Upper Peninsula of Michigan – Page 2

YEAR ROUND SUMMER SIMPLICITY – LATE NIGHT ZESTY BROCCOLI

February 10, 2020

Once we started growing our own broccoli, it would be hard to go back to store bought. The flavor of fresh out of the garden, or even garden fresh out of the freezer, is dramatically different. We use broccoli in pressure cooked meals, in green salads, as a simple side dressed with real butter and a splash of lemon and a sprinkle of sea salt, or even as a late night snack (our favorite especially in the summer). Truth be told, I am known to sneak out to the hoophouse in my nightclothes to cut fresh broccoli, a few beans, and peas (if they are still growing) and whip up a batch with the seasoning mix I am sharing with you today. … More YEAR ROUND SUMMER SIMPLICITY – LATE NIGHT ZESTY BROCCOLI

Not Your Grandmother’s Egg Salad

April 7, 2019

I am not sure exactly how it happens. It may come in the form of a manual, a hardcover book – or in modern times – the password to a secret website. However, I am fairly certain that when one becomes a grandma, somehow you receive underground information on the art of sandwich making. In … More Not Your Grandmother’s Egg Salad

CHICKEN SOUP WITH LEMON, DILL, AND CANNELLINI BEANS

February 25, 2019

“Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson Even though I grew up in the Upper Peninsula, I always was a fair weather Yooper. While I loved to spend every waking hour outside in the summer, in the winter I could often be found hunkered down with a good book … More CHICKEN SOUP WITH LEMON, DILL, AND CANNELLINI BEANS

GREEK FRITTATA – CASUAL, YET ELEGANT, ONE PAN BRUNCH

June 14, 2018

“Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.” ― Confucius As we slide into June, I cannot help thinking of growth. As a high school teacher I reflect on the strides my students have made in their growth mindset, and as a parent I cannot believe how much my own kids have … More GREEK FRITTATA – CASUAL, YET ELEGANT, ONE PAN BRUNCH

Spring Fever is an Understatement

April 18, 2018

“Snow was falling, so much like stars filling the dark trees that one could easily imagine its reason for being was nothing more than prettiness.” ― Mary Oliver Snow days in April are not unusual in the UP of Michigan. However, that does not soften the blow. As John and I discussed yesterday, April snow … More Spring Fever is an Understatement

Unconditional: A Father’s Love

December 29, 2017

“The heart of a father is the masterpiece of nature.” ― Antoine François Prévost d’Exiles I call this series of photos from Christmas day 2017, “Unconditional Love.” We have had subzero temperatures in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, but that has not stopped my husband John from building an ice rink in our backyard … More Unconditional: A Father’s Love

Peach Salad with Roasted Beets, Goat Cheese, Pistachios, & Raspberry Orange Dill Dressing

August 11, 2017

“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.” ― Henry David Thoreau, Walden Autumn, tinged in bittersweet emotion, is … More Peach Salad with Roasted Beets, Goat Cheese, Pistachios, & Raspberry Orange Dill Dressing

Refrigerator Oats: What Does Summer Taste Like?

July 6, 2017

“Morning is an important time of day, because how you spend your morning can often tell you what kind of day you are going to have.” ―Lemony Snicket WHAT DOES SUMMER TASTE LIKE? As a writing teacher, I ask my students to think concretely about the abstract. In the first week of June, as the promise … More Refrigerator Oats: What Does Summer Taste Like?

Our Story

July 5, 2017

“I don’t know what rituals my kids will carry into adulthood, whether they’ll grow up attached to homemade pizza on Friday nights, or the scent of peppers roasting over a fire, or what. I do know that flavors work their own ways under the skin, into the heart of longing. Where my kids are concerned … More Our Story

Witness to Beauty – It’s All About Perspective

January 16, 2017

“The conclusion I have reached is that, above all, dogs are witnesses. They are allowed access to our most private moments. They are there when we think we are alone. Think of what they could tell us. They sit on the laps of presidents. They see acts of love and violence, quarrels and feuds, and … More Witness to Beauty – It’s All About Perspective