I'm well on my way to gaining the requisite 19 pounds during this pandemic. (Isn't that what the 19 means in Covid 19?) But even while baking bread almost daily and cookies on the very regular, I'm still trying to eat healthy foods too. It's all about balance, right? And boy oh boy nothing makes me feel better about eating healthy food than fish. Bonus points if it's wild caught. Bonus Keep Reading >>
Polynesian Christmas: Lilikoi
As great of a name as is passionfruit, lilikoi sounds even more exotic. Even if, if you ask me, it doesn't look like much. Image by MissSuki from Pixabay For Christmas Eve I made Lilikoi Chiffon Pie for the family. After our last trip to Hawaii whereupon I committed to learning how to make this heavenly treat, I searched for a recipe. As it turns out, many people have sought to create this Keep Reading >>
Polynesian Christmas: It’s About Family
The main, underlying theme I discovered while researching this year was the importance of family. Polynesians value family time as sacred. They keep their celebrations simple and rejoice in their time together. And that my friends is what we did today. Family time, food, and music. So while I still have more to share, I'm keeping things simple today. Merry Christmas, everyone! This Keep Reading >>
Know Your Fisherman, with Sitka Salmon Shares
When people ask me where I'm from, I demure. I'm never confident in the geography skills of the asker. Sometimes my easiest answer is "the Alaska part of Canada." See? Now you've got a general concept of location (adjacent to Alaska, north west portion of Canada.) To be more specific I explain that I grew up just over the pass from Skagway. From there Southeast Alaska was easily within Keep Reading >>
Polynesian Christmas: Fancy POG
Pog. I discovered that POG is a magical elixir that magically add sunshine to my teenager. I can't explain it. Have you had POG? We can't find it outside of Hawaii but it's simple enough to make if you can source the three ingredients. All you need is equal parts passion fruit, orange, and guava juices. Sometimes I can find a can of guava, but never have I ever found POG. Even so, passion Keep Reading >>
Polynesian Christmas: Pineapple
Oh pineapples. You're so prickly on the outside, so soft and sweet and juicy on the inside. You're the symbol of hospitality. And dare I say it but the most charismatic of fruits? Or versatile? Plus they only cost a couple of dollars. Pineapples never last long in our home because we love so much to eat them. But we can't help ourselves from making this fruit a little festive around the Keep Reading >>
Polynesian Christmas: Island-Style Snowman Snacktivity
I'll be honest: I've never seen something like this the whole time I lived in Hawaii. In fact, at dinner after we made these we tried to figure out the logistics of making a snowman out of sand. Not to be confused with the sandman. So no. I'm not going to pretend this is one authentic Polynesian delicacy. But it's fun. This is Christmas, not an anthropological thesis. So if you're a purist Keep Reading >>
Polynesian Christmas
I had so much fun with our Nordic Christmas last year. We found so many new traditions to incorporate into our family! I could hardly wait to get started with this year's Christmas theme. Our family opted for something a bit warmer this year. Michigan is lovely but it is not a tropical paradise. However we have chosen to take our warm memories and learn some new traditions to brighten and warm Keep Reading >>
Nordic Christmas: Looking Back
You know what? Planning a themed holiday was a lot more daunting before I started. In the end Nordic Christmas worked out really well. I learned a few things. The structure gave me focus on days I might have treated like any other Tuesday. And I definitely found a few new traditions I want to keep in our family. This post is part of our series exploring Nordic Christmas traditions. To see the Keep Reading >>
A Tiger-tastic Party
Somehow my baby turned four. Don't ask me how it happened. I remain as mystified at that as I am that my oldest is just shy of 15. Life's full of mysteries, friends. Kids grow up. Anyway, little man requested a tiger party. Maybe he wanted a Daniel Tiger party, I don't know. But he didn't say Daniel Tiger party. He just said tiger party. So I threw him a tiger party. I tried to walk the line Keep Reading >>