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.

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.

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!!

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!

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……

{{whoops….}}

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!!

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.

There also was a great deal of cooking, in spite the heat.

Ginger Nectarine Cake, anyone? Stay tuned for the recipe.

Plenty of good grilling happened……

This week’s delicious discoveries…….

 It’s all about salad.

And more salad

Think I’m joking?

I would never joke about salad

The Mother Lode of Salad

Then of course, there’s the grilling options

And tasty snacks or appetizers

Don’t forget desserts, either

Because the possibilities right now are endless!

HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEKEND!!

By the time I return to my little corner of the blogging world next week, we’ll have a high school graduate in the house. Pretty cool, if you ask me.

But this past week? Not cool. Warm. Hot even. And it was gloriously, perfectly June; weather that begged to be enjoyed and appreciated, because technically, it’s Summer and it’s an ever-so-short three months of sheer madness and ecstasy in the state of Minnesota.

So enjoy I did.

I took a long bike ride and spotted a lovely lady.

Remember this picture from my Memorial weekend butterfly extravaganza? I hadn’t identified the top left butterfly, but I finally learned that it’s a Pearl Crescent.

There was ample blue sky and sunshine this week, but also a perfectly June-like thunderstorm, preceded by a gorgeous sky.

Flowers bloomed in abundance. I love that aspect of early Summer.

And cats slept in silly poses.