I'VE MOVED!

Friends and family, the time has come. With the help of many I've been cooking up a brand new website, and it's finally finished. I'll be posting only over there from now on, so change your bookmarks and come on over to www.thestuffedrabbit.com! 

Note: Don't miss out on my most recent post- the best apple pie ever!

Lotsa love.

homemade mayo & peppery garlic aioli

Yay for life! Today is blue-skyed and breezy, quite warm for an October day but beautiful nonetheless.

Yesterday I bought big-girl perfume (this, if you care to know). Last night my mom slept over; we had Scottish gin with tonic and cucumber wedges and chicken soup with buttercup squash and kale while we watched one of our favorite movies. I was off work today so this morning we drank coffee on the porch and ate peppery fried eggs and talked about cake combinations and how to skin a lizard. Just kidding, we didn't talk about that last part; more like where to plug in the new string lights I bought for my porch. And then I put on lipstick and perfume and went to the local restaurant supply store to buy a candy thermometer, where the middle-aged Italian woman who works there called me sweetie. And when I got home I listened to this and made homemade mayonnaise and black pepper garlic aioli, just like the one at my sister's restaurant.
Tonight we will go to a pub and eat fish & chips, in honor of my darling Gran's birthday. I will wear her old wind-up watch and pretend like I'm back in Scotland, and we will probably cry and tell some stories. She would have been 69 today, and she was one of the most treasured and joyful people I've ever known.

hand-chopped pesto

As I said in my last post, I think I need to write more. When I studied abroad in Italy, I was an intern for an online Italian newspaper. Every week I would write a short article on my time abroad- the latest element of culture shock, the beautiful moments I was experiencing, a noteworthy comparison between the States and Italy, etc. Some days I truly didn't feel like writing, but I had to make the deadline. So I'd camp at the table in my apartment for an hour or two, drink my coffee, eat some fruit, and write until my thoughts were complete and the page was filled up.

And through it all I learned to love the process of writing. I knew I'd liked it before, but aside from long essays for school I had never been on a regular, mandatory schedule for a piece. Though it was challenging at times, it was wonderful. A constant output of creativity, a workout for the brain and emotions, a chance for a regular voice and expression. If I'm honest, some days the words felt like complete and total BS. But I think that's part of it all. Even if in that moment I didn't believe or resonate with the sentences I was forming, it still was a reminder- of the good things, the hard things, the truth, the reality of our lives and surroundings. An opportunity to be a little more grounded, to snatch at life with my ever-hoping hands and embrace it in all its rawness. It gave me some purpose, some reminder that my words hold value.

hearty blueberry muffins

It's about blueberries again.

If you're not a blueberry lover, I'm terribly sorry. Typically I do enjoy blueberries, but this summer I'm seeming to love them more than ever. Or maybe it's just that I'm finally starting to tackle some recipes that I've wanted to perfect for a long time but have never attended to. Whatever it is, I'm feelin the blues these days.