4.24.2014

this week in my kitchen :: blog hop ::




I've been peeking in at the goings-on of others' kitchens for the last couple weeks via posts linked up with Heather's 'This Week in my Kitchen' blog hop.  I've gotta say, I'm digging not only the recipes and nutritional inspiration, but the spying into others' kitchens as well.  there is just something fun and liberating (good to be reminded that other people's kitchens do not always look like something from a magazine, either) about being welcomed into what is often truly the center of one's home.  especially when the majority of the people whose kitchens I'm glancing into are essentially strangers.  it's like invited and even encouraged spying.  I admit maybe when I'm out walking I like when I can peek into other houses.  not in a creepy way, I mean like from the sidewalk as I pass by, not like I'm in the bushes outside your window.

and so, this week I finally decided to join in.  I've been wanting to for a bit and now that my mother's extended hospital stay isn't the only thing occupying my mind and body, I'm finding myself stretching back into other corners of my world a bit.  slowly nudging back into the garden, bee watching, work, sitting outside in the sun thinking about something other than chest tubes and X-rays, blood cultures and blue plastic gowns.  actually preparing meals, instead of relying heavily on instant oatmeal at the Family House, takeout burritos and salads from the cafeteria and spring rolls from the Trader Joe's down the street from the sprawling hospital.  it feels so good to go to sleep with my phone who-knows-where instead of right next to me just in case an urgent call comes in.  for we've had a few good days in a row now, people, and I'm looking up, up, up from here.  she has been out of the ICU for a whole week now and the focus is more on PT and trach collar trials instead of on just keeping her stable.  BIG steps.

how quickly I go back into that world as soon as I start thinking about it...... but for now, back to the kitchen.  it's possible this post should be titled "Breakfast in my Kitchen", since that's about all my photos show.  I guess the morning light in there is just that much more inviting.  that, and by dinner time I've often already satisfied my picture-taking urges for the day and the growling bellies speak louder than any artistic eye could ever manage to.  and so, some photos, that show the true story of a week filled with quite a few blueberry and turmeric-dyed hard-boiled eggs, hot drinks, pears, and an occasionally clean (really lovely, decades-old and peeling) countertop.  also featured, our metal fairies, purchased to put outside but they never made it that far, some of our soon-to-be-planted seeds and some older comb with capped honey from one of the hives (we removed a fair amount of it before installing the new bees into the empty hive in order to allow them to draw out some of their own comb) that we plan to crush and strain to get a little more of the sweet stuff.

join in if you'd like!  once we've spent a little time in each other's kitchens, we'll be much less like strangers~















31 comments:

  1. What a wholesome kitchen, with lovely pictures of the going on and delicious food.

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    1. thank you, Callie~ next time I'll try to include something beyond breakfast!

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  2. I love these little peeks into everyone's kitchen too. I should join in one day :)

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    1. indeed! I quite enjoyed peeking around your yard in your recent post, and wouldn't mind a tour of your kitchen one bit ;)

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  3. I love this peek! And I feel exactly as you do - about the blog hop and about real life peering into open windows on a walk. Could not love that more. I suppose it's another joy of having moved off-farm, even if there's lots I miss.

    I've been wanting to join in the kitchen blog hop too. I have not at all figured out when to write these days - I think I'm going to have to bite the bullet and start getting up early again?

    How do you like that manual coffee grinder? I've been thinking about one. My whole coffee making every day has gone very low tech - I switched to pourover during my pregnancy since I was only drinking one cup a day most days, and I like the process and the taste so much that I've kept it up since Clara was born.

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    1. I can imagine it's been tricky trying to fit writing (and things like brushing your teeth and eating warm food) into your hours these days as you are re-navigating the newborn days (and nights) and all that they involve. I am trying to become more of a morning person myself, though my idea of rising early is likely a good deal later than what most people think of as early. early for me is 7am. Until recently, I was waking more like 8:30am. I work in the afternoons and we've never had any pressure to get up and at 'em in the morning, so we've come to really dig our slow lazy mornings. BUT, I find if I go to bed with her I am up a good hour or two before she is and I can sneak in some nice quiet bits to my morning.

      the coffee grinder~ I like it! ordered it on amazon. after some funky heart stuff I switched to mostly tea and occasional coffee, and even then it's usually decaf, so having a small french press and keeping fresh beans just works better for my little bit of coffee. though I really prefer using our chemex, I don't always want to use a filter and the whole shebang for one little cup. I may look into a single serving pour over setup. I don't know if I knew until just now that your new little one was named Clara. LOVE it. xo

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    2. Yup, it's not a secret, but I am trying to be fairly discreet - keeping their names off my blog and IG.

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    3. gotcha~ unlike me, who blasts it out as part of the name of my blog..... hmmm......

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  4. What beautiful photos! The light in your kitchen is lovely.
    I am so sorry to hear your mother has been ill - I hope you all continue on the upward trend!

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    1. thank you, Kylie~ oh I love the early morning and early evening light these days. sometimes I follow it around the house and smile at the shadows dancing on the walls.

      it has been a long road with her illness, but I certainly think we are now finally heading in the right direction. doctors said today it may take 6 months to 1 year for her to fully recover! goodness that's a long time, but I'm just so grateful to be talking of recovery~

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  5. Lovely pictures - breakfast looks delicious. Nice to see a pile of pots and pans in the sink, makes it so normal.

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    1. thank you~ good thing you like the look of breakfast, since that's all I seem to make! ;) oh yes, the sink is more often than not looking more like that final picture. in fact, it is right now, even though I loathe the thought of waking to a dirty sink, that's just what's going to happen tomorrow morning. but that's alright- we still have more muffins and pears for breakfast!

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  6. Amanda, your photos are beautiful! Your window catcher, your tea, your pears, your muffins, the honey comb... thank you for sharing! I'm glad you have a little more time to enjoy this spring outside the hospital walls, while your mom is recuperating. Thinking of you.

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    1. thank you, Marcela~ it feels SO good to be returning a bit to normalcy, and to be finally enjoying a bit of this spring that was creeping by without me even glancing at it for a good long while. even though she's got a long road still ahead with many months of rehabilitation, there's just such relief to be speaking of recovery and rehabilitation. cheers~

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  7. I loved visiting your kitchen... you have great photos. Have a great week!

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    1. thank you, Debi! hope you have a great week, too~

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  8. Such lovely photos!

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  9. Lovely photos. Glad your mom is doing well...

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  10. What a lovely kitchen you have. How awesome you are into sweet corn season!

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    1. thank you much~ and we shall see what the squirrels do with this first time around for corn for us....... finger crossed!

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  11. Your breakfast looks scrumptious with all those crunchy seeds. I noticed some PG Tips tea peeping out there. A taste of my childhood.
    debx

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    1. Sorry Amanda, I meant to say that even though I don't know you or your mother, that I send wishes that all go well. I have been there too.
      Also how lovely it must be to have your own bees. We are moving soon and my husband has promised me that I can have some too. I am so excited and on my way to the library today to research. Can you direct me to any guides that you've found helpful?
      When you have a spare minutes. (I know, what't one of those?)
      Thanks
      debx

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    2. as we fumbled our way through the first few years of beekeeping, online forums and an intro to beekeeping class have probably been the two most helpful things. those and of course trial and error! I HIGHLY recommend starting with 2 hives, it is very helpful and should anything go wrong with one you can pull brood/bees/honey from the other to get them through. there is a man named Michael Bush who has a website (and book) that we like, he practices chemical-free, sustainable beekeeping, which has always been our way as well. his website is here: http://www.bushfarms.com/bees.htm

      good luck! and thanks for the well-wishes~

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  12. Absolutely beautiful pictures...and I am completely there with you on innocent voyeurism! This kitchen blog hop is so much fun.

    Best wishes to you and yours (especially your mom).
    Erin

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thanks for taking the time to read and comment~