Sunday Happy

It’s starting to feel like summer for real. On the one hand I am officially over the heat (and it has only barely begun), but on the other hand the flowers, tomatoes, and zucchini are really pulling their weight in life so I can’t be a complete asshole when I am picking all the lovely flowers eating the finest of produce…Or I can. Just ask the mr. Ha!

Basically I spent that past week either at the studio loading kilns and dealing with annoying stuff or in my basement studio, covered in clay, throwing pots. A marathon of making to have enough pieces for my next market and for a few stores. So yeah, my back is killing me, I have bruises on my arms from my wheel, and I am exhausted. When I go on benders like this my brain goes crazy with ideas, I can’t sleep, and I forget to like eat food and drink water. And the sick thing is that I love it.

I did manage myself a bit of time away from the clay. The littles came over and we went to the pool, ate food, and played some mean games of rock pepper scissors. (Those kids, they really are the coolest. And are getting way to old. I am officially scared.) I also picked the first zucchini and the first beans of the season from the garden, grabbed farmshare and picked flowers, pick raspberries from the yard…I guess I picked a lot of stuff this week. Yeah, a week of clay and picking. A pretty bitchin week.

And it is Sunday and were are kicking off CAMPING SEASON!!!. I am so stinking excited. They kayaks are in the truck, the camp stove and lentils are packed, and the firewood is loaded. I need this. The mr needs this. We are going to Groton where there are a few big ponds, lots of hiking, and no cell service. 24 hours of nope to anything other than the great outdoors. I mean doesn’t that sound delightful? I am so ready!

Some internet from the internet.

-More people need to know how to do this. How to admit you’re wrong. I don’t though cause I am never wrong. HAHA!

-I love this house for me The Hudson House, just maybe move it to a secluded 30 acres in VT.

-First mustard, now this. I can’t deal. Your Favorite Hummus Brand Could Be More Expensive Soon and It’s Due to a Global Chickpea Shortage

-I mean, why not? I would show some art at a casino. Can Casinos Be Art Galleries?

-Any rapid movement let alone head banging cause me. at least a week of pain. Birds. They are wild. Why woodpeckers actually don’t need shock-absorbing skulls to headbang

-5 years of nearly constant wear, my Chaco straps snapped. Grrrrrr. So I ordered these new ones.

-These pictures are freaking amazing. James Webb Space Telescope: An astronomer explains the stunning, newly released 1st images

Pictures from the week.

Just Freeze the Tomatoes

Do you have a shit ton of tomatoes? Do you not have the capacity in you body to eat them all fresh or the will or desire or time to can them but really want to save some tomatoes for later? Well you know you can just freeze them right?

Yup. You don’t have to do anything fancy, pretty much anything at all. Just wash, remove any green stuff, then pop the whole tomatoes (any variety, large or small and tomatillos for that matter. Just remove the papery skin.) into a freezer bag or airtight freezer container and stick in the freezer. That is it.

Then all winter long (or until you run out) you will have peak summer tomatoes right there ready to be dropped into soup, roasted into deliciousness , simmered into a thick and luscious sauce, or do whatever the heck you usually do with tomatoes besides eating them fresh. I mean, you can even eat them frozen too. Not a bad little snack if I do say so myself.

Happy tomato-ing!

-C

Tomato Basil and White Bean Orzo Pasta Salad

Another heatwave. I tell you what, If I never live through another 90 + degree day, it will be too soon.

What to eat during a heat wave? Well maybe you don’t care and have air conditioning in your kitchen so you cook whatever. I don’t have air conditioning and after a few days of boiling temps, there is no freaking way I am turning on the oven. I can barely turn on the stove top to boil water, but I did, I boiled water, I just did it early in the morning before the temperatures starting rising again. (A pro tip for you.) That is one of the great things about pasta salad, you can make the pasta ahead of time. You can even make the whole salad in the morning and then you don’t have to do a damn thing when it comes to dinner besides lifting a fork to your face, which I know can be a feat when all you want to do is melt, or slap at something, but still.

This pasta salad, well it is not you everyday pasta salad. It has beans, fresh basil, and a dressing that is made by blending up the most delicious seasonal tomatoes until rich and creamy and dumped all over the orzos. . It is probably going to be the best tasting pasta salad you will ever eat. The thing is, you really need to make it soon because sure you can get tomatoes all year round but don’t do that. Do yourself a favor and make it now while the tomatoes are plentiful and at their peak of deliciousness. And also you don’t have wait for a heatwave to make it. This is a good meal to have at the ready all throughout tomato season, and just in case, a heat wave.

Now to the pasta salad!

The stuff. Just picked tomatoes, some fresh basil, cooked navy beans, orzo pasta, olive oil, red wine vinegar, garlic, and salt and pepper.

Rough chop tomatoes into small pieces. Also peel and dice garlic into small pieces.

Place the tomatoes, garlic, and a good pinch of salt into a blender (I used a hand blender) and blend unit smooth. Add in the vinegar and oil and bend until the mixture starts to emulsify and becomes smooth and creamy.

Cook and strain pasta as instructed. Keep in on the al dente side.

Chop up basil into thin ribbons or whatever.

Then dump pasta into a large bowl. Add in cherry tomatoes ( I cut mine in half) and beans. Dump in half the sauce and mix around then mix in the chopped basil.

If you are eating it right away, add in the rest of the sauce. If you are keeping it for later, place pasta and sauce in fridge and a before you are planning on serving it mix in the remaining sauce.

Looks so good right! Season with salt and pepper to taste and then you know…

Grab a bowl and eat it. Probably should grab a from too, eating this with your hands might get messy.

Stay cool friends!

-C

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Tomato Basil and White Bean Orzo Pasta Salad

serves 2-3 as a meal or more as a side

• 2 cups dried orzo pasta (12 oz)

• 2 large heirloom tomatoes (about 2 cups chopped)

• 1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes (or chopped tomatoes)

• 1/3 cup olive oil

• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

• 1 1/2 cups cooked and drained white beans ( I used navy but any white bean will do)

• 1 cup packed basil leaves

• 2 cloves garlic

• salt and pepper

Start with making the tomato dressing. Rough chop the 2 large tomatoes into smaller pieces and peel and chop garlic. Place the tomatoes in a blender (or a large jar if using a hand blender) with the garlic and a good pinch of salt and a little pepper. Blend until smooth. Add in the vinegar and oil and continue to blend until the mixture becomes thick and creamy. Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed .

Prepare orzo pasta as instructed on package (make it al dente)

Grab basil and chop into smaller pieces.

Once orzo is cooked and drained, dump it into a large bowl. Add in the beans and cherry tomatoes (slice in half if they are on the large size) and pour in half if the tomato sauce. Mix unit incorporated. Toss in the basil.

Now if you are going to eat right away mix in remaining sauce. If you plan on refrigerating and eating later, save the remaining half of the sauce and mix it in right before serving.

Store left overs in fridge for up to 5 days.

Coffee Oat Frappuccino

This stupid freaking hot humid heat, it makes me hate everything (of at least very strongly dislike). I don’t know how to deal but I am trying. One thing I am doing is to just eat and drink everything cold.

Now I am not typically a cold coffee drinker (I love ice coffee but find that whenever I drink it I can’t pace myself and if is gone in like 2 seconds. I need more time, like at least 2 minute with my coffee. So I always go hot. What I should do is drink a hot and and iced at the same time but that is just crazy talk. And I have done that.), but this coffee thing I made is making me want to drink all the coffee frozen. It’s coffee which is my life blood, creamy but not like thick and gross, and cold, which right now is a life necessity. A real damn treat especially when just looking outside makes me want to smack the sun. Shit do I hate this nasty weather but what I don’t hate is this coffee, in fact I am obsessed with It and it’s all I want to eat/drink for the rest of the heatwave.

Now to the cold coffee oat frappuccino!

The stuff. Strong brewed cold coffee, oats, ice, and a couple really soft sticky dates.

Start with the oats in the blender ans blend until a flour consistency. Add in the dates (use whatever sweetener you want) and half the ice and half the coffee. Blend until frothy. Add in the rest of coffee and ice and blend for like 30 more seconds.

Its now blended and icy and delicious and you can drink it now but. If you can do it, stick the whole blender in the freezer or pour the frap into a cup and stick in freezer for an hour or so because it can get even icy-er.

Pull the blender out (or pour slightly more frozen frap back into blender) and blend for another 30 seconds. It is now super icy deliciousness.

Pour into glasses and drink. It’s to only thing you need to drink/eat for the rest of the summer.

-C

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Coffee Oat Frappuccino

makes 1

• 12 oz of brewed coffee (cold or even frozen)

• 12-14 normal sized ice cubes

• 1/3 cup old fashion oats

• Sweetener of choice like 2-3 soft dates , a couple teaspoon of maple syrup, or sugar

Place oats into blender and blend until flour consistency. Add in sweetener or dates and like half the coffee and half the ice cubes. Blend until mixed. Add the rest of coffee and ice and blend until completely incorporated.

Now either drink it as is (which is delicious) or for an even more icy consistency, place the blender (or pour the frap into a large cup) into the freezer for an hour of so. Then take it back out and and blend until a smooth frozen treat.

And then drink that right away.

Sunday Happy

I am ready, ready for summer to be over. It was so nice for a few days. Not hot, cool nights, but then it started to get hot again and I started to get real bitchy again so yeah, done with it. Plus I am really craving apples. 🍎🍏🍎

We had a good start to the week with a great camp adventure. Sure it rained a whole bunch but we knew that going in so we were prepared. Rain jackets, a canopy to put over the picnic tables, extra clothes. And really, most of the day it wasn’t pouring to badly and hiking around in the woods, the rain doesn’t get you ad bad. We did decide not to bring the kayaks because I wasn’t feeling lightning and water, but hey, that is just me. And we were able to have a nice big warm fire after dinner thanks to the mr been smart and good with flames and wood. It was great and perfect timing too because once we crawled into the tent for the night, well that was when the rain really started to come down. But again, no worries, we started dry.

And we woke up, still a little rain coming down, made coffee, tossed everything into the car and headed back to the rest of the week.

What did we do? Nothing much different then all the rest if the weeks. Hung with Barb, Had the littles over for food and play and then had a girls afternoon where Barb, Miley, and I made cookies and cakes for the upcoming weekend. I have been harvesting lots of goodies from the garden, pickling and freezing all the zucchini, and watching my pumpkin rapidly grow bigger and bigger. I thew some pots, but things have been drying really slow so that means studio stuff slows down too. And thats about sums it up I guess.

Today is the annual Stem family get together. (We didi’t do it last year cause, well you know.) After I spend the morning doing some chores we are heading up to Belvedere to the cabin and hanging with my people. Camping there too. I am really excited to see my family, see the Dad, and also see them in the comforts of the woods in the middle of nowhere so I can run away if need be. And its great that we have camping built in to the day. It is one of my favorite places to camp so it will be good, even if it is suppose to thunderstorm all afternoon. We are getting use to camping in the rain.

Internet from the week

-August 8 Is One Of The Luckiest Days Of The Year. And it’s today! So should I play the lottery?

-Summertime And Vacationing Isn't Easy. Blame It On Climate Change. And blame that on humans.

-Basically the only time I wear a bra is when I am running and that is only because I don’t have pockets in my shorts to shove my phone into it (in the winter I have pockets so no need for the bra). It acts more like a pocket than anything else. HA! Why So Many Women Are Turning Their Backs On The Bra

-Yes to all of these. Designers on Holiday: Modern, Minimalist Tents, Cabins, Guest Houses, and More

-We Tried 9 Ways to Shuck Corn (and Really Get the Silk Off!) and Found a Clear Winner. How do you shuck corn? And does the silk really bother you? I don’t care if there is a few strands but that is me.

-I take a lot of pictures but I also don’t take a lot of pictures. Sometime I just don’t want to it is going to interferes with me being present. To Remember The Moment, Try Taking Fewer Photos

-Homeownership can bring out the worst in you. There is a lot to think about when owning a home.

-Just like antibacterial shit, hand sanitizer kits the bad and the good. You might be overusing hand sanitizer

--A Serendipitous Photo Captures an Acrobatic Goose Contorting Its Body to Fly Upside Down

Pictures from the week