A second week October Unprocessed menu that spends time considering food waste and the GROW Method from Oxfam International. October Unprocessed usually serves to get me thinking about the way we eat as a family. Today I’m sharing how we get our kids to buy in to unprocessed food on Eating Rules. The most common observation about how my family eats is that we view the act of eating as essential. Time spent in the kitchen is allowed for in daily planning. Minutes to sit and stare at each other... more

For the second week of the Summer Pantry Challenge, I needed to create a menu for an upcoming vacation we’re heading into. This menu came straight from the pantry to create road-trip snacks and cabin meals for us. We’re planning our yearly trip to the great northern wilderness (also known as the Boundary Waters Canoe Area). We’ll be staying at Chez Pazlar, my aunt and uncle’s “cabin” just at the entrance to the BWCAW and have a few day hikes and canoe portaging... more

San Francisco with John Bolten (pictured above with Ole) is behind me, and Operation Christmas Cookie 2009 is underway. Right. Now. My sister is stuck here until it commences…on the 23rd. All right, so I’ll let her go home soon. Accomplished: 6 batches of dough, rolled into balls and in the fridge; pecan teacakes; more gingered orange shortbread and lemon frosted cookies. I still have 2 more batches of dough to make and then, of course, baking all of those batches of dough and dipping... more

I am here, or at least I was 3 hours ago, and my children? They’re home in the frozen tundra with my sister trying to stay warm. While it may not be warm here, it is not 5 below. I will not complain, even when it rains every. single. day. Just because I’m here in California with Ole for work doesn’t mean that menu planning for home didn’t happen. On the contrary, our menu plan became even more detailed, right down to breakfast and lunch options, pre-made meals and baking... more

Goodness it’s been a busy week. First and foremost, I have some exciting news. A few weeks ago, Tanna from Complete Organizing Solutions asked me to be a regular contributor to her blog. Tanna is a professional organizer in the Nashville area, and her blog is dedicated to helping you become organized and clutter-free. I’m thrilled to be part of the family over there and to be sharing some organizing tips for the kitchen. My first post went up Friday and was all about planning ahead... more

I’m done commenting on the craziness of working from home and trying to make time for life. Done. Someone commented on it today, and I realize that I may have been whining. It is possible. And while not without reason, I hate whining. Ask my kids how empathetic I am in response to a whine. It’s not pretty. Besides, having free time is overrated. My kids might have decent haircuts if that were the case, and what a shame that would be. We drove down to Mankato yesterday to pick... more

Kumquat’s face says it all. I managed to do it. We went to an apple orchard. We took pictures in the leaves later that day at the park. We painted pumpkins. Seasonal activities abound. I may not have cleaned my house this weekend, but I did get all of the grocery shopping done and found Kiwi a pair of basketball shoes for her first day tomorrow. I did manage to fulfill all of my social obligations, and I’m still in one piece. I have kind of an ambitious week planned in the food... more