Savoring Our Home--Creative Use of Space--Art Studio

The reason my last post said that you might chuckle when I showed you my new art studio is that it is located . . . in our master bathroom! Again, I must credit my caring and creative husband for this genius, though unorthodox, idea. He also did much of the preliminary work to create the space for me. That was no hardship for him, however; give Mark a sledge hammer and something to demolish, and he is a happy guy.

Previously, I had been painting in the kitchen and frequently taking down and putting up all my gear because it was in the way otherwise. Workable, but not great, especially as I began to paint more and more often. Also, the large west-facing window often required the unsatisfactory choice of either enduring a glare on my work or closing the blinds.

We had planned some fairly extensive work in our master bath anyway, had the money saved up and our plans in the works. One day this plan came together in Mark's mind with his concern that I needed a painting studio. In our down-sized home, the master bedroom is a comfortably large enough room without being over-sized, and the master bath & walk-in closet are exceptionally large for this size house. Like many master bathrooms, it boasted a huge so-called garden tub which I had used only once in the six plus years we have lived here. When filling it completely drained a good-sized water heater, I decided that using it was WAY too wasteful. There is a normal tub/shower combo in the second bathroom for my occasional soaks.

The garden tub was set into a 5' X 8' nook around the corner from the shower stall with a wonderful, large, north-facing (perfect for painters) window. I won't take you through all the stages of the decision-making process, but simply will say that the sledge hammer performed its magic, and I gained a lovely art studio. For quite awhile, I used it with wall board patches around the tub area, the original ugly wallpaper above that, and an exposed concrete floor beneath (we tore out the worn carpet from that area--why would anyone carpet a bathroom?). It worked great, but was not very attractive, as you can imagine.

Now, we have completed remodeling the master bath and are delighted with the results. Large stone-look porcelain floor tiles laid on the diagonal unify the bath, little toilet room, and closet; the walls are a tranquil, warm caramelly color; we raised the vanity (which did not need replacing) to a more comfortable height on a plinth base (Mark and a handyman did that together) and gave it a new terra cotta colored counter top with vanilla sinks. I apologize if this is more information than you are interested in, patient readers. It's just that I am truly thrilled with our new master bath/art studio.

Question of the day: What has been your most unusual, creative use of space to make your home function uniquely well for you?

Savoring Our Home--Creative Use of Space--Home Office

Since I will not be able to write a new post for the next 10 days or so (for happy reasons--too busy in a good way), I am repeating two well-received posts from last year that I hope will interest new readers. These also tie in with a recent post on green living and the reuse, repair, and recycle principle--in a different way. These two posts are about using space in our homes creatively and efficiently. Hope you like these two spaces even a fraction as much as I do.

For a change of pace, we are back to hearth and home. I wanted to share my awesome, space-saving desk with you. We have discovered some very creative ways to use space in our down-sized home. My two favorites are this custom-made workstation and my painting studio. I'll show you the studio next time. You'll be amazed--and it may give you a chuckle, too.

Twice in our lives, we have chosen to move from fairly large homes to much smaller ones. Each time, we got rid of all the stuff that accumulates when there is always plenty of room for more. Each time, we felt younger and lighter on life's journey after paring down to the possessions we most needed and cared about.

However, living in a dramatically smaller space requires adjustment as well. For example, moving in semi-retirement from a large Atlanta home to a perfect-for-two North Florida home left me without an office of my own. My husband had visions of happily sharing the small third bedroom as a family den/office. He reckoned without the extent to which his need for order clashed with my ten books and twenty projects at once clutter. We coped while he looked for a better way.

His creative genius led to the suggestion that one end of our kitchen, where we kept a narrow bookshelf and an old TV set (TV still there, as you can see) had room for a desk for me. I was skeptical. The kitchen is not large to begin with, and we ate many of our meals at a small table on that end. Also, the generous side window extended to within 22" of the wall--how could that be enough room?

Well, we mused, looked at ready-made desks (none right for the space), and planned until we had figured out the basic design for the office nook pictured above. A retired gentleman turned genius cabinet maker constructed and installed my dream desk and bookshelves. Six roomy file cabinets hold all my projects; numerous small and large drawers, some with built in dividers, hold papers and supplies; a slide-out keyboard shelf serves my computer needs. And whatever is cooking (I call cooking my other art form) is only steps away. What could be better?

Today, it is hard to imagine how unlikely an office location this seemed at first--or that we had actually contemplated adding a small room onto the house for an office/studio for Mary. The space we have is more than enough. It just needed creative re-purposing.

Question of the day: What change in the use of your space has brought you the most satisfaction?

Savoring--Signs of Spring

Today, we are thinking spring and enjoying our exuberant azaleas. After a harsher winter than normal for so many regions of the U.S., I imagine many of you are enjoying any indicator you see of a new season. For our friends in the rest of the Northern Hemisphere, you may be seeking spring's new life as well. Since I have some readers in the Southern Hemisphere, my thoughts also fly down to you and wonder what your week of March into April will bring.

Although we live in coastal North Florida and enjoy extended moderate to warm weather, we had an unusually cold winter, too. However, I wouldn't want to live somewhere with little or no seasonal change at all. One of my reasons for declaring to a hot weather loving husband that this is about as far south as I want to go is my enjoyment of changing seasons. Thankfully, we have four distinct seasons here in Jacksonville, Florida, and I love the unique beauty of each.

Question of the day: What's popping outside your windows?

Savoring--Comfort Food--Rich Bean Soup Recipe

We love homemade soup anytime of the year, but it smells especially comforting and inviting in cold weather. This recipe is adapted from one on a package of mixed, dried beans we used to buy in Southern California--I don't remember the brand name. The 20 ounce bag of dried beans claimed to have 15 kinds of beans in it.

The brand I buy currently has 12 kinds of beans and makes just as delicious a soup. The last time I shopped for them, however, our store was out. Since I couldn't wait to make soup from the ham bone and meat left over from cooking brunch for 25 people the morning after our son's wedding, I settled for two 16 ounce bags of dried beans--pinto and black beans. Adjusting the recipe to more or less account for the extra beans, I made the soup you see in the photo. It definitely warmed that chilly winter evening here in North Florida--with plenty left over for another night later in the week and some to freeze for another time.

There are alternatives to soaking the beans overnight--see instructions for microwave "soaking" on the package. Or you could use a slow cooker. I like to plan ahead and rinse the beans and cover them with soaking water the night before. If the dried beans come with a so-called flavoring packet, I suggest throwing it away--who needs extra salt, MSG, and all sorts of other chemicals? The recipe makes at least 12 servings, depending on your bowl size. Hope this warms you soon.

Rich Mixed Bean Soup

20 oz. mixed dried beans (not canned)

meaty ham bone or kielbasa sausage

4 - 5 stalks celery, chopped

2 large onions, chopped

1 lb. carrots, in bite-sized chunks

1 - 2 cloves garlic, minced

1 28 oz. can tomatoes in puree

1 - 2 tsp. chili powder

juice of one lime (or equivalent from bottled lemon or lime juice)

Rinse beans and soak overnight in about 4 quarts cold water in a large soup pot (an 8 quart pot is good). Drain beans and add about 4 quarts fresh water plus the ham bone or sausage. Simmer 2 1/2 - 3 hours, stirring up from the bottom occasionally.

Add rest of ingredients and simmer about 45 minutes, stirring off and on so it doesn't stick to the pot. (You can add more water for a thinner soup if desired). Add a dash of pepper to taste (it will not need salt because of the ham bone).

Lift out ham bone or sausage, chop meat and return to pot. Enjoy!

Question of the day: What is your favorite meal in cold weather?

Savoring and Giving Thanks--Our Son's Wedding

After a break from posting, I'll give you a quick glimpse of the reason we have been very busy and seldom online for the last several weeks. Our younger son, Peter, married an absolutely wonderful woman, Ashley, on Saturday, January 2nd. We have enjoyed the usual showers, bridesmaid luncheon, rehearsal, and rehearsal dinner (on two different nights because of the holidays)--all went smoothly and were wonderful celebrations. The wedding was stunning, and the reception a great party. In addition, we were thrilled to have some long-time friends, many of Pete's aunts & uncles from both sides of the family and several of his cousins and their families travel to Jacksonville from many different regions of the country for the occasion. We hosted as many meals and other gatherings in our home as we could to take full advantage of the time we were together over several days. We said the last good-byes this morning as several family members left on planes and trains.

It will take several days to sort through all the photos from the wedding and other celebrations and even longer to get the professional photos, but I will post one candid of the bride and groom for you to see. Although it's not the purpose of this blog to share family news and photos, I wanted to show you why I've been AWOL for awhile and to share our joy. And given how proud of our family and grateful for them we are, a few more posts about this amazing time in our lives may be coming.

Savoring--An Unexpected Gift--Idea for Stress-free Holiday Giving--Plus, Bidding Update

A lovely, unexpected gift from an artist who works in iron prompted an idea for stress-free holiday giving. If you celebrate Christmas, or any other holiday which calls for a number of gifts all at the same time, I have a radical proposal for a no-stress alternative.

But first, the gift we received a couple of weeks ago: the amazing hummingbird pictured here. In a recent post about our backyard flowers, I showed you an iron obelisk, a garden sculpture our mandevilla vine happily climbed. In that post, I mentioned and provided a link to the iron worker who created the piece, Scott Hornbaker of Hunt Country Iron in St. Mary's Georgia. After I shot him a quick email to let him know that I was in the process of making him world-famous, he wrote back with gratitude. Would we please come to the Riverside Art Market here in Jacksonville, Florida one Saturday to pick up a thank-you gift he had for us? As you can see, the gift is amazing. In case you are wondering, he creates his work in wrought iron with the intention that it will oxidize, as it does quite quickly in our climate. For customers who want to retain the black finish, he can advise them on methods to achieve the look they want.

One of the delights of this beautiful gift is that it was completely unexpected--which led to a thought about simplifying the Christmas season. We could agree with certain family members or friends to skip exchanging gifts during the holiday season. Rather, we would send or bring each person a gift at some random time--wrapped as a Merry Christmas surprise when least expected. Maybe that's a little wacky, but could be fun. The unexpected gift might come when the recipient is feeling a bit low or when an expression of love is especially welcome. Other advantages of starting such a tradition include easing the financial burden of buying multiple gifts all at one time.

Question of the day: Do you have any unusual, creative gift giving traditions or ideas for your holiday celebrations?

Update on bidding for Purple Iris Solitaire painting from previous post:

There are no bids on this painting so far. Given that blog traffic falls off sharply this time of the year, it may not be the best time for me to run this offer. However, the lack of bids so far means that someone might be able to win this 9" x 12" painting for a very low price, well below retail!!

To clarify the shipping part of the offer: If the winning bid is between $12 and $19.99, I will ship it for $4.95 flat rate Priority Mail (at real cost with no additional charges) anywhere in the US. I will ship at the lowest possible cost for an international purchaser, by mutual agreement as to method and cost. However, if the winning bid is $20 or more, I will ship free anywhere in the US and will give an international purchaser $5 off the shipping charge.

This is a great offer for a nicely stylized floral painting. Get in on the bidding now; it will close at noon on Monday, December 14, 2009.

Savoring--Friends Who Made Our Open Studio Reception Wonderful

Several good friends enhanced our Open Studio Reception last Sunday, and we are deeply grateful for the contribution they made to the event. Before I mention two friends in particular, I must say that I could not imagine even having done this without my husband, Mark, along with our younger son and his fiancee, Pete and Ashley. They have encouraged my painting in ways that gave me the courage and vision to stage an art showing in our home. I cannot find words adequate for my gratitude to them for this, and for all the love they show. They also helped host, serve, guide guests to the paintings, and handled all the details so that I could mingle and play at being the artiste.

Since our reception theme was seasonal, Harvest Delights, I had invited our friends, Brian and Kristin Lapinski, to participate. They grow fantastic produce using sustainable, organic methods on their "Down to Earth Farm". I envisioned a spread of their colorful, delicious winter vegetables and flowers available for our guests to purchase. Brian responded that my date was a couple of weeks too early for many of their winter crops, but that he would bring what he could. Then, he had the brilliant, creative idea of planting mixed salad greens in low 12" bowls, raising them from seed in his greenhouse and bringing them, still in soil in the pots, to sell. The salad bowls are amazing, and our guests loved them. Whenever we need greens from ours, we cut the amount we want, and the rest continues to grow. For a single, reasonable price, we will have multiple cuttings of super-fresh baby greens (and reds, for that matter--there is a variety of salads in the bowl). In the photo, you see the bowls displayed on the table--more bowls are available in the yard behind the flower pot on the right.

Meanwhile, in the living room, our friend, Greg Spiess, an accomplished professional musician, provided lovely piano music. His gift of music put everyone at ease and enjoying themselves, even if they did not know other people there. The easy mix of light classics, show tunes, and popular "classics" from recent decades gave the reception a very classy feel. We are delighted with the invaluable addition to our party Greg generously provided. He is a prince!

Question of the day: How do family and friends support your dreams and projects? I feel a wonderful sense of community in my life and feel that I seldom, if ever, do anything strictly on my own--I stand on the shoulders of others and reach higher because of the encouragement of others.

Savoring--Homey, Heritage Comfort Food--Applesauce Spice Cake Recipe

It has been awhile since I have posted a recipe, so today will share my great-grandmother's applesauce spice cake recipe. In its original form, it called for "butter the size of an egg" and, interestingly, 1, 2, or 3 eggs. Apparently, our frugal ancestors used three eggs for a "company" meal, but fewer when baking for the family. Since their eggs were smaller than today's standard large eggs, we have settled on two eggs as the perfect number.

I apologize for the lack of a weekend post. We had a full weekend planned already, when we were saddened by the sudden death of my dear friend's father on Thursday. So, we set aside tasks that could be postponed to be there for our friends.

This homey cake, a favorite comfort food in my family, is one of the dishes I brought to the reception at my friend's house after Sunday's funeral. I will include the recipe for the cream cheese frosting, as pictured. The original recipe called for 1/2 cup chopped nuts; we like it better without them.

Heritage Applesauce Spice Cake

1/2 cup butter or margarine

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 large eggs

1 1/2 cups applesauce (a 15 ounce jar works)

2 cups flour

2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

1/8 tsp. ground cloves

1 cup raisins

Cream butter & sugar together. Add eggs and mix well, stirring vigorously until fluffy. Sift dry ingredients into a small bowl (I actually don't bother sifting). Add raisins to flour mixture and sir in to coat with flour (this keeps them from sinking to the bottom).

Add dry ingredients alternately with applesauce to the butter mixture in two or three batches, mixing thoroughly each time.

Turn into a greased 9 x 13 x 2 pan and bake 35 - 40 minutes at 325 degrees F until a toothpick comes out clean (or nearly clean--do not overbake). This recipe also makes nice cupcakes; bake them only about 25-30 minutes.

Cream Cheese Frosting

3 ounces cream cheese, softened (I use low fat neufchatel).

2 Tbsp. butter or margarine, softened

1 tsp. vanilla extract

dash salt

2 1/2 cups (or as much of this amount as needed for good frosting consistency) sifted confectioner's sugar (I whisk it in a bowl instead of sifting).

Cream butter and cream cheese together well. Beat in vanilla. Gradually add confectioner's sugar, blending well. If mixture becomes too thick, you can add a few drops of milk.

Question of the day: What recipes or foods connect you to your ancestors and to good family memories?

Learning & Savoring--Inspiring Photo Books

I mentioned an accomplished photographer-friend, David Young, in my last post. Today, I'll show you some of the photos from one of his books, Prayer Photos, and say a few words about his books. If you would like to know more about them, you can email Dave at dsyoung@peoplepc.com. He has some copies of two of his books available for only $5, a substantial discount off the cover price. If you read my blog regularly, you know that I normally do not include anything even resembling advertising, but decided to make an exception for some exceptional books at a super price.

Prayer Photos is a high-quality, soft-cover book with a photo on each right-hand page and an appropriate free verse prayer poem by David Young on the left. The poems explore a variety of moods and human experiences, are non-sectarian, and would be meaningful to any spiritual person. The photos above are two examples of his sensitive, intriguing images.

I highly recommend this book as well as another he has available, called Coloring the Wind, with several one-page essays about peace, justice, and other topics, many short free verse poems, and more of David's beautiful photos, mostly of people, taken on his extensive travels to many cultures. He possesses an uncanny ability to capture a depth of character and meaning in a photo of an elderly Latina's face, of children at play around the world, of varied family groups, and more.

Question of the day: What powerful images have touched you recently?

Savoring--Easy, Elegant Dessert Recipe--Lemon Ice Cream

For warm weather entertaining and after hearty meals with friends in the fall, we like to keep dessert light. There is nothing wrong with serving fruit or a nice purchased sorbet to guests. Many of us appreciate being served healthier foods and avoiding that "I'm so stuffed" feeling.

One invitation Mark and I had this summer to enjoy a sunset on the riverside deck of some new friends was memorable and delicious. Our hostess (thank you, Kay) served us a stunning view, fascinating conversation, and fresh fruit with peach sorbet. We loved it and are grateful that she kept things relaxed, people-focused, and healthful. It was a good reminder to me that simple is delightful. Simple entertaining is certainly better than a complex, fussy meal with an over-worked, tense host who can't even sit down to converse. If you would like to entertain, but feel that it would be too much work, I'd encourage you to emulate Kay. Gathering friends together is primarily about the people.

If you have time to prepare a dessert the day or evening before entertaining, the lemon ice cream in the photo is a delicious choice. Yes, it is rich, including both cream and sugar. But for most people, a small serving is just right--so serving and eating this ice cream should be guilt-free. Somehow, it seems both lusciously rich and refreshingly light. I am grateful to my brother's wife, Betty, for the recipe--both of them are accomplished, creative cooks.

The dessert requires five hours to freeze through, although you could cut that time by freezing it in a thin layer and then scooping it into serving dishes.

Lemon Ice Cream

makes 5 - 7 small servings

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (about 2 lemons)

1 Tbsp. fresh grated lemon peel (I use a zester)

2 cups half & half cream

1 cup sugar

Squeeze juice and prepare peel.

In medium sized bowl, stir cream and sugar together until sugar is well dissolved. Then, stir in lemon juice and peel. The mixture will thicken almost immediately.

Pour into individual dishes, sherbets, or 8" square pan. Freeze at least 5 hours (overnight or even a few days is fine; cover with plastic wrap if it waits awhile).

Set out at room temperature at least 10 minutes before serving; the ice cream freezes quite hard.

I often set out a small plate of nice purchased cookies with the ice cream. Using limes instead of lemons also makes a yummy dessert.

I don't know if you can see the short tines on the spoon in the photo; these special silver ice cream spoons were my mother's--using them is a small source of memories and joy. When we serve this dessert, our guests are always impressed--I hope you give it a try.

Question of the day: If you like to entertain, what's your secret for keeping it fun and easy?

Savoring Good Food III--Enjoying Eggplant & Eggplant Recipes

For our final eggplant post (hasn't this been fun?), I will provide a recipe or two. Eggplant is good in a variety of sauteed or stewed vegetable mixtures, combining well with summer squash, sweet peppers, tomatoes, garlic, and onions (as in ratatouille, pictured here), but is also delicious and attractive with green beans, tomatoes, fresh herbs, and corn, or with garlic, onions and mushrooms. Whatever sounds good to you is worth a try, in my opinion--and you may create a new family favorite.

I won't repeat the tips from last time, so check that post for ideas to reduce both the oiliness and calories of some recipes and the bitter edge cooked eggplant can have. The recipes will make this post longer than usual, but I hope they will be of interest to some of my readers.

Here is my modified version of the classic vegetable stew called ratatouille (simpler and less fattening than the original). It can be made a day or two ahead of a meal and reheated or can be frozen. The photo in our last post showed the main ingredients. I will list the amounts of each ingredient I used in the dish pictured above (which makes enough for two or three meals for the two of us, even though we are big vegetable eaters); it would probably serve 8 people. A very flexible recipe, ratatouille can have more or less of any of the vegetables, to suit your preferences.

Health Spa Ratatouille

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

1 medium eggplant, lengthwise strips of peel removed, then cut in thick crosswise slices

2 zucchini, lightly scraped, in 2" chunks

2 yellow summer squash, in 2" chunks

cooking spray

2 Tbsp. olive oil

2 medium sweet onions in 1/2" chunks (Vidalia onions are wonderful when available)

3 cloves garlic, peeled, crushed & chopped

1 large sweet pepper (any color), in 1/2" chunks

2 large tomatoes, cut in chunks (I had a couple of pounds of grape tomatoes and used an equivalent quantity of them instead, just tossing them in whole, crushing some with the spoon while cooking.)

1/4 - 1/2 cup (according to your taste) chopped fresh parsley

dash sugar

salt & pepper to taste

1) If you wish, sprinkle eggplant with salt, sweat, and rinse (see previous post). I skipped that step this time.

2) Spray a large cookie sheet or two (easiest if they have a rim) with cooking spray and fit eggplant slices and squash chunks on. Spray top of all vegetables with cooking spray. Then bake at 425 degrees until lightly browned & slightly softened--about 8 - 11 minutes.

3) Meanwhile, heat 1 Tbsp. olive oil in a large heavy skillet (12" X 2-3" deep), then saute onions and sweet peppers over medium-high heat for 5 minutes or so, stirring well a few times. Add garlic and saute 1 minute more.

4) Add eggplant & squash to skillet with another 1 Tbsp. olive oil (no need to cut up the eggplant slices; they will break up as you cook and stir). I sprinkle 1/8 tsp. or less sugar over the vegetables to bring out the sweetness (optional). Cover & simmer for 10 - 12 minutes.

5) Add tomatoes to skillet & simmer 5 minutes more, stirring a few times, or until vegetables break up and are quite soft. Of course, if you wish, you can reduce the cooking time, but this is more typically a stew texture rather than a tender-crisp texture.

6) Add parsley last minute or two of cooking. Salt and pepper to taste and serve right from the skillet. It waits well if your guests or your entree are delayed.

Ratatouille freezes well, so you can make a big batch and get several meals from it. It is good served hot, room temperature, or cooled. Delicious for a simple meal with grainy bread and cheese wedges, or with any meat, poultry, or fish -- or for vegans, with a whole grain and nuts dish.

We also love eggplant stuffed with a ground meat mixture and baked. Eggplant is the perfect shape to stuff with any mixture you can dream up, whether brown rice, herbs, and nuts or barley & cooked chicken--or whatever--then steam or roast. Beyond these ideas, good sources for eggplant ideas are Turkish or Mediterranean cookbooks. When we were in Turkey, we enjoyed a variety of eggplant treats, including dishes that were grilled, stewed, roasted, sauteed, pickled, salad combos, appetizers in phyllo with eggplant and cheese fillings, baba ghanoush, and more.

Turkish Stuffed Eggplant (serves 2)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

1 medium-large eggplant

cooking spray & olive oil

1/2 # lean ground beef or turkey

1 medium onion, chopped

1 Tbsp. fresh chopped parsley

1 Tbsp. tomato paste

salt & ground black pepper

1 medium tomato, in 6 thin slices

Those are all the ingredients in my Turkish cookbook. I always add:

paprika

fresh chopped basil, and sometimes rosemary or oregano

1) Peel the eggplant in lengthwise stripes. Cut in half lengthwise and scoop out most of the flesh, leaving a 1/2" shell (looks like a canoe). Coarsely chop flesh and set aside in large bowl.

2) Spray a large oven-proof skillet with cooking oil, heat over medium-high burner and cook the meat, onion, and tomato paste together until meat loses pink color. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and herbs if desired, adding chopped parsley last minute of cooking. Drain off grease and add to bowl with chopped eggplant, stirring well.

3) Re-spray skillet well, add a little olive oil, and lightly saute the eggplant canoes on all sides until lightly browned.

4) Remove skillet from heat, turn eggplant canoes open side up and fill with eggplant/meat mixture.

5) Top with fresh tomato slices. Pour 1 cup water into the skillet. Roast uncovered in oven for 25-30 minutes. Serve with your favorite rice or couscous dish and a green salad or vegetable.

Question of the day: What is your favorite, versatile vegetable? How do you prepare it?

Savoring Good Food II--Enjoying Eggplant & Eggplant Cooking Tips

Since many readers expressed interest in the vegetable post from last time, I will continue a couple of posts with kitchen hints for enjoying vegetables and some recipes, including stuffed eggplant and ratatouille. Today, some tips. Next post, some recipes. I'm getting great blogging mileage out of one vegetable in a photo, don't you think?

It was fun to hear from all of you who commented or emailed me about my most recent post. After all the praise for her beauty, the eggplant is turning diva on us. She disliked being pictured here with the other ingredients for ratatouille, but finally agreed.

Peggy Montano is a gifted painter with a lovely blog (click to see it). On my last post, she commented that she loves vegetables, except that she is less fond of eggplant (that purple diva was prominent in my photo last time, too) and wondered if a different recipe might change her mind. Peggy, it may be that the way eggplant is cooked would make little difference to you. But for what it's worth, here are a few ideas from my kitchen.

I suspect that Italian-style eggplant parmigiana is the most popular eggplant dish in the U.S. and may be the only form in which many people have eaten it. My method for considerable cuts in the fat and calories of this delicious meal is to pre-bake rather than saute the eggplant slices. Eggplant really drinks up oil when you saute it, and most parmigiana recipes call for sauteing it before making layers with the other ingredients and baking. Instead, I spray a large cookie sheet or jelly roll pan (a flat 11" X 14" baking sheet with 1" high sides) with cooking spray (use olive oil flavored spray, if you have it), fit thick slices of eggplant onto the sheet and spray the top of the slices again. Then bake at 425 degrees (I convection bake it, but standard baking is fine), until it is lightly browned and a bit softened. Continue with the rest of the recipe. Your meal will be much less fattening and still really delicious.

I do the same thing to cut the calories and fat in making ratatouille. For anyone not familiar with this lovely dish, my venerable cookbook describes it as a vegetable mixture stewed in olive oil. Then, it proceeds to suggest that for 1 medium eggplant, 2 yellow summer squash, some chopped garlic, green pepper, and onion, you will use 1/2 cup of olive oil, first to saute all the vegetables and then to stew them together. I know olive oil is one of the good fats, but 1/2 cup!?! Next time, I'll provide my less oily adaptation of this versatile dish.

Three other tips for cooking eggplant, any or all of which will cut the slightly bitter taste: 1) Before cooking, with a vegetable peeler or sharp paring knife, peel off strips of peel (the long way), leaving equal strips between the peeled "stripes", so that you serve only about 1/2 the peel. 2) If you have time, salt slices of eggplant and let them sit for 30 minutes, then rinse or wipe off and cook. Some of the bitterness "sweats out." 3) Sprinkle just a dash (1/8 tsp. or less) of sugar into the mixture when you cook eggplant (I do the same with cabbage, and other non-sweet vegetables)--just enough to cut the bitter edge, but too little to actually taste in your dish.

Question of the day: What tip can you share for making eggplant (or any other vegetable) appealing, even to reluctant vegetable eaters?

Savoring Good Food--The Glory of Vegetables

In the supermarket this morning, I was struck with deep gratitude--as I often am--for the bounty of healthful foods available to us. Mark and I truly love fruits and vegetables and eat more of them than any other two people I know. We buy produce in bulk at a warehouse store and never waste a bite of it. Especially for those of us who have traveled to other regions of the world, we know that the variety of affordable produce available in the United States is a rare gift. Taking advantage of this wonderful food is part of healthful, creative living in our home.

Although we like to "eat locally" and understand the many benefits of doing that, I confess that we also sometimes savor fruits and vegetables that are out of season in Florida and are grateful for them. We are also aware of the people right here in the United States who are not able to afford this healthful bounty for their families. The Second Harvest Food Bank in our part of town, where we serve periodically, has some tireless volunteers who make extra trips every week to gather donated fresh produce (usually near its sell-by date) for the families we serve. They have brought in everything from lush heads of broccoli to juicy fresh strawberries and raspberries. It is a joy to be able to provide these treats to our hard-working neighbors who need them.

For those of us who may at times enjoy too much food, fruits and vegetables are varied, flavor-filled, satisfying treats we can enjoy almost without limit. I remember a Woman's Day magazine article several years back that recommended an "eat more" plan to control one's weight during the treacherous November-early January season. I think it was a six-week plan with a particular food group to add to menus each week from mid-November on. Fun idea, no?--adding food instead of self-deprivation. Each week's food group was healthful and filling so that it would be easier to avoid over-eating the rich treats of the season. I tried it and actually lost a couple of pounds while feeling that I was eating more than usual--much more pleasant than trying to deny myself during the holidays! Although I don't remember the entire program, the first week called for increasing the number of vegetable and fruit servings every day. Then in subsequent weeks, one added more servings of whole grains, lean protein foods, low-fat dairy, and two other categories I have forgotten (it's unlikely I followed the entire program--it was too much food for me!).

I know that sounds pretty much like current basic dietary recommendations, but was an innovative program when it was published. Even though our family eating habits had been relatively healthful before then, I enjoyed the plan and certain changes became a permanent part of life after that. And we have never felt better, maintained our weight more easily, or enjoyed meals more.

The difficulty for many of us is finding the time for cooking "from scratch". I don't have much wisdom to share in that regard because I truly enjoy planning and cooking meals and have always found a way no matter how many other tasks I juggled. Having sons accustomed to doing their part (when they were younger and lived with us) and a husband who always cleans up the kitchen after me has lightened the cooking load, too. And, yes, I know how fortunate I am to have their help. For what they are worth, I'll share a couple of tips from my veggie-loving kitchen: keep a platter of colorful raw vegetables with a clear cover in the refrigerator and form a habit of snacking on them often, plan meals not by thinking of the entree first but by checking the produce bins and using each fresh food at its peak, cook up a big vegetable dish like ratatouille when you have time and freeze portions for busy nights in the future, and finally, (a habit the boys still tease me about--although I think they secretly enjoy it) serve as many natural colors as possible each day since they each have different essential nutrients.

Question of the day: What is your favorite vegetable dish? What is your newest vegetable discovery (a delicious food you had not eaten until recently)?

Savoring Our Home--Creative Use of Space--Art Studio

The reason my last post said that you might chuckle when I showed you my new art studio is that it is located . . . in our master bathroom! Again, I must credit my caring and creative husband for this genius, though unorthodox, idea. He also did much of the preliminary work to create the space for me. That was no hardship for him, however; give Mark a sledge hammer and something to demolish, and he is a happy guy.

Previously, I had been painting in the kitchen and frequently taking down and putting up all my gear because it was in the way otherwise. Workable, but not great, especially as I began to paint more and more often. Also, the large west-facing window often required the unsatisfactory choice of either enduring a glare on my work or closing the blinds.

We had planned some fairly extensive work in our master bath anyway, had the money saved up and our plans in the works. One day this plan came together in Mark's mind with his concern that I needed a painting studio. In our down-sized home, the master bedroom is a comfortably large enough room without being over-sized, and the master bath & walk-in closet are exceptionally large for this size house. Like many master bathrooms, it boasted a huge so-called garden tub which I had used only once in the six plus years we have lived here. When filling it completely drained a good-sized water heater, I decided that using it was WAY too wasteful. There is a normal tub/shower combo in the second bathroom for my occasional soaks.

The garden tub was set into a 5' X 8' nook around the corner from the shower stall with a wonderful, large, north-facing (perfect for painters) window. I won't take you through all the stages of the decision-making process, but simply will say that the sledge hammer performed its magic, and I gained a lovely art studio. For quite awhile, I used it with wall board patches around the tub area, the original ugly wallpaper above that, and an exposed concrete floor beneath (we tore out the worn carpet from that area--why would anyone carpet a bathroom?). It worked great, but was not very attractive, as you can imagine.

Now, we have completed remodeling the master bath and are delighted with the results. Large stone-look porcelain floor tiles laid on the diagonal unify the bath, little toilet room, and closet; the walls are a tranquil, warm caramelly color; we raised the vanity (which did not need replacing) to a more comfortable height on a plinth base (Mark and a handyman did that together) and gave it a new terra cotta colored counter top with vanilla sinks. I apologize if this is more information than you are interested in, patient readers. It's just that I am truly thrilled with our new master bath/art studio.

Question of the day: What has been your most unusual, creative use of space to make your home function uniquely well for you?

Savoring Our Home--Creative Use of Space--Home Office

For a change of pace, we are back to hearth and home. I wanted to share my awesome, space-saving desk with you. We have discovered some very creative ways to use space in our down-sized home. My two favorites are this custom-made workstation and my painting studio. I'll show you the studio next time. You'll be amazed--and it may give you a chuckle, too.

Twice in our lives, we have chosen to move from fairly large homes to much smaller ones. Each time, we got rid of all the stuff that accumulates when there is always plenty of room for more. Each time, we felt younger and lighter on life's journey after paring down to the possessions we most needed and cared about.

However, living in a dramatically smaller space requires adjustment as well. For example, moving in semi-retirement from a large Atlanta home to a perfect-for-two North Florida home left me without an office of my own. My husband had visions of happily sharing the small third bedroom as a family den/office. He reckoned without the extent to which his need for order clashed with my ten books and twenty projects at once clutter. We coped while he looked for a better way.

His creative genius led to the suggestion that one end of our kitchen, where we kept a narrow bookshelf and an old TV set (TV still there, as you can see) had room for a desk for me. I was skeptical. The kitchen is not large to begin with, and we ate many of our meals at a small table on that end. Also, the generous side window extended to within 22" of the wall--how could that be enough room?

Well, we mused, looked at ready-made desks (none right for the space), and planned until we had figured out the basic design for the office nook pictured above. A retired gentleman turned genius cabinet maker constructed and installed my dream desk and bookshelves. Six roomy file cabinets hold all my projects; numerous small and large drawers, some with built in dividers, hold papers and supplies; a slide-out keyboard shelf serves my computer needs. And whatever is cooking (I call cooking my other art form) is only steps away. What could be better?

Today, it is hard to imagine how unlikely an office location this seemed at first--or that we had actually contemplated adding a small room onto the house for an office/studio for Mary. The space we have is more than enough. It just needed creative re-purposing.

Question of the day: What change in the use of your space has brought you the most satisfaction?