"our farm"

Over the weekend we visited Wagner Farm in nearby Glenview.  Eloise calls it "our farm" as in, the farm that is our family's and our town's.  It is neither.   It was a working farm at one time and instead of being turned into giant suburban houses and retail spots it was purchased by the village of Glenview and turned into a museum.  Kids (and adults) can learn about what life was like on a family farm,  play with interactive exhibits, and see different farm animals.  We have been many times, in all seasons, and we continue to go and enjoy it every time.  If you get a chance, check it out for yourself.
Here are the reasons why I love Wagner Farm so much:

It is only about 15 minutes away
It is completely FREE
It is open year round
It is educational and entertaining
It is a nice getaway from the city
It is great for all ages
It is a place where you can explore on your own with few restrictions
They have an ice cream parlor on site

the farm

milking a "cow"

collecting "eggs"

cows in the fields

don't look now, but there is a cow behind you

relaxing a little

does it seem like everything we do ends with ice cream?

it does.

*

tomato tart

This is what my kitchen counter looks like right now:

I wanted to share one of my favorite tomato recipes in case you have some to enjoy right now too.  This tomato tart is delicious!  It is rich, and decadent but I really love it because it is simple simple.  You will not believe how scrumptious this smells when it is cooking.  You will not believe it.  This is the kind of thing you want to have cooking in the oven if you are trying to sell your house, trying to bag a man, or begging for someone's forgiveness.  

I will say that I do not make my own crust for this.  Why?  I hate making pie crust.  The prepared ones in the store's refrigerated section are kind of an embarrassment to use, especially if your mother in law is coming over for dinner, but they are decent enough.  The crust is not the real star here anyway, the tomatoes are.  So, even though I kind of feel like  Semi-Homemade Sandra Lee, I continue to use the pre made ones.  If you would like to make your own (what?  do you think you are better than me, or something?) then please feel free.  The link to Martha's is included in the recipe.

• 1 head garlic
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• All-purpose flour, for dusting
• 1/2 Pate Brisee (Pie Dough)
• 2 ounces Italian fontina cheese, grated (about 1/2 cup) (I like a little extra)
• 1 1/2 pounds firm but ripe tomatoes (4 medium), cored and sliced 1/4 inch thick
• Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place garlic on a piece of aluminum foil. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon oil. Wrap to enclose garlic in foil, and place on a small baking sheet. Bake until soft and golden brown and the tip of a knife easily pierces the flesh, about 45 minutes. Remove from oven; set aside. Raise oven temperature to 450 degrees. When garlic is cool enough to handle, using either your hands or the dull end of a large knife, squeeze the cloves out of their skins and into a small bowl; mash with a fork, and set aside. Discard the papery skins. (I usually do this a day or two in advance whenever I have the oven on.  I follow the directions as written and just put it covered in the fridge until I need it for the tart)
2. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to a 1/8-inch-thick circle, about 12 inches in diameter. With a dry pastry brush, brush off the excess flour; roll the dough around the rolling pin, and lift it over a 10-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Line the pan with the dough, pressing it into the corners. Trim the dough so that it is flush with the edges; transfer to the refrigerator to chill, about 30 minutes. (IF you are going to use the prepared crusts, just unroll it into the tart pan and press into the corners. No rolling pin or flour needed.  You should only need to chill it for about 15 minutes)
3. Spread roasted garlic evenly on the chilled crust. Sprinkle with half of the cheese. Arrange the tomatoes on top of the cheese, in an overlapping circular pattern. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Transfer to oven. Reduce temperature to 400 degrees. and bake until crust is golden and tomatoes are soft but still retain their shape, 45 to 55 minutes. Transfer to wire rack to cool for 20 minutes, and serve warm. (fresh basil is delicious on top of this once it is cooled)

my helper.  she was telling me the whole time that she would just like the 

cheese please and no tomatoes.

girl, you're crazy.

I wish you could smell this right now.

*

toothiness

I feel like we've been talking about teeth a lot lately.  Harriet just popped out her 3rd tooth and we've been blaming everything we can on her teething.  Her recent fever, her current diarrhea, the fact that she now insists on only nursing on one side rendering me a lopsided freak, and while we're at it, let's blame the oil spill, global warming, and skinny jeans on her teething too.  Poor thing.  I had been rubbing teething gel on her top gums for weeks, and massaging them and checking them and then, when I was feeding her this weekend, I noticed that new little guy just snuck in on the bottom!  Sorry, Harriet.

In addition to all that teeth talk, Eloise and I both had dentist appointments this week.  I was prepping her for days and we were talking about what the dentist might do and what kind of prize she might get when her appointment was over.  I was so nervous she was going to freak out and not cooperate. (She fell when she was 18 months old, knocking out 3 of her teeth and she's been, justifiably,  a little skittish ever since) She did amazingly well.  This dentist, Dr. McWhinnie, had such a great way about him.  She was totally at ease around him and responded in a way that I have not seen before.  They were laughing and joking and best of all-- No cavities!

Then it was my turn.  I had not been to see a dentist in probably 5 years.  I am the one that was totally freaking out.  I am super squeamish about my teeth.  I can't eat a popsicle for fear that the stick might touch my teeth.  I can't be in the same room as any kind of porcelain dish for fear that something might scratch against it.  The sound of someone scraping a fork on their teeth almost makes me pass out.  So as you can guess, I am not very relaxed at the dentist.  I basically spend the whole time alternating between whole body shivers and suppressing the need to vomit.  Since I finally got myself in the chair and
ass clenched my way though the appointment, I was very happy to hear some great news.   Even though I haven't been in such a long time and even though I lied about flossing 5 times a week, I don't have any cavities or major issues at all, whatsoever.

Am I the only person that doesn't floss?  Tell me you are all flossing! I hate it but I must make a change. I considered myself very lucky this time around and I pledged that I would make every effort to floss each night from now on.  So far, I have kept my pledge.  It has been one night.

new toothy grin

my favorite toothless grin

*

lazy

We've been a little lazy around here lately.  Summer is winding down but the temperature and humidity are still soaring.  All of our summer trips and big events are over and we are just going to stay put for awhile.  Since I am not really good at staying put, I've been looking for simple, fast, easy, and fun projects to do during nap time.  Something other than sitting on the couch and watching whatever has been tivo'd from Bravo.

I came across this sewing tutorial that seemed to fit the bill.  It was called "Lazy Days Skirt".  How perfect can you get?  It is a PDF provided by Liesl of Oliver+S.  They have darling and amazing patterns which are super easy to read and follow.  Most patterns from the big companies (McCalls, Vogue, etc.) can be very confusing and somehow seem like they were translated from another language not quite correctly.  Oliver +S makes patterns for children (please make them for adults!) and they run about $15.00.  This one is absolutely free, easy, and great for lazy days.  It is simple and not fussy at all.

I loved that there was no pattern, just instructions to read.  I made my skirt even lazier by using bias tape to finish the hem instead of the grosgrain ribbon she suggests.  We had a scrap of fabric that Eloise loves.  We got it here.  It has fairies, butterflies, stars, castles, AND it is pink and purple.  Basically, it was made for my daughter.  Finished this in one sitting and plan to do some more for school days.  Give it a try!


http://www.oliverands.com/downloads/Oliver+SLazyDaysSkirt.pdf

scrap fabric turned into a garment!

sometimes I wish she felt just a little 

more lazy

*

buttons

A couple weeks ago I was driving with Eloise and I commented on what a beautiful day it was.  I told her it reminded me of the kind of weather we had on our wedding day.  She asked if that was the day when I 'spilled the buttons'.  I could not figure out what she was talking about and then I realized Mike must have had told her the 'button story'.  Thinking back on it, I think it was kind of, sort of, maybe the exact moment that I fell in love with Mike.

When we were first dating Mike was living in Chicago and I was still in Toledo.  I had been to visit him a couple of times and now it was time for him to visit me in Toledo.  Things were getting serious.

In my rush to get things ready and my apartment all cleaned up, I had thrown a ton of stuff into this huge walk- in coat closet in the living room. In addition to coats, it was also part craft closet, part kitchen storage, part Target overstock warehouse, so there were clothes, shoes, bags, coats, skillets, crafts, fabric, all kinds of stuff in there.  Also, I had recently spilled a jar of about 32,000 buttons, all shapes and sizes, and they were now covering the whole floor of the closet.  I just closed the door and hoped that no one would see that a tornado had gone off inside.  In our relationship we were still at that early stage when you care about what the other person thinks of you and you want to make a good impression.  Ahhh, love.

At some point after Mike's arrival we decided to go out to dinner.  I needed to get my coat.  Damn it! Not wanting to ruin the illusion of my perfection, I told Mike to please not look into the closet and I just had to grab something real quick.  It went a little something like this:

Me:  Don't look.
Him:  Okay.
Me:  Look away.
Him: I will.
Me:  Did you see?
Him: No.
Me:  Did you?
Him: No.
Me:  Do you swear?
Him: Yes, I swear!
Me:  Okay.  Good.

Him:  Liz?
Me:  Yeah?
Him:  Do you have any buttons?

Ten years later, I now have my buttons organized into color coded compartments
and sorted by size and material.  But, if you were worried that marriage has changed me and I have lost my true self, just take a look at my closets sometime.  On second thought, please don't.

 Happy Anniversary, honey.

bff

I am lucky enough to have a real and true bff.  A 'best friend forever'.

Ali and I have been friends since 7th grade.  I don't even want to think about how many years that is, but let's just say we've been friends for a very long time.  Today is her birthday and even though we are, tragically, miles and miles away from each other I find myself thinking of her and feeling pretty close.

When you meet someone in 7th grade, the worst, most awkward, meanest, year of all your years in school and they still like you, you can pretty much get through anything together.  We have.  

Eyeliner application.  Spritz Forte hairspray.  Ballet Camp.  Periods.  Boys.  Break ups.  School Dances.   Four years at Notre Dame Academy.  Denny's.  Zits.  Barbie and the Rockers.  Going to separate colleges.  Visiting each other at said colleges (although I barely remember most).  Frankie's.  Losing our virginity (mom, I swear it was my wedding night).  Sufficient Grounds. Shopping.  Road trips.  Moving to Chicago.  Moving to Seattle.  Boyfriends.  More break ups.  Husbands.  

Although we have spent most of our time in different cities it seems like we were together for all the important stuff--happy and sad.   Ali stood up for me at my wedding and was by my side when I delivered Eloise.  I held her hand until she was wheeled in for a C-Section to have Ruby and was there when she came out of surgery to meet her.  She flew in a couple weeks after Harriet arrived to help us out and see the new little one.
I remember coming home to Toledo, where both of our families are, and seeing Ali in my parents' backyard.  We walked toward each other, hugged, and then both just fell apart.  It was the saddest and most broken I had ever seen my friend.  I just wanted to put her back together but couldn't.
Her mom had died the morning before.

Our lives will always be connected.  Our families that we came from and the families that we have created will always be in each other's lives whether we are in the same town or not.  Friendship is not geographic.  Don't get me wrong.  I would love to live in the same place again and watch our kids grow up together and make fun of our husbands and go to Anthropologie on the weekends.  That is not what we got though.  We have to settle for emails, and phone calls, texts, letters, skyping and the occasional visit in person.  We survive on all the memories we have together and the possibility of what each new year will bring.
Happy Birthday, Kitty.
Love you.

a recent visit in Toledo

we did not plan the twinsie outfits

this is what friendship looks like

*

simple

The tomatoes are in full swing.  We have not been overwhelmed yet by our harvest but there are tons of green ones on the vines waiting to ripen.  As we pick beautiful, red, ripe ones I like to use them to make my favorite meal ever.
Seriously.  I have eaten at Charlie Trotter's and Tru and many, many places in between, but one of my favorite things in the world to eat is a simple, tomato sandwich.  If I am ever in a situation where I am given my choice of a last meal, an execution let's say, it would be a tomato sandwich.  God, I hope my execution would be sometime during the month of August...

There are probably several versions of this classic but this is mine.  It is the way I have prepared hundreds of them over the years.  Feel free to embellish as you wish but I think you will always come back to the original:

One red, ripe, juicy, homegrown tomato
(of course, it doesn't need to be grown at your house but somewhere nearby and in the late summer is ideal)

Two slices of good wheat bread
( I know some people like this on a country white bread which is good also.  My grandma always made her own wheat bread and this is how we ate them)

Good mayonnaise
(Do not even joke around here and use something like Miracle Whip.  I'm talking about a Hellman's or a Kraft mayo)

Salt & Pepper
(Some kind of flaky sea salt like Maldon is divine here but this is definitely not an elitist sandwich so any ol' Morton's will do)

Take slices of bread and toast to a golden brown.  This is the most important step.  Not toasting the bread results in an entirely different sandwich and one that I don't want to be a part of.  Spread each slice of bread with mayonnaise.  Slice tomato into about 4 thick slices and top one piece of toasted bread with the tomatoes.  Sprinkle tomatoes with salt and pepper.  Top with other slice of toasted bread press down a little until the juices just start to run out the sides.  Slice your sandwich in half.  If you are lucky enough to have potato chips in the house, have a handful of those with your sandwich.

Enjoy.

fresh from the garden

salt and pepper are crucial

I couldn't even wait long enough to take the damn picture.

*