Shaina Olmanson's Blog, page 14
July 17, 2013
Strawberry Green Tea Pops: Mighty Leaf
A refreshing ice pop recipe that combines your favorite berries (these were strawberry) and green iced tea to form a quintessential summer treat.
10 Quick and Dirty Summer Facts
Every spring I plant my garden with the greatest of intentions. I plan and plot, and I care for each plant as if they were a small baby. By mid-July I’m tired. I hate having to water the plants, and I often skip days – multiple – in between watering, even when it’s 98º F and 86% humidity *because* it’s 98º F and 86% hum...
July 11, 2013
How to Make Gravlax: Salmon Season
Gravlax at home: You know you want to, this cured salmon deserves a place atop crackers and cheese, topping off your morning bagel, in place of the Canadian bacon on your eggs benedict (this please, over and over again). Get the how-to.
This thing I do, life, sometimes I am terrible at it. I fail.
More often than not, actually.
My house is in shambles. It has reached and then exceeded the acceptable level of dirt and grime for accommodating four children beneath its shingles. There are piles. Th...
July 8, 2013
The State of the Garden {A Tour}: July 2013
A quick tour of our backyard gardens, which got off to a late start due to the inclement weather we had this spring, but are now finally in full swing.
I think it’s about time I shared the ever changing landscape of my backyard.
We started the summer with a plan to build a shed, which turned into a first step of building a new garden box. Of course, I am referring to the collective “we” here, by which I mean I do a lot of consulting and Ole does a lot of building, digging, hammering, sawing, an...
July 3, 2013
Peach Crisp Pops Recipe
Refreshing and crunchy all in one, peach crisp pops are a mix of youthful fun and adult flavor in one cooling summer treat.
Simple + Summer. These are two things that I would like to live together, to get cozy with each other. Instead, it always feels as if summer is sprinting out ahead of me, and we’re following behind, arms piled high with extra pairs of flip-flops, beach towels, summer reading books, the keys to the car and the house barely holding on, looped around my pinky. My kids are fa...
July 1, 2013
Tangy Vinegar Coleslaw for Your 4th of July Barbecue
Crunchy cabbage gets slathered in a honey-sweetened vinegar sauce for a barbecue salad recipe that is equal parts crunch and tang, and just slightly sweet.
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” – Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776
The 4th of July, Independence Day, July the 4th, however you choose to style it, rather...
June 27, 2013
Ricotta Pancake Strawberry Stacks with Honey Rhubarb Syrup
This recipe for honey whole wheat ricotta pancakes stacked with strawberries and drizzled with a honey rhubarb syrup makes an easy breakfast or breakfast for dinner.
I fully realize that in some areas of the country strawberries signify spring. In my area of the country, strawberry season started just two days ago. Here strawberries blush with the very beginning of summer. Last year they were a few weeks early, this year late, but most years they appear right after school lets out for summer....
June 18, 2013
Dissecting Lunches for Your Summer Vacation {Eat Well, Spend Less}
Take a look at how to survive summer with these kid-friendly lunch ideas for everything from road tripping to lounging around the house. 
Summer, when kids run wild and reckless with abandon. This month on the Eat Well, Spend Less series we’re looking at all the ins and outs of summer eating, be it cookouts, camping, during road trips, while on vacation, or just while lounging at home. I’m sharing a few of my lunchtime tips for all sorts of summer situations.
The Road Trip Lunch
The classic road...
June 14, 2013
Homemade South Carolina Style Mustard Barbecue Sauce
After much pleading and prodding, Ole shares his secret sauce: Homemade South Carolina Style Mustard Barbecue Sauce. Or does he? Getting this recipe was like pulling teeth, and I’m pretty sure we have an impacted molar still hiding in there somewhere. Read on for barbecue wisdom.
In the summer of 2003 I pulled the trigger. I was a lifelong (26 whole years) resident of Minnesota. I had a college degree, an honest job, a trendy apartment in uptown Minneapolis, but I wasn’t done learning. I wante...
June 12, 2013
Say Hello to Summer with Key Lime Pie Pops
Creamy yogurt-and-honey key lime pie frozen pops on a stick with a crunchy graham cracker pie crust.
Excuse the mess. My kids are home for the summer. The skies are crying. No. Literally, the skies are crying and the kids are stuck inside with me. Send help.
This rain is casting its dark-clouded self over my carefully laid (read: sort of considered and mentally noted) list of summer activities for the kids. I’m taking it as a sign that this week is a week for planning out the rest of our summer...
June 7, 2013
I’m Going to Start with the Grilled Radicchio {Honey Ginger Dressing}
Radicchio hits the grill and gets drizzled with a honey-sweetened ginger dressing in this easy side salad recipe.
There was something about the way they looked that drew me to them, these deep purple variegated orbs sitting amongst a sea of green on the produce department. I added them to my cart without purpose. Once home, they nestled in the crisper drawer, getting cozy with the chioggia beets and rainbow chard that also caught my eye. A few bunches of ramps rounded out the renters, paying t...
