Burrow House

safe and warm

It's a disaster zone around here. Again. There are 173,000 houses without power in our city alone. We are so fortunate to have a certain little luxury called a "furnace."

But we're quite cozy.

Lots of visitors round here.

Lots of bread baking.

And lots and lots of projects.

Quote of the day:

"I have spent my entire life in the avoidance of 'roughing it,' and 'roughing it' has come to me."

-my sister-in-law on receiving her first shower in 3 days

if a picture paints a thousand words...

Yesterday evening.

5:30 this morning.

In the garden.

My very own playground.

snow day

We actually got a few inches of show around here!  School and everything else is closed, which means I will NOT be going to the craft store like I had intended today. And it's chilly.  So I'm cooking.

There's not much better on a cold day than a hot, hearty soup.  This is a pumpkin-kale soup that I'm exceedingly fond of.  Well, I used some of the butternut puree from the plethora of CSA squashes we had.  Seriously, I almost needed a box freezer.

No Knead bread is rising on the counter.  TRYING to rise, that is.  Have I ever mentioned that my house is drafty?

And, well, I've already eaten half of this Scottish Shortbread all by myself!

I'm in the process of re-vamping and expanding my recipe section.  You can find all my recipes just by clicking on the "In the Kitchen" album on the left of your screen. Click on an image to pull up the recipe.  As always, I love your feedback!

and the winner is...

The lovely Sarah Jackson.  I shall be compiling your box this week.  And you may even receive it by spring!

(Gratuitous photo; Millennium Park) 

Random thought: I'll bet it's cold in Chicago today!

I remember the first winter we lived there.  I was trudging to work downtown wearing 4 layers, scarf wrapped around my entire face, hat pulled low over my ears.  A bus happened along and I decided to hop on.  The driver took one look at me and burst into laughter and asked, "Lady, what's gonna happen to you when it gets cold?"  It was November, after all.

thirteen

Today, I became the mother of a teenager.  And I'm a wreck.  I'll never make it through the day without crying in front of him, which I MUST NOT do.

I am enormously proud of the man that he is becoming.  He amazes me every day.  (Well, most days. Not the days that he is pounding his sister.  Those days, not so much.)  But a man, he is rapidly becoming, and there is nothing I can do about it.

I really can't put it into words.  So I'm going to steal them from Tracy Chapman.  She says it WAY better than I can.

Sweet and high at the break of dawn. 

A simple tune that you can hum along to.

I remember there was a time when I used to sing for you.

I used to sing for you.

Knew all the words to the popular songs.

With the radio on full volume.

I remember there was a time when I used to sing for you.

I used to sing for you.

Forget the chorus.

You're the bridge, the words, and music to every day I've lived.

There's nothing I wouldn't give for one more time when I could sing for you.

Soft and low when the evening comes.

Holding you sleeping in my arms.

I remember there was a time when I used to sing for you.

I used to sing for you.

(give-away winner will be announced Monday afternoon.  WOO HOO!)

surprise package give-away

I haven't done a give-away in a while.  And to be honest, I haven't even mailed Harley's loot yet.  Soon Harley, I promise!  But what the heck.

So, for the truly brave out there, I am doing a SURPRISE give-away.  That's right.  You will receive a parcel from me. Someday. And it will contain completely unexpected thingS.  And they will be good, I promise.  I mean, really good.

Entry is simple.  Leave me a comment for 1 chance to win.  Link to Burrow House, or add me to your bloglines for an extra chance.  Let me know in your comment how many chances you are in for.  Simple.

Give-away will close at midnight on Friday.

Good luck, and Happy Humpday.

women wielding knives

Dramatic post title, huh?  I've had more Google searches land here this week than I have in the entire 9 months since I started this blog (a couple of SUPER creepy ones, but that's another story!).  I thought it might be fun to see what sort of fish this bait lands.  Because, well, you know that's the kind of humor I roll with.

Actually, this post IS about wielding knives.  I've seen a number of bloggers lately giving tutorials on cooking, while holding their knives incorrectly.  Granted, to each their own, but I have to tell you that it makes my stomach hurt.  You know that feeling right behind your belly button when you see someone doing something potentially dangerous and you just want to squeeze all your tummy muscles?  Yep, that's what I feel like.

Controlling a knife is akin to controlling a pencil.  Can you imagine trying to write with your index finger stretched out straight and the rest of your fingers wrapped around the pencil?  Try it.  What does your handwriting look like?  It's the same with a knife.  Your index finger should be completely bent and resting on the side of the blade (I'm a lefty, by the way).

Your thumb should rest on the opposing side of the blade.  The base knuckle of your index finger holds the backside of the knife firmly in place so you have control of precision over the edge of the knife.

Make sense?

Your other three fingers wrap around the handle, primarily for balance.  Besides the safety issue, this method also reduces wrist movement.  Especially beneficial for those of us with tendon issues.

So, what to do with the other hand?

Always, always, always keep your fingers perpendicular to the counter.  Knuckles heal more easily than fingertips, and no tendons to slice through.

I've worked with both CIA and Johnson & Wales trained chefs, and the first thing they demand is that you know how to hold a knife.  See, they don't want you bleeding all over their creations OR their workspace.  Seriously.

Just an unsolicited tip.  You don't have to take it.  I promise I won't take it personally.  And if you do a blog post on cooking while holding your knife that other way?  I'll just close my eyes.

they call me mellow yellow

Basket of Gold.

Porter Paints.

The color of my kitchen.

And so ends color week.  What should we do next week?

See all the other players here.

I have a blue house with a blue window.

Oh sorry.  Now I'm going to be singing that song for the rest of the day!

Scenes like these are not uncommon when you live here...

We like our architecture old.

I thought I was going to have a problem with blue, but in the end, I didn't have far to look.

And I have to throw this one in...

Because while we like our houses old, we get our wires that way too.

And for a list of everyone participating in color week, look here. (p.s. It's never to late to hop on the train!)

Up tomorrow:  Yellow

red? red? that's what I said!

On with color week!  

Bowl full of apples.  Predictable, but always gorgeous.

My shower curtain.

Presumably a loose interpretation of these.

And this is a still-undelivered present sitting on my mantle. 

Totally digging the textures!

I swear, this project is more difficult in the winter than it was in the summer.  It almost makes me think that our eyesight adjusts to the grays that surround us.  Hmmm.

Tomorrow:  BLUE

Check out the players HERE.