anemones from mandy

for this seasonal bloom, we are featuring anemones that just bloomed last week, in mandy & steve's hoop house. their hoop houses allow them to have veggies and flowers in almost every season. their hard work is paying off and soon mandy will launch her sister business that is totally devoted to flowers…we can't wait!

words and photographs by rinne allen

seeds

photo by kristen bach

winter tomato sauce

i think that most of us are dreaming of the bounty of spring and summer.  i can't wait to slice open a fresh tomato,sprinkle it with some salt, and call it a meal.  while dreaming of tomatoes i decided to make a comforting winter sauce to serve atop some fresh noodles.  with no fresh tomatoes on hand I opened up a can of san marzano tomatoes which always seem to get me through the cold months. 

ingredients

1 big can of san marzano tomatoes

1 medium yellow onion

3 cloves of chopped garlic

1 T fresh basil (i used some that i had froze in the fall)

2 T olive oil

1 sweet pepper

4 sprigs of rosemary

water, if needed

salt and pepper to taste

directions:

-pre-heat the oven to 275 degrees

-chop up the vegetables

-in a 9 x 13 inch roasting pan coat with olive oil

-put vegetables and herbs in the pan and season

-slowly cook the vegetables for 2 hours or more

add water if sauce begins to burn or looks like it need some liquid

-remove the sprigs of rosemary and serve over bread, rice, noodles, or beans

photo and recipe by kristen bach

quince

photograph by rinne allen

mariska karasz

i was updating my website this week and i added a few pieces that i wrote and photographed (with my sister) for selvedge magazine...one of them was about the artist mariska karasz, and i thought i would share her work today. i was introduced to her work through the scholar ashley callahan, a former curator at the georgia museum of art here in athens. ashley wrote a book about mariska's life and work in conjunction with an exhibit at the museum a few years ago. mariska's work is so inspiring- her stitches, her colors...but, what i especially love is that she took so much inspiration from her daughters...she made things just for them, like the alphabet embroidery excerpted below (which i adore) and, through sewing with her daughters, she eventually penned her "see & sew" book. one thing we talk about alot here at beauty everyday is the fact that we are all three mothers and how that influences/confluences with our creative lives...it is a long topic that will never end...you may read more about mariska here.

photograph by rinne allen

espalier

photograph by rinne allen

waiting for spring

this is one of the latest springs i can remember. finally, some daffodils are opening up, and a couple of japanese magnolias here and there, but usually by now the trees are showing color and lots more forsythia and shrubs are blooming. i went to the bot garden to look for spring. luckily they had a lot of hellebores, but their flowers always aim down! i decided to get a bug's eye shot with my camera. bug's are getting a much better view than me, it turns out.

photographs and words by rebecca wood

japanese magnolia

photograph by rinne allen