I love having a piano. I love the noise, whether it's a beginner giving it a try, someone making up a song, or someone who has been playing forever. The thing is, though, I've been having a hard time loving our actual piano. When we got it, I kind of imagined it tucked away somewhere, but it has found its home in our dining room. The kids both love it there, because it's in the center of everything.

Recently I was trying to come up with some way to change the piano to make it more appealing to me. I suggested to the kids that maybe we should paint it. They responded as people who spent their formative years running around antique stores for fun would: they were horrified at the thought.



Over the past few days I've spent some time with our piano. I polished every inch of it. I scrubbed its keys. I replaced the torn fabric on the stool. As I worked I looked past its dings and dents and stains and thought about hands building, tuning, playing, polishing. And I think I found a way to love our piano.

First off, I've got to warn you that this is not pretty food. It's brownish and kind of mushy and just doesn't look all that appetizing. But a nice layer of shredded Parmesan on top makes all the difference, and the combination of flavors is really nice on a cold winter day.

Lentil Stew with Butternut Squash

3 stalks celery (I skipped this. I always skip celery. If anyone would like to explain to me the benefits of adding crunchy, stringy water to anything, I'm listening.)
1 large onion, chopped
2 1/2 pounds butternut squash (I used 1 1/2 squash), peeled and cut into 1" chunks
1 pound brown lentils
4 cups water
14 oz vegetable broth
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
salt and pepper
shredded Parmesan

Combine everything but the cheese. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer 45-60 minutes, til lentils and squash are soft. (The original recipe instructed to combine all in a crockpot and cook on low for 8 hours.)

Spoon into bowls and top with cheese.

Have you ever made yourself a present?


You should. You totally deserve it.

Sometimes I forget to look at what I like about our house. I see what needs to be cleaned or what I'd like to replace or what project has been sitting way longer than I would like. I'm using my camera a bit lately to help me see what I don't want to take for granted. What makes our house OUR house.


Ok, so to take this picture I had to dodge the very big pile of flooring that's been sitting in the (unfinished) hallway off the living room for an awfully long time. Who cares? I have a swing and a pillow pile! And so so many memories of happy people in this spot.

I made these at Rowan's request the other day. It had been a while, and I had forgotten just how delicious they are.

Sweet Potato Biscuits

1 1/4 cups flour
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 Tablespoons cold butter, cut into small pieces
1 cup cooked sweet potato, mashed and cooled
1-2 Tablespoons milk or cream
melted butter
brown sugar

Preheat oven to 450.

Mix dry ingredients.

Using your fingers, work the butter into the flour mixture until it feels like coarse meal.

Stir in the sweet potatoes, then add milk a bit at a time until the mixture can be gathered into a ball.

Knead briefly - about 10 times - just til it comes together nicely.

Pat to 1/2" thick on floured surface.

Cut into rounds with top of a glass; place on ungreased cookie sheet.

Brush the tops with butter and sprinkle (generously) with brown sugar.

Bake 8-10 minutes.

(Makes about 12 biscuits using a standard drinking glass. They'll go fast so you may want to double the recipe.)

There's something nice about seeing a reflection of just a tiny bit of your house.


Especially when you and Dagny took all the food out of its storage space and piled it in the hallway so you could paint while Jon and Andrew pulled up a bunch of the tiles in the kitchen so they could fix the floor.

From the middle of November through the middle of January we celebrate. We celebrate Dagny's birthday, Thanksgiving, Jon's birthday, Winter Solstice with our family, Christmas with my side of the family, Chanukah with Jon's side of the family, New Year's Eve, Rowan's birthday, and Andrew's birthday. Streamers go up and come down in November, a tree and stockings appear and disappear in December, more streamers go up in January.



Today the streamers come down. And I will build a fire and bake bread and make soup and celebrate the everyday.

Imagine you had a sister, and you liked to talk to your sister about quilts, because you really love quilts, and she makes quilts, and you're pretty sure that as much as you love quilts you're lacking whatever gene it is that would enable you to make one yourself, but you love to look at them and dream about them and talk about them and she understands.

Ok, so you've got this sister, and you email her a picture of a quilt you like, and she emails back saying that it'd be a great quilt for a beginner, so simple!

Flash forward. You've pieced the top. Yay! Your sister comes over so you can lay the quilt out together. She eats her words.



Then she goes home. And you're slightly terrified but simultaneously thrilled with the potential prettiness.

(As I look at the picture I immediately see some squares that can't stay where they are. That's ok. I'm going to make a couple of squares out of the fabric we chose for the borders, binding, and back,



so I'll be swapping out a few.)

Just for Danette, here's yesterday's soup:

Sweet Potato, Corn, and Jalapeno Bisque

1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
1 large onion, diced
5-6 cloves garlic, minced
3 sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
5 cups vegetable stock
1 jalapeno, seeded and diced
1 can (15 oz) corn, drained
2 Tablespoons maple syrup
1/2 Tablespoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
pinch ground cinnamon

In a large pot, saute the onion and garlic in the oil.
Add the sweet potatoes and stock.
Bring to a boil.
Simmer til potatoes are soft. (10-15 minutes)
Puree til smooth.
Add remaining ingredients.

I think next time I'll puree most of the potato mixture, but not all. A few chunks of potato and onion seem like a good idea. It was very good as is, though. The cayenne and jalapeno give it lots of flavor, but it wasn't too spicy for Rowan, who's not a fan of spiciness.

Here's a recipe that will put your homemade vanilla to good use.

Vanilla Muffins

4 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 Tablespoon + 2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk
2 eggs
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract (I may do a little bit more next time)
8 Tablespoons butter, melted

Mix dry.
Combine and whisk wet.
Add wet to dry.
I sprinkled the tops with maple sugar - not necessary but quite good.
Bake at 400 for 20 minutes.
Makes about 2 dozen muffins, or 10 giant-Jon-sized muffins.

365 photos in 365 days. Done.

Shortly after my 17th birthday I met Jon.

Shortly less than 17 years ago I met Dagny.



Time flies when you're having fun.

When's the last time you blew bubbles in your cup?

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus
(aka The Best Hummus Jon's Ever Had)

2 large cloves garlic
1 can chickpeas, drained
1/3 cup tahini
1/3 cup lemon juice
1/2-3/4 cup roasted red peppers (If you're using peppers in a jar, 1 of the bigger jars, drained, will do)

The recipe I found was all about the food processor, but here's how you do it by hand:

Mush the chickpeas with a fork til smooth.
Mince garlic and peppers and add to chickpeas.
Add tahini and lemon juice.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.

I haven't actually tasted these yet, but Jon (who may come to regret telling me he wanted giant muffins when he sees how many different kinds I want to try making) says they're good.

Jam Muffins

1/4 cup jam
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla (You're all making your own now, right? Seriously - try it.)

Heat oven to 400.
Grease muffin tins.
Whisk the jam til smooth and set aside.

Mix dry ingredients.
Mix wet ingredients.
Add wet to dry and stir until batter is just blended.

Fill muffin cups halfway.
Make a shallow well in the center of each with a spoon.
Fill with a rounded teaspoon of jam.
Cover with remaining batter.

Bake 12 minutes.

If you'd like, dust the tops with confectioners' sugar.

I've wondered what the subdivisions that are sprouting up on the farmland down the street will look like in the future. Will they take on personality? Or will they remain (not so) little boxes made of ticky tacky that all look just the same?

Roasted Carrot Soup 16 Carrots, peeled, cut into chunks (about 1 1/2 inch) 1 Yellow Onion, quartered 1 Sweet Potato, cut into chunks (about 1 1/2 inch) 6 Cloves Garlic, whole 5 Cups Stock 1/4 tsp Ground Ginger 1/4 tsp Ground Nutmeg 2 Tbsp Olive Oil Coarse Salt to taste Freshly Ground Black Pepper Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Arrange the carrots, onions, sweet potato and garlic in a baking tray. Mix in the olive oil and sprinkle with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Roast the carrot mixture for 45 minutes to an hour. Remove from the oven. Peel the skin from the garlic. (I just peeled it before roasting.) Put into a large saucepan. Add the stock, ground ginger, and nutmeg. Bring it to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Allow the mixture to cool slightly, and then puree. Simmer over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.