irene...

http://www.wunderground.com/tropical/tracking/at201109_sat.html

looks like she's heading right for us folks...i'm doing my best to hold down the fort and prepare the house and the studio. keep you fingers crossed for us... everyone stay safe out there. wishing everyone the best!

staycation with the hubs....

i feel kind of bad for playing hookie this week! 

"The first week of August hangs at the very top of the summer, the top of the live-long year, like the highest seat of a Ferris wheel when it pauses in its turning. The weeks that come before are only a climb from balmy spring, and those that follow a drop to the chill of autumn, but the first week of August is motionless, and hot. It is curiously silent, too, with blank white dawns and glaring noons, and sunsets smeared with too much color. Often at night there is lightning, but it quivers all alone. There is no thunder, no relieving rain. These are strange and breathless days, the dog days, when people are led to do things they are sure to be sorry for after." 

-Natalie Babbit, Tuck Everlasting

i need to be making pots....lots and lots of pots. but oh well, it seems i never get enough quality with my hubby. i fit in a few mornings here and there at the studio but the boat and some fishes were calling my name.  i'm excited to be back at it today. i ve missed the studio!


wishing you well and thanks for reading!

love this!!!

i often start or finish my day reading other blogs of people who inspire me. this is a blog post by one of my favorite artists, jenny mendes. check out these super cool illustrations!

Jenny Mendes: Venturous Vegetables etc.: "I love these illustrations by T. Benjamin Faucett! I found them after I had been painting my own tomato people. Now I feel even more..."

 T. Benjamin Faucett

new!

adventures in fishing

what's for supper yall...
okay last post, vegan. this post doesn't get more "local" than this...

yep. we ate stingray! while we were out at "shack" fishin on friday evening, nick caught a monster stingray.. our friend dave was with us ( a life long carteret county native) and explained that string ray was some pretty good eatin'. he was right! we fried it up and put in some fish tacos (yum!). nick, wasn't the biggest fan, but i gave it two thumbs up. who knew?

what is on my mind today...

http://blueridgedreams.typepad.com/journal/page/2/

"...the view stretched on and on across rows of blue mountains, each paler than the last until the final ranks were indistinguishable from sky. It was as if all the world might be composed of nothing but valley and ridge." Charles Frazier, Cold Mountain

whats for supper....

the somewhat-mostly-vegan strikes again:

finding vegan foods my meat and potatoes hubby like to eat is sometimes a challenge (eg "really? stir fried variation of tofu again??"). mexican anything, spelt crust pizza, spelt crust calzones, lasagna, lentil cakes and vegan gravy, pad thai and stuffed portebella mushrooms are always good, but i still need more recipes...

my momma came to visit this week. she brought me a whole mess of her "mountain pride" tomatoes fresh from her garden. yu-um. figured they would be awesome in a tomato pie.
here's the basis of my recipe:

(i re figured it to be vegan with a spelt pie crust, of course):

ingredients:
one 9 inch pie shell
4 or 5 medium tomatoes peeled, sliced and drained (use a paper towel to remove excess moisture)
3 spring onions chopped
1/2 onion chopped
2 tsp minced garlic
chopped basil (optional)
1 ½ cups extra sharp cheddar cheese (grated)
1 cup mayonnaise
salt and pepper (to taste)

directions:
bake pie crust according to directions and cool. Next, cover the bottom of pie shell with sliced tomatoes.Salt and pepper tomatoes and sprinkle with basil and onions. Then, in a small bowl, combine cheese and mayo. Cover tomatoes with cheese mix and spread over entire pie. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes until cheese is melted and golden brown. let cool for 5 minutes.

http://www.keepitsimplefoods.com/vegetarian/southern-tomato-pie/#comment-1487

i served it with a side of crunchy oven baked kale chips.

i think its a keeper!

try it at home. thanks for reading!