There's nothing like taking a trip up north and watching people harvest their own food to recognize how self-sufficient you aren't. My friends in Vermont are actually tapping, boiling, filtering, and bottling their own syrup from three hardy trees in the back yard and have something like five gallons a day coming through right now! This shot was taken at a neighboring syrup farm where vials of syrup from each "harvest" was taken and preserved over the years (some of these date back 30-40 years!) to compare their color. Depending on the time of the season, outside consditions, nutrient level of the trees, etc., the syrups can range from light to dark (or, "fancy" to "dark amber"). Really cool to watch how it's done, but wow... that's a lot of work!

Despite the cold, it's also been another giant season of birthdays and those depicted here span October to March, and the concoction of many a novelty cake! The first is an enormous single cupcake, done by Lynn for Jason's father's birthday, and the second cake is the Espresso Chiffon Cake with Fudge Frosting picked up from the Smitten Kitchen's adaptation of Alisa Huntsman's Sky High: Irresistible Triple-Layer Cakes cookbook. We also enjoyed a genuine Viennese chocolate cake (an authentic gift from Austrian friends) and others to celebrate some benchmark anniversaries.

I myself have always been more a fan of fruit pies and chocolate mousse than cookies and cakes, but birthday's reliably scream for cake and candles are getting so fun these days, that how can you resist?

Does anyone else feel like they're a couple of seasons behind? I definitely do, so here's a shot from the fall in Connecticut of apple picking season! Actually, a really fun day to look back on - one of the first times I'd hung out with my new sister-in-law without the guys. I am still eating apples - not this batch, of course - in the chilly rain, waiting for spring...

No, this is not a picture from last weekend's Snowmaggedon... turns out the storm was all a bunch of phooey anyway here in the city! Prepared to face the storm with shovels and bags of salt, we were instead blessed with about 1/2 inch of powder! But they closed the office at 2pm just the same! Flash back to mid-October when I took this shot from the highway approaching MA from the south... This was the first snow of the season and I truly didn't believe that what we were seeing pummeling the windshield was snow until it turned into the size of golf balls. This New England weather certainly keeps you on your toes!

And now, a few of my favorite shots from sessions I did at the end of last year. This one took me back to the little worlds we create for ourselves when we're little. Whatever happens to all that creativity?

This picture was taken during a shoot this Fall. Kids are such a balance because they are adorable, of course, but also wiggle around a lot! It was nice having the structure of the glass cases to keep the frame steady, and we got more keepers than I expected on a gloomy day! But, then, how could this face not cheer you up? 

My thoughtful husband has been so great about ensuring we don't eat Anna's burritos and take-out pizza all week long, so tonight I decided my turn was long overdue. I went with an old favorite - Shepherd's Pie - but off the recipe books this time! A blend of onions, peas, ground beef, and the secret ingredient... about half a cup of Port. But let's face it - Port is pretty good in just about anything. I have been practicing more with Sherry in sauces too. It's got me on the hunt for a good sauce-cooking class. You know, in my free time!

Do you ever judge the success of your cooking ventures by how closely the result matches the picture in the cookbook? Me too. I'm not even sure how people manage to get excited about cooking without the pictures. Particularly when there are so many beautiful ones out there. I watched Baking with Julia this morning and sighed on cue as she helped make a flourished chocolate cake with a pastry chef colleague. And sometimes it is just all about the flourish!

Anyway, here's a recent holiday effort to make an apple tart courtesy of Smitten Kitchen via Alice Waters, via Jacques Pepin. Unfortunately, the picture didn't come out like I'd hoped, and I (gasp)skipped a couple of steps, so this version is missing the fold-over crust. I'd give it a "6." But, as they say, it's good to have goals.

I love our neighborhood!! This is just one that one of our local restaurant cooks up on Saturday mornings, and this is what we had on Jason's birthday this year - the first celebration of many! Lately, I've become something of a quarter-dozen cook - I don't do it quite enough to justify more than three eggs in the refrigerator at any given time, and since that causes me to buy eggs much less... it's very important to have a breakfast joint nearby! I only wish the coffee were a little stronger, but this food will get you started - with or without the caffeine!

This day couldn't have been planned more perfectly. Drinks on the balcony. A boy in French cuffs. A girl in a favorite white dress. Reedy docks, dewy grass, chocolate cake, happy faces. Such great memories of my brother's wedding day! And there we sat, beneath a Campari Orange and the sun came down on contagious laughter and Bulgarian dances. Congratulations guys!

Here's a shot from about a month ago of my very first successful forray into gardening! And I finally tasted the fruits of my labor this morning, with a single, painstakingly plump and very tiny yellow cherry tomato! It is amazing how gardening brings out your nurturing gene - how I've spent each morning of the last three months traipsing out into the driveway with my apple juice carton of water for the budding plants only to find that many of the leaves need pruning and there are no budding fruits or vegetables on each scrawny little limb. Now I know everyone this season is talking about how the early summer rains killed any hope of successful tomatoes, but when I see my neighbor's gangly vines tantalizingly dangling full-grown Heirloom and plum tomatoes shadowing my little knee-high plants, I have to wonder... But today was validation that it's all been worth the effort. And maybe my next year my little guys will have their day in the sun.

I am amazed to discover how difficult it is to get wheat to put in a flower arrangement! Our florist for the wedding has told me that it will cost over a HUNDRED dollars to add wheat into the mix... meanwhile I have been thinking it would be the most natural, inexpensive filler fo fill out our various wedding bouquets! Of course, now that I know how difficult it is to get, I'm seeing it just about everywhere, springing up in garden arrangements and as a weed outside our local pizza dive. Is it trashy to pick flowers and fill your own arrangement?

Jason shined up these amazing vintage porcelain brown door knobs we found in the house. We think they're at least 50 years old and he polished them so well you can see your reflection in them! It's the little details that add the most to the renovations!

Our friend and neighbor Pete has been bringing over fresh tomatoes from his abundant garden this summer, which in my view is just the coolest thing ever. Never did I imagine I would move into a neighborhood where folks on the other side of the fence would drop off home-baked cookies on your first week in the new place or where you'd find a plastic bag of sun-ripened tomatoes hanging off your mailbox! But such is our new home... I think I've moved into some kind of paradise. 

This unexpected gift encouraged me to try something I've only watched in the past - making my own from scratch tomato sauce. I wanted to keep it really simple, because I knew the tomatoes would be tasty on their own. But it far exceeded my expectations, so I thought I'd share with those of you who maybe have your own tomato patches finally blossoming after all this rain! Here goes:

SAUCE FROM SCRATCH
2 tbsp butter
1/2 chopped onion
garlic (as much as you like!)
4 whole (fresh) tomatoes
1/2 lime
2 tbsp cottage cheese
1/4 cup white wine
chopped fresh basil
leftover green vegetables
1 tbsp tomato paste
Salt & pepper to taste

Bring a few quarts of water (enough to cover pasta for 2) to a boil. Throw all four whole tomatoes (with skin, stems, etc.) into the boiling water. Leave stewing for 5-7 minutes. While tomatoes are stewing, chop garlic, onion, basil, and leftover vegetables and set aside. Warm butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Add onions, garlic, vegetables and basil, stirring occasionally. Now that tomatoes are ready, remove from water with slotted spoon and place in a bowl of cold water. Add pasta to boiling water and let cook. Make a thin slice in the hot tomato skin and peel the full skin from each tomato, one by one. Open up the tomatoes with your thumbs and coax out the tomato seeds into the bowl of water and set on cutting board. Add wine and lime juice to the onion mixture. Roughly chop the peeled and seeded tomatoes and add to onion mixture. Add tomato paste and salt/pepper. When pasta and sauce are cooked and at desired consistency, add cottage cheese (or heavy or sour cream) to sauce and mix well before serving.

As some of you know, I took a trip to India a few years back and created a blog-style book about the various friends, foods, and flavors of my trip! I've entered my book in Blurb.com's book contest and would love your vote! Here are just a few of the shots from within, spanning the sticky and fantastic climates of Chennai, Delhi, and Pondicherry. You can click the link in the right-hand menu to cast your vote. Thanks for your support!