Wooden toys made in Montréal, Québec by BRIN D'BOIS.

The table set for dinner.
Out the window you can see the snow is still hanging on, and that ouchy, biting wind, but making and enjoying this bright dinner with friends on Saturday cheered me up a bit.

Sock monkey is H's new favorite.
ThankYou to Dorothy who made him.

n i n a d o n i s

Nina Donis. Some of her older clothes from winter 2010-11.

blocks

G. and I are making some pine blocks for H.
A couple of dyes shown here using blueberry and coffee.
 

Di + piggie

Belle Heir

once again, Belle Heir.

food

Someone is very happy about eating food.

I've heard complaints about the tediousness of the steaming, boiling, puréeing and straining for babies but I must say I really enjoy the steps involved in getting something good into this little sweetheart's mouth. His appreciation is tangible and I find the feeding endlessly entertaining. 

H's favorites so far:

#1 blueberries

#2 sweet potato, peaches, plums, squashes, green beans, avocado, whole milk yogurt, pear, banana

Hardware shop windows on Papineau last weekend.

scones

Last Wednesday morning I baked scones for coffee and a visit with my dear friend jake.

I started with this recipe from Ina Garten (I always want to write Ina May Gaskin) and altered it based on what I had on hand. I was thinking about jake's soft spot for the savory scones at Pikolo. I came up with these:

Cheddar and Rosemary Scones & Blueberry and Pecan Scones - a split batch

2 cups plus 1 tablespoon flour 

1 tablespoons sugar, plus extra for sprinkling

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 pound (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, diced

2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup cold heavy cream (or 1/2 cup plain yogurt mixed with whole-fat milk)

1/2 cup fresh or frozen blueberries, rinsed

1/3 cup pecans, finely chopped

-

1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese, finely grated

2-3 Tbsps fresh rosemary, finely chopped

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.


Combine 2 cups flour, 1 tablespoon sugar, the baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add the cold butter using a pastry cutter and mix until the butter is in pea-sized pieces. Combine the eggs and heavy cream and quickly add to the flour/butter mixture. Combine until just blended. 

Divide the dough in half. Combine the blueberries and 1 tablespoon flour. Add the berries and pecans to one half of the dough and mix quickly. To the other half of the dough add the grated cheddar and rosemary. The dough may be a bit sticky.

Dump each half of dough out onto a floured surface. Flour your hands and pat each into a 1” thick round, taking care to manipulate the dough as little as possible. You will see lumps of butter in the dough. Cut each round into 4 using a large, sharp knife. Place each scone on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
 
Bake for 25-30 minutes until the outsides are crisp and golden brown and the insides are done.