farm house fun

it's been awhile - ive been to cincy and back, and now i'm house sitting a beautiful farm house, complete with a dog, 4 cats, a horse, a donkey, and a handful of sheep.

it's pretty sweet, i won't lie.

first share

behold, the bounty of my first csa share. i've already made bruschetta with the basil and a quiche with swiss chard, mushrooms, onion, and goat cheese (and fresh west virginia eggs from ian's wonderful aunt, who keeps hens).

here's to a summer of tasty (note i did not say tasteful, te he) adventures.

this is why i can't have nice things...

and by nice things, i mean indoor plants.

oh, kale smoothie - how i newly love thee

{: completely and utterly unrelated to the following post, but adorable nonetheless :}

so, it took awhile. at first, kale and i were the faintest of acquaintances. i could handle him in small doses - salad here, coupled with couscous there. the first time i met his brother, kale smoothie... well, it was less than a stellar first date, let me tell you. one of those "don't call me, i'll call you" kind of dates.

but call him i did, and kale smoothie and i have quite the blossoming romance going here. its just a wee bit reminiscent of my very first boyfriend... the one i impulsively invited to junior prom after meeting once (at the mall, no less!), totally regretted it, suffered through the night, and ended up dating for two and half years.

yeah, that one.

earlier today, kale smoothie and i had a torrid affair with our dear old friend, peaches.

{: okay, okay, enough with the double entendre. i promise, no more sexy food analogies. or are they metaphors? :}

baking adventures

the perfect saturday evening (er... sunday morning) was had at casa g-dub, thanks to these homemade cinnamon buns.

said cinnamon buns were begun saturday evening after a few episodes of arrested development and a glass of wine each. then came the 10 pm realization that the dough has to rise for 2+ hours... but not to worry, that's what 8 hours of sleep (dough rise time) and sunday mornings are for.




even moka got in on the fun.

{: i'm so lucky to have a boy who enjoys baking adventures as much as i do :}

my current aspirations...

graduate.

save money.
buy RV.
convert it to veggie oil.
make it purty.
hit the road.


who's with me?

oh, let the sunlight in...

... i wanna feel it from within.

this song is great.

{: and it also happens to be what i wake up to every morning :}



cherry blossoms along the athens bike trail. and ian over there on the left, wishing i'd stop taking so darn many pictures.



mr. fluffenstein's (aka myles) first adventure in the out-of-doors.
now he sits at the door and wails until i let him out. meek-meowed myles he is no longer - i've created a monster.

"remember when you were a kid, and everything was possible...?"

when you start to question your work, thoughts, or impact, remember this video -
and remember that it's not just entrepreneurs who change the world, either.

(stumbled upon over at Make Under My Life.)

an unintentional tour of athens' tasty treats

so, i'm about to place my order at Athens Hills CSA for the summer/early fall.

i was originally planning to get just the veggie half order, which is delivered every other week for 20 weeks. It ends being about $13 bucks a week for veggies.

but now, i'm kinda of thinking about going for the whole half combination share she-bang. $450 bucks for 20 weeks of veggies from Green Edge Organic, fruit from Cherry Orchards, bread from Village Bakery, goat and cow cheese from Integration Acres, and milk from Snowville Creamery.

it's a big hit for me to take now, but it ends up being $23 a week with probably not much outside supplementing. certainly some eggs from the Athens Farmer's Market and herbs and odds & ends from the Farmacy, but i think it could end up being pretty affordable when it's all said and done.

what do you think??

{: i realized as i was writing this that it's essentially a tour de athens, making mention of all the hot spots except Casa Nueva & Jackie O's. :}

so there, now you've experience the virtual food tour of athens, ohio. come check it out for real sometime, perhaps for the Nelsonville Music Festival (headlined this year by Loretta Lynn!) in May, or Brew Week in July.

once upon a time, on a lovely spring day in athens...

... a girl finally turned in her thesis proposal, and waited anxiously for the defense date to be chosen.

on a happier note, i declare iced chai season officially open and delicious!