I'm feeling it deeply.  Like it's permeating from my bones and my gut.  It's an energy.  Sometimes it makes me want to cry.  Sometimes I'm so full of love that I'm not sure what to do with it all.  I've heard people say things life life is energy.  Life is movement and vibration - although death is also movement if you consider decomposition... that's morbid - and that is what I'm in right now.  Movement, both inward and outward.  It could be the Spring and sunshine and warmth.  It could be that many people close to me are experiencing some life altering situations both good and bad.  Whatever it is, I feel all warm inside and fuzzy and like reaching out and helping and hugging my friends and generally embracing life and my community.


Something opens up inside of me when I see the chives breaking the ground in the spring.  It's probably the same feeling that coaxed us from our hunter-gatherer life to an agrarian one.  Somehow I feel like I'm conquering nature and working with it all at the same time.  Definitely in this urban life that I'm living now it makes me feel more connecting with the earth and with the food that I'm eating.  Maybe my feelings of movement and change and love are all part of that ancient desire to plant as well.  Who knows... and once again, I'm over thinking.


Here is one of the 'life altering' narratives that's playing out in my KT's life right now.  She and G finally have their bundle.  They are officially foster parents and their bundle is about a week and a half old.  For those of you who've had children, you know well what those first few weeks are like.  The adjusting, the upside down schedules, the diapers and the feeling of crazy love and crazy crazy because you barely know which end is up.  One of the things that got me through the newborn stage was family and friends supplying food.  Even if it was a can of beans it was appreciated.  Definitely having entire meals brought over by my mother-in-law would almost reduce me to tears.  Realizing that you have a community of people supporting you can be just the thing to carry you through those moments when you think you just might be losing your marbles.


So, with KT and G's new life change I'm looking to do my part as much as I can and make sure that every time I show up at their house I'm carrying something edible with me.
I was scrolling through my long list of favourite blogs this morning and this bread literally screamed at me.  I also happened to find some more Red Fife flour at my favourite locavore food store and snapped it up.  So I thought that this bread would be a great opportunity to christen this years harvest season and to simultaneously send something off to help my BFF feel some love.


Red Fife, Cheddar and Chive Bread adapted from Local Kitchen
makes 1 loaf

1 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup Red Fife flour (or whole wheat pastry)
1 tbsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cayenne or red pepper flakes (or just plain pepper for non-heat-freaks)
3 eggs room temperature(ish)
1/3 cup milk at room temperature(ish)
1/3 cup olive oil
1/2 cup chives, chopped (I used the stuff just starting to fill up my garden)
1 generous cup cheddar, shredded

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Grease and flour a loaf pan and set aside.
In a bowl, combine both flours, baking powder, salt and cayenne together.  Stir and set aside.
In another bowl whisk the eggs until they're quite foamy and fluffy.  Add in the milk and olive oil and whisk together until everything is combined well.
Add the flour mixture to the liquid.  Mix well.  The batter will be quite thick.  Add in the chives and cheddar reserving a little of each to sprinkle onto the top.  Stir just until combined.  Scoop the batter into the loaf pan.  Spread out fairly evenly.  Sprinkle the remaining cheddar and chives onto the top of the batter.
Bake for about 35 - 40 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.
Let the loaf cool for a bit in the pan and then remove and slice.
Tastes best if eaten with the first 2 days of baking.