Monkey See

A few nights ago I was tracing out a sewing pattern on the kitchen floor, and my daughter was fascinated by the process.

So fascinated, in fact, that when it came time to cut the pattern pieces apart she grabbed one of them, ran off to find her scissors, and...cut straight down the middle of the bodice front piece.

Once I recovered from my shock and exasperation, I figured I'd take some scraps of the pattern tracing paper and make some big swoopy lines for her to practice cutting along.

By that time she'd lost interest, but she returned to the project last night and proceeded to trace over each of the lines very carefully (and impressively precisely!). She spent a long time at it, too. Funny to think about what's going on in her head and how she might be imagining "doing what Mama does."

Giddy

Last weekend's sunny weather made me (and the entire rest of Seattle) absolutely giddy. On Saturday, I developed a raging case of Project ADD that I am sure was brought on not knowing what to do with myself in the sunshine. Cut out fabric to make tank top for self! Cut out cute summery pants for friend's to-be-born baby girl! But don't sew them together--move on to cleaning out backyard shed! Take pictures of stuff in shed to post on Craigslist! Decide to take most of it to Goodwill instead!



And then, inspired by the above piece of furniture, I had the following conversation with my husband:



I'm pretty happy with the results.

Sure, the chain-link fence is still an eyesore, and the chair is nothing special (though it's super-comfortable, which is really the main point).

But for $4.37 (the price of a Benjamin Moore sample paint pot in "Poppy") I now have a nice place to drink an iced latte and do a little writing outside on a sunny afternoon.

And anyway, the view is grand.

A proper Sunday morning

Sharing art supplies and sharing gelato.

Experiments

Recently I came across this picture of succulents that appear to be planted in seashells. (Also, how lovely is that table setting altogether, with the simple votives and what looks to me like kraft paper as a tablecloth?) I was instantly smitten with the idea, and decided to try it out myself.



This sedum (scavenged from elsewhere in the yard) is pretty slow growing so I'm not sure how well this will work. But for now the gnome is keeping an eye on things and seems to approve.



My husband did a little experimenting today too:

That's his iPad tucked up in the lilac tree, so that we could listen to the Red Sox game while working in the yard today. Ah, modern life!

Happy Mother's Day

They say odd things

...look better than even ones.



"They" meaning people who know things about decorating houses.

It's funny to think about patterns that our brains notice and respond to, but that we don't articulate.



What do you think? Is it true? Does odd vs. even make a difference?

Or am I doing something wrong in either case?

The Vindication of Sloth

Last year I was lazy about harvesting the arugula in our garden, and it bolted. I thought, eh, I wonder what will happen if I just leave it there? So I did, it went to seed, and some months later, voila--



We haven't even planted this year's garden yet, but we are already enjoying our first harvest. I feel like I've really pulled off something sneaky here.

Here is one of the dishes I've made with the crop: chick peas stewed with roasted peppers and smoked paprika, topped with poached eggs and a pile of lightly dressed arugula. It is exactly as good as you'd imagine something that involves not just smoked paprika, not just poached eggs, but both, to be.



Chickpeas with Smoked Paprika, Poached Eggs, and Arugula

Olive oil
2 large cloves garlic
1 large shallot
1 15-oz. can chickpeas, drained
1 roasted red pepper (I keep jarred red peppers from Trader Joe's on hand, and use about half of what's in a jar)
1/2 tsp smoked paprika, or to taste
Salt

3 or 4 good handfuls of arugula
Olive oil
A light-tasting vinegar (this would be the place for sherry vinegar if you have some)
Salt
Black pepper

4 eggs
2 Tbs white vinegar
1/2 tsp salt

Heat some olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Peel the garlic and put it through a garlic press into the pan. Peel and mince the shallot, and add to the pan. Saute for a minute or two, until the shallot becomes translucent. Add the chickpeas and toss to coat with the olive oil and garlic. You may need to add a bit of water to the pan to keep the chickpeas from sticking.

Dice the red pepper and add it to the skillet. Add the smoked paprika and salt to taste, and fold everything together. Simmer the chick peas on low heat, covered, while you make the rest of the dish.

Wash and dry the arugula. In a small bowl, make a simple dressing of olive oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper.

For the poached eggs, fill a large, shallow skillet almost full of water. Add 1/2 tsp salt and the white vinegar (the latter lowers the pH of the water and helps the egg whites hold together a little better). Cover the skillet and turn the heat on high to bring the water to a boil. Crack each of the eggs into a separate small bowl or ramekin.

When the water for the eggs starts boiling, quickly slip the eggs from the bowls into the boiling water, immediately cover the pan, and remove from the heat. The residual heat from the water will cook the eggs. After 3 minutes, use a pancake turner or slotted spoon to remove the eggs from the water.

While the eggs are cooking, place the arugula in a large bowl, pour the dressing over, and toss it all together.

To serve, place a couple spoonfuls of chickpeas on a plate, top with 2 poached eggs, and then the arugula.

Serves 2, with some chickpeas left over.