For years I've wanted to like this stalky stuff, and now I've finally figured out my strategy for eating it.

1. with almond butter. for some reason this is a better pairing than peanut butter for me.
2. in juice. as in, freshly-pressed juice to start your morning. (i bought a juicer, and i've got a new hobby.) i have been sipping a few celery stalks, a few carrots, and a bit of orange every day. apples make the most awesome mix, so i try to save those for an extra sweet glass on the weekends.

Do you eat celery? I like that it's one of the cheapest veggies to buy organically. I find myself grabbing a couple bunches every time we go to the store now.

Sometimes I love to sneak away in my house. When I can't be banging around in the kitchen or creaking on the hardwood floors because shhhhh! Hadley is napping. I'll steal away to our bedroom upstairs or the guest room.. there's something self-indulgent about hanging out in the guest room. Just like there's something thrilling about sitting on top of a bed that's neatly made; perched on top of the covers with a quilt on my lap. It's one of my guilty pleasures. I almost never nap during these retreats. I am usually so pumped that I am sitting down and have two free hands, so pleased with the success of a sleeping baby and a cozy spot, that I couldn't possibly fall asleep.

Now, I say this like it happens a lot. Like I just sit around on beds until Grant comes home. ha ha ha HA. Not really. That's just not how life works, no matter how many kids you do or don't have. But every once in a great while, an opportunity pops up for a teeny retreat. Just a moment or two of quiet. To sigh, close my eyes, pray, be in a different room of my home. Do you ever retreat at your house? Let me encourage you to make your bed and go sit on it!

• kombucha is a fizzy tea-based beverage. it's tangy and bright and sparkling. 
• if you like the taste of cider vinegar, you will love kombucha tea.
• you drink kombucha for fun, for your health, or both. read about all the awesome benefits! (it's detoxifying, cancer-preventing, probiotic rich, digestion improving, anxiety reducing..)
• you'll see it at Whole Foods by the cold bottled fruit drinks (please buy the strawberry kind of G.T.'s kombucha sometime. uhhmazing), but you'll have to shell out $4 a bottle.
• you can make it at home for super cheap! 
• kombucha is made by fermenting tea (just regular old tea) with a scoby. 
• a kombucha scoby looks like a wet pancake. don't be too scared of it. 
• SCOBY is an acronym for Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast. in other words, the good stuff we want in our gut.
• making kombucha is easy. drinking your homemade kombucha is fun. buy some swing-top bottles and it's like having a teeny tiny brewery in your kitchen. 

Lately I've become a student of a few things.


of Steve Jobs. I am reading his biography, the 500+ page one (whoa), which is basically the story of the greatest company ever. It's extremely fascinating, and full of words like "diodes" and "bitmapping." Did you know Steve originally wanted to call the Macintosh "the Bicycle"? crazy.


of Cheeseslave's Healthy Whole Grains online class. Totally registered for this. It starts this week. Can't wait!!! (Hurry and register if you want to get the launch discount!) By the way, did you hear that Grant bought me a waffle iron for valentine's day?!


of Mad Hungry. Not typically a fan of cooking shows, I am surprised at how much I like this. Usually I just get embarrassed for the person I'm watching.. it's so unnatural. But Lucinda Scala Quinn is a pretty smooth sailor, and I've actually tried several things that I've learned from her. So, I dvr it for when I'm on the couch nursing Hadley.

of the U.S. Constitution. Grant and I are watching the e-course Constitution 101 offered by Hillsdale College. (hello, Bethany and Elsa!)


of Downton Abbey. Well, I'm more of a fanatic than a student. But maybe I am learning a little lesson on 1920's culture in England :) I hope my sisters are watching this. I hope you all are watching this. I hope you get a little shiver when you hear the theme music play. (I'm in love.)

are my favorite, I think. We thought about making a quick trip to a city somewhere on President's Day, but both of us have declared that we're really glad we stayed here today.





Today has been one of the days where we stay in and enjoy. We focus on good food and getting chores done. We make smoothies. We have "dinner" at the noon meal. We enjoy the giant snowflakes that fell all day long. We eat soup for breakfast (me. I did that.) We turn on the Harry Potter soundtrack. We make venison stir fry. We fold laundry and run the dishwasher. We bake sunflower seed cookies. We call direct tv about our bill, again (Grant). We take two 2-hour naps (Hadley). We put some chili on for tomorrow. We wonder at how the day passes so quickly when we're all home together all day.

Pretty nice for a Monday in February.

so, candy is about 100x better from your own kitchen. this peanut butter filling is scandalous. i can't remember the last time i really felt i needed to lick the spatula clean, but there was a sense of need here. that spatula was done licked clean. the taste isn't authentic factory-made reese's, but it's powerful. superior, even. somehow reminiscent of a peanut butter pie, minus the overload of vanilla pudding. i've been toying with the idea of giving these to grant for so long, and now it's done. and will be repeated again soon. because these are just insane.



Homemade Reese's Peanut Butter Cups
adapted from the nourishing gourmet

peanut butter core:
3/4 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup butter or coconut oil
1/2 cup finely ground nuts (i actually used sunflower kernels, which were great)
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 T. honey
pinch of salt

chocolate coating: 1/4 cup cocoa, 1/2 cup butter or coconut oil, 1/2 tsp. vanilla, 2 T. honey

In a small bowl combine all peanut buttery ingredients and mix well. Spoon into a muffin tray (lined or unlined is fine) and place in freezer. While that's chilling, combine chocolate sauce ingredients in a 2-cup measuring glass and place in a pot of simmering water. Heat, stirring, until everything is just melted and remove from heat. Spoon chocolate sauce over the chilled peanut butter mixture and place back in freezer. Freeze for 20 minutes, remove from pan immediately, using a butter knife to pop them out. Store in fridge or freezer. Makes 10 big peanut butter cups.



this chocolate coating is rather deep and dark, which i loved. if you like more of a milky mellow chocolate, feel free to cut back on cocoa or add more butter and honey.

by the way, i am making these next Halloween. they're so easy! don't let me forget.
enjoy!!

  grant's example to his students today of how to make a valentine. it's for me :)


Grant is making me dinner. (it's a surprise!)
I am making him dessert. (chocolate sauce involved.)
Later we will cozy up and read The Hunger Games. (out loud. on the couch.)

I call this splendid. (romantic.)
Happy Valentine's Day. (to you and yours.)



In my next post: grant's valentine dessert. (you will want it.)

hey, girl.

you're really cute. you're good at playing, pursing your lips, whispering to your toys, holding your spoon, waving, and standing up next to the couch. your cheeks are irresistible, you're not quite eight months old, and you're the best.

I've been reading Psalm 103 daily, for over a year now. I love it so much.

Coconut Flour Banana Bread
adapted from Nourished and Nurtured
GAPS friendly, grain and gluten free

2 very ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 cup butter or coconut oil
1/3 cup honey
6 eggs
3/4 tsp. sea salt
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
3/4 cup coconut flour
1 tsp. cinnamon

Melt butter or coconut oil in a small saucepan over low heat. Turn off heat and allow to cool slightly. Add the honey to the warm butter (or oil) and stir to combine. Meanwhile, in a large bowl whisk eggs until frothy with a hand mixer, about 1 minute. To the eggs, add salt, vanilla, and butter-honey mixture and mix well. Measure out coconut flour and, while holding a strainer over the bowl, add it to the wet ingredients and blend until thoroughly combined and there are no lumps. (while I normally skip sifting, coconut flour likes to clump, so I do take an extra minute to do it here.) Add mashed banana and cinnamon and mix well.

Pour batter into a generously greased loaf pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 50 minutes to an hour. Let cool for 10 minutes before sneaking a piece, if you can stand the wait. Enjoy warm from the oven with lots of butter. Store in the fridge in an air-tight container.


  coconut flour banana bread, in my favorite loaf pan

and i haven't forgotten about all of you lovely wheat-eaters! here's a link to my favorite banana bread recipe with regular wheat flour :) it's delisch.

Hi guys. If you read my probiotic post the other day, I wanted to mention one more thing. You don't have to be somebody to try fermenting. I used to see the term "lacto-fermented" and immediately thought, okay, that's over my head, that's not me. I was scared. But now I know how easy it is..

1) put something in a jar.  2) let it sit. It's way easier than canning! Do you have some glass jars in your house? great. You're ready to go. I only started fermenting things in November, so I'm no expert, but you can see I already love it. It really is a cinch. Right off the bat, as soon as my first batch of 'kraut was finished, I started eating something probiotic at every meal, and filling my cupboards and countertops with more ferments. It's totally a normal thing now. It's totally my hobby.

If you want to try your hand at it, here's a very simple recipe to start with: pickled carrots. these are completely amazing. crunchy, garlicky, dilly, perfectly pickle-y.. but in a carrot stick. We always keep carrots on hand so it's easy to whip up a new batch, because they go fast.





If you're curious, "lacto-fermented" simply means it is fermented with lactic acid, or whey.

if locking your house seems a bit much.
if you can smell the coffee shop's roast wherever you are in town.
if you say you live "in town."
if the UPS guy just walks in your kitchen door to drop off a package.
if snowstorms make you think about going into a ditch, rather than getting in an accident.
if everyone gives 4-digit phone numbers, because the first 3 are always the same.
if tater tot hotdish is on the school menu. (maybe that's a minnesota thing?)
if random people know what you pay for rent.
if your chiropractor tells you, "your grandma called and wants you to stop by when you're done."
if you have to look decent at the gym. you will see someone you know on the treadmill next to you.
if it's wintertime and all the cars in the grocery store parking lot are left running.
if you rent your movies from a green box, instead of a red one.
if you get waved at whenever you leave the house.
if you've forgotten about stoplights.
if you see someone walking downtown and think "Hey, wait! I don't know who that is!"


some lessons learned by a city girl.
maybe not so city anymore.
(i've let go of locking my car.)

if you follow me on twitter or facebook, you've probably already heard the news. we had a brush with celebrity the other night when we saw Rick Santorum! so fun to see someone in real life that you see on the news every night- and i got to shake hands with a presidential candidate! for a newsy girl like me, this was super exciting.

Without realizing it, I have a 2012 resolution. I'm going to eat some kind of probiotic food every day.

You've been hearing about probiotics lately, haven't you? New commercials are popping up every day advertising some kind of balance your digestion probiotic formula. Just watch for them! The world is realizing what our aching tummies and weak immune systems have been missing... probiotics to the rescue! right? Only probiotic supplements can be expensive, and some of them may not be very effective. Did you know that you can get those extremely good for you probiotics in your food? That's what I've been doing!

So what do I mean by "probiotic food"? I mean fermented food. When you ferment something, you saturate it with beneficial bacteria, creating your own blend of probiotic magic. It's easy, inexpensive, and a streamlined (easily digestible) way to send those friendly little bacteria straight to your gut. These foods usually have a tart, sour, or pickled taste... but have no fear. Once you catch on to the flavor, you won't want a meal without some on the side. Take it from someone who throws a little sauerkraut or a pickle on everything these days.

Fermented foods sound old-fashioned... (ahem, sauerkraut) because they are! The idea is old. Tried and true. We used to ferment foods to preserve them through the winter before we had deep freezers, and, well, preservatives. We lost a valuable medicinal food when we abandoned the idea of fermenting stuff we wanted to keep. But it's not so very lost, is it? You can ferment today! Why not have a homemade pickle instead of a vitamin? Or some homemade root beer?
Here's a great page to read on why fermented food is suuuuuper good for you and how to start.


Some of you have been asking what methods I use to make my yogurt, kombucha, and other fizzy fermented delights, so here's a guide to the probiotics in my kitchen, what it is, how I made it, and my favorite way to use it. (click on the name for a link to the recipe)

Sauerkraut
fermented, finely shredded cabbage. i love sauerkraut with grass-fed beef hotdogs, mustard, and caramelized onions. you should also try it on top of a burger, with sweet squash or potatoes, or with a picnic style meal like cold chicken, deviled eggs, and chunks of cheese. 

Yogurt
you know. creamy, tangy, it's made by culturing milk. i love to use yogurt to make thick yogurt cheese, which can then be used just like cream cheese. you'll also get whey when you make the cheese, which is so handy for other fermenting projects. (pictured at the top of this post, in the kerr jar)

Kefir
a fermented milk drink, basically drinkable yogurt. so easy to make! we use it in smoothies, in scrambled eggs to make them extra creamy, as a substitute for buttermilk, and we pour it into our chili instead of sour cream. 

Water Kefir/ Kefir Soda Pop
a fermented, fizzy drink made by placing water kefir grains in sugar water and flavoring with fruit. just like soda, but with probiotic benefits. we keep it in a pretty swing-top soda bottle and drink it at dinner.

Kombucha
naturally carbonated sweet and tangy tea. i like to have mine fruit-flavored. now that i bought a kombucha culture starter (called a "scoby" or "mushroom"), i don't have to buy those expensive bottles at whole foods. 

Dill Pickles
garlicky, fermented cucumbers. i love to eat them with a burger, egg salad, or straight out of the jar. and there's another kind of pickle i will be telling you about very soon- a new favorite of mine!

Probiotic Mayo
whey is added to homemade mayonnaise to make it even more zesty and healthy. use it on sandwiches, in dips, or on a burger. 

there are still more things that i've cultured on my countertops that i have yet to tell you about, so stay tuned! you can probably tell, but i'm pretty excited about bacteria. my body just loves it!

what about you guys? are there any sauerkraut lovers out there? or kombucha addicts? have you ever fermented anything in your kitchen? (on purpose or by accident?)