Mushroom, Goat Cheese and Spinach Tart with Potato Crust

Mushrom, Goat Cheese and Spinach Tart with Potato Crust, originally uploaded by carissabyers.

This was a relatively hearty first attempt at this tart. We ate the whole thing in one sitting, anyway. Penn didn't even complain about the goat cheese. (Which he is not a fan of.)

I think next time I'll go with less cheese and thicker potato crust.

I have food on the brain as I struggle with what to make for Christmas dinner. Anyone have any ideas for a simple dessert?

Kinder Christmas

Penn's Kindergarten class is above and beyond your average Kindergarten class. In addition to the school holiday "parties" the parents of KF throw real parties filled with fabulous and creative hospitality and kiddos.


The hosting moms arranged for a professional Santa as a surprise visit for the kiddos. I took the "pictures with Santa." They also played "Polar Express" outside on a big screen, made s'mores in the outdoor fireplace, had a vat of hot chocolate, an entire Nacho Bar with everything you could possibly want on your nachos, not to mention a feasts worth of goodies I never even got around to trying.


Here is Penn's kindergarten class plus a few siblings and minus a few classmates.


Margot fell asleep and woke up in Santa's arms.


And here we have an actual decent photo of all of us! I can't believe it's Christmas time already.

Wake up Jon

In the video in my mind, there are shots of all these people going about their day, singing "Wake Up Jon", and little ribbons of color fly from them, across the city, to Jon's window.
---Daniel Miller

One of the most beautiful things I get to see is Daniel's face when he makes something really meaningful. It's hard for me to understand sometimes. I'm a solitary artist. I want to be left alone for long periods of time in my head and with my materials and when I'm done I'd rather skip all the feedback part.

Part of Daniel's art is the process and he wants as many people to join in and feel and benefit from that art and community as possible. He will find your talent and put it to use. Which makes this particular project a rousing success on so many levels. He wrote a song for our friend Broom. Click here to read his very thoughtful explanation.

Please download it. It's not just for Jon. Or rather it doesn't have to be. It's a sounding chorus to remind us that "Sometimes we try and sometimes we fall down. Get back up. Get back up."

Pete Freedman covered it here in The Observer. Pegasus News covered it online. Feel free to tweet, blog and share the story yourself.

31, the Nonchalant Optimist

Thirty one is one of the really great ages of which I am now as of December 14. It's an age where I'm still young and opinionated and busy and full. I have health and meaning. Thirty one is vague. If you ask me how old I am I have to think about it before answering. Thirty one has a tinge of something-great-will-happen next, but even if it doesn't, who cares. Thirty one is a Nonchalant Optimist.

One of Daniel's great talents is making me feel very special all of the time. Every endeavor he takes in the name of me seems extravagant.

(We did have a sort of official early birthday dinner at Kozy Kafe, but that place has changed with the management and I just can't recommend it highly any more for the random romantic tasteful hole in the wall with candles and wine and decadent cheese plates it used to be. Also, we picked up a friend and had Margot with us and were under the time constraints of Art Conspiracy.)

But on my birthday birthday he brought home dinner and flowers and wine and CREME BRULEE and Haagan Daaz and spelled out "31" in candles. He and Penn sang happy birthday and I made a beautiful wish. It was really really good and fun and full of happy. Love.

I talked to family and got cards and presents. My dad got me a pasta roller which turned out beautiful pasta for me this week! The above is just plain ole white flour pasta but I can't wait to delve into the more flavorful noodles and sauces. I've frozen some of the fresh pasta to see if that's worth it too. Above are some of the raw noodles.

I love birthdays!

I Have a Six Year Old

I have a six year old! To celebrate we made butter cake cupcakes with butter frosting. (and blue sprinkles)


It was low key and a small gathering of loved ones including his Nana and Papa who drove all the way from Arkansas.


We had pizza and sidewalk chalk and ringtoss.


Most of his friends were still out of town for the Thanksgiving holiday, but his best friend was the one he cared most about attending. I can't really say enough about how cool Penn and his friend are together.


Cassidy came! I had the pleasure of shooting her wedding and she was one of Penn's first babysitters. She is going to have a little one of her own soon! (Although you can't tell in this photo, heh.) Margot very much approves of Mrs. Cassidy.

After the cupcakes and presents we went to the aquarium.

It was a good day. Penn is growing up in all of the various ways there are to grow up. Every day I think of all the ways I could be a better and more patient mom. I wonder what goes through his head when Margot sucks up all of my time and his parents are so busy working or doing something. I wonder if he knows it's not his fault we're always rushing to school. I wonder how much the various medical incidents (stitches, teeth, bowels, lip) affect him. I wonder if he knows how witty and clever and talented and kind he is. I wonder if he knows that I am constantly thinking about him. I love him. I love him so much.

Click here for more photos.

Thanksgiving 2009

Penn stirred the Pumpkin Pie together.


I made seared salmon, grilled asparagus, portobello mushrooms and a salad.


I made popovers that didn't "pop." Sad little muffins. But they did taste pretty good. I think I beat them too much.


This is going to sound off the subject, but let me tell you about my dental work. I'm having some dental work done.

That's all I really want to tell you. But the aftermath requires vicodin. It's come to my attention that I should not cook when taking vicodin. If I cook when taking vicodin I forget to put sugar in the pumpkin pie. And pumpkin pie is pretty much a side dish without sugar. And then I add even more insult to the dish by overbaking it. (That might have been me overcompensating for underbaking a pie a couple of weeks ago.) And you know what? This is store bought pie crust and canned pumpkin Pumpkin Pie. This is supposed to be a no brainer. This is more "assembly" than it is cooking.

Dessert Fail.

(Although Penn ate a whole slice before realizing it was sugarless.....)


We thought, Margot is cute. Maybe we should just have her for dessert!


Ringo was thankful for his bone.

I still want to pull off some huge complicated meal with expensive ingredients shipped from exotic lands and everything ground and kneaded and spiced with my own two hands and warmed over some primitive fire. The more pressure there is on me to cook a "good meal" the less savory it is. But I'm a great every day cook! Our family sits down to a meal at the table every night at 7 and it's usually totally yummy and usually involves actual cooking. I can't quite make the feast in my head......yet.

I have a lot to be thankful for. I can't imagine my life any other way or comprised of any other people than the fine folks I am surrounded by every day. Truly. My family is amazing for who they are as individuals and how they fit into the puzzle around the table. I love them. They inspire and make me a better person every day. They are grateful when I am winning and they are forgiving even though I make them wear socks and a coat.

Also vicodin. I love vicodin.

Click here for more photos.

Chasity and Kelly Engagement Photos!

I am really excited about Chasity and Kelly's upcoming wedding! This will literally be my first wedding of 2010 (January 1) and I always have a bit of extra emphasis on the first shoot of the year. It sets the tone for things to look forward to.

I feel really fortunate to get to work with such creative, cool and laid back couple! Thanks so much guys and BIG Congratulations!

The Internet is Mad at You

You are just a regular person with a non-tech kind of job. You like The Internet. Specifically, you used to have a tricked out Myspace page but now you have a Facebook page with lots of boxes concerning farm animals. You have a lot of "friends" because you dedicated a good chunk of time hunting down your graduating class. (You can't believe she married Him!)

The words "Amazon," "Google," and "Twitter" are in your vocabulary but you're no expert in using them and/or understanding their value. Creative Commons and copyright are not theories you practice regularly.

You think the internet is cool, but you still write checks and shred every document with your name on it and despite having invested so heavily in anti-virus software you think your computer is slow because of a virus you caught. Maybe it's because, "Hey, is that you I see in this video? ROFLMAO." Or maybe it's because you're on dialup. (Is there still such thing as dialup?)

You LOVE pictures! You have the fastest right-click this side of the Mississippi and it's really fun to show off on your blog what you've stolen in the name of "cute." Even better, upload it to your Facebook profile and use it as your avatar!

Now look, I think you probably mean well. But ignorance is no excuse. Do you remember writing research papers in grade school? Does "citing sources within your paper" ring a bell? You have to put quotes around something someone says and attribute the author of the words. Otherwise it's plagiarism and you totally FAIL.

If you are using a photo on your blog and you don't credit that photo, even if it's a pansy fluffy anonymous blog about your deep dark feelings, it is plagiarism. I'm having a hard time explaining this because I'm having a hard time understanding why people don't understand this logic.

There are people whose entire job exists thanks to the beauty of the internet. There is the sometimes genius ability to layout a website so that it is both beautiful and thought-provoking and usable. There are the masons who lay down computer languages brick by brick and build the bridges connecting us all and turning that into a searchable content goldmine.

Content! It's what you're reading right now. It's all useless without somebody saying something. Blogging and digital cameras have perhaps done their part in blurring the nonobjective lines of good/bad/art/shit. Regardless of the caliber, everyone deserves credit for their piece of the puzzle.

So if you want to share with the world a whole post about sleeping puppies wearing wigs and how that really lifts your spirits, do it! But give a line of credit. Better yet, instead of showing off what someone else has done, go say something new.

But stop insulting your intelligence and the art that is out there and the people who make it available to you by stealing it. The internet is getting mad at you.