holiday star ornaments - quick, easy, no sew

ned gave these

to his fifteen favorite grown-ups
at school today.

i think they'd be pretty in white, too.

find the directions here.

♥

another year on planet earth

ned and i are celebrating our

back-to-back birthdays.

mine was yesterday, his is today.

this little baby is ten.

i could now officially change the name 

of the blog to ten-fifteen-twenty.

but i won't.

♥

día de los muertos

the book of life is a visual feast.

go see this one on the big screen.

cool fact:

we watched this with our amigo, joaquin.

learn more about the day of the dead

here, here, and here.

♥

listen, watch, smile {in that order}

♥

stevie, hanging with haim

read the story here.

♥

treasury

tex•ture

/'tekstʃə(r)/:

the feel or shape of a surface or substance;

the smoothness, roughness, softness, of something.

☼right here☼

♥

treasury

an owly treasury

huddled together for warmth

cuddly owlets,

tea & coffee & moscow mules,

cozy knitted sweaters...

☼come see☼

and if you have tiny feet

{euro 36 :: us 5-5½}

here's a pair of amazing bryr clog boots

that would match this treasury

and the chilly season to a T.

note: these are regularly $425, on sale for $159.

this is the very last pair.

snap them up!!

♥

earthly delights csa week 18

our final share of the season

tomorrow is the harvest festival.

see a video of last year's festival here.

♥

listening: clean bandit 'rather be'

this is marian's song.

her jay-um.

just listen & see if you can resist...

♥

earthly delights csa week 16 & 17

our share, week 16

our share, week 17

in addition to this,

casey let me know that there were

two heaping flats of unclaimed tomatoes

at the end of pick-up.

i went back & got those, as well.

my freezer is filling up with

frozen tomato bricks.

♥

watch this

you'll be glad you did

click here to watch on youtube

♥

happy birthday, dad!

happy birthday, dad!

i love you so much.

♥catie

♥ ♥ ♥

p.s.

want to see what i gave him?

a map of indiana

from the year he was born

{click on it to enlarge}

can you find goshen?

that's where he's from.

find ELKHART county 

at the north of the state.

interesting fact: 

most RVs you see on the road were

manufactured in elkhart county, indiana.

looking for a map of somewhere special?

i found this one here.

pickles

lacto-fermented or salt-water pickles.

i had never heard of them

until amanda from our csa

made some a couple weeks ago.

i understand that this is the old-fashioned way.

let me know if you've tried this because

i am almost certain i'm doing it wrong.

read more here and here.

♥

treasury

it's been busy around here,

so naturally, i built a treasury.

[pretend that]

it's the weekend

[all week long]

pretend with me

[right here]

 ♥

earthly delights csa week 14 & 15

playing catch-up a bit

our share, week 14

{from august 26}

potatoes

anaheim peppers

jalapeño peppers

rooster spur peppers

tomatoes

eggplant

tomatillos

ground cherries

summer squash

basil

onion

magic garlic

beans

cucumbers

watermelon

muskmelon

carrots

---------------------------------

our share, week 15

{from septemper 2}

this was 'farm hands day'

and i helped to bring in this harvest

tomatoes

carrots

anaheim/numex peppers

hot peppers

eggplant

ground cherries

squash

onion

magic garlic

cucumbers

basil

muskmelon

just 3 more weeks left!

♥

treasury

freshly grated

= nutmeg =

wow, it's been a long couple of weeks.

it's time for some etsy treasury therapy

☼right here☼

♥

first day

today was the first day of school

for marian & ned

{she's starting 10th grade}

{he's starting 4th grade}

like most good things,

it was bittersweet.

emily, my blue-haired child,

starts next week.

{she's starting 15th grade}

♥

lisa hannigan {love her}

tiny desk concert

irish pub performance

♥

earthly delights csa week 13

our share

plums

carrots

rainbow chard

jalapeño peppers

tomatoes

antohi romanian peppers

gernika peppers

eggplant

tomatillos

summer squash

ailsa craig onion

magic garlic

beans

cucumbers {lots of lemon cukes!}

genovese basil

melons

------------------------

our hearts are breaking for casey & her family.

her mother, julie, passed away on august 9th.

read all about her awesomeness here.

♥

the head and the heart: down in the valley

♥

zucchini crust pizza {gluten free!}

we have lots of zucchini this time of year.

such a blessing.

and thanks to abby,

i just learned how to turn it into pizza crust.

this is a game changer.

the crust is grated zucchini

with most of the water wrung out

with an egg and a 'flour' and spices.

i consider this less of a new recipe

and more of a new skill,

but here's the recipe abby found:

{keep in mind i didn't measure anything & it turned out great}

zucchini crust pizza

2 cups grated zucchini

1 egg

1 T oil

garlic

3/4 - 1 cup almond flour 

{↑ you could use any flour}

oregano

salt & pepper

---------------------------------------

preheat oven to 400°

put the grated zucchini in a colander.

salt it & allow to 'sweat' for a bit.

then gather it into a clean towel

and literally wring the water out.

in a large bowl,

combine zucchini, egg, oil, garlic,

almond flour, oregano, s&p.

mix until a 'dough ball' forms.

on a baking sheet lined with parchment,

use your hands

to flatten out the dough ball,

pressing it into the shape you want.

i pressed mine quite thin.

bake it for about 20 minutes,

or until the edges & bottom are golden.

at this point, i flipped mine over

and baked for about 5 more minutes

to get it nice & toasty on both sides.

note: a nice step,

but leave it out if you're pressed for time.

remove it from the oven

and add your toppings.

we used homemade tomato sauce

fresh basil & grated parmesan.

{fresh mozzarella would be incredible}

pop it back in the oven for a few minutes

but keep a close eye so it doesn't burn.

this was so good that

i immediately made a second one.

the 'crust' alone is so delicious:

soft & 'doughy' but with crispy edges.

it is the best gluten-free 'bread' i've eaten.

it could be used as flatbread in any recipe

or served alongside hummus.

next, i'm going to try a sage butter version.

♥

homemade granola

today, i made a big batch

of really delicious granola.

it's so easy,

and so much more affordable

than even granola from the bulk bins.

i read through these granola recipes:

the kitchn

3191

analog beauty

smitten kitchen

lucid food

then adapted the batch to our tastes

and what we had on hand.

my ingredients
dry:

4 1/2 cups rolled oats

2 cups chopped pecans

2 cups sliced almonds

2 Tablespoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

couple pinches of salt

-----------------------------------------

wet:

3/4 cup brown rice syrup

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup olive oil

2 Tablespoons vanilla

--------------------------------------------------

add about halfway through baking:

1/2 cup shredded coconut {sweetened}

1/2 cup shredded coconut {unsweetened}

--------------------------------------------------

add at the end of baking

{bake just a few minutes}:

2 cups golden raisins

my method

preheat oven to 250°

in a big roasting pan,

mix dry ingredients,

then add wet ingredients.

bake for 30 minutes to an hour

stirring often {every 10 minutes},

watching for browning,

& testing as you go.

my 'test' is to scoop out a small spoonful,

then allow to cool.

once the granola is crunchy when cool,

it's done.

store in an airtight container.

♥

earthly delights csa week 12

our share

tomatoes

tomatillos

peppers

basil

beans

edamame

carrots

onion

garlic

corn

plums

♥

frozen chocolate peanut butter pie

marian requested this pie

for her birthday last month.

it's the same one i made for her 2 years ago.

super easy & super delicious.

frozen chocolate peanut butter pie

ingredients:

graham cracker crust

6 ounces dark chocolate {plus more for garnish}

2 cups whipping cream

one 8 oz package cream cheese

1 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

chopped peanuts

chocolate sauce for garnish

directions:

in a small pot, melt together the 6 ounces dark chocolate and 1/2 cup whipping cream.  stir until just melted and no lumps remain, remove from heat.  pour into your crust shell and allow to cool as you make the next layer.

in a mixing bowl, combine 1/4 cup whipping cream, softened cream cheese, peanut butter and brown sugar.  mix until light and fluffy.  add in vanilla and the remaining 1 1/4 cup whipping cream and beat until peaks form.  spoon over the chocolate layer.  cover and freeze for several hours.  

allow your pie to slightly soften before serving.  sprinkle on more chocolate, chopped peanuts and drizzle with chocolate sauce.

♥