lifestyle

Farm Fresh Eggs ~ Life List #49

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One of farm fresh eggs frying in a pan

The thing about having a life list is that it’s written at one very particular time. As we all find out eventually, the only constant in life is change.

There must be something about May, because I wrote my life list back in May 2010. Well, a lot happens in six years. Some of the things on my list I have accomplished already. Others I don’t particularly care about anymore at all. Or they can happen in a way that I didn’t anticipate. Like #49 for instance.

Gather fresh eggs and cook with them.

I no longer feel the need to gather the eggs myself. But I have always wanted to cook with farm fresh eggs. As far as I’m concerned, #49 is now accomplished.

farm_fresh_eggs

This past week, I noticed that most of the eggs were gone and it was only the middle of the week. I sent a text to G asking him if he could stop and buy some. He texts back that he just passed a farm stand with eggs for sale. So he went back and bought a dozen. Talk about perfect timing!

One of the things that I noticed is that each egg looks different. Different shades, spots and speckles. Unlike the ones from the grocery store where they are all sorted to look exactly the same.

With these farm fresh ones, the brown ones are mixed with white ones. They are integrated! Bigger too. These seemed extra large. Also they were longer and less round. The yolk seemed bigger proportionately and the flavor seemed a bit deeper.

Now that it’s spring and summer is coming soon, I’m going to be on the lookout for more farm fresh eggs.

Boston’s Latest Crafty Girl Craze: Terrariums

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Many terrariums and plants on a table for workshop.

Spring is finally here. It’s National Park Week and tomorrow is Earth Day. So it’s the perfect time to think about all the beauty of the earth.

Many of us don’t want to only enjoy the beauty of trees and plants when we’re outdoors, but we want to bring the lush greenery inside as well. I’ve been blessed with a green thumb and have plants and trees growing quite nicely in my apartment. Tending my plants is very relaxing and a kind of meditation for me.

It seems that I’m not the only one who feels this way about plants, because a new zen trend that I see growing 😀 is terrariums.

Trident Booksellers on Newbury Street has a weekly “Plant Nite” where you can build terrariums and enjoy food and drinks.  But it’s not the only place. Plant Nite, similar to Paint Nite, brings people together at different restaurant venues all around the Boston area where they can drink and go home with a terrarium.

Niche, focuses on urban garden supply and is located on Tremont Street in the South End. They encourage plant ownership and sometimes offer classes and workshops on terrarium building.

This Sunday morning, on April 24th, Shake the Tree, which is located on Salem Street in the North End, will be holding a terrarium building workshop along with mimosas and breakfast bites.

If you’d like to go west of Boston, on June 5th, Tovah Martin of Terrarium Wise will be speaking about terrariums and there will be a workshop as well. This event will be held at Brandt House B & B, located in Greenfield, Massachusetts and sponsored by the Greenfield Garden Club.

If you can’t make it to an event, or even if you can, maybe you’d like to wear a terrarium. Dara Cheek, of Hieropice, who I met at ASSEMBLED in Somerville, makes the cutest terrarium necklaces that you can buy from her Etsy shop.

You can also just make terrariums at home. West Elm gives a tutorial on making a tabletop terrarium. Sunset Magazine also gives some nice ideas for DIY terrariums.

Whatever way you choose to enjoy terrariums, you’re sure to have some fun!

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Flickr Photo Credit: Terrarium Workshop by Amy Gizienski

Have a Joyful Weekend!

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Black_Girl_MagicIsn’t her smile delightful?

Here’s hoping that you have a weekend filled with whatever brings you that kind of joy.

My plan is to continue and maybe finish tidying. Yup! Tidying brings me joy! I am a Virgo after all.

I’ve noticed the effects already and feel sparked and more organized, so I can move forward with some new projects. Some old ones too.

One of them is to get my taxes done. Here in Massachusetts, because Monday is a holiday, we have until Tuesday, April 19th this year to get our tax returns in. I’m hoping for a refund. If so, I just might have a smile as wide as Mr. Grant’s daughter. Happy weekend to you!

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Photo: The New York Public Library Digital Collections

Pantone Color of the Year: Sunset After the Rainbow

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Pantone Color of the Year 2016

The rainbow that I captured last week was gone within minutes. I kept taking pictures though. This is the picture after the rainbow as the sun was closer to setting. The trees were cropped out, so the focus is on the color of the sky. Sanura commented that the sky was the Pantone color of the year. She was right! I hadn’t even noticed.

Instead of one Pantone color of the year, there are two! Serenity and Rose Quartz are the colors for this year, according to the company that has set the “standard for color communication and inspiration since 1963.”

Looks like they pulled these colors straight from nature. I wholeheartedly approve!

The Book List: A Belle Époque for African-American Cooking

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The Up South Cookbook by Nicole A. Taylor

Yesterday I compiled a summary list with links for the restaurants mentioned in the New York Time’s article, A Belle Époque for African-American Cooking. Now for the book list!

I figured I might as well summarize the book list too. The list below has the names of each book mentioned in the article, along with the authors’ names and links to their websites.

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The Up South Cookbook (Nicole A. Taylor)

Hog and Hominy: Soul Food From Africa to America (Frederick Douglass Opie)

High on the Hog (Jessica B. Harris)

Senegal (Pierre Thiam)

The Jemima Code (Toni Tipton-Martin)

Afro-Vegan (Bryant Terry)

 

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Screenshot: Amazon