Raw Kale Salad

I've hit a blogging wall. I don't know what to write. When I cook I forget to click pictures. I eat every finalized dish without snapping a photo. Even if I do snap a photo, I hate the photo. I'm a half-ass. I suck. And then there's kale. Which is suppose to make you think you don't suck, because you feel smart eating kale. Like you know something everybody else doesn't. 

Maple Coriander Chicken Skillet

My kids are gone. For two days. I have nothing to do. Gone. Do I seem lost? Kind of, but not really. Just a tad. After a blissful morning of no one peeking up at me in the dark of 6:30 am or someone shouting from their crib: MAHHHHHOM! GET ME OUT OF HERE! I'm feeling ready to conquer anything!

Try cleaning the toy box out with the little hands peeking in saying: YOU CAN'T GET RID OF THIS!!! Oh, this McDonald's toy that you played with once and does nothing? Yeah, that one! You can't get rid of that! Oh, but you're not here...so I'm going to!!! Then I'm going to cook a beautiful dinner for Travis and I, like Maple Coriander Chicken Skillet, sit in peace while leisurely eating and I'm going to seriously relish every second and I'm going to miss you so much.

Chia Coconut Energy Bites

CHA! CHA! CHIA! Oh, that was just too easy. And ridiculous. I'll resort to blaming the cocktail. There's something about sipping Rum Chata over ice while composing a blog post that is so...well...creamy. Have you tried Rum Chata yet? It's an oh-so-creamy rum-infused liqueur that has a slight hint of cinnamon and it's made in the Midwest! Rum...made in the Midwest. Yes, please!

You know what else I've been sipping on this past weekend? Wait for it...homemade apple and grape juice! I know! You are slightly dumbfounded right now. Me, too! Homemade. Apple. Juice. All of you with juicers can stop snickering now and welcome me to your world.

Almond-Parmesan Crusted Walleye

I need you to make this walleye now! It is sooo good. No restaurant could ever come close to this. Out of this world unbelievable. So crunchy, so flavorful, so absolutely, unbearably delicious. You will never crust a fillet of walleye the same again. Ever.

Minnesotans adore their walleye. Its kinda like the most prized fish to catch when you're out on the lake. Something about the fish being an elusive species. Makes it more exciting when you reel one in. And, for me, the texture of walleye has got to be the best out of all the Minnesota lake fish. Bass, Northern Pike and Blue Gills all have that mushy texture, walleye is definitely a firmer fish. Let's get cooking!

Pumpkin Oat Smoothie

People are having babies all around me. Precious little bundles of red, mushy skin smelling like something that could never be bottled, but everyone wants to try. Of course, I want to cook some love for all involved. Families that have added +1 to a family of seven and a +1 to a family of five = 14 mouths I get to feed with carefully planned recipes, hours of cutting and chopping behind my cutting board, and delivered right to their front door. Isn't that so Minnesota Nice? What to make? Oh! I'm so excited! 

Crockpot Applesauce

How is it that being home one day with my children after a 3-day blissful vacation with my handsome husband has me wishing I was highly medicated in a psych ward? Not really (OK, yes, really - but I think that's insensitive to say, but now I've said it), I imagine psych wards are a horrendous place I shan't joke about, but recently I'm hyper aware of women locked up in institutions after reading this book. 

Seriously thought provoking. Makes one feel a lil' bit more grateful, for about 3 seconds...then I look at my two year old's work of art and come back to my current reality. The reality of two huge piles of sandbox dirt on the carpet of my bedroom floor. Carpet. Bedroom. Floor. 

How does he do that? Three floors up from ground level. Why does he do that? Because he's two? How does he sneak by me? If you have enlightenment to any of the above or how to discipline a two year old we need to have virtual coffee, stat. Until then, I'll just be feeding the demon child two year old this crockpot applesauce. 

Roasted Turnip Fries

The lowly turnip. Poor dear. When do you ever cook with turnips? I can't say I'm one to chose them at the grocery store, the only other time I've considered a turnip is in chicken stock. But upon the arrival of the purple gems in my CSA box I was forced into turnip submission. After a quick web search on turnips (and I mean quick - can't say much caught my attention), I decided to roast them. What root vegetable doesn't taste infinitely better roasted? This is a root vegetable, isn't it? 

 

Pumpkin Spice Pancakes

Do you ever come across a recipe and totally disregard it because you think it doesn't follow your flavor profile, might be too time consuming, or whichever mood you find yourself in at the moment just has you disregarding delicious recipes that you should otherwise consider? That was this recipe for me.

My sister-in-law was drooling over the recipe in Saveur magazine and I wanted to drool, too. However, the drool just didn't flow, but ever the competitor, I knew I had to make said recipe because I needed to be first to eat the drool-worthy creation.

 I'm not sure if my sister-in-law ever got around to making Pumpkin Spice Pancakes, but I finally did. And the household applauded. Something about my house being a routine pancake house. Needless to say, Pumpkin Spice Pancakes are whipped up in my kitchen several times during the fall season. I hope the same for your kitchen.

Coffee Toffee Cookie Ice Cream Cake

 

OK. You have to make this cake right now before it gets too cold outside and all you crave is pot roast and chicken & dumplings. In Minnesota today you may have believed it was hot enough outside to consume an ice cream cake. Mmmmmhmmm, Minnesotans talk about the weather all the time. Cuz it's zany and unpredictable and it's our birthright. But I digress... cake! You must eat this. Its as simple as making cookies (you can make cookies, right?) and scooping ice cream (I know you can do that!).

Tomatillo Salsa

My CSA cup runneth over this month with tomatillos, red, yellow, and orange tomatoes, eggplant, kohlrabi, basil, turnips and kale. You shoulda seen me haulin' that box to the car - who needs Bodypump?

I've never been inclined to cook with tomatillos and that is why I absolutely adore being part of a CSA. I'm challenged to think outside of my box and do something I've never done before. I'm thinking this salsa will be the base of a chicken or pork stew/crock pot dinner later this week. Yum? I hope so. 

Cold Beet & Bulgur Salad

This posting is the biggest un-recipe I've ever posted. Its not really a recipe, its more of a way to use up vegetables and other odds n' ends in the refrigerator. After I haphazardly decided to un-thaw 4 cups of bulgur, there sat the bulgur, waiting, wanting. One cup of bulgur consumption later I'm left with 3 cups of bulgur. Bake bread? Too busy. Make soup? Too many leftovers. Toss with beets? Yes! What pairs deliciously with beets? Carrots, celery, green onion, orange juice, walnuts and feta, that's what! 

Blueberry Muffins with Sage Essence

Can you have enough blueberry muffin recipes? I think not. It's such a classic combo, but now with a twist - Sage. The sage in this muffin is very subtle, hence "essence" in the recipe title. The sage give the muffins a slight earthy flavor. Very fabulous. Yes, a muffin can be fabulous in my world. 

BBQ Spareribs

If you live in Minnesota the weather comes up in almost every conversation with friends, neighbors, teachers, fitness instructors, you name it. We talk about the weather - it's our thing. Our weather has extreme changes in temperature and atmosphere, one day it will be 55 degrees, windy and cold and the next its 85 and sunny, the hottest, most humid day you can imagine. Its a whirlwind of confusion and oddness and I think that's why we love to debate on the weather here in the good ole' Twin Cities.

Anyway, what got me started on today's weather rant is because it's absolutely gorgeous in Central MN today. Lovely day. Sunny, breezy, crisp and delicious. A day that inspires a charcoal grill, unfortunately, it's Monday so no one really wants to "fire up" the charcoal grill after a long day of work, but I know what you could do...Get yourselves some ribs for a Saturday grill-fest and think about firing up the grill until Saturday (because that will make your week go by so much faster - insert facetious tone here). Yeah, good plan.

Corn Chowder

My overabundance of sweet corn has turned into chowder. I'm a tad late posting a corn recipe mid-September...I made this a little over 2 weeks ago, but I somehow think that people are still eating corn from their gardens. Thus, they must be getting sick of corn by the middle of September and need a good chowder recipe. How's that for justification?

Like most recipes I create, this one was born after a web search gave me Tyler Florences' version (bacon-less) and Saveur's version (bacon-ed up). I obviously had to have bacon in my chowder, so I've made a hybrid of both of the recipes. 

Herb-Marinated Shrimp Wrapped in Basil & Prosciutto

Things I shouldn't do: 

1. I shouldn't blog while hungry. Always ends badly. Think me in the pantry eating Swedish fish and Pirate's Booty (yes, I have a 5 year old).

2. I shouldn't shoot my blog photos while hungry. Always ends with photos that are not as beautiful as I would hope for. Photos that are passable (today's photos), but kinda sloppy because all I wanted was to consume the photo's subject.

Things I should do:

1. Find out why peanuts keep coming out of the washer at the end of each cycle. My children don't eat peanuts. I don't store them in my pockets. I don't have a pet elephant. Strange.

2. Cook more things on skewers. Or "kabobs" as us Midwesterners call it.

3. Make more should and shouldn't lists.

Oven-Roasted Tomatoes

Summer is coming to an end...hurry and preserve all you can! Especially tomatoes. Because tomatoes at the grocery store during a Minnesota winter taste like mealy, mushy, watery, unflavorful disgusting-ness. And that is something you do not want. Ever.

The term recipe is a loose term here. Not really a recipe at all, I'd say. More of a technique, a method, a fun way to make your house smell delicious beyond compare. There are no measurements in this recipe, which you may love or hate. Its one of those toss this in, toss that in kind of thing. You just have to feel the tomato love.

Sweet Corn Pancakes

Yesterday I wanted to kill somebody. Like real homicide. CSI: Minnesota. Today I had my first experience with coding HTML. And coding HTML incorrectly completely ruins your whole blog layout which in turn makes you start crying and beating your head with the sides of your hands because you have no idea what you did or how to change it back makes your life difficult.

Being a blog novice I haven't yet fully realized the consequences of changing formatting, dabbling with the layout, or messing with the HTML. Key words: haven't fully realized - until yesterday.

Gyros

If you do nothing else meaningful in your life this week other than eat this gyro your life will suddenly be meaningful. Your life will be utterly fantastic. Downright joyous.Your life will be...actually it will be none of these things. You'll be the same person you were before you ate the gyro, only fuller. Sorry. I tried. But you should still make these for dinner! Lamb! Say it with me: LAMB!

Muffin Tin Quiche with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Cottage Cheese

Do you need breakfast ideas for busy mornings? Mornings that you seriously couldn't fathom conversing with anyone, but you're forced into conversation because two little beings are asking to be fed and clothed and for some odd reason don't understand mime? They don't understand that talking is not allowed until

Margarita Pie + Door County

This week has been absolutely wonderful for my soul and being! Back to school has got probably all parents leisurely sipping coffee in luscious peace and quiet wondering why they need to have summer vacation anyway to be the best time for all parents. Having a kindergartner had me feeling like a back to school newbie. Watching my son get on the bus for the first time was a roller coaster of emotions, but I've stabilized and processed this new experience and feel just great! The cliches are true, they grow-up so fast. Bittersweet. 

Grilled Tofu with Wasabi Honey Glaze

In my quest to make you believe (and maybe myself, too) that I have a somewhat healthy way of cooking and eating - which I'm totally failing at because apples are not healthy when you eat them with cream cheese - I present to you (if there even is a "you") tofu. However, tofu is not really healthy at all. Tofu is made of soy and I think soy is actually bad for you. Something about it disrupting your endocrine system. Hormones going berserk. So in an ever-failing quest to be healthy, I give up. Tomorrow I'm posting something about mixing sugar with sugar and topping it with white flour and chocolate chips. Not really. But close. 

Creamy Caramel Fruit Dip

Welcome fall.  I know, I've been whining about summer leaving, but doesn't every woman have the right to change her mind? Yes, we do. Its chilly here in Minnesota today - so fun to pull out the boots. A lovely Labor Day celebration at Dassel's Red Rooster Days. I wish I had remembered my camera to document 3000 pounds of chicken atop charcoal. I'm questioning that number, but it sounds like the right amount if I were to guesstimate how many chickens are needed for everyone in Dassel to eat half a chicken per person.

Crepe-Style Waffles

Eating waffles and pancakes at our house has become routine. I never thought I would be that mom. The routine pancake mom. Just kidding. There is no such thing as a routine pancake mom. Just a robot who lives inside of me. Kidding again. I never imagined just how much children can love pancakes. I'm personally more of a french toast gal. Crispy on the outside, moist and chewy on the inside. Don't get me wrong, my kids like french toast, but pancakes and waffles are on another level. So to prevent kitchen boredom I'm always mixing up some new pancake recipe. Like this one I found in a church cookbook from the seventies.

Charred Tomato Sauce with Fennel

Don't leave me summer! NOOOOOOOOO.  Don't. Leave. Me. I will bottle you up and put you in wonton skins. I'll make you into cookies and bread. I'll blanch you. I'll char you into this sauce. But you'll still leave me. Does anyone want summer to leave when you live in the frozen tundra of Minnesota? Uh, no.

But let's stay positive! Tomatoes. On the grill. This is a perfect end of summer recipe. Grab a huge box of tomatoes when you head down to the farmer's market this weekend, some herbs, onion, garlic, and a carrot. You could leave the carrot out, I just threw it in because it looked lonely in the fridge. The recipe below is for only 20 ounces of sauce (about 2 batches of bolognese sauce), but you could easily triple or quadruple this baby!

Edamame and Pork Fried Brown Rice

Stir-fry is always one of my favorite meals to make. All those odds n' ends in the fridge get used up, its on the table in a flash, usually full of vegetables and clean-up is relatively quick. Unfortunately, stir-fry is too exotic for my 5 year old to eat, so I just deconstruct it for him. He gets rice, veggies and whatever protein is going into the wok - all not touching each other. I'm not a short order cook! Or am I? Sigh. 

Here is napa cabbage from my CSA which was still fresh after almost a month in the crisper. I love things that last a month in the fridge without rotting. Rotten food is so un-cool.