dirt lover

with the lovely weather that we have been having, i can not help but try to find a million reasons to do everything outside. the air just makes me giddy. apparently Ruby feels the same way about it. she is so content on walks, playing outside, and most fav of all is diggin in the dirt. i let her garden with me this evening and she planted an old dead flower bud in her mouth and when i tried to say no, she looked up at me with the biggest grin...she knows she's trouble! for the most part she just likes to touch and thank goodness eating the dirt is not her favorite part. picking the pretty flowers off the new plants i'm trying to put in can be a bit of a hassle though. i guess she knows what part if the best.

new best friend

so ruby is quite the fan of buddie these days. ever since she learned how to wave...the cutest little hand flap i ever saw, she will wake up in the morning and start waving and look towards the window to outside to try to say 'hi' to him. she will honestly get mad at me if we dont go out and visit him 700 times a day just to say hi, and swing her little legs in super excitement about the guy.
so i decided i should let her have a go at being friends with him. i put her down, and so sad...he didnt really want to have much to do with her, while she is dying to touch him. so i had to put his food right next to her and let her get super excited be his nearness:)
and yes, she tried to have a little lamb n rice snack of her own.
i dont know why i find this so funny; esp when she keeps trying to say his name; it is some form of dada/doggie/and buddie all in one.

growin up too fast!

so lil miss ruby has just been growin too fast for me lately! they say it goes by so quickly but that could not be more true. the minute you get used to them as they are it all changes. so just the other night i came home after work and she was a wild woman! it was as if she discovered she had legs and they could move very fast. she perfected the one leg slightly straight and one leg bent crawl to mover quicker i guess and also easily sit here and there to break and smile.

she is definitely on the move. she is into everthing...opening all the cupboards and pulling everything out. wakes up smiling and laughing everyday...a very happy lady with shiny teeth. while christmas shopping she insists on getting down and crawling around to discover anything she can get her hands on. her favortie things still continue to be crinkly paper and boxes rather than toys. and her new obsession is this elf 'guy' on top of our mantle i put up for christmas. everytime i walk by him she starts swinging her legs (thats her happy thing) and smiling hugely and flailing her arms. funny lady.

here's some random pics to share since i havent blogged in forever.

i should like...

to adopt this delicious kid and... find out where i can buy a dress like this for work. woweee.

busy busy...makin dinner

so i have been quite the slacker on updating the blog. i guess its b/c i essentially created a new restaurant last week, and tonight we are opening to the public for dinner. oh, i shall not even begin on the challenges of creating a new menu, organizing vendors, staff, etc, learning new recepies, training your chef to cook dinner instead of eggs, and all the while attempting to plate up pastries while holding or entertaining Ruby. interesting life...perhaps it will calm down eventually.
well, i sure can not wait for monday...glourious monday when we are closed and can spend the day at the park having good old family time. so thats me for now; and here is a look at the menu i put together.

::evening menu::

:begin:

warm apple galettes. black pepper honey
caramel. sea salt. brillant savarin.

heirloom tomato confit. cypress grove purple
haze melted chevre.
fine herbs. baguette toasts.

pomme pailles. organic house made ketchup.
roasted garlic aioli.

cheese and charcouterie. st.pete‘s artisan blue. aged manchego.
fleur des alpes. truffle tremor. olives. proscuitto. fruit and nuts. toasts.


:salad:
simple french. radicchio. endive. boston lettuce.
classic dijon vinaigrette.

marinated feta. citrus fennel essence. spinach
and arugula. pink lady apples. thinly sliced radish.
white balsamic vinaigrette.

roasted grape. organic greens and frisee lettuces.
chevre and herb toasts. roasted walnuts.
champagne honey vinaigrette.






:soup:
golden bell pepper. smoked paprika
crème fraiche. arugula and bacon
lardons.



:entrees:
local meat shoppe pork chop. slow roasted wilcox apple. honey
sage cream. green beans. yukon gold mash.

peppered cedar river farms ribeye.
pomme pailles. brandy jus.
sunflower sprout salad.

spicy seared sesame ahi tuna. mango and avocado
salsa. pineapple jasmine rice. ginger scallion sauce.

spice rubbed rack of lamb. creamy parmesan polenta.
fresh sautéed spinach. roasted organic baby carrots.

butternut squash ravioli. toasted pine nut and goat
cheese cream. pan fried squash blossom
and baby arugula.



dessert
floating islands. delicate meringue.
classic crème anglaise. Fresh berries.
pistachio praline.

sweet potato tarte. marshmallow brulee.
pecan oat crumble. caramel crème.

chocolate and peanut butter napoleon.
layers of chocolate mousse and peanut butter
perfection amidst delicate pastry flakes.

i wish i knew about this before...

lets all get pregnant and look this cute!

while ruby's napping...

so besides ever exciting house work, and pondering over how people have time to blog as much as they do and come up with all these amazing things (for example www.designmom.com and her blog....while she has five kids she takes care of)...i try to also get work in as much as i can for the restaurant. i'd definitely rather be swinging in a hammock enjoying this rediculously gorgeous weather reading a page turner novel....but that doesnt happen too often.

so here are some pics i tried to take for postcards i was trying to make for palatte. we'll see how the sample turns out. i thought it would be fun for people to send their friends a breakfast invitation or just send someone a piece of mail for fun.