“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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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?
“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
“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
“I am a frayed and nibbled survivor in a fallen world, and I am getting along. I am aging and eaten and have done my share of eating too. I am not washed and beautiful, in control of a shining world in which everything fits, but instead am wondering awed about on a splintered wreck … More There Is No Better Time Than Now
“Eating habits are learned behaviors; they’re not intuitive. So what your children learn to eat at home early in life sticks with them well into adulthood.” -Ann Cooper and Lisa M. Holmes The trees in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan have taken on an ethereal glow and the school year has kicked into gear. It … More Avalon’s Farm Fresh Crepes with Hazelnut Filling, Caramelized Pecans, and Berry Yogurt Sauce
Produce with Amy 