Saturday, May 31, 2014

On My Bookshelf Now

This book. I could not put this book down. If I had no other responsibilities in this world I would've probably finished this book in two days, doing nothing but reading until two in the morning. Glitter and Glue by Kelly Corrigan is a book about a young college-aged girl who is traveling abroad in Australia and finds herself short on funds, rather than call home to mom for help she decides to start a nanny job for a widowed man with two children. But as she begins her journey into nanny-dom all she can find is her mother, everywhere, in every reprimand, in every messy table, in every unfinished assignment. Corrigan's writing is so effortless and easy to read, like talking to a best friend. The story is cute, sad, bittersweet, made me LOL a couple times. Definitely had me considering my own mothering impact on my sweet babies. A book about the bond between mother and child, you'll be sure to recommend this book to mother's everywhere, even your own. 

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Jammy Strawberry Rhubarb Bars

I can't stop loving the word "jammy" right now. It's like, the most beautifully twanged Midwestern word I've used on this blog to date. Especially when, in fact you are Midwestern and the way you pronounce the letter 'a' is, how shall I say? strong? A strongly pronounced 'a.' Think "jammy" with about three a's and you're hearing my voice say the word "jaaaammy." It's great. It's Minnesota. It's me. 

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Bacon Jam Burgers Topped with Duck Egg & Vinegar Slaw


Remember how Becki asked me to write a guest blog post, and I came up with a great idea, but then I got sidetracked and made those cookies instead? This burger was my original great idea, but I'm glad for the sidetrack because those cookies needed to be in existence for my life to be fully complete. When I asked a friend what recipe I should make for the blog, Bacon Jam was suggested, which seemed like an excellent idea, but then snowballed into burgers.... with bacon jam on top... and cheese.... pickled veggie slaw.... and a duck egg on top to give it some foodie cred. Yeaaaahh. Needless to say, these burgers took a few days to make.

Thursday, May 15, 2014

Quinoa Meatloaf

The question "Do your kids eat all that stuff" has been asked of me and got me thinking I need to set the record straight while I'm blogging about Quinoa Meatloaf, which should definitely be kid-friendly, but I may be getting a are you kidding me? from some. To answer the question, yes - they do eat this stuff. My (mostly enforced) rule is that they must take one bite because you never know if your tastebuds grew overnight, it's impolite to refuse food served prepared with love, and you try everything once. If you don't like it, you may say "no thank you." And then there's always a package of Oscar Meyer in the fridge. Hey, I've never liked peas. Ish. I just hate them. I can tolerate them in a curry or alfredo sauce, but give me a pile of peas - no thank you. Other vegetable hate: eggplant. Yuck-o-la. We all have our limits, right? 

Saturday, May 10, 2014

Bacon Shortbread with Salted Stout Caramel

Becki somehow got this crazy idea that I should write a blog post for her. I was afraid to turn her down, because she sometimes invites me over and feeds me delicious food and keeps my wine glass filled. I really thought hard about what to make, and after some valuable input, came up with an amazing recipe. This isn't it. But, it's coming. Really. These cookies were born from a recipe that Becki shared last week. I am a sucker for browned butter. Did you know that if you brown the butter before making rice krispy bars, they turn into something otherworldly? They do. The other main ingredient in these cookies is rendered bacon grease. A whole cup of it. Who in the world has a whole cup of bacon fat? Turns out I have a friend who is a greasy gold hoarder. 

Friday, May 9, 2014

Rhubarb Cream Pie

I'm going to do a little bit of confessing as to what type of mother I feel I've started to become now that I have my first school age child. Putting mothers into a box and proclaiming "types" most likely is the best way to get some haters up in here, but I'm asking you to not overanalyze so that I can analyze my own psyche. My mother type has no idea what's expected at school and I always feel two giant steps behind. I mean, really. Field trip day? Is it bag lunch? What time does the bus leave? Where are the kids picked up? Time to construct a tower out of popsicle sticks that resembles a water tower? When is it due? Where do I bring it? Will I remember the due date? So many details and not enough mental capacity to get them all nailed to the ground. May my children not suffer for my lack of detail -oriented-ness, but be forever grateful that their stomachs were always full of pie. Amen.

Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Beet Green Sauté

This is decidedly the biggest un-recipe I've ever posted and to prove it I searched "un-recipe" on my blog and came up with this post which actually features the same ingredient that today's un-recipe features: Beets. Beets, Glorious BEETS! I. Love. Beets. Isn't that weird that both of my un-recipes feature beets? Must be because beets are so bomb diggity they hardly need any messing around with, but even with that said I'm embarrassed to post this recipe. It's not a recipe. It's so not cool. It's so lame. You'll never return to this website again! Or...maybe you will. Either way - you must NEVER throw away a beet green ever, ever again!