Moreover, I always take home new tastes and new challenges, so my table for one is constantly changing. And friends and family who partake of my fare are, I hope, never bored. There is an old Italian saying, A tavola non s’invecchia — “At the table one never grows old.” Isn’t that reason enough to come home at the end of the day, roll up one’s sleeves, fire up the stove, and start smashing the garlic?

As Brillat-Savarin wrote: “The pleasures of the table are for every man, of every land, and no matter of what place in history or society; they can be part of all his other pleasures, and they last the longest to console him when he has outlived the rest.”

- Judith Jones, The Tenth Muse: My Life In Food

* Judith Jones is the Knopf book editor credited with discovering Julia Child in 1959.

You will always be my favorite fisherman. I love you. Happy birthday.

* I think I’m probably eight or nine in this photo. My dad is an avid fisherman and took us with him out to sea all the time. This was in a hut on one of the islands we docked at, maybe for lunch (explains what appears to be the food coma that my dad’s in!). I used to complain about being on the boat all the time, because I was a vain little girl and hated the heat and humidity and the sticky saltwater that made my hair gross. But now, I realize my childhood was actually quite adventurous because of those trips on the water, and that one of my favorite memories of my dad is him squinting in the sun, with a beer in his hand, celebrating a catch. Now, I won’t trade those memories for anything in the world.

We were up at Lake Arrowhead at S.’ family’s house this weekend. It rained all of Saturday, so we spent the afternoon indoors making a big, glorious mess out of powdered sugar, starlight mints, cinnamon bears and all manner, shape and size of candy imaginable to build a wintry gingerbread village. All this while getting sloshed. We spent a good bit of time cleaning up after and STILL kept finding renegade candy hidden in different nooks of the house the rest of our say there. All in all, my first attempt at making a gingerbread house was smashing fun.

More pics from the construction site:

We had so much fun, even Johnny Depp stopped by!

Ahhhh, Christmas. I love you so.

I have the best friends! Thank you, Gad. I love your thoughtful, unexpected gift. I can’t wait until the holidays are over for some serious charity quilting!

Mostly because I’ve always wanted to sew for charity, and even more after discovering that Katherine Bell, who wrote this book, is a gradaute of the Iowa Writer’s Workshop (in my poetry days—yes, I had my poetry days!—several teachers spoke highly of the writing program). I found out about the book on the Sew, Mama, Sew blog today and reading about it makes me want to run to a bookstore at lunch to get myself a copy! (Though, I do have some points to spend on Amazon, which carries the book, too!) Katherine Bell says of her project:

…it’s a collection of stories about quilters who quilt to change the world. I interviewed an extraordinary assortment of women (and a few men) for this book. Some have organized groups of quilters to provide warm bedding to people made homeless by poverty, violence, or natural disasters. Some make quilts to comfort those who are sick, hurt, or grieving. And still others use their craft to raise money and draw attention to a cause—the AIDS quilt is the most famous of these. The quilters I encountered during the making of this book had a few things in common: practicality and old-fashioned resourcefulness; considerable persuasive and organizational skills; a firm belief in justice and people’s responsibility for each other; and a faith in patchwork’s ability to absorb the maker’s care, respect, and on occasion outrage, and to let whoever touches the quilt feel those as well. These needle-wielding activists made me believe I could do so much more to make a difference in the world, and I hope they’ll do the same for you.

It includes patterns and projects for newborns in need, quilts for soldiers, blankets for the homeless and gifts that support breast cancer charities, among others. Definitely something to look forward to in the new year: sewing projects that make a difference!

How are you coming along with Christmas gifts this year? I’ve decided I’m going to MAKE most of mine, which means these past days I’ve been sewing like mad. Tote bags, drawstring pouches, lavender sachets, scarves! I won’t be able to show you exactly what I’ve been making because a lot of the recipients read this blog, but I CAN say it’s been a lot of hectic, crafty fun. I’m desperately trying to squeeze in time to make all of these by Christmas, so please cross your fingers for me!

On the non-handmade front, I’ve been spending lots of time on The Open Sky Project recently. It’s a fairly new website that has experts (and usually bloggers) from many varied fields (crafting, food & beverage, baby and gardening, among others) recommending products they actually use, which you can then buy right on the shop. Through it, I’ve discovered many nifty new things—and lots of other awesome blogs, too!

My favorite things from The Open Sky Project:

The Knit Kit recommended by Vickie of Vickie Howell (knitting)

Tulumba Dolma Roller recommended by Dede of Dedemed (Mediterranean cooking)

Clover Pom-Pom Makers recommended by Amy Powers of Inspire Company (crafting)

Sylvie Bird Pillows recommended by Jay Johnson and Irwin Weiner of Design2share (interior design)

Chronicle Books Confection-ery Box Of Labels recommended by Kelly Lyden of The Party Dress (entertaining)

OXO Convertible Colander recommended by Kath Younger of Kath Eats (healthy eating)

Space Invaders Cutting Board recommended by Lisa Rogak of Behind The Knife (kitchen toolery)

Great website, and something you might want to check out as you’re deciding on Christmas gifts yourself.

P.S. If you know me and you love me but don’t know what to get me for Christmas, those Clover Pom-Pom Makers would make me all sorts of happy!

UPDATE: Vickie Howell has some $15 off coupons to give away on The Open Sky Project! More details HERE.

 Long overdue, I know! But in the shuffle of turkey, mashed potato and stuffing, I misplaced my camera and couldn’t post these until today.

 For my family, I made this toot-my-own-horn-good Pumpkin Cheesecake. The crust was made from crushed gingersnaps—a season-appropriate spiced twist from the traditional graham-cracker one. I piped whipped cream (yes, made from scratch, thank you) blobs on top (Bake It Pretty’s Round Giant Pastry Tip was perfect for this!) , and sprinkled some toffee brickle on them. The chocolate pieces you see were made from a chocolate “mat.” I melted some chocolate chips, dipped a fork in the mixture and whipped it back and forth over some wax paper so it made some sort of cross-hatched pattern. Those pieces you see on the cheesecake were simply broken-off “shards” from the mat. More crushed gingersnaps in the middle completed the dessert. (I’m very proud of it!) I think I’ll be making this cheesecake for Thanksgiving from now on.

For E.’s family (who are self-confessed chocoholics!), I made this autumn-themed Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Frosting. I baked it in a disposable sheet pan, just like these. They’re handy because they come with their own cover and there are no worries about a forgotten cake pan wherever the baked treat is sent. The leaves are made from marzipan that I tinted, rolled out and cut out with autumn mini cookie cutters. I used the back of a knife (a Martha Stewart trick so that you don’t cut all the way through the marzipan) to score veins on the leaves and marks on the acorns. 

The holidays are always an excuse for me to cook and craft even more, so may the Kitchen and Craft Gods be with me in the next few weeks as Christmas draws near. Hope to keep you posted of all my adventures in thread and flour!