Category: Food (Page 3 of 5)

Putting Good In and Getting Good Out

June 13, 2011 / Katie L. Carroll

The hubby and I tried kale for the first time today. It was scary not only because I was trying something new (I’ve never been an adventurous foodie) but also because I also had to clean and cook it myself. Turns out, kale is actually pretty good. I think we may even eat it again.

A bunch of it came in our first farm share basket of the year. We signed up for the farm share in part to support our local farm, in part to have access to fresh veggies every Friday without having to go to the grocery store, and in part to try new healthy things.

I love this time of year for all the fresh produce that is available…I’m talking hyper-local produce, like the kind you can pick yourself and enjoy right in the field (I’m looking forward to the fresh strawberries I’ll be picking this weekend at another local farm).

I even have my own veggie garden, which is not nearly as big as my father’s, but it works for the hubby and I. This year I’m growing peas (I picked the first ones today and added them to the salad we had with dinner), bell peppers, broccoli, tomatoes, and probably green beans.

It’s not that I’m a super healthy, granola-eating, tree-hugging person. I do care about the environment and try to make an effort to be green, but I really like the way fresh food tastes. And I’ve been trying to subscribe to the idea that when you put good things in (whether that be into your body or mind), good things come out (and yes, I see the obvious poop reference here, but that’s not what I’m talking about).

So I’m working on putting good thoughts into my writing, and hopefully getting good writing out of it. And putting good food into my body, and hopefully getting good energy out of it. And putting good green vibes out to the earth, and hopefully making the world a little better place in which to live. Okay, now I am starting to sound a little granolaey.

What do you put in and hope to get out of it?

The Sweet Tradition of Christmas Cookies

December 27, 2010 / Katie L. Carroll

It just wouldn’t have been a complete Christmas without making cookies with the nephews and niece. I love to see the creativity come out of each of them in different ways.

(This is just a sampling of the cookies we made. I don’t think any of them are mine. I played around with different combinations of black and white frosting this year.)

My 11-year-old nephew is my writing buddy. We pack up our laptops and head out to the local cafe or Barnes & Noble and work on our projects (and eat too). He has a fast mind that’s always churning away, so he works feverishly on projects (and sometimes has trouble finishing them). He has always liked to draw figures, from baseball players to super-heroes, so it was no surprise that he turned some of the cookies into his favorite music artists.

My 5-year-old niece is a girl’s girl. She loves princesses, her favorite colors are pink and purple, and she often compliments me on a cute shirt or accessory. She is also very creative and passionate in her pursuits, especially drawing and coloring. She was the last kid standing when it came to decorating.

My 4-year-old nephew is what I like to call mechanically creative. He’s a very literal little boy, who watches and explores how things move and work. He is also super sweet and indulges his auntie when she asks for a little “sugar” (hug and kisses) or to eat his cheeks, which have the cutest dimples. He tends to be very methodical with his creations.

(From left to right: we have Squidword as made by my little nephew, a trendy snow lady complete with rosy cheeks courtesy of my niece, and Michael Jackson as envisioned by my older nephew.)

Naturally I forgot to bring my camera this year, so thanks to my mom (and here is where my brother would say, “Thanks to your mom!”) for the pictures. What are your favorite traditions?

The Little Things That Bring Me Joy

June 20, 2010 / Katie L. Carroll

Sometimes it’s nice just to think about the little things in life that bring you joy. Here are some of mine:

My favorite tea has a kick-ass name: Black Dragon Pearl (I always want to add “Coming to theaters this summer” after I say it and then do a perfect round-house kick). Plus the tea leaves come packed as balls, which only adds to my amusement.

Thunderstorms never stop being scary/exciting.

When it comes to my indoor co-ed soccer team, the “that’s what she said” joke never gets old…ever!

The spin-cycle on my Scandinavian dryer (maybe we’re somehow related!) sounds like a plane taking off. This one’s a double-edged sword because it can also be annoying…like when I’m trying to watch TV or listen to music, or you know, have a conversation or something…but it’s still pretty cool to have it sound like an airplane is taking off in your laundry room.

When my little niece and nephew say the word “rude,” it sounds like they’re saying “wooed.” And they’re still young enough to always be happy to see me.

My older nephew still likes hanging out with me!

I buy Land O’ Lakes American cheese from the deli and the package is labeled LOL cheese. How could you not smile about that?

I’m always wonderfully surprised at how tasty food is when you grow/pick it yourself.

And this is only a sampling of the little things in my life. It’s interesting how many of them are about food…maybe I’m just hungry. Oh, and in case you were curious, my soccer team won again yesterday (we crushed Danbury 6-1), so we’re in the finals next Saturday.

Mystic Views of the Mountain of St. Lucia

March 25, 2010 / Katie L. Carroll

If you’ve ever seen pictures or footage of St. Lucia (or if you watched the last season of The Bachelor), chances are you’ve seen the Piton Mountains. They consist of two distinct volcanic peaks in the southwest corner of the island. They’re a World Heritage Site and a symbol of St. Lucia. In a word, they’re gorgeous.

The local Piton beer (which is very tasty…I liken it to Corona, but more refreshing and with no need for a lime slice…perfect for a hot day) is named after the two peaks, the taller of which is called the Gros Piton and the smaller of which is called the Petit Piton. Based on the picture below, can you guess which is which?

If you guessed the one on the right is the Gros Piton, you’re wrong! A close look at the label on the Piton beer will tell you what the locals call the mountains…the Mystic Mountains. They call them this because of the phenomenon that is displayed in the above photo; every new view of the Piton Mountains gives you a different perspective of them.

That may seem like an obvious statement…duh, every new view of object will give you a different perspective of it, but the the Pitons take it to a whole new level. It’s like they move, grow, and shrink.

Sometimes they look really close together, like you could jump from one to the other, and other times they look really far apart (they are really about a mile apart). Then you’ll round a corner and the one that had previously been on the right is now on the left. It’s really quite extraordinary they way they morph.

Carrying on the Tradition of Christmas Cookies

December 14, 2009 / Katie L. Carroll

Holiday traditions come in all shapes in sizes. As a kid, one of my favorite Christmas traditions was when Santa would leave our filled stockings for us at the end of our beds. It was so exciting to wake up on Christmas morning and not even have to get out of bed to find our first presents.

All five of us (my two older sisters, me, my younger sister, and my younger brother) used to gather together on one bed and open up all out stocking gifts. As my older sisters got older, us younger kids used to open up our stockings first, then we’d go wake up my older sisters and watch them open up their stockings. This was a nice tradition for my parents too because it meant they got to sleep in a little later.

Oh, and we always got oranges in our stockings, which seems like it would be lame, but I remember it as a nice treat. The orange-in-the-stocking tradition is one that carried over into my adult life (it seems Santa remembers about such things even as we get older). Many of the traditions I had as a kid have faded away, but many new ones have taken their places.

Making Christmas cookies with my niece and nephew is one of those new, but at the same time old, traditions. I used to make Christmas cookies with my Nana (my great grandmother). Then she stopped coming up north for the holidays because it was just too cold for her. She passed away at the ripe old age of 96, but I feel a little like I’m carrying on her tradition in a new way with my sister’s kids.

Unlike last year, we didn’t have any lady-licking incidences this year, but I paid homage to that by making a snowman and gingerbread lady the centerpiece of my cookies.

(These are the cookies I decorated…notice the snowman and his gingerbread wife.)

(My ten-year-old nephew decorated these cookies. He and his friend also made a really cool gingerbread house of Hagrid’s hut, but I forgot to take a picture of it.)

(My four-year-old niece decorated these. She was very meticulous and seemed to have a grand plan for each one.)

(These ones were decorated by my three-year-old nephew…he did most of the decorating by himself, but my sister did give him some help with the big gingerbread lady!)