Book Shower + Fall Break (a photo essay)

The third weekend of October, we went to OKC for a Book Shower for Julia and for my cousin's wedding...

our little bookworm received over 50 books at her book shower - and no two were the same! Thanks everybody!

the beautiful bride in the gritty out doors - a beautiful wedding

Julia got to meet Mema (and her great aunts, not pictured) ...

... and her cousins, Ling and Minli (and her aunt Tyler, not pictured).

four generations

Then at the end of that week, Tyler and the girls came to spend their Fall Break in KC with me and Julia! Sergio was out of town, so he missed out on our craft activities and sweets-eating...

artwork by Ling, created at Kaleidoscope
(Minli made a sign for Julia that says 'I'm Hungry')

dozing at Latté Land

Minli at Latté Land

Glacé!

frowning over our very-difficult-to-make Paper Source poppies

Since Snow Cone season is over, thank goodness for Fresher than Fresh Snow Pops at Hammerpress letterpress studio!

Preserving Traditions

Last night at Badseed, I did a demonstration on freezing greens as part of Brooke's evening of Food Preservation Demos. I briefly showed everybody who had gathered around the sweltering Badseed kitchen the step by step process of blanching and freezing chard and kale. When I was through, Brooke began demo number two and talked about pickling and canning, that old fashioned staple of homesteading.

I had to scurry away while her demo was going on so that I could make it to the first ever concert for Luna Cantera, Sergio's newest project and collaboration with his sister. They were invited to participate in the Cup of Kindness Summer Benefit Series at Coffee Break, a summer-long series that will benefit a number of organizations in Kansas City.

Tonight's event benefited (and raised over $200 for) Wuqu' Kawoq, an organization that supports the preservation of Mayan language and culture. The performance was a preservation of culture too, if you ask me. Sergio and Christy played several traditional Mexican songs, very heartbreaking tunes that were beautiful. Their own original songs were as charged and moving as the traditional pieces, as well.

And the evening of music flowed nicely, even if the air in the coffee house didn't. The show started with Nick Baker on the marimba, a sound that was cool and refreshing in the heat of a venue with temporarily-out-of-commission AC. Luna Cantera played next. After Sergio and Christy left the stage, Emily Tummins took up her guitar to play some old fashioned tunes (You're the cream in my coffee; you're the salt in my stew with a ukulele, no less) and a Beattles song she just discovered that she loves.

She even took a request from me at the end when I asked her to play You Are My Sunshine, just a little bit more old (and heartbreaking) music to close out the evening of traditions well preserved.

The Cup of Kindness series continues on Fridays: July 17, 24, 31 and August 14, 21, 28. More great music and more great organizations to benefit: March of Dimes, Bridging the Gap, KKFI, Midwest Music Foundation, Rockhill Academy, & The Ronald McDonald House. All events held at Coffee Break at 54th and Troost.

Peach Mint Smoothie (in honor of Magazines and Coffee)

A while back there used to be a delightful place called Magazines and Coffee. It was a small, endearing deli-type spot that specialized in (you guessed it) magazines and coffee. It had Kansas City's most thorough array of periodicals, it had delicious coffee, it had TWA decor that gave the whole place great charm. But it also had food and other drinks, too, and I loved to go for lunch and get a Provolone and Basil sandwich and a Mango Mint Smoothie. Mango and mint? I hadn't seen that combo before. But just one sip and I was sold on it.

I was heart broken when Magazines and Coffee had to say good-bye and it's been a long time since I had a Mango Mint Smoothie. When yesterday's CSA share came with a big bunch of mint, I remembered I had frozen peaches (local, from last summer) and frozen peaches make great smoothies. So I made a mostly-local Mango and Peach Mint Smoothie in honor of Magazines and Coffee. It was divine.

Mango and Peach Mint Smoothie

I did not measure anything (rare for me) and had to call on Master Smoothie Maker Sergio for advice. But here's how it goes, roughly:

frozen peaches (local!)
frozen mango (from an undisclosed location - optional)
honey (local!) or agave nectar
milk (local!) or soy milk
mint (local!), chopped very finely
a blender

I used two kinds of mint - last week's and this week's. One has smaller leaves and is thin, the other has larger, thicker leaves and stalks. The two flavors afforded by using both types of mint offered a range of mintiness that was quite nice.

Now if only I had a Provolone and Basil sandwich and the newest issue of something to read.

Savvy

Sergio was headed down to do laundry tonight when he realized he was completely out of quarters. Uh oh! we said sarcastically. Guess we'll have to run to the grocery store and get some. The truth is we were both looking for any reason to drive our new car. We jumped at the chance to run an errand, be it ever so short a trip.

So off we went to Cosentino's, the happiest place on earth, which is just down the street from this new place we've been eying for a few weeks called Savvy. And it just so happened that tonight was Savvy's opening night; we decided to pop in for an espresso before our grocery store jaunt.

Savvy is a coffee and wine bar and has a full array of both on their menu. This little spot is a welcome addition to downtown, and I fervently hope it will balance out the pulsing Power & Light party vibe. It is a stylish and hip place but simple; the menu is plain and straightforward and presented in a slender binder. The coffee menu, however, isn't printed but rather is written in bright neon marker, of all things, on the board above the bar; it stands out like a sore, unstylish, illegible thumb amidst the otherwise coordinated decor.

lemon lime pound cake, espresso torte, and espresso con panna

There are a few appetizers on the menu and some pastries in a large case. Those looked very inviting indeed. Well, while we're here, we might as well have a dessert we figured. And we did. We opted to sample the sweet side of the menu, rather than the savory, though I am curious to return for their cheese flight and wine. In the meantime, I highly recommend the lemon lime pound cake. It is light, tiny, and fresh. It was a welcome morsel to enjoy with my espresso con panna, which was not bad at all; quite a bit of panna, but that's okay.

And off we went to get groceries and quarters. Not bad for laundry night.

Seattle - Tacoma - Puyallup

First trip to the Pacific Northwest! We spent 3.5 beautiful days (with not a drop of rain - can you believe it?) visiting our friends. Ben and Jieun were gracious hosts and wonderful guides.

They introduced us to all the essentials ... especially the coffee. I had some of the best coffees of my life - doppios, a macchiato, and a half of a Café Nico, which is a divine little drink of very concentrated espresso, half and half, vanilla, orange, and spice. It is all the best things about sweetness and all the best things about bitterness pooled into one tiny cup, topped with foam, dusted with cinnamon, garnished with an orange peel. Indeed, divine.

We ventured to the Museum of Glass in Tacoma and were mesmerized in the "Hot Shop" where we witnessed artists and artisans fashioning flaming molten glass into something else entirely.

The landscape was mesmerizing in a different way, a calming blue and green way. Wherever we went, Mount Rainier followed, sometimes bright and sometimes gray, sometimes standing in the background and sometimes impossible to ignore. Its looming presence was invigorating. Beneath the prominence of "The Mountain" ran the wide zigzag of the Cascade Range and beneath that, the serrated edge of the pine tree horizon persisted as far as the eye could see.

And some day, when I give up all my endeavors to take up ceramics or glass art and create a piece to commemorate this trip, it will be this notched and jagged skyline that will inspire the pattern for the piece, which I will give to Ben and Jieun to say thanks.

Or perhaps I shall learn to depict Mount Rainier in the foam of a tiny macchiato.


Ben & Jieun at Forza in Puyallup

Sergio flying a kite at Owen's Beach in Point Defiance Park, Tacoma

the view of The Mountain from The Sounder (commuter train) Click on this photo - it's more stunning in larger format.

Museum of Glass sculptures in the fall

cheers!