Oh boy. My girls are officially on summer vacation and I’m happy they’re around. Not so happy about all the “I’m bored!” statements that are happening already. Lucky for them, I have all sorts of fun tasks to solve their boredom (insert maniacal laugh here). I’m …
I’m currently sitting at my desk with a chicken on my shoulder watching an exciting lightning storm outside while sipping a small glass of wine. I’m good at multitasking. The dear hubby is gone on a business trip this week so I’ve been gladly bombarding …
School starts on Tuesday and my two girls are getting a little bit excited and a little bit nervous about their transition to a new school this year. It’ll be the first time they are riding the bus as well so they’ve been a bit anxious about the change. I know it’ll go just fine. We just need to get the first day or two out of the way. I feel better knowing that each of them knows at least one kid that will be in their class so there will be a familiar face to say “hello” to in the morning. Plus, both of their teachers seem wonderful and excited about what they do. This past week, I’ve been packing in all of the “lasts” for the summer before school starts. The last beach date, the last big latenight bonfire (with s’mores, of course) and the last time the girls will accompany me to the farmer’s market for the year. It’s been so fun having the farmer’s market as a tool to teach my daughters about their food choices and sustainability giving them a social experience and a lesson in budgeting their dollars since they always want to get either the hand squeezed lemonade or the kettle corn made right there on site. It has been a good summer and I feel so very humbled and blessed with all that God has provided for me and my family this summer.
My garden has also blessed me with a bounty of turnips which I’ve never grown before. I typically pair them with potatoes and mash them together for mashed root veggies and gravy. It gives the mashed taters just a hint of peppery goodness but not so much that anyone really notices. For a change this time, I decided to try making them into fries. Turnip fries won’t get as crispy as regular potatoes but I’ve found that if you soak the fries in cold water for 30 minutes prior to baking, it removes some of the starch which helps them get more crisp. For seasoning, a combination of miso paste and butter brushed on the fries compliments the unique turnip flavor perfectly. Another alternative that’s delicious is to toss in olive oil and sprinkle with Cajun seasoning for a spicy bite.
Oh sunshine, I have missed you!! I’ll ignore the fact that it is still really chilly and I had to pull out my winter coat only days after sitting outside in shorts and a tee shirt. I’ve learned to expect this sort of misbehavior from a Minnesota spring. …
I’m ready to shake things up a bit and add a lovely little spice to the table with a vegetable curried rice. Even better, you only need one pot! There is a particular order to go about this if you want to keep it all …
This week is going to be a simple one easy recipe post kind of week. My husband, Jason, and I are celebrating our 10 year anniversary on Thursday so we’re skipping out of town to celebrate. We were married in the Van Dusen mansion in downtown Minneapolis on a rather warm day for January so as a fun reminder of our mansion wedding, we are staying at a mansion turned bed and breakfast in a nearby town. I am SUPER excited to leave the kids behind and get out for some wining, dining and relaxing together. Grinning from ear to ear at the notion of getting out with my main man!
Football season is quickly coming to a close this weekend so I’ll leave you with one great appetizer for your Super Bowl party spread. This spicy yogurt dip is packed with flavor and spice to go perfectly with any dippers you choose to serve it with. Veggies, pretzels and even chicken skewers go wonderfully well with spicy yogurt dip. Using a homemade salsa or one that’s not super chunky will work best to give it the right dippable consistency. I’ve used this dip as a marinade for chicken breasts as well and they turned out deliciously moist and tender with exceptional flavor. Best of all, spicy yogurt dip comes together in about 5 minutes for a super easy appetizer!
