2011 was a nice year: not a lot of upheaval, I was offered some wonderful opportunities, and I got to take some really fun vacations. I hope this trend continues for 2012!

The first months of 2011 were very snowy and Simon and I spent a lot of time snowshoeing in the forest. I can’t remember such a snowy winter, and while I know most people didn’t like it much, we reveled in it.

Winter finally thawed, and I had the opportunity to go white water rafting on the Concord River. It was great fun and I am hoping to do it again this year (and I am trying to convince Gist to join me!)

Spring also brought us to Walt Disney World for the first time this year.

Summer brought the usual fun: picnics at the Lowell Summer Music Series and Lowell Folk Festival…

Visits to the Quiet Corner…

And to the Cape. (Summer was also the season of iPhone snaps that look vintage.)

My knitting output was low, a whopping five projects, including these mitts for Gist…

Madeleine’s Shawl, my fastest knit ever: I bought the book and yarn at SPA and finished the shawl a week later.

A cozy for my NOOK (this was the year of the e-reader for me, I switched in March.) The NOOK and the cozy are with Nance now.

And I rounded out the year with a couple of hats.

Summer seemed to extend into fall, which seemed to extend into winter: I can’t remember a warmer November or December. October, on the other hand, brought the only snow we’ve had so far: a freak nor’easter with such heavy and wet snow that we lost power for five days. The snow, alas, was gone the next day; we got all of the inconvenience of a storm but none of the joy.

The warm weather made winter bike commuting easy: a 38 degree commute is lovely, especially compared to the below-freezing bike commutes of December 2010!

The warm weather was hard on the plants, though: there were signs of Spring in mid-December.

Christmas brought us back to Walt Disney World for a very magical holiday!

I even got to go swimming on Christmas night!

So that was 2011, overall a very fun year! Here’s to 2012, I can’t wait to see what the new year brings!

From our family to yours.
(Yes, I have turned into *that* crazy dog lady!)

Hello, gorgeous! I am so happy you’re here for a visit!

Rhubarpalooza 2001 started back in early May when I started my Rhubarb Cordial.  It’s really easy to make and crazy delicious.

Rhubarb + sugar + vodka + time = a world of win!

Rhubarpalooza 2011 continued with me making some Rhubarb Syrup to mix with my Rhubarb Cordial:

The marriage of my Rhubarb Cordial and Rhubarb Syrup begat two Rhubarb Cocktails.

And finally, because we needed some solid food up in here, the Rhubarb Tarts that I have been wanting to make for ooooohhhhhh, a year, made an appearance.

The tarts were the real star (no offense to the performers!) at the first Lowell Summer Music Series show (and picnic!) of the season: Chris Isaak.

The show was AH-MA-ZING!

(And Gist helpfully reminds me that I hadn’t yet enjoyed my tart at right about the three-minute mark in Wicked Game )

Rhubarb Cordial
Recipe courtesy of Food 52

• 2 pounds Rhubarb, cleaned and cut into 1″ pieces
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 liter vodka

Place rhubarb pieces in a large clean glass jar. Pour sugar on top of rhubarb. Pour vodka into jar and stir all ingredients together. Let this concoction sit for 1 month or longer, stirring every so often to help break down the sugar and the fruit.

Rhubarb Syrup
Recipe courtesy of The Kitchn

• 4 cups chopped rhubarb
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup water

Combine everything in a heavy-bottomed sauce pan and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to a simmer and cook gently until the fruit is soft and the liquid has thickened slightly, about 20 minutes. Ladle into a fine strainer (or a coarse strainer lined with cheesecloth) that has been placed over a large bowl. Strain until most of the liquid is in the bowl. Give a little press on the solids with a spoon to extract more syrup.

Carefully pour the syrup into a clean bottle, cover or cork the bottle and refrigerate. It should keep for quite some time in the fridge.

Rhubarb Cocktail #1

• 2 parts Rhubarb Cordial
• 2 parts fresh lemon juice
• 1 part Rhubarb Syrup
• Lemon twist

Stir (or shake, if that’s how you roll) all ingredients in ice until the mixture is too cold to handle. Strain into a cocktail glass and garnish with a twist.

Rhubarb Cocktail #2

• Equal parts Rhubarb Cordial and Rhubarb Syrup
• Club soda to fill your glass

Combine all ingredients with ice in a glass. Enjoy!

Rhubarb Tarts
Recipe courtesy of Good to the Grain, Smitten Kitchen variation

• 1 cup corn flour
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup fine cornmeal
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon Kosher or coarse salt
• 1 stick (4 ounces) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• 2 egg yolks
• Rhubarb Vanilla Compote (recipe below)

Sift the dry ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the paddle attachment, add the butter and turn the mixture speed to low and mix to break up the butter. Increase the speed to medium and mix until the butter is as coarse as cornmeal. Add the heavy cream and egg yolks and mix until combined. The dough will look crumbly but when pinched between your fingers, it will come together.

Divide the dough into 10 equal pieces. Lightly flour a work surface and using the heel of your hand, flatten the dough into a rough circle. Continue flattening until it is approximately 5 inches in diameter. Try to work quickly, so the dough doesn’t get too warm and soft, making it harder to handle. For more elegant edges, gently flatten the outer edge of the circle with your fingertips, making it thinner than the rest of the dough.

Spoon 3 tablespoons of the Rhubarb Vanilla Compote into the center of the dough. Fold the edge of the dough toward the compote and up, to create a ruffled edge; continue around the perimeter, letting the ruffles be their bad irregular selves. Slide a bench scraper or spatula under the tart and transfer it to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Continue with the remaining dough. Freeze the tarts on their tray for at least 1 hour or up to 2 weeks, wrapped tightly in plastic.

Preheat over to 375°F. Bake tarts, still frozen, for about 35 minutes or until the edges of the tarts are brown and the rhubarb is bubbling and thick. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Rhubarb Vanilla Compote

• 2 pounds rhubarb stalks
• 1 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/2 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped

Rinse the rhubarb stalks and trim the very ends. Cut them in half lengthwise (unless they’re very slim) and then on the diagonal into 3/4-inch chunks. Leaving the last 1 1/2 cups aside, put 3 cups of the rhubarb into a large, heavy-bottomed pot. Add the brown sugar, vanilla bean seeds and pods and turn the heat to medium low. (You want to start at a low temperature to encourage the rhubarb to release its liquid. Unlike most compotes, this one adds no water.) Cook the rhubarb mixture, covered, for about 15 minutes, or until the mixture is saucy. Remove the cover and increase the heat to medium, cooking an additional 15 to 17 minutes, or until the rhubarb is completely broken down and thick enough that a spoon leaves a trail at the bottom of the pan. Discard your vanilla bean pods and add remaining rhubarb chunks to the compote. Pour the compote out onto a large plate to cool.

April was incredibly busy and May was a bit of a blur and now, here we are in June. Life’s been a bit of a blur, but I can’t complain because that blur has been pretty fun.

There was an April Fool’s Day snowstorm…

I feel the hate coming this way for posting a snowy picture in June

And just two weeks later I was whitewater rafting on the Concord River.

I got to become re-acquainted with bike commuting in pleasant weather.

And went to a Steampunk Festival…

Complete with steampunk bikes!

And a Jane Austen tea and house tour.

And, oh, I visited the happiest…

…place…

…on earth!

And had an absolute blast!

(My first word was “Donald Duck.”)

But now it’s back to reality, but at least it’s summer-reality. And summer-reality just screams…

ICE CREAM!!!

I’ve been hearing about the magic of Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams on the internets forever and decided I needed to taste some for myself. Since there aren’t any plans to visit Ohio in my future I knew I would have to take matters into my own hands, so I did:

This ice cream is both very delicious and a little wacky – there isn’t a single egg to be found but it does include cream cheese and cornstarch! Strange ingredients aside, it was a hit!

Roasted Strawberry and Buttermilk Ice Cream
Recipe courtesy of Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at Home

• 1 pint strawberries
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 1/2 cups whole milk
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 ounces cream cheese, softened (4 tablespoons)
• 1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 1/4 cups heavy cream
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 1/4 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Hull strawberries and slice. Combine strawberries with sugar in an 8″ square glass or ceramic baking dish, stirring gently to mix well. Roast for 8 minutes, or until just soft. Let cool slightly. Puree in a food processor with lemon juice. Measure 1/2 cup of the pureed berries; refrigerate the rest of the puree for another use. I had a quart of strawberries that needed to be used, so I doubled this part.

Mix about 2 tablespoons of the milk with the cornstarch in a small bowl to make a smooth slurry. Whisk the cream cheese and salt in a medium bowl until smooth. Fill a large bowl with ice and water.

Combine the remaining milk, cream, sugar and corn syrup in a 4-quart saucepan, bring to a rolling boil over medium-high heat, and boil for 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and gradually whisk in the cornstarch slurry. Bring the mixture back to a boil over medium-high heat and cook, stirring with a heat-proof spatula, until slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Remove from heat.

Gradually whisk the hot milk mixture in to the cream cheese until smooth. Add the buttermilk and reserved strawberry puree and blend well. Pour the mixture into a 1-gallon Ziploc freezer bag and submerge the sealed bag in the ice bath. Let stand, adding more ice as necessary, until cold, about 30 minutes.

Pour the ice cream mixture into the frozen canister of electric ice cream freezer and run according to directions of ice cream maker. Pack the finished ice cream into a storage container, press a sheet of parchment directly against the surface, and seal with an airtight lid. Freeze in the coldest part of your freezer until firm, at least 4 hours. Makes about 1 quart.

Serve with refrigerated strawberry puree poured over the top.

In honor of this very serious and important holiday, I made not one, but two pies for supper: pizza pie…

…and buttermilk pie.

The pizza recipe came from Four Nights a Week,a local food blog that you should definitely check out. I adapted the Butternut Squash with Wilted Spinach and Blue Cheese recipe into a pizza by sprinkling the blue cheese onto the dough; topping it with the roasted squash, raw red onion and spinach; and baking the whole thing at 550 F for 10 minutes. It was a hit.

The Buttermilk Pie recipe comes from this NPR story. I use the not-as-sweet version and it is delicious!

I’ve also been doing some knitting. Spa, Knit and Spin 2011 was, as always, at the end of February and, as always, Nance and I headed up to Freeport for a lovely weekend of knitting, yarn-buying, eating, drinking, and relaxing. I was a champion shopper this year, blowing most of my budget on Thursday even before we arrived in Freeport.

We stopped at the lovely KnitWit in Portland where I picked up some glorious Road to China Light in Blue Tourmaline:

(We also stopped at Halcyon Yarn in Bath so that I could pick up Vintage Modern Knits. I went to Spa with an agenda, and one of the items was to buy the book and yarn to make the Madeleine Shawl. I did both, and cast-on before the Spa festivities even began!)

I also picked up a skein of Quince & Co. Chickadee in Parsley:

I have been dying to try Quince yarn and I was thrilled to find a huge selection at KnitWit. The colors are gorgeous and the yarn is squishy-soft and delightful.

I also bought a Three Bags Full project bag, won a L’stell Ditty Bag and bought a gorgeous skein of Ball and Skein Super Sock Yarn in Turquoise:

Of course Simon also got some Spa prizes, a lobster collar (please excuse the crap camera-phone pic:)

And a stuffed lobster, which he loves:

The Madeleine Shawl as been my obsessive project for the past couple of weeks, I managed to finish it in a little over two weeks – a record for me!

I am really happy with how it turned out: the yarn is a blend of alpaca, camel, cashmere, and silk and it is sooooo soft. The shawl is also the perfect light, in-between weight for spring. I wore it on my bike commute to work today and it was perfect.  Here’s the Ravelry Link to the project.

A piece about my crazy cheap ways ran in today’s edition of The Boston Sunday Globe. The very talented Kathleen Pierce did an excellent job taking my non-stop babbling and making it sound thoughtful and smart, and the photographer managed to snap a couple of shots of me not grimacing or throwing my hands in my face as she snapped pictures of me grocery shopping (I do not envy famous people the paparazzi – being photographed at the grocery store, even when you have planned for it, is awkward.)

I think the article did a nice job conveying how I feel about money: that it is a tool that can (and does) improve my life but that it also isn’t a driving factor in my pursuit of happiness. I like knowing what I have and using it to get the most enjoyment out of it.

Cooking is obviously a huge part of that equation – I have realized that while cooking at home saves me money, it is really the enjoyment that I get out of it that matters.  An example that was alluded to in the article was of Gist and I getting done with a long day at work, being cranky and going out to eat but not really enjoying it. I have since learned that what I really like to do after a long day is come home, turn on my music, pour myself a drink, and cook dinner – by the time it’s done my mood is always improved. And while it didn’t make it into the article, we also talked about the fact that I commute by bike a lot of the time.  Riding my bike to work/play/run errands obviously saves me money but the real reason I do it is because it is fun and I always arrive at my destination happier than when I left.

Another thing that Kathleen and I talked about that didn’t make it into the article is the idea of value vs. savings. I strongly believe in my power as a consumer and try to spend my money in ways that make the most sense to me. Being frugal is a part of it, but so is shopping locally, buying handmade, buying the best quality that I can (whether it be new or used), mending things and using them until they wear out, supporting farmers and artisans, and assessing the environmental impact of my purchases.

I am also so lucky to live in Lowell where I have access to tons of fabulous artists who sell pretties that I can purchase for myself and others (visit Western Avenue Studios the first Saturday of any month, you won’t regret it!) Lowell also offers museums, film, theater, restaurants, bars, cafés, farmer’s markets, CSAs, festivals galore, lectures, and live music. These are all things that I loooove to spend money on because they both make my life happier and they also make my community a better place to live (which in turn makes me happy, you see how it goes )

Talking to Kathleen about money and happiness has really brought the fact that I am both very lucky and very blessed to the front of my mind. I am able to live a life that I love and I am incredibly grateful for that fact.

Anyway, the article can be found here, and my tips can be found here. Let me know what you think, and please share any tips of your own because I’d love to hear them!

Our big Valentine’s Weekend (because who wants to celebrate on a Monday?) consisted of attending a lecture about Mexican Chocolate Traditions in Massachusetts at the Lowell National Park and a chocolate tasting to raise money for the Brush Gallery’s scholarship program on Saturday evening, and a delicious meal together on Sunday.

On the menu? Heart-Stuffed Shells in a Ricotta Sauce…

…and Maple Syrup Pie.

The pasta recipe is Smitten Kitchen via Bon Appétit and it was amazing.

Artichokes, brown butter, caramelized onions, lemon…

…Parmesan and Romano cheeses…

…along with a ricotta cream sauce…

…all stuffed into shells…

…and baked until bubbly? How could it not be amazing!

The pie is a Canadian Living recipe and it was out of this world, especially if you love maple as much as I do. It was also a cinch to put together: other than making the pie crust, the recipe just calls for some whisking…

…and some time in the oven.

The pie has amazing maple flavor, a crackly caramelized crust and is served with crème fraîche instead of whipped cream to contrast with the sweetness. We loved it. And at the end of the meal Gist exclaimed “That was a masterpiece!” with the love-light in her eyes, always nice to hear from your Valentine!

Heart-Stuffed Shells in a Ricotta Sauce
Recipe courtesy of Smitten Kitchen via Bon Appétit

I made a few slight changes to the recipe: I added lemon zest to the ricotta sauce to up the lemon flavor and I sprinkled some Parmesan on top of the shells before baking.

Shells

• 18 jumbo pasta shells (approximately half of a 12-ounce box) – I had enough filling for 24.
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1 large onion, chopped small
• 12 ounces frozen artichoke hearts, thawed and patted dry
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 1/2 cup (1 1/4 ounces) finely grated Romano cheese
• 1/2 cup (1 1/2 ounces) finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
• 2 large egg yolks
• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Sauce

• 4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 cups whole milk
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 cup ricotta cheese
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Freshly ground black pepper to taste

• 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley or fresh basil leaves, for garnish (optional)

Cook the shells: Bring a large pot of salted water to boil, and cook shells according to package directions. Drain and toss with a teaspoon or two of olive oil, to keep them from sticking.

Make the filling: Melt butter in a heavy 12-inch skillet (or the bottom of the dried-out pot you used to cook your pasta, if you’re into dirtying fewer dishes) and cook it until it turns nutty and brown, stirring occasionally to keep the solids moving on the bottom of the pan. Once it is a nice nutty brown, add 1 tablespoon olive oil, then the onions and cook them until they are lightly brown and caramelized, about 7 minutes. Add the artichoke hearts and cook them until they are softened a bit, about 5 minutes. Add the wine and cook it until it completely disappears.

Remove the pan from the heat and let it cool slightly, before transferring it to the bowl of a food processor. Add both cheeses, the yolks, lemon juice, salt and black pepper and pulse in the food processor until well chopped but still retains a little texture.

Make the sauce: Melt the butter in a medium saucepan (or the wiped out pot you made the artichoke filling in, if you’re into spending less time scrubbing pots) over medium-high heat. Once melted, add the flour all at once and whisk it until smooth. Add the milk, a small glug at a time, whisking constantly so no lumps form. Once the mixture has reached a batter-like consistency, you can begin adding the milk in larger pours at a time, whisking the whole time. Once all the milk is added, add the garlic and bring the sauce to a boil, stirring frequently. Once boiling, it will immediately begin to thicken. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for two to three minutes before stirring in the ricotta, lemon juice, salt and black pepper. Adjust salt, pepper and lemon to taste.

Assemble the dish: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour two cups of sauce (you’ll have about 2 1/2 cups total) into the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish. Scoop one tablespoon of artichoke filling inside each cooked shell; this will fill it but still allow the sides to close and neatly hold the filling intact while it bakes. Nest each pasta shell in the sauce, seam up. Dollop a spoonful of the remaining sauce over each shell. Cover the dish with foil and bake it for 30 minutes, then remove the foil and bake it for a final 15 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley or basil, if using, and serve immediately.

Maple Syrup Pie
Recipe courtesy of Canadian Living

• Pie crust
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup (125 mL) packed brown sugar – I used light
• 1-1/2 cups cups(375 mL) maple syrup – we only use Grade B syrup in our house, I prefer the darker, richer flavor.
• 1/3 cup(75 mL) heavy cream
• 1/4 cup (50 mL) all-purpose flour

In large bowl, whisk eggs with brown sugar until creamy; whisk in maple syrup, cream and flour until smooth. Pour into pie shell.

Bake on foil-lined baking sheet in bottom third of 375°F (190°C) oven until pastry is golden and filling is puffed and dry to the touch but still trembles, 40 to 45 minutes. Let cool on rack.

My new every day rules aren’t habits yet but are quickly becoming so.  Flossing is something I struggle with, mostly because I like to floss at night, so I don’t floss in the morning, but by the time night rolls around I skip flossing because I just want to go to bed.  My floss every day rule has actually had the magical effect of getting me to floss twice most days – I am flossing in the morning just in case I won’t want to floss at night and I have been budgeting extra time in my bedtime routing to make sure I floss at night.  Since I have the time, and flossing is on my mind, I floss.  I have a dentist appointment next week and I think my dentist is going to faint dead away when I share this tidbit with him.

My eat fruit every day rule is awesome.  I love fruit and I don’t know why I don’t eat more of it.  It’s citrus season – my favorite – so I have been eating obscene amounts of oranges, grapefruit and clementines.

My reading rule is another excellent rule.  I love to read and since it is on my mind because of Health Month I am doing more of it.  I have actually blocked out a half-hour before bed for reading so I am overachieving on this rule.

My study Public Matters rule is also working well.  I am not counting class time in the rule (although I wrote the rule allowing myself to do so) because we have been getting a lot of really interesting extra readings.  This rule, like the fruit and reading rules, is really about keeping things that I want to do in the front of my mind so they don’t get lost in the shuffle.

And now it’s time to address the commute by bike at least one day a week rule.  Even thought I miss this view…

…more than anything, I did not commute by bike during my first week.  I made the rule at the end of a January where we received 60ish inches of snow and where the meteorologists were forecasting that the snowy pattern would continue in February so I knew this rule might be an issue for me and I was okay with it.

As promised, February began with a two-day snowstorm:

Tuesday, February 1st was my birthday so I had taken a personal day which eliminated commuting and Wednesday was a snow day; on Thursday and Friday I had meetings that were either outside of Lowell and therefore too far away to bike to or were meetings where I was responsible for transporting supplies or people. That left yesterday.

Yesterday was actually a perfect commuting day: warm (above freezing FTW), local meetings and a schedule that would keep me out of particularly hairy traffic but… Yesterday was also a bit of a disaster.

The day began with an unexpected trip to the vet because Simon was having some stomach troubles. That was frustrating, but Simon is fine and just needs some extra TLC, which wouldn’t have prevented me from riding to work yesterday.

However, as I was bringing Simon upstairs after our vet visit (and trip to the market to get chicken and rice to help settle his stomach) I slipped and fell on a nasty patch of black ice. My hands were full with Simon, his meds, a grocery bag, and my phone and I fell pretty badly – I twisted my knee (there was an awful POP!) and ended up with a pretty nasty sprain.  Soooo, no bike to work for me.

I am under doctor’s orders to stay off of my knee for at least three days so this has been my view for the past 24 hours:

Being off my feet has also royally messed with my Health Month game: I lost two life points yesterday, one for not biking and one for not cooking dinner (I had already taken my free day to attend a Super Bowl Party.) I also anticipate losing more points for the cooking, biking and walking rules in the coming week.  Needless to say, I am pretty bummed.

I wrote about my day yesterday and how upset I was in my daily recap and one of my teammates responded with some encouraging words. I have to say, it is really nice to play as part of a team for the encouragement, of course, but also for the tips and tricks that people provide.

I would say that, all things considered, my first week of Health Month went well. Week Two is going to be tough and I may lose all of my life points, but I am trying to be okay with that because what can I do? My knee certainly helps out with my reading and studying rules, plus I hope to do a lot of knitting…

Hawthorne Shawl, Twist Collective-Fall 2010

And while walking and biking are definitely out, I have to make a judgement call regarding the spirit vs. the letter of the cook dinner rule. The rule was written both a way to encourage me to cook more and as a means to save money.

See, I have a bad habit of not planning for dinner, letting myself get to the hangry point and then either calling for takeaway or going out, which means that I spend a lot of money to eat food that isn’t as good as what I can make for myself when I am totally cranky and unable to enjoy it. Also, I really like to cook. So that situation? Not ideal. My rule has really helped me to not be a jackass, realize that I will, in fact, have to eat dinner and plan accordingly. It’s a six-day rule because I do like to eat out and I want to be able to plan for it and enjoy it when I do.

While I am laid up Gist has offered to cook dinner. So we’re not falling into the hangry takeout trap (spirit of the law) but I am not the one cooking dinner (letter of the law); if you were me, what would you do? Count nights that Gist cooks following the spirit of the law, or not count any night that I don’t cook, following the letter of the law?

February is starting with a pretty awesome bang. It’s snowing right now and the snow is forecasted to continue throughout today and tomorrow and we’re supposed to end up with 20 inches. I couldn’t be happier!

I am also pretty excited to be blogging my February Health Month experience.  Health Month is an interactive online game that encourages you to be happier and healthier.  I played for the first time in January and had such a great experience that I signed up to blog my experience playing the game in February.

The game begins on the first of every month and you can play by yourself (which is what Gist is doing)  or as a member of a team, which is what I’m doing: Team Crafty.  Prior to the start of the month you make rules for yourself and you begin the month with ten life points.  During the course of the month, if you follow your rules  you earn pieces of fruit which can be used to heal yourself or others.  If you don’t follow your rules, you lose life points.  The goal is to end the month with at least 1 life point, if you do that you end up on The Wall of Awesomeness.

What I really like about Health Month is that the rule options focus on both mental and physical health.  I am using my rules as a way to prioritize my time and to ensure that I am mindful of doing things I love to do instead of things that I have to do.  I have eight rules for February:

• Cook dinner six days a week
• Eat raw fruit at least five days a week
• Floss every day
• Read a book for at least 30 minutes three days a week
• Walk at least eight miles a week (snowshoeing counts!)
• Study Lowell’s Public Matters (a class I am taking) at least one day a week
• Don’t deviate from the family budget every day
• Commute by bike at least one day a week

After playing last month, I kept some of the same rules, altered some and picked some new rules all together.  I am pretty excited about my February game and will be checking in here at least once a week my progress.  If you’re already playing Health Month and want to be friends, I am Mariannika over there.

Those of you that live in New England know that we were hit with a super-awesome blizzard yesterday.  It was super-awesome both because I love snow always, but also because it was forecasted well and meant a snow day for me and Gist.  In honor of the snow day, I busted out my new favorite, Good to the Grain, and whipped up these pretty pink pancakes.

Gist loves beets, I think they may even be her favorite vegetable, so when I saw this recipe I knew I’d be making them for her.  No surprise, she loved them.  What surprised me was how easy they were to make, how light and fluffy they were,  how good they tasted, how filling they were, and how virtuous I felt after eating them, even slathered with a ton of maple syrup and veggie sausages on the side

They fueled me right up for a long snowshoe along the Merrimack River with my favorite snowshoeing partner, Simon.

I thank my lucky stars that I have a small dog who loves snow, even when it’s as high as he is:

Quinoa and Beet Pancakes
Recipe courtesy of Good to the Grain – buy this book, like, right now!

• Butter for the pan
• 3 medium-small red beets

Dry Mix:

• 1/2 cup quinoa flour
• 1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Wet Mix:

• 1 1/2 cups whole milk
• 1/3 cup plain yogurt
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
• 1 egg

I did this part the night before. Pre-heat the oven to 400˚F. Place the beets in a glass or metal baking dish with about 1/2 cup water in the bottom. Cover with aluminum foil and roast until very tender, about 1 hour. Cool, peel, and purée the beets in a food processor or blender until smooth. You will need 1/2 cup of beet purée (any remaining purée can be frozen for another time).

Sift the dry ingredients into a large bowl, pouring back into the bowl any bits of grain or other ingredients that may remain in the sifter.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the milk, yogurt, melted butter, egg, and 1/2 cup of beet purée until smooth. Using a spatula, add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and gently combine. Using the spatula, add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and gently combine. The batter should be the consistency of lightly whipped cream and crimson in color.

Although the batter is best if used immediately, it can sit for up to 1 hour on the counter or overnight in the refrigerator. When you return to the batter, it will be very thick and should be thinned, 1 tablespoon at a time, with milk–take great care not to overmix.

Heat a 10-inch cast-iron pan or griddle over medium heat until water sizzles when splashed onto the pan. Rub the pan generously with butter; this is the key to crisp, buttery edges, my favorite part of any pancakes. Working quickly, dollop 1/4-cup mounds of batter onto the pan, 2 or 3 at a time. Once bubbles have begun to form on the top side of the pancakes, flip it over and cook until the bottom is dark golden-brown, about 5 minutes total. Wipe the pan with a cloth before griddling the next batch. Rub the pan with butter and continue with the rest of the batter. If the pan is too hot or not hot enough, adjust the flame accordingly to keep results consistent.

Serve the pancakes hot, straight from the skillets, with a pitcher of warm maple syrup, encouraging your guests to pour as they please.