chamomile

photograph by rinne allen

shrimp salad

Shrimp salad

Our friend brought us back some fresh shrimp from her trip to Edisto.  I made a simple shrimp salad and enjoyed it with friends on a summer afternoon.  

Ingredients

1 pound fresh shrimp

1/4 cup mayonnaise, add more if you would like your salad more creamy

2 cloves diced garlic 

3 spring onions, diced

Juice from 1/2 lemon

Fresh herbs like parsley and fennel

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

boil your shrimp in boiling salt water for 1-3 minutes, depending on size of shrimp.

Prepare your vegetables and herbs by washing and finely dicing them.

Slice your shrimp into small pieces.

In a small bowl, gently combine all ingredients 

Serve as a sandwich and top with slaw, or serve alongside a fresh baguette or crackers 

photographs and recipe by kristen bach

edisto beach

photograph by rebecca wood

roots and branches

i love to study the upturned roots of all these washed up trees! mandalas everywhere, polished by the sea and bleached by the sun. how i wish i could take one home with me to hang on the wall and study forever!

photos and words by rebecca wood

edisto dispatch: island greens

photograph by rebecca wood

edisto dispatch: salt marsh beauty

the walk to botany bay beach at edisto island is about 1/2 mile over salt marsh under expansive skies. any time of day the colors are gorgeous, with beautiful vistas in all directions. all these pictures would make great paintings!

photographs and words by rebecca wood

edisto dispatch: botany bay

i've been going to edisto island since i was a teenager. it really hasn't changed all that much, due to strong zoning laws. mostly it's just beach houses, a grocery store, a place to buy fresh seafood and some restaurants. not much to do there but eat well, rest, and enjoy the fierce natural beauty!

botany bay is always on the menu, with it's miles of undeveloped beaches and wild marsh beauty. the sea is encroaching a small area of live oaks and palms,and when they fall to the ground they are finely polished to a brilliant white or silver by the sea. the sight of all those ghostly, uprooted trees is always a sight.

photographs and words by rebecca wood

edisto dispatch: sea oxeye

photograph by rebecca wood

edisto dispatch: shells

photograph by rebecca wood

edisto dispatch: sawtooth palmettos

i spent a week at edisto island recently. there is so much wild beauty there. these sawtooth palmettos by the shore blew me away the way they fractured the light.

photos and words by rebecca wood

edisto dispatch: beach

photo by rebecca wood

edisto dispatch: rebecca's peach cobbler

a classic from rebecca

when peaches are in season, cobbler will be made. this recipe is easy to remember,foolproof,and always gets complements. best to make in front of guests so you can amaze them by laying a whole stick of butter on top before it goes in the oven ! serve with ice cream, REAL cream, or evaporated milk ( my granny used to call it poor  man's cream ) on top and swoon away!

*note - use a metal pan for crispier crust.

grease a 9 x 12 or so rectangular metal pan.slice up ripe peaches to fill 2/3.

in a bowl, mix 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar, and 1 cup milk and pour over peaches. throw a stick of butter on top and bake at 400 degrees for 1 hour.

photo and recipe by rebecca wood

Northwoods Dispatch: neon by the shore

photo  by kristen bach

Northwoods dispatch: artist's point

Just moments away from our family cabin there is a little city called grand marais.  we always love to stop there and walk along the shore of lake superior.  we wandered over to artist's point this time and were in awe of it's beauty.

photos and words by kristen bach

NORTHWOODS dispatch: barn beauty

photo by kristen bach

NORTHWOODS DISPATCH: studio visit with john thomas

i went to art school in this small city called menomonie.  while the city was small, it was filled with so many wonderful people doing interesting things.  it was a very creative place for me to live during some very formative years.  each time we go back to visit there are a few people that we make sure to visit. 

one of my favorite places to visit is out of town to our friend john thomas' pottery studio and compound.  it was a place we visited often while in school.  they recently they moved an old school house to their property.  it is now a space for his pottery showroom, yoga and meditation retreats, and classes. 

when we stopped by his home and studio he was just finishing harvesting garlic from his garden and about to load his wood-fire kiln.  john and his wife kathy were sweet enough to take a bit of their afternoon to visit and show us around.

photos and words by kristen bach

northwoods dispatch: birch bark

photo by kristen bach

NORTHWOODS DISPATCH: our sauna

saunas are no joke in the northwoods of minnesota and wisconsin.  i have many memories of melting away in the sauna and then sprinting into the ice cold lake....and then head right back into the sauna. it's a fun activity for the cool summer nights.

our family cabin has a sauna that exits onto the dock.  the smell of the sweet ceder walls brings back instant memories.

photos and words by kristen bach

NORTHWOODS DISPATCH: earth + wildflowers

photo by kristen bach

NORTHWOODS DISPATCH: field flowers

photos by kristen bach