Yummy...

Some things truly are sweeter the second time around...I picked up this book a few years back and enjoyed every word.  Recently, I was going through my stash of books and magazines in preparation for a book fair fundraising event and I found my copy (along with some old Nancy Drew mysteries).  I pulled it out for our 17 year-old son, who has been studying teachings on the subject of "tolerance'' (he is getting a lot of practice since he started his first job!).  What began as a quick flip through turned into a full re-read and I'm finding it to be just as delicious as I remembered!

So, since I'm still healing from my runner's injury and seem to have extra time in my weekends (I miss my yoga students terribly!), I've sliced up a piece of yummy chocolate cake and snuggled down, book in hand.

Check it out and enjoy a little weekend Zen...and don't forget the chocolate cake (there's a recipe in the back of the book)!
http://www.amazon.com/The-Chocolate-Cake-Sutra-ebook/dp/B000N0WTGA

Fall at the Farmhouse...



Ok, so I know it has been ages since I last blogged...time truly does fly by, sometimes, and I think I just woke up this morning and realized that the holiday season is just around the corner and the eve of a new year is creeping up to the front door.  Have I just been too busy to notice?  Maybe, but I think I've spent the past few months loosing my way a bit...too many obligations and conflicting interests, perhaps...and a little bit of the magic of life at the farmhouse has gone by without proper attention.  Today, I awoke to a warm fire crackling and the smell of pumpkin spice bread in the toaster (the benefit of a husband who lets me sleep in on Saturday mornings) and truly felt that familiar tingle that is November in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains.

Hot, dry weather this summer resulted in more muted colors this fall, but the farmhouse is still beautiful.  We set out our pumpkins and mums and put the plaid throws out on our deck chairs so we could enjoy the chill of autumn evenings.  A couple of weeks ago, the house got a bit of a face lift with the addition of a new roof...we miss the terracotta tiles, but the bright red shingles make the house look so pretty.  We are looking forward to a new sun porch and deck in the coming weeks (before Christmas, I hope!) and Crawdad and my step-dad are back at work renovating the basement.  My artistic shelves have been quite popular, and I think I will take a similar artistic approach to our bathroom re-design next year.

 Of course, fall at the farmhouse means time spent in the kitchen. I have been organizing my homemade Yoganoodles cookbook for a couple of weeks in preparation for the holidays and love finding authentic Appalachian recipes for sawmill gravy and Christmas Stake Cake to add to the mix.    Recently, I even ran across a recipe for Upside Down Apple Gingerbread in a 1957 cookbook published by the Great Smoky Mountains Association...I've not tested or tweaked it, but I'll let you know how it goes!  Tonight, we are meeting up with friends for a moonlight bike ride around the loop road in Cades Cove.  I've promised to bring cookies, so I've already spent most of my morning combing through recipes and trying to decide my orange infused chocolate coconut cookies or maybe those yummy, chewy cookies made with brown sugar.

Oh, plans...baking, creating, remodeling.  I can hear my mother say "how will you ever find the time?"  She's right, of course.  We never really "find" time...but we do get to choose the things that fill-up the time we have.  So today, I choose to fill my time with a little flour, a little sugar in my sunny farmhouse kitchen...and tonight I get to enjoy friends and a November full moon in the mountains of East Tennessee.

The Kitchen Shelves...and other lessons in patience



As promised...let me tell you about my kitchen shelves.  There are only two of them and they aren't very long, but I must say I'm pretty pleased with the way things turned out, which is a really good thing because it only took forever to plan, design, and create this little bit of kitchen art.  The process started in September...

You'll recall that we began working on our tiny kitchen last fall.  Well, it isn't quite finished - the holidays hit and my free time got stretched between work, projects for clients, gifts for friends...you get the idea, and I;ve spent the last couple of months playing catch-up.  Still, we've made progress, and I'm grateful for that.  Always intended as a part of our kitchen re-do, the shelves, however, took on a life of their own.

I guess it's fair to say I suffer from AADD...Artistic Attention Deficit Disorder.  Somewhere down deep, I had an idea about how I wanted the shelves to look, but I kept bouncing from one design to another.  My husband and I debated whether they would work better on this wall or that, we planned for 3 shelves, but I changed my mind after the wood was purchased and cut to size, so we ended up with two by default...oh, and the brackets (you get the idea).  In short, my kitchen shelves became one big lesson in patience.

Patience is a funny thing...it takes a certain patience to sit in traffic or stand in line. Pregnancy was a huge test of patience for me and my children will tell you that waiting for Christmas morning or the last day of school is no picnic.  I have friends that are models of patience as they wait for loved ones in the military serving overseas to come home.  It takes patience to loose weight, quit smoking, and save money.  It takes patience to mend a broken heart, paint your nails, and wait for water to boil.  It's hard to practice patience with other people...and maybe even harder to have patience with youself.  And that's the lesson of my kitchen shelves - I had to be patient with me.

Well, I finally settled on size and design, spent a couple of weekends with various paints, prints, and mediums, and finished each shelf with a bit illustration.  My patience paid off and I'm pleased with the detail, color, and funky attitude these functional art pieces have added to my kitchen.  With walls painted, tile border finished, and shelves up, I am beginning to see the big picture...a little trim work, floor finishing and cabinet paint and we'll be able to sit back and...well, maybe not relax, exactly, but at least enjoy the view while we wash dishes!  But that will have to wait for another day...I'm back at work in the studio for the next couple of weeks...another opportunity for patience.

Making Decisions...

I've come to accept the fact that although practicing yoga has given me greater awareness, clarity and focus, there are still moments when I feel completely overwhelmed and confused.  I still spend unnecessary time each morning debating what to wear (especially if I ended the night before eating a huge bowl of ice cream while watching Project Runway), and I don't dare attempt grocery shopping without first developing a detailed list.  It took weeks to choose which veggies to plant in my garden and a year before I finally decided to color my hair (which I love, by the way).  This week, I've faced yet another round of decision drama...what color should we paint our kitchen?

This really isn't a new question, since we've been planning our kitchen remodel for months.  Still, I've changed my mind at least 50 times to the point that my husband, Crawdad, finally gave me a deadline and vowed he would pick the color himself should I fail to make a decision.  So, faced with such a scary ultimatum, I moved everything out of my kitchen, Gentry and I primed the walls, and I sat back to take it all in...

Now, you really need to understand that chaos may be the intricate border that outlines my daily life, but physical disorder gives me vertigo...seriously.  My hands were shaking just taking this picture and I get slightly sick at my stomach every time I walk through this room...I just can't think straight when things are all piled up.  Not the best situation to be in when faced with decision making.  Add to that the fact that the artistic side of my brain thinks in multiples...if blue is good, then purple, pink and yellow are even better...you get the idea!  Still, I really want my kitchen to be a peaceful place and, since the room is tiny with no real options to expand, I plan to use lighter shades to open the space and give it a little room to breathe, so multiple color combos are, unfortunately, out.

I've spent weeks going through magazines and color swatches.  I researched painting techniques and interviewed dozens of friends and co-workers regarding their personal color choices.  I've meditated and calculated and spent at least 3 hours at Lowe's in the last two days.  Finally, I think I've made a decision...

Pale lemon yellow and a pretty light grey.  Crawdad gave in and agreed to use tile instead of a traditional chair rail (he is debating whether to tile the back splash behind our kitchen counter as well) because I told him it would take me at least another week to decide what color to paint it!  I'll have to deal with the chaotic clutter for a few days, but the kids are having a blast eating Chinese take-out and pizza, since my oven has been temporarily relocated to the middle of the kitchen.  At least the fridge is still plugged in and full of cold beer - a home improvement must have!

Today, I'm taking a deep breath and a couple of ibuprofen before I finish sanding and priming.  I feel so confident since decisions have been made and really can't wait to see it all come together.  Now, if I could just decide on paint for the bathroom...

A Brownie Ritual...

It is roughly 12 degrees outside and there is snow on the ground and ice on the roads. I've spent most of my morning snuggled under a quilt, quietly sipping coffee and thankful to be warm and cozy in my little farmhouse.



It's exactly this type of day...a frozen Saturday in January...that my mind turns to domestic matters: household chores, knitting, coupons, and, of course, cooking. From a very early age, I came to associate cooking with cold weather. My mother (who at one time managed a full-time job, two part-time jobs, and a family) was rarely home with any significant free time, but icy roads and snowy windows in East Tennessee meant we weren't getting out of our back-country house and gravel driveway unless there was a dire emergency. So, left with unexpected free time, she made brownies and hot chocolate much to my delight.


Later, my sister and I continued this tradition - baking homemade brownies every time school was closed due to snow. With the first mention of wintery weather in the forecast, my mother would stock up on supplies: bread, milk, and eggs, of course, but always enough cocoa, flour, sugar, and vanilla to weather the storm.


Just yesterday, as my own daughter was preparing hot chocolate, I phoned my mother and found her, predictably, baking brownies. Although I've spent a great deal of time in the kitchen the past couple of days baking casseroles, cooking beans, and making chili, I had not yet craved a warm pan of brownies...until now.


I think I woke up with the smell of brownies in my nose - I must have been dreaming about them. Brownie desire is a hard thing to shake, so I uncurled myself from the sofa and rummaged through my cupboards searching for the necessary ingredients. Somewhere in the process, I realized that this really isn't about wanting to eat a brownie...this is about honoring a ritual and paying homage to a tradition that has become somewhat sacred...passed from mother to daughter, from one generation to the next. Regardless of the recipe, brownie baking on a cold winter day is an experience - the measuring of the cocoa, the lobbying for who gets to lick the spoon, the smell of warm brownies in the oven...


Since baking brownies should be a shared experience, following is a simple recipe for you to enjoy. As with most of my recipes, this one isn't really that original, but simply an evolution of other recipes I've tried. You will notice there is no mention of butter or eggs, so a couple of adjustments should make this one an nice version for my vegan friends...happy baking!



A Simple Brownie Recipe:

1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups milk
1/3 cup oil
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup chocolate chips (optional, but remember to dust them with flour so they don't sink!)


Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and grease a 8x8 inch baking pan. In a bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients - you might want to sift them together to prevent lumps. Then add the wet ingredients. Stir gently to combine. Stir in the chips and pour into the pan. Bake for about 50 minutes - this works for my oven, but yours might take longer. Cool and cut...then snuggle up and enjoy!!


(In case you were wondering, my kids ate most of the brownies while I was typing up this blog...no final picture, but they sure tasted good!)

I have the recipe, now I need a Cookie Jar!

OK, I LOVE cookies...most any kind will do, but my most favorite cookies involve chocolate chips. I love making them, I love smelling them, and I really love eating them! Cake is fine and I eat my fair share of ice cream, but cookies are definitely at the top of my list!

Years ago, my mother-in-law gave me a Winnie-the-Pooh cookie jar. Our son was only about a year old, and it was probably more for his amusement than mine, but I've always been fond of Pooh Bear and enjoyed having a deep jar for my yummy baked cookies. The jar managed to survive a couple of moves, but several years later, it met it's match with my daughters cat who took great pride in her ability to break and enter. That's exactly what she did to the jar...she broke it, then climbed inside. Poor Pooh Bear!

Now that I am back in an old farm house, storage space is once again more concept than reality and I don't have room to keep a plate of fresh baked cookies on the counter. (Not to mention, we now have a dog that could medal if Counter Surfing were a competitive sport). So, I find I am in need, once again, of a jar for my cookies.

I spent the weekend trolling through the shops of my friends at http://www.etsy.com/. Oh, the lovely things I've found! Etsy.com is the place for all things handmade. Etsy sellers are a talented and friendly bunch from all over the world, although you'll probably find someone right in your own community, and the types of items available on etsy.com are as varied as the artists. Now, I can't make up my mind what to buy!

Take a peek at my weekend etsy finds on your right, or visit my etsy shop at http://www.yoganoodles.etsy.com/ and click on "Favorites". Let me know which one you think would be the perfect cookie jar for me, or do a little shopping of your own and let me know what you find!

Now, for a recipe...since we are talking about cookies, here is a simple Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe to add to your cookbook:

3 cups unbleached white flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 cup applesauce

3/4 cup honey (try to buy local!)

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips (soy chips work for my vegan friends!)

1/2 cup nuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and combine flour and baking powder in a bowl. In a separate bowl, combine applesauce, honey, and vanilla. Add the flour mixture to the applesauce mixture then stir in the chips and nuts. Mix well. Drop cookie dough by spoonfuls onto a cookie sheet (use parchment paper or oil the sheet slightly, as the honey will tend to stick). Flatten the dough with the back of a spoon. Bake for about 12 minutes or until brown. Makes 3 to 4 dozen cookies

Don't like to bake? No problem! For a limited time, I am offering my Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies in my etsy shop! To order, visit me at http://www.yoganoodles.etsy.com/. Enjoy!

Contact Paper and Jell-O Molds

What can I say about moving...it's stressful, exciting, challenging, and filled with the unexpected. Using this very basic moving recipe, I find that moving into a really old house is heavy on the unexpected! Case in point, my kitchen...

I knew going in that the kitchen was in serious need of TLC and an updated look. The walls appear to be papered in some sort of Holly Hobby print. Worse yet, the colors are mustard yellow and brown and all of it is dirty beyond belief. The former owners purchased the property in 1976...a grand time for Holly Hobby, Jello molds, and bell bottom pants. Equally, 1976 must have been a revolutionary time in home decor given the popularity of such time savings products like contact paper - you know, the printed paper that isn't quite poster board but certainly not wallpaper.

Contact paper - still available today - comes in a variety of prints and designs, widths and lengths. It has been used to update closet shelves and kitchen drawers and my mother used it regularly in our cabinets and dresser drawers. She never, however, was bold enough to use it on the wall, so imagine my surprise when I decided to see how difficult it would be to remove the paper on my kitchen walls and discovered it was simply contact paper! Every wall, the shelves, drawers, and even the back panel of the built in spice cupboard are all papered with contact paper!

And speaking of the drawers, the former owners left something else unexpected behind...a handful of old product cookbooks including the Peter Pan Peanut Butter Cook Book and other booklets dating from 1962 to 1978. My favorite is Joys of Jell-O, an undated, spiral bound volume of recipes for everything from a Cherry Cola Mold to Ring-Around-the-Tuna.

I wonder what life in my kitchen was like for the homemaker of 1976. I imagine her with newly papered walls (admittedly a vast improvement from the interesting shades of green paint that graced the walls when she moved in) and a brand new book of recipes by her side tackling Christmas dinner or making dessert on for a 4th of July party. I imagine her pride and sense of peacefully domesticity. I imagine her embracing life on the farm, in an old house, filled with the unexpected.

I am enjoying my old kitchen, although I have already made plans for its renovation. I'm sure that, in the process, I'll have many more unexpected moments. For now, I'm peacefully settling in and trying to appreciate simple things like contact paper (I've already re-papered my cupboards and shelves) and jello molds, although I've not attempted any of my new found recipes yet. Stay tuned...

Farmer's Market Veggie Dinner:

We just moved, so I won't have a garden of my own this summer. That doesn't mean I'm without fresh veggies! I'm a true believer in supporting local farmers and lucky to live in an area with farmer's markets, veggie stands, and neighbors with gardens close at hand! Here is a quick and easy veggie dinner...oh, with a little something unexpected!

(Serves about 6 or my family of 4)


portobello mushrooms - any variety; roughly chopped
2 large green peppers
large onion
3 chopped carrots
lettuce and/or other greens
1 cup sugar snap peas
6 lices soy bacon, chopped
chopped or dried thyme
dried sage (1/2 tablespoon)
1/4 cup apple barbeque sauce
basil infused olive oil
worcestershire sauce



Saute chopped onion and green pepper in the olive oil until tender. Add bacon, thyme, sage, and about a tablespoon of worcestershire sauce. Cook for about 3 minutes. Add mushrooms and more oil, if necessary. Cook for 4 minutes. Add another tablespoon of worcestershire sauce and barbeque sauce. Cook for 5 minutes.



Toss lettuce with chopped carrots and peas. Place a bed of lettuce on a plate and top with cooked veggies, including a little of the oil/sauce mixture from the pan. Serve with a yeasty roll and a good glass of wine. Yum!

A Little Yoga in My Kitchen...

I am always inspired by the domestic work of women in the early years of our history. Without the conveniences we have come to take for granted, every day efforts to cook and clean took time and careful attention. Deeply connected to their work, I believe there had to be a flow, not unlike the flow of energy we study in yoga.


Yesterday, I decided to make homemade pizza for dinner. The plan was worked out early in the day and the afternoon was spent gathering ingredients. Finally, apron on, I began to work. The process really isn't that complicated in this century, as we have modern, energy efficient ovens and fast acting yeast. Still, preparing the veggies and putting it all together takes time...and here I found a little yoga in my kitchen.

First, chopping vegetables is, perhaps, the most meditative thing I do in the kitchen - aside from washing dishes, and since I own a dishwasher that is much loved, my dish washing experience is fairly limited. Vegetable chopping, however, takes time and is filled with a rhythm all of its own. Onions take a little more effort than, say, mushrooms. And peppers crunch when the skin hits the knife. Oh, and the smells! In these moments, I'm not thinking, I am truly being...completely in the present, connected in all of my senses. I feel calm and at ease.

Then comes the dough and with it comes Gentry, my daughter. Dough making is specific and vigorous. Almost like asana (yoga poses), it takes effort and focus. I stir, she pours...she kneads, I knead...she rolls, I wrap...you get the idea. We don't talk much...connected to the task at hand, anticipating how one ends and the next begins.

Finally, we put it all together. Now, I get to step back and watch Gentry. I don't tell her what to do or how to do it, I simply give guidance without judgement..."More cheese?" "Did you oil the pan?" "Don't forget the mushrooms." She has listened, observed, practiced, and now is creating her own experience. For me, this is pure joy.

Don't get me wrong, we aren't particularly serious about our pizza making. It's great fun and filled with a lot of flour on the floor and usually interrupted several times by one of us scolding Sister, the dog, who frequently visits the garbage can! We giggle and are generally pleased with our progress (oh, pride!).

Think about your yoga practice...class begins in meditation, it moves through breath and challenge, ideally you feel free to explore your edge in each pose in your own way, and I hope that it brings you joy. Unfortunately, many people believe that these experiences are limited to class or time spent on the mat. But we don't have to look far to find these moments in our day to day. They've been around for hundreds of years.

I believe the more simple your life, the more of these moments you will find. I'm quite sure that Appalachian women cooking in their country kitchens in 1890 had never even heard of yoga, but the rhythm of their lives created what I like to call "the zen of living." Baking, cleaning, sewing, gardening...the day to day wasn't easy, but it was full of meditative moments, physical and mental focus, and that unique brand of humor and joy that comes from a life simply lived.

The pizza was wonderful, by the way...fresh and rich and yummy. My husband declared it was the best he had ever had and everyone helped clean up without complaint. Peaceful domesticity!