flu season

1. rebe blanket 

2. hot water bottles

3. moomin mug

4. yogi throat comfort tea

5. the wire (ponyo for suki)

6. south river miso

7. cough drops

our house has been bit by the flu bug. it starts with aches and head pains then turns into a horrible sore throat and cough. first suki got it, then i did and now adam.  we have been taking turns caring for each other, making a lot of miso soup and medicine tea.  

our neighbor, tiffany, brought us some oranges back from her trip to florida, we have been using those in our medicine drink.  

this is our recipe:

a few cloves of garlic minced

about an inch of ginger minced

1/8 tsp. or more cayenne pepper

1 tbsp chamomile flowers

1-2 tbsp honey

1-2 lemons or oranges juiced (or both)

boil the garlic and ginger for about a half hour in 5 cups of water.

add the cayenne pepper and simmer a few minutes then remove from heat.

add the chamomile and steep for 5 minutes.

strain and add the honey and juice.

what helps you when you are feeling under the weather?

ONCE UPON A THREAD

i am participating in a blog sew along project called once upon a thread.

all projects are based on story books for children. for the first submission i revisited the raggedy ann and andy costumes i made for suki and beedle. i also have plans to make some fun new things for this project starting next week.  check out the once upon a thread flickr group.

guest blogger THE VEGANETTE

our good friend, natalie, started a recipe blog in october before she moved to new york.  

the blog is called the veganette and is full of beautiful photographs and vegan recipes. we have made many of the dishes and they have all been delicious. natalie dedicated this meal to suki and it is perfect for her, she loved it. great job natalie! this is some comfort food that requires very little attention while cooking, and it’s healthy. i am always looking for recipes like this, making food while watching a toddler can sometimes be a challenge. 

from THE VEGANETTE

red lentil miser

1 large red onion (minced)
4 Tbs. olive oil
1/8 - 1/4 cup burbere (ethiopian spice mix)
3 cups red lentils
3-4 tsp. salt
Saute the onions without oil in a large soup pot for ten minutes. Add the oil and saute for another 5 minutes. Be patient and make sure the onion does not burn. Stir in the spice, lentils, and salt. Cover the whole mixture with water and let simmer, covered, for 20 minutes- adding water as necessary. Serve with ingera.

baked apples

To bake apples, core and place in the oven at 450 degrees for 20-30 minutes or until softened. Fill with soy yogurt and cinnamon. To sweeten, add maple syrup or agave nectar.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

debby and hillery!

two of my favorite people are celebrating birthdays today and tomorrow.

they are both amazing artists who are beautiful, stylish and incredibly kind.

i am happy they are my family and friends.

we will be celebrating them from michigan and missing them very much.

kuura

adam and i are showing some drawings at sparrows, opening next month.

mark your calendars for the 4th of march and join us for some cupcakes and tea during the opening reception between 7 and 9pm.  

thankful

this morning, i got an early birthday present from my mom, a computer. 

my very first computer! 

i hope to step up my game as a blogger 

and to become more professional all around. 

thank you, mom!   

then, we went over to our friends house for a soul food potluck in honor of black history month.  it was wonderful to spend time with good friends and eat so many delicious foods.

i love this photo of suki serving herself a piece of vegan fish.

the amazing adventures of suki and the beedle

this morning we went to frederik meijer gardens and sculpture park.  

the humid air of the rain forest felt so nice on our dry winter skin.  

 

suki and beedle were searching for the tree frog, but they never found it.  some of their favorite things that they saw were the waterfall, the mossy rocks, the butterflies and the cute flock of walking birds. 

i need to find out what kind of birds they were, i loved them.  it's too bad i did not get a photo.

suki and beedle were too cute in their own world, flapping their arms pretending to be butterflies.  

after the garden we went to target for some stickers and to pick out a few things from the dollar bins (they were half off today!)

suki picked out an ambulance, beedle picked a fire truck and a cricket for his dad. 

afterwards, beedle said that he is happy now that he finally has his very own small fire truck.

they played with their toys and shared some snacks before lunch at the eritrean restaurant.

they were so patient while waiting for the food that took a while since it is made to order.

the selam store may very well become a regular part of our weekly outings. 

they both loved it.