Artist Date 9 Make an Idea Line

Weekly artist dates fire up your imagination. Get down and whimsical. Do things totally differently than how you usually do. Let your imagination and your body play. Feed your creative self by filling up the well of ideas. This week, look around your home office, studio or wherever you hang out when you are art-making, and see if there is someplace you can hang a line of ideas. Use anything for the line and clips. Read on for ideas for your idea line.

Artist Date 8: Color Hunt

For an artist date this week, take yourself on a color-hunt with your camera. At a time of year (In Montana, it’s late winter/almost spring) when we crave color, this is a fun exercise in seeing. Check out the list of ideas for a color hunt, whether you have a camera or not.

Noodles the Healthy Way

Thin, clear rice noodles … a bed of mixed greens, lots of fresh raw vegetables, tofu, maybe some sliced meat, peanuts, fresh herbs and a very light oil-free dressing. Ahhh … a meal from Vietnam-heaven made for warm summer nights! It’s an amazing light, healthy meal. Try this dish this week!

Eating Dirt May Be Good For You

What can we, as teachers, parents, grandparents and friends of children, do — to make sure kids reap the benefits of unstructured time connecting with nature? Read this article for some ideas and background about “Nature Deficit Disorder.” Here’s an excerpt from “Last Child in the Woods:” As a child, I was unaware that my woods were ecologically connected with any other forests. Nobody in the 1950s talked about acid rain or holes in the ozone layer or global warming. But I knew my woods and my fields; I knew every bend in the creek and dip in the beaten dirt paths. I wandered those woods even in my dreams. A kid today can likely tell you about the Amazon rain forest—but not about the last time he or she explored the woods in solitude, or lay in a field listening to the wind and watching the clouds move.” Read more and find a list of ideas …

Throwback Thursday Anadama Bread

Lately I’ve been craving the chewy mouth feel of Anadama bread. It really truly no-kidding is incredible delicious!
I broke down and baked some this week. Sigh. It’s so good. My husband loves it too. When he tasted the first warm slice his comment was, “To hell with Dave’s bread. This is better!” That’s saying alot around here. Dave’s bread is Tim’s bread.
I made a slightly healthier version than the one I learned as a college student. I used whole wheat flour and flax meal, less salt, a teensy bit less butter. Read on, to find out how I made this incredibly delicious bread.

Today’s a Good Day for Hot Ginger Lemon Tea

My favorite way to drink ginger tea is to make it from fresh ginger root, brown rice tea (genmaicha) and lemon zest. The flavors of made-from-scratch ginger tea are incomparable to the store-bought kind. And, what’s really yummy about this recipe is the way the ginger and lemon flavors blend with the toasty-almost-like-popcorn-but-it’s-really-toasted-rice flavor. OMG yummo!

Eat Your Orange Colors: Old World Butternut Squash Soup

Old World Butternut Squash Soup is a delightful medley of dark orange veggies and sweet/savory flavors. Super healthy for you. This one is different from the pureed butternut squash soup that’s trendy now. I like my squash soup chunky so I can taste all the different flavors and textures. I even add coarsely chopped tart apple for a flavor surprise! Make this soup vegetarian — or not. Either way it’s delicious on a blustery winter day with some hot-out-of-the-oven whole grain bread or a scone and a leafy green salad. A perfect winter meal:

Creamy Pumpkin Chai Soothie

I made these for lunch today, though the Creamy Pumpkin Chai Soothie would be just as happy at your breakfast table, or being sipped around a fire after dinner. It’s a little bit sweet. A lot healthy. Smooth and creamy. And if you aren’t into being as healthy as all that — bake up some French Breakfast Puffs to serve with it. Yummo!