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and I shall have some peace there

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And I Shall Have Some Peace There: Trading in the Fast Lane for My Own Dirt Road by Margaret Roach My rating: 4 of 5 stars As someone working in the corporate sector in the world who spends her days longing to be in her garden, this was an absolute must-read for me. Here you have successful Margaret Roach with the job that many women/people would die to have–at Martha Stewart Living–who found a way to let all of the pressures go to live in a secluded place with a very slow pace…just to be one with nature. This story isn’t gardening 101 or any form of a self-help manual, but rather a story that belongs to the author. Her story and her journey of leaving the high-powered position at Martha Stewart and taking a huge risk and a huge gamble (something everyone would fear and second-guess to no end) is inspirational to say the least. She asks herself time and time again, “Who am I if I am not mroach@marthastewart.com?” At first she is overwhelmed …

UK trip: London, Brighton, and Lewes

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Just arrived home yesterday from a business trip to the UK.  Normally, I grumble when work travel comes up.  But…going to England and hanging out with utterly cool people is a far cry from a typical work trip. I had a really great time! A few observations.  First, I wanted to stuff every garden I had the opportunity to see in my suitcase to take home with me.  English gardens are inspirational and have a beauty all their own, taking on characteristics of both formal and cottage-style. Next, though England seems like the antithesis of vegetarianism (just try a proper English breakfast or look up blood pudding and you’ll know what I mean), I was surprised to find that it wasn’t that hard to find vegetarian food.  Plus (as you’ll read below), there are great veggie restaurants. Last, English people have a better balance than we do in the US.  I’m sure I’m oversimplifying, but it all of my experiences traveling to the UK, this statement seems to have some truth. They take lunch breaks.  They leave work …

cold berry soup

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I have big news from our little urban “farm.”  Yesterday was our first official harvest.  I’ve been using a bit of thyme here and some chives there, but yesterday was different.  I filled a bowl. I picked my first hydrangea bouquet! I also got to see the cutest sheep on the side of the road between Stoddard and Peterborough, NH. Ever since my friends came over for a vegan feast, I’ve been craving the cold berry soup I made.  Guess what everyone in New England?  It is strawberry season!  Instead of buying the bland, too-perfect strawberries from the store, you can get the really red, ripe, juicy beauties from somewhere local. There couldn’t be a better time to try this recipe out. cold berry soup *I used “Fresh Berry Soup” from Moosewood Cookbook as a sortof basis for this vegan version. Ingredients 2 cups of orange juice 1 carton of So Delicious Coconut Milk Creamer 1 container of So Delicious Coconut Milk Plain Yogurt 1 tbs agave nectar 2 tbs fresh lemon juice 1 1/2 …

a perfect father’s day weekend

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Happy Father’s Day to the best dad a gal could ask for!  He has passed to me–among many other things–a obsession for gardening, a desire to be surrounded by nature and solitude,  and a love for animals. dad with one of his other daughters: Amber Joy I spent this past beautiful weekend with my parents.  It was one of those times in your life that you stop right in the middle of what you are doing and think, “I’m having a really great time.”  It started with taking Friday off to spend the day with my mom in Keene doing really girly things like nails, lunch, and shopping.  When we returned home, we covered our skin and put mosquito nets over our heads to go for a walk.  They don’t just have extreme weather  and animals (yes — there have been bear and moose sightings in the short time they’ve lived there) in the mountains of New Hampshire, they have extreme bugs too.      What a beautiful walk!  The landscape is stunning.  There were ferns everywhere, cute …

cage free is the way to be

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“They will come running when they think you might have a treat, learn to eat out of your hand and some may even allow you to stroke them. If you talk to them, treat them well and handle them gently you’ll have faithful followers. However, for a truly bonded pet that will seek out your company, follow you around the yard and nestle in your lap for a nap you may want to hand-raise a baby…” Sounds like a cat or any other normal domestic pet doesn’t it?  Guess what? The excerpt above (from this article) is actually talking about chickens.  Yes, I wrote that right–chickens.  According to more sources than I could list here, chickens do have emotional capacity.  In this article from Psychology Today, hens showed signs of distress and fear when a mere puff of air was blown on them.  When this same activity was performed on their chicks, their heart rate went up and they became more vocal.  They are intelligent, empathetic, and according to my own father (who spent lots of time …

spring fiddlehead pasta

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Fiddleheads are a seasonal treasure only available to us in the month of May.  They quite literally are ferns that have not yet opened.  In New England, we are lucky to have the right climate for these beauties. Perhaps it is their exotic appearance, short window of availability, or their asparagus-like taste, but every time I see fiddleheads in the store I get so excited!  The past few years, I’ve merely steamed them and then sautéed them with garlic, olive oil, and salt as a side dish.  This year, while scooping these violin-shaped vegetables out of the bin at Whole Foods Market, I had a conversation with a man who was as enthusiastic as I was.  He let me in on his secret that he puts fiddleheads with ziti or penne as a main course.  As a vegetarian always on the lookout for a new dish, I had to try this. I decided to make a pasta dish that would utilize the spring wonders that I have available in my garden: parsley, thyme, and chives. spring fiddlehead pasta ingredients …

the very first bouquet of 2011

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There is nothing like picking your first bouquet of the season.  The spurts of color around our yard such as creeping phlox, myrtle, pansies, and primrose are admirable, but unpickable.  Yesterday, I finally got to grab my pruners and head outside to cut flowers: a purple tulip, grape hyacinths, and a few sprigs of broom. Even Stevie is captivated by the colors.

tough love with seedlings (and chaos management)

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I, girl who loves to talk about compost and hike in the mountains, just spent nearly two days at work in an all-day seminar on product management.  The seminar was as interesting as a corporate meeting can be, but as the minutes ticked by I panicked about all of the things building up.  I could almost see giant pop-up email notifications in my peripheral vision. VP of foolishness: At one point during the day, I found myself mentally starting a to-do list, responding to an email request from one my colleagues on my Blackberry, tweeting out a review that had just gone live, and looking up the new address for my doctor’s office on my iPhone–all at the same time (and I’m not kidding).  I was simultaniously handling two phones, one social media site, email, a power point in front of me, and a guy using phrases like “perceived value” and “‘win/loss analysis.”   Self-evaluation When I realized what I was doing, I had to actually laugh at myself.  I’m so important that the office can’t function without me?  Hardly.  I caught myself before it could get any …

a week of spring: lilac

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Saturday I came home feeling under the weather yesterday, so I wasn’t able to post.  I’m sorry for missing a day of my “week of spring!” This last picture of the week is of a little lilac bush that is less than one foot high, but full of new growth. My vegetable plants are important because I spend so much time growing them from seed and I enjoy the harvest so much. My perennial flowers are enjoyable because they brighten up my home and it feels like finding secret treasure when they bloom. But I do have an emotional attachment to some of my plants, this lilac included.  It made a long journey to Boston from Windsor, New York.  When my parents decided to sell the home I grew up in, I took a few bits of memorabilia: -a forsythia bush I gave my father one year for his birthday -an indigo I gave him for father’s day that I had purchased from The New England Wildflower Association -a lupine, because my mother and I …

a week of spring: forsythia

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Thursday I really do despise television.  I’ve been called pretentious for saying those words but I can’t help it.  Sometimes I do watch old episodes of Law & Order or CSI (I’m a crime novel junkie, so these shows do appeal to me).  If I’m ill, I’ll watch really terrible Lifetime made-for-TV movies with the hope of falling asleep.  Normally, TV just makes me feel like I’ve wasted time and I’d honestly rather listen to music.  The last time I really got into a TV show, it was The Pillars of the Earth miniseries, which is based on one of my favorite books. Whenever people are talking about new TV shows, I usually glaze over…until my mother somehow recently got me hooked on American Idol.  Tonight, I found myself asking Chris to take a break from his hockey game so that I could see who got kicked off Idol this week.  He did it with a faux scowl (and all the sports-loving men reading this probably think I’m horrible) , but who can argue with …