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the scandalous world of olive oil

I just finished reading Tom Mueller’s eye-opening book ‘Extra Virginity- The Sublime and Scandalous World of Olive Oil’. Spurred by a sound bite in Lynne Rosetto Kasper’s e-book that I recently reviewed, I checked Tom’s book out of the library and within a few chapters became fully engrossed in the disreputable world of olive oil. […]

summer bounty

It’s more than just food, sometimes. July has shown us little mercy. She rises daily at dawn, consistent and sure of herself, simmering her heat and thick air giving little relief in the night hours. I’m stuffed through and through with her blistering melancholy, brought down by hot winds, the white haze of mid-summer and […]

life lately, in pictures

Spring time is glorious, isn’t it? Even those intense spring thunderstorms when the sky turns black and the rain comes in torrents, blocking out everything. {{photo from the StarTribune website. This is the St Paul Cathedral on May 3rd}} I so love this time of year, when the air is sweet with growth and flowers […]

thanksgiving recovery

Thanksgiving is over, and with it goes the indulgent meals and heavy, rich food. I was exhausted by the time dinner was over on Thursday, and was asleep by 9pm or so. The following day, Mike and I took a nice hike through Otter Lake Regional Park, stretching our legs, pumping oxygen and working off […]

tying up the heart songs

I look around the table at the women gathered there and I’m caught, just a bit, by the warmth and authenticity sitting with me. I feel blessed, and caught up in the moment of our conversations, of life and marriage, parenting and food and everything in between. It’s chilly, and clear, but the wind is […]

vegetables outside the box

I spent a significant amount of time this past summer wandering up and down the aisles of our local farmers markets, as many, many people do. But I don’t venture in to the larger markets in Minneapolis or St Paul, instead preferring to go to the small satellite ones in the suburbs. I can always […]

The Engine 2 Challenge review

The E2 challenge is over, at least in theory. To celebrate, I had a thick hearty beef sandwich, ice cream, frozen yogurt and half a dozen slices of wonderful bread spread with sweet butter. Then I had a serious tummy ache. We had 28 days of consuming a plant-based eating plan, which went far, far […]

when you just know

Little in life is predictable. And this is especially true during the month of March in Minnesota. Despite the warmth and rain that melted almost all of the 90″ of snow we’ve received this past Winter (because, officially it IS Spring!) we got socked with yet another snow storm that dumped a wide range of […]

it’s all about the quality

Can you believe it’s almost March? For me, that’s always a fun change because the very first day of March is my birthday, but almost better yet, March around these parts means Spring begins, even if it’s only the official beginning of the season. While April is the month to usher in the soft scent […]

a ridiculously delicious challenge

Hey everyone…. remember the Iron Foodie Contest I entered last December? I made an amazing Warming Winter Soup with soba noodles, porcini mushrooms, fennel pollen seared tofu….. it was a mob of flavors in my mouth and it was good enough to earn me 2nd Place in the contest. And that distinction then paved the […]