Lettuce and Radishes

I'm really happy with the new types of lettuce I am growing this year. They are all the colours I love to see in a salad bowl. Conquistador Romaine, Esmeralda Butter Lettuce, and Merlot Looseleaf Lettuce.  I'm enjoying my Globe radishes too. 


I love salad and I can't get enough of any lettuce leaf that is red or purple in colour that contrasts so beautifully with various shades of it's green leafy friends. I am a bit of a snob when it comes to the perfect leaf. I have a strong dislike for the "mixed" lettuce that comes in the giant plastic tub from the super market. To me, it tastes bitter, flavourless and old. It's much better to by whole heads of lettuce and fresh herbs to mix and match as I go. 


But seriously, nothing is better than harvesting baby lettuce leaves straight from my back garden. These sweet, tender little morsels tossed with crisp radishes for an extra bite are what I live for after the long rainy winters on the west coast.  

Rustic Pesto and Arugula

I know I should be posting about my trip to France but I feel like posting about food. Food can bring so much pleasure in life.  I am all about simple, clean, beautiful food. I made a (very) rustic pesto for lunch today by chopping up a few basil and parsley leaves with a sprinkle of pine nuts, a pinch of fleur de sel and a drizzle of walnut and olive oil. I used the pesto in my omelette which made it incredibly savoury and mouth watering. And just when it couldn't get any better, I added a large pile of fresh arugula from my garden. This is what the lunches of my dreams are made of. 

Blueberry Cuties

So it turns out I feel like posting again. I just returned from a trip to France and I am re-adjusting to the time difference. It doesn't help that my baby wakes up in the  middle of the night then I can't get back to sleep. So after laying in the dark for so long, I get up at the crack of dawn. I decided to test out a recipe this morning for Georgia's birthday. I wanted to make something she could eat so I experimented with a gluten free pie crust and blueberry filling.  It should be good. We will eat these cute little pies tomorrow with my first chicken dinner in I can't remember how long. After being vegetarian then vegan, then dairy free vegetarian, then dairy free, gluten free vegetarian who eats eggs and fish, I am ready to  test out a little organic, free range chicken. I have a lot to show you from my trip but it may take ages for me to get the photos all organized and processed. But it will come.

Sean Alexander

source, coyote source

I came a cross Sean Alexander's drawings one day. It was the coyote that caught my eye on pitch design union blog. I tried to find out more about him but when I went to his website, it looked like he deleted all his work. One page was titled "Talk to the Hand" with a picture of his hand and it said, "Erasing. Will post new work if I feel like drawing again".  Now I can't even find that page. I could be mistaken as there are a lot of Sean Alexanders out there on the web but I think this is the guy who made these drawings. In a way I kind of feel like him, I want to erase everything...my facebook, my blog, twitter...everything. I don't really know his story but for me I feel like being online presents a false reality with pressure to keep the online reality alive by posting everything I'm doing in reality so my online reality can keep going. At the same time, being online allows me to access so many talented and creative people which allows me to glean images for inspiration and ideas. It's a double edged sword really. How to strike a fine balance between being online and offline. I guess the question is what is really important? I think I choose real life. I want to live for the sake of living and not for my online reality.    


Will post more if I feel like posting again.  

Hmmm...

If I were an egg, where would I hide? Looks like purple was the dominant colour at the Easter egg hunt this year. It's so hard to get good shots of the kids when they are running around in a crazed state to find easter eggs but I managed to get a few.  It was such a beautiful Easter weekend. The weather was fantastic with big white billowing clouds, blue skies and lots and lots of sunshine.  

Little Man

Banyan had these glasses kicking around his room so we decided to do something fun with them. We dressed Banyan up in his vintage suit jacket and vintage sweater vest, which was his Father's when he was just a wee lad, slapped on a bow tie and voila, a little man.

Finally...

It's over.  My semester is finally over.  I wrote my final exam today and I feel pretty deflated.  March has been one long crunch at school.  Now I can spend what few moments I have on my blog and not feel guilty.  As spring rolls in and the cherry blossoms spread across the city, I hope I can find a renewed sense of vigour for my creativity.