happy valentine's day

i did a little bit of nail bling for today; nothing too big. it's 24kt gold flecks and a pink heart. i noticed that the 24kt thing was popular in the nail circuit, and remembered i had some flakes left over in a jar from when i was in college and focusing on illuminated manuscripts.

i've got a couple of things i'm messing around with right now, one being spinning on my tulipwood jay spindle. it's bombyx silk and camel. it drafts smoothly and spins with a subtle tawny stripe. the other thing is i traded my violin for a ukulele; just waiting on some better strings, then i'll start to learn how to play it.

for dinner tonight i made vegetarian pot pie filled with asparagus, mushrooms, peas, onion, carrots, and beans, topped with filo dough, and served with rose wine. for dessert i baked white chocolate and cherry scones with strawberry rose champagne tea. the theme was hearts and pink. i used things i found around the house that fit into those subjects. it's really enjoyable setting the table for a special event, i should do it more often.

gifts and gripes

christmas is a holiday which fills me with mixed emotions. i dislike the commercialism, the hokey songs, the male dominated themes of it (santa, scrooge, rudolph, charlie brown, tiny tim, the grinch, ralphie, frosty...), the cutthroat tactics of shoppers, the charity which only shows itself at this time of year (why not be kind all the time?), the fact that it starts in september now. but, i do like receiving gifts, creating handmade gifts, baking, spending time with family, listening to traditional music on performance today, and seeing the festive decorations. i could deal with all the dislikes if it was only for a short time, like say 25 days, rather than the three months christmas seems to be allotted now. in a way, it's really ruining a holiday which used to mean more. i'm tempted to throw the holiday out with the bathwater and just celebrate winter solstice.

well, putting the soapbox aside, my parents put a delicious gift under the tree for me, ippodo tea! a couple of new things i haven't tried before; individual sugared matcha packets, horai-no-mukashi matcha, and new year's bancha. then, an old favorite, karigane tea. how was your christmas, chanukah, kwanzaa, or winter solstice?

a foodies holiday

thanksgiving is a three day holiday. wednesday is for grocery shopping and baking pies. thursday is a day of cooking, table setting, gathering family around, eating, and washing dishes. friday revolves around shopping and creative interpretation of leftovers.

for this holiday, i decided to change our tried-and-true menu up a little. here's my take on the traditional:

tropical fruit salad

cranberry puff pastries

cracked wheat and butterbread stuffing

steamed asparagus

smoked gouda brussel sprouts

mashed squash and golden potatoes

heirloom rice salad with apples & cranberries

broiled sole with shallot butter

pumpkin pie topped with whipped cream

it all cooked up amazingly well! the pumpkin pie is one of the best ones i've had; the recipe called for sweetened condensed milk, ginger, cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg. i semi-baked the crust, then poured in the filling. the only food which was only ok, was the cranberry puff pastry; it needed cheese, brie or havarti, something to cut the tart nature of fresh cranberries. 

i'm thinking an oyster stuffed fish could be interesting and tasty next year. know any good recipes?