We are taking a “spring break” this week, along with the regular schools. It’s far too hard to try to interest anyone in math when the neighborhood kids are squirting each other with squirt guns, or playing a high-energy football game in the front yard. It also gives us a chance to do some fun…
Garden Change
Not much was going on in my garden the past couple of months….I stopped planting in January, and it has been the easy, fun harvest-to-table time that makes gardening such a pleasure. You forget about the hard work it took to build and tend it, and only think of how many more rows of such-and-such…
RESTES DE POULET: A LA VIENNOISE
Leftover chicken is never as good as the first day it was cooked. The white meat dries out, and the skin is no longer crispy. I have a usual repertoire of chicken salad, chicken omelets, chicken and rice, and chicken soup in which I make use of the leftovers. But this recipe blew all of…
Spring Cleaning
I thought I might report back about the epic spring cleaning, continuing along with the KonMari method. It’s going well, but I was so tired yesterday, I had to take a break. I started out this week going through all my clothes. The way the KonMari method of tidying works is that you go through…
POT-AU-FEU (French Beef Stew)
What do you think of when you think of French cuisine? Most people will imagine rich cheeses, baguettes and wine. Steak Tartare or French onion soup. Or maybe teeny, tiny blobs of food on a huge plate, like French Laundry. This week’s recipe is THE classic French supper. This is the dish that Gervaise Macquart,…
Surrounded by Stuff
I’m sitting here, surrounded by stuff. Stuff I don’t like, don’t need, and don’t want, mixed up with stuff I do like, need or want. I have to go through and decide. Last week I finally got a copy of The Live-changing Magic of Tidying up: The Japanese Art of De-cluttering and Organizing from the…
A Short Holiday, and Thoughts On Homeschooling
We took a break from homeschool last week. I’m so glad we did! My big kids were tired and cranky from camping at the Earthskills gathering with my mom, and Clothilde had her sprained ankle (she is getting better everyday – still not walking, but she can stand up with out help now). In…
COEUR DE BOEUF – Beef Heart Stew
Now that we have lots of beef, it will be easy to find recipes in La Cuisine to try. As R. Blondeau says, “Beef is the base of our cuisine; if the flavor and quality changes with the cuts of meat used, it remains nutritious and enjoyable.” Most of the beef from last week is…
Oxtail Soup
Everything went well on Friday – and yes, I do have a pot of oxtail soup on my stove right now! I made some changes to my usual recipe and used soaked cassava instead of potatoes, pumpkin instead of carrots, and Shungiku (an edible chrysanthemum) and cutting celery instead of celery. It made me happy…
Arrow of Light
This week has been SO busy! I kept meaning to write, but then not being able to. Tuesday was Mirin’s Arrow of Light ceremony with cub scouts, and I had offered to bake a cake for it. And then last Friday Clothilde jumped down from the monkey bars at a park – not even a…
HORS-D’OEUVRES DE LEGUMES: LES RADIS
I usually grow the long, white daikon radishes for pickling in my fall/winter garden. They take about as much space as some of the smaller radishes, but they can get enormous. The winter rains and cold snaps make them sweet and delicious. This fall, my first planting was fiery hot and spicy because of…
Eating From The Earth
My garden is finally starting to look like something. I was so behind this year, and the cold weather was a long time coming. A lot of the brassicas really didn’t like the heat. They are finally looking happy. It’s a small garden this year, compared to other years, but we are getting so much…
Toadstools And Fairy Rings 