Kate in the Kitchen — Instagram Friday

wordless instagram friday

October 19th, 2012 | 1 Comment »

I’ll just let the photos do the talking. It’s been a pretty busy week.
{{you can hover over any photo to see a description of it….}}

{{I apparently have a big thing for single, perfect deep red leaves all laying alone}}

And the good stuff……

More vegetarian burger options…. this time a Millet, Kale and Yam variety

Coconut Oat Banana Muffins.…. I must make these again, and soon.

Apple Cinnamon Mini Monkey Breads. WHAT!??

Soups Galore. Knock yourself out.

Nicole’s Moroccan Vegetable Barley Soup. In a crockpot, no less. {{I adore Nicole….. }}

Pumpkin Muffins with Cream Cheese Swirl. Oh. With Eggnog. *sigh*

Penne with Roasted Eggplant, Chile and Mint. Cold nights?? We’ve got them covered.

Spring Rolls, with a definitive Autumn twist. Gotta love this.

Apple Streusel Bars. Get. On. These.

instagram friday

October 12th, 2012 | 2 Comments »

It’s Friday!?

Mike and I stopped to gaze at this amazing sunset on Saturday as we drove home from church. The day had been blustery and raw, but late afternoon brought a break in the dark heavy clouds, enough to catch this glorious sight over the farm fields near our house.

And wonders of wonders, Monday morning started off with this beauty, captured as I lay in bed sipping coffee. The best of both worlds!

I spent a pleasant Sunday afternoon with a friend, and stared in awe at this tenuous smokestack across the street from his loft.

A delicious weekend breakfast

The new week started out in a proper way.

I’m enamored with hand-made gifts, especially when you get a permanent snapshot of it, embossed on a silver disc.

Something good is about to happen in my kitchen.

There was warm Apple Crisp with Brown Sugar glaze.

The week included baking a Honey Whole Wheat Pumpkin bread, stuffed with crunchy millet.

It was divine. I’m so glad I doubled it and put one in the freezer.

And there was a bubbling risotto too, casting a warm glow over a chilly day.

There was A LOT of scenic Fall color. Again. But it’s fading fast.

{{i’m cheating just a tad, and throwing in some great shots that Clara took on a few of our walks}}

I came upon an upended tree that held fast to a secret within it’s roots.

{{if you can’t tell…. it’s a huge rock that the tree simply grew around}}

And there was the discovery of a secret waterfall that sent my heart skipping in joy.

I definitely will be going back to this spot. The sound of that waterfall was mesmerizing.

What else has been running through my head this week?

Butternut Squash Nut Burgers. My stack of meatless burger options keeps growing.

Multigrain Risottos. It’s not just about Arborio anymore.

Baked Hush Puppies. Baked?? Say no more……

There is no end to the deliciousness you can create with Kale.

Crock pot delight for a cold Fall day- Curried Vegetable & Chickpea Stew

More amazing whole grain goodness– Warm Farro Salad with Roasted Vegetables

Incredible Avocado and Tomatillo Salsa from Herbivoracious

HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEKEND!!
And be sure to stop back on Monday for Round Three of my Cookbook giveaway!!

instagram friday

October 5th, 2012 | Comments Off

Back to routine, life, cats, food, drink and for now, Fall color.
It’s glorious, and everywhere on Instagram. I will never get tired of the blazing red and bright orange of Fall.

I was blessed to be able to get very close to this lovely creature on a hike through Otter Lake Regional Park. It had no fear of me at all.

I brought home three Montana microbrews from our trip.

Picked up at the base of the monument, this was an impulse purchase that I loved. It’s a darker hued ale with sour notes, mostly lemon, good toasty malt tones.

The Bayern Dancing Trout Ale, a German Wheat Ale, a filtered version of a true Bavarian Hefeweizen. It’s mild and slightly hoppy, with a smooth finish.

The Beltian White Ale, from the Harvest Moon Brewery was a perfect balance of malt and hops, flavored with a hint of coriander and orange peel and it was delicious. By far my favorite, I cracked it open and sat under the true Harvest Moon as it rose on Saturday September 29th. It was a perfect match.

The cats were very happy to have us home, and spent a lot of time underfoot and snuggled close by us the first few days.

There was hot tea to enjoy…..

A dark and dreamy Spice Molasses Cake……

Cold weather gear to re-acquaint myself with…..

Not to mention, a familiar sunrise over my own sky.

The weather turned cold and blustery on a dime, but inside, humming away at the stove in the twilight, it’s almost easy to forget that chill on your skin.

I’m pretty excited to share with you the amazing honor that I was named one of the Top 10 Foodies on Instagram.
Are you on Instagram? Share your daily life with me! {{ @kate_selner }}

And hang on to your hats, folks; next week’s Monday Fun day Cookbook giveaway is a real winner!! Or winners, be that as it may.

HAVE A TERRIFIC WEEKEND EVERYONE!

instagram friday…. and a vacation

September 14th, 2012 | 1 Comment »

Vacation. Isn’t that a perfect word?

We’re taking one, too. A long one, and long overdue. Our last family vacation was to the Grand Canyon in 2008, which was stunning and lovely and rather short, but it accomplished what it needed to do. This one we’re embarking on as of Sunday is EPIC.

We’re packing up our car and driving West- through South Dakota and Wyoming and ending up in Montana, where I have an Uncle and Aunt, where there is gorgeous, wide open sky and plenty to see and do and hike and explore. All three of us are going, all three of us can drive and manage the miles and enjoy the scenery and time together. There will be the flat, slow plains of South Dakota, a trek through the Badlands, then the twists and turns along the Needles Highway, Mount Rushmore and the Black Hills area. In Wyoming we’ll see Devil’s Tower, and in Montana, Yellowstone. And more.

And what am I looking forward to the most? If I’m honest…. the sky. And the scenery. But the wide open spaces above me are what I crave the most, and what I am most eager to see. In 2008, on that Grand Canyon jaunt, the sky over Nevada, Arizona and Colorado mesmerized me. It was utterly captivating, and I felt small and insignificant, yet at the same time, enormous and powerful that with a plane ride, a car and a fistful of desire, one could travel endless ribbons of highway, crossing miles of land and dirt to see the wonders of God’s creation. And while I realize that the sky over Minnesota is the same as that over any other state in the nation, the ones I’ve seen and the ones unexplored, still, it’s a sky that I’ve not seen from Montana. Or Wyoming. Nor, since 1986, from South Dakota. The miles will grind away under our tires and my heart will leap out the window and soar alongside as we drive, because that’s just what wide open sky and land does to me. And mountains, and natural wonders and prairie and desert and endless, endless sky.

But I’m really going to miss these guys.

See you in two weeks.

instagram friday

August 31st, 2012 | 1 Comment »

This past week was a bit sluggish, what with a few days of feeling a noticeable lack of energy, complete with some swollen glands and a sense of general malaise. I took a day off work, I sat on the couch a lot, drinking iced tea and a lot of water and I read a lot of material that had accumulated around me, unopened and ignored.

But still, life happened around me. I did get to the Minnesota State Fair on a gorgeous day to spend time with good friends, enjoying good craft beer, some delicious food and a riotously funny 1980’s cover band that had me falling down laughing while I danced and sang myself into a state of exhaustion.

My friend Matt, who writes the lovely blog Thyme in our Kitchen entered a gorgeous cake in the Fair and won Third Prize. A visit to see this in person was warranted. Aren’t those chocolate ribbons beautiful?!

My friend Stacey and I had the extreme pleasure of seeing Marjorie Johnson right outside this display case that held Matt’s cake. Marjorie holds the honor of winning the most blue ribbons for baking in the State Fair’s history, and we struck up a conversation with her, telling her about Matt’s cake. It was in her well-honed opinion that he should have won a Blue Ribbon because, in her words:

“Well, just LOOK at that cake! How lovely is that? Compared to those plain ones next to it, he should have won first prize.”

So there you have it. Stacey and I were tickled to have talked with such an icon.

The Seed Art at the Fair always astonishes me.

Yet, we were left a little perplexed about this outfit though.

Those seed pods are the heads of Purple Coneflower plants. It raised more than our eyebrows among spectators.

Moving along…….

There was a particularly bountiful trip to the Farmers Market, where I scored Sweet Potato Fingerlings. This visit cost me $23.

Ever eaten toasted flatbread spread with Brie and topped with chopped red grapes?? I highly recommend it.

I learned that I should never go outside to enjoy a summer night on the patio at snack time.

Unusual Sleeping Position #7,120

The deliciousness…….

Amanda’s Zesty Black Bean and Sweet Corn Slaw (oh yes….. yes indeed!!)

Tofu for Tofu Haters. AKA: Get. On. Board.

Grain salads make my heart go all a-flutter

Need anymore Kale inspiration???

Have I mentioned this Maple Scented Cornbread?? I need some good maple syrup. Stat.

My kind of breakfast. Or lunch. Or…. you know, dinner.

Isn’t this just GORGEOUS!!?? {{not to mention delicious looking…..}}

I simply MUST make this before fresh corn season is over. Just…. WOW

With that, have a wonderful weekend. See you in September.

instagram friday

August 24th, 2012 | 1 Comment »

It’s been a few weeks since I’ve posted an Instagram Friday. How’s everyone been? Enjoying your summer? August has been spectacular for us- just glorious weather and perfect Summer days. What a nice treat from the heat and humidity of July.

The best part about the past few weeks is that an amazing transformation took place in our yard.

It started out looking like this……

And while I loved the flagstones, there was gravel in between them that I did not like. And the weeds? Ugh. So we had a plan…..

And within just a few days, it came in to being.

The path extends around the garage to the front of the house, connecting to the driveway, and providing a place for our trash cans on the side of the garage. The best part is that it’s completely sealed, so NO weeds. I’m so enamored with it. There’s LOTS more landscaping that’s going to get done, as we tore out everything in our yard but four mature trees, so once it’s all planted, I’ll share the before and after photos of everything. It’s going to look very, very nice when it’s all done.

So… what else??

There was the Relay Triathlon that our family participated in on the 19th. Extended family- aunts, uncles, cousins- made up seven relay teams for this triathlon- a 1/4 mile swim, 17.2 mile bike ride and a 5K run- I did the biking leg, as did Mike, and Griffin was a swimmer. It was a hugely successful and ridiculously fun day for everyone involved.

There was food….. obviously.

(that’s Baked Pizza Gnocchi with Greens)

We attended a gorgeous outdoor wedding and I just loved Mellissa’s bridal bouquet. It was so creative!

We celebrated our 10th anniversary.

And naturally…….

Everything delicious and important to report……

Coffee in a pan???

Some good writing rules even I can get behind

Corn Salad with Grilled Tofu- perfect for the last of the season

Salad spread for sandwiches without the mayo

Spinach and Corn Enchiladas- no red sauce needed

All you’ll ever need for Fall Harvest—–> 40 Autumn Vegetable Recipes

Don’t ever let me hear you say “That’s impossible!!”

HAVE A TERRIFIC WEEKEND EVERYONE!!

{instagram} friday

August 3rd, 2012 | Comments Off

It’s a Friday {{again}} and I have a weekend off {{AGAIN!!}} and tomorrow my boy leaves for his second Missions trip to Mexico, after which Mike and I embark on a week of no kid obligations. Suffice to say, we’re looking forward to it a lot.

Our week started out on a sad note when our Audi blew a water pump at the start of a road trip to Brainerd for some much anticipated R&R.

Thankfully we weren’t far from home at all and quickly re-grouped, plotting out Plan B and taking off in the warm sunshine. We spent the day driving beautiful country roads South of the Twin Cities, enjoying the views of thousands of acres of farmland and lovely river towns. I found glorious treasures in dusty old antique stores.

Glorious morning images……

Is there anything better than waking to the sound of rain??

We celebrated a huge rite of passage for Griffin this week when he got his Drivers License. He was just a little bored here, waiting for the instructor.

There were some fancy cars spotted too.

A daily photo challenge began with White Peach Photo!

Cats. Of course.

Sweet breaths of fresh air.

My weekly inspiration……

Daily August vegetable love

Reinventing the wheel

Corn love; perfect for right now

And more corn love, with greens. So perfect.

I hope you all have a marvelous weekend!

instagram friday

July 20th, 2012 | Comments Off

The season of heat, and plenty, seemed to sum up this week in my Instagram feed.

I have to admit that I love what this heat and humidity does to my hair.

And who doesn’t love the peak of freshness from the Farmers Market in July??

There was also a bountiful vegetarian potluck I attended….. and… uh……

There’s inevitable feline shots, of course.

One of my favorite shots I’ve ever posted on Instagram is this one of a fountain that I took with my DSLR camera. I love how the filters make it look so light and airy, bringing out all the spray of the water.

And for fun, I threw in a few shots of photos found around the web.

What’s been on my mind this week??

A terrifying and harsh article of global truth

I keep coming back to this one: “There is a particular type of beauty in honesty.”

And re-thinking the means of doing what I love

Peaches are perfect and outstanding right now.

And it’s blueberry picking time everywhere.

But there’s always lemon as the perfect stand-by. {{thank you Marion Cunningham}}

Perfect pasta for summer

Perfect salsa for summer

Perfect cake for celebrating a culinary icon {{thank you, Julia Child}}

HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEKEND EVERYONE!!

instagram friday

June 22nd, 2012 | 1 Comment »

Our poor state has had a tumultuous and destructive week, weather wise; a deluge of rain has fallen, inundating parts of the state with floodwaters, severe thunderstorms jolted us out of bed two nights in a row and the heat soared along with the humidity. Summer came with a vengeance. Still, as always with Summer, there is plenty to enjoy and appreciate. I won’t share a photo of the what the weeds in my garden have done in this heat, though. That’s hardly something to go on about.

Fathers Day weekend was very enjoyable, beginning with a date night dinner out that included a walk across the Mississippi River at St. Anthony Falls, thunderous from the recent rains.

And ended with a leisurely drive for ice cream.

Monday morning I’m always greeted with this look, silently pleading with me to stay home. Now.

I enjoyed an intimate gathering with other food bloggers at the kitchens of one of our most popular local food trucks, The Chef Shack. There was food, good beer and a guided tour of the three iconic red trucks.