Memorials, Mud, and Puff Pastry

Ok. Time to play a brief catch up:

Life has been busy these last few weeks, and I have so much to post about....but, you're going to have to wait until next week - after I get back from an upcoming weekend camping trip. :)

A short mention of a few things that have happened recently though.  (And make sure you read to the end. I have some exciting - well, exciting for me anyway - news!)  I've had the wonderful opportunity to help volunteer a few times over the last week. Please excuse the poor quality of the photos, as they were taken with my - sometimes mud smeared - phone.

This last Sunday I spent the afternoon at the Hatch Shell helping with the 9-11 Memorial Concert, where I placed several hundred entrance bracelets on several hundred wrists.  The Boston Pops played with the Boston Children's Choir, as well as a number of wonderful and uplifting guest artists.  It was a lovely way to spend a sunny Sunday afternoon.

And two weekends ago I was in Bethel, VT, a small town that was hit hard by floods caused by rainfall from Hurricane Irene.  I - and many others - spent the day filling, hauling, emptying, and refilling buckets of river mud from the basement of an elderly couple's home.  They had lived in the house for over 40 years.  What was once a grassy and green backyard was now a sinkhole, and what was once a basement filled with tools and memories was now a mucky riverbed. The cleanup will take several months (and isn't being helped by the additional rainfall we've had) and I'm planning on going back in a few weeks to see what more can be done...

And last but not least...

Da da da da!

Starting next week I will be hosting a new blog in addition to this one. A blog dedicated solely to food, and my love of doing creative things with it.  It's been a project long in the making, but I believe I've finally adopted a system where I can make and record - and actually remember to take photos before the food disappears - recipes often enough to keep the blog posted regularly.  It will also include a number of kitchen and cooking tips, as well as other fun related culinary and flavory things.

And, just to get things started, here is a little sample of something I made for dinner the other night:

Spring mix and arugula salad, with maple roasted butternut squash, pan seared sea scallops, cranberries, pecans, and apple cider vinaigrette. Served with whole wheat flat bread drizzled with olive oil and crushed sea salt.

And for dessert a poached raspberry pear stuffed puff pastry with vanilla bean ice cream and homemade dark chocolate sauce.

Are you anxiously awaiting next week? Good! Get excited for the new food blog and some great new posts on this one, which may or may not include flaming cars, bull-riding, giant zucchini, and adorable flower girls.