My new culinary hero, Emeril Lagasse

I have been searching for a specific soup recipe off and on for over 15 years. While I lived in Portugal I had the most amazing soups...those people have perfected the art of soup. Even your average housewife knows the secret to an amazing pot of soup. While I was staying in northern Portugal I once watched one such housewife prepare a delightfully savory butternut squash soup. Over the years I have searched for a similar recipe only to be disappointed again and again with "sweet" squash soups. Yuck. Finally, I noticed that Emeril Lagasse has several Portuguese-inspired recipes on his website. I did a quick search but came up with nothing. So I emailed him...or his staff. Recommended that they get their hands on such a recipe and publish it. Less than one hour later I had a recipe in my email inbox from his webmaster or assistant with the exact recipe I was looking for. Do you realize how huge that is? How quick was that response time and then to top it off they really did have the recipe I wanted???!?!!! In the first place, I didn't expect a response at all.

I am planning to try out the recipe this week and see how close it really gets and I will get back to this blog with a review. Hopefully. If I am not in heaven then. ;)

Mud Room Ideas

I need to re-do our laundry/mud room for our growing family. I've been looking for some good ideas for inspiration and wanted to share what I've found:

 

I love that you can close the doors on this, but you don't have the doors in the walkway.

I found a long list of great ideas at the link below. Click through to enjoy larger pictures, or enjoy the thumbnails from my Pinterest board below that.

  http://www.beneathmyheart.net/2010/11/mudlaundry-room-inspirational-pictures/

Ms. Givings on sabbatical

Hi folks. I'm taking a little break from this blog for a while.

Rock the Shot Giveaway

For the photographers. Who love light...and giveaways.

Rock the Shot Forum Launch Party Giveaway!

This giveaway is worth over $1000 in merchandise and gift cards for two lucky winners, but the list of to-do's is pretty big. Which is understandable. After all, it's a launch party and they want to get the word out. And for a gift package that big, you're gonna have to work a little.

Dormancy

"A poppy seed can lie dormant for fifty years before it blooms."

Winter is a difficult time for me. During a normal year I struggle with mild depression from time to time, but winter kind of just packs it all in a little tighter...less ups, longer downs. Sometimes it can be a real drag. I really cherish the sunny days that come along to break up a long, overcast streak. On those days, I am usually a new person full of smiles and good cheer. Winter is not necessarily a time of death or of desolation, but it is a time of dormancy, and also one of preparation. For example, the dead-looking plants in my yard seem to be long gone, but they are just biding their time waiting for the right conditions to show their beauty in a riot of color, smells and sounds.

That in mind, I will tell myself on these dead, boring, difficult days that I am a seed. I am treasuring up the beauty inside of me.

Perhaps this spring I will plant the southwest corner of my yard with a mix of perennials and poppies to remind me that sometimes it takes time for beauty to emerge. Maybe the poppy seeds I sow this spring will wait to bloom in years to come.

Picks for a Poppy Garden (in no particular order):

1. Drought Tolerant Wildflower Mix from High Country Gardens.com.
This mix includes a mix of 16 species of annuals and perennials. Included in the mix are California Poppy, Blanket Flower, Desert Bluebell, Scarlet Gilia, Blue Flax, Penstemon, Coreopsis, Gayfeather and other long blooming species.

2. Himalayan Blue Satin Poppy From Seedman.com. Absolutely Gorgeous!




3. Dwarf California Poppy also from Seedman.com. These look great for a natural feel in the garden.

  

4. Crimson Feathers from One Stop Poppy Shoppe.
This one is so unusual and such a lovely shade of pink.

5. Papaver Somniferum Album. From One Stop Poppy Shoppe. Beautiful. Simple. White.

Ecelctic Whatnot Giveaway

This is the time of year when nothing and everything get done simultaneously. Shopping...check. Singing...check. Laundry...check. Getting mail from mailbox? Well, I think I did that a few days ago. Can't wait for the hate stares from our mail carrier when she comes by today. Voicemails? Could be up to a week old. Schedules...packed. If you are at all like me (and I sincerely hope you are NOT as scatterbrained and over-extended as I am! LOL) then you might be at the end of your Christmas budget already, but no where near the end of your list. Perhaps I could make just this one little one thing easier for you. Right now you can enter to win. Just wanted to make you aware of a cool camera strap giveaway over at House of Smiths. They are darling, and I know just who mine would go to if I won!

Rayovac Giveaway of Paper Jamz and cash!

Paper Jamz is in the top ten of my kids' Christmas lists, so of course we had to enter this giveaway.

Rayovac wants to power your holidays with fun new contest. To enter, just visit the  Mom Rocks the Holidays with Rayovac contest tab on Facebook, like them and tell them how you or your mom makes the holidays rock for a chance to win the Grand Prize of $1,000 cash! There will be 3 Grand Prize winners and 20 Runner Up winners will take home a Paper Jamz guitar, amp, drum kit, guitar strap, and two Rayovac Alkaline AAA 24 packs of batteries.


Disclaimer: Followers who promote the Rayovac Mom Rocks the Holidays Sweepstakes may receive gifts from Rayovac

In Flight with Delta

Last night my family and I took a four hour flight on Delta Airlines. Just so you know, my children are ages 7 months, 5 yrs., 7yrs. and 11yrs. The flight was relatively uneventful, and by uneventful I mean the TVs weren't working. No kids' music, no games, and no movies--which grandma and grandpa were willing to buy, but couldn't. The TV feature was working fine so we checked out Nickelodeon, but only iCarly was on and I don't let the kids watch that show (I despise iCarly), so we switched the channel and watched Animal Planet for a while. Nothing could top the 200 lb. catfish and after a while even that got boring, but luckily we had brought the Nintendo DS with us and all was not completely lost. Grandma saved the day with a airplane-style picnic lunch (I still can't believe they did away with meals on airplanes. I remember the first time I flew after they made that change and no one had bothered to share that information with me.) My sister-in-law and I were talking about how the in-flight TV choices have diminished over time. She has such a good memory that she reminded me how even Cartoon Network used to be available, now it's just Nickelodeon, and I really do think that if the movie/game system is prone to breakdown they need to add a few more kids' TV channels. Overall, however, the service was pretty good and a dicey landing in Orlando was made good by an expert pilot.

Nonni's Biscotti

I never thought I would love the flavor of anise and chocolate. In a way, it is like eating M&M's mixed with Good N' Plenty candies...not a combination I would ever think to try. But the truth is, I love (LOVE!) Nonni's Biscotti.

As I enjoy them, they evoke in my mind the image of a small Italian cafe in a countryside village. Outside the cafe is a cobblestone road that leads out into the countryside, and inside the cafe the scents of basil, chocolate, garlic and freshly-baked bread swirl in the air. Traditional Italian music is playing quietly in the background. The sound of it puts me in a trance every bit as much as my delightful dessert does. I heave a deeply satisfied sigh of appreciation for all that life is and has to offer. The sensation of thereness is so tangible I can almost believe it's real. And, that, is why I love Nonni's Biscotti.