Pies & Life & Babies

Thank you so much for all of your kind words and assurances over our Wild child. Were it not for the bandages placed front and center on his wee forehead, you'd think nothing had even happened. He's a trooper, that one. We follow up with a facial surgeon on Thursday. Fingers and toes crossed that those bandages, once removed, reveal nothing except a nice, healing wound.

I've got a few posts up other places that I thought you might enjoy reading. You can find me chatting about pie-making and country-living on Verve. There are also two seasonal pie recipes for your pleasure up over at Mrs. Wages.

Hope your Tuesday is going swimmingly!


*Image by Naomi Johnson.

What I'm Digging

Happy Friday, friends! We had a bit of a harrowing day yesterday, chez English. Things were going great. The breeze was fine, there was no humidity, the birds were chirping, life was good. Hubs was in the garden and Huxley and I were on the patio, weeding. The tiny Englishman, however, decided, all of a sudden, to climb onto a patio chair, which pitched over backwards, landing his tiny forehead right into our raised stone flower bed. I ran to him as he sat there screaming, only to turn his tiny body towards me and discover a huge, bleeding gash.

Lots of heightened emotions and an ambulance ride later, we arrived at the hospital, where he underwent a dose of ketamine, some stitches, and a CT scan to rule out head trauma (he got sick three times after coming out of sedation). He's home and on the mend now, but it was a night fraught with worry and stress and nerves and crying 'round here.

Whew. Nothing really prepares you for the profound worry that accompanies parenting. I'd never before experienced such intense agony over the thought of losing someone before yesterday. I adore Hubs, and can't imagine not having him in my life. But my child, my tiny boy, my baby. Oh, to see him cry and be in pain and worry about his little head. Well, let's just hope that was the first and last such trip we'll ever take (fingers firmly crossed!).

So, on to better and brighter things, shall we? Here's a smattering of this's and that's that caught my attention this week:
*Claudia (profiled in Home Dairy) makes a proper ricotta.
*HUGELY crushing on Whole Larder Love.
*A trifle for your troubles.
*Three cheers for foodscaping.
*Homesprout is just adorable.
*I think we need to recreate this on our patio.
*Almond cake with lemon and creme fraiche glaze. Get you some.
*Deb does strawberries just right, in biscuit and cake form.
*Grow grape leaves, and fill them with deliciousness.

Tomorrow we begin the first photo shoot for my new book. I am over the moon with excitement, especially since I'll be paired with Jen Altman, a photographer whose eye I trust with every core of my being. Also, she's just a generally righteous lady whose company I can't get enough of.

Whatever you do this weekend, wherever you go, whomever you share it with, may it be grand!

Recent Acquisitions: The Spice Bible

When you enter our home, you enter directly into the kitchen. What's technically the "rear" of the house is used as the front, while the actual "front" is fenced-in and located at the far end of a circular driveway. It's a strange orientation for a house tucked in a cove, a mile down a dirt road, but it works for us.

Once you walked in, if you'd never been here before, the first thing you'd likely notice is the sienna, pumpkin, tumeric-esque color of the room we easily spend most of our waking hours in. Hubs painted it that hue long before we met (by the way, this color-loving man of mine holds an MFA with a concentration in color theory from a fine Ivy League university-he humbly states that said degree would make a nice place mat). It is, I think, probably the best color for a kitchen I've ever encountered. That is, if you like to eat. Its earthy, spicy tone is warming and enlivening and great for stimulating the gustatory inclination. Otherwise, I hear blue shades work as appetite suppressants. But none of that here. We're eaters. And cooks. And bakers. And all-things-food-related lovers. 

This love of spices moves beyond the color choices for our walls, however, and directly into our bellies. We're crazy about spices, chez English, and use them liberally, and often. To wit-every morning, soon as we roll out of bed and meet the needs of the chorus of 4 meowing cats and 2 rowdy dogs, I fire up the kettle, head to the coffee grinder, add some beans, and toss in either cardamom seeds, a bit of cinnamon stick, or some nutmeg, depending on the day's whim.

We bake with spices, season with spices, even drink with spices. It's fitting, then, that my Pop, his wife, and my sisters gave Hubs Jane Lawson's The Spice Bible for his birthday this past Friday. A hefty tome, the book offers detailed information and culinary history on 45 global spices, from ajowan (What? Exactly.) to wolfberry. Origin, uses, pairings and 250 recipes will have us cooking up everything from Cardamom Chicken (have mercy!) to Lamb with Juniper to Saffron Panna Cotta.
So far, every recipe I've looked at has been met with a "YES!" or "We're totally making that."

The Spice Bible is a welcome addition to our culinary library. Florida family, we thank you. Next time you're visiting, we'll cook you up something nice and spicy.

Come Join Me!

Happy Monday, friends! Hope your weekend was a good one. Ours was amazing! Huxley was cool, calm and collected with his aunt Theo Friday night while we went out for our combo birthday/anniversary date. So much so, in fact, that when we arrived back home, he was fed, bathed, p.j.'ed and asleep in his swing. Go, auntie, go!!! And the meal. Oh, the meal. We sampled and oohed and ahhed our way through 9 of Curate's sensational tapas. And a pitcher of sangria. For the first sans-bebe date we've had in 19 months, it was completely and wholly worth the wait.

We're getting closer and closer to the launch of the redesign of small measure. It looks like it'll be live within a month or so. I am SO excited about the new look Alisa is putting together. She's such a gem of a designer. You should all seriously consider hitting her up yourselves should you be in need of any graphic work.

As the date of the redesign is coming more and more near, I thought I'd put it out there again that I'll be offering sponsor spaces with the new format. I'm so pleased with the response I've received so far. We'll have everything from crafters, to soapmakers, to bakers showcasing their splendid wares.

I'd love for you to join me, if you're so inclined. I've got a wide range of sponsor sizes and rates, accommodating every budget. If you'd like more information, let's chat: ashleyadamsenglish(at)gmail(dot)com.

What I'm Digging

Happy Friday, friends! 'Tis a special day, chez English. A special weekend, in fact. Today marks another glorious trip around the sun for Hubs, while tomorrow is the 5th anniversary of when we took the nuptial plunge and read our vows to each other down in our lower field. He's a man of immense talent, overflowing generosity, and profound humility, this man 'o mine. I can't imagine a better partner to go through this journey of a life with. Huxley thinks he's pretty swell, too!

Since we both work from home, and are always with our little guy, we've, believe it or not, yet to have a date for just the two of us since becoming parents. And so, with excitement in our hearts and complete confidence in the babysitting abilities of my little sister (who is visiting) in our noggins, we're headed out tonight for a fancy dinner at Curate. I can't wait to put on something pretty, make a toast to Hub's birth and the strength of our union, and then chow down.

In the meantime, here's a smattering of this's and that's that caught my attention this week:
*Anthrologie has a magazine, and they recently profiled two lovely female farmers. 
*The first lady wrote about the first garden.
*Homemade orange creamsicles!
*DIY nontoxic sunscreen.
*THIS tree fort!
*Loving the Lexicon of Sustainability.
*Blueberry Lemon Verbena pie, oh my!
*Create a wild pollinator habitat.
*How to take better food photos (I SO needed to learn this).
*Homemade seed bombs.
*Love this necklace.

Also, the season of s'mores is upon us. I've got a post chatting about that very thing today over on Design Sponge.

Wherever you go this weekend, whatever you do, and whomever you do it with, may it be grand!

Food In Jars (+ Giveaway!!!)

You know those bloggers that, whenever they make a new post and it shows up in your inbox, you just can't wait to read it? Marisa McClellan of Food In Jars is one such person for me. Soon as a new post from her appears in my email, I make a beeline to her site. Whatever new concoction she's dreamed up, it's always intriguing, and it's always good.

Imagine my supreme delight, then, when she asked if I'd be interested in reviewing a copy of her new book. Packed with the best of the blog's offerings and so much more, Food In Jars is an absolute gem. As we enter into high production season for all manner of foods put into jars, Marisa's book is resource you will definitely want to have on hand.

The photography is sensational and the chapters offer something for everyone. After an introduction outlining the world of canning for newcomers, Marisa delves into jars to fill your entire pantry: Jams, Fruit Butters, Jellies, Marmalade (Blood Orange Marmalade, YES!!!), Curds & Conserves, Chutneys & Condiments, Pickles, Salsas and Relishes, Tomatoes, Syrups (Blueberry Lemon Syrup, OH YES!!!), Whole Fruit, Granola In Jars, Nut Butters, and Other Foods In Jars. She's got it all, pretty much soup (-appropriate condiments) to nuts (-butters). 

Even as an experienced canner, I found myself learning from her helpful tips, delivered in her characteristic friendly "let's do this!" voice. And the recipes presented here are right up my alley, mixing classics with modern twists. It's a good one, this book, penned by an experienced, personable, true-blue lady.

Marisa and her publisher, Running Press, in addition to gifting me with a copy of Food In Jars, have offered one giveaway copy to a small measure reader. How very lucky for you! To enter, simply leave a comment below, listing something you look forward to putting in jars. I'll start. Tomatoes. Plain and simple. We use a TON of tomatoes chez English and just planted 38 of the plants to grow, harvest, and can. If I never purchase another jar of far-away-grown-and-preserved tomatoes, I'll be a very, very happy woman.

Please leave a means of contacting you in your comment, should you be the winner. This step is crucial. If there's no link to a blog, or website of your own, or email address in your comment, then I'll sadly have to draw another random number. If you'd rather not leave your email address public, simply leave an anonymous comment and then shoot me a private email with your contact information.

I'll run the giveaway for a week, ending at midnight EST June 6th. Even if you don't win, do check out both Marisa's book and her blog. Whether you're already a fan of the water bath or just about to get your lids wet for the first time, you'll be equally smitten. She's got a good thing going on, which will be evident immediately.


*Click on any of the images above to make them larger. 

UPDATE: Thank you SO much to everyone that entered! Anastasia was the lucky winner! Yay!!! 

Dirty Work

These days of mid-spring, they are so very magical, aren't they? Everything is out of the ground, growing up so quickly and giving so much sensory stimulation. We've been out moving and digging and building and watering and planting and so. much. more in the garden, each and every day. I thought I'd show you a bit of what we've been up to.

1) The pea trellis (first and second photos) is going like gang busters. I adore peas, so here's hoping we have a massive crop to eat fresh and freeze for later use.
2) Hubs built these risers to keep the tiny Englishman off of the pots, as he was sort of leap-frogging from one to the next across the garden. These 12 contain our sweet peppers (there are a mess of hot peppers planted in the raised beds; since Hubs would put hot sauce on top of a jalapeno, we can never have too many hot peppers for making hot sauce).
3) We added on to the pea trellis, making a long bed for trellising pickling cucumbers beside it. There's 15 cukes planted there, and another 6 in a raised bed. In a few months, I plan to be swimming in cucumbers, and up to my elbows in vinegar and pickling spices.
4) The raised lettuce beds we made by appropriating plastic bins left by the previous owners (our property used to house an organic flower and herb farm when Hubs purchased it back in 2005, two years before we met). We drilled some extra drainage holes in them so that water wouldn't pool inside when we have serious drenching storms. Having them raised also keeps both slugs and the tiny Englishan from easy access (see #2).
5) We're excited about this sorrel bed. We figured we'd give it it's own space, for perennial purposes. Can't wait to make some sorrel and potato soup and enjoy all that lemony-flavored, nutrient-dense green goodness.

There's also been some tomato trellising going on, which I'll share with you soon. And, currently in the works (as in, right this very minute, as he's out there with drill and wood screws and wood planks in hand), Hubs is putting a raised platform and pergola beside Huxley's sandbox. The plan is to put our wrought-iron cafe table and chairs there and grow some native vine-ing edible something or other up the posts, creating an edible shade on top. If you've got any suggestions for something  that grows fast, produces prolifically, looks good, and tastes delicious, I welcome your feedback. And I'll post some images as soon as it's photo-worthy.

So much work. So much fun. Soon the dog days of summer will be upon us and we'll be ready to just sit out there, watch the chickens peck, the dogs pant, the baby play, and the plants grow. It'll all be worth the dirty work incurred to get it to that place.