A brief tutorial on how to make crêpes at home, no crêperie required. Just you, your stove and a bit of batter and you’ll have a plate full of thin pancakes in no time at all. I’ve always wanted to live abroad, even if just for a short time. While the dream of leaving and exploring was there, the reality was and is that I remain fully rooted in the Midwest. In college I was a single parent. In order to declare my Spanish major, I had to get the mandatory study abroad waived. Rather... more

Looking for a pick-me-up to kill the post-Christmas blues? These gingerbread pancakes are easy to mix together the night before, just leaving the liquid ingredients until just before tossing on a hot griddle. They’re perfect served with butter and syrup, but add a bit of orange zest and you’ll be in breakfast heaven. I dislike the post-Christmas week. You’ve worked and planned and baked and cleaned, hid gifts and wrapped them with anticipation. Perhaps you even squealed with... more

I tend to get a bit greedy with peaches, as in I buy them by the crate. Last week I realized I was either going to need to eat the remaining 5 pounds I had still to get through that hadn’t been processed to freeze or eaten fresh or baked into muffins. I knew I needed to get them taken care of before I left later this week, so a smoothie-ing they must go. My kids love smoothies, and they love taking them for lunches as well. We round it out with vegetables and hummus and a few cheese squares,... more

Our dill is in. Not only is it in the spots we planted last year, but I had let it go to seed in our container herb garden last year. We then spread the dirt from that pot into our new raised garden beds, and now there are tiny dill plants coming up everywhere. Not that I mind. I am going to move them once my large dill goes to seed, and then we’ll start the cycle all over. A whole summer of fresh dill and, subsequently, lemon dill cream cheese. This happens to be Ole’s baby (read:... more

The Saturday before Mother’s Day I made banana bread out of necessity. I had, yet again, ignored the bananas. It’s something I’ve done frequently in the past month. I can never figure out quite what it is. For months we eat bananas, running out long before our next planned shopping trip and then, we simply don’t. They sit there, first with just a few brown sugar spots, and then the number increases until the yellow is all but gone. Then there is banana bread. Like many... more

Smoothies are a great meal choice when you’re on the go. Choose fresh and frozen ingredients, and just a few minutes in the blender gives you a healthy, portable breakfast. Enter to win a Magic Bullet To-Go for further ease of smoothie prep by leaving a comment with your favorite smoothie recipe. Keep reading for more details. I am guilty of skipping breakfast on a regular basis. While I feed my kids a healthy meal, I sometimes stop short of actually preparing something for myself, usually... more

A few weeks ago I purchased blood oranges. They aren’t all that common here in Minnesota, so I wanted to take advantage of the rare sighting. Then came the process of determining what I was going to make with them. Eventually, I settled on blood orange and chocolate chip muffins with a citrus glaze, but the process of getting there was a bit more convoluted. I asked for a recommendation on recipes, and boy did I get it. Maria from Two Peas in Their Pod sent me the recipe for her Pink Grapefruit... more