After 10 years of owning chickens, our last passed away yesterday. Luna was ten years old in August, and for a chicken, had a pretty good life. We are sad to see her go but glad she and her sisters graced our beautiful garden for all those years. Bye Luna, we’ll miss you.

Happy Halloween!

Photos taken by the talented David Butler. See his great work at www.dabutler.com

Happy Halloween!

I whipped up a curried sweet potato soup this morning in between getting ready for work. I decided to go as Medusa since I love Greek Mythology, so here I am stirring my cauldron with “snakes” in my hair.

I made this soup for my neighbor who just got out of the hospital after emergency surgery. I omitted the curry flavors in case she prefers not to have the extra flavor. This is still a great soup without the curry, but if your a fan of Indian spice combinations, go for it!

Here’s the recipe:

Simple Curried* Sweet Potato Soup
1-1/2T Olive oil
1-2/3C chopped onion
1 large clove garlic
1T fresh ginger
1t cumin*
1/2t ground coriander*
1/4t cardamom*
1/4t tumeric*
1/8t hot pepper flakes*
2-1/2lbs sweet potatoes
6C. low sodium chicken or veggie stock
salt pepper to taste
(*curry spices may be omitted if you prefer)

Brown onions and garlic, About 7 minutes, in a Dutch oven or soup pot. Add ginger and curry spices, then stock. Peel and cut potatoes and cook until very soft or roast potatoes on grill for smokey flavor, then peel and add to soup. Puree with immersion bender and add salt and pepper to taste.

The key is an immersion blender. Transferring this hot meal to a regular blender is no fun at all.

Today is the first day of the Holidays ~ Enjoy!

Often when I throw my hair up in a messy bun my husband will call it my bird nest. So when I was asked to a party where we were all supposed to wear something in our hair, I thought why not? Pulling two ponytails off-center and a few inches apart, I wound the tails around this little yelow bird. I finished off the nest with streaks of gold hair glitter. The leaves are from my orange tree. The effect was so fun I may reprise this for an upcoming Halloween party.

On a recent trip to New York I was surprised to discover… not much. Now let me say before y’all get on me about not looking hard enough, that I go to New York to discover indie brands and crafters gone start-up. In Manhattan I was hard pressed to find the usual funky shops filled with hand-made goodies found nowhere else in the country. I wanted to see what the hipsters were up to, and while there were plenty of them hanging out and walking around, none seemed to be keeping shop in the city. After three days of scouring Soho, the Warehouse district, Chelsea, the West Village and everything in-between, I stopped a totally adorable 20-something who I secretly wanted to be and asked her where she shops. After explaining to me that no one can afford the rent in the city anymore, the place to find the goods is now out Brooklyn way. So, I hopped the next train under the East River to Brooklyn Flea, this awesome craft fair (pictured above and below) is held every Saturday at the corner of Lafayette and Vanderbilt Avenues.

I bought a bracelet made out of a old record album that was spraypainted and screenprinted (pic to come!), a few ceramics and a woven blanket. I was able to get most of my Christmas shopping done in one day too. After stocking up on crafts, I ran over to Grand Street (in Williamsburg, Brooklyn) to a shop called Bird.

Now we’re talking! This is what I came across the country to find: Groovy clothing, sweet shoes (check out that one on the table!) and great design everywhere you turn. I was charmed by the sign overhead, the little details including fun paper masks and scarves I couldn’t live without. Inside and out, this place is my new fav. Walking around more I discovered life:curated (another favorite!) where I bought the coolest tea towels, a fine cashmere wrap on sale, and several gorgeous letterpress cards. By this time we were hungry and thristy ~ time for dinner…

Friends who recently moved to Brooklyn met us out at Calexico, a quick cab ride from Grand Street. The place was packed and for good reason. This modern taqueria serves fresh food, tasty margs and stocks a cool bunch of peeps. We sat at a large table near the window and enjoyed the last few hours of a great day of discovery.