{At one point in the evening, we were dressed presentably. However, it didn’t take us long to switch into sweats and our most comfortable tops. No sparkles at this party.} {Amber, Baylen and Jake enjoying appetizers at Lonski’s in Grinnell.} {Showing off Joey’s office space to our siblings. Since our apartment is a loft, it’s nice to have some work-life separation by renting an office space.} {The soon-to-be newlyweds, Jason and Ali.} {Happy 2012!} As you can see, we laid … Read More
Easy Three Bean Beef Chili
I can hardly believe that 2012 is already here and 2011 is just a memory. While I spent the most of last week and this past weekend sick with a killer cold, we did manage to have a little bit of fun ringing in the new year. Joey’s sister and brother-in-law, Amber and Jake, along with baby Baylen, as well as Joey’s brother, Jason and his fiancé, Ali, all made the trip to Grinnell to stay with us for the … Read More
Dutch Saucijsjes (aka Dutch Pig in the Blanket)
I’d like to take a minute and introduce you to a very special woman, my grandma Dorothy Bomgaars. Dorothy is my mother’s mother and happens to be a very good (Dutch) cook. My mom grew up on a farm in Iowa with four brothers, and my grandma was in charge of feeding a family of seven every day. I can’t imagine cooking for that many people every day. And although she will be 91 in March, my grandma is incredibly … Read More
I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and got a chance to spend a little quality time with friends and family. Joey and I spent the last five days back home in northwest Iowa and packed in as much time with loved ones as humanly possible. Maybe we spent a little too much time on the go, because this morning I woke up with a terrible sore throat and just felt pretty crummy overall. I’m hoping that a little extra … Read More
It’s the MOST Wonderful Time of the Year
Today is a special day because my mom, Marilyn, has agreed to do a guest post for me! She worked a little Christmas magic in our apartment this year and was kind enough to share a little heart-warming Christmas story to celebrate the holidays. How fun is this – guest blogging? I love this time of year, and as followers of Espresso and Cream, I thought you might enjoy hearing how Madison and Joe’s loft apartment was decorated for their … Read More
Healthier Peppermint Cheesecake
For those of you that are still looking for a festive dessert over the holidays that is something a little fancier than cookies, this Healthier Peppermint Cheesecake would make a fabulous addition to your holiday table. Joey and I had friends over last week and the finale to our meal was this cheesecake. Since I figured everyone this time of year gets enough heavy, calorie-dense meals, I wanted to keep the dessert lighter than traditional cheesecake. When I found this … Read More
‘Chicken’ Noodle Soup
Lately, I’ve been trying to do a better job about documenting how Joey and I eat together as a mixed vegetarian and omnivore family. With so few hours of daylight these days, there have been a lot of meals that have gone undocumented, since I have yet to master the art of photographing food in artificial light. That said, once in a while I manage to snap a photo of a lunch or dinner here and there. Last week this … Read More
Now on DailyGarnish.com
Happy Friday, everyone! I don’t know about you, but I’m almost as excited about this weekend as I am about Christmas. Joey and I have been traveling on the weekends like crazy people – I think we’ve been gone five out of the last six weekends and a majority of the weekends this fall. So this weekend, we have a lazy weekend planned at home. We’ll also be hosting a pre-Christmas dinner party with some of our friends from Bible … Read More
Brown Sugar Cookies with Mint Chocolate Glaze
I created these recipes a while back to share as part of a Christmas cookie exchange on Amy’s blog. Amy and I have a mutual friend: her cousin, Emily, happens to be a good high school friend of mine. When Amy asked if I would take part in her ’25 Days of Cookies’ I was excited to have another reason to bake and create something special. These cookies really do deliver on the special. Instead of making traditional sugar cookies … Read More
Sweet and Sour Tempeh Salad
I got an e-mail from a reader last week asking about how I eat vegetarian even though my hubby doesn’t. When we first got married, I was wondering the same thing! Since I do most of the cooking, figuring out how we could still eat healthfully at home within our dietary constraints was up to me. This salad is a perfect example of how we eat together. My protein source for this dinner salad was tempeh glazed in a super … Read More
Review: Hotel Chocolat
A couple of months ago, the amazing people over at Hotel Chocolat offered to send over some chocolates from their holiday collection for me to review. Of course, I said yes! I mean the opportunity to eat free chocolate? Count me in. I wasn’t exactly sure what I would be reviewing, so imagine my delight when I unwrapped this amazing beautiful box of gourmet chocolates. My mom was visiting when I received the chocolates, so of course I took photos … Read More
Honey Graham Salmon
I’m thinking of naming this week of posts “Confession Week.” After the name-changing fears and discussion earlier this week (thanks for all your awesome responses – it’s amazing to hear everyone’s experiences), it’s time to talk about my eating habits. When I first went vegetarian, the thing I anticipated missing the most was fish. I could live without chicken, pork and beef without batting an eye, but fish, on the other hand, was another story. During the first six months … Read More