Farmer's Market

I've started a new Saturday morning habit - going to the Minneapolis Farmer's Market.  This morning my daughter made the trip with me.

As you can see from the picture, one of our first purchases was a dozen roses for $10.  They are yellow with a little red on the petal tips.

 Here are our other purchases:

This salsa is amazing! 

The man who makes it is from Chile.  He said in his home country, they use salsa as a condiment.  It's on the table for every meal and they use it on everything from bread to meat.  He told me his favorite way to use it is to sprinkle lemon juice over large, cooked shrimp and let it marinate in the refrigerator for an hour.  Then sprinkle on some of the salsa and serve.  Can't wait to try it!

Our next purchases were this necklace and bracelet.

They were made by women in Ghana who have lost their husbands.  It's a way that they can support themselves and their children.  The jewelry is made from scraps of paper, rolled onto a needle and then painted with varnish.  My daughter bought the bracelet and I bought the necklace.

One item that I always buy each time I go to the Farmer's Market is ground beef.

This ground beef is hormone and antibiotic free.  I can get organic beef at the grocery store but it's very expensive.  The stand at the market is reasonably priced.  They also sell chicken, eggs, brats, steaks, pork chops and lots of other varieties of meat.  

No visit to the market would be complete without the purchase of some pickles.

There is a little market stand that sells pickles and olives.  My daughter's favorite is the southwest flavor.  We bring them home and cut them into slices.  They never last very long!

Our final purchase was cheese curds.

They are made from fresh Wisconsin cheese.  They are so yummy!!!

"There is a growing market today for local, organic foods produced by small farmers.  And farmers' markets have played a large role in making that happen."  -Eric Schlosser

New Drawing Method - Zentangle

While we were with my parents last weekend, my mom introduced my daughter and my niece to a new drawing technique called Zentangle.  It's a simple method that uses just a pen and paper.  Here is an example of a Zentangle my daughter is working on:

There is even a great website totally committed to this art form.  www.zentangle.com  This is a great website that gives the history of Zentangle - it began as patterns drawn on a manuscript.  It shares the art theory of Zentangle -  making deliberate strokes.  It even provides links to a Zentangle blog, newsletter and You Tube videos on "how to".  I liked reading through the Glossary of Zentangle Terms!  My daughter and I have a date for some Zentangle creations this weekend!

"There is no eraser in life and there is no eraser in a Zentangle kit.  However, in creating Zentangle art (and in living life), you will discover that apparent mistakes can be foundations for new patterns and take you in unexpected and exciting new directions."  -Zentangle website

Happy 50th Wedding Anniversary

I apologize for not posting for a week.  I had been crazy busy preparing for my parents' 50th wedding anniversary celebration.  My dad insisted that there be NO PARTY so my sister and I suggested a family weekend vacation where we could stay and celebrate together.  That turned out to be a terrific idea.  We stayed at Cove Point Lodge.  Here is a link to their website:  www.covepointlodge.com

From there, we were able to take in all of the north shore sites…….Gooseberry Falls,

Split Rock Lighthouse,

Grand Marais,

Lake Superior,

and Blue Fin Bay.

We also had time for card games and relaxing.

Of course, no celebration is complete without good food and……

a friend of mine re-created the top of my parents' wedding cake (I even had their original cake topper) and I had a local flower shop re-create my mom's wedding bouquet.

I know we all had a great time and I'm pretty sure my parents enjoyed their celebration too!

"An anniversary is a time to celebrate the joys of today, the memories of yesterday, and the hopes of tomorrow."  -Unknown

Book Club Selections

I had my book club meeting tonight.  I always feel so much smarter after meeting with these smart ladies!  I thought I would share the book we read for this month and the books we've picked for the next three months.
For May:

 For June:

For July:

For August:

These selections show the willingness of our group to try all sorts of genre.  Nothing is off limits.....except maybe the Fifty Shades of Gray series!!

"You cannot open a book without learning something."  -Confucius

Pickled Asparagus 2014

Busy, busy day!  The best thing about today?  Pickling asparagus!!  This is the second year I've pickled asparagus and I thought I'd try a little different recipe.  The ones I made last year were good but not quite spicy enough.  My family likes REALLY SPICY pickles.  So, here is how I made them this year.

I started with 120 spears.  I picked them up at the Minneapolis Farmer's Market this morning.  One thing I learned from last year is that I need to use the thicker stalks.  The smaller stalks are great for steaming but don't pickle very well.  The skinnier they are, the more "mushy" they get.  I cut off the ends then put them in a large bowl.  For each 30 stalks, I sprinkled on 1/3 cup of coarse salt, covered them with cold water and let them soak for about two hours.

While the spears were soaking, I prepared the jars and lids by sterilizing them in boiling water.

I also prepared the brine.  In a large stock pot, I boiled together  1 2/3 cups of white vinegar, 2/3 cups of sugar, 1 teaspoon of mustard seed, 1 1/2 teaspoons dill seed, and 1/2 teaspoon chili pepper flakes (per 30 spears of asparagus).

After the two hours of soaking, I rinsed off the asparagus in cold water and then put the spears in the sterilized jars.

To each jar, I added lots of baby dill.

This is something I made note of to change for next year.  Baby dill is all you can buy right now unless you grow your own.  I am definitely going to grow my own to be ready for this time next year.  I think that dill taste is so much more strong in mature dill!

Remember, my family likes their pickles with a little kick so I also added sliced habanero peppers, jalapenos and serrano chilies.

When the brine was ready, I ladled it into each jar, filling it to within about 1/4 inch from the top.

I put a sterilized ring and lid on each jar and then put them in a hot water bath for about 10 minutes.

After 10 minutes, I removed each jar to a clean towel in hopes that they would seal.

There has been lots of poppin' going on!!!

"Asparagus inspires gentle thoughts."  -Wally Lamb

My Daughter's Favorite Store

I was talking to my daughter about a gift I needed for a friend's birthday.  My daughter suggested I visit one of her favorite stores at the Mall of America in Bloomington, MN.  The name of that store is LUSH.  Here is a link to the LUSH website.  www.lushusa.com  I have to say my daughter has good taste in picking her favorite stores!  (They use organic products and don't do testing on animals.)

First of all, I took the light rail train to the MOA during my lunch hour so I didn't have a lot of time to shop.  The staff was incredibly helpful.  The woman who came to my assistance asked me many questions about the person who was going to receive the gift and then she presented me with many options in multiple price ranges.  I chose the Relax More wrapped gift for my busy friend who is also a wife and mother to two very active children.

The gift included bath products, soothing lotion and a massage bar.  Everything a busy mom needs to pamper herself.  

While I was getting ready to check out, I asked if they had any soothing lotion for really irritated skin.  My middle son is an avid snowboarder and his ankles and the lower part of his legs were covered with bumpy red blotches from wearing knee high socks and snowboard boots for 6 to 12 hours a day.  After the snowboard season, with a little bit of generic lotion, the bumpy red skin got better but it never really went away.  

Now my son is playing baseball with knee high socks and his skin really looked horrible.  Sweaty skin and socks have wreaked havoc on his legs.  LUSH had just the right product.

This Dream Cream has worked wonders.  He has only used it for a few days and the red bumpy skin is almost gone!  One of the ingredients is tea tree oil which will kill any bacteria on his skin and then it has all sorts of nourishing oils and herbs.  I was so impressed at how well it has worked on his skin that I've started using it on my rough heels.  I want my feet sandal ready!

"Keep calm and love your skin."  -Unknown

Author Talk at the ASI

What a fun night!  It started with dinner out at the American Swedish Institute's (Minneapolis, MN) restaurant Fika with my friends Wendy and Betty.  We were able to sit at the tables outside.....thank you blessed sunshine.  I had the open-faced salmon sandwich.

The seared salmon fillet was served on their house rye with watercress, pureed beets and a tarragon & sweet mustard sauce.  It was delicious and just the right size portion.  I was full but not "over-full".  I paired it with a glass of their house white wine.  It was a very spring-like meal.

After dinner, we moved to one of the large conference/class rooms in the Institute.  This was the main reason for our visit.  We were here to Arne Dahl (Jan Arnald), the Swedish crime author who has written Misterioso and Bad Blood.  (Pictures below courtesy of Amazon.com.)

He was a very eloquent speaker whose topic was "Why Crime Fiction?"  It was a free lecture that we all fully enjoyed.  My friend Wendy even got her books signed.

This was the second book event we've attended at the Institute and we have not been disappointed!  I will definitely look for author or book events to attend here and in other places in my community.  Makes me feel a little smarter when I walk out the door!  

"Writing is the painting of the voice."  -Unknown

Mother's Day by Hannah

As you know today is Mother's Day! This year we all got her something a little different. My dad and Trent went grocery  because they know how much my mom hates to go grocery shopping. But its weird because she loves to cook! My dad also is making killer chicken on the grill tonight! Jack got her these beautiful flowers.

I gave her many different things! First I gave her lanterns that I made that was on her previous blog. But one  painted a flower on it. The second one I made a heart design with heart tape along the rim.

I also made these flowers in Chinese class so I decided to put some in a vase with marbles on the bottom.

The last thing I made was cookies! Everyone in my family says I make the BEST chocolate chip cookies. Since they go really fast my mom doesn't get that many so I made some just for her.

Finally since the farmer's market opened this Saturday my mom and I wanted to get first "dibs" on the flowers. We got 8 different kinds of flowers.

So my mom and I put them all into the pots we wanted. We also put our gazing ball in one pot with the candy corn vine(last picture) winding up the stand.

               "God couldn't be everywhere that's why he made mothers."

                                    -Rudyard Kipling