happy easter

♥

easter eggs

we tried ombre dying

we like to wrap our eggs with rubber bands

hard-boiled eggs,

martha stewart's perfect method,

{so you can turn them into perfect egg salad}

♥

vegetarian chinese take-out {in eagle, idaho}

china palace, folks, makes some delicious

vegetarian chinese take-out

right here in eagle, idaho.

cashew tofu

on the menu, it's cashew chicken.

just have them swap the chicken for tofu.

mixed vegetable chow mein

lots of veggies & soft noodles

double mushroom with tender green

i love the name & it's really fresh

we have gotten take-out

from china palace several times,

and it is always really delicious.

i figured it was time i let my neighbors know.

note:

when i call to place the order,

i let them know i'm ordering all vegetarian dishes

and i also request no msg.

♥

walkie talkies

♥

♥ picnic basket ♥

this is my grandma's metal picnic basket

i keep it up high in my kitchen,

where i see it all the time.

i think she used to keep it up high

in her kitchen, as well.

i'm doing some serious spring cleaning up there,

so i brought it down to dust.

do you want to see what's inside?

my grandpa & grandma, my mom's parents,

forrest & catherine

my grandma had the most amazing collection

of costume jewelry.

lots of old pieces that i think she kept

specifically for her granddaughters to play with.

lots of embroidered linens
{all are family-made, many by my great-grandma}
and a few of my grandma's

collection of saccharine boxes.

this one looks like an antique phone

they each have their own tiny tongs inside

my grandpa's rain gauge {how he loved weather},

his leather case that he carried on his mail route,

and just one

of his beautiful, handmade baby booties

and this little print

that used to hang on their refrigerator

♥

spring break staycation

that's right,

while some folks are headed to disneyland,

we're staying home for spring break.

we're building a two-room fort

{it has two rooms!}

we're making a grass & dirt appetizer

served in a snail shell with a twig straw

{-yum-}

we're going to the movies

{um, i dropped the kids at the movies & i ran nearby errands}

we're thinking about tackling

the chronicles of naria

{all 7 books = 31 cds!}

what are your spring break plans?

♥

vegetarian corn & potato chowder

yesterday, i made chowder.

harvest crock pot corn & potato chowder

{with veggie bacon crumbled on top}

from etsy seller highteawithalicejoyce.

it was so incredibly delicious.

a genuine, bona fide, authentic chowder.

everyone loved it.

marian said that when she goes away to college,

this is the soup she wants me to make

when she comes home.

we had some today for lunch,

and there are still plenty of leftovers.

alice is a retired home economics teacher

with a seemingly endless catalog of recipes,

each one a dollar.

now, i can't give you the recipe,

but you can buy it here.

{it's just a dollar!}

it will come as a full paper size photocopy

of alice's handwritten recipe.

i will give you a sneak peek...

it starts with a crock pot full of cubed potato

and there's a step where the broth is removed

and "chowder-ized" on the stove.

i adapted alice's recipe just a little

to make it vegetarian and gluten-free:

1. i used only vegetable broth

2. i used gluten-free flour

3. i used veggie bacon on top

{for those of us who aren't avoiding wheat}

it does contain butter, cheese, and milk.

i suppose you could substitute those, as well.

i have a few more recipes from alice

that i will review as i make them.

if the first recipe was any indication,

they should be delicious.

♥

a treasury

today, i cleaned some of the

"up high" things in my kitchen.

i made a pot of chowder

that i'll tell you about tomorrow.

and i made a treasury...

-spring clean-

come see it

☼right here☼

(mom, does dad still have

a wooden mortar & pestle like this one?)

♥

veggie bacon

do you ever...

eat veggie bacon?

what's that? 

you think it looks like this?

well, let me tell you,

to those of us who never eat the real thing,

our cartoon bacon was mighty tasty

alongside some french toast this morning.

♥

her vase

marian made this

in her pottery class at school

i love the shape, i love the color

i love the window

i love her.

♥