It’s taken years of trial and error, but we finally have a technique for smoking salmon that is both tasty and replicable. We’ve been asked about our process so many times that I decided to post it here with step-by-step photo instructions. (These photos are from previous years; some images will be updated when I smoke our next batch later this summer.) We use a … Continue reading Smoked Salmon
Craft pumpkins. Carving pumpkins. Sugar pumpkins. Pumpkin pies and pumpkin seeds… this has been the pumpkiniest October ever! I’m glad the kids agree that you’re never too old to carve a jack-o-lantern, and that tradition continued for another year. Sam and Lucy went for traditional jack-o-lanterns. Maggie picked a ghost template, and Clark and collaborated on the “Boo” ghost. He gutted it, and I carved. … Continue reading Pumpkin Mania
Most years I prefer to downplay my birthday and simply get it over with, but this year I decided to use it to my advantage. I’ve been wanting to host a cooking competition with family friends for eons, and this was the perfect way to make it happen! The evening was loosely based on the Food Network show Chopped, where chefs face off in head-to-head … Continue reading Chopped
I vividly remember the first time I stumbled across a quote by George Bernard Shaw: “He who can does; he who cannot, teaches.” Boy did that ruffle my non-existent feathers. I wanted to peck his little Nobel Prize to pieces. I’ve been in education for over 20 years, and here’s what I know to be true: Teachers find self worth by sharing knowledge, not attaining … Continue reading Best Bagels, Best Teachers
The Talkeetna Roadhouse offers a pie making class on weekends throughout the winter, and if you are looking for an easy Alaskan weekend getaway then definitely put this on your list. It’s a fun event for book clubs, couples, girlfriends, or (in our case) mother-daughter excursions. Our group consisted of six: three moms and three teenage girls. We unanimously voted for a weekend getaway in … Continue reading A Much-Kneaded Getaway
Oh, kitchen appliances, we love you so. Some are keepers for life (I’m talking to you, Kitchen Aid stand mixer) and others are keepers in the garage (we do use the bread machine once or twice a year, and the vacuum sealer is essential for annual fish processing). Other gadgets were donated long ago, such as George Foreman’s countertop rotisserie that should have been named … Continue reading Liquid Gold
I’ve been organizing old photos lately, and it makes me pine for the days when the kids were cheek-pinchingly adorable. But it would be a shame to get so lost in nostalgia that I miss this current phase that I’ll someday be nostalgic for, so I’m doing my darndest to live in the present. The present is busy, between work and shuttling kids to school, … Continue reading Junior Grillmeister
Pumpkin pie is an anomaly to me: it smells like heaven in the oven, but I never, ever want to eat it. There’s no confusion for Clark or Sam: they’re all about the pumpkin pie, all the time. They love both the smell and the taste, as long as Cool Whip is involved. Because I’m (occasionally) a good wife and mother, I try my best … Continue reading Pumpkin Pie
Profoundly Ordinary 