Put an Egg on it

This is my new favorite kitchen sink style spring meal.  I call it a kitchen sink meal because you can really make it with almost any vegetables you happen to have in your fridge.  I adapted it from a Momofuku recipe I found on chow.com for roasted asparagus with miso butter with a poached egg on top.  The miso butter, poached egg combo is pretty amazing, and it is a great foil to some slightly bitter greens.  In the photos above it is made with roasted baby bok choy, broccoli, and scallions.  I also added a little sticky rice on the side to stir in, which bulks it up to a hearty and healthy main course.  I use the same basic cooking times as the Momofuku recipe, so click here to see how to make it yourself.  I highly recommend adding some scallion halves (cut lengthwise).  I have also made it with asparagus and fiddleheads, but that season is mostly past.  But I plan to keep adapting this through the summer with whatever is coming out of the garden.

p.s. My friend Holly told me that putting a poached egg on things is all the rage now in New York restaurants, so I am quietly patting myself on the back over here for managing to be so on-trend out here in the boonies!

All Done But the Finishing Up

Does anyone else know this saying: "All done but the finishing up"?  A really wonderful old Vermonter I knew and loved growing up used to say it.  And as we have been working around the house for the last few days since we moved back in, that saying keeps running through my head.  We've been hanging curtains, painting trim, wiping the last of the construction debris from the new floors, organizing our new pantry closet, and trying to remember where we keep everything in the kitchen! 

Doesn't Olivia look like she's being a big help? But she seems to have no objection to the new white floors.  And we now have a bathroom with a window! It's so small that I cant take a picture of the window without the help of the mirror, but it is bright and serene, and has a cute shorty tub for Emmett. He took his first bath in there today, and seemed very pleased.  I can't believe we got away with washing him in the kitchen sink for three and a half years.  He did a little bit of exuberant splashing in there today, and I think he is entitled. 

Our friends Garet and Carolyn just redid their bathroom, and they have "pieces of flair" in there (Office Space reference, for the uninitiated).  It really reflects their personal style, and looks fantastic. We have no flair yet. Zero. Which I hope doesn't reflect our personal style, only our lack of personal time.  But for now I am enjoying the white uncluttered emptiness.  I find it very calming. Plus having two bathrooms is AH-mazing. 

This really is the fun part of the renovation for me.  The final touches when the mess and chaos fades away and the final pretty little details emerge. 

Anew At Last

At long last, my website www.rebeccahaas.com, has a fresh new look!  I feel like I have finally shaken off the last of the winter cobwebs and I can feel my inspiration and creativity bubbling to the surface.  

 And not only does the site have a new look, the online shop has also been updated with some fun new work, as well as some of my recent best sellers, so please click here to check it all out! On the contact page there is a new place to join my mailing list, as well as links to all of my various other online presences. So link up with me in whatever way appeals to you and be the first to hear about special mailing list deals, new designs, and when I might be at a show in your area! And please share the link with friends, if you know someone who would be interested!

Take a Deep Breath

Today

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The Teeniest Turtle

Look who I found making his way across the lawn: a baby painted turtle.  How about that for cuteness? We all admired him for a bit, and then let him go next to a small stream that leads to the pond. I hope he made his way down there and is continuing on with his turtle-y life.  It was kind of a long way to go for someone so small.

A Person Could Really Starve Gardening This Way. . .

 It looks like a lot of lettuce, right? And I grew it from seed in this little planter in my Mom's greenhouse.  I'm very proud of it, it is so healthy and happy.  So tonight we needed a little lettuce for our dinner salad, so I thought it could be time to do the first harvest.

This is what it looks like when you pull some up.  Still more like micro greens than baby greens.  And you should have seen me down there carefully selecting which seemed to be the most mature plants.  I probably burned more calories selecting and pulling it than I gained eating it. (Plus I looked like a crazy person, but luckily I was alone)

I could have easily eaten the whole planter, if I was just having salad for dinner.  But luckily there was a chicken, so I could hold back, and most of the lettuces will live to see another day.