Happiness List

Posted on 22 August, 2014 by Emily

Another Friday, another Happiness List! (the first, second, third...) Keeping our focus and continually remembering good things cultivates gratitude and helps our minds get used to seeing goodness and beauty around us–I’m using these weekly lists to train my mind and heart to see light.

1. Seeing Grandma & Grandpa

(1a. being in the Twin Cities, 1b. St. Paul having a heat advisory at 78 degrees)

2. After a long week, a bit of encouragement in Jeremiah 1:7:

“But the Lord said to me,
‘Do not say, “I am only a boy”;
for you shall go to all to whom I send you,
and you shall speak whatever I command you.”

Not least evidenced in my post this week on the Covenant Blog…

3. a trip to Lush while in the Cities…

Since there isn’t a location of my favorite cosmetics store at home in South Carolina, I tried out lots of new products and loaded up…

I fell in love with their solid shampoo when I bought some in Canterbury this summer; so I tried Seanik. I also grabbed Jungle, a solid conditioner, to try (I’m flying, so I couldn’t get lots of liquids). Angels on Bare Skin is one of their most popular cleansers, its scent and exfoliating ground almonds were amazing, but I wanted to try something with a little more power, so I got Dark Angels. It’s intense! But I haven’t experienced the tightness and itchiness that usually accompanies cleansers that are too powerful (like salicylic acid cleansers–for me at least).

I was unexpectedly taken in by a jasmine scent and decided to try some solid perfume, “Lust“! In my defense, I thought I wanted “Karma,” because I so love the smell of the Karma Koba, but when I tested the other few solid perfumes, the flowery-yet-grounded jasmine scent did me in.

how to make: a French tomato pie

Posted on 11 August, 2014 by Emily

Tomato pies are ubiquitous here in South Carolina, but what should I fall in love with in Rouen, except a French version of the Southern staple?

french tomato pie

Longing for France, as I do, I made up my own version of the dish: more zucchini, less aubergine (eggplant)–appropriate for August in the South in so many ways.

2 zucchinis, chopped

1 onion, chopped

28 oz can crushed tomatoes

1 Tablespoon Italian seasoning, divided

1 Tablespoon Parsley

4 oz fresh goat cheese

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups breadcrumbs

Heat oven to 375 degrees, mix together breadcrumbs & 1 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning. Combine vegetables, crushed tomatoes and the rest of the seasonings in a baking dish.

Drop goat cheese on top of veggie mixture, then add breadcrumbs on top.

Bake for 35 minutes or so, until bubbly, remove from oven and let cool till just warm–the filling will firm up some, and the flavors will meld.

inspired by lunch special at Dame Cakes, Rouen, France.

Happiness List

Posted on 8 August, 2014 by Emily

a banner week.

1. spending the better part with the dear choristers of Trinity Cathedral, noticing and calling out God’s work in their lives (it didn’t hurt that we were all in the NC mountains). 2013-10-01 19.21.02

We had hardly all arrived, but I was re-dubbed “Momma Hylden” (from “Mother Hylden”–the former was ‘more southern,’ they told me) and a daily hang-out in the outdoor chapel, christened “Moments with Momma Hylden” was born. Those were truly my favorite moments of the week; witnessing the connections young minds and hearts made amongst music, worship, vocation, offering, community, and Scripture. A few of the light-bulb moments are captured in Quotations of the Day from earlier this week.

2. (1a.) Playing in rain, mud, and pudding with chaperones & youths alike. Nothing like summer camp for reminding one that laughter is not only good medicine, but a window into God’s heart.

2014-08-04 15.12.21 HDR

3. And last, but by no means least–tomorrow, one of my dearest friends gets married (it doesn’t hurt that it’s in Durham!).
We found each other during transitional moments in both our lives–wondering where we belonged, suspecting we each were called to a life that didn’t look a lot like what we’d known our lives to be in the past. We were confirmed in the Episcopal Church together, together we’ve wondered about what to do with our lives, and as she stood up with me and my beau when we tied the knot more than three years ago, I’m so eager and full of joy to do the same with her.I’m working on a quilt (you may have seen bits on instagram) as a wedding present; I’m especially grateful for that old “you’ve got a year after the wedding to send a gift” rule!

Godspeed this weekend, y’all.

how to make: an Alsacian Feast

Posted on 5 August, 2014 by Emily

This is a desirable thing, I promise. Alsace is the region of (now) France that’s been passed back and forth between France and Germany for several hundred years (not like a hot-potato; more like a really wonderful piece of furniture–everybody wants it). Anyway, it’s where a significant portion of my ancestry lived, and it’s where we find Strasbourg & Colmar, which my husband and I visited in July.

In honor of my ancestry, and to relive the glory of vacation, we created an Alsacian feast last week.

Open a Riesling or Gewurztraminer, and get ready for a new pizza experience: Tarte Flambee (or Flammkuchen–just like how you pronounce “Appalachian” makes a statement about your class and politics, whether you use the French or German name for a dish reveals your true loyalties (mostly, for me, going to Alsace helped me understand why I’m both obsessed with food and very efficient)).

16 oz pizza dough, prepared

6 oz creme fraiche

1/2 yellow onion, sliced

8 oz bacon, cooked & sliced (in which ever order you prefer)

6 oz Gruyere, shredded

1 teaspoon nutmeg (fresh-ground is best, and nutmegs are super-readily available–Target, World Market, everybody’s got them (i love Penzey’s))

Preheat oven to 450 degrees (or grill, if you’re feeling wild). Spread the dough on a cookie sheet (or, again, the grill grate), cook the first side till the dough has got some shape, but isn’t browned at all, 4-6 minutes.

Quickly remove (or turn over) crust from the oven (grill), spread generously with creme fraiche, sprinkle liberally with sliced onion, bacon lardons, and Gruyere, finish with ground nutmeg. Cook for another 8-12 minutes, till the crust and cheese have started to get some color.

For dessert, how about a miraculous chocolate mousse? Two ingredients, my friends:

270 mL water

350 grams chocolate (I used 70%–but less would work too, if you like something sweeter)

Combine in a saucepan, melt, and stir to fully combine. When totally melted and combined, pour mixture into a bowl set over another bowl of ice and water.

Then, whip the snot out of it.

On an expert’s advice, I whipped it by hand–a good work out, and what a feeling of accomplishment!–but I’ve been told you can use electric beaters, too.

Here’s the video:

On my very first try, here’s how it turned out:

It’s almost like being back home in Alsace!

elixir of life

Posted on 4 August, 2014 by Emily

It’s a tall order for a simple cup of tea, but this one almost lives up to it.

When I was in NYC this spring for my brother’s graduation from college, my husband and I stumbled upon a small tearoom on the Lower East Side late one semi-rainy evening. There was one little table left, meant just for us, at Bosie, and their description of L’Age de Thé’s Tulsi Basil infusion clicked. It was touted as the “elixir of life” with spicy notes and no caffeine—perfect for a pre-bedtime cup.

By July, I’d already run out of the two ounces I’d brought home from Bosie, and sought out more at Dobrá Tea in Asheville. Their blend is bolder, with a strong licorice scent and flavor; I’m not sure if it’s lengthening my life, but brewing up these herbs on my travels provides a soothing regularity to the unpredictability that accompanies being away from home.

Reflecting on the many, varied environs I’d dragged my trusty tin of tea through over the last few months (above, at choir camp, right now!), I realized that—of course—God is the same way. God comes with us wherever we go, providing regularity, familiarity, to even the newest and most unpredictable of places.

Not that I need to let go of my Tulsi Basil tin, or shun the ritual I’ve come to love—boiling (or tracking down hot) water, measuring out the loose leaves into my mesh ball, letting the leaves steep extra long (it takes a lot for this tea to get bitter), and enjoying the delicious scented steam that rises off the cup almost as much as the infusion itself—but that I can also turn to God for regular, ritual calming (“peace”—to put it more deeply and expansively).

Of course, God is the true elixir of life. Through the peace which comes as a gift from God, we are able to love each other, to support each other in our lives–in our trials and in our successes. Continually returning to God as our touchstone, Lord, focus, and animating spirit is the only “magical” potion in which we can hope to find life.

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Category Archives: Travel

Happiness List

how to make: a French tomato pie

Happiness List

how to make: an Alsacian Feast

elixir of life