02.17.09

Soup Bowl Bonanza

Posted in Uncategorized at 9:16 pm by

The Art League School’s Ceramics Department is holding its annual Soup Bowl Bonanza fundraiser at the Madison Annex (305 Madison Street, Alexandria, Virginia) this Saturday, February 21st, from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm. $15 gets you a delicious bowl of soup and an artful, handmade bowl.

Soup is being generously donated by local restaurants and stores, and bowls are made by The Art League’s ceramics residents, students, and teachers. Stop by for food, fun, and to support the Ceramics Department! Call the School office, 703-683-2323, for more information or visit www.theartleague.org/school.

02.13.09

Tarragon Soda?

Posted in Uncategorized at 4:17 pm by

According to Wikepedia, there is a such thing as Tarragon soda:

Tarragon is used to flavor a popular carbonated soft drink in the countries of Armenia, Georgia and, by extension, Russia. The drink—named Tarkhun… which is the Armenian, Persian and Russian word for tarragon—is made out of sugary tarragon concentrate and colored bright green

I’m intrigued.

02.11.09

Planning for Herbs

Posted in Uncategorized at 11:19 am by trueepicure

I’m cross-posting this on a forum I belong to, but I’d like to hear from others as well.

I’m planning an herb garden for outside our kitchen, and thinking about what I can’t live without this year. Do you guys have plants that you must have in your garden/herb garden?

My must-haves for this year are:
Echinacea
Mondarda
Basil
Marjoram
Thyme
Oregano (an edible and an ornamental this year, I think)
Lavender
Shiso

Are there any unusual herbs that you grow?

02.10.09

The Anticipation of Growing Things

Posted in Uncategorized at 9:57 am by

You know that feeling that you get in the pit of your stomach when you are anticipating something so good, but you know you have to wait, so you squelch it down, and then it bubbles up again? Yeah, that’s how I feel about the prospect of growing things in my garden this year.

This year it is MY garden, or more accurately OUR garden. It’s not a small patch in the yard of the house we are renting. It is OUR garden. It makes the anticipation of growing herbs, flowers, and vegetables that much more exciting and wonderful.

One of the online groups that I belong to posted this article from the New York Times. The author so completely gets it:

…the sense of power that comes from feeding yourself and your community, the gut-level triumph of bringing to the table a wooden bowl heaped with barely dressed leaf lettuces snipped just minutes ago. Or the satisfaction of edible treasure visible every time the freezer is opened…

Is it Spring yet? [Sigh]

02.04.09

Books, Books, Books

Posted in Uncategorized at 12:47 pm by

I’m cleaning out the bookshelf to make our packing job a bit easier. If you’re interested in seeing what I have to offer (sale or swap), check out my Book feed.

The feed will be updated periodically and you can always find it on my Books, Books, Books page (at right) or via my GoodReads swap shelf.