Time flies
I can’t believe it’s been two weeks since my last update! I’ve been… preoccupied. Vera had a little bug that she had to work through- which generally means she just needs more attention more often, and sitting down to write doesn’t really work with that. I do plan to get back into it, though, as winter is definitely here and it’s a good time for writing and thinking. Mostly we’re working on projects for Xmas, attempting to get the house more and more settled (lots of things in the works), and thinking about plans for next spring/summer. I think it’s going to be a big year for us. Although thinking about it now, most years are big for us lately! One cool thing that’s happening tomorrow is our first Endgame book club. I have no idea how it will go or what we’ll do, but good people are coming, good food, and there will be some talk about important things- things we can’t ignore. I’m excited, and I’ll definitely do an update on it this weekend. Recently we were over at my parents house shamelessly posing the children in little Santa hats for their Xmas card, just like they did last year. It’s amazing how such incredibly cheesy things are miraculously transformed into adorable when you have a kid in the mix. I just love them. I didn’t really get any photos that weren’t blurry or without a hand in front of a face, but I thought these were cute anyway.
And little Max, almost 3 months already. He’s so sweet. 
Lately I’ve been focusing on really nourishing food. Warming, with some freshness about it (whatever you can manage without many fresh veggies), easy to put together, etc. Soup has been a staple around here with all the turkey stock we’ve got. This was a soup that just felt really good going down. Homegrown tomatoes and squash, local corn, beans, and onions, homemade turkey stock, a good dose of thyme, cumin, salt and pepper, and a dollop of sour cream.
Homemade sourdough bread. They turned out perfectly! Although, the loaves are enormous, so I think we’ll cut the recipe in half and just do a loaf a week. I threw some leftover cranberries in one loaf, and it was delicious.
I’m actually doing really well with my winter goals so far. I’m sprouting, making sourdough, and yesterday I made my first batch of crock pot yogurt. I’m also menu planning (which is completely awesome), knitting, sewing (just started back up), and doing the book club tomorrow! When I put it down on paper I’m much more efficient than I feel sometimes. Next month I’ll focus on garden planning and scavenging and some more of the other stuff. I’d really like to take a class.
Vera. Spunky. So fun. Really hard to get a picture of lately. Says things I didn’t know she even knew the words for. Her vocabulary is really developing, and I’m just amazed. I have a feeling she’ll be talking my ear off before I know it. She’s creative and firey and smart and so affectionate and I can’t believe she’s almost TWO. 
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awww, that first picture is adorable, and i didn’t even notice that there were any problems with it at all, until i read your paragraph about having trouble getting a good picture! cute little children in santa hats can let you overlook a lot, i guess!! 🙂
Yeah, those were the best of the bunch!
I have lots of catching up to do with your updates… I will comment soon! There’s always so much going on, and then I stall on commenting, but I’ll do better!
Lovely kiddie pics, and yummy looking food:)
I love sourdough, my mom used to make it a lot. She still makes bread, grinds her own grains, but it’s usually yeast bread.
I would love to grind my own grains! Although, everytime I look for a good grain grinder the price is enough to make me wait… I dunno. But really I’d like to sprout and grind my own grains. Someday. I’m loving your pictures lately! Keep it up after the meme. 🙂
Grinders are expensive, my mom got hers second hand, and even then it wasn’t too cheap. But worth it, as her bread is SO good! She hasn’t been sprouting her grain first, though that would be better…
Thanks, I’ll try to keep up with it, I finally got a photobucket account, so it’ll be easier to add pictures now!
Many things…
1) Wasn’t Max just born? How is he 3 months old already? I’m sure Tuula is a great big sister.
2) Vera is adorable, as always and I especially love her with the Santa hat!
3) Yummy soups 🙂
Happy Holidays
Re: Many things…
1) I know right? Wasn’t Ben just born? Hmmm…
Hopefully we’ll see each other soon! 🙂
Zoning in on What Matters Most and Keeping Things Simple
I’m a grandma and mom of 7 and nothing warms my heart more than a young mom that “gets it”–what matters most! Bravo to you! Your blog is sweet and really inspiring–thanks so much! I’m also an author of a best-selling book, IT’S HERE…SOMEWHERE, which deals with getting rid of clutter once and for all and making the best use of space. My 8 streamlining steps have been tested in a few million homes for over 20 years. I would like to send you a copy–I think you’d love it–easy to read (each chapter is a room or area in your home, so if you don’t have that room or area, skip that chapter) and the system lasts! I show you how you how to get rid of everything you don’t like, use, need, want, or have room for so you have space for what matters most. It’s the ultimate simplification system around! No strings attached–I just want to share, so if I can send you a copy, let me know. Your fan, Alice
Re: Zoning in on What Matters Most and Keeping Things Simple
Wow, that’s great! I’d love a copy of your book. How nice and unexpected! I actually would really love to focus on decluttering and learning how to create a good system so we can enjoy our time together more. I’m not sure how to give you my address- do you have an email I could send it to?
The food looks amazing and Vera has grown so much, I can’t believe it!! Children grow up so fast, my goddaughter has just started walking properly, she looks like a little duckling 🙂
I was just wondering if you had any lovely aubergine recipes as I’ve never cooked or stored them before and I’d love to try them.
Also hoping not to be cheeky if you’d give me some tips of how to and when to prepare soil for planting a vegetable patch?
Sorry for all of the questions, I hope you’re okay.
x x x
Thank you! I’m doing great- it’s nice to hear from you.
Okay, so I love eggplant (I like the word aubergine so much better, btw) and I would love to give you some ideas. Baba Ghanouj is always a win for me- here’s a good standard recipe:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Baba-Ghanouj-107051
I also love to sautee it and toss it in bbq sauce (just a little!) and stick it on homemade pizza with some fresh herbs and tomatoes and fresh mozzarella. You could always use a store bought pizza crust for this one, to keep it simple.
I cut it up and simmer it in curry with other veggies/meat and serve it over pasta or rice. Basically eggplant + thai anything= yum.
It’s great in most chinese dishes too- like with hoison sauce or a spicy bean paste… mmmm.
Oh, and a classic- eggplant parmesan. You just dredge eggplant slices in flour/egg and fry them up, then bake them in marinara and cheese… amazing.
Now I want some! Haha, I hope that helps.
Also, for soil preparation, I’m no expert, but what I did was just lay down a bunch of manure and mulched leaves over the area that I plan to garden. Then in the spring I’ll till it up some and then add fresh compost. I let that sit for a week or two and then plant! I’ve heard really good things about mushroom compost, so if you can’t do prep now with composted manure, then maybe try that to really infuse the soil with nutrients. I’m going to try it this year.
I hope that helps! Let me know if you have more questions!