When the school bus pulled away from my house last Tuesday morning and took away my four oldest kids, you could feel the vacuum of their energy leaving the house. In many ways it had been a hard summer, with many different needs happening for everyone in our family. But it was also a really […]
I’m a bit late posting this because the return to school and sports has definitely been a whirl wind. For starters, the high temps are KILLING ME. Or I should say, are killing my kids and I have to stand back and watch. Their school doesn’t have A/C and my son has football practice three […]
When I cook dinner, I very often focus on the meat as the star of the show – a stuffed chicken breast, a pork tenderloin with lots of flavors, a well cooked piece of beef. I’ll rely on a box of rice or couscous, or the perennial favorite – potatoes – to round out the […]
I used to be a lot more lax in my meal planning, preferring to have three or four recipes on hand and letting our inspirations take us where they may each day. And then sports with four kids happened! And needing to coordinate with a sitter/au pair person! And you know what? Now I love […]
Why is it I crave chowder in the summer? I mean it’s 80 degrees, and I’m dreaming about potatoes cooked in a creamy broth, preferably with seafood. What the heart wants, it wants, I guess. A few weeks ago, my husband took the big kids camping and I had the babies solo, and a whole […]
Oh man, July. I’m gonna miss you. You were sweet and slow and delicious. Our new au pair comes Friday (which is why I have missed a few weeks of meal planning! I hope to be more consistent when she comes and we head into fall!) so you’ll see some meals reflecting her arrival. Happy […]
There is this unfortunate thing that happens when you are the proprietor of a bed of lettuce and summer hands you a string of hot, sunny days. They start to bolt. This means they grow straight up into the air, with leaves that are tough and bitter, as opposed to growing more tender leaves around the […]
We have finally stopped traveling and settled down into structured days that include a slower pace, time to breath and watch summer thunderstorms and visit farmers markets. There are a little more veggies, a little less sugar, and more time to sit at the table for dinner (my favorite). I know not every season gives […]
Happy 5th of July! Hope you had a lovely 4th. Well, the joys and challenges of summer are upon us, and that means lots of heat and extra laundry as we swim every day. And letting meals unfold as we see where the day takes us – basically the opposite of meal planning, especially when […]
We are loving these slow summer days. It is still a bit chilly at night some nights, so we didn’t mind roasting a chicken last night or planning some comfort meals that still take advantage of herbs on the deck. I was so happy to be back chopping veggies and stirring again after a hectic […]