I was invited to share some of the popsicle recipes I created for the summer issue of Edible Wasatch, on KUTV's Fresh Living show. Despite not really having any idea what I was doing, the taping was going smoothly until I accidentally, totally messed up the recipe! Instead of Frog Egg Pops, I made mud-sicles...
Continue reading "My TV Debut In Which I Smoothly(?) Cover Up a Major Kerfuffle" »
Just saw the spring issue of Edible Wasatch at Whole Foods! How gorgeous is this cover?! I think I might need to make some hollandaise sauce for the asparagus in my fridge... I've got an article in it about planting a healing children's garden and a nice recipe for a calming herbal tea. Click through to see Clay's illustration; it's one of my favorites yet!
The fall issue of Edible Wasatch is hitting newsstands at this very moment! I love contributing to this publication; I feel so honored to be a part of something so honest, upbeat and working towards positive changes. Speaking of celebrating all things local, have you heard of BALLE? Check it out; they're doing good things.
This season a local scherenschnitte artist, Cindy Ferguson, illustrated my article and I really love it (you can click on it to see the whole thing larger). She has some really beautiful papercuts on her website. Growing up we had a fairytale book that was all illustrated in this style and I thought it was so magical.
Okay, so you wouldn't actually want to make omelets out of these eggs, which is a shame... because there were THIRY SIX of them! Our ridiculous chickens (mainly Rockefeller, who is the nuttier one) decided to lay their eggs behind a piece of fencing. And I thought she was just an irregular layer. Clay was organizing some lumber recently and made a lumber rack so now my back yard looks less like a lumber yard, or at least like a more organized one. He got quite the surprise when he lifted this piece of fencing though! We gathered up some spare egg cartons to pack them in, not wanting to set off a rotten egg bomb. I tell you, chickens are crazy birds!
The problem is, then they sat in the garage for a week or so because we didn't want to put them in the garbage can and risk setting of a nuclear stench (they must've been really old!). So then last Sunday we had the brilliant idea of driving out to the salt flats for a little hillbilly fun. We invited Clay's brother and sister-in-law and headed out to the flats, carefully packed eggs in tow.
The funny thing is, the eggs didn't smell as bad as we had thought they would, but the salt flats were really stinky! And the eggs were so old that they had changed texture and some of them were quite hard to break. But we had a grand old time tossing them out into the wide open and just generally being silly and enjoying a little Sunday afternoon adventure. Just one more perk of keeping chickens:)
There's this amazing family of magazines all about local and sustainable food, published all over the country. Because the focus is local, there's not one national magazine, but rather a family of magazines under the same name, but run locally. Above are just a few examples of some of them.
The exciting news is that we now have an edible Magazine here in Utah! I met with one of the editors a couple months ago and she explained the project and her vision. She's so passionate about it, and just dug right in, working so hard up until the very last minute to make this publication a reality here in Utah. And the first issue of edible Wasaatch is just hitting newsstands!!
It's chock full of wonderful stories, interviews and resources. There are listings of local festivals happening this summer, and a directory of farmers' markets and CSAs, and a wonderful article about disappearing fruit orchards and the people who are trying to preserve them.
One of my favorite things about the magazine is that the editors have really focused on trying to accurately represent all the aspects of Utah food culture. So, there's the article about the family fruit orchards, followed by an essay about the Word of Wisdom written by a local high school senior, then an article about my favorite Asian market, followed by a story about local breweries. Representing all of Utah culture, not just the foodie, Whole Foods shopper set, is a high priority for the editors, and I think that's one of the things that really makes this magazine important.
Above is the article I wrote. It's about incorporating the littlest members into caring for the family garden. Clay did the illustrations. I love it when we're able to collaborate like this; it's so fun seeing our creative work side by side.
We also placed an ad for Ivory Bill in the first issue, which I really love. Clay designed the ad and used a photo taken by our good friend Steve. See anyone familiar in the picture?
If you're local (or anywhere from the Southern Idaho border down to St. George, really), keep your eyes out for an issue. You can find them at Whole Foods, Harmons and farmers' markets across the state,as well as many locally owned shops. And if you're not local, I bet your city has an edible magazine too! Check out the website and see if your state is represented. If not, maybe you just ought to start one...
I'm so excited about this conference coming up in June! Remember the great Herbs 101 class I went to? The woman who taught the class is the mastermind behind the conference and it promises to be amazing and inspiring. The mission of the conference is "to help all people draw
closer to Christ by discovering His hidden treasures of knowledge for
the health and healing of the mind, body and spirit." I absolutely love thinking about how our bodies are designed to be healthy, how we are built to be happy and how the paths to those things are often the simplest routes; so inspiring!
There are six hour-long sessions throughout the day where you can choose from a whole range of lectures and classes to attend. There's also time for a lunch break and time to peruse all the vendors that will be there. Here's what I think I'll be taking (it's so hard to choose, though!):
Pain Relief without Medication
Pain is almost always a sign of inflammation, which is the body’s primary response to tissue damage. In this class, I’ll cover what happens when tissues get injured and how inflammation can be rapidly reversed. I’ll demonstrate basic techniques for completely relieving pain in minor injuries in 5 to 20 minutes. I’ll also talk about how to apply these same principles to ease chronic aches and pains.
Sharing the triumphs and errors in mothering that have taught valuable lessons. Simple ideas to incorporate into our lives to strengthen ourselves and our families and bring more harmony to our hearts and homes.
God has designed families. A mother’s purpose is divinely given. Inspiration is available to guide us. Pregnancy and labor are natural, normal processes with both physical and spiritual benefits. You can have a natural birth—I’ll share tips on how to prepare.
Pass the Sugar, Please!
On average each American eats 30lbs of sugar per year. Come learn how to eat sweet healthily. Discover alternative sweeteners found in nature. Learn the facts about High Fructose Corn Syrup and processed sugars. Balance your palate to make naturally sweet foods sweeter. Over 100 recipes have been gathered and will be shared, including Green Drinks and naturally sweetened treats! GREAT class for diabetics.
You can read about the various speakers and what they'll be teaching here (scroll down) and more details on the conference blog. If you'll be in Utah this coming June I hope to see you there!!Last night we went to a town meeting of sorts. I love town meetings! We used to go to them when we lived in our tiny town in Maine and I always felt such a part of something, so included and optimistic. I love gathering with my neighbors to discuss and make my voice heard, even if the only statement I make is merely by being present. And often just being a warm body in a seat is plenty of statement, expressing solidarity, camaraderie and engagement.
So, yesterday we got a flier on our door stating that there would be a Historic Preservation Open House the next night. Our neighborhood was being considered for listing on the National Register of Historic Places! Maybe I'm just a geek, but I think that's so exciting. At the meeting we discovered that while a whole area could be designated, certain buildings would be listed as "contributing buildings," meaning you add to the historic significance rather than detract. I was holding my breath until we could look at the map and see if we were one! And we were! I felt like I'd won a prize, like I should get some sort of present or something. It was all very exciting.
The funny thing is, being from New England, houses that are under 100 years old (ours is only 85) just seem like baby houses to me, practically new developments! So, it's funny to see our little brick bungalow called "historic." But they gave a great lecture about the development of the area and how the public transportation system, the war, and various periods and styles of development all affected it. Even styles that don't look like much to me, like those plain, postwar ones or even ours, are still significant because of the time period and zeitgeist they represent. All in all it was a fun evening, enjoyable to mingle with our neighbors (we saw plenty of friendly faces), learn about the history of our neighborhood and just to feel a part of something bigger than ourselves.
PPS These photos in no way represent our district, these were just so much more charming:) Perhaps in another 85 years our neighborhood will elicit the same feelings as these do. Photos from here and here.
The honey making season is drawing to a close. We see fewer bees swooping in and out of our yard and they're beginning their work day later and later, following the sun's lead.
We've been finding quite a few bees on their last legs (or worse) in the grass. Apparently the queen kicks the drones out for the winter. Too many mouths to feed and there's no baby-bee-making in the cold winter months.
Aaron and Annette came over and collected the last of the summer's honey, leaving two boxes for the bees to eat over the winter. They used their smoker, cleaned up the tray underneath that catches some sort of moth, I think, and pulled out trays and trays of dripping honey comb.
It's been such a treat hosting the hive and being able to observe how to care for it. Hansen Hives is thinking about offering bee keeping classes and hive maintenance services and I'm really excited about both ideas. I'm totally taking the class if they offer it and depending on whether or not I'm ready to add yet another project/hobby to my life I may consider the hive maintenance. Considering how much honey we use in cooking, tea and just eating off spoons, it would probably be worth it.
We tasted our first jar of backyard honey and it was mind blowing! I kid you not, it was the best honey I've ever tasted! And it made the Costco honey in my cupboard taste like corn syrup (actually, now I'm kind of worried that's what it is...). I'm excited to see if Clay's allergies are better in the spring if he's eating local honey. I've heard it helps. Sam has developed quite the honey addiction. Every time I open the cupboard and he sees the jar he says, " 'unny, spoon! 'unny, spoon!" And if I'm feeling indulgent he gets a nice, sticky spoonful of honey.
There's this great little publication here in Salt Lake called Utah Stories that focuses on local, relevant news. We were recently interviewed for their "Rage Against Conformity" series (the poster family for abnormality- that's us!) When they came over to film they saw some of Clay's art and asked him to do the cover illustration. I'm so proud of him, I think it turned out awesome! Recognize anyone familiar?
You can watch the video on Utah Stories, here. It's pretty weird seeing yourself recorded, but I'm trying not to be too self-conscious about it. I really like how he put all the clips together, he shot a lot of video and I think he did a great job whittling it down and telling a story.
Sam and I finally drove out to Drake's Dairy. We'd been getting the yogurt at Rico's Locals, but I wanted to try making it myself from raw milk.
I was just tickled to find this little stand. It reminded me so much of a place we used to get milk growing up. You just walk in and help yourself to the cooler and place your money and a piece of paper telling what you bought, in a cash box.
It was heartwarming to engage in such a simple, trust-based transaction. And I love supporting this local farm. It's right in the middle of the city, not downtown, but definitely in a part of town that you'd still call a city. Driving down a four lane road you make a turn onto a little dirt road that's easy to miss. All of a sudden you're driving under arching trees and leaving a plume of dust behind you. The city feels miles away as you round the corner and see ramshackle sheds, frolicking goats and men in tall boots tossing hay.
Drake's slogan is "Where every goat has a name." And I believe it, look how friendly these goats are! They just seemed like the happiest, most loved critters.
Sam was in heaven and when these two goats started dancing around trying to eat the leaves off the tree he just dissolved into a fit of giggles.
We got a gallon of raw milk and a little container of yogurt with live enzymes so we can try making our own!
We haven't spent much time at the farmers' market this summer as we've been growing so much of our own produce. But it was so nice to wander around the stalls this past weekend and see what everyone else has been up to. And there is definitely a lot more than just produce at the farmers' market!
It's amazing what people are producing right in our neighborhood, so many beautiful crafts, delicious cheeses and a whole rainbow of fruits and vegetables.
Sam became an expert at eating samples off toothpicks and was open to everything I offered him.
We decided on some edam cheese from Rockhill Creamery. It's so amazing what a little friendly bacteria can do. The ingredients in this cheese are whole raw milk and... nothing! Okay, olive oil and salt for the rind, but seriously, is that not a magical alchemy? It's aged for a whole year and has that delicious melt-in-your-mouth quality. I really, really want to take a cheese making class one of these days.
I love getting to know the people who make my food. Isn't that the way it should be? Shouldn't we be on a first name basis with the people who milk the goats and make the cheese that goes into our omelet in the morning? Really, it's quite strange not to have a relationship with our food and its producers. It's only a relatively new phenomenon, for most of history you either raised, grew and made your own food or traded it with your neighbor. I had a nice chat with a guy from Drake's Farm where we've started getting goat milk and also enjoyed chatting with the woman from Rockhill Creamery and reading her charming blog.
I love the flower stands!The prices are unbeatable and the arrangements are so much lovelier and more interesting than anything you'd find in a store.
We got a half dozen organic peaches. They're the #1 worst fruit to buy conventionally grown in terms of pesticide residue and yet, it's often so hard to find local, organic peaches. These are delicious!
We loved listening to the banjo pickers and guitar players scattered throughout the market and browsing through the booths full of handmade goodness.
One of my favorite artsy things we saw was this fantastic fairy house! It was so completely magical.
And how charming is this little critter?
I also ran across this booth with native plant seeds! I've been looking for some pretty flowering desert plants to replace the water hogs currently growing in the backyard.
And then when we'd just about had our fill of fresh peaches, artisan cheeses, and homemade jams, when our eyes were swimming with the colors and our ears full of the sounds of the market, it started to drizzle. Just a little bit. Not eneough to make me quicken my pace as we headed in the general direction of the car. Just enough to cool the air a bit and remind me that it was about time for Sam's nap.
To our little family, Memory Park is aptly named indeed. It's where Clayton proposed and where we gathered as a family for a pre-wedding breakfast picnic. When we lived in Salt Lake a couple years ago (before we moved to Maine for a year), we lived within walking distance of the park and hardly a day went by that we didn't stroll through it.
It's nestled in a ravine with the mountains rising up on both sides. The "formal" area of the park is immaculately kept with a beautiful rotunda, pond and charming footbridge. But what I love is that you can follow the stone path to the edge of the woods where it turns into a dirt foot path that accompanies the river up into the hills.
In some places the path forks, only to rejoin the main path a bit farther down. There are stone steps, old ruins, and stone foundations of pioneer houses. It was sitting on the edge of some of these stones, in a little cluster of trees that Clay proposed. And I said yes, of course I said yes.
We found some wild plums, which Sam loved. He got pretty good at spitting out the pits; I think he only swallowed two...
One of Sam's favorite things is gathering and throwing rocks. Anywhere we go he's sure to spot a rock and pick it up. He was in heaven tromping through the rock-riddled woods. Along the path there's a rock foot that's been there as long as I can remember, several years at least. I'm sure the toes come loose now and again and it pleases me that people always replace them. I love spontaneous, quirky things like this.
I almost forgot to mention the craft fair we went to weekend before last.
I’m crazy about the way he sees and brings
out the wonderful pictures in the knots of these woods. Wouldn’t one of these look brilliant in a
kid’s room? Or in my living room, for
that matter. I could totally see one in
our den. He also had wooden belt buckles
that were so rad! The designs were modern,
but realized in the timeless material of wood.
I loved it. But I’m not really
supposed to blog about those because Clay wants to be the only kid on the block
with a wooden belt buckle! So, forget I
mentioned that part… But do check out
his website!
You can imagine how excited I was to see a local market open where a once-favorite burrito place used to be. Every time I drove by what used to be Rico's I lamented the loss, but now, *hurray!* there are signs advertising fresh goat milk, local produce, artisan cheeses!
I picked up some goat's milk yogurt and have been making the most delicious lassis with it. Plain with honey and walnuts is also divine. Drake Family Farms is rad, they're part of the slow food movement and are all about quality and humane treatment of their goats. All of which have names, according to their yogurt lid. If you go to their farm you can buy raw goat milk directly from them. I'm thinking about trying my hand at yogurt making...
Everything sold at Rico Locals is made in Utah. They've only been open a month and are still accepting vendors, so if you're local and you make something cool, think about selling it here! And if you're local and you like goat's milk (try it, you'll love it!); grass-fed beef; artisinal, award winning cheese; authentic empanadas or fancy, pretty soaps, then get on over there! They need your support to be successful!
I don't know what this Aztec Power food is, but I'm really curious... I think I might have to try it out.
Did you know that studies have shown that a dollar spent at a local business recirculates within that local economy up to six times?! And a dollar spent at Wal-mart or some other such place is whisked right out of that local economy? It doesn't benefit the schools, pave the roads, beautify the parks or help to keep all those small, locally-owned business open. Plus, locally-made goods are often so much better. They just have that regional twist that makes them extra special. And when you're dealing with people face to face who you know you're more likely to produce a quality product for them. And that Beehive Cheese? I've tasted it. Those awards are no joke; it's amazing!
PS If you're not in Salt Lake, you can find local co-ops and CSAs, search by location on etsy to support local makers and read about the benefits of shopping local and find your local living economy network!
I used to daydream about being a librarian, but then I realized it's probably a lot more reshelving, organizing and record keeping and a lot less getting lost in delicious novels. But I still love wandering the aisles of a friendly library whenever I get the chance. The SLC Public Library is the most fabulous library I've ever been to. I love that we're only a few short blocks away from such an amazing resource. Sam and I go quite a bit, often we just pop over when we want to get out of the house and have a change of scenery.
We ride up and down the glass walled elevators and marvel at this hanging sculpture of books that create the shape of a human head (Subtle message? I think so).
The children's section is a wonderland; full of great books, life-size soft sculptures of giraffes on roller skates and lions in evening wear, and nooks and crannies to cozy away into with a good book.
There's a special grandma's-attic-type room that's all exposed beams and different platforms and caves to crawl on and in. You enter through a hobbit-like keyhole door, it's magical.
The architecture is amazing, there are excellent free language learning programs to use, interesting lectures and events for kids and adults happening all the time, they often sell books from their collection cheaply to make room for new ones (half of Sam's collection of children's books come from here), and the grounds are beautiful, but really, even without all of those things, I would still love it. I just love the smell of books, the muffled sounds of footsteps and bodies shifting and settling into their special reading spots, the quiet energy that comes from minds being filled. I love the excitement of discovering a new book. Sometimes I'll be looking for a specific book, but when I arrive at the designated section and rifle through all the surrounding books I come home with half a dozen new treasures! The more often I visit the more hooked on the library I become.
Speaking of good news, our local power company has a program called Blue Sky where you can purchase renewable energy credits. I was so excited to hear about it. Basically you can purchase however many "blocks" of energy you want; we buy just a bit over our own usage to cover our energy use and give a little back. The amazing thing is, it only amounts to about $5 or $6 extra dollars a month- totally worth it! So, when we buy the renewable energy credits our power company can then buy renewable energy from local producers and reduce the need for burning coal here in our lovely, but sometimes smoggy, valley. Along with reducing our dependence on non-renewable sources of energy the money goes to helping build community projects like the rooftop solar system at Tracy Aviary. I love knowing that $5 a month can make such a big difference. Of course, it helps that 67,000 other people are also contributing. And if you don't live in the Salt Lake area, don't fret! There was a similar program when I lived in Portland, OR and I'm sure most major cities have something like it. Hooray for clean energy!
image via
This past Saturday was Baby Animals Day at Heritage Park. Of course Sam was in heaven, but I think I enjoyed myself nearly as much. Who doesn't love baby animals? There's got to be something rooted deep within our DNA that engenders tender feelings towards soft, fuzzy things.
There seemed to be something intuitive about the way the little kids were interacting with the animals. I saw a little boy scoop up one of the lambs like he was born to a life of shepherding, so confident and so gentle at the same time. I know animals are a lot of work, but for all the wonderful things they teach kids, I hope that some day we have room for a few more farm animals alongside Nellie and Rockefeller.
I was listening to a program on NPR the other day about the benefits of having dogs. Apparently kids with dogs have less allergies, more social skills, and are more empathetic and confident. I'd imagine similar benefits are derived for caring for barnyard animals, but minus the hair on the sofa.
On a related note, on seeing that flock of little fuzzies, I decided that Heritage Park might be just the place for our little duckling to live. I'd been feeling sad that it didn't have any other ducks to be friends with. So, a few days after we visited, I called up to see if they had room for one more duckling. They said they'd be happy to have him. Now when we go to the park, we'll keep our eyes out for our very own little duck!
While traipsing through the woods and inhaling the heady scent of the spring forest, I said to Clay, "I wish we lived somewhere like this!" "We do live here," he said. Point taken. I meant, wouldn't it be lovely if we could step off our back porch into the forest and hear the rushing river outside our window at night, but he's right, we're so lucky to live just a few minutes from the beautiful canyons and rivers here. What a treat to be in the shadows of the mountains and to be able to go hiking, exploring or just skipping stones at a moment's notice.
As much as the immense mountains looming over us makes me catch my breath, equally breathtaking are the little details; the electric green of newly opened leaves- the color practically sings! -the bright orange lichen giving new life to a dead branch, and these darling, pink toes all covered in sand.
There are few things I love as much as watching Sam and his dad interact. Sam is over the moon, in love with his dad. And his dad is pretty nuts about him too.
Our trip to Heritage park with Morgane, Lucy and Patrice (our French couchsurfers) was such a treat. Sam and I hadn't been for awhile and it was fun to see things through tourist eyes. The Mountain Man Rendezvous was happening and we watched people making obsidian knives, shooting rifles and making fires with flint and steel. Morgane bought a little obsidian knife to bring back to her godson.
I always love visiting the apothecary. It's so fascinating seeing all the different remedies from pioneer times, especially some of the herbal ones that are still in use today. Down the street is the barber who also specializes in pulling teeth and applying leeches!
Morgane and her mom tried on fancy hats in the general store and at the hat maker's. I wish that we still wore fancy hats today. Doesn't Morgane look lovely?
On the outskirts of the pioneer village several Native American dwellings are being built. An Apache man told us the most interesting things about this hogan, which we had to walk into counterclockwise and never walk in the other direction, in order to keep the energy flowing right. It's built to represent the womb and is known as the women's hogan. There's a pointy men's hogan as well for men's rituals, but the family lives in the women's hogan. If a woman wanted a divorce, she simply put the saddle outside the door and when the man came home he just knew it was over, took the saddle and left. And the woman got everything; hogan, kids, food, blankets.
Sam's favorite part is definitely the animals. We missed the petting paddock this time, but we're going back this Saturday for Baby Animal Days and will definitely make sure to pat plenty of soft fuzzies.
The SLC Green Fest was this past Saturday. I love summer for a million reasons, but especially because it seems there's always a festival or two happening somewhere close by. This one was a gathering of green businesses in Utah. There were solar panels, green cleaners, hand made soaps, delicious food, seeds for sprouting, teas, and a bright orange scooter being raffled off. And, of course, a few political statements were made as well. This group wanted to demonstrate to Jim Matheson that his plan for "clean coal" is about as realistic as a unicorn. People could sign the unicorn to show their solidarity. I thought it was pretty clever and amusing. I appreciate peaceful, smart protest.
TheTea Grotto had a display of loose teas; so pretty! Made we want to grow my own herbs so I can dry them and keep them in pretty jars. I love these fat chunks of handmade soaps. We usually buy something similar at Whole Foods. Sam and I like to smell a whole bunch and then pick out a favorite to bring home.
I wonder how easy it is to make your own soap like this?
I had no idea this was such a big deal. The plant sale opened at 8 and people were already lined up and waiting. We got everything we came for, except strawberry plants. They were already sold out by 8:30!
It was so great to mill about with fellow gardeners of every ilk, united in their common passion for growing. It was like an obstacle course, trying to weave between people and plants, balancing trays of prized plants. After we loaded up, Clay waited in line to pay (almost 45 minutes!) while Sam and I walked around exploring some of the booths. A local cheese maker, Beehive Cheese Co., had some samples and they were delicious!
Here's some of what we came home with; zebra tomatoes, purple and green tomatillos, Armenian cucumbers, lemon cukes, parisian pickling cuumbers, purple something de milpa peppers, red Napoleon sweet peppers, a knobby squash and another kind that Clay picked out (I can't remember the name) and a rhubarb plant! We definitely don't have room for all the things we'd like to plant. The cucumbers are going to go in that narrow strip between the sidewalk and the road!
Last week I had my first appointment with Dr. Rachel Burnett of Utah Natural Medicine. Sam has been seeing Dr. Matthew Burnett. They are husband and wife and run a naturopathic practice together. I was so pleased with my first meeting with Dr. Rachel. It was two hours long; we talked about everything to do with my health; nutrition, family history, personal goals, exercise, supplements etc. She has a big, bright smile and happily answered my multitude of questions ranging from "How can I get rid of this dry skin?" and "Which prenatal is the best?" to "how can I strengthen my 'baby carrying' muscles?" I came away with a few bottles of supplements, food suggestions and some exercises to try. I felt so good knowing that she and I are on the same page about health (preventing not treating symptoms). I spend a lot of time studying up about health, but it's certainly not my full time job. I felt confident in her knowledge, knowing that it is, in fact, her full time job!
image via
Around here, we're pretty religious about our weekly date night. This past weekend, however, we couldn't find a sitter for Sam. It ended up being alright though, as we enjoyed just being out together as a family. Before we went out we lay on the grass in the backyard; just watching the chickens hunt for worms, being human jungle gyms for Sam, smelling the loamy earth and fresh grass, feeling the late afternoon sun brush a hint more color onto our faces and simply talking about nothing much in particular. Sometimes a moment sets itself apart in my mind, a stark silhouette against the regular monotony of life and I think "This is good. This moment, I will remember. This is a small piece of bliss."
Anyway, after relaxing on the lawn we decided to try out the Greek restaurant near our house. After that I was craving some Thai sticky rice with mangoes, so we drove over to the Green Papaya. And since we were in the neighborhood Clay decided to take me to Technochtitlan Market, which he's been raving about lately (he goes there for lunch sometimes). We ended our international tour of the city with some sweet horchata from the market, which by the way is a really fun place.
I love living in a city with so many subcultures. If I ever feel like life is getting too white bread I can dip into any number of cultural pockets; pieces of Mexico, Somalia, Nepal, Thailand, Italy, Greece etc. Next weekend we're going to try out the new Falafel place...
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We have a family tradition of taking Sunday drives. Sometimes we simply drive around neighborhoods and look at pretty houses. Some days we drive up the canyons to look at the leaves. Other days we just drive in order to lull our sweet boy into a much-needed nap. Often we pick a destination, a pretty spot to explore. Last weekend we went to the Gilgal Sculpture Garden, formerly Salt Lake's Secret Garden before it became a public park.
The garden was created in 1945 by Thomas Child, a stone mason who wanted to give physical form to his spiritual beliefs. He said, "If you want to be brought down to earth in your thinking and studying, try to make your thoughts express themselves with your hands." I like it.
It was a really interesting place and fun to read about the different sculptures.
This is a self-portrait of Child surrounded by the tools of his trade. A little stern looking, don't you think? About the stone clothing (the pants are made of bricks!) he said, "I know this egotistical, but in my travels, which include Europe, I have never seen a better looking or more interesting coat."
Don't you love little bits of local color like this? I recently added a list on the sidebar of some of my favorite SLC spots, so if you're a local, check them out!
