Dear Readers,
Whether you’re spending this Christmas surrounded by friends and family or are reflecting on the holiday in solitude, we would love to wish you a wonderful Christmas–one that is full of all the beauty and blessings of the season.
Merry Christmas,
Sarah & Daytona
Merry Christmas Eve! This week, in lieu of our usual daily writing prompts and inspiration, we’d like to encourage you to do something a little different. This week, dedicate your writing time–at least as much of it as possible–to blessing and encouraging others. Drop a handwritten letter in the mail to a good friend who lives in another state. Write a love letter to your spouse. List all the wonderful and endearing attributes you can think of about your child in a letter they’ll love reading for years to come. Try to do something like that every day. Who knows, by the end of the week you might just have a new habit you’ll want to keep in the new year!
According to the Mayan calendar today, 12/21/2012, is the end of the world. Whether it is or not, the notion makes you stop and think, “Have I done all I wanted to do?”. As writers, the question may be more appropriately phrased, “Have I written all that I wanted to write?”.
What are some writing goals you want to accomplish before the end of the world? What thoughts come to mind when you think about the supposed impending Apocalypse?
Yesterday we covered last-minute host/hostess gifts, and today we have the answer to what to bring to a potluck when you’re strapped for time (perfect for when you’re on deadline!). Served with baguette slices and endive leaves, a Caesar salad-flavored dip will be a hit. And who wouldn’t enjoy the salty, briny flavors of baked feta cheese topped with warm olives? Keep reading for the recipes–complete with a last-minute trip the grocery store, you’ll have both recipes ready about two hours from now!
Caesar Cream
Adapted from Simply Classic
2 garlic cloves
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup packed fresh parsley
6 canned anchovy fillets
3 tablespoons freshly-squeezed lemon juice
1 cup sour cream
Sliced baguette, for serving
Endive leaves, for serving
Combine garlic and Parmesan cheese in a food processor until combined. Add parsley, anchovies, and lemon juice, and process until the mixture takes on a paste-like consistency. Turn into a bowl and fold in sour cream until combined.
Serve with baguette slices and endive leaves.
Serves 12.
Sexy Baked Olives & Feta Cheese
Adapted from Dishing with Kathy Casey
1 1/2 cups mixed imported olives, pitted and drained
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes1 teaspoon fennel seeds
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 thick 8-ounce piece of feta cheese
Pita chips, for serving
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Combine all ingredients except cheese and pita chips in a small bowl. Lightly oil a medium-sized cast-iron skillet and place the cheese int he center. Top the cheese with the olive mixture, taking Kathy Casey’s advice to use a spatula to scoop out all the oil and seasonings.
Bake for 20 minutes and serve out of the pan with pita chips.
Serves 10-15.
Spoiler alert! If you’ve invited me to a holiday party between now and the new year, stop reading right now. I’m about to tell you what I’m giving you for your host/hostess gift.
There. Now we can get down to business.
Christmas is less than a week away, and party season is in full swing. I don’t know about you, but no matter how much I try to plan ahead, I always end up caught off guard by how quickly the time passes by and how all of a sudden I need a host/hostess gift to bring to a party that’s just a few hours away.
The good news is that I recently learned how to make a lovely and personal gift in a matter of minutes from BOKA restaurant + bar’s Chief Mixologist, Mi-Suk Ahn. I was invited to attend a Holiday Infusions Class last week as part of Hotel 1000’s Holiday Throwback schedule of events, and I came away with wonderful ideas for making liquor infusions.
I’ve made infusions before, as the concept is not exactly new, but our host and teacher took the idea to the next level for me. While in the past I followed recipes for things like limoncello or fumbled my way though trying to recreate a dill aquavit I enjoyed in Norway several years ago, I now have a wealth of ideas in my head for how to incorporate leftover herbs or fruits that are lingering in my refrigerator into infusions customized for any number of palates.
In a nutshell, all it takes to make an infusion is a glass jar or bottle, the spirit of choice, some herbs or fruits, and a little bit of creativity. At the end of the class, Mi-Suk helped each attendee create an infusion to take home and enjoy. I wanted to make something that a Scotch aficionado might enjoy, so Mi-Suk suggested using a base of whiskey or brandy (I went for the Old Crow) and infusing it with pear, Meyer lemon rind, and rosemary. After a few days of infusing, the pear was ready to remove, while the rosemary needed to steep a little longer. I think my infusion will be perfect in about a week.
This past weekend I placed half a pomegranate, a vanilla bean, and a cinnamon stick in a large canning jar and filled it with whiskey, wrapped the whole thing in a pretty Christmas dishcloth, and tied it with some twine to bring as a host/hostess gift to a Christmas party. With some simple instructions for how the recipients were to tend to their infusion over the next two weeks, it was a beautiful gift with a personal touch. I think I’ll be bringing a jar of a homemade infusion to every holiday party this season!
For a full schedule of Holiday Throwback events, contact Hotel 1000.
Disclosure: I attended the class as a guest of the hotel and my ticket was complimentary.
How to use Daily Writers’ Fix
Sight
Wherever you are right now, look up. Write about what you see.
Smell
It’s dusk. A bat jets out from under the bridge, then flies back under it, as the water rushes by in the creek. What scent does your imagination conjure up? What trail does that smell take you on? Maybe under the bridge? Or perhaps to one of the buildings in the background? What is happening there?
Sound
Road trip soundtrack
Touch
Special dinners should be sensual, employing taste, of course, but also sight, smell, hearing, and touch. Think back to your most recent special night out. Document it using the sense of touch. If you like where your vignette is taking you, explore the same subject with each of the other senses as well.
Taste
Coffee, shortbread, chai–what do you order when visiting your local coffeeshop? If you’re writing from home today, do you have any treats stashed in your cupboard that could help replicate part of the coffeeshop experience while you finish off your week of writing from your desk at home?
Photos are all original. Some have been used on Daytona’s other blogs.
Having experienced plenty of beer on our recent trip to Bend, Oregon, by our last night there it was time to sit back and relax. For that, the Sunriver Brewing Company was a good fit. They have it figured out. After visiting many breweries and the restaurants that go with them, the brewhouse restaurant of Sunriver Brewing Company was a lovely way to cap off our day. Â On a summer evening we sat out on the deck, wrangling kids and discussing the menu (on which everything looked good).
All the brewing happens off site and the restaurant is tucked into the pocket of the town just outside Sunriver Lodge. The restaurant also has a lodge-like feel with mostly wood interior, and warm tones used in decorating.
Food and Drink
First things first, we ordered beverages. They have a full bar in addition to serving beer and wine, but since we were in the Oregon to discover the beer, we kept our focus. Having just opened in July, they were still determining what their ultimate lineup of beer would be, but they had a nice selection representing their approach to beer and giving a taste of what’s to come.
Location and Atmosphere
Upon arrival, we were taken back to our table that was tucked away back in a corner of the outdoor eating area. It was perfect for a party of six, with four adults and two babies (who, we must add, had obliged our every beer stop for a couple of days). The server brought water in little plastic cups with straws for the little guys while we sat back and relaxed and perused the menus.
There’s something about the setting here that seemed just right for us at this particular moment in time. Having embarked on a beer-tasting trip with babies–something we conquered admirably, if we might add–this place seemed quite family-friendly.
Writeability and Purchased Presence
This is a good place to bring a note pad and some friends. If you decide to stay a bit longer than your meal, order another drink or appetizer and be aware of the crowd. We always advocate being aware of the wait, just in case.
Price
Starters begin at $5 and entrees start at $10.
Parking
Plenty of parking in Sunriver Village, though you may have to walk a little depending on how busy things are–we were there on a busy weekend evening.
Writer’s Tip
The atmosphere here is spectacular for character watching. Watch the families at the tables around you and pay special notice to what the kids say. Kids always say the funniest things…especially at restaurants.
Find It
Sunriver Brewing Company
Building 4, 57100 Beaver Drive
Sunriver, OR 97707
Website
The holidays are officially here and it’s time to break out the holiday stories. What are your favorite holiday books? Do you have any favorites that you read every year? Aside from Dickens, I like to curl up with Agatha Christie’s Poirot with my Christmas cookies.
If there’s one activity we love almost as much as writing, it’s painting–especially if there’s a glass of wine right next to our palate! Perhaps it’s natural for creative types to be drawn to art forms across genres and across media. It certainly is for us. There’s something freeing and rejuvenating about sitting facing a blank canvas with a palate of glistening paints in hand, ready to be used for beauty. So, if you have a friend who’s hard to shop for, if she’s anything like us–a writer perhaps, or just a creative type in general–why not consider giving her the gift of experience this Christmas and treat her to painting class?
Art classes abound in a city like Seattle, which is home to as many artists as coffee-drinking intellectuals. But unless the recipient you have in mind is a serious painter, we suggest you check out one of the social painting classes offered in the area, many of which offer refreshments such as wine, hors d’oeuvres, and little snacks. We’ve checked out a couple of them lately, and have two recommendations as starting places.
Corks and Canvas Events
Described by the owner as offering the Nordstrom of paintings, Corks and Canvas Events are the ultimate in a girls’ night out (not, of course, that they have to be limited to women).
For these classes, the wine is just as integral as the painting, so they’re held at wine-related places like wineries, wine bars, etc.
The instruction at these events is wonderful. The instructor makes an effort to walk around with her canvas, painting as she goes so you can see clearly what she’s doing. It’s really nice not to have to crane your neck to see what’s going on. In addition to the wine, this was something we really appreciated about the class. She also encourages you to follow your own strokes and not focus so much on sticking to the example painting. Very liberating!
Painting on the Vine
Classes by Stani Meredith of Painting on the Vine have recently relocated from West Seattle to the Seattle Creative Arts Center. A big feature of this class is that the participants are encouraged to paint whatever their heart desires. If you feel like painting pink flowers instead of yellow, or a landscape instead of a vase–run with it! Stani will help you through the process.
And Stani really knows her stuff! She focused on the craft of painting and gave instruction on different techniques and even taught us a bit about the origin and history of certain styles and strokes. We not only walked away with beautiful paintings but also with a bit of art knowledge we didn’t have before.
http://www.paintingonthevine.com
Our evening at Painting on the Vine was courtesy of Stani Meredith at Painting on the Vine.
Some photos taken by Daytona were previously used on The Flying Salmon, her blog at Wanderlust & Lipstick.
