Little Coffee Beans

goodbye, January

Goodbye, January.  I'm bidding you farewell a few days early, I hope you don't mind. Oh, it's not that you've been unkind. No, not at all. I'm grateful for those few warm days you gave us (you know how I love my flip flops), and we did enjoy your weekends, with time spent doing chores and taking hikes. But overall, you've been a sleepy month. And when you were cold, you were really cold.  And my goodness, those winds you brought, (yeah the 90 MPH ones) you can take those with you when you go, please. It's been good knowing you, January Twenty Twelve, but your time has come to an end.

Goodbye, January.

February, so short and lovely, you are one of my favorite months. Without fail, you always deliver  Spring's sweet invitation. I breath easier in February, shoulders relax as the tension of fighting away the cold dissipates. There is a promise of a warming Spring breeze as February arrives.

Dear February, as you round up winter with your twenty eight days, I kindly ask for warming days, smatterings of quick-to-melt snow and the first pops of color: crocus, tulips, daffodils.

Welcome February. 

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My girlfriend Kimberly just reminded me that this is a leap year. Looks like we'll have February for 29 days this go 'round. (Thaks KPA!)

{this moment}

 {this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, {extra}ordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

                                                                                        Joining Amanda at SouleMama

 

in the kitchen :: easy-peasy baguettes

As promised, yesterday we had a total carb fest for dinner. The star of our meal was inspired by this recipe I found on Pinterest. The bread was accompanied by pasta tossed with sauteed chard and onions, dressed with a basil pesto and topped with cherry tomatoes and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese. 

Instead of using the 18 hour bread recipe, I opted to use my go-to baguette recipe topped with the fixings seen on the Pintrest recipe. Here's the scoop on how to came together:

Everyday Baguettes 

(I've used this recipe for years and unfortunately can not remember the source.)

 Gather ::

4 Cups all purpose flour (you can substitute 2 Cups of whole wheat flour, too)

1-2 tsp salt

1 Tbs active dry yeast

2 cups warm water

Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)

Put it all together ::

Combine flour and salt in large bowl. In another large bowl combine yeast and warm (not hot) water. Add 1/2 the flour/salt mixture to the water/yeast and stir until a soupy dough is formed. Cover with a towel and place in a warm spot for three hours. The dough should double in size.

After three hours add the remaining flour/salt mixture and stir with a spoon until the flour is thoroughly mixed. Place the dough ball in a lightly oiled bowl. Again, cover with a towel and place in a warm spot for one more hour. It will again double in size. 

Roll the dough out of the bowl onto a lightly floured surface and lightly knead a few times. I don't work it much at all. I basically knead it just enough to cover it with a bit of flour so that it doesn't stick to my hands. Cut the dough into 2-4 pieces (two if you want bigger, fatter loaves and four if you want longer, thinner loaves).

Pre-heat oven to 450^.

Place the dough onto parchment lined baking sheets and allow to rise for another 20 minutes or so. 

Place the sheets in the oven (side by side if you're using two baking sheets) and cook for 25 minutes. 

Variations: I like to top my loaves off with an egg white wash before putting them in the oven. It makes for such a nice, almost shiny crust that browns beautifully. I typically also will salt the top of at least one loaf with kosher salt (think fresh pretzels), and this is the loaf that always gets eaten first. It's that good. I've also pre-roasted garlic then kneaded the cloves into the dough on the final knead. Fresh rosemary is also a great addition. Delish. 

This bread has the most satisfying crunch when you bite into it. It's best eaten straight out of the oven, but if you're traveling to a friend's for dinner you can pop it back in a high heat oven for a few minutes just before you eat so the crust gets crispy again. By the way, this makes a great addition to any potluck. It's so easy and always a crowd pleaser. 

When dinner is being made, Zinnia is always in the middle of it all. Here she is helping me wash (and nibble on) the chard.

Happy and healthy eating to you all!

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And hey, wanna link up? Let's share our kitchen inspirations. What are you feeding your family this week? If you're so inclined, leave a link in the comments below to what's inspiring you and share what's cooking in your kitchen this week. 

today I'm making

Have you joined the Pinterest craze? It seems like more and more people are jumping on the 'pinning' bandwagon. I've been collecting recipes over there and today, these baguettes are calling my name.

Doesn't this bread look amazing? I could totally eat all four of those loaves and not look back.

via pinterest.com

I'm going to try a variation on this bread recipe today. The recipe calls for allowing the dough to sit for 18+ hours, but I don't have that kind of time so I'll try my go-to bread recipe (with a total of four hours sitting/rising time) with these added treats on top. 

Dinner will now be planned around this bread. I have a feeling we are going to seriously carb out tonight. Some days you just have to get your wheat on, ya know?

I'll let you know how this turns out tomorrow. See you then!

Oh, and look me up on Pinterest: LilCoffeeBeans 

See you over there!

seven things ::

Thankful. Smiling. Laughing. Appreciating. Adoring.

Loving. Holding. Remembering. Sharing. 

Here's seven little things that I'm loving today.

:: watching her lead the way

:: having Aunt Bee back in town

:: soaking chickpeas today means homemade hummus tomorrow 

:: learning through teaching

:: hasn't met a vegetable she doesn't like

:: afternoons at the park

:: this quote

via pinterest.com

What simple little things are you loving today?

special delivery

Steve's birthday was a few weeks ago, but his present just showed up over the weekend. In trying to answer the question of what to get the man who doesn't need or want anything, I found myself daydreaming of our favorite Pacific island, Maui. I was swept away - in daydream - by the smells, sounds and sights of the ocean and lush forests when it came it me: Lilikoi. What if I could find our favorite Maui treat and have it sent here?

Don't you love the internet? Within a few minutes of searching on-line I found an exotic fruit exporter (these are from Florida, I think) selling passion fruit (aka lilikoi). Special delivery - one case please. 

Zinnia was as excited as Dada as he opened the box. Her high pitched squeals were followed by a mouth watering grin as she exclaimed, "Li-li-oy!" It's been four months since her last bite of lilikoi, yet she still remembers. 

For the last two days we've smelled of Maui. I catch a hint of the sweetness as I nestle in Zinnia's neck or hug Steve. I smell the scent on my fingers as I brush my hair from my face. That sweet, tangy, intoxicating smell of jungle fruit lingers. If only we could take a deep breath of damp, salty air, too, the daydream might just seem real.

If you need me today you may want to snap your fingers, talk loudly or let the phone ring several times to snap me out of the daydream.

This is where I'll be ::

Happy Monday friends.

{this moment}

Joining Amanda at SouleMama

in her words... {this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, {extra}ordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

If you're inspired to do the same leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments below.

Happy Weekend!

{cheap} books

I love thrifting for used books. Especially children's books. Zinnia and I scored yesterday at the local thrift store and walked away with ten books (seven for her and three for me) for $6.00.

Her most common request is to "reeeeaad?" And read we do. Sometimes for hours at a time. I keep up a rotation with what's on our book case. It's too overwhelming to her to have more than ten or so to choose from at any given time, and the end result of too many books on display is that they just get thrown all over the living room. Every so often I'll bring out new ones and replace the ones that I'm...tired of reading  ahem,  needing a break from. It'll be a while I expect before we're using the library more because my girl isn't exactly gentle with her books. We may or may not have many a book with taped bindings, missing pages, chewed up corners and some that are just plain loved to death. And so it goes in the life of a new reader. 

Of the seven just for her, Zinnia is most enthralled by Alona Frankel's Once Upon a Potty. She is really into all things poop these days and can not get her fill of watching little Prudence make a poo poo on the toilet.

Alright-ie friends, off to start my day. By the state of my living room at the moment you'd think that I have at least three children. 

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in the mornings

Steve is an early riser. Apparently he always has been. And when I say early, I mean it - we're talking a 4 AM wake-up - stirred awake by his own internal clock. 

If it were up to me, I'd sleep until 9 AM everyday, and not truly greet the world until we were well into the double digit hours. And so life used to be.

Zinnia rises between 5:30 - 7 AM and wakes ready to take on the world - singing, smiling, talking and full of effervescent energy. When we wake up, I lightly knock on the wall behind the bed so that Steve can hear in his office below - actually now it's Zinnia that does the knocking, "Knock, knock Dada." He comes up to do the first diaper change then whisks Zinnia away for a morning adventure, giving me time to collect myself and get properly caffeinated before having to completely show up as Mama. 

I love that man.

Off they go into the basement to check on the seedlings. 

Once the seedlings have been tended to, it's tea time. Zinnia knows all the steps to making tea: "Wa wa. Hot. Tea. White (cup)." With tea in cups they head to the family room and take a seat in front of the wood stove. I hear little squeals of delight and stories being shared as I make a shot of espresso and rub the sleep from my eyes - thankful for this time to myself.

When tea time is over and I'm nearing the end of my latte, Zinnia and Dada make their way upstairs.

"Mama, mama, mama. Mama!"

And with that, we start our day. 

seven things ::

Thankful. Smiling. Laughing. Appreciating. Adoring.

Loving. Holding. Remembering. Sharing. 

Here's seven little things that I'm loving today.

:: hugs between good friends

:: the family bed just got a little bit roomier

:: flowers from my man 

:: sewing paper garlands

:: homemade yummy-ness from generous friends

:: this pile of laundry does not necessarily make me happy, but it does scream abundance and for that, I'm thankful

:: snuggling up for a wintry walk

What simple little things are you loving today?