eclaire (what’s in a) name?

hello, dear readers! my fabulous cuz sent me this link about the slow food movement and i thought i’d share it with all of you.  have you heard of the movement?  what do you think about it?  what do you think about this article?  does the slow food movement make sense in our current global economic times?

while i agree with most of the article’s points, what really made me think was the statement: “We’re all full of gastronomy, recipes etc. Turn on a TV anywhere in the world and you will see an idiot with a spoon. And every newspaper and magazine has recipes and a photo of the dish taken from above like a cadaver…We must normalise food rather than put it on a pedestal far out of reach.” ok, so i am most certainly full of recipes, i may just be another “idiot” with a spoon, and i definitely take tons of pics of food, but my goal with this blog is to share with all of you how much fun i have cooking with seasonal and simple ingredients. i also try to convey my personal belief in the importance of enjoying the process of taking care of yourself by making healthy and delicious meals instead of eating calorie laden and nutrient deficient fast foods.  so stay tuned for many, many more recipes!

mike and i are lucky enough to celebrate the christmas holiday with three different and fantastic sets of family: my mom, mike’s parents, and my dad. for the celebration at my mom’s this year, we decided to give edible presents to each other for various reasons, but the biggest of which is that we all love baked goods (it runs in the family, i guess). mike and i got a little overzealous about the project and selected not one, not two, not three, but yep, you guessed it, FOUR different kinds of cookies to give away. we chose to make: 1. krumkakes; 2. cocoa-coconut macaroons; 3. vegan strawberry pinwheels; and 4. cinnamon stars.

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way back in december of 2003, i was sitting at the dentist office, waiting for my turn to have my teeth cleaned, and i stumbled across an article about latke parties. the article suggested throwing a food-based holiday party instead of coordinating a gift-giving secret pal party or a white elephant party. the article advocated latkes and homemade applesauce as the food of choice, and i decided that we had to throw a latke party that year to celebrate the holidays and create a secular event that all of our friends could attend, regardless of religious beliefs. and let’s face it, fried potatoes and homemade applesauce are amazing.

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hello, dear readers! how was thanksgiving? mine was wonderful – beginning the wednesday night before thanksgiving and lasting right up through sunday night, mike and i were lucky enough to spend time with all four of our parents, plus their significant others, plus our sisters, plus lots of friends – we couldn’t ask for a better way to celebrate the last of fall! unfortunately, i was so busy cooking and enjoying our company on thanksgiving that i barely took any pictures – except for a few of the table and all of us sitting down to eat. i hope all of your thanksgivings were full of good friends and family as well!

but now the leftovers have been consumed, dishes are all washed and put away, stomachs are enlarged from the feasting, and taste buds are tingling for more rich and hearty food. but for the sake of detoxing a little from the pounds of butter, sugar, and carbs – what can we make that will satisfy us, get us back on track with healthy eating, and most importantly, be quick to save our feet from standing up in the kitchen for many more hours? may i suggest cheater beans?

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a few weekends ago, we attended a fall barbecue thrown by my mom and willie. there were amazing quantities of delicious food, lots of good people and conversations, and paddle boats to have fun with on the lake – all which made for a fabulous fall afternoon.

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