Things That Make Me Go, “Hmmm…”

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Posted on April 17, 2013

Double Chocolate Baked Doughnuts

Here’s a conversation my husband and I had while out to lunch last weekend.

It started off with us talking about the 90′s generation and how they seem to have a different take on the career world. Many of them aren’t quite as willing to deal with job stress or the daily pressure of a 9 to 5 as our generation. They are more focused on doing what makes them happy instead of conforming or caving into the career path pressure and doing what they feel society expects of them. They also seem to recognize stress a bit better than our generation and aren’t too shy or filled with pride to say “no, I don’t want to feel like that.”

Husband: “People don’t need as much money as they think they do. They can live on less.” (Discussing the choices of some who do not want to work toward a stressful yet lucrative career.)

Me: “Yeah, that’s true.”

Then we talked a bit more about the differences in generations…. and I added that it made me wonder if the 90′s male “kids” we know would choose to marry wives with careers and be stay at home dads. Something I’ve never really found appealing for myself. What can I say? I’m a traditionalist.

Husband: “I would stay at home, are you kidding me, that would be great.”

Me: “So you’re saying that if I had a career that would fund our life you would be happy staying at home?”

Husband: “Of course.” I can’t remember all the comments he made because the ground was beginning to shift beneath me as the world went wonky, but he also said a few more things pertaining to how awesome it would be and then something like, how he would love to… “do anything he wants every day”. That last part is a direct quote.

Me: “I don’t, by far, do ‘anything’ I want everyday.”

“So you would clean the house, do laundry, take care of the dogs, take care of all of our appointments, household issues, cooking, sit down and pay the bills, and anything else that came up and needed to be handled?”

Husband: “Well, I would do some of those things sometimes, sure. Of course.”

Me: “Some of those things. And who would do the rest?”

Husband: “I would hire a maid.”

Me: “Are you kidding me?”

Husband: “No. Can you imagine ME at home doing THOSE things?” (Laughs)

At this point I was wishing I had ordered that margarita the waitress offered after all.

Me: “There is no way that I would feel fine working day in and day out just so you could hire a maid to do all of the things that I do now and so you could hike with the dogs and mountain bike all day every day.”

Husband: “Really? Why not?”

Me: “What. Are you serious?”

Me: “So you’re telling me that you wouldn’t care if I hired a maid to do all of the things I do now… AND I didn’t work? If I took care of barely anything and spent my days gallivanting around doing whatever I felt like while you worked every day?”

Husband: “No, I wouldn’t care. Do what you want to do. Why wouldn’t you?”

Me: “What? Are you serious?”

Why didn’t I order that margarita?

Me: “I don’t believe that for a second.”

Thankfully, we were “saved by the bell” in the form of our waitress and a huge plate of fajitas.

…Hmmmm

Then I ran across this article yesterday on WordPress Freshly Pressed.

It’s a short read.

“Doing More Only To Do Less – Do We Glorify Busy?”

This article resonated with me.

Hmmm…

Did you see this quote? – “But there is another aspect to it. Perfectionism – that shadow from our childhoods. We want to be excellent – because if we are, we will be worthy of love. So we take on anything and everything that is thrown us. Even when we are aware we are overwhelmed, we find it hard to say “NO”. Because we fear that if we do – people will think less of us.”

And this one? – “Idleness is not just a vacation, an indulgence or a vice; it is as indispensable to the brain as vitamin D is to the body, and deprived of it we suffer a mental affliction as disfiguring as rickets.”

Yikes.

It may seem strange or even unbelievable to some people that those of us who stay at home and don’t have a career could ever be so busy or have so much on our plate that we think we need to do, that we feel overwhelmed. But it’s true. I’m still busy even though there are only two of us left at home (well…5 counting the dogs and cat), and sometimes, often, it seems like most of my days are taken up by chores and to-do lists or other things that come up and need to be handled immediately, or things I think I absolutely must do to feel productive. And I try to hurry and get the chores done so I can squeeze in the the things I love to do but inevitably, a wrench gets thrown into the mix. There’s a hiccup and all of the sudden you’re left thinking, “Where did my day go?” You’ve experienced it. You know the old saying, ‘the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry’. Like the other day when I was in the middle of doing our household bookkeeping (my least favorite job) as fast as I could so I could spend some time in my craft room when I was done, and Abigail came running in with Porcupine quills stuck in her tongue.

After reading this article I thought about all of the things behind why some of us keep ourselves so busy all the time. I’m sure there are more reasons than I can count but I’d be willing to bet that many people equate busy with productive. And the problem with having the need to be productive is that when we’re not feeling productive then we feel guilty, anxious, and have a hard time focusing on the moment and taking time to do the things we really enjoy. Being busy is not the same thing as being productive. And being busy does not reverberate the same kind of happiness as being productive. A simple concept but clearly one that many people battle, including me. Maybe some of those non-conformist “kids” from the 90′s are onto something?

Regardless of what some people’s perceptions are when it comes to “stay at homers” (believe me, I’ve heard them all over the last 24 years), I of course do not sit around doing nothing, I don’t do “whatever I feel like doing every day”, and I actually do have a brain in my head, and it works quite well. Even though all these years I’ve prided myself with being a “productive” (too busy?) human being, I think I could benefit from a little more relaxation and fun. I started to think about that conversation with my husband and that article.

Hmmmm….

I can tell you in all honesty and I’m pretty sure my husband would agree with me, that he would NEVER. EVER. EVER… choose laundry, cleaning, bookkeeping, yard work, etc. if he had the opportunity to go for a mountain bike ride, run, hang gliding, hiking, or a motorcycle ride if he was able to stay home every day and not work a job outside of this house. In fact, in most things, I’m pretty sure he’s immune to guilt and that niggling I feel to be “productive” and the choice to have fun would be clear to him. It’s a man thing, I guess. He would think that daily chores could be saved for another time. (Or his maid would do it for him I suppose.)

And if he feels fine thinking that way, in fact, guilt free…why don’t I?

Why don’t I set aside one or two hours a day when possible to do something that I absolutely love? You may be thinking, “But April, aren’t you doing that right now? You’re sitting down and creating a blog post.” Food blogging is part of that attitude of setting aside time to do the things I enjoy, of course, but I don’t do it nearly as much as I would love to. And many times I’m in a rush because there are other things that I feel are more important that need to be done and I don’t think I’m reaping the full enjoyment of the moment.

Although I’m not into all of the adventure sports my husband likes, there is a long list of things I love to do that I haven’t been doing. Maybe there’s something to that article? Why do I allow my day to be caught in a swirl of “busy”? Guilt because I don’t feel productive if it’s not? Worry that I may appear as if I’m not doing my part? Lack of time organization? And yes, there are definitely important things that need to be accomplished every day, but maybe that list of “important things I need to do” needs to be reorganized and tweaked, just a bit?

So a few days ago, I made a pact with myself to be a bit more organized when it comes to doing the things I really enjoy. And to feel less of whatever it is that’s making me feel the need to be busy with tasks all the time and feel guilty if I’m not. Beat it down with a proverbial stick if need be. Of course, I won’t be hiring a maid. (I mean seriously….really?) But slowly, I’ve been sneaking into my craft room and starting a few things, reading those few extra pages in the bathtub, lingering over my morning bible study. Trying not to fret if I haven’t made it into the shower before 9:00, there are dishes all over the counter from my morning blog post, and my husband can’t find his brown socks.

It’s baby steps, sure. But it’s progress.

Here’s a little proof of my progress. I left a mess on the counter for an entire hour and a half while I typed up this blog post…

Just because I felt like it. Uh huh, that’s right.

And I made these a couple of days ago for our bathroom. Floral pictures cut out of an art book I bought at the local bookstore and placed in shadowbox frames that I found for $3 each and antiqued.

And…I’m ever so slowly but surely getting back into jewelry making and am dabbling in making my own clay beads and such. Did you know I used to make jewelry? Yep. Even sold quite a few pieces.

Now though, it’s going to be just for fun and relaxation.

I also made a wreath for the guest bathroom window.

So there ya go. If I can do it, you can certainly do it.

We’ll do it together.

An old dog can be taught new tricks, it just involves patience. Double chocolate doughnuts help too.

We’ll beat down the “glorification of busy” and take the time to live in the moment and enjoy the things we love to do, one. day. at. a. time.

Double Chocolate Baked Doughnuts

Makes 16 doughnuts

*This recipe is adapted from Silvana Nardone’s Chocolate-Dipped Chocolate Doughnuts. Do you have her cook book? If not, you should! It’s filled with fantastic gluten-free recipes.

doughnuts:

1 1/2 Tablespoons Instant Coffee Granules

3/4 Cup Boiling Water

2 Large Eggs, room temperature

6 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil

1 Tablespoon Pure Vanilla Extract

1 1/2 Cups Silvana’s All Purpose Flour (I used Bob’s Red Mill products and Kosher salt)

1/2 Cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder

1 1/2 teaspoons Baking Powder

3/4 teaspoon Baking Soda

3/4 teaspoon Kosher Salt

3/4 Cup Packed Dark Brown Sugar

3/4 Cup Granulated Sugar

glaze:

1/4 Cup Boiling Water

6 ounces Dairy Free Semi Sweet Chocolate, chopped or shaved

2 1/4 Cups Powdered Sugar

1 1/2 Tablespoons Dark Brown Sugar

1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract

1 Tablespoon Hot Water

Colored Sprinkles

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray two non-stick doughnut pans (I used non-stick mini bundt cake pans) well with non-stick cooking spray. Whisk the coffee and boiling water; let cool completely. Whisk in the eggs, oil, and vanilla.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt, brown sugar, and granulated sugar. Whisk the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until just combined. Fill each doughnut or bundt cake cup 3/4 full and bake for about 13-15 minutes. Should be springy to the touch. Don’t over bake.

Remove from oven and allow to cool in pans for 10 minutes. Carefully loosen the sided with a fork and using the fork to help lightly remove them from the pans, transfer to a cooling rack.

For the glaze, in a medium bowl stir together the boiling water and chocolate until melted. If it doesn’t melt all the way, microwave at 20 second intervals until smooth. Stir in the powdered sugar, corn syrup, and vanilla until thoroughly combined. Add the 1 Tablespoon of hot water and whisk until smooth and of dipping consistency.

Carefully dip each doughnut in the glaze, return to the cooling racks and top with sprinkles

New Hampshire Maple Weekend Is Here!

9 Comments

Posted on March 23, 2013

The maple sugaring season in New Hampshire is up and running!

Why is this so exciting?

Because all over New Hampshire there are little sugar shacks that produce the best tasting maple syrup that has ever passed your lips.

You can only get it fresh between the months of February and April, so my suggestion is, that although the syrup is wonderful all year, there’s nothing quite like tasting it warm right when they’re making it…so get out there and start sampling!

We visited two maple syrup producers today but there are a total of eight in our county and over 110 state wide.

Typically they are just little houses or “sugar shacks”.

Fieldstone Farm harvests the sap from several different locations so we couldn’t see what a tapped tree looks like. But on our way to another town we ran across a small area that was being tapped on someone else’s property. I’ll show you those pictures after we tour the farm.

This is where the sap starts its journey into the sugar shack. It will be heated to evaporate the water, then boiled, then cooled before bottling…at the beginning of the process the sap only has about 3% sugars and after it has been heated and the water has evaporated, it will raise to about 10%. You can go here to learn all about the process of making maple syrup.

The measurements are so they can tell how much sap is left in the outside tank.

This is also the sampling room. Little cups of warmed maple syrup…let me tell you, it was delightful. It almost tasted buttery; it was so smooth and rich. Then they brought out the Maple Cream. I had never even heard of such of thing but I’m going to tell you right now, if you have the opportunity to purchase some, do it.

Unbelievable. Think of whipped honey but in the form of maple syrup and much thicker and richer. It’s still 100% maple syrup but they heat it to a high temperature and then have to cool it to a certain temperature. It’s a two day process just to make one pot the size of a large stock pot. It is so good you could easily eat it by the spoonful.

This is the owner, Dana Ryll, (below left) chatting with friends and customers. I feel like we live in such a remote area compared to where we used to live in the city, so I’m always so surprised to see so many people out and about here. There were tons of people coming in and out. Clearly, the locals and even not so local know exactly where to get their maple syrup and maple cream.

Remember how I’ve been telling you how incredibly friendly people are in New Hampshire? We hadn’t thought to bring a checkbook and had only come with a debit card. We had over $80 in purchases set aside on the counter and Dana’s exact words were, “Don’t worry about it, just mail me a check! We do it all the time, I trust you.” What on earth? When was the last time you heard that from someone who was selling you something? Even though we appreciated his very kind gesture, Tony ran to get cash. Such friendly people. We are enormously blessed to live in this part of the country.

This sweet kiddo is Austin.

He helps during syrup season and they call him the “Sap Rat”. He’s proudly displaying their delicious syrup.

This is the boiling room.

The chimney in the back is where the wood smoke can escape and the steam from the boiling syrup goes right up to the ceiling where there are panels they open so the steam can make its way outside. It’s still winter in New Hampshire (35 and windy today) and this was my favorite room because it was so warm and moist!

While Tony ran to get cash I headed outside to see Abe the Buffalo, and his daughter Maybelle. I was chatting and forgot to get a shot of Maybelle. Maybelle is a Beefalo and she was gorgeous. Looked mostly like a cow but had a bit of a buffalo hump and long hair along her neck and her face was gorgeous. When we head back there for more syrup I’ll be sure to get a picture for you.

This is Harry and his friend whose name I didn’t catch. Harry was adorable and liked to have all kinds of attention. At one point he even had a good taste of my camera strap and my scarf. The owner’s wife basically rescued them from a goat milk farmer. Evidently since the males don’t produce milk they are…disposed of…when they’re born. I told her I was lucky I didn’t go with her because I’d probably have ended up coming home with way more than two! Wonder what Tony would say when he arrived from out of town to a backyard full of male baby goats?

Their farm is absolutely beautiful. I need to learn to be more focused when I’m out and about with my camera. I enjoyed the opportunity for social time and neglected to take a few shots of their land. Amazing scenery.

So many areas in New England are straight out of a Martha Stewart magazine. Exactly like you imagine. Do you know what I mean? As you drive down the treed roads, everywhere you look you see the quintessential New England homes as if they are right out of a New England handbook. Gorgeous wreaths hanging on doors, a wisp of smoke coming out of the chimneys, stacks of firewood off to the side. Places where you wear wool sweaters and adorable boots and cart shiny pails of warm milk and fresh eggs into the house. Places where homemade syrup fills the air and people welcome you right into their farms and homes with open arms.

Heaven on earth.

You can order their syrup and maple cream and learn more about Fieldstone Farm and Sugarhouse here.

We moved on from Fieldstone Farm and headed north to Boutwell’s Sugar House in Jaffrey.

A much smaller operation, tiny in fact, but don’t let that fool you or stop you from visiting. They too are producing a very flavorful and delicious maple syrup. We purchased their medium amber syrup and snacked on samples of maple sugar candy.

I threw a stick for this sweet girl while Tony chatted with the owners. You know I have a soft spot for pups!

Who could ignore those pleading eyes?

From here we headed toward Keene to check out the local farmer’s market. We kept noticing blue tubing on some of the trees on people’s property along the way. We finally realized they were tapping the trees for sap to make maple syrup. Duh! I had Tony turn the car around so I could get a few pictures for you.

Not at all what I had expected. They are just tiny little taps! They’re all hooked together and converge into one long line that go directly into a sap tank. Probably just enough for the homeowner and their extended families to enjoy for the year.

Cool or what?

Right there in the middle is where they all converge.

And here is where they drain into the sap tank. It has to freeze at night and get up around 35 degrees during the day for the sap to flow.

I’m pretty sure we don’t have any maple trees on our property, but we haven’t been able to do much exploring with all the snow. If we do, I’ll certainly be looking forward to some homemade maple syrup!

From there we got back on the road to Keene and headed to the farmer’s market.

The winter farmer’s market is pretty tiny but we still managed to leave with four jars of organic preserves and one jar of organic chile pepper mustard from Cheshire Garden for the BLT’s with avocado that we’ve been loving lately.

We have been told the farmer’s market grows dramatically when the weather warms up. Can’t wait to see what all of the local farmers bring to sell!

From there we headed to the Elm City Brewing Company for lunch. (photo courtesy of Yelp)

We feasted on gluten free burgers and fries and I was shocked and pleased to hear they even had three gluten free beer choices for me.

We had a fantastic day and Tony and I both agree that New Hampshire Maple Weekend gets two thumbs up!

My Corner Of The World ~ Is It Spring Yet?

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Posted on February 26, 2013

Good news!

I spotted the first Robin of the season this morning. I’m hoping that means spring is on its way.

However…a couple of days ago, we had six more inches of snow added to the foot and a half that was still on the ground from the last storm.

Storms on the east coast are pretty wild. They come in hard and windy and very fast. So far, we’ve been very lucky not to lose power.

I’ve been told our weather is a bit more extreme because we’re so close to Mount Monadnock. It’s not unusual to have very heavy snowfall, rain, ice, wind, and bright sun, all in one day.

Since we moved here in December, we’ve seen several storms, one of which was a little unnerving. Now they say to be prepared for another one that will hit sometime probably in the middle of the night tonight with heavy snow and ice. The heavy part is what causes problems, so we’ll just pray that it doesn’t cause any power issues because Tony is out of town…of course. Throughout a 24 hour period we could get 11 inches of new snow. I have yet to learn how to use the snow blower. For some reason it’s obnoxious noise and smell irritate me, and I also think somewhat chauvinistically…that snow blowing is a man’s job. But, I may be singing a different tune if I’m outside shoveling our very long driveway in 11 inches of snow tomorrow.

This is what all of our windows looked like after Winter Storm Nemo.

Does that look like spring is near to you?

Luckily it’s gorgeous when it’s falling out of the sky and blanketing the trees. The sun is never far behind, thankfully. We get a lot more winter sun here than we did in Washington.

And I always have the birds and of course the dogs to keep me company if I’m stuck here for a day or two.

Abigail says hello.

Mourning Dove couples.

Treats for everyone, and so far they all share nicely.

The internet told me that Blue Jays enjoy oranges and apples so I put a few out this morning. So far they haven’t been touched. That will be a no-no when bear season arrives.

In between storms Tony showed me a gorgeous area where I can finally get out and walk the dogs. It’s just around the corner from our house. There are snow mobile trails and snow mobile riders all over around here. They are amazingly courteous and always slow down for the dogs, give us a wave, and Tony said they have even stopped to chat with him on occasion.

It was definitely a beautiful walk. Once the weather calms down we can even walk a couple of miles through the trees to a beautiful pond. But for now, if I go by myself with the dogs, I’m sticking to the well used path. Wouldn’t want to get myself lost out there and run into a bear that decided to wake up early!

Me: “Makes you wonder if these are edible.”

Tony: “Try one and see.”

Me: “Ha! Very funny, you first.”

These looked like pussy willows in seed to me, but I don’t think they are. They are very tall, probably taller than my 64 inches.

Can’t believe this made it through Winter Storm Nemo. The wind was incredible. Very crafty birds here on the east coast evidently.

We spotted this on a drive the other day.

More ice pond crazies.

Not only do they drive little houses on it, and fish on it…they also snow blow it.

Tony tried to get me to walk on it.

“No thank you.”

One last Blue Jay for you before I go. Have a wonderful evening! ~ April

Back To The Drawing Board

17 Comments

Posted on February 20, 2013

I had high hopes of presenting you with a wonderful gluten-free and dairy free eclair recipe today. As I scraped it all into the garbage in a very expensive heap…I cringed.

Mentally doing the count.

Two vanilla beans, a dozen organic eggs, three cans of full fat coconut milk, two and a half bars of high quality dark chocolate…

Ouch.

Not to mention the un-gawdly mess I made while trying to bring everything all together at once.

Do any of you dislike cleaning piping bags as much as I do?

Here’s what went wrong:

I made the filling first so it could chill. Nice and thick, right?

And full of those gorgeous and very expensive vanilla bean seeds.

I put it in the fridge while I made the pastry dough.

My first clue that something was wrong with the pastry dough was when I added the flour to the hot mixture, it completely seized. To the point that my arm was not strong enough to beat it with a wooden spoon. Hmmm…I worried the dough would be too dry and airy when cooked because it didn’t seem like it had enough moisture to even mix it properly. It’s a similar recipe to my Scandinavian Kringler recipe, but didn’t react the same at all. But, I put it in the mixer and added the eggs one at a time and things calmed down. They even looked gorgeous after being piped onto the cookie sheet.

I piped them and then did an egg wash. Popped them in the oven and watched them carefully.

Hmm…a bit deformed. I quickly realized I should have piped them higher and watched the build up on the ends. I ate one plain and knew immediately they were not going to work well. Eclairs are supposed to be airy (think cream puffs) but these were too airy and the egg wash had given them a weird texture on top. I also thought, why did I even use an egg wash? They’re going to be dipped in chocolate anyway.

I made the chocolate ganache while I waited for them to cool…which also seized almost immediately, but I was able to save it with a bit of warmed coconut milk. Then I poked holes in the eclairs and took the filling out of the fridge.

The filling had completely liquefied. Remember how thick it was? The only thing I can think that happened to change things was the stirring in of the butter after it was thickened. So I did a complete no-no and put it back on the heat and thickened it again. Cooled it on ice, and then filled another dreaded piping bag.

I already knew the recipe was a fail but I had to see it through.

Looks edible. And I could have fibbed and told everyone they were delicious.

But you KNOW I would never do that to you.

We’re in this together.

They were not good.

The ganache was too thick and the chocolate I used was too dark. The pastry itself was too crisp and too airy in the middle. Kind of reminded me of a popover. There really wasn’t much to it. And the filling, that was the worst. Too much vanilla, and too thick and gelatinous.

So I did a bit of research and came to the realization that I think I had the word eclair stuck in my head, but what I was really hoping for was something more like a Boston cream doughnut.

Or at least something in between.

(photo courtesy of halfthesugarbowl.com)

So there you have it. The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

A lot of work goes into changing recipes to gluten-free and dairy free. A lot of trial and error, and sometimes, most of the time, those recipe failures can be quite pricey.

I’ll revisit the chocolate eclair recipe trial again someday.

But for now, I’m going to clean the eclair bomb that went off in my kitchen and drown my sorrows with a homemade pizza and my last gluten-free beer I brought with me from Washington state.

Our Feathered Friends

12 Comments

Posted on January 25, 2013

Until we moved to New Hampshire, I’d never seen a Blue Jay in person. That’s a peanut in its beak.

They were very excited about the peanuts.

Their colors are stunning. And even though I’ve been told they’re the bullies on the block, I love to have them in our yard. So far, they are minding their P’s and Q’s.

They’re very observant and I think they are finally getting used to me standing in the window with a camera. This one has spotted me.

I’m hoping when spring comes they’ll allow me to sit quietly on the deck and snap a few shots. Then I can really get some photos of the fine details on their gorgeous tail feathers. Right now I’ll have to live with shots through dirty windows, camera experimentation, and standing very still with a very heavy zoom lens.

The Dark Eyed Juncos must be the risk takers. This feeder is on our deck and so far, they are the only ones willing to investigate. For the longest time they ate only on the side of the feeder that protected them from the house. See how he’s keeping an eye on me?

This one must have decided I couldn’t be all that bad if I was giving them good things to eat and staying behind the glass.

This is a Black Capped Chickadee. It was more concerned with staying on the bird feeder in the high winds than worrying about whether I would come outside or not. This one was interesting because it would take a seed from the feeder and put it between its toes and then eat it when the wind calmed down.

Peek A Boo.

Another gorgeous and stunning visitor. So bright it looks like I stuck a fake bird from the craft store on the bird feeder. So far we’ve only had one Cardinal a day. They must not like to travel together.

Right now it’s zero degrees with a wind chill of 14 degrees below zero. Looks like we’re stuck with some very frigid weather until next week. Then it will rise to a very comfortable 39 degrees.

Despite the frigid weather, we’re still loving New Hampshire. They have way more sunny winter days than what we’re used to in Washington state. We also have the pleasure of waking up to this view of Mount Monadnock out of our bedroom and living room window every morning.

A state full of beautiful birds, lakes and ponds everywhere you look, hiking trails right outside our door, restaurants that happily serve gluten free food, and some of the most incredibly friendly and genuine people we have ever met.

What’s not to like?

Enjoy your day! ~ April

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

5 Comments

Posted on January 7, 2013

I promise that very soon, this page will return to a gluten-free, dairy-free, food blog! I’m up to my ears in unpacking, organizing, and running errands.

On Christmas morning I made a gorgeous batch of cinnamon rolls which I took a picture of and posted in my last blog entry. You can find the recipe for them here. What I didn’t post a picture of was the horridly overdone eggs that tasted like shellfish because they were cooked in the same pan I had steamed mussels and shrimp on Christmas Eve. They were really gross.

My husband said I should post a picture of them and that he thought I shouldn’t just always post pictures of recipes that have turned out perfectly in a perfect setting…that a little bit of mess and mistakes lend “reality” to my blog. No one wants to see overdone eggs that smell and taste like fish. No one. But I did understand his point.

Last night I unpacked the last box. I was so relieved, I can’t even tell you HOW relieved I was. However, once the packing afterglow wore off, I then realized I had a mess in almost every single room of the house.

So here’s a dose of “blog reality” and my chores for today:

A gazillion photographs that need to be framed and hung. Which is hard to do quickly because I keep getting pulled down memory lane.

A guest bedroom that needs organization, window treatments hung, and decorating completed.

Another room that we’ll use as a guest bedroom but will mostly be used as an exercise room and craft room. It has become the catch-all room with all kinds of things I haven’t had time to deal with. I keep walking in circles when I enter this room. So much stuff…we’ll definitely need some more shelving and storage. I found the Triscuit box nestled next to a pillow after our son left.

And lastly, this will be my final project today. My camera is malfunctioning…yet again. Thank goodness for Google. You can figure out how to fix almost anything. You may notice, it’s not very clean. I should give it a proper cleaning to remove all of the flour and sugar…but really, it will just return with the next recipe.

Wishing you a lovely and productive day!

Saying Goodbye to 2012

17 Comments

Posted on January 2, 2013

I’ve missed you! Do you realize that we haven’t chatted for twenty-three days? Right up front I’m going to ask you to forgive me for the extra long blog post. We have much catching up to do!

I hope 2012 treated you well.

I know life has its ups and downs; no life is perfect.

But overall, I hope you were able to enjoy it.

To really take it all in.

I hope you were able to do a few new things.

To learn something new.

To spend time with those you love.

And let go of some of the “stuff” that was weighing you down.

Earlier in the year I ran across a quote that became my motto for 2012.

~If It Doesn’t Nurture Your Soul, Get Rid Of It~

And this wasn’t a New Year’s resolution that fell by the wayside as usual. I actually lived it. I got rid of old fears that held me back. I tried new things. I took an inventory of my life.

I did a little “spring cleaning”.

Interesting things happen when you open the windows and air out your life.

It makes room for new adventures, new friends, and a fresh outlook.

It’s like God says, “Finally! Let’s go on that adventure I’ve been waiting to take you on!”

I’ve labeled 2012 “the year of change” for us. It was a busy year, especially the latter part.

In June my husband was offered a job 2,734 miles away from our home town and both of our families. I had never been farther east than Colorado.

It was a massive leap of faith for us. Something totally out of our box of “normal”. But it just felt right. So we didn’t hold back and we didn’t even test the water, we just jumped in. My husband flew back twice to look at houses while I searched from home on the internet. I looked at 900 houses and Tony physically looked at under 20 over two weekends and finally settled on one he thought we would both love.

Our house finally sold, we packed up our 25 foot camping trailer for a long road trip, and headed east to start a new chapter in our lives.

We drove clear across the country with two dogs and a cat. Every morning was a new adventure and it was so much fun to have that time together!

It took us about 6 days to get to New Hampshire with hotel stays and a little camping over Thanksgiving. Once we were there we camped 1 hour from our new home and waited for the sale to close. Closing day, December 7th, was the first time I had even seen the inside of the house in person. Sounds crazy, I know. But I had a perfect peace about it.

I loved everything about it, just like I knew I would. The semi that held all of our belongings was delayed several days. So we improvised and brought the trailer bed into the living room in front of the fireplace. The delivery delay gave us time to do some painting and cleaning. These are the before photos. Luckily, only a few rooms needed to be painted.

Laundry room/guest bath. Dark, dusty, plum then – warm brushed sage now.

Oddly enough, the tile in this house is almost exactly the same tile we had just installed in our old house.

This is the den and is now my office.

Sometime soon I’ll show you the views from some of our windows. Gorgeous! It’s a treat to wake up to them every morning.

This is part of the master bedroom. It was painted that same dark, dusty, plum and is now a warm gold.

My favorite corner of the master bathroom…of course! This room is also now a warm gold.

Guest bedroom…Eeeek! After two coats of primer and two coats of paint, this room is now a beautiful brushed sage color with a bird theme.

Guest bathroom. After sitting in the enormous tub in the master bathroom, this tub felt tiny.

Guest bedroom 2/exercise room/craft room.

Tony’s office. He chose this room because it has a funky light that makes a blue circle on the carpet.

We also have a full, unfinished basement that’s has all kinds of crazy machinery that runs this house. I’ll have to show you pictures of that when we’re finished unpacking.

Our household items were finally delivered almost exactly a week after we were told they were going to get here. We unpacked the kitchen first (of course…duh!) and I made us a proper meal. We were both happy to have a “real” home-made meal after living in the trailer for so many days. Once the roast was in the oven the house was filled with home smells.

Our new house, was now officially our new home.

My mom and our son were due to arrive 7 days after the semi was unloaded. We worked quickly and were able to get the majority of the house unpacked – and even decorated for Christmas!

For a few days, we had a mess in every single room of the house.

Within a few days it all started to come together and we were finally feeling like we were getting somewhere. We even managed to finish Christmas shopping, wrapping presents, and I even did a little baking. Nothing like multitasking!

We drove to Boston on the 22nd to pick up my mom and Brandon. We had the best visit while they were here. We stayed a night in Boston before taking them to the house, visited towns near our home while they were here, and ate, and ate, and ate!

I paid Brandon $20 to try a fresh oyster. He was neither here nor there about it, but I was so happy he tried it!

I was stunned by the extensive gluten-free menu at Legal Harborside in Boston. Stunned! They have a huge gluten-free menu with tons of choices. I settled on fish and chips because I have not been able to have fish and chips in a restaurant in 5 years! We also had an amazing appetizer (that I forgot to take pictures of) tray full of crab legs, oysters on the half, clams on the half, and shrimp cocktail. It’s now my new favorite restaurant and it’s only about an hour and a half from our house.

We squeezed in some sightseeing before heading home and of course…had more seafood.

The USS Constitution.

We stopped in Faneuil Hall for a little mid-morning snack. These are clams on the half. They were big and meaty and so good! I was the only one that liked them, the others stuck to oysters on the half.

Christmas Eve we had a seafood feast. Boiling the lobsters was traumatic for Brandon and I…I’m not usually squeamish about those types of things, but I think I’ll have to get a neighbor to do it for me next time! It was quite comical to watch us, I’m sure. He held them while I flicked the rubber bands off with his pocket knife. He was afraid they were going to grab him and I think I may have been jumping and screaming, but it was so freaky I don’t quite remember. He threw them in the water and after that, I couldn’t bring myself to even eat them. Ha!

Ugh. Poor things.

The mussels, shrimp, and crab legs were a lot less stressful and I enjoyed plenty.

My mom received a gold star for shelling a perfect piece of lobster meat.

Despite the three-hour time difference, everyone was up Christmas morning and ready to eat breakfast and open gifts. I made cinnamon rolls, scrambled eggs, and bacon. The cinnamon rolls were delicious but the eggs were fried in the same pan I steamed the mussels and shrimp the night before and the eggs ended up tasting just like mussels. Ick!

After gifts I prepared the “ham” for baking. Why is ham in ” ” , you may ask? Well…it wasn’t really a traditional ham. In the midst of unpacking, Christmas shopping, and decorating the house, we were also without internet. I had one day at Starbuck’s in a town 20 minutes from our house to pay bills, order things for the house, write down recipes off of my blog that I wanted to cook, and order the ham for Christmas. In my haste, not only did I not notice that the bone in ham that I ordered was 20 something pounds, I also did not notice that it was a raw, uncured, ham which now I know is actually a huge pork roast.

Lesson learned. It was delicious though. We had it for dinner, for sandwiches, and now the majority of it is sliced and frozen in the freezer. If you have any recipe ideas, please send them!

Christmas Day was spent relaxing, watching movies, and snacking, of course!

Mom and dad weren’t the only ones happy to have Brandon home for a visit.

We did some local sightseeing and even had a bit of snow.

The eight days they were here went so quickly! It was difficult to say goodbye.

Luckily, one of our neighbors invited us to their New Year’s Eve gathering. We were so tired that we almost didn’t accept the offer. We were so glad we did! Not only did it take my mind off of my mom and Brandon leaving, we had such a good time visiting with our new neighbors. And the food…wow, fantastic!

There are a lot of great things that stand out in New Hampshire, but the number one thing we’ve noticed is that people are incredibly friendly. So welcoming and warm and genuine. Genuinely kind. And not just our neighbors. Everyone we’ve met along the way. The grocery store, restaurants, shopping, the Direct TV guy and even our oil guy for crying out loud. And the intense “in your face” attitude you hear about the east coast? Not true for New Hampshire.

Our hosts made HUGE rib eyes and crab legs and even bought me gluten-free dinner rolls. So thoughtful!

We drank wine and gabbed, found out we have a lot in common, and rang in the New Year with a glass of champagne.

The perfect ending to 2012 and the perfect beginning to our new life adventure.

Happy New Year and may blessings overflow in your life for 2013!

I’m Still Here!

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Posted on December 10, 2012

Well “here” as in at Starbuck’s in Keene because we’ve been told as of a few minutes ago, we won’t have internet in the house until Christmas Eve! Luckily we can get wifi at good old Starbuck’s! We were also told our house shipment was delayed for about a week and all of our things won’t arrive until at least the 14th of December. But fear not, we are handling it just fine. It’s giving us time to get the house in order. (The internet part…we’re not handling so well…Ha!)

The inspector told us to add bleach to the bathtub water and run the jets…this is what I found after leaving the bathroom for a few minutes. Eeeek! Thank goodness I wasn’t gone longer. That dark paint on the walls is also going bye-bye and being replaced with a brushed sage color.

I’m taking a lot of pictures and will have them ready for you when we finally have internet and I can do a proper post. And I promise that soon, this will turn back into a food blog and not so much of a travel and moving blog.

So far we are absolutely loving the new house. The neighbors we have met are extremely friendly and helpful and we are slowly exploring the area in between paint and supply runs. There were a few rooms with some odd paint (One was a little girl’s room with pink and white stripes that took two coats of heavy duty primer to cover) that we are fixing and we’re focusing on general cleaning in hopes that our furniture and other items will be delivered on Friday as they said they would be.

There are TONS of restaurants here offering gluten free choices and even dairy free choices! I couldn’t be more thrilled. It’s like a whole new world of dining out options have been opened for me. As a matter of fact we just at lunch at Elm City Bagels. The BEST gluten free sandwich…well, maybe the only gluten free sandwich I’ve ever had in a restaurant. They also sell gluten free bagels and wraps…all made from scratch, right there in their restaurant. So nice to have options! The other night we had gluten free pizza at Pizza Haven, a family owned restaurant right up the road from us. Their gluten free crust tasted so much like the real thing it freaked me out. It was delicious and the best part is that it’s owned by one of our neighbors.

Speaking of neighbors….evidently we have some that raise Turkeys. These silly things left their yard and followed some kids off the bus. We thought they were wild but the owners came up in their truck and corralled them into cages. They were really neat to see up close. I had no idea they were so colorful! The owner said the males were showing off for me. These were taken with my phone so you can’t see their gorgeous colors very well. Their heads are blue.

This is the female. She wanted to peck at my sparkly, red, nail polish. They were all very curious.

I hope you are all doing well, I sure miss seeing all of your blogs and your comments on mine! Oh, before I go, I woke up to beautiful bluejays in our backyard the other morning. Just gorgeous! And I’m also told there are Cardinals in our area. As soon as my zoom lens arrives with the rest of our things I’ll try to get pictures.

Talk to you soon ~ April

Buffalo Soup & A List Of Firsts

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Posted on December 5, 2012

Nothing is better than a hot bowl of soup on a chilly night.

This soup is about as easy as it gets. Brown organic ground buffalo meat, saute onions (1/2 and onion) and garlic (3 cloves minced), add them to a pot. Cover with organic beef broth. Add fresh organic vegetables such as carrots, green beans, broccoli, and frozen peas. Add fresh herbs, I used rosemary and oregano. Bring to a boil and simmer until veggies are aldente. Season with kosher salt and pepper.

This new life adventure we’re on has racked up a lot of firsts for me. I’ll admit I like to have a somewhat quiet and predictable life. This has been anything but that, but at the same time it’s been so much fun and we’ve experienced a lot in a short amount of time. Last night marked a biggie on the list of firsts for me:

The first time camping by myself

Yep, unfortunately Tony cannot stay on vacation forever. This is a first I don’t wish to experience again. It was spent with me sandwiched between two dogs under the covers, a cat that wanted to sleep on my head, bad dreams, weird noises, and a huge rain storm. I’m happy that Tony returns today…I think I’m going to be in need of a nap!

Abigail keeping an eye on the owner’s cats.

The first time traveling further east than Colorado

Because flying to and staying at Disney World doesn’t count. I have loved seeing parts of the many states we’ve traveled through on our way to New Hampshire.

The first time winging it on a major trip

My husband just wanted to “go”. If you know me well, you know that’s completely against my nature. Most of the time I like to plan and map and be prepared. I can’t say I’m a fan of “winging it” but I did it, and that’s all that counts.

The first time going through a toll booth that cost more than a quarter

The last time I went through a toll was before I was a teenager. And I’m pretty sure people were up in arms because they raised it to twenty five cents, or maybe it was even as low as a dime…I can’t remember. We spent over $100 driving on tolls driving from Washington State to New Hampshire. It made me wonder how people who are on an extremely tight budget manage if they have to commute through tolls every day. I believe our most expensive one was $24.00.

The first time on a turnpike

I had no idea what one even was…until we were already on it and I had to pee. I guess basically it’s a “toll road” and if you want to get off and on to do your business you have to pay twice.

The first time in REAL traffic. Chicago at rush hour.

WOW.

The first time at Mount Rushmore

It was a really amazing experience and I’m so happy we took the time to see it.

The first time I’ve ever been away from our son for more than 1 week…in his entire life

Thankfully he tolerates me “checking in” frequently. (And posting childhood pictures of him on my blog.)

The first time in my life I have not lived in the same town as my mother

It’s weird not to have her just a quick 5 minute drive away.

The first time I’ve ever eaten long neck clams

And I didn’t even think to get a picture of them! They were good, but I did have to ask about the neck just to be sure. Here’s a picture off the internet (courtesy of The Alcoholian)

Just kidding of course! That is a type of long neck clam but the ones I ate for lunch looked more like the one below. (Photo courtesy of KFG Wild Foods) They were very flavorful but by the time I neared the end of the bowl, it started to get to me and I’d had enough. It’s a lot of clam.

The first time I’ve ever purchased a house without even seeing it in person

May seem crazy, but it worked out just fine.

The first time using navigation on my new phone and driving by myself in a completely unfamiliar area

It was nerve-wracking and I didn’t get lost…but still, I have to wonder…can you ever really trust those things? Isn’t just an old fashioned map the best way to go? I’m using Telenav right now, if you have an iPhone 5 and have any better suggestions, please let me know!

The first time going without a bathtub to sit in and read every night

It’s been more than two weeks! Now to some of you non-bathtub lovers, this may seem trivial. But those of you who use the bathtub and a book as a heavenly ritual every night to stay warm and mentally stable, you know exactly where I’m coming from. I seriously don’t think I’ve been warm once since the last time I got out of a bathtub. And mentally stable? Well, that probably depends on who you talk to. Ha! The first second I can, I am jumping right in the tub in our new house, which by the way is a jetted tub. Ahhhh…serenity now.

We have thoroughly enjoyed our adventure over to this neck of the woods. It comes at a fantastic time in our lives and we were ready for it. That helps when you make a major life change. Friday we do the final walk through on our new house (that will be the first time I’ve seen the inside), and sign the final paperwork. More exciting times ahead and I can’t wait to get started on my Christmas baking! Yesterday I made Toasted Coconut and Pecan Haystacks. You can find the recipe here. Super easy!

A Little Shopping in Exeter & Portsmouth

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Posted on December 3, 2012

We headed toward the seacoast for a little shopping yesterday morning. For now we’ll have to stick to shopping since it’s so close to Christmas, but later when we get settled, we’ll get serious about traveling and really learning about the history of each town. As you probably already know, the eastern part of the United States is rich in history.

The seacoast is about one and half hours from where we are camping. It was very foggy so we couldn’t make out much on the way, but we were very pleased when we arrived in Exeter to see that it was a beautiful little town.

On the way into town we ran into another gorgeous academy. This is just a tiny portion of their campus.

Church bells were ringing in the background when I took this picture. Peaceful and beautiful.

I’ve already fallen in love with the architecture in the east. Each of the small towns here are full of beautiful buildings. We’ve also noticed that when they do need to build a more modern structure that they try very hard to make it fit in with the older, historical, architecture.

Below is the roundabout at the end of the main street. The building in the background is Exeter Town Hall. There’s a stunning statue of Lady Justice at the top holding a sword and scales. The scales represent truth and fairness and the double-edged sword represents the power of reason and justice that may be wielded either for or against any party. She’s also blindfolded, representing objectivity.

An old couple on their way to lunch stopped on the street to say hello to the dogs and chat. They’ve lived in Exeter for 40 years. They were the sweetest couple. They told us we had just missed the big Christmas parade the night before. Another thing I’ll have to remember is to look up the events calendar in each town.

As they walked away the sweet woman kept saying, “The dogs are gawgess, the dogs are just gawgess!” I’m also fascinated with all of the accents back here. New York, Main, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Massachusetts…there’s a mix of a lot of different accents in New Hampshire.

Another beautiful church in the background. I could also probably spend several days just touring these towns photographing people’s homes. This one is very pretty and represents the typical look of many of the homes in Exeter. But there are also stunning, absolutely huge, historical homes in Exeter and all over the New England states. Maybe a home photographing tour will have to go on my agenda for spring. Some of them are unbelievable.

More proof that people on the eastern side of the US are masters at decorating window boxes and decorative pots.

We didn’t eat in Exeter but did get coffee and cocoa. Below is me and the dogs waiting for Tony to return with my almond milk hot cocoa. One very pleasing thing I’ve noticed since we’ve been in NH is that they are very “allergen aware”. Every town we’ve visited I’ve been able to get cocoa made with almond milk. In our hometown of Spokane, a city of 500,000 people, there were only two places I had found that would make me cocoa with almond milk…and I had to keep an eagle eye on them to make sure they were actually using it. I also always dreaded ordering gluten free and dairy free from places like that and restaurants because I could just feel the eye rolling. The west is supposed to be so health conscious but now that I’ve experienced something different, I can see that many of the western US cities are quite far behind in food options and attitude.

Also, so far every restaurant where we’ve viewed the menu or tried the food either has a gluten-free menu or at least gluten-free options such as bread and pasta. As we walked along the shops in Exeter we came across a little cafe that made gluten-free sweet or savory crepes. I tried to talk Tony into one but he was still full from breakfast (still trying to get used to the three-hour time change). The crepe cafe is definitely going on my list of places to remember and revisit!

Notice Romeo is wearing a jacket? That’s to keep him from having a complete nervous breakdown in the car. It’s a Thundershirt and they really do work. If you have a nervous nellie dog, it’s worth a try.

We didn’t spend too much time in Exeter as Portsmouth was really the destination we were focused on. Tony also had to pick up a rental car for work at the Manchester airport later in the day (a nerve-wracking story I’ll tell you about another time), so we couldn’t dilly dally too much. So with hot cocoa in hand we hopped in the car and made our way to Portsmouth.

Portsmouth was much bigger than I had expected and full of really nice and interesting shops. This church is right in the middle of the shopping district.

We had to drive around for quite some time to find a parking spot. We wanted to leave the dogs inside the truck and do some real looking around but didn’t want them to be too far from sight. While we were circling the shopping area looking for a spot we were probably two blocks off the main path and ran into this.

Mountains of sand they were taking out of a huge ship. We weren’t sure why they were taking sand out of a ship, but the sand looked just like the sand that was flowing out of a sanding truck on icy roads the day before. Honey colored and beautiful. Real sand, not the black dirty stuff that causes air pollution in the spring and summer that we’re used to in the West.

We didn’t find anyone to ask so unless one of my readers can fill us in, it will remain a mystery.

All of the light poles (which are styled to look like quaint lanterns) were adorned with wreaths and almost all of the shops were decorated for Christmas. I can’t wait to visit many of the NH towns in the evenings over the next couple of weeks. I bet they look beautiful all lit up with lights and Christmas decorations!

It was a very busy shopping day for the town so I couldn’t get many really good shots of inside some of the shops. But here is a little taste of one of my favorites. It smelled fabulous!

Another beautiful store front. This one was a women’s hat shop.

We tried to see as much as possible within our limited time frame and only scratched the surface. Portsmouth will definitely be on my list for a “female” shopping day where I can meander (like us shopping gals like to do) and take my time looking through the whole town. Then I will get to the bottom of the ship sand mystery! Ha!

gluten free zen

Taking The Stress Out Of Gluten-Free & Dairy-Free Living, Cooking, and Baking

Category Archives: My Corner Of The World

Things That Make Me Go, “Hmmm…”

New Hampshire Maple Weekend Is Here!

My Corner Of The World ~ Is It Spring Yet?

Back To The Drawing Board

Our Feathered Friends

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Saying Goodbye to 2012

I’m Still Here!

Buffalo Soup & A List Of Firsts

A Little Shopping in Exeter & Portsmouth

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