An Update

I've been gone for a while. Haven't I? My last post was January 10, 2012. Since then so much has happened, including:

• A quick trip to Idaho mid-January with my sister, Heidi. We spent the majority of our time with our three living grandparents. It was incredible and well planned.
• My father's father passed away just before said trip to Idaho occurred. Heidi and I were able to attend the funeral of our Grandpa and remember his life and amazing sense of humor with our large family. It was special. And it was something I will always be grateful for.
• The same day my Grandpa passed away, Joe and I were matched with a child. Can you say whirlwind!? She moved in on February 1st and we've been figuring out how our new little family works in the days since. I'm not ready to share much in this public forum about her or our transition yet. But I can say this: life is remarkable, I am ridiculously fortunate, and motherhood has exceeded all of my expectations.
• January 20 I cast on a knitting project to work on while I traveled from Idaho to Boston. I finally finished it on Saturday; its stitches hold a lot of deep thoughts and personal memories. I'll share it here in a day or two.

So, I'm back. And I'm happy about that.

Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes

Because a good cupcake is a necessity: no matter what!


These little treasures are moist, fluffy and incredibly delicious. The recipe, from Divvies Bakery, was featured on the Martha Stewart Show and then published in Martha's cookbook, Cupcakes. They are 110% amazing, from first through final bite. Make 'em! NOW!


VEGAN CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES
(from Marta Stewart's Cupcakes)
yield 12 standard or 24 mini cupcakes

What you'll need:
1 1/2 cups cake flour (not self-rising), sifted
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups water

1. Preheat oven to 350. Line or grease and dust muffin tins.

2. Sift together cake flour, granulated sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt.

3. With electric mixer on medium-high speed, mix together oil, vinegar, vanilla and water until well combined. Add flour mixture and mix until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl as needed (batter will be thin).

4. Divide batter evenly among cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake until a cake tester inserted into centers comes out clean (20-25 minutes for standard tins, 15-20 minutes for mini). Turn out cupcakes onto a wire rack and let cool completely.

5. Before serving, dust with cocoa powder and confectioners sugar, or frost with your favorite (vegan) frosting.

Carrot Soup

Winter at my house means steaming hot bowls of soup with crusty bread and a salad. It's one of the reasons winter is my favorite season. There's nothing quite like warming up a cold kitchen, simmering a pot of broth and vegetables for dinner. Many childhood memories return to me when soup is on the table.

Carrot soup is one of my all time favorites. It's easy and delicious. Even better, no one can turn it down; children and adults alike love this bright orange dish.

Soup: it's what's for dinner.

CARROT SOUP

(from Heidi's recipe box)

What you'll need:

2 tablespoons butter

1 medium onion, finely chopped

3 cups finely chopped carrots

1 quart vegetable broth

2 teaspoons tomato paste

2 tablespoons raw white rice

salt, to taste

white pepper, to taste

1/2 cup heavy cream or half-and-half

1. In a heavy pot, melt the butter over moderate heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes, or until they are soft but not browned. Add the carrots, vegetable broth, tomato paste and rice; simmer gently uncovered for 30 minutes. When carrots are soft, puree soup with an immersion blender (or by carefully transferring in batches to a stand up blender). Season soup with salt and white pepper, and stir in the cream. Serve immediately.

*This soup can easily be made vegan by using non-dairy butter (or olive oil) and omitting the cream.

Sleepover Gals

A little girl I love is having a birthday next week. Knowing her personality and artistic curiosity, I wanted to make a gift that would be fun for her to both look at and play with.

Here's what I came up with:

The Sleepover Gals!

Three little friends,

tucked into sleeping bags,

ready for a sleepover party!

Aren't they fun?

Another amazing project from Hillary Lang's book Wee Wonderfuls.

2012 Aspirations

Hooray for 2012, all fresh and bright and clean. I love the opening of a new year more than just about any other time. There's something comforting in it's possibility---in aspiring toward twelve months of joy and accomplishment. Friends and regular FTBG readers are familiar with a few of my New Year's traditions including my Top 10 Books List and my coming year's aspirations.

This past year was one of happy moments and creative triumphs, complicated by a few obstacles and heartbreaks.

We continued making progress on our seemingly never-ending list of home improvements (finally finishing the master bedroom and nursery, completely re-landscaping our garden area and replacing several doors and windows). We traveled quite a bit (Jamaica, Idaho, Vermont, Portsmouth, and Washington DC) and hosted many friends and family members for cheerful times in Malden. I kept up my running routine, read 36 books, knit, sewed and generally created many fun projects and together, Joe and I grew an incredible garden.

Early in the year we were struck by some unfortunate news pertaining to our Ethiopian adoption. It's a complex tale that wound us through periods of grief and frustration, but ultimately resulted in our closing the year waiting on a new list to adopt a child (or two) through the state of Massachusetts' public adoption system. We're on the right path, and we're hopeful.

All in all, I am grateful to have experienced 2011. It was a year I will never forget; lessons learned, memories made and love deepened.

And now I welcome (with arms wide open) 2012. May it be a year of growth and happiness for us all!

Holli's 2012 Aspirations (a partial list):

• Develop watercolor painting skills
• Record a daily journal
• Eat vegan 4 times each week
• Learn to speak Spanish
• Read/Listen to 40 books
• Go on a maple tapping trip
• Log 600 miles jogging
• Weight train twice a week
• Learn to play chess
• Give proofs of love
• Maintain weight
• Travel to Idaho, St. Louis, and Europe
• Laugh more
• Participate in a fun run
• Say yes
• Play tennis
• Create a 2013 knitted monster calendar

For those of you curious about this tradition, check out my first FTBG post on the topic: 2007. Posts that followed in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 might also be insightful. I find Aspirations a fun and meaningful way to think about my year ahead with out feeling confined by and guilty about "resolutions".

Best Books of 2011

I read or listened to a total of 36 books in 2011 and thoroughly enjoyed most of them. Sure, there were a few duds in the mix (I'm looking at you Freedom) but overall, assembling this year's list of Best Books hasn't been an easy task.

In fact many books were loved so equally, I wasn't sure I could choose a favorite. It's safe to say that my Top 10 for 2011 are ALL must reads. I can guarantee unequivocal satisfaction!

And now, without further ado:

TOP TEN:
1. Interpreter of Maladies, Jhumpa Lahiri
2. The Paris Wife, Paula McLain
3. Bel Canto, Ann Patchett
4. Abide With Me, Elizabeth Strout
5. East Eden, John Steinbeck
6. True Grit, Charles Portis
7. Little Bee, Chris Cleave
8. The Glass Castle, Jeannette Walls
9. Olive Kitteridge, Elizabeth Strout
10. Little Women, Louisa May Alcott

TOP FIVE:
1. Olive Kitteridge, Elizabeth Strout
2. The Glass Castle, Jeannette Walls
3. True Grit, Charles Portis
4. East Eden, John Steinbeck
5. The Paris Wife, Paula McLain

NUMBER ONE BOOK OF 2011:
1. The Glass Castle, Jeannette Walls

________________________

* My 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, and now 2011 Top 10 Books lists can all be found in the right hand menu bar in my blog any time of the year. The 2008 post explains where this tradition came from.

* And as an FYI - my Goodreads account lists all the books I've read for many years in a row, including the complete list for 2011.

Eddie

Earlier this month a good friend's son turned two. He's a special boy and deserved a special gift.


Joe and I tossed several gift possibilities back and forth, ultimately deciding that a handmade doll would be juuuust right. May I introduce you to Eddie:


I had such a great time assembling him; choosing fabric, cutting out the pattern and hand-stitching his body together. His green cords and striped top were stitched by machine. In fact, his itty-bitty t-shirt is an actual little boy's shirt, heavily modified and pieced back together. Pretty clever, right?


Eddie, with his tussled brown 'hair', is a total doll: literally and figuratively.

Pattern from Hillary Lang's book Wee Wonderfuls.