My Life In Pictures

I think I picked up a little bug in New Orleans, where you'll find a lot of these photos are from, because even though I've been working every single day I get real rundown real quick like and I have to come home and just veg out.  The couch has been my base of operations because the porch is now over 100 degrees and I've watched a bunch of tv both good and bad from there all while reading cookbooks and paying bills and researching flowers.  Oh my gosh, y'all.  American Gods and The Handmaid's Tale = so good.  I'm hooked.  But I also watched Howard The Duck and Spaceballs with absolutely no regrets.  Same with @midnight.   I don't think I've watched this much TV since I was a kid!

Going back to New Orleans because, duh, New Orleans.  I want to go to there all the time except when it's 110 and muggy.  Can you tell I freaking hate the heat?  Bleh.  Luckily this trip was on the cooler side so we were able to walk everywhere (read: places with food or plants or art or sometimes all 3) without looking like we just went swimming in a really gross pool.  Because hot + muggy = sweaty mess with frizz hair.  Anyhoo, I love that city and we're planning on going back for the holiday season like we did 2 years ago.  It's my dream to move there and get a cute place with purple shutters, lots of jasmine on the front porch and a big, powerful air conditioner installed inside.  Maybe one day.

You know, when I think about posting here, which has become a rarity I'm sorry to say, I usually have it all nice and neat and typed out in my head.  Like a David Sedaris story come to life.  It never plays out here though and I feel like I weird ramble about stuff and not the good weird ramble.

I must be sicker than I thought!  Hehehehe.  Seriously though, I'm beat and already ready for bed at 7pm.  I'm going to grab Winthrope, who's been extra needy lately...he misses Tullah Belle a lot as do we all, and snuggle til I doze off.  Sounds good, eh?

Have a great upcoming weekend y'all!

Botanical Gardens // City Park, New Orleans

Fin.

May // 5 Little Goals

If you've known me for a while either via this here ol' blog or face-to-face interactions then you'll know that I'm a big fan of ellipses, forward slashes and making lists of goals.  Lots of lists with lots of goals.  You should see my daily bakery to-do list.  It's obscenely long and I never get more than 1/4 of it done.  Can you say job security though?  Always so much going on in the world of flour+sugar = magic.  And my biggest list of goals here on the interwebs was my 40 Before 40 which I'm still proud of!  I didn't get them all because I made some unrealistic ones (um, meeting Tom Waits is a dream and, yes, a goal but a pretty unattainable one...but I'm still not completely giving up hope because you never know when you might run into your favorite musician in the world) in addition to a shit ton of practical stuff but it was fun and helped keep me motivated.

Nowadays I know that I just don't have the time to try to do a million things outside of work and home because I'm just too darn busy or, to be truthful, the exact opposite aka 'lazy' on my day off.  So a small list with some easy goals is jussssssssstttttt the ticket.

For May I'd like to:

1. Identify 5 new flowers // Georgia's spring blooms are absolute gorgeous and early summer isn't too shabby either so now's the time to break out one of my wildflower books to see which ones I can officially identify this year.  So far I've seen the above pictured Pinxter Flowers otherwise known as Pink Azalea (Rhododendron periclymenoides) as well as Birdfoot Violet (Viola pedata) and Spotted Fairybells (Prosartes maculata).  I'm going hiking on Sunday a bit north of here so I'm thinking I can find a few.
2. Try one recipe a week from my recently acquired mountain of cookbooks // We just cleaned out some storage areas at The Grit and there were a ton of cookbooks that we just didn't need anymore.  So I snagged them.  Score!  They're all vegetarian (duh) but there are many recipes that look challenging to me especially within those with Indian cuisine.  We're shopping locally much more than we used to and cooking our meals fresh daily (with the exception of that Little Italy pizza we scarfed last night) so I'm hoping to squeeze the experimental recipes in with no problems.  Moosewood Restaurant Cookbook, Thug Kitchen and Chubby Vegetarian all have bookmarks too.  I seriously racked up some great books.
3. Take a trip to somewhere, anywhere for a few days // This one might already be in the bag!  My assistant is leaving in 2 weeks for almost 4 months of touring and if I'm going anywhere it needs to be STAT and it will be necessary to get out of Athens.  Working with one newbie assistant for the next few months is going to be a lot of stress (not his fault, of course, but it is a lot to train someone on so many minute details) and I'm serious need of decompressing.  We're looking at taking 4-5 days and driving down to our favorite city - NEW ORLEANS!  But we're also looking at driving to the mountains.  Decisions, decision, decisions.  Bah!  Who am I kidding?  We're 99% going to New Orleans!
4. Make the bed every single day // If my Mother were to see this post she'd say FINALLY, SHE'S MAKING HER DAMN BED AND IT ONLY TOOK 42 YEARS.  Sorry Mom!  She's been making her bed daily forever and I never realized she's been on to something good all this time.  I recently read an article about how making your bed can make you feel better and it also helps you be more productive.  And I need both those things!
5. Give away 10 books // The other day I raved about an old friend/acquaintance Janice Ray and her outstanding book Ecology Of A Cracker Childhood to one of my garden gals then promised to loan her a copy that I had at home.  When I went to look for the book and pop it in my bag I realized that I had not one, not two but three dang copies!  The same thing with The Poisonwood Bible and A Confederacy Of Dunces and pretty much every single Tom Robbins tome.  When I like/love a book I tend to pick them up at thrift stores pretty regularly with the intent of those editions being my travel book so I don't have to take my nice hardbound book to location a, b or c and risk them getting damaged.  But I just didn't realize that I owned so many multiples.  It's my goal this month to give at least 10 of my books away to people who I think would enjoy them.  Books are such a personal item for me even after all my years of culling (it only takes moving 8 big boxes of book cross-country a few times for you to realize that you shouldn't keep them all) that I'm still overloaded.  

I've got a good feeling about these.  Let's see how it goes...

Y'all got any goals for the month?

Vegan Blackberry Cheesecake

One of my biggest joys within the bakery is finding something new to serve folks.  Because most of the recipes at The Grit have been there for years and have been perfected via decades of trial and error, you can imagine how important it is to me that my customers love what I create from my own ideas.  I've come up with a number of new cake flavors and pies over the last few years and while a few have been a bust (biscotti made out of grits is freaking disgusting) most have been successful and a few have even become highly requested by our diners.  I must have enough of my Nana's soul in me because I get so darn giddy when people rave about my baking.  Although my Nana would be quirking an eyebrow at all this vegan stuff (somewhat of a blasphemy to her deep southern rural roots) since her idea of vegetarian had always been beans and rice...with ham in it.  That woman could cook like a dream though.  Gosh, could she cook.  Her 27 layer chocolate cake is something I still dream about.  With her love of baking desserts, I'd like to think she'd be proud of my banana spice cake or that I grow my own lavender buds or that I use a LOT of butter in that tiny corner of the store that I call home-away-from-home.  So, even though vegan cheesecake might not have been something she would've served us after Sunday dinner I like to think she'd still be happy that I'm trying out different versions of sweets for those folks who can't eat all the things that she loved so dearly - eggs, dairy, etc.  You know, that non-vegan stuff.

A friend of mine gave me the bare bones of this recipe a while back (she couldn't remember where she found it and there are similar ones out there so I don't know who to credit the original idea from) and then I adjusted'/added/tweaked til I got it just where I wanted it.  It's creamy but a touch grainy like most traditional cheesecakes.  The addition to sunflower seed butter instead of peanut butter ensures that it adds richness without overwhelming the citrus flavor and it allows those with peanut allergies to still enjoy this treat.  You can also make your own sunflower seed butter so easily!

Here's what you'll need...

A 10" springform pan to hold it all.  We have this one at work and it does a great job for the price.  Pssst.  This is NOT an affiliate link.  Just a visual and a suggestion.  Buy local when/if you can but if not then lots of bigger stores will have them.

For the crust

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups finely crushed graham crackers or gingersnaps or whatever cookie you desire
1/2 cup white sugar
3/4 cup melted butter, warm-ish but not hot

Mix together the graham cracker crumbs and the white sugar.  

Slowly add the melted butter and mix until everything is incorporated.  No dry crumbs!

Scoop into the springform pan and press down evenly making sure that all areas are covered.

Place in freezer for 30 minutes then remove and bake for 20 minutes at 300 degrees.

Remove and allow to cool.

For the cheesecake

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon vanilla
2 boxes of silken plain tofu, crumbled
2 cups white sugar
6 tablespoons sunflower seed butter
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 tablespoons lemon or lime zest
4 tablespoons of cornstarch or potato starch, or 8 tablespoons of tapioca flour dissolved into scant 3/4 cup of fresh (that's important!) lemon or lime juice
2 cups blackberries, separated into 1 cup portions
optional crushed berries for topping when cooled

Pile everything but 1 cup of the blackberries into a food processor and puree til smooth.  Be sure to scrape the sides regularly to make sure all is incorporated.  

Add in the other cup of berries and do a quick blend.  Not too much!  

Ta-da.  You've got an excellent filling.

Bringing it all together

Pour the cheesecake mixture into the springform pan with the graham crust and bake on center rack for at least 1 hour 20 minutes at 300 or until the center is puffed and not jiggling and springs back a bit plus the edges should be pulling from the pan.  If you pull it out of the oven too early it'll cave so be sure that it's ready!

Cool on a wire rack for several hours.

Run a knife along the edges of the pan and then slowwwwwwwly open the springform.  You don't want to pull the cheesecake apart!

Top with crushed berries or leave it just how it is in plain perfection.  Either way, chill for a few hours then serve.

Store in a tightly sealed container in refrigerator for up to 3 days.

_____________________________________________________________________________

I must admit that I tried variations of this that were not citrus/fruit oriented and it didn't get a great response.  A chocolate chip version is being experimented with but it's a totally different recipe.  So, just keep that in mind.  You can definitely switch up the fruit and/or your topping and maybe even add a savory element to it and if you're a fan of chocolate+citrus then you could probably tweak this to your liking.  Our customers are very partial to the fruit+citrus so that's what I stick with!

Enjoy!

My Life In Pictures

left to right / top to bottom

// Started seeds a while back on my front porch and now I have a veritable garden with tomatoes, lavender, peppers, mints, stevia, watermelons, sunflowers, etc.  I also started a few raised beds and they're flourishing it what appears to our very-early-summer-but-what-the-hell-happened-to-it-being-spring weather.
// Brady and his corn feather ring game moves.  Now that's a weird sentence.  But he's got 'em.
// Curious goats on a bed of slightly stinky compost.  You know, the usual.
// Right after Tullah Belle passed I got this tattoo and it brought me comfort for a bit but dang if I don't miss her now more than ever.  That little dog had a hell of a big personality.
// Brady's got some serious competition in the whole 'who is my favorite guy?' category.  Because baby Kylo is the coolest and he's always glad to see me and up for a trip whenever I want.
// When we have severe weather I'm torn between being at work and surrounded by lots of people in a building that's probably infinitely safer than our wood clapboard home that's already been hit by 3 trees since we moved in OR hurry back to that rather rundown home of mine to be with my critters and to be surround by comfortable things.  Well, when you're at work and the rain leaves what seems to be a foot of water on the ground then that decision is out of your hands.  I took photos and tried to warn customers that they would be drenched by tidal waves of water and drank buckets of coffee.
// BABY SQUIRRELS HAVE SHARP NAILS.
// Me + Kylo again.  I tell you, he's the bestest.  He and I share a love of the goats.
// Mama Kitty is the floofiest sweetest dirtiest kitty ever and she loves to pose up a storm on our clean sheets.
// A few weeks back I finally hung up that hammock we got in Puerto Rico and now all I want to do is lounge around in it.  Like, all the time.  Like, I'm at work and I'll start daydreaming about this hammock.  Since I've been trying to take it easy lately this situation is alllllright.
// I've been taking photos of local future graduates and I'm learning so much about how to navigate the world of portrait photography.  Now I'm not saying I'm good at all but rather that I'm learning a lot.  It's fun.  And I get to visit with delightful people like my friend Linzi who's beautiful inside and out.
// Some friends from work and I are playing BINGO pretty regularly nowadays.  This BINGO is all grape sodas, cheese nachos, fanny packs and serious dabbing of numbers.  We haven't won a damn thing yet but I'm keeping my fingers crossed that one of us will be winner winner winner.

Postcard Exchange // Pen Pals

Today I mailed the last of my postcards from the previous swap and now there's a little lonesome spot on my desk that is looking for more mail from more people!  I had over a 80 postcards last time and I send out over 106 postcards to people all over the world.  Why 116?  Well, some of you sent such interesting stuff that it took a series of postcards to respond fully.  I loved that!  So, if you haven't gotten a response from the swap a few months back then just hold tight.  The mail is on its way!  *pinky swear*

Yet again, I have a huge stack of postcards from my travels and a big ol' roll of stamps at the ready!  If you've swapped before then get in touch again.  If not, keep reading to find out more...

How To Swap  You can either a) send me a postcard and I'll send you one when I get yours OR you can email me your address (mine's provided at the bottom of this post) and I'll go ahead and send you a card.  Easy peasy.

Theme  Share something about yourself.  Where you are from originally.  Your favorite food to eat or make.  Where you volunteer.  Your most difficult goal for the year.  Anything you feel comfortable with.  Be as creative as you like or keep it simple and sweet.  Make or buy the postcard.  That part doesn't matter as long as you put some thought into it or make it personal and reflective of you.  This is all about getting to know each other in varying ways and supporting each others endeavors, maybe?  Or if you need a theme for named for you in order to encourage the start of the whole process might I suggest discussing the recent marches and maybe share what you feel is important to you?  Not political?  How about the best book you've read in the last few months or some art you feel connected with?

How Often  As much as you'd like.  Once.  Twice.  Three times (a lady).  A hundred.  I'll answer every email and/or every card sent.  If you need me I'm here.

Where  All correspondence can be addressed to: Jennifer Keene 145 Mulberry St Athens, GA 30601.  Email is gritsandmoxie@gmail.com.  No spam or the like, ok?  Thanks.

Questions  Email me.  The address is right there ^ .

I can't wait to start writing to you all!  The postcards are waiting...

Pasaquan // 2

Poor Brady.  I wooed him with the promises of Pho in Macon and a stop at his parent's home if he rode along with me to Pasaquan.  He doesn't regret going with me but I should've warned him that a) I was going to be there a while b) this artwork is blindingly fresh and bright c) the whole place is based on a dream about time travelers from other planets.  Although I do think that after almost 9 years of marriage that he should know what to expect when he hops in the truck for one of my adventures...hehehe.

We walked onto the property and were immediately met by the caretaker covered in beads and swathed in bright fabrics all while bellowing 'welcome, welcome, WELCOME' and gesturing wildy towards the many exhibits.  He also told us the bathroom was haunted and there were someone's ashes scattered in the sacred sand circle out back.  Despite how weird, and maybe a bit morbid?, that all sounded, or maybe because of how weird and morbid it sounded, I couldn't wait to get to exploring.

This pose makes me snort laugh because it looks like I'm trying to be all cool and casual but in reality I was trying to hide how far my pockets were sticking out because of all of the oranges, water bottles, sunscreen and notepads I had on me.  I don't wear overalls for a fashion statement, oh nonono.  I wear them because I can carry everything I need for an adventure without lugging my work backpack around.  But, truth, also because I like them, unflattering as they are...

If you want to see what all this looked like before the restoration then take a gander at this video.  Also take a gander at the interviewer's culottes!  I've decided that's my next thrift store hunt - some funky culottes.  These culottes in fact.  Then I'll go back to Pasaquan to pose with my culottes and it'll alllll come full circle.  This is what I typed late at night and it made sense to me but this morning it looks kind of silly but, eh, I'm leaving it.  

Travel Adventures // Living History Society Market Faire

My Mom and Stepdad live in Winder, Ga which is, oh, about a 25 minute drive from our house here in Athens.  Alas, we don't get to go over that way very much because they are often traveling out-of-town or working hours that are the opposite of ours.  But we try to make time whenever we can to meet up, hang out and either go grab a bite to eat or go adventuring.  This visit was definitely more about the adventuring thing!

Fort Yargo is a smallish state park right outside of the town featuring biking trails, a huge lake, hiking trails, disc golf, mini golf (oh yeahhhhhhh...we love our mini golf!), camping, yurting, kayaking, swimming, etc.  And sometimes they have folks from the Living History Society show up and hold events that recreate life in 1700's Colonial Georgia.  We went to the park for a short hike and ended up at the last day of this society's Market Faire after stumbling across it by accident.  So, of course we had to stroll around, eat apple pie and take it all in.  I didn't remember I had tucked my camera into the back of the truck (oops!) til near the end of the event so I didn't get nearly the amount of photos that I wanted due to lack of time...

Everyone in the LHS dresses up in period costume and shows off their trade or interest.  There were musicians playing lilting tunes under a small tents, Native Americans showing their talents in a variety of areas including pottery and tanning animal hides, a school teacher with a small collection of toys, and then this young man pictured above who made a number of decorative leaves of iron on a real anvil.

Ohhhh, this was a fun game that was basically the earliest version of cornhole.  I mean, it literally uses corn!  I skipped the tug-of-war game and sawing a log the old-timey way in order to challenge some folks to a few rounds of corncob toss...

Happiness is a laughing while holding corn cobs and showing off some double chins and playing silly games while strangers cheer you on.  I also showed off where I got bit by ants on my face when I was moving our kayaks in the backyard the day before.  Fun times!  Spring is definitely here and with it comes all the bitey stingy bugs that just love me.

Action shot showing off Brady's throwing a corn cob into grapevine hoop talent!  I'm seriously wanting to make something like this for the house since it would be easy to get grapevine wreaths from the thrift store, grab some corn cobs and attach one of my (humanely) gathered feathers I've got scattered all over the house.

Traditional cornhusk dolls = nightmare maker.  While I find these endearing in a small way, the creepiness factor rates much higher.  I blame it on that dang Children Of The Corn movie/story.  *shudders*

The lecture about chocolate, tobacco, tea, spices and the creation of international trade routes was incredibly interesting although I kept getting distracted by those bars in the back as well as the smell of roasting cocoa beans.  There was no sampling at this booth (what the what?) so we made do with that apple handpie a bit later...

That 7 pepper jelly came home with us and will be consumed on a butter cracker with a slab of cream cheese to accompany it.  Anyone else grew up eating that?  My Nana made me pepper jelly + cream cheese + crackers for my afternoon snack up until I moved away for college.  So, about 14 years of my life involved this 'food' combo almost daily and I'm still not tired of it even after all this time.

This was one fannnnncy tent in comparison to the one next to it where the 'militia' slept on thin blankets on the ground.  I don't know if anyone in the LHS actually sleeps at the fort overnight or what but if you did then this was where you wanted to be.  And, yes, that's a skunk's skin on the bed...

And then we finish it all with a much more modern game of miniature golf!  This course had loop-de-loops, a funnel type shoot and lots of areas where your ball could get trapped.  It was actually a really challenging course but I'm happy to say that I ended up playing a pretty good game.  Wish I could say the same for Brady...hehehe.

My Life In Pictures

stellar sky // Pasaquan // early morning work vibes // some trees get all the good names // Mama Kitty is the cutest, right? // grey days are sometimes my favorite thing // spring has sprung // will clean for chickens

Hello.  Hi.

First, let me say that I've been truly overwhelmed by the generosity I have received from so many of you.  I got emails, postcards and care packages after the passing of Miss Tullah Belle, and while every single one made me cry be assured that they were not bitter tears.  Thank you for that.  My grief has been at times a low stoked fire and at times a deep dark thing that is shocking in its intensity.  That dog had been in my life for 13 years and had seen my at my worst (far too often than I care to admit on that one because I had a lot of self-destructive tendencies in my early/mid 30's) and at my best (which I feel is so much in part for my love of her).  Ok, I'm crying again as I type this but I'm not avoiding the pain.  If anyone else out there has lost a loved one of the furry kind or know someone who has then I recommend reading this.  I'm lucky enough to have a great support group that has never questioned the depth of my sadness but I think that's unfortunately not the norm.

In the last few weeks I've also been putting myself out in the world much more than usual.  I think it's my way of coping?  The bingo games at the VFW.  The kayaking in the wee morning hours.  The late day hikes.  The photography sessions for friends.  Little things like a bite of a local strawberry, the swirl of apple cider vinegar+maple syrup+h2o in a big mason jar or the color of a spring sky seem to be tastier/brighter.

Oh, and the prepping for raising chickens and veggies and flowersand herbs at a friend's property has been prettttttttty fun.  That bottom right photo is my friend Ansley doing some roof cleaning on the coop which is, luckily, in an 'almost ready' state of repair.  I'm going tomorrow to finish the inside of the coop, prep some dirt bath areas, hang a few swings for the chickens and build some herb boxes that will provide our future hens with some delicious noms.  I don't really care about the eggs we harvest and we are definitely NOT eating our chickens but I'm beyond excited to hopefully build some relationships with these birds.  I want them to be my friends!

Yesterday I built a compost bin out of discarded wood bits from a 150 year old house. My neck is so whacked out right now (ouchy ouch ouch) it's not even funny but, damn, that bin looks amazing and is rather heavy.  I have about 10 tofu buckets of fruit and veggies scraps from work that are just waiting to get in that thing.  I can't wait til it's all ready to go in the garden and work towards making our veggies something stellar.

Let's see...what else?  We went to Pasaquan as you can see in the post below.  I'll share more photos soon.

My assistant is on tour right now, our new gluten-free cakes/pies just rolled out and everyone's buying them up, it was parent's weekend at UGA and a million charity events are clamoring for cookie donations so, as you can imagine, work is busy.  What's new, right?  But you should go see my co-worker's band!  Nana Grizol is simply amazing. For you Chattanooga folks, they're playing Sluggo's in early April.  You won't regret it.

Is anyone else watching Legion?  No?  You should.  It'll tide you over til the new Twin Peaks gets here.

Well, that's all I got for today.  Happy Monday!

PS  Follow me on Instagram @ grits_and_moxie

Pasaquan // 1

Eye See You

Before he took his life in 1986, Eddie Owens Martin would worry at times about what would become of Pasaquan, the magical art environment he had fashioned on a remote former farmstead over his last 30 years.

Martin was a guru with no followers, a visionary art trailblazer with few in the art establishment on his trail. He earned a living as a fortune-teller, the proceeds from which he pumped into his handmade wonderland of Technicolor-hued structures, totems and masonry fences, decorated walkways and commanding concrete sculptures.

Working under the name St. EOM, Martin liberally borrowed motifs from a panoply of exotic cultures, transforming his south Georgia parcel between Columbus and Plains into what his biographer Tom Patterson later termed “a sort of mock pre-Columbian psychedelic wonderland.”

For most of his time at Pasaquan, Martin’s oft-shrouded head roamed among the clouds, dialed into a tuning fork whose tone few others could discern. But gravity and declining health began pulling him down.

“He was pessimistic,” recalled Fred Fussell, a Columbus-based folklorist and curator. “He thought that probably the whole place would be torn down and done away with.”

Little could Martin have imagined Pasaquan today, radiating life and saturated in intense pigments as it prepares for its grand reopening on Oct. 22. This turn of events follows a stunning multimillion-dollar revival that spanned more than two years and involved a consortium of the country’s top art restoration experts.

Three decades after St. EOM (pronounced Ohm) departed this mortal coil, his greatest creation reverberates with cosmic energy, its mandalas, moons and other symbols blanketing six major structures and 900-plus feet of concrete fence demanding closer inspection.

The return of Pasaquan, which was mostly shuttered and in a sun-bleached decline for more than a decade, is almost as unlikely as its unannounced birth.

Via and you should read the rest of the article here.  It's fascinating!

Saying Goodbye To Miss Tullah Belle

I've re-written this post a number of times and yet I just can't even begin to describe how devastating it is to no longer have this little dog in my life.  She lived much longer than expected - a rough start in a puppy mill, heart disease, running away from home and down the busy street on her 3 legs and with only 1 good eye - but it still wasn't long enough for me.  The last 3 weeks I've watched that bright light inside of her slowly begin to dim until she was a mere shell of her playful yet watchful self.  For several years now I've had to wake up around 4 times a night to put her outside for pee breaks (that heart medication makes them go like crazy) and make sure she took her daily dose of pills, ointments and oils on the regular.  We had a routine, she and I, that will take a long time to deviate from.  It's already so much quieter without her uneven gait whispering across the wood floor and her rusty, strident bark filling the room.  My heart is broken...