CSA {Community Supported Agriculture} Week 6

Life is short and then you die. Those were the words on my mind today as I swept the millionth, no bazillionth graham cracker crumb from my floor into my dustpan. So, what are we doing with the short time we have here on Earth, friends? Anything truly great? Anything worth while? Anything... better than sweeping graham cracker crumbs? Share with me your greatness, so as to help change my attitude because after tonight's Dinner Debacle I think I may never. cook. again. Everything was going swell until these turkey burgers hit, rather, fell through the barbecue grates. Disgusting Jenni-O Turkey - I hate you! Waste. What an utter waste. Turkey doesn't stick together so much, does it? I'm sticking with beef. And vegetables. 

Swedish Meatballs

I'm not going to be all uber-Minnesotan and talk about the ridiculous weather that inspired me to roll a cookie sheet of meatballs in the middle of July. No. I'm going to talk about meatballs and how yummy and creamy and easy and lovely and delicious and creamy and creamy they are. Inspired by this pin and based off this recipe from the blog, Damn Delicious, you'll be 25% more Swedish after eating these moist, flavorful meatballs. Swedish things are rather new to me, growing up in a German/Irish/Czech family, I was introduced to almond extract (never once! used when growing up), lefse, and kromkake through my husband's family who is Scandinavian. All things Swedish and Norwegian are an absolute joy to me! I'd like to pretend I'm actually Swedish with things like: Swedish Pancakes, or Swedish Rye Limpa Bread, or an Ikea copy-cat recipe. Am I fooling you? 

CSA {Community Supported Agriculture} Week 5

Have you ever seen a cardboard box fuller of life than this box? No! Never, ever, ever, ever in your life will you open a more wonderful looking cardboard box, unless you are opening a cardboard box full of cold hard cash, that could be kinda wonderful. You are looking at week 5 harvest from my CSA farmshare and I think that is just wonderful. Did I say wonderful enough yet? Read on for vegetable identification and recipe suggestions. Wonderful.

Quick & Easy Raspberry Brûlée

I'm beginning to feel like I start many a blog posts with me begging you to make something because the deliciousness of my newest creation has my tastebuds singing. Oh, how to plead with you to make this Raspberry Brûlée? Actually, I have a funny feeling this won't take much begging because the ingredients speak for themselves. Raspberries? Fresh Whipped Cream? Crunchy, Carmelized Sugar Topping? Oh, and this takes literally 10 minutes to throw together and you'll really, really impress people - No, I mean really - like everybody wanted thirds and the serving dish was utterly licked dry when the party ended. Why wouldn't you be prioritizing a trip to your nearest raspberry patch for some picking?!

Breakfast Cookies {Gluten-Free}

These cookies! You MUST make these cookies! I'll be honest and confess that I cannot remember a gluten-free recipe that I've ever loved as much as this cookie. If I see a cookie recipe with no flour, no eggs, no sugar I immediately become skeptical. My typical go-to is full-fat, caramel drenched in chocolate,  or creaminess.  I've found the flavor and/or texture of gluten-free almost always a let down, there is something about full-fat creaminess that cannot be beat - if you have recipes that are guaranteed to please, feel free to post in the comments below. To waste my time and, more importantly the (expensive gluten-free) ingredients on something gluten-free, I rarely make the effort because my family doesn't have a sensitivity to gluten. However! I have converted ever since Shauna Niequist from the book Bread & Wine inspired me into making these hearty, breakfast-worthy gems. Everyone approved and you will, too!

CSA {Community Supported Agriculture} Week 4

Hi, guys! My favorite summer vegetable is in this box, can you guess which one? I'll never tell, you have to navigate to the link to find out. Want to know more about the farm I volunteer on in Watertown, MN? Click here! Have a passion for local food and have some ideas on how to co-create in the Wright County area? Click here! Read on for vegetable identification and recipe suggestions! Be Well. 

Snow Pea, Fennel, & Apple Salad

My house is really quiet. Too quiet. No, it's not that my children have found magic markers and a blank wall. No, they are at Grandma & Grandpa's making joyful noise with two new kitties who are being terrorized to all hell and back, permanently lodging dirt underneath their fingernails, drinking red-5 kool-aid, eating mac n' cheese at every meal, but that's the way childhood should be, right? And I think salad should be this way - crunchy, tangy, a 'lil sweet, creamy, vinegary. I'm fairly certain I'm repeating myself saying all those things right here not too long ago, but I claim short-term memory loss and want you to try this salad for yourself!

Rhubarb Herb Sangria

Hello, Beauty. Isn't that pink color ever so lovely??? I know! I KNOW! A sangria so simple to make, tastes sensational, and impresses all those friends and family gathering around the table during these hot summer months. The light pink color pleases the eye, while the freshly squeezed lime gives zing to the tongue. A refreshing, seasonal, light drink to serve at your next get together that uses up those ever-bearing herbs and the frozen rhubarb you've squirreled away. So, get to it, people!

CSA {Community Supported Agriculture} Week 3

Weeks go by too fast, we're on week 3 of my CSA basket already! Check out the first and second week, too, if you're interested - it's been really fun experimenting with things I wouldn't have otherwise ventured to try before. For example, this week I'm drying all those fennel fronds to use for licorice flavored tea I'll be sure to steep all winter long. This week I'm going to give you some recipe examples that might accompany this basket. 

Homemade Tarragon Vinegar & Dehydrated Tarragon

Things are happening in my kitchen forcing my mind to fully take in the fact summer is full blown. Completely, 100%, no denying, we are in the smack dab middle of summer. The proof is clear. The peaches at the farm-stand taste like sweet jewels transported from heaven into to my mouth, gargantuan piles of kale litter my kitchen counter to be blanched and frozen, the dehydrator is running constantly while herbs dry out, rainbow chard is being sautéed and portioned out for breakfast all week long, ants are literally crawling up my neck, all over my hands while I type because my sweet little babies have a tendency to leave dribbles of watermelon or crumbs of vanilla wafers underneath the dining room table. And tarragon is going into vinegar. See? It's summer.

Red Quinoa Salad with Roasted Vedge & Meyer Lemon Marinade

There's a point in my social media relationship with myself that I'd rather create this blog post about quinoa than scroll through my feed of kids whom I don't know licking ice cream cones, friends on vacation, baby mug shots, or kids who have fallen asleep in random places and the parents think it's the cutest thing their kid has ever done. Really, believe me, it's not cute. It's boring. And quinoa is exciting! Am I the weird one? Probably. 

CSA {Community Supported Agriculture} Week 2

I did it! I committed to showing you my CSA box and I've followed through for a second time - I feel accomplished and trustworthy. Feast your eyes on this Garden Goodness! Ahhhhhh - the sound and sights of summer. 

Amy Theilen's Runzas

I've been putting off writing this blog post about Amy Theilen's Runzas, but couldn't quite figure out why I'd so thoughtlessly leave you in the dark because this recipe is absolutely fan-freaking-tastic. After thinking long and hard, NO good reason evolved as to why I shouldn't shout to the world "cook this recipe, now!!" because it. is. that. good. And then - the lightbulb lit up - I knew why I couldn't quite start blogging about Amy's recipe, because it is epic. Every bite transcends you to Grandma Rita's house circa 1986, sitting atop the gigantic propane tank named "The Silver Horse," the bassett hound licking your ankles, family all around, laughter, sunshine, happiness, a soft pillow of runza dough inside your knubby childhood hands. There is no excuse heady enough to warrant why you are not taking the time to proof yeast, rise dough, knead dough, make a filling, roll out each individual ball, stuff, wrap into little packages, rise again and bake. Whew, I'm tired rereading that, but then I'm just totally energized and want to run, no, sprint to the market and restock for another runza making day.

Easiest Guacamole Ever

Some days life should just come easy, but we all know that doesn't happen a majority of the time. A majority of the time we feel plain gross, causing us to shout at our loved ones, while feeling pressure to accomplish various human tasks that seem insurmountable and super important, and on and on the list of stressful things go, which I won't continue to ruminate on because the longer I do the higher my blood pressure rises. Cue something easy. Easiest Guacamole Ever. No chopping, not much mixing, ready in 5 minutes flat. And don't we all need something easy? 

Taco Meat {Without any Packets of Dried Chemicals}

I really wanted to post this recipe on a Tuesday because then I could be in accordance with Taco John's Taco Tuesday, but I'll got out on a limb and assume people who care about taco meat with no chemical additives are not eating at Taco Johns' Taco Tuesday, but for convenience's sake we (me) occasionally consider eating a Taco John's taco on Tuesday then regretfully remember the gut rot we'll have for the next 12 hours and decide to make our own taco meat. Like this! 

CSA {Community Supported Agriculture} Week 1

I know you've heard of a CSA before, right? CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture - a way for yuppies like me people who live in suburban areas to access local and fresh produce while supporting good ol' farming and the local economy.  Great, huh? I've made the (gulp) decision to document every week's box. That statement right there - hold me accountable people. It's been said. There is no turning back. Documenting. Each. Week. Now, listen up - come closer - closer - I need to be called out when I slack. Mmmk? You need to comment (nicely) and tell me demand to see next week! You're lookin' at week one.

Kale & Blueberry Salad

Something about the salads I create almost always contain certain elements to them: great crunch, something onion-ey, chewy, crispity, earthy, vinegary, and maybe a tad sweet. And in that order this salad contains: sunflower seeds, green onion, dried cranberries, kale, fresh beet, white wine vinegar, and blueberries. After consuming this salad you will be 98% healthier than the moment before you consumed this salad. 

Matcha Chia Smoothie

I am a child of the eighties, in the 80's we didn't have the word "smoothie", but the word "shake" to describe a cold, frothy mixed drink containing loads of nutrition. The realization that my generation didn't have the word "smoothie" hit me as I listened to a little girl explaining to her friend what an Icee was while surrounded by hundreds of mini-people at family camp up north. The one little girl explained to the other little girl the blue and red icey concoction was a "smoothie", which we children of the 80's know as "Icee's." And I suddenly felt very, very old. Which made me strengthen my resolve to drink youth-inducing potions full of nutrition - like this one! Matcha, Chia, Chaga, Whey, Maca! All of these super, healthy powders has me feeling young and fresh, I'm suddenly transported back to the eighties, listening to my Madonna cassette tape, badly wishing my mom knew how to pile my bangs atop my head into a Aqua-Net'd pouf, dressed in a fluorescent pink shirt you blew on to turn it purple. Remember? 

Potato & Broccoli Medallions {IKEA Copy-Cat Recipe}

My life. Me: head of table, nose in laptop, editing photos, trying to think up a witty discussion topic to base this blog post around, pouring glass of wine to induce wittiness. Boys: sitting at the same table, making Lochness monsters with play dough, being rough little hellion boys, playing together in the way boys do. Husband: making a party pizza for dinner, planning our next camping trip, molding more monsters for the boy's collection, concerned about how much play dough is ending up on the Persian rug that he perilously retrieved from Qom. And days go by like this. In the slowest, but yet quickest fashion that occasionally breaks my heart to pieces.  

Camp Stew

Last night at 12:08 am when it was impossible for my mind to shut down, the words for this blog post were flowing freely from my brain, filling this webpage with the most intriguing, deliciously sounding recipe one has ever thought up when it comes to campfires, cast-iron Dutch ovens and Summer Time Food. Blast forward into the next morning after a couple hours of broken sleep, three potty breaks in the middle of the night (intervention needed to get the 3 year old out of his crib), and a busy morning filled with milestones that make me weep and the words are utterly lost. I was so funny in my sleep. Like, seriously hilarious. The words were abundant. There was no end to what I could talk about. Alas, the sun is shining brightly on my lack of words and I have not much else to say other than - make Camp Stew. People will think you are cool. And you will be. 

My Secret Garden

Creeping Sedum

In my fantasy head my yard is an overgrown mystery, you walk atop little paver stones that are sunken deep into the grass, little mossy corners are everywhere, you walk under arched walkways topped with twining, flowering branches and the smell of wisteria overcomes you so badly you need to sit on the stone bench placed just so. But in my reality world my (not so) secret garden is this - what you see in these photos....coming along. Every year I plant another row of this or that. Take a peek into my wanna-be secret garden. 

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. 

Insta-Lately

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. 

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.