born Friday to new and proud parents Jamie and Christy. We peeked in Saturday at the hospital where he proceeded to immediately win us over. Such cuteness, oh my!

1. My Life in France by Julia Child
My mental file for Julia Child is an old stuffy woman who knows how to cook, and would also know that I don’t. I was way off! I picked this up in light of the Julie/Julia movie, blog and books as I wanted to get to the core of Julia to better understand Julie. It’s a very easy to read memoir of her move to Paris France and development of the now epic Mastering The Art of French Cooking. I really could relate to being a newly wed and moving to a strange new place. I admired the way she and her husband navigated the ex-pat crowd in Paris and finally found a company of fellow foodies that eventually led to the book.
Next up: Julie and Julia, My Year of Cooking Dangerously by Julie Powell

2. Daughter of Boston: The Extraordinary Diary of a Nineteenth-century Woman, Caroline Healey Dall edited by Helen R. Deese
Confession: I haven’t actually finished this one. Or gotten more than 100 pages into it. Granted its a THICK book of one woman’s diary that .. well, I’ll let the reviews say it better:

Dall, the daughter of an upper-class merchant family, kept a diary of 45 volumes—filled with personal anecdote, social observations and astute analysis—from the age of 16 in 1838, to her death in 1912. Dall’s involvement with a broad range of social change movements, including Transcendentalism, abolition and women’s suffrage, placed her at the center of the most important public debates over America’s political, religious, intellectual and social future.

Very interesting and easy to read, but I get worn out after a few pages. I’m thinking that I’ll come back to this one often and slowly work my way through it.
Next up: (perhaps in a few years…) The letters of John and Abigail Adams.

3. In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan
This one I did finish. In a day. Wow, you have to read this book. Here’s a teaser for you: “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” Reading pollan’s history and description of nutritionism and the role of industry and government to shape our horrendous national diet of processed foods was a wake up call. Eric found me in the kitchen going through our cupboards looking at the ingredients. I was shocked to realize even my trusty Raisin Bran has high fructose corn syrup.
Next up: Omnivores Dilemma by Pollan and anything by Mark Bittman.

4. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
This one was really a delight and probably the best fiction I’ve read this year. I didn’t know what to expect from such an odd title, but in a series of letters between a writer in post world war II London to a small community on Guernsey in the Channel Islands, I was quickly drawn in and fell in love with the characters finding themselves, and each other, after the war. The insights into German occupation of Guernsey was an interesting historical point of view, that at times so sad it gutted me as I reached for tissues.
Next up: Mountains beyond Mountains by Tracey Kidder

5. More with Less by Doris Janzen Longacre
First, it is a bit odd to me that I am starting to cuddle up with a cup of tea, and a cookbook to read. Yet, see number three above, and here I am. I loved reading this one cover to cover, as its been advocating for natural and sustainable food practices for 25 years. Her first chapter is like a prophetic call that proceeded Pollan’s work. I also appreciated the spirituality of cooking that comes so naturally. God bless the Mennonites. The Mennonite Central Committee commissioned this collection of recipes with submissions from around the country, and is a diverse but simple collection of good food. The day after I read it I was pulling things out we already had on hand, and making oatmeal (that tasted good), and two loafs of bread (after a mishap with boiling water and yeast that produced a few bricks).
Next up: James Beard’s American Cookery by James Beard

What are you reading and loving?

Dealing with New England weather, on a budget, working from home with husband who’s love language is food, has suddenly made cooking my newest hobby. There’s something about the oven warming up the apartment – working with my hands that is mindless and therapeutic – eating more natural homemade food – that just feels good. And then that eating part… yum.

I got so caught up in my new found kitchen optimism, using local produce and cooking a meat-free version of this dish that I forgot one thing … I don’t like squash. Seriously? Yea, whoops. Thankfully, I DID like this lasagna that pairs fresh sage with the squash, and so did our neighbors Charlie and Christie who helped us eat it!

Here’s the recipe from Martha if you’d like to try it:

Serves 8 (umm…try more like 5 or 6)
Ingredients

• 3 1/2 pounds butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 pound whole-milk ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 large egg yolks
• 1/2 pound fresh mozzarella cheese, coarsely grated (2 cups)
• Freshly grated nutmeg
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup loosely packed fresh sage leaves, coarsely chopped
• 1 1/4 cups homemade or store-bought low-sodium chicken stock
• Fresh Lasagna Noodles, (you will need only 1/2 of the batch), cut into 4-by-13-inch strips and cooked, or (keep dreaming) store-bought dried noodles, cooked
• 4 ounces finely grated Parmesan cheese (1 1/4 cups)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Toss squash, oil, and 1 teaspoon salt on a baking sheet. Season with pepper. Bake until light gold and tender, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool.
2. Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees. Combine ricotta, cream, yolks, mozzarella, and a pinch of nutmeg in a medium bowl. Season with salt.
3. Melt butter in a small saute pan over medium-high heat. As soon as it starts to sizzle, add sage, and cook until light gold and slightly crisp at edges, 3 to 4 minutes.
4. Place squash in a medium bowl, and mash 1/2 of it with the back of a wooden spoon, leaving the other 1/2 in whole pieces. Gently stir in sage-butter mixture and stock. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Spread 3/4 cup of ricotta mixture in a 9-cup baking dish (what is that? our 9×13 baker was great). Top with a layer of noodles. Spread 1/2 of the butternut squash mixture over noodles. Top with a layer of noodles. Spread 1 cup of ricotta mixture over noodles. Repeat layering once more (noodles, squash, noodles, ricotta). Sprinkle Parmesan over ricotta mixture.
6. Place baking dish on a rimmed baking sheet, and bake until cheese is golden and bubbling, 30 to 35 minutes. Let stand for 15 minutes before slicing and serving.

A few other links:

• Other great lasagna recipes from my new favorite blog, The Kitchn.
• Another butternut squash lasagna recipe from Sunset.