Per custom, we say soup is good for the soul, probably only because it’s alliterative. Really, I think ice cream may be just as good for the soul. Ice cream cake, even better. Serendipitous. Or ice cream sandwiches made with madeleine cookies. Also a cup of Nana mint tea served in a funky teacup your […]
Oh this world and the people in it! Jazz Fest is here and a multitude of rapscallions have migrated to New Orleans to take in the pleasures of music, food and dance at the fairgrounds. KP’s dad arrived, now sporting around town on a Honda Harley scooter, and he has been dubbed “Jazz Fest Santa”—photo […]
I wanted to highlight a little goodness in the world amid ever-harrowing headlines. The catastrophic flooding in Louisiana in August this year left hundreds of dogs and cats homeless, hungry and scared. Local shelters had to scramble for food and supplies to care for them. To help ensure these animals had enough food while they waited […]
A thirty-something went dancing, and now she cannot bend either leg. I won’t say who. But I’m sure butter will help. Buttery Butternut Squash Rolls and Wisconsin Chili Adapted from Food and Wine 1 1/4 cups whole milk 1/2 cup butternut squash puree 2 tablespoons sugar One cup of sourdough starter 1 large egg, […]
It’s a Stormy Monday. Mondays are best tolerated with cookies. For this I am grateful to my Sourdough Surprises group for this month’s prompt: biscotti. Biscotti means twice (bis) cooked (cotti). I was reading about how biscotti cookies were the preferred snack of warriors in ancient times because they kept so well. As I start […]
There is something paradoxically restful in the chaos of family visits over the holidays. The reassurance of roots, of home—the reminder of belonging. I made my Sourdough Surprises challenge early this month to take advantage of the New Year’s symbolism inherent in Chinese dumplings, the pork filling representing the prosperity and treasure tucked into every year, […]
Each man is a half-open door/leading to a room for everyone, wrote Tomas Tranströmer. This line is ever on my heart at the Thanksgiving table, the very place a hallway for kindred souls. Each face a doorway; each smile the light beneath it. So grateful to have my brother visiting Minnesota for the first time. […]
Tonight the first snow of winter shall fall upon our home—the coop has been revamped with a heated water tank, heat lamps, fresh hay and newly insulated walls—and yet, Betty White, in all her wisdom, decided that this would be a great time to molt. I hereby initiate the Save Betty campaign. I’m looking for […]
Thank you, Protein Bars. I know you’re a candy bar, and you know you’re a candy bar, but I’m glad we can share in this lie together. This month’s Sourdough Surprises challenge reminded me of this Tonight Show Thank You Note—granola bars. I’m from Portland, Oregon so granola is not only a noun but a […]
In my last few days at the house of health, my mom has been making smoothies and homemade protein bars. Here is one of her favorite go-tos (although for it to be palatable to me, I have to double the sugar in the recipe below and where mom likes banana, I substitute apple sauce). Protein […]