Luscious Fibers, Food and Family

happy valentine's day

Grant and I had a quiet, but sweet Valentine's Day. I'm fighting a cold and getting ready for a trip so we celebrated at home.  Grant decided he wanted to bake something so after some research he chose chocolate stout cupcakes (from VCTOTW)...fitting, right?  Yup, cupcakes with beer. What could be wrong with that?

Grant is not as comfortable in the kitchen as I am, but hopefully he'll keep at it. He's got potential to be a great cook and he's definitely more daring than I am with experimenting and changing up recipes. The cupcakes were fantastic and so pretty with the pink frosting.

It was a nice day.

better late than never

I'm a little late changing my blog design theme for December, but better late than never!  The image:

is a picture I took a few years ago. It's one of our favorite ornaments (Grant and I both really love all our bird ornaments) and one of my favorite photos. I love the glowing light and shadows. This image always brings me back to that moment of twinkling lights, holiday music and quiet celebration of the holiday season.  It was a perfect image to use for this month's blog.

as cold as ice...holiday style

Last night Grant, Mum and I headed over to the National Harbor Gaylord to see all the lights and to check out the holiday ice display.  The Gaylord is known for its elaborate decorations and celebrations and we were not disappointed.

We arrived to snow falling in the atrium. As scheduled, it falls at each night at 6pm. Ok, it's more like tiny soap suds than snow, but still fun to see.

There were dancing fountains, a huge hanging Christmas tree and holiday trains racing through tiny cities.  There was definitely a lot to look at and music to enjoy. We had a great time exploring. Then it was time for big event...the ice display! We all donned puffy blue coats and headed into the very chilly ice world.

There were many wonderful and amazing scenes; all of DC's famous monuments, animals, kids on Christmas morning, a penguin family, Santa's workshop, a full size nativity scene and much more. Oh and there was an ice slide that both Grant and I tried out...fun times! We made friends with the director of valet parking and he told us it took 40 people 30 days to create the winter ice land. He all mentioned that all costs were recouped after the first two nights of the display opening.  It was a great time as you can see by the pictures below.

our thanksgiving meal menu

Thanksgiving is mine and Grant's favorite holiday. We look forward to spending quality time with family, friends and each other. We take a slower pace, being sure to appreciate the moment and lift up so much we are thankful for. We also eat...oh boy do we! I love to cook and so every part of  the meal, from planning, shopping, refining, prepping, cooking, serving and definitely eating is a joy. My brother also loves this holiday and can appreciate my excitement for preparing a meal. Today he posted their Thanksgiving Day Menu, which I enjoyed reading so I thought I'd do the same.

herb cheeze spread
cheeze ball ( I just had to try this one!)
assorted crackers
ginger carrot soup
tofurkey roast
field roast
chickpea tart
macaroni and cheese
stuffing
acorn squash
mashed potatoes
curly kale with caramelized onions
shredded brussel sprouts & apples
mushroom gravy
cranberry sauce
whole wheat rolls
pumpkin cheese cake
apple pie

I'm looking forward to a great day of cooking, relaxing and eating with Grant and Sarah. You know I'll take pictures and I may even short blog throughout the day.

(the above picture was taken at Farm Sanctuary when Grant and I spent Thanksgiving celebrating with the Turkeys)

holiday meme

My friend Kirstin published this meme. I enjoyed reading her responses and thought I'd give it a try.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? I like both
2. Real tree or artificial? Generally real and this year we tried potted.
3. When do you put up the tree? No specific time.
4. When do you take the tree down? Soon after new years, though I think my husband would like to keep it up for weeks.
5. Do you like eggnog? Not really.  I’ve never been a milk drinker.
6. Favorite gift received as a child? The stove and refrigerator my father made me when I was little. I loved that when you flipped the switch, the burners lit up.
7. Hardest person to buy for? No one comes to mind.
8. Easiest person to buy for? My mother. She loves everything.
9. Do you have a nativity scene? No.
10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail and hopefully we’ll get those out soon.
11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Well I didn't like it very much...mittens from my aunt. I was 8 or 9, it was boring. However, days later when I tried them on, I found money in each one. That was incredible.
12. Favorite Christmas movie? Emmet Otter’s Jug Band Christmas
13. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Nope
14. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Umm…everything. Chocolate Crinkles.
15. Lights on the tree? Of course! All white.
16. Favorite Christmas song? Oh, Holy Night. I love hearing my father sing it.
17. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Travel to Georgia and Maine.
18. Can you name all of Santa’s reindeer? Yup…I can still sing them out thanks to Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.
19. Angel on the tree top or a star? We have used the same star made of aluminum foil for the past 8 years.
20. Open presents Christmas Eve or morning? Christmas morning.
21. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? Sometimes people are grumpy. I don’t get it.
22. Favorite ornament theme or color? I don’t think I follow any theme or color. I go holiday rogue.
23. What do you want for Christmas this year? Good memories to keep forever.
24. When do you start shopping for Christmas? November probably, but Grant and I picked up a gift for his sister this summer.
25. Favorite Christmas dinner? Tofurkey and all the fixins. Christmas breakfast also has it’s traditional foods…ployes, cinnamon rolls…I used to eat egg-bake but I haven’t figured out how to veganize that one yet.

James, Michael, Sarah, and Lisa, you've been tagged.
Happy Holidays.

merry christmas charlie brown

So there you have it - this year's tree. Grant and I decided to simplify this year so we only unpacked a few decorations and got a smaller, potted tree. Sunday night after dinner we decorated the tree, which Grant picked out all by himself (I'll give him ALL the credit), and put out a few decorations. We played holiday music and had a nice, quiet evening. We've enjoyed our tree and decorations the past couple nights and we're happy we got into the holiday spirit a little early this year.

More pictures....

a butterfly and pumpkin two ways

Yesterday I had a nice time hanging out with friends and their little ones. I was lucky enough to see Marcella and Eli in their Halloween costumes a few days early. They were really cute and quite happy with themselves as you can see from the photo.

In the morning I tried a new recipe from the Joy of Vegan Baking....Pumpkin Spice Bread. It was a hit. I made the version with a little oil and less applesauce and it was quite luscious. I highly recommend this recipe and it's perfect for fall.

On the train

So it's 1:30am, we're on the train and we're some place in Conn. We're in the quiet car and it's nice because there are only a couple other people sharing the car with us. I've actually slept for a couple hours, but Grant is pulling an all nighter so he can see the entire route (he's never taken this train route before.) We'll be home in about 6 hours. I'm looking forward to seeing the cats and meeting Marcella.

Oh and yeah Patriots!!! The conductor gave us updates (i also checked online). It was a nail-bitter.

a great holiday

Christmas Daryl 2007 331, originally uploaded by dcjay64.

Our holiday was lovely. Mum, dad, James, Daryl, Grant and I started Christmas day with some coffee and warm cinnamon rolls by the fire outside. Tut thought the conditions were just right and Grant and I agreed.

We spent the day opening gifts, laughting and admiring many wonderful and thoughtful gifts.  For dinner we headed to my brother's house to have an incredible dinner together and open gifts to each other.  Again, lots of laughing and appreciation of each other.

I'll write more about some holiday knitting and cooking. I've uploaded more pictures here. You can also check out my brother's blogs for more pics (James and Mike.)

a little holiday cheer

A friend sent me this yesterday. I thought it was cute. Click here.

Happy Holidays...

<