Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Simpler. Sorta.

Hello, lovelies! Sorry for the wee break there! That was certainly unintentional.

Fall is here, and I could not be more delighted. Oh fall. How I love thee. Jackets have been brought out from storage, hats have been knit, and root veggies have been roasted. All very good things.

(Both of the above jackets were hand-knit by the boys' great-grandma, and belonged to my husband when he was a wee one.)

On a particularly rainy and sleepy day last week, my husband played hookie from work (shh!), and we all took a day to relax and decompress. Or, that was the idea. Rather than slowing down, I simplified, sort of. In an ongoing effort to free ourselves from relying on corporations to feed us, we have taken many steps to simplify our food. We always buy most of our produce from the local market, and always buy organic. To take an extra step, I decided to use my "free" day to cook up some other goods that would have otherwise been purchased. I whipped up these crackers (yum!), jars upon jars of jam (from the blackberries picked a few weeks ago... I used this recipe), and fig newtons.

The fig newtons were a real treat. They are Quinn's favorite cookie (really, the only cookie he knows...). They were a little labour-intensive, but surely worth it. The recipe is from Vegan With A Vengeance.

Another treat is the little Italian shop we have a few blocks away that sells vegan ravioli! Goodness. I love ravioli, and theirs is just fantastic. They sell 3 kinds: butternut squash, mushroom, and spinach, and all three are just lovely. I whipped up some homemade pesto, and a fresh salad, and dinner was served!


We had a fantastic weekend, attending a vegan pie party (oh yes. I have some good friends.), and the Taste of Health. I also threw together this hat for Quinn at the last minute. It didn't turn out quite as charming as the photo in the book, but I kind of love it anyways. It has a sweet pilgrim feel to it. And the hot air balloon ribbon just makes me smile.


I hope you all are doing well and keeping cozy!

xo

4 comments:

becka said...

Those fig newtons!! I don't think I've ever actually had a fig newton, but they look delicious. Yay for good friends :)

Monika K said...

Sounds delightfully sweet. Count me in for a simpler way of life (as long as it includes my computer). (-:

Alanna said...

How funny! My husband just requested some homemade fig newtons a few days ago. I'm gonna have to go get VWAV now!

Love the hats... and yay for fall!

Anonymous said...

Ah Julie.

I love fall and everything great that comes with it.

Happy October lovely!