Are you trying to muscle me?

I've mentioned our neighbor's feline, Boris, a couple of times before. He's a handsome guy (click on the following links for some photos) and patrols the neighborhood vigilantly -- he's a very social beast and enjoys making his rounds.

He's also a pretty tough cat (even though he does seem to have a bit of a fear of heights) who is bold and stubborn when it comes to his fellow creatures. I regularly find evidence in my yard that he's something of a fowler -- but nothing like what I encountered recently in the shade garden that sits between my house and my car.

Do you think this means Boris wants us to give his adopted family's crooning godson a role in a movie?

The Oscars

I haven't seen any of this evening's nominated movies, but this is one that I will be sure to catch at some point. I love Glenn Close.

Friday Food Photo

Who says you can't find great local food in the middle of winter? I found this monster head of collard greens at the farmers market (courtesy of Riverview Farms) on February 15th!

This provided me with a much-anticipated opportunity to try out this awesome dish from Bryant Terry's new cookbook, The Inspired Vegan. I cooked up some white wine-simmered collard greens with oven-dried tomatoes that evening (alas, we're nowhere near tomato season yet, but the sun-dried tomatoes I used were fantastically tangy).

This was an amazing dish -- and as Terry says, it's not just for the side. I served it with some simple quinoa and it made quite a yummy, satisfying weeknight meal. (Sorry, I couldn't find a recipe online, but use my contact form if you're dying to try it but don't have the book yet and I'll hook you up!)

Seriously, folks. You do not have to be vegan to love these recipes -- or Terry's previous two cookbooks, Grub and Vegan Soul Kitchen. The menus are a blessing for any omnivore who loves interesting food but doesn't always want meat with a meal. Just last night I made the most amazing spicy barbequed tofu triangles from one of the Grub menus and they were absolutely irresistible (served with Tant Hill Farm kale and Riverview Farms Milling cornbread). Yum!

And yes, it's finally Friday, folks! The weather here is crazy at the moment (I actually had to mow the lawn already! In February!!). The temps were up in the mid 70s yesterday, but today is blustery and I think we reached our high temperature at midnight. I don't know what the weekend has in store, but I'm happy it's here! Have a great one, everybody!

GMTA! ;-)

This is also one of my peeves. What is up with the wooden spoon? I have several of them, but really, I have a wooden spatula that is so much more useful in just about every situation...

32 Years Ago...

A beautiful moment, all by itself. It was a great Olympic Games and an incredible season of hockey (especially if you lived in hockey country!). A miracle of a team. The memory of that final game, all these years later, still gives me chills.

But I cherish that final game even more since it ended up being one of the last really wonderful days I spent at my grandparents' house while they were both hale and hearty. Three months later, my grandmother suddenly dropped dead while out mowing her lawn. And less than a year after that, my grandfather succumbed to what I think was, more than anything else, a broken heart.

Both of them were beautiful people and might well have served as molds for the classic, indulgent, loving, yet gently steering grandparents. They spoiled their grandkids (Grandpa was always ready for a game of cribbage, Grannie for a game of scrabble, and there was, without fail, cocoa and buttered toast for breakfast). They bickered with each other (with great affection), and hosted epic family Sunday dinners. Getting to go to their house for weekend sleepovers was always an opportunity to be snatched up without hesitation. And being there to celebrate the American hockey team's victory was exhilarating.

That hockey game was a truly beautiful moment in time.

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Blues Night at the White House