What is winter without a snowman? This one used as a cupcake topper comes together in a flash using one whole marshmallow, 3/4 of a marshmallow, a little snip of orange slice, two drops of black decorating gel or chocolate sprinkles, and a junior mint. You can use a dab of the icing to hold…

Having sprouted red lentil, daikon radish, and golden alfalfa seeds, I used a handful of alfalfa sprouts today on our turkey hummus and cuke wraps. After lunch, I was seeking to use some additional sprouts in a more creative way than on salad or sandwiches. I also had leftover tahini in the fridge and an abundance of oatmeal that…

I made a pot of bean soup today with some Good Mother Stallard heirloom beans that I ordered from Rancho Gordo last month. This is a photo of the beans after I soaked them for 24 hours. The colors and patterns of heirlooms, which are old varieties, are so much fun.   I read that you should always salt…

For Christmas, my daughter Jessie gave me this vast array of cupcake papers and picks… so many bright colors, shapes, and patterns! I see some seriously fun cupcake baking in my future.    

If you're wanting some Christmas gift buying inspiration, click on over to my daughter Jessica's blog, fort & field, where she has compiled ideas categorized according to interests such as techi, handyperson, traveler, environmentalist, horticulturist, bookworm, letter writer, baker, chef, organizer, creator, mom on the go, and so on. Good stuff… and she continues to add more. One…

On the 101cookbooks blog, where I found this recipe, these cookies are called Nikki's Healthy Cookie Recipe. I renamed them "Banana Oatmeal Coconut Cookies". It won't win an award for the world's most creative name, but it accurately describes the main ingredients. From that point forward, you can change up the recipe by adding in…

When I was rolling my Raw Vegan Oat Flax Cookies in sesame seeds a few days ago, I spied a recipe for Sesame Balls on the back of my Arrowhead Mills Sesame Seed package that looked worthy of trying. Sesame seeds are an excellent source of calcium and iron and, according to the package nutrition facts, they contain…

In my next life, I will have wood floors throughout my entire house. Since that is not my present status, I had my carpets steam cleaned today. Nice… very nice job. The drying stage has limited my movement considerably. Living room and bedroom furniture, as well as odds and ends from here and there, are temporarily…

"Ah! To do nothing – and do it well." This is a quote from a book I have, that I apparently don't refer to often enough, titled The Art of Doing Nothing Simple Ways to Make Time for Yourself by Veronique Vienne. I have found that the month of December is not the ideal time of…

My friend Sandy, who owns Country Roots Greenhouse on Highway 18 east of Brainerd towards Garrison, gave me a huge buttercup squash that she had grown in her garden. If you've eaten a number of winter squash in your lifetime, you know that all squash are not created equal. If, when slicing a buttercup squash into two halves to…