Guest Book :: Our Humboldt Friends

Some friends came to visit us this weekend. And we couldn’t help but remark that, to Dave and I, they are those friends that you wish everyone had… friends that marvel you with their open hearts and helpfulness. They have the things I wish I had more of and am always savoring after they leave :: perspective, practicality, contentment, humor, and (most of all) a general feeling of rightness with the world. With them I am more relaxed; I feel that I am my better self.

Would you like to meet them?

This is Steve. He is one of the funniest people I know and he always does the right thing. He was the first non-family member that we entrusted to babysit Annabelle -a very big deal! He has that uncanny ability to bring levity to the most serious situation while also making you felt heard and validated. And he likes hugs.

This is Huxley. He’s fifteen and super great. The last time Hux saw Annabelle she was two years old and Annabelle fell head over heels in love with him. She kept kissing him and hugging him and following him around.

Here they are almost three years ago…

And here they are today. The wedding will be in 2027. Stay tuned.

Imagine having someone walk into your house, sit down and ask all the right questions. Then you share some fun board games and laugh together at your husbands. Then there’s more amazing conversation while she compliments and drinks up your rejuvelac. Then the next day she says, “How about we spend the next two hours and unpack your last boxes and rearrange your living room the way you want it?” And no matter how much you say no, she just jumps in and gets it all done just in time to say, “That felt good!” before she walks out the door to go home. That's Lynette.

Lynette is actually an angel that walks on our Earth with us.

It is nice to be loved. I am lucky to have friends like these.

In the kitchen

Dave came home from work and joined Annabelle on the floor to play a game together. I went to the kitchen, loaded a cracker with my new "cheese" and brought it to him.

Dave :: Yum! That's good! HEY - is that your cheese?!

He liked it. And so did Annabelle, another surprise. She ate several celery sticks full. A success!




Essentially, I soaked three cups of raw cashews in water overnight. Then I put them in the Cuisinart along with 1/2 C water and the powder from three probiotic capsules. Then I wrapped it in cheesecloth and let it sit on the counter for three days.

This afternoon I took about a third of the mixture and added 2t lemon juice, 1t nutritional yeast, 1t salt, 3-4t fresh chives, some pepper and some herb that I couldn't identify but guess that it was thyme. It was super simple and I swear it really does taste like cheese.

Now for the freezer test... I will see what happens with a thawed batch next week!



Here is my rejuvelac. I drank a glass full and it was okay. With something sweet added (maybe juice?) it would taste pretty good. It will be my spring break experiment. I know it is easy to add to other foods to reap the fermentation benefits, but the only thing I can really dream up to use it in would be smoothies.

Some of you might remember my Summer of Salads two years ago, when I decided that I would serve a salad as the whole meal every single night for dinner. It was really really great for two months and after that it "was a good idea" that was beginning to go too far. Just in time our local lettuce growers stopped selling lettuce because the season was over. Then I quickly declared that we would begin the Winter of Soups!

As it turns out, I like salad a whole lot more than I like soup. And I gave it up after a month and went back to my Sunday baking day routine and the Winter of Soups quickly turned into the Winter of Apple Pies.

But I bring this up because I have seriously been considering starting the Spring of Smoothies. The weather is changing, I'm in sandals every day now at school, and a breakfast smoothie mixed up with some fruit, vitamins, rejuvelac, and yogurt sounds delicious.

This was the biggest surprise : strawberry ice cream. Made with 1/2 C of sugar, a cup of half and half, six strawberries and some water. It is so good that I claimed to have made it for Dave and it's nearly gone already -and he hasn't even sampled it yet. I never realized how easy an ice cream maker is to use. Yesterday I made dairy free coconut ice cream for Annabelle and then she had it for breakfast this morning. That was fun! (Though she did tell her entire kindergarten, so I heard all about it later.)

These recent posts about cooking are actually the novelty they seem to be. I've been regularly coming home early from school because I am hacking and sniffling with this cold virus. And though I'd like to be in bed, afternoon naps leave too much room for Annabelle to get into all kinds of mischief... so we have been cooking together instead. I've appreciated the change of pace.

The aroma of raw food

Doesn't this look good? No. It doesn't. Yet, these two pots line up my next biggest challenge in the kitchen :: raw food.

I know! I can hardly believe it myself. Not only did I give up pork for Lent (which is still as difficult as it was on the very first day) but now I am attempting something that I never ever thought I would try - uncooked food.

I did not research why doing this is important. I have no special guesses about whether or not this will be something Annabelle will enjoy. I don't actually know any health benefits of eating raw, though the health benefits seem to be the only reason for doing it from what I can tell.

The only thing that compels me to try this is that last Sunday I went to a potluck and tasted some of the best cheese I've ever had. And then I learned it wasn't cheese. In fact, it was mostly fermented cashews mixed up with a few other things, primarily something called rejuvelac.

So, as you can see, the first pot holds three cups of soaking cashews and the second pot holds two cups of quinoa which I am attempting to sprout for the purpose of making the rejuvelac. The whole process is going to take several days, including blending the cashews with some probiotics, straining the blended nuts in cheesecloth on the counter while it ferments, and then mixing in the herbs of my choice. And, voila, soon I will have a tasty, dairy free, raw Chevre.

Actually, it's a lot of work but I kind of like the challenge. And I hear that it freezes well.

I peeked into the pots several times today and noticed nothing had changed. And they have no smell either. And I am beginning to realize some of my favorite things about cooking - the house smells so good! The food looks so yummy! It sizzles and makes you want to eat. Raw food doesn't do any of that so far.

These are Chia seeds. The same exact seeds that sprout to make the famous Chia Pet from the 1980s, which I still occasionally see for sale in craft stores. These seeds were the primary ingredient of the most delicious and fruity pudding that was sitting in a big bowl right next to that delicious cheese I mentioned above. I had three helpings. (The bowl of pudding was very big and there was lots of encouragement.) It had the consistency of tapioca, but with a lighter feel overall. Lots of fresh blueberries and strawberries. It was really, really yummy.

In contrast to the cashew cheese, the pudding only takes about 20 minutes to make. Apparently Chia seeds easily become slippery, sticky and enlarged like tapioca.


They are fun to look at, aren't they? Kind of like looking at coarse beach sand. You can buy Chia Seed where you buy Flax Seed, I found it in the bulk section at Whole Foods. The huge bowl at the party required only 4 Tablespoons, so a little goes a long way.

This afternoon I wondered what else I could make that would be raw and tasty? Then I remembered the ice cream maker Dave bought for me at a garage sale last month. Ice cream is raw, isn't it? But then I wondered : Is sugar raw? Probably not. I cleaned it up and put the canister in the freezer to get ready for a free afternoon this week, and to buy a little more time for wondering about raw ice cream.

If I succeed at these recipes I promise to take pictures and post again. And if you want the recipes before I finish this culinary adventure, let me know!

Her drawings...

"Here mom, have a cheese car."


Self portrait


In every person-house-tree picture Annabelle draws, there are constants :: always a walkway, always flowers, always smoke coming from the chimney, and the trees are always drawn as giant balls riding on top of thick trunks. Here, and below, she drew angels (a boy and a girl) flying around outside. When I ask her if she is in the picture she says, "I'm inside!"


Just recently she stopped adding windows to the roof portion of the house, but there are often many windows and clouds in the sky.

I had put this drawing aside after Annabelle drew it, until Dave picked it up and asked me, "Do you know what this is? It's her qwerty!" So it is... Annabelle drew the entire keyboard alphabet from memory while sitting at the table. I'm still a little amazed. I love that the last line is completely in reverse.

Zoo Log

When we left this morning for the zoo I grabbed a notebook and stuffed a couple crayons in my pocket. I wasn't sure if I would draw or not. But carrying the notebook is a constant reminder, not to mention the crayons I bumped into every time I put my hands in my pocket.

It was the first time I have ever tried to draw a live animal. And definitely the first time I gave myself the task of completing each drawing in under 60 seconds. But the time limit was a blessing and I quickly became unattached, ready to flip the page and start another one...

The best moment was when I was quietly contemplating the warthog and two other women came up to the railing next to me. I looked over and they each also had their own notebooks and were walking around drawing all the animals!

My worst drawings I cannot show here. Not yet anyway. But I did notice that every time I perceived that someone was watching me, that particular drawing was not successful... and the two times when someone would actually stand over my shoulder and hold up their child and comment about what I was doing, well those drawings were not finished -I just had to smile and move on to the next area.

I feel extra motivated to go back and try this experiment again. I noticed so many things I had never seen before, even in animals I thought I knew exceptionally well! It was quite an exciting time. And much much easier than trying to draw people. Animals just do their thing, sometimes quickly (like the anteater, wow, that was a five second drawing) or slowly (like the polar bears and wallaroos). I walked away from each animal a little surprised at what I knew about them.

It was very very fun!

(the extraneous lines are from scanning the images...)

The Sunday Zoo

I have begun to realize that I work too much and when I'm not working I'm thinking about working. I think this is, unfortunately, pretty normal for Waldorf Teachers. Then, last Thursday a colleague handed me an article about planning fun and the necessity of purposely planning activities that are fun. In one way it seemed obvious :: we love the zoo, so let's go to the zoo! But it was harder than I thought to walk away from dirty dishes in the kitchen, and clothes strewn about the bedroom. Gah!

But how many times did I think of those dirty dishes while I was walking and walking and walking around the San Francisco Zoo? None! That was very nice. It was a great afternoon.

The only purpose of this picture is to show off my newest bag that I crafted last weekend... and perhaps to embarrass myself in a few years when my sunglasses have become SO 2010.


Lemurs and monkeys were the first stop, per Annabelle's request. The monkeys were in full form, playing chase and swinging around and teasing each other. Don't you just want to pick up this little lemur and cuddle him?


I must have taken thirty photographs of Annabelle on the carousel trying to catch her in the frame and in the mood of the ride...


...the horse wanted his own picture.


This fellow will certainly find his way to my chalkboard at school!


They had an insect exhibit in the children's zoo area and a man was holding this Walking Stick bug and allowing people to pet it. So I stuck my hand out and held the camera in the other hoping the bug would crawl on me... and it did! But the man became very uncomfortable, "Oh! I'm not allowed to let anyone hold it! Uh oh! No, no! That's not okay!" The bug's feet were incredibly sticky and I could not pull my hand away! I started laughing and he became more agitated and the whole situation was hilarious to me but I think that the man was breaking a sweat by the time he had the bug back.

I often notice how people become uncomfortable or shy when their hands touch. We use our hands for absolutely everything, yet when we touch our hands together it feels so incredibly intimate, especially when we do it by mistake. I had not intended to touch this man's hand but did, and then when the bug was attached to both of us I could not help it... and in my own discomfort I began to laugh and in his, he began to panic. It was such a human moment. I wanted to turn the camera towards him and take a picture of his face, but my sympathy overran that impulse.


After we told Annabelle that it was time to go she requested the park map, stood still in the middle of the path and pointed out everything we had not yet done. I explained that in the course of five hours I was certain we walked through everything, but Annabelle looked up with an expression of pure deprivation and exclaimed, "But we missed the dinosaurs!"

Painting with mom

This afternoon I was given a reprieve and left school early... and I knew exactly what I wanted to do with our time together. So we grabbed some groceries, got some lunch, dodged the rain and finally made it home. A break in the routine was just what we needed!

Annabelle has her own paintbrush and jars of paint. She got started right away while I mixed paints for myself. Of course she wanted to try those too! (Notice the flower in my hair? They are all the rage for the girls in my first grade class...)


I set up my space right next to hers.


That's my girl, swiping your brush just like mommy! I wonder if she does that during paint time in kindergarten?


After she finished painting she stood silently with her hands behind her back. This is DEFINITELY something she learned in kindergarten! After I took her picture I asked her what she was doing. "Waiting for my next paper." So I walked her to the sink and showed her where they were soaking so she could get her own when she was ready.

Here you also get to see most of my work space. It's coming together slowly, but finally organized just enough to be able to sit down and begin a project without the chore of clearing away random things from the tabletop. Of course, having my sewing machines out at all times is a must! They get used several times a week that way...


This picture surprised me. I had expected to catch several pictures of Annabelle and I painting side by side. But instead I saw shot after shot of her watching me paint...




So happy to spend some painting time with momma.


At one point she declared herself, "Done!" and cleaned her paint brush, wiped her paint jars, and dumped the water from her water jars. Then she grabbed the camera and took a bunch of pictures of me. After a while she put down the camera, set up all her painting stuff by herself and started again!


First came the strong one...

...and then the lighter one. (But it will be a challenge for me to leave it like this.)


Voila!


Beautiful!