Food & Family

Last weekend the bookstore and cafe co-hosted chef/author Mourad Lahlou for an author event and food tasting. Mourad is the author of the book Mourad: New Moroccan, which is a wonderful cookbook of Moroccan recipes, but also of family stories. His event at the store was really fabulous. Mourad is down-to-earth, laid back, and he's got his priorities straight. Much like Charles and I believe, Mourad believes that food is truly the center of love and life. It is what wins our hearts over. Food is family. Mourad shared many stories about growing up in Morocco, remembering the people who made the food with love and care (even if it didn't taste that good), sitting around the table with family, and enjoying the feeling of eating at a market or in someone's home. Food brought people together, and it is really a very universal activity.

One of my favorite things Mourad shared at the event was the fact that in Morocco, at breakfast, everyone in his family would already be talking about what they would be preparing and eating for lunch, and likewise, at lunch, they would plan what they would eat for dinner. Time was spent doing what was necessary to create a meal. In looking at that international tradition, which is timeless, he also spoke about the ways we don't engage in this tradition in our modern lives. What we put in our bodies, and how we eat our food has changed dramatically, and almost seems backwards.

Anyway, I could go on and on writing about all of the points Mourad made that resonated with my personal beliefs about food, health, and family. It was a great event and it was a treat to host someone special like Mourad. If you are interested in learning more about him, he owns a restaurant in San Francisco, named after his mother, Aziza. And in the fall I posted some photos of a cookbook challenge we took for Mourad's book on Musings of a Crafter, and also wrote a blog post for the book store.


One thing that was fun (but I think also a little challenging for Charles), was creating recipes from Mourad's book, and then having Mourad there to see the finished product. Mostly Charles got the thumbs up, but when Mourad saw Charles' version of Rghaif, a yeasted, crepe-like pastry filled with a caramelized onion & currant filling, he gave a little feedback on what needed to be done differently. Charles accepted the feedback gracefully, but also took the challenge and tried again the next day at home to improve. I'm sure it's far from how Mourad would make Rghaif, and even further from what you would eat in Morocco, but it was fun to watch Charles explore the recipe, and it was pretty delicious too.


Food really is very important to our family. Not just because Charles is a chef, but because there are traditions, stories, flavors, and relationships cooked into the food we eat. Taking it even further, I like to think that our food holds those connections even more for us when we buy produce from our farmer friends, or eat one of our own chickens or eggs. We know exactly who provided us with that sustenance, and we can give appreciation for the tasty meals. Not to mention that food brings us together. I love that even though we are extremely busy, we make an effort to eat dinner together as a family, and some days all our meals are eaten together. Add to that the fact that my parents have now joined in on many of our meal times, and it feels like a ritual that is feeding our bellies, but also our souls. There is so much wonderful conversation and laughter that happens around our dinner table. I'm so grateful for that. I wish that for everyone.

On a sweeter note, here are some pictures of a dessert Charles & I made for dinner with my parents last Sunday evening. I made the chocolate shortbread, and Charles made the salted caramel ice cream. The shortbread recipe is from Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook and the ice cream from Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home. Yum, yum, yum...food is the way to my heart! I hope food has a strong sense of meaning, as well as sustenance for you too.

V-Day Baking

I promised I would post my Valentine's Day desserts. I made peanut butter oatmeal cookies from a magazine recipe that I think I cut out when I was a teenager. Still works. Still tastes good! I made hearts with ganache on some and the girls helped put Hershey's kisses on others.

My Valentine's gift to the girls was a giant heart-shaped chocolate chip cookie for each, inscribed with their names. We've enjoyed eating away at the cookies. Yum, yum, yum.

Happy Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is here and this year the girls & I made lots of fun cards. A couple of Sundays ago, I had a V-Day making lunch with a friend, my mom and the kids. We made some great cards, and a big mess too. I left that mess on the dining room table for about a week so we could continue working on our projects. Frankie slowly made about 20 cards for her classmates, Olivia made some for her pals. I made cards for friends and family, and even my dad came and made a card or two! I even took some time to make a few to sell at the cafe. I have a few sweets that I'll post in the future. I hope your Valentine's Day is full of fun!

Cards to sell at the Cafe:

Cards for friends:

The big mess:

Craft Talk

I have been busily working in my craft studio the last couple of months on a few art projects. I haven't been crafting per se, but I have been creating. I wish I would remember to take pictures of my works in progress, but by the time I remember, it's too late and dark to take photos. Mostly I've been doing some watercolor and mixed-media pieces inspired by books and words. In particular, I am working on some mixed-media pieces based on some poems a friend of mine wrote. He asked me more than a year ago to make something creative inspired by his poetry. I have had the ideas spinning in my head and am trying to translate them into finished pieces. I am also working with an old book and re-creating the book with my own art inside. And I'm hoping to do a photo project inspired by a book I really enjoyed reading. But, none of this is easy to describe or explain. Mostly, I'm just glad to be spending time in my creative space.

I also had a few other tidbits I wanted to talk about. A friend asked me what kind of paper I used for my watercolor veggie cards I made. I wish I could say, but it's just a natural colored cardstock I got from the local letterpress company that was selling some leftover paper. Also, if you're interested in "my" fudge recipe, it is from Martha Stewart, so feel free to enjoy it, courtesy of the craft diva and her staff.

Of course, I have to include some photos of the last three baby hats I made in 2o11! More to come in 2012 I'm sure, though none in progress right now. Well, that's all for now.

Handmade Holidays

This year I had decided that I would not make any gifts for the holidays, mostly because I remembered how ambitious my plans were last year, and how unambitious my actual follow-through was. I didn't really feel in the holiday spirit, and wasn't in the mood to make gifts. But, the last few days before Christmas arrived, I ended up getting the crafting bug and managed to squeeze in a few projects. I made many batches of my easy chocolate-peppermint fudge (great for teachers and co-workers). I also made a batch of rum truffles that were delicious, and rich, and some easy spritzer cookies. I made some block print greeting cards. I also helped Frankie sew some felt catnip-filled mice for our kitties. And at the very last minute, I sewed a hat for my mom out of an old sweater. The hat is not very well-sewn and was given as a "temporary" hat for her until I knit her a new hat.

Watercolor Cards

This summer while I was in Yellowstone with my Journal Keepers art group, I started working on some watercolor vegetable cards. I'd been wanting to make them to sell at the Cafe, but hadn't had time. Being away on a creative retreat gave me the time to sit down and work on my ideas. But, once I got home, I let them sit in my craft room unfinished for months. Well, the Cafe just celebrated its one year anniversary and I decided that I needed to finish those cards, package them up, and put them out on the counter for sale. So, here are some photos of my cards. I've been getting nice comments from customers at the cafe, and have sold a few already.

School crafts

Olivia's class has been making lots of craft items to sell at the annual holiday fair as a fundraiser for their class trip. It's always a great excuse for me to do some crafting as well. We've worked on water color painting for making little paper boxes & books, as well as sewing mittens, fingerless gloves, ornaments, and other felt items. It's been fun spending time with other moms and kids from Olivia's class.