Lemon + Thyme

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Lemon + Thyme

Almost daily, I whip up a lemon-thyme vinaigrette, toss it with arugula and wolf it down with dinner.  I love the bite and saltiness with the peppery greens.  Lemons and thyme are staples in my kitchen, I use them in so many things, from brines to homemade cleaners.  Grind leftover lemon and thyme in the garbage disposal sometime, it's wonderful.  This pair is also really good for you.  Lemon is astringent and thyme is rich in antioxidants. I thought I'd share a few summer inspired lemon-thyme concoctions with you to try over the weekend.  xo, Heather

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Umami Pie

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Umami Pie

I like cobbler. Usually executed as a dessert, cobbler is baked fruit (stewed in it's own juices) with a biscuit topping.  What's not to like about that?  As my 7 year old will tell you, a tomato is a fruit and because of that, when cooked, tomato yields a lot of juice.  Best made with very ripe tomatoes, this cobbler is has the most pleasing of all of all tastes, umami. And the best thing about my tomato cobbler is that it is not only juicy, savory, salty, and sweet..it's vegan. I made vegan biscuits and they rock. Here's the recipe, try it soon, because it's prime tomato time. 

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The River

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The River

Here are some more snapshots of our vacation in Guerneville. Located 2 minutes from a perfect river beach, 20 minutes from the Pacific Ocean, with a State Park redwood forest on the outskirts of town, we spent a lot of time in nature.  I even bought a pair of Keens (gasp!). Going on this trip I had a little epiphany. I really like feeling as though I'm in the middle of nowhere. Every morning I would go outside and drink my coffee on the deck of our beautiful cabin and enjoy the quiet.  All I could see was trees and the water, and one time a naked lady walking across her deck at the house across river.

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WHOOPIE! pies

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WHOOPIE! pies

Today's post comes from Jasper my almost 2nd grader.  Yesterday we made this treat together and he shot all the pictures (I snapped a couple of him). We used the iPhone with various VSCO filters. We talked about the different kids of pictures he'd need to get to tell a story. This is a fun summertime collaboration, because he gets to see how to do a post project from start to finish, he practices his writing skills, and we get to do it together. He picks the projects and writes about them, and here's what he has to say today:  

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The Great Outdoors

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The Great Outdoors

Jasper and his best friend Mateo went on their fist backpacking trip yesterday.  I didn't get to go, as this was a father-son trip, but I got my hands on some pictures. They ate beans from a can, toasted marshmallows, climbed "mountains", jumped from rocks, went fishing, used pocketknives, and managed to survive a few bee stings, slithering water snakes, and sleeping in tents with their snoring fathers' after talking themselves to sleep. Like a page from The Dangerous Book for Boys

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