Oh Christmas Tree Oh Christmas Tree!

Its that time of year again. There is nothing more magical than lighting up the tree for the first time. Little trees being strapped snuggly onto car roofs and strung with lights and fancy ribbon. So, whats the best thing for these trees? Read this article from NYT to find out. Want more? Go to treehugger and find it.

Fa la la la la.. la la la laaa.

nice photos

I'm interested in the aura idea. Of course I am.

www.vanderoer.com

heartbreak

This interview with Charlie Rose and Mumbai eyewitnesses recounts some of the bravery and heroism that came out of such a horrible act. It makes me want to cry. The sense of love people have for absolute strangers, its confusing. There will always be heros found in the most unsuspecting places. My thoughts and prayers go out to all who were affected by this tragic event.

a little tale

I went into the woods in my sleep. It was early morning, almost 4am and I could hear the birds whispering to each other in the trees. I didn't remember to put any shoes on when I left my bed, so I was very quiet on the path. I crept up a Madrone tree. Climbed to the top. It was too dark to see the branches and I fell back to the ground. Both of my legs had turned into shapes I couldn't make out. They shuffled and slid beneath me. I felt surrounded by the dark. It was penetrable, but thick.

Later I found myself sleeping again in a narrow space between two stumps. Moss had grown over my arms and I was fixed to this place. I tried to pull the moss off. I grappled giant stretches of it, but every time I pulled away at it, more would take its place. It smelled like a ship in the night. I began to worry that I might miss breakfast.

The birds woke up and ate away the moss. They started to sing the breakfast song. I was hungry. They gave me some eggs which I put in my pocket.

The light began. The woods looked like woods instead of the thick dark space. I crawled. There was a sound like the breathing of a snake. It leaked through the branches and nearer. When I turned around there was a beast. It was extremely old and had the body of a white whale. It croaked as if it were made of wood. It had the feet of a pacaderm. It spoke in the hissy snake voice and pushed against my knees. It told me to give it the eggs so I did. I put them in the dirt by its snout and I waited to see what would happen.

It ate them very slowly.

I was sort of disappointed. It shook its whale fur coat and made a circle before it lay down on my path. It breathed with great huffs of its back.

I left it with the egg shells.

In the morning I woke up to find out I was still very hungry. I made a strawberry toast sandwich. We were out of eggs.

song of the day today

Fake PlaaAAAaaaAAaastic. ;)

bee business

When I was in Greece this summer, I tasted the best honey I have ever had. It was so delicious. My favorite thing is to dip apples in honey. Mmm. I liked this article on international honey tasting. Here you go.

little buddies

just too much.

Pomegranate Time

Yesssssss! Its officially pomegranate season and here is a recipe I am going to make tonight. It is a simple chicken and rice dish from Iran that celebrates pomegranates and delicious winter food. Here is the recipe...I found it on an elementary school's recipe submission page.




Khoreshteh Fesenjãn
Chicken with Rice & Pomegranate
(from Persia)
submitted by Manoushan

INGREDIENTS

Chicken
500 grams of chicken breast

Rice
1 cup Basmati rice
1 cup water
pinch of salt

Sauce
1 cup of almonds
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 tab olive oil
1/2 cup of water
200 ml concentrated pomegranate juice
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
METHOD

Chicken
Place chicken pieces in casserole dish.
Place dish in a preheated 180° C oven for 20 minutes.

Rice
Place rice and water in saucepan.
Add salt and bring to boil.
Reduce temperature and simmer for a further 20 minutes.

Sauce
Heat oil in pan.
Add finely chopped onion and spices and cook until onion is soft.
Add coarsely chopped almonds and cook for 2 - 3 minutes while stirring.
Add pomegranate juice and brown sugar and stir.
Add water and bring to boil.
Reduce temperature and simmer for a further 15 minutes.

Add sauce to chicken and cook in oven for another 30 minutes, then pour onto rice and your meal is complete.

I'm going to add pomegranate seeds instead of just the juice, but other than that it sounds lovely.



Pomegranates are so pretty, I love cooking with them. There are lots of health benefits too, but I just read that Vitamin C doesn't help to prevent or cure colds, which is either ridiculous or true, but just goes to show that you can't beleive an any one health benefit too much! Eat Pomegranates though, they are delicious!

rad with a capital R

falling sand game.

have fun.

Nice NYT article with Lin

Artist Maya Lin talks about relationships between past works, ways of working, environmentalism etc. Interesting.

Wave Field at the Storm King Art Center