The Lowly Gingersnap

March 30, 2010 by
The thing is, my dear birdies, the chocolate chip cookie gets a ridiculous amount of attention.
The gingersnap is where it’s at.

I’ve been baking these sweet and tenderlicious babies fairly often in the past month and am prepared to share the ultra secret recipe avec toi this evening.
Follow these directions and then taste the nectar of the baking gods:
1 CUP WHITE SUGAR
3/4 CUP SOFTENED BUTTER
1 EGG
4 TBSP MOLASSES
2 CUPS FLOUR
1 TSP SALT
2 TSP BAKING SODA
1 TSP CINNAMON
1 TSP CLOVES
1 TSP GINGER
Cream together the sugar, butter, egg and molasses until fluffy.
Sift together dry ingredients and add to the creamed mixture.
Roll small balls of dough in sugar and bake on a cookie sheet at 350F for approximately 12 minutes.
***These are the changes I make to this recipe***
I use 3/4 of sugar instead of a full cup.
I use 1/2 cup of butter instead of the full amount recommended.
I free pour my molasses and wind up using FAR more than 4 tablespoons of the stuff.
I love these cookies.
Nay, I adore them.
I’d recommend them with a cup of THIS tea.
Delightful!
OH GOSH. While I’m on the topic of food. I whipped up some pad thai noodles with tofu
over the weekend and it was so scrumptious, you have to try it. THIS is the recipe I used.
Go heavy on the cilantro.
Also, I didn’t use the tamarind paste because I couldn’t find any in the grocery stores of Pocatello. Mmmfffffffft.
I’m headed for California on Thursday and I’ll hunt some drattedly elusive paste stuffs whilst rambling about The Golden State.

In other news, I made some stuff!
It looks like I’ll be doing a shop update on Wednesday morning,
packing and shipping on Wednesday night
and flying to CA on Thursday morning. WHEEE!!!
Ain’t life grand?

This is the tip of the iceberg of what will be available on Wednesday!

Now I’m off to joggy the oggy doggy,
whip up a tasty dinner
and then RW and I have a movie date!
Smooches to you all,
The Plume
Filed Under: cookies, movies, New Jewelry, pad thai noodle, recipe

CUTENESS OVERLOAD with a pinch of the serious…

March 28, 2010 by

OH GOLLY.
RW and I have been making many trips to our local
ranching supply store so that I can hold all of the fluffy baby things.

At the moment, they have rabbits (yes, I know I look like a gleeful 12 year old in this photo).

They have baby ducks.

They have a million precious little waggling chicken butts.

I want to take everything home.
RW reminds me we can get two little chickies as soon as the coop is finished being built.
Then I say, “WAHHHH.”
And we leave with steer manure and a couple of bales of peat moss instead.
Life is unfair.
I must say, on the serious side of things, I feel like I’ve been HERE but mildly absent lately.
From the blogosphere.
From the interwebs.
Besides hosting company at The Gables and being generally, very busy, I realized last week that I’m losing RW very soon to the Northern Cascades and parachutes and airplanes and in a fit of pure panic I’ve been very conscious about taking a lot of time to hold him close, kiss him every time I walk past him in our house, dance with him, bake him treats, cook him delicious food and spend every spare moment I can muster with him before May hits and I find myself without my best friend. Again.

That’s just the way things are right now.
That’s just the way my priorities are lining up right now.
I’m zealously loving my man in the moment before I have to tell him good bye.
Before long, I’ll be wrapped up in a solo summer
wherein time will be full of other things:
*adventure
*personal growth
*sterling dreams
*gardening
*running and extending my mileage on the mountain
trails, foot after foot, long strides, wind in my hair
*traveling by truck in The West
*fishing, hiking, climbing
It’s a dreadfully fantastic thing, being the wife of a wildland firefighter.
I’m learning, year by year, to look at the summertime as an opportunity
instead of a sum of time to be passed as quickly as possible.
I know it’s only springtime
but I’m looking ahead and preparing myself.
It’s the only way I’m sure I’ll bounce, when the time comes.
In the meanwhile, I’m all heart-akimbo
for my manly-mano
and I thank you for your gracious-excuso
for my quiet-itessmo.
Happy Sunday to you all.
I hope your heart and soul are well rested and ready for a new week!
Grab the next seven days by the horns
and hold on tight.
Love to you,
Jillian
PS Awesomeness alert:
Filed Under: chickens, fire fighting, RW, spring

Faux Spring

March 27, 2010 by
I suppose Idaho isn’t quite ready for springtime.

IMAGE SNAPPED AT 8:42PM, MST.
IN THE DARK. IN THE MIDDLE OF A SPRING BLIZZARD.
Filed Under: idaho, spring, winter

PS

March 26, 2010 by

Every now and again,
I also climb a tree or two…
UP THERE
WHEN THE WIND BECAME
GUSTY
I FELT A LOT LIKE A BABY IN A CRADLE.
It’s amazing how bendy a tree trunk is. As I looked down, I could see the entire base of this tree shifting and flexing in the wind.
Filed Under: plume gables, trees

Large Boy Squirrels

March 26, 2010 by
We’ve had company at The Gables this week.
Lovely company.
A pair of friends drove out from Oregon to stay for a handful of days with us. As usual, our time with Katie and Sean has been replete with adventure, relaxation, and general gladheartedness.

Katie and I have enjoyed the sunshine while watching the boys climb the trees:

Really. They’ve been climbing the trees in the yard! Sean is an arborist. He and RW have spent the past few days trimming trees, improving windsail and dealing with our mostly dead catalpa tree. It’s quite a sight to see full grown men dangling about beneath a massive blue spruce with chainsaws slung about their waists.

Katie and I have been responsible for running a ridiculously noisy wood chipper in the back yard which has created a new source of deliciously sprucey smelling mulch for the rose garden. Hard, pioneer woman work. I tell you.
Yesterday we took ourselves out to the local mountain and spent the day skiing in and out of unpredictable Idaho weather.
It has been said:
If you don’t like the weather in Idaho, just wait a minute.
The sun shone. Black clouds drifted about. Fog descended down most of the mountain. A blizzard ensued. The sun came out again. We skied through fresh powder that felt like warm butter beneath our skis and then we did the weather all over again. Black cloud, snow, sun. Black cloud, snow, sun. It was a really wonderful day with truly wonderful friends.
I must say, I have missed you this week. I’m putting concentrated effort into catching up on email and computer correspondence today before hopping in the studio to finish up a couple of projects I started way back on Monday.
I hope your week has been lovely.
If it wasn’t, I hope you find rest in your weekend.
Love to you all and Happy Friday!
XXXXXXX
The Noisy Plume
Filed Under: plume gables
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