hopeful

It's Illinois Marathon weekend here in the bustling microurban community of Champaign-Urbana. Last year, our family was deeply involved: Sean ran the full marathon, I ran the 5K, and Finn participated in the Youth Run. Although Finn was the only one of us to participate in a race this year, we still kept busy watching...

I can hardly call this a recipe; it's more the fortuitous result of having my kid remind me that it's dessert night (Friday) and looking in the fridge to see what I can come up with. I had a pint of strawberries and a batch of plain yogurt, among other things. Add in some brown sugar and you've got all you need for Strawberries...

So for years I have wanted a set of soup and sandwich platters from Uncommon Goods; since I came across these lovely sets four or five years ago, they have had a permanent place on my wishlist.  Aren't they neat? Besides the obvious soup and sandwich combination (which is usually featured at least once a week...

As some of you may remember, my niece Iona lived with us for four months last fall and attended middle school here in Champaign. Just before Christmas we tearfully sent her home to France and started counting the days until summer when we would see her again. Shortly after that, my sister (her mother) let us know that...

This week's menu was largely inspired by this week's sale paper; when peppers go on sale (10 for $10!), we eat a lot of peppers in a lot of different colors for a lot of nights in a row. Since I had recently made my standby roasted red pepper soup, I went searching for something new. This was a delicious and beautiful...

I am proud to say that since posting the recipe for slow cooker yogurt, I have consistently made a batch a week, and we've all enjoyed having that bowl of thick, creamy yogurt on  hand. As the weather turns warmer, we've also been experimenting with yogurt pops. Super easy, super delicious, and much healthier than...

Forget orchids for this mama - for my Easter treat, Sean volunteered to cook the entire dinner and in fact explicitly forbid me from the kitchen the entire day. Throughout the afternoon he photographed his handiwork, claiming inspiration from none other than this blog. I love this man. And so, a moment to remember...

I'm not sure when my mother started making this bread on Easter, nor do I know where she came across the recipe. I only know that when I think of Easter morning, it evokes the wonderful taste combination of hard boiled eggs and big, thick slabs of this fantastic, subtly sweet bread with lots and lots of butter. This is...