The Pizza Farm

After a busy day yesterday and much anticipation, we headed south to the tiny town of Stockholm, WI, to eat wood-fired homemade pizza at A to Z Produce Farm.

It was lovely. The drive along the river was beautiful. The weather was perfect. The animals were charming. The pizza was the best one we've had thus far. It was utterly delicious. The ingredients are grown right on the farm.

We enjoyed a spectacular sunset as we departed for home and visited an old cemetery. Though it may seem strange or rather morbid, I enjoy exploring old cemeteries. I like the aged carved stones and reading the names. I like imagining the lives they lived in the surrounding countryside. What a wonderful night.

Happy Monday!

Here's a funny little video for the start of your week!

Deer Tick: Sound About A Man

listening to Deer Tick on this hot hot day
enjoying a chocolate chip ice cream sandwich and fresh snap peas
scrubbed the bathroom
the dishes are done
creative juices are flowing
paintings and flags and collages
the city looks like a ghost town right about now
tonight we'll head out on our bikes
for fireworks and the 10 second film festival at the Soap Factory

Happy 4th!

new mural in town

a new mural went up on the side of the old video store nearby
it now seems to be a pop-up fireworks shop
the sandwich board outside reads 'who needs all 10 fingers?'
ha
happy July!

evening stroll

just saw that fox statue for the first time in my neighborhood
laughed with delight
just watched Fantastic Mr. Fox last night
what a fun film

too chilly to play in the sand...

oh well!
fresh laundry will do

jotters in the making

some new jotters for Design Collective

Sculpture Garden By Night

enjoying night-time strolls through the sculpture garden
excited to find the wind chimes(Pierre Huyghe) are still up
go + hear them in the breeze
amazing the way they harmonize

find them
past Spoonbridge and Cherry
walk away from the Walker Art Center
hidden in the grove of trees

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie, Oh My!

I made this birthday pie for a friend who prefers pies to cakes. According to him, "Pies are a taste experience. There's a history there." I like that and I like pie, which I don't make often enough. The house smelled so good.

I've tried a number of pie crusts and this version is a mixture of the best qualities of them. It resembles a flaky pastry crust-so good. And don't be scared by the fresh grated ginger in the filling. You don't really taste it, but it adds to the sweet + tart flavors of the pie.

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Crust:
2 cups unbleached flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1/2 lb unsalted butter, cubed and cold
1/3 c shortening, cold(non-hydrogenated)
1/4 c ice-cold water

Combine dry ingredients. Using a pastry cutter or two forks, add butter and shortening to flour mixture until pea size hunks form. Slowly add just enough of the ice water until dough forms a ball; you may not need all the water. Wrap dough in waxed paper and chill in fridge for 3 or 4 hours.

Filling:
3 c strawberries, sliced
3 c rhubarb, sliced
1 1/8 c sugar
5 Tbsp flour
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp salt
1/8-1/4 tsp grated fresh ginger
2 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp butter, cubed

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Combine all filling ingredients, except butter. Roll out bottom crust and line pan. Pour filling into crust and dot with cubes of butter. Roll out top crust and form lattice on pie(this is way easier than you think). Brush lattice top with heavy whipping cream or half and half and sprinkle with raw sugar. Line baking sheet with waxed paper or parchment paper and place on bottom rack to catch drips during baking. Bake for 10 minutes at 450 degrees. Reduce oven to 375 degrees and bake 40-45 minutes more or until filling is thick and bubbly. Cool completely before slicing.

today is filled with...

pie baking
jogging
dishes
kiddos
white lilies
cold, sweating smoothies
plant watering
art making
contemplation
whirring fans
scalloped potato making
snappy asparagus
laughter

and a whole lot more

maybe a late night swim?

bigBang Studio

I like the digital-esque cacti and lavender shadows in Lily Stockman's Creosote. I'm loving her animal paintings, too.

Find her humorous blog here and more art here.

around the house

coin purse from Taxco, Mexico
an arrowhead from my love
peonies
old farm chair from great grandparents
my dabbling at painting in the park
canvas storage vessel I created recently

small & mighty greens

chives, parsley, basil
spinach and mesclun
they are growing fast
in 30 days we'll be eating greens from our window sills!

we tried to garden on our deck at our last apartment
the squirrels made that extremely difficult and unfruitful
this year we're sharing a CSA share with friends

the earth was once a blown up star...

saw this on our walk last night
reduce!
reuse!
recycle!

BP spills Coffee

h i l a r i o u s