Easter Traditions

When I was a little girl, my grandmother always baked a coconut cake for Easter. She decorated it with the green grass, jelly beans, and peeps. I thought it was the greatest thing in the world! It was a tradition that became synonymous with this Spring holiday.

Both of my grandmothers are incredible bakers, so I believe this is where I inherited the love for sweet creations. This year, I decided to start the Easter cake tradition for the crumb. Hand-painted blown eggs (a definite labor of love) set perfectly atop my double-layered coconut cake along with the crumb's squeal of "Pink Eggs!" would definitely make my grandmother proud!

I would love to know your fondest Easter/Springtime memories.....

[Reverie-Daydream Images]

Sweet Friends

~ Life is sweeter when shared with friends ~

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The Dog Walker

Being a pug-lover, you will understand why I adore this cover of The New Yorker. In fact, it is now framed and hangs upon the crumb's bedroom wall.

Wouldn't it be divine if dog walking was really this civilized and chic?

Green Goodness

One of my must-haves in life is greens ~ leafy, flower, herb, sprouts ~ all types of edible green goodness! Every week, my basket is always brimming with a variety of my favorites from the Farmer's Market. And now that Spring is here, almost every meal consists of at least one generous serving of these fresh vitamin and mineral packed superfoods.

It's hard for me to narrow down a favorite or two, but if I had to choose one leafy green that I couldn't live without, it would be wild arugula (with kale, watercress and mesclun mix as the runners-up).

Now tell me....what are your favorite greens?

[Reverie-Daydream Images]

Culinary Confetti

Eating is a vital part of our lives, and it is very important to realize, 'we are what we eat'. I never put myself into a certain category when it comes to food consumption; meaning, I'm neither vegetarian, vegan, pescetarian, etc. I eat for my health, my well-being, my livelihood.

I'll admit, there are certain foods that make me feel better than others, but mostly, I focus on organic, free-range, local goodness provided by Mother Nature. So when I discovered the 21-day kickstart program in favor of veganism (which I could never fully commit to since I love cheese and eggs SO much), I took a peak because I knew there would be some really good recipes I could add to our overall culinary repertoire. The Couscous Confetti Salad didn't disappoint! It is full of flavor and an array of beautiful colors ~ a true party for your palate.

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Plastiki

"What we have to do is eliminate dumb uses of plastic.

Thirty-eight billion plastic bottles went into landfill last year."

~David de Rothschild

Hence the premise behind Plastiki, to dramatize the message that plastic is evil and that sailing a 60-foot catamaran across the Pacific [with 68 percent of the boat’s buoyancy derived from a matrix of 12,500 recycled plastic bottles] will capture the attention of people around the world.

An engineering feat from conception, the stunt for an environmental cause has evolved into a new way to build. Design 'roadblocks' forced 'think-outside-the-box' solutions resulting in a boat constructed using self-reinforced plastics (no resins). The parts are heat-welded together, or in some cases they’re joined with a glue made from sugar cane and cashews. The boat’s solar panels are good for 600 watts, and a recumbent exercycle is rigged to produce 7 amps. A hanging hydroponic garden will grow chard, kale, spinach and other leafy greens. The boat's cabin [egg-shaped as a form of biomimicry] has been described as "the ultimate off-grid house". Plastiki is another 'role model' for our future proving once again that it is possible to use recycled goods and build with non-toxic chemicals.

On Saturday, we attended the traditional Polynesian christening ceremony which means the boat is blessed and ready to make its journey. David de Rothschild will, with a six-man crew, sail across the Pacific Ocean starting in San Francisco and ending his journey in Sydney. Along the way, there are planned visits of several sites of ecological importance such as the man-made disaster called the Eastern Pacific Garbage Patch, a floating landfill located between California and Hawaii that’s twice the size of Texas. This is definitely a noble mission, and one I personally look forward to following.

[Reverie-Daydream Images]