National Chocolate Cake Day

January 27th, 2022

We celebrated National Chocolate Cake Day by trying out a new recipe (thanks Rebecca!) for chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream - very chocolate-y and delicious. We used Shawna’s Mom’s cake stand (thanks Shawna!) for it - this is the first time it’s had an actual cake in it!

NationalChocolateCakeDay

Recipe Here

Peanut Butter Day 2022

January 24th, 2022

PeanutButterDay2022

Skippy Natural on a Ritz with homemade pomegranate jelly. Yum!

National Pie Day 2022

January 23rd, 2022

Pie Day 2022

We celebrated National Pie Day with Shepherd’s Pie for lunch while watching the Rams defeat the Buccaneers in a NFL playoff game (what a game!)

National Cookie Day 2021

December 4th, 2021

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Laura made peanut butter cookies for us to enjoy, using her Aunt Shirley’s recipe from the “Swedes in the Kitchen” family cookbook that her cousin Heather put together several years ago.
The cookies are delicious and have a very delicate crunch. As you can see, this is a well-used cookbook - we also use Aunt Shirley’s Spritz Cookie recipe every Christmas.

Thanksgiving 2021

November 25th, 2021

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We enjoyed a traditional Thanksgiving meal, and then enjoyed leftovers for a full week. The 14 lb turkey barely fit in the oven! Besides the turkey we had the classic green bean casserole, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, and homemade cranberry sauce and rolls. The gravy was made in true family tradition while enjoying a glass of wine. We made a batch of dressing when the potatoes were finished. Turkey soup with homemade noodles made its yearly appearance too. We tried out a new way to eat leftover dressing - as an omelette! Our friend Nick turned us on to this idea and it’s very tasty - give it a try.

International Champagne Day+

October 29th, 2021

Champagne and Chocolate Day

It’s International Champagne Day as well as National Chocolate Day. We’re celebrating!

(These chocolates are SOooo good thank you Helen)

National Pigs in a Blanket Day

April 24th, 2021

PigsInABlanketDay2021

We decided to use our sourdough starter to make dough to celebrate National Pigs in a Blanket Day. Laura mixed it up the day before, and tucked it into the fridge for a slow rise. Making the piggies was super easy with most of the work done ahead. We did a regular allover wrap, as well as a fancier cut and fanned out approach. The top of the dough was sprinkled with a little sea salt.
We used this recipe (cut in half) for the dough and it worked well. We used 5 Hebrew National hot dogs this time, but next time we’ll roll the dough thinner and make 7 or 8 with the same amount of dough.

https://keviniscooking.com/sourdough-hot-dog-wraps/

Easter Dinner 2021

April 4th, 2021

Easter Dinner 2021

We tried out a new recipe for Easter Dinner - Lamb Stew. It starred a piece of boneless leg of lamb from Trader Joe’s, and after a little bit of chopping/sautéing of onions and potatoes it went into the oven for two hours of hands-off simmering. Very tasty, and the meat was super tender. Next time, we’ll add carrots.

National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day!

April 2nd, 2021

PB&JDay2021

We pulled out all the stops to celebrate National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day - fresh loaf of bread, new jar of Skippy (creamy please), and a new jar of jelly (the classic grape). We enjoyed our sandwiches in classic school lunchbox style, with chips and fruit.
There’s nothing like the first scoop of peanut butter from the jar!

Pi Day 2021

March 14th, 2021

Pi Day

We celebrated Pi Day with homemade sourdough crust Pi themed pizza pie with garden fresh tomatoes and rings of onion and sliced olives. The toppings were all round to celebrate Pi. Unfortunately when the cheese melted, the Pi related handiwork also melted… it was still delicious though.

Garden Breakfast

March 3rd, 2021

GardenBreakfast

We enjoyed a lazy rainy day breakfast with lots of goodies from the garden. Eggs and hash browns - both with bell peppers and onions (not from the garden), and from the garden… Potatoes and sugar snap peas, red jalapeños, and tomatoes (in the eggs). Very tasty!

National Chili Day

February 25th, 2021

ChiliDay2021

We celebrated National Chili Day with a big bowl topped with cheese and corn chips. We took the easy road and opened a can of Hormel, but the toppings make it celebratory!

Krüegermann Sauerkraut

February 24th, 2021

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We recently saw an episode of “Visiting with Huell Howser” where he visited the Krüegermann Sauerkraut operation, a 5-generations-old family run business. This sauerkraut is truly fermented, with just cabbage, water, and salt in the ingredient list - no vinegar. A friend picked some up for us at Alpine Village (thanks Alan!) and we tried it out on hot dogs. It’s really tasty - a new favorite! Now we’re anxious to try their pickles too.
It also happened to be National Tortilla Chip Day, so we enjoyed our hot dogs and sauerkraut with a side of tortilla chips.

https://www.kcet.org/shows/visiting-huell-howser/episodes/sauerkraut

https://kruegermann.com/

https://alpinevillagecenter.com/german-market-2/

Chex Mix

January 3rd, 2021

Chex Mix

When was the last time you enjoyed Chex Mix? We’ve been snacking on this treat - with Cheerios added - throughout the holidays. Yum!

December Tomatoes

December 10th, 2020

DecemberTomatoes

We’re lucky to have fresh tomatoes still growing in the garden this December…..

DecemberTomatoes

…We enjoyed some of the latest ones in BLTs for lunch. Yum!

Winter Dendrobiums

December 9th, 2020

Dendrobiums

Winter Dendrobiums

Mother Nature

December 8th, 2020

BellPeppers

Mother Nature was having fun with the last two bell peppers we bought….

BellPeppers

…Each had a tiny bell pepper growing inside, complete with seeds inside the tiny ones.

Victory Garden Week #28

November 21st, 2020

Victory Garden

It’s hard to believe that the garden has been going for over six months now. We’ve enjoyed all sorts of homegrown goodies, and have been able to share some of the bounty too. A couple of tomato plants are still producing, and the radishes and daikon are just finishing up.

Victory Garden

Garlic and potatoes have grown from kitchen scraps

Victory Garden

Now that it’s cooler, sugar snap peas (front) and sweet potato have been started. Hopefully we’ll have garden fresh veggies all year ‘round!

Awesome Saturday Lunch

November 21st, 2020

Sword Fish

It must be root veggie season… our daikon is ripe, and Helen gave us some beautiful carrots from her garden. We enjoyed a tasty lunch of swordfish, rice pilaf, carrots, and daikon greens. Lunch always tastes better with homegrown veggies!

Sword Fish

Here’s a closeup if our awesome meal.

Texas Brisket

November 17th, 2020

Brisket

Denny and Olivia brought back real Texas beef brisket (smoked by their son-in-law) to share. We enjoyed ours with rice pilaf and a side of sautéed daikon from the garden.

Thanks Denny & Olivia!