winter vines

photo by kristen bach

winter detox rice salad

this is one of my favorite salads to make.  it is a perfect whole food and it is such a great healing meal.  after a long holiday season filled with lots of good eating this salad is a great way to reset your body and detox

ingredients
dressing
3 inch piece of fresh turmeric (remove skins if needed)
3 inch piece of fresh ginger (remove skins if needed)
2 cloves of garlic
2 Tbsp of tamari
1 Tbsp of rice vinegar or fresh lime juice
1/4 cup of peanut butter
salt to taste
red chili flakes (optional)
-water for thinning

rice
2 cups jasmine rice
1 can of coconut milk
1 cup water
1 tsp salt

salad
1 1/2 cup roasted (unsalted) cashews or peanuts
1 small bunch of cilantro
1 medium head of green cabbage
1 small red onion
3 scallions, diced
1 red pepper
3 carrots, peeled if not organic
 you can add other veggies like kohlrabi, daikon radish

-make your rice by bringing your coconut milk, water, salt, and rice to a boil.  turn to low and let simmer for 20 minutes or until liquid is absorbed
-meanwhile, dice the vegetables and toss together in a large serving bowl
-put all of the dressing ingredients in a blender
-blend until smooth and add enough water until it reaches the consistency of dressing
-when the rice is done cooking, cool
-when it is cooled toss with the mixed vegetables
-pour over dressing a little bit at a time and gently toss together until mixed
-enjoy and serve alongside some rooster sauce if you want some spice!

photo and recipe by kristen bach

into the woods

photo by kristen bach

warm winter

photograph by rinne allen

gold leaves

i love leaf shapes! this fall i collected some and pressed them between newspapers to dry. then i tried a few kinds of gold paints and waxes. love the shapes golden!

words and photographs by rebecca wood

woodstack

photograph by kristin karch

approaching winter

a recent walk in the woods revealed a shift in colors to the bleached-out browns and grey-greens of winter...with only a hint of fall's color remaining...

words and photographs by rinne allen

wreath-making with mandy

i have been writing some pieces recently for food 52's website…recently, i asked our friend mandy to create some holiday decorating ideas for their website. we got together a few weeks ago to make and photograph them. this is an outtake from the day, a simple wreath made from dried greenery. you may use any vine or tendril that you have handy…this one is made with 'love-in-a-puff' and we love that is still has a little bit of green, but there is some brown creeping in too…

just lay your plant material out flat, end-on-end, with some pieces overlapping…then, grab each end and twist into a circle. secure with wire, ribbon or a strip of thin leather. then, hang and enjoy!

words & photographs by rinne allen . wreath by mandy o'shea of moonflower design

fading dahlias

i can barely stand to know that soon the dahlias will be gone. due to warm weather, we still have a few. i get some every saturday at the farmer's market from 3 porch farm. even after their glory, dahlias hold their beauty, transmuting into subtle colors andshapes of movement, frozen in time.

i'll enjoy these to the very end!

icicles

photograph by rebecca wood

winter branches

photograph by kristin karch

microgreens

photograph by rinne allen

winter minestrone

this year the weather has been chilly and no signs of spring seem to be anywhere in sight.  this past week we had our first flurries of the year, an ice storm, and tomorrow we have snow in the forecast. winter just doesn't want to let up! 

with that being said, I am going to keep making soups to keep us warm through these cold days.  this minestrone is a perfect soup to do just that.

winter minestrone

-in a large stock pan, saute 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, a pinch of salt, 1 large diced yellow onion, 3 cloves of diced garlic, 1 large or two small fennel bulbs, sliced and core removed.  saute on med-low heat for 20 minutes

-add 5 cups of good quality vegetable stock, (homemade if you got it), 2 cups water, 1 can of white beans, 1 small can of fire roasted tomatoes (14.5 oz), salt to taste, a pinch of pepper, 1 Tbsp of maple syrup or another sweetener.  if you have any rinds of parmesan cheese you can add them to the stock for flavor.  let simmer for 1 hour to allow the flavors to develop.

-add a handful of sliced greens such as chard, kale, collards, turnip greens, or spinach and also add 1 Tbsp of finely diced fresh parsley.

-lastly, add 1 cup of orzo and allow the pasta to cook for 20 minutes or so.  bon appetit!

photo and recipe by kristen bach

photo

field

photograph by rinne allen

japanese magnolia

photograph by rinne allen

valentine's day flowers

years ago, i would do flowers for many restaurants around town and also sell them at the market. it was a fun time. here are some arrangements i made one valentine's day for a local restaurant...it is interesting because many of these flowers are not even blooming around here yet, this year. i love how nature is unpredictable.

words & photographs by rinne allen

winter bounty bowl

around our house we call these bounty bowls.  what's a bounty bowl?  it's a mix of seasonal vegetables all cooked up (or sometimes raw), a protein, then layered into a bowl with a sauce of some sort. to me this is the most ideal and satisfying comfort meals.  and quite lovely i might add. 

this winter bounty bowl was composed of charred kale, roasted brussel sprouts with raisins, roasted sweet potatoes, and black lentils.  the sauce i made is one from a cookbook called "go dairy free".  i have been making this sauce for years and putting it on top of rice, noodles, salads.....and more~

magic sauce (a variation from a recipe out of the "go dairy free" cookbook)

-in a food processor or blender, add: 1/3 cup tahini, 3 cloves garlic, 1 handful of parsley, a dash of salt and pepper, juice of 2 lemons, and 1/3-1/2 cup water.  you can also add fresh cilantro if you have some on hand.

-blend until mixed adding more water if necessary.  the texture should be smooth like gravy.

-serve atop salads, mashed potatoes, vegetables, noodles, or rice. 

photo by kristen bach

almost gone

i spied this old place off a dirt road back in the woods. the doors and mantels had all been carried off. everything of value stripped out. soon it'll be gone, and no one will ever know.

words and photographs by rebecca wood

crystal dew

photograph by rinne allen

little snow garden

from a recent visit to new york city

photograph by kristin karch