Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Ruby Tuesday: Bragging and Giving Thanks

It's Ruby Tuesday (hosted by Mary the Teach at Work of the Poet) and I'm cheating. I didn't take all of these photos, but I've wanted to brag about my nephew Matthew, for a while and I thought Ruby Tuesday might be a good day to do it.

I'm still struggling to get back to the rhythm and spirit of blogging and haven't quite managed to do so, but what better way to get into the holiday and the blogging spirit than some Ruby Tuesday visits?



There are so many things to be grateful for in life. My sisters children are among the greatest blessings life has offered me. Today I wanted to share about my nephew Matt, who, besides being a brilliant computer genius and wonderful person is a great chef. Food is kind of Thanksgivingy, isn't it? Anyway, Matt decided to change the course of his life some years back and attended and graduated from the world-famous Culinary Institute of America in Poughkeepsie, New York. Matt has since married and moved to Canada so this post is particularly directed to those of you who live in or may visit Toronto. Matt has a catering business called The Little Kitchen and he's running a contest right now with monthly winners.

Distance and circumstance mean that I haven't been lucky enough to taste his cuisine (though I have a promise of one day soon). I've heard about it, though, from his sisters, both of whom rave about it. Diana, who is the vegan, told me that she still dreams about the meal he made for her. Cindy says his food is awesome. But lest you think that's just family loyalty, here's a review - with photos - from Rockr & Junkii who got to enjoy one of these free meals... and here are some photos.... Doesn't he cook pretty?

Shrimp with Charmoula Sauce
grapefruit and red beet salad with tarragon and gribiche
Tarragon Ice Cream beet gelee, Grapefruit candy


As long as I'm doing commercials, anyone who loves rocks, aromatherapy, and all things esoteric should check out my friends' website - Beyond the Rainbow. There's a half price sale on lots of good things. I met Connie and Joyce when I lived in New York. They had a small store on Greenwich Avenue where my love of the beauty of rocks and crystals was re-awakened. I also had my first aura photo taken in their shop and they became my reiki teachers. They have had a huge impact on my life. They're good people and their website is worth checking out if you have the time and are looking for some unusual and special holiday gifts.

This was taken after a healing workshop
I participated in years ago.



Below are some of the rocks in my collection. If you look really hard most of the photos have a tiny spot of red somewhere, but not all, for which I apologize. But I love the stones so I put there pictures in anyway in hopes that nobody would mind.











This isn't a very Thanksgivingish post, but it does have food in it so...

I try to be grateful every day. There is so much to be grateful for in even the worst of times. For today, I'm grateful for my sister's children and that I think they are all very happy. I'm grateful for friends - live and cyber. I'm grateful for beauty, whether it be clouds in a blue sky, trees (in winter or summer dress), or my beautiful rocks. I'm grateful for my sweet kitties and for life itself.

For those in the US, I wish you a joyful Thanksgiving this Thursday, rich in love and good food. For those elsewhere. May every day for all of us around the globe be rich in small thanks givings. and may it too be rich in love and joy and peace.

Happy Ruby Tuesday!

41 comments:

Tussy said...

At my first glance, I thought the green there is wasabi. But you said it is Ice-cream, make me think of Green tea ice cream. My favourite one.

Nice post.

Fun in Blogging said...

Yea, the ice cream looks yummy. Nice stone collection you got. I'm collecting stones too--from my garden because the soil is very stoney. So they're not quite like yours :-D

MaR said...

What a lovely post, Raven. Love the food shots, I always find food difficult to photograph, your nephew is a talented cook!
Your stones are beautiful and I see tiny bits of red there too.

My RT

Felisol said...

Dear Raven,
I admire you creativity and ability to find red everywhere.
Your nephew's food look so delicious.
I know from former blogs that you come from a gifted family, and they can of course make a carrier anywhere. To become a good chef, one's got to add a huge portion of love as well. No wonder you love him.

Your crystal collection is huge. I couldn't name but a few.
The rose quartz is my favorite. So kind and gentle.

I've never have my aura picture taken. Yours, I believe, shows a strong aura, extraordinarily spiritually gifted.
No wonder Reii is your thing.

I wish you a happy thanksgiving. May you be even more blessed in the year to come.
From Felisol

Robin said...

Your nephew's food looks amazing. Makes me wish I lived closer to Toronto.

Happy Thanksgiving my friend. May the coming year bring you even more things to be thankful for.

Anonymous said...

The food looks wonderful!

eden said...

hmmm yummy.. and my mouth waters looking at the food.I love your rock collection and yes, i did see little red on them. It's worth collecting them.

Willa @ PixelMinded said...

I love the shrimp! and all the other photos are so nice!!!

Margaret Gosden said...

Thanks for visiting. A nice series of photos and friendly words for the holidays.

Vicky said...

Thanks for visiting and commenting on my blog, happy thanksgiving day to you and your love ones and truly everyday we have a lot things to be thankful for!

Stephanie V said...

Those crystals are amazing!
My son is a sous-chef and we get to taste his food since he works locally.
I have eaten that beet jelly and it is delicious. Sweet, like Turkish delight. Have a Happy Thanksgiving - thanks for the visit.

Anonymous said...

The food looks so delicious!

Love the rock photos.

Paz

Loree said...

Thanks for visiting Raven. I am sure your nephew's food is delicious and you collection of crystals and rocks is pretty nice too.

Ralph said...

What fine food your nephew creates! The beets are perfect RT root vegetables! I am thankful for all the people in my life, including bloggers! Some people complain about irritants, why not be thankful for to good things??

San said...

Happy Ruby Tuesday, Raven, and HAPPY THANKSGIVING. I love your efficiency in pulling the two themes together.

And that aura image--WOW.

maryt/theteach said...

Raven, I wish you all the best this Thanksgiving! My nephew is coming down from Binghamton to spend Thanksgiving with us. I can't wait! Your nephew's food designs are beautiful and look so delicious! Good luck tomorrow on the Ruby Tuesday giveaway! :)

Happily Retired Gal said...

Those beautiful dishes look DELICIOUS indeed ... the photo of the aura is amazing ... and you have some lovely rocks in your collection! Happy Ruby Tuesday and Happy Thanksgiving too ;-)
Hugs and blessings,

Dianne said...

I really admire people who can make food into art

I love rocks and stones, I have a small collection
Your collection is beautiful!

Magical Mystical Teacher said...

little things to munch
Thanksgiving delicacies
gracing my table

Jama said...

Your nephew must be one talented chef!

Janie B said...

Glad you shared your pride. Wishing you a very happy Thanksgiving, Raven!

Dimple said...

Thanks for the visit, Raven. I like your stones, they are beautiful. Some of the photos have red, so it's OK that not all do!
Hope your Thanksgiving is wonderful!

Natasha in Oz said...

So nice to "meet" you Raven and thanks for visiting me this "Ruby Tuesday"! I love your splashes of red and your post was so interesting... but now I am hungry for some reason...
Best wishes and Happy Thanksgiving!
Natasha.

serline said...

Both the foods and rocks are so attractive. 2 great kitties too!

Annie Jeffries said...

Raven - your post positively drips red - the red passion of love of family.

Matt's choices have led him to a wondrous path and the pleasure he gives others with his food creations is apparent. I'll look forward to reading more about your sister's children. Your love for them is so evident.

Wishing you a happy and family-filled, friend-filled Thanksgiving day.

Annie

Gattina said...

What a nice post to read. I "jumped" over to Matt's "little Kitchen" because my son is a hobby cook and I thought the link may be interesting for him, although he lives in Amsterdam/Holland.
We don't celebrate Thanksgiving in Europe of course but it's a nice subject to write about what makes us happy in life.

Maelka said...

Your stones are beautiful.I like your post. Have a nice day.

dhemz said...

hmmmmmmm...yum yum yum....tastylicious....:)

those are gorgeous stones....thanks for coming by...glad to be here!

Diane AZ said...

The grapefruit and red beet salad looks delicious and your rocks and other things are all fascinating. Have a happy week!

Vicki ~ FL said...

Your nephew certainly does cook beautifully. Food always tastes better when presented in such a manner.

Nedekcir said...

Scrumptious food and nice rocks collection. Do you have any rock salt (huge ones) in there somewhere? I heard they are very good to our health. Happy RT.

EG CameraGirl said...

Ha! It's very nice you are proud of family members, Raven! The food looks delicious.

And the photos of the rocks are great!

Coralie Cederna Johnson said...

What a beautiful post! Thank you so much for sharing and thank you for your visit to my blog! I'm delighted! Enjoy your day! Coralie

cafe au lait said...

All those food are making me hungry.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Mine are here and here.

Jew Wishes said...

What fantastic photos, yummylicious looking.

Patti said...

Your nephew's work sure is artistic - and yummy looking!

I'm visiting late for Ruby Tuesday ~ thanks for stopping by my blog.

I hope you had a Happy Thanksgiving Day today.

The Ruby Posts said...

Thanks for visiting my post last week.

You have a mouth watering entry here. Looks delicious to me!

Mine is up for this week:
http://www.therubyposts.com/2009/12/red-christmas/

Terry said...

dear raven..i have enjoyed every word of this ruby tuesday post. and i am so excited about matthew's business. i went to his site right away and what a yummy picture. bernie and i are an hour and a half away from toronto and my sister, sandra actually lives in toronto.i will tell her about this.
i can see why you would be so proud of him, raven.
my sister and her son have been vegans for years and so i am sure they will be very interested in what matt cooks for vegans.
i hope that you will soon be able to taste his cooking raven!
great thanksgiving post..

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