Pink of Perfection

Happy Monday!

Of course, what I really mean is, great to see you again. As lovely as the weekends are, I’m always happy to come back to this little corner of the world and say hello to you again. Hello! Are you in a crap mood? Are you still glowing from the weekend? Whatever your state, it’s good to see you.

Today I am having some thoughts about granola. Is there ever really a healthy granola? How can oats and nuts add up to 7 million calories? And then there is the matter of burning. I am thinking of taking up a second career as a professional granola burner. I can bake springy custards and roll out homemade puff pastry, but I can’t seem to make granola without having to throw away lots of browned bits. Oh well. As my mom says, “God isn’t finished with me yet.”

With these questions in mind, it was with great enthusiasm that I came across a particular recipe for granola that didn’t seem to be an oil-sugar sponge disguised as a health food with so much reputation it’s become its own slang. There was a relatively small amount of oil, the intriguing addition of egg whites, and the option of using a sweetener like agave nectar. This seemed like a very good granola to me, and the jar of only-slightly-burned stuff that I passed on to a friend last week got good reviews.

But I can’t help but think that the granola I really like is the one my mom makes. It’s full of shredded coconut and slivered almonds, and the recipe is written on a sheet of notebook paper tucked inside a yellow binder. There is a coffee can on the top shelf of her fridge filled with it. So on Mother’s Day Eve, I sprinkled a bit over a little bowl of strawberry yogurt. It felt good to be home.

When it comes to my own homemade granola, though, I’ll probably stick with this version. (Or this one, which I have yet to make myself but a friend brought to book club and was heavenly.) While there are some family recipes we carry on unchanged, there are others we have to discover and write for ourselves in order to suit the people we’re becoming, or want to become. There’s a place, though, for the recipes that transport us to another time and another age. I’ll keep my hunger for mom’s granola confined to trips home and those care packages I happily lug back to the city.

Continue reading “The Quest for Healthy Granola” »

tasting :: Alison’s you-wouldn’t-know-it-was-healthy-but-it-was strawberry rhubarb crumble

hearing :: rediscovering my infinite love for Frank Black’s Black Letter Day

smelling :: dreamy hand soap in a cafe that I can’t stop thinking about it

seeing :: exploding roses, everywhere

feeling :: very happy to spend the weekend with my mom

What are your senses this Friday?

Wishing you all a very happy, relaxing weekend. Happy Mother’s Day!

photo via thomas pix

I spent part of this past weekend waking up in my friend’s bed to a view of her balcony lined with potted plants and palm trees beyond. She had terracotta planters filled with succulents and feeders to attract hummingbirds. It was a wonderful way to greet the day, and I watched her tend to her plants the way I do to guests: keeping them watered, seeing if they need anything, making sure they’re comfortable.

I’ve never seemed to have much of a green thumb. My potted herbs always shrivel up and an orchid promised to live forever bummed out on me. The one thing I’ve managed to maintain are some mangy looking geraniums on my bedroom windowsill. Inspired by my friend, though, I re-potted these plants, and set them out in the hot air of our fire escape. It rained hard that day, and the leaves sucked the moisture out of the heavy air. They seemed to shoot up an inch. I felt encouraged.

So now I’m thinking of going hog wild with container gardens, possibly even window boxes (but how do you keep them from falling off the ledge? anyone?). There’s a big, leafy tree outside our apartment that puts us in a bit of shade. I’m thinking of staying tried and true with my red geraniums, a bit of ivy, and revisiting my failed herb endeavor. I’m feeling hopeful about the whole thing.

Do you keep plants in pots and containers? What do you apartment dwellers grow? Do you keep plants inside, and if so, what? Help me to make my garden grow. I’m all ears!

Thrifty is such a funny word, though maybe I think so because I use it in a somewhat liberal fashion. After all, I call myself a “thrifty girl,” but appreciate expensive clogs and pricey slab bacon. What a thrifty life lived in “the good life” fashion comes down to, duh, is choices — scrimping on the things that don’t matter to you, like toilet paper or black tea, and spending your money to support what you feel pretty adamant about: soft sheets, fresh flowers, good coffee.

Thrifty: Living the Frugal Life with Style culls every area of life and offers up frugal ideas on everything from wardrobe to the home in a friendly, witty tone. Anansi Press is giving away one copy of this book to a lucky Pink of Perfection reader chosen at random. To enter, leave a comment about the way you live with thrift. That could mean your favorite ways to save money or what you think is worth the splurge. Enter by midnight EST, Friday, May 7. Open to US and Canada mailing addresses. Bon chance!

Update 5/10:

And the winner is Rez! Thanks to everyone for entering — I loved reading everyone’s thrifty ideas!