Progressive Pioneer

Quinoa Holiday Salad

Quinoa is an ancient grain. It's nutty, earthy, and delicious. It's also full of protein, iron, calcium, potassium, and zinc and it's as versatile as rice or barley. Here's a new way to dress it up for the holiday table.

Frog Egg Pudding

Remember that popsicle article I did for Edible Wasatch?  Well, it turns out the Frog Egg Popsicle recipe makes a darn good Frog Egg Pudding too!

Five Tips for Perfect Crispy Kale Chips

Kale chips are super easy, but there are a few things that can ruin a perfectly good chip.  Here's how we make them, and my five no-fail tips for perfectly delish, crispy kale chips!

Jumping into Cheesemaking

Here's a post I did for Plan to Eat with links to a few delicious recipes using homemade soft cheese (or just regular mascarpone, or goat cheese, or something similar).  Our homemade cheese rarely lasts long enough for me to turn it into anything else, but I'm really liking the sound of the honey and vanilla flavored spread for fruit...

Lobster Omelets

I returned home from the fabulous Symposium on Books for Young Readers tonight to find this email from my dad:

Complete Plant Protein Pilaf

I went to a lecture last year by Joann Seal and was recently reminded of this brilliant idea.  She created several combinations of beans and grains suitable for each blood type (There's a book called Eat Right for Your Type that addresses this).  Each combination is a complete protein, and all from plants.  I created my own, mostly from what was lingering in my cupboard (does anyone else have a cupboard full of those health food store bulk baggies?).  I didn't worry too much about blood type (one thing at a time!), but here's what's in our new favorite side dish.

Cherry Jam and Canning for a New Generation

We put all those cherries to good use and made TONS of cherry jam.  A bowl of pits isn't exactly as lovely a sight as a bowl full of cherries; unless you've just pitted all 1,382 of them.  In truth, Sam was a big help with the pitter.  We made two different varieties, one from the inside of the Pomona's Pectin package and one from Canning for a New Generation.  The second recipe had some weird ingredients, but was hands down our favorite of the two!

The Great Summer Popsicle Affair

The magazine should be all over the Wasatch Front by now.  I can finally show you Clay's awesome illustration! 

Bread

This post has been one of the most popular on the whole blog!  Have you tried the recipe?  I just shared it again over at Plan to Eat.  Hope you're having a great weekend!

My TV Debut In Which I Smoothly(?) Cover Up a Major Kerfuffle

I was invited to share some of the popsicle recipes I created for the summer issue of Edible Wasatch, on KUTV's Fresh Living show.  Despite not really having any idea what I was doing, the taping was going smoothly until I accidentally, totally messed up the recipe!  Instead of Frog Egg Pops, I made mud-sicles...

Spicy Almond Sauce

First things first.  Ignore the tasty food and look at the gorgeous table and gorgeous chair beneath it.  Then go vote for Ivory Bill to get a small business grant (just search for "Ivory Bill," it only takes a few clicks to vote).  It would mean the world to us!  Really. 

I swap dinner with a neighbor two nights a week.  Monday and Wednesday I cook.  Tuesday and Thursday I eat bon bons and paint my toenails.  It's the perfect arrangement because we eat very similarly and she is an excellent cook.  Her son is allergic to peanuts, so I've adapted our family's favorite spicy peanut sauce to work for their family too.

Super Nutrition for Babies

When Clay saw me reading this book he was like, "Why do you need a whole book?  Can't you basically feed them like adults, only less?"  Well, yes, more or less, except that what passes for food now (adult food and baby food) is so hugely different from what kids should actually be eating, that I think yes, we do need this book.  Everyone needs this book!  Check out these super scary statistics.

The Great Scapes

We had garlic scapes for the first time and we are converted! I am a serious garlic lover and I didn't think anything could be more delicious than garlic.  But, given the choice, I think I might just choose garlic scapes over the regular kind.  Especially if they're cooked like this.

How to Make Explosive Fruit Kombucha

I wanted my kombucha just a little bit more bubbly...

Eating the Rainbow

Vivi is going through what I call the Brown Food Phase.  I've been pulling out all the old tricks I used with Sam to get him to eat a whole rainbow of foods and posted about it here.  How do you get kids to eat a variety of foods?  I'm all ears!

PS I've been cleaning up my Pinterest boards.  They're all my favorites, obviously, but here are a few of my favorites today:)

The Perfect Summer Breakfast: Ice Cream

Here's what I'm writing about over at Plan to Eat.  Ice cream for breakfast!  Our latest favorite (which I didn't actually mention in the post) is blueberry with lemon balm (which grows like crazy all along our driveway!).  What flavor combo would you make?

The Oatmeal Dreams Are Made Of

I know, this picture does not look like a good start to dreamy oatmeal, but just trust me.

Fermenting Foods: The Complete Idiot's Guide

When people ask me about how to ferment things (which they do, I have no idea why, I'm a total novice!), this is the book I recommend!

Breakfast Cookies

I really do let the kids eat these for breakfast.  Or any time they want, for that matter!

Sweet Potato Power

Were I not already a lover of sweet potatoes, this book could have hooked me with its opening reference to Anna Karenina!  Of course, I am not surprised that a thoroughly researched, brilliantly written book full of powerful information and delicious recipes should open with a literary reference.  The reason?  It is written by one of my dearest friends, an all-around renaissance woman who can quote Tolstoy while whipping up a perfect sweet-potato frittatta!

The Secret to Sauerkraut

We've made our fair share of sauerkraut, but I was never completely in love with the flavor.  I couldn't get it to taste as good as the stuff from the store, until the last two batches which turned out SO delicious.  Here's how I did it.

Mmm, Chocolatey...

Sometimes, I just give in to the craving...

When Your Kid Wants a "Junky Birthday Cake"

Apparently four-year olds want to eat spray-painted cartoon characters.  Here is a conversation between Sam and I, with direct quotes.  "Sam, what kind of cake do you want for your birthday?"  I'm thinking he'll request one of my regular culinary wonders: a nice sourdough chocolate cake, maybe honey-sweetened carrot cake, or perhaps one of my favorites, whole wheat cake with burnt butter frosting.  Instead he says, "I want a JUNKY cake!  From the store!  With PINK frosting!!!"  Um... yeah.  So, what does one say to the light of their life on their fourth birthday when the desire of their little heart is a poisonous cake?

From the Curiosity Cabinet

So, I got this jar from a neighbor, and when she handed it to me it was all I could do not to recoil.  Does it not totally look like something you would see in some back alley curiosity shop where they have pickled two-headed goats and unicorn horns for sale?

The really crazy thing is that this is something I'm going to consume...

Healing Springtime Soup

Has anyone else got the springtime-sneak-attack-flu in their house?  Here's a little recipe from the archives, shared on Plan to Eat for our healing springtime soup.