Kitchen Musings

I was cleaning and organizing my spice cupboard and thought I'd show it to you.  Every time I opened the door, things would fall out on me so it was time to consolidate and rearrange things.  I've had those magazine clippings of Jacques and Julia and Father Dominic pasted inside my cupboard ever since I've lived on my own.  They were carefully removed from my Iowa apartment cupboard door and tucked into my recipe binder for the trip up here.  They lived in the Minnesota apartment cupboard until they were permanently installed in this kitchen when we moved in.  Jacques looks about 19 in that picture!

On a side note, years ago when I still worked in the nursing home, I'd go around on Saturday afternoons and tune all the ladies' tvs to PBS so they could watch Breaking Bread With Father Dominic.  I'd recently backpacked across Europe and sent him a letter care of the public access station that produced the show.  I wanted to tell him about my trip and the baking souvenirs I'd picked up along the way and how much he'd inspired me and how I shared his message with the residents in my care.  I especially wanted to tell him about an exhibit about communal bread ovens on display at the folk museum in Athens, Greece.  These large ovens were used by entire villages and fired once a week.  There was a villager quote on the wall that said, "Like God, bread is everywhere yet so valuable that it is sold nowhere."  He sent me a thank you card that featured the detail of a stained glass window depicting loaves of bread.  He closed the letter saying, "Bake and Be Blessed."  I keep it in my recipe binder and treasure it to this day.  Before today, I didn't realize he had a new website.  When I finish this post, I will be heading back over there!

Speaking of bread, here is the last packet of yeast I brought home from Norway.  Each envelope is the equivalent of two of our yeast envelopes.  I used this to make Finnish rye bread to take home to my parents' house for a family weekend with my sister and her kids.

I made grilled chicken marinated in yogurt and spices including saffron.  This was purchased in Paris and the pistils are grouped in little plastic pods inside the jar. 

I cook with a lot of thyme and keep filling up my Aldi jar.  This large envelope came from Poland and was about 30 cents!  Once this is gone, I have another packet from Norway.

We've had such a goofy summer so far.  We finally got the garden in on June 1st because before that it was cool and rainy.  The seedlings I planted are just sitting in the ground and not growing.  I finally have some zucchini and cucumbers coming up and a single solitary bean.  Really?  Here is Marek in the Pack and Play in the yard while we worked.  My sister gave me the great tip that a standard crib sheet fits perfectly over the playpen to keep bugs and direct sunlight out.  He entertained himself and did very well while we labored.  Lopi supervised.

He isn't walking yet but he edges around the couch and hutch and table.  He is such a happy kid!  Lopi is so patient with him.

I finally finished his cabled sweater and it will be a while before he can wear it.  I need to block it and get it and all my other entries ready for the Ramsey County Fair.

Zak dog came for a visit last weekend and he took his usual seat in the front window where he could watch the neighborhood.  I loved this picture of Marek because he isn't smiling.  He looks so serious!