Beta Testers Needed

I will be beta testing some lesson plans, projects and recipes in the next few months and I'm looking for friends and family to help out. One of my resolutions for the new year is to start measuring ingredients when I make recipes. Tonight we had spaetzle and lentils with a spinach salad. I made a dressing with the lovely Styrian Gold pumpkin seed oil mom bought us at the Winter Market. I mixed it with a glug of balsamic and a glurg of maple syrup. It was really nice with apples, pumpkin seeds and sweet and spicy pecans. I like using maple syrup in salad dressings because it tastes good and it emulsifies so easily in the dressing. Put the ingredients in a jar. Screw on the lid and shake. I like to keep it simple.

We had a really good discussion at the dinner table about the pathology of internet addiction spurred on by Q on CBC radio this morning. We also talked about  internet trolling, online community-building and sexism in birding.

Having tired of nonfiction I read the book I gave Peter for Christmas Called The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker which I devoured in one afternoon. I really enjoyed the book and especially liked the choices the author made in creating the character of the Golem, who will stick with me in my imagination for a long time. My only complaint is that she skimped a bit on the period costume detail.

What Do You Do in the Awkward Zone Between Christmas and New Year's?

taking photos of wasp nests in bared branches

starting to think about new year's resolutions

watching robins and starlings gather in the oak trees

experiencing a fond feeling for brussel sprouts

eating

granola and milk before bedtime

molasses ginger cake with eggnog and rum ice cream or apple sauce and caramel sauce

apples for breakfast

dried biodynamic cherries

really good salads--smoked trout, fennel, grapefruit and salmon roe

leftovers for lunch

indulging in two pots of good, strong tea at Shaktea, grooving to Ella Fitzgerald singing a-tisket a-tasket

sleeping in

discovering an online episode of Morse I had never watched before--like buried treasure

developing new lessons for next year's classes

revelling in warm, fuzzy feelings for family and friends

reading the obits of the famous people we lost this year

eagerly awaiting an autobiography by Nigella Lawson

going for a walk for no other reason than going for a walk (and finding jumbo croissants)

Keep Calm and Carry On Eating Turkey

 Hope you are having a fantastic Christmas.

Woodland Christmas Tree

I saw this at VanDusen and thought it was a cute idea--a woodland themed Christmas tree by the Garden Club of Vancouver: mushrooms, spiders, hummingbirds, deer, owls, ladybugs, squirrels, snails, elves, and pinecones.  Each one is obviously handmade and has its own character.