I have some good news: Tim and I made a commitment to renting a space in downtown Helena, for a whole month. We’re going to open a little pop-up (temporary, short-term) gallery the night of the Fall Art Walk — November 8th. The as-yet-to-be-named little gallery will feature Tim’s exquisite hand crafted furniture and my artwork. I will write more about the show and our progress as the time nears, both here and on my Facebook page.
We would be honored if as many of our Helena peeps as possible would come down to our little gallery during the art walk — or anytime from November 8th to December 8th. I’d love to see you and show you my work and Tim’s. You’ve been able to see both of our work online, and at the fall art walks for the past few years, but now is your chance to see a lot more of it — in person.
And when you come, please sit in one of Tim’s super comfy chairs. You’ll be amazed.
I will be at the little gallery during the Art Walk and Tim will be there part of the evening. He also has his piece, The Madison, in the Art of Wood show with the Helena Woodworkers Guild at the Placer Hotel lobby during the art walk.
Anyhoo, I’m really excited about this — and a little nervous. It’s a ton of work to put together a show of artwork, and we still have so much to do. I am working on 5 new paintings, and really excited to show them to the world.
Stay tuned for our progress, an invitation to an artist reception (and gallery talk) and more details as we get them nailed down.
I was thinking about the specialness of today* and craving a hot drink after being outside in the cold. I wanted something creamy. With high protein. Something comforting. Here’s just the thing, inspired by the hot milk drinks I used to make for my boys when they had trouble falling asleep.
I am dedicating this Hot Honey Custard Soothie recipe to Michael Cloud, who came into my life exactly 32 years ago.
October 5th, 1981 is a day I will never forget. I labored for 36 hours (34 at home with a midwife, my mom and Mickey’s dad.) He was kinda stuck by my crooked tailbone and even after I got to the hospital (we had tried for a home birth) I had to breathe through the contractions while we waited for a doctor to come from Butte… a doctor who could turn my baby’s head around 180 degrees with forceps without hurting him. When his head came out, the doc told me to stop pushing for what seemed like forever — it was probably just a minute — while they suctioned the phlegm from his lungs. In those eternal seconds, I had the most amazing experience of mutual eye contact with my baby before he started breathing on his own. He was calm and quiet, eyes wide open, staring into my eyes. Still part of my body. Not yet on his own. Seconds later he wailed as his umbilical cord hit cold air and they put him on my breast. He was fine except for two bruises where the forceps had pressed into his head.
Now Mickey and his wife, Michelle, have two boys of their own and I know they have had experiences as profound and moving as I had with him on that day. I am so proud of the man he has become, of how loving he is toward Michelle and his children. Of how he uses his mind and his body and heart to make good things happen in the world.
Here’s to you, Mickey — I hope you pass along this warm drink to your kiddos when they inevitably have a hard time falling asleep. xoxo
Hot Honey Custard Soothie
INGREDIENTS
1 cup milk (or rice milk, soy milk or coconut milk)
2 tsp honey (or to taste)
1 very small egg (if you are doubling the recipe, use a normal size egg for 2 cups milk)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
a few drops almond extract (optional but super yummy)
cinnamon
nutmeg
PREPARATION
works best if you have a blender or a hand-held blender. A whisk will do if you don’t have the blender
Gently heat the milk, cinnamon stick, vanilla and almond extracts in a saucepan on the stove until it is very warm. Try not to boil it over like I always do. (ahem!)
While the milk is heating, beat the egg with a whisk until creamy, or beat it in the bottom of the blender.
Take the cinnamon stick out of the milk and suck on it while you finish the drink. [grin]
When the milk is very hot, turn on the blender and gradually pour the milk into the beaten egg while blending. (If you pour it all in at once, the egg will cook in the hot milk and get chunky.)
When the hot milk mixture is very foamy, pour it into a pre-warmed cup and sprinkle with cinnamon and nutmeg. Serve immediately while it’s still hot. Yummo!
NOTES
You can substitute nut milks, rice or soy milk, or coconut milk for the cow-milk. Coconut and soy milks foam up pretty well in the blender. Rice milk and almond milk not so much, but the drink is still delicious even if it’s not foamy.
If you are vegan, skip the egg. It won’t taste the same but again, still yummy.
This really does taste like custard — the ingredients are the same and that nutmeg and honey give it dimension and depth. Heaven!
Heating the milk to a very hot (but not boiling) temperature cooks the egg just enough to kill any bacteria. It’s safe for children, though I wouldn’t give this drink to babies.
With the milk and eggs, this is a nutritious way to give your kids not only protein and calcium, but also the kind of comfort and soothing they just might need at bedtime. Make sure they brush their teeth after drinking the soothie.
I used a teeny egg from our friend, Colleen. Her hens lay beautiful eggs with dark orange yolks, so in the photos my soothie looks yellow-er than yours might if you are using store-bought eggs.
Charlie likes soothies on cold days too:
Notice the streaks on the outside of the pan… that’s me boiling the milk. My bad. [grin]
I am lucky because I have been involved in this young woman’s life for over 4 years.
I am lucky because she allows me to know her — the real her.
I am lucky to be able to point my lens in her direction almost anytime … she doesn’t mind. And she knows how to drop the mask and be herself. And she lets me see that. And record that part of her.
I am lucky to have been able to photograph her belly three times now. And the babies. And toddlers.
And finally I am lucky to watch healing happen in the heart a girl who was so wounded … and to see her find a partner who cherishes her, who is a good papa, who is gentle and funny and real.
Here’s a peek at some of the images my lens captured today. Check back for more. We’re still in the stage of choosing which ones we like best.
Welp. The cold weather has truly laid itself down in Montana.
We are not going to get hot days for a long, long while. Oh yeah — it will warm up a bit now and then. Warm enough to lie in the sun on the south side of a hill and soak up the light. Warm enough to walk on the prairie with just a sweater. Even warm enough to enjoy dinner out in the garden a few more times. Montana weather is tricky, tricky, tricky!
This is going to be fun. I haven’t gone through a winter with the Eat-for-Health food program yet, and I’m looking forward to inventing some cold weather drinks and other foods. Look for soothing comfort-food style drinks: hot nogs, grogs, toddies … hot chocolates, drinks with warm coconut milk and fruits, spiced juices, tea-blends, even some hot drinks with brandies and rums for a once-in-awhile treat. I’ll try my best to give the Soothies my special healthy twist.
Check out this weekend’s Soothie here. It’s a Hot Chocolate Banana Nut Soothie. Mmmm-Mmmmm!
If you’re reading this from the southern hemisphere, and just heading into your spring and summer — you can find lots of delicious smoothie recipes in my archives here.
On my photo walk this week I found myself in such glorious beauty that at times it felt transcendent. It was my birthday today. Charlie and I spent a couple of hours at Cox Lake and on the ridgeline above the lake. Trying to take in the beauty. Trying to take in the light — the incredible crisp, clear, morning light just five minutes from our house.
I could not make myself post just one photo today. Though these are not my best photos ever, still I love the quality of light in these images. So, here are a few, for your viewing pleasure. I hope these images lift your heart as the place did mine.
