Shaina Olmanson's Blog, page 16

Weekly Menu: Jump Start Your Monday

A springtime menu and a few inspirational links that will get you in the “face the week” frame of mind. Plus, as always, there are a few tips on making the menu plan run as smoothly as possible.




I got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. This may have to do with the undeniable fact that I went to bed feeling salty. It’s hard to start the week off right when your weekend wasn’t relaxing. There was no rest and recovery stage, and so hitting the ground running just feels forced. I have n...

Ricotta Gnocchi: Finding Perfection Within Imperfections

A little how-to and recipe on making ricotta gnocchi (gnocchi di ricotta) using our whole milk ricotta, as well as some perfection pondering.




The answer is eluding me. There is this concept of grace I can’t quite grasp. I can feel it, invading my chest cavity and taking up residence there, pulsing along with the beating of my heart. However, when I reach out towards it and try to hold it in my hand, it dissipates, falling through my fingers like mist on a cold, wet morning.


I tend to dwell on i...

Spinach Ricotta Lasagna Made by My Kids

In which we turn our homemade ricotta into a spinach-and-ricotta-filled lasagna with ground beef and a homemade tomato sauce. The recipe and method of which was created and carried out by the four kids in our family with some help from their mom.




“A light exists in spring

Not present on the year

At any other period.”

-Emily Dickinson


The beginning of spring marked more than just the vernal equinox in our house. New schedules are passed out during homeroom, and a new trimester calls for a fresh not...

Spring Cleaning Your Pantry: Eat Well, Spend Less

Time for a little spring cleaning of the kitchen pantry. What to keep, what to throw, and how long do those shelf stable items really last?




Outside my window I can see the water drip, dripping from glistening icicles off the roof. Spring is coming, and winter is moving silently through the backdoor like an uninvited guest, slinking into the shadows. Soon the snow will melt, revealing a brown lawn and gardens full of sad, brown plants and empty dirt, but as spring emerges, small bits of green w...

Homemade Whole Milk Ricotta Cheese

An easy recipe to make creamy whole milk ricotta at home to spread on crostini, add to pasta, spread between layers of lasagna, or just eat by the spoonful while it’s still warm.




To begin again.

I try and try and try again,

To at once start over and then again.


My family is often frustrated with the state of being, the simple condition of life. The monotony of daily life can be tiresome, wearing on us until we feel thin and weak, holding on to the threads of a well worn sweater. The same homework...

Weekly Menu: A Green Spring

A spring greens inspired menu plan with spinach, chard, and arugula all featured for those with a green-heavy CSA. Plus, a bit of Irish holdover.

Get the recipe for creamed spinach cups over on the Attune Foods blog

My hands were cold, so I made a cup of rooibos tea. An influx of rooibos in my cupboard collected from sample packs correlates to diligently making an effort to enjoy the red tea, but I can’t help but feeling as though I’m downing a steaming hot cup of Robitussin each time I try. My...

Grapefruit Halibut Ceviche with Plantain Chips: Spring Break Eats

Sturdy halibut chunks are marinated in lime, then tossed with grapefruit, red onions, jalapeños, and cilantro in this ceviche served with baked plantain chips.




Now that I have confessed my inner most desires to you, I thought we should continue along the road of discovery. In addition to being less than well traveled, yet continuously fascinated by language and culture, reading endlessly trying to soak it up from my snow-covered corner of the universe, and lusting after worlds I have never see...

Weekly Menu St. Patrick’s Day Style

A weekly menu plan with St. Patrick’s Day in mind plus tips on how all the meals work together to create a functional meal plan that won’t take up all your time or all your money.



The weekend devoured me in a chlorinated steam cloud, the kind that hits you in the chest with the first breath as you enter the pool deck. The last of the season. From here to Sunday it’s all spring break around these parts, which means we started the week off with plenty of snow in our pockets.


St. Patrick’s Day is...

A Menu for Eating Well and Spending Less

This week’s menu plan, a round-up of interesting links from last week including the Eat Well, Spend Less questions, and a bit of bickering.



Really, there’s no bickering. I don’t think.


I like to read. Have we talked about this little piece of information? I feel like we should talk about this. If I had my way, life would be made up of reading, writing, good food, music (both the kind I play and the live and recorded listening variety), and maybe a few hours a month devoted to television (only t...

Poblano Black Bean Chili with Cilantro Avocado Cream

Mildly piquant Poblano peppers add kick to this full-bodied black bean beef chili recipe with a cooling cilantro and avocado cream on top.

We woke up in Narnia. Snow had cascaded down from a dark midnight sky and left a soft white blanket that covered the ground and coated the trees. The grey mountains of snow at the ends of driveways had been washed clean and sparkled. Footprints and ice...