Shaina Olmanson's Blog, page 18

Caramelized Shallot and Gruyère Quiche with Rosemary Crust: Comfort Food

Sweet caramelized onions dance with creamy Gruyère in velvety egg custard with a bit of tangy yogurt all nestled inside a flaky rosemary crust in this easy quiche recipe.






That hour when the sun starts to whisper its goodbye sends pinkish rays streaming through the kitchen window, bouncing off the surfaces and bottles, casting sharp shadows across smooth surfaces. The room becomes bright and darkened all at once, the light playing and dancing with each passing moment.


The subtle stinging of fres...

Creamy Cauliflower Soup and Creating Clarity

Shallots and thyme create an aromatic cauliflower soup that is just the right amount of creamy and indulgent with this easy recipe.






Warm mittens have been pulled over tiny fingers to protect from the winter wind under a star-filled sky. We’ve scurried across the frozen driveway and climbed in the car, which is now gliding down the driveway, backing out into the quiet blackness of a winter’s night.


“Mom?”


“Yep.”


“So, when everyone gets in their car and turns the music on, is it the same music in a...

Looking Back on 2012 to Look Into 2013

A brief look at which posts and recipes resonated with you in 2012, and what that means for 2013 here at Food for My Family. I wasn’t going to do one of these posts where we tick off the top 10 (or 12 as the trend seems to be) posts of the past year. Still, here I am on Friday of the first week, and it seems like a legitimate place to start off 2013. So, these are a few of the posts that received the most love this year:




Ginger Coconut Oil Sugar Scrub

Rosemary Mint Shaving Cream

Cream Biscuits a...

Homemade Irish Cream and a Happy New Year

A recipe to make your own homemade Irish cream using Irish whiskey, coffee, chocolate, and of course, cream. A delightful toast to the New Year.




So we head towards the close of another year on the Gregorian calendar.


The end of the year and the beginning of a new one always seems like a good time to become that introspective person reflecting on life and its purpose, the meaning of it all, why we exist, and where we are headed, to reorient our personal path, make difficult choices or changes, a...

Wishing You a Happy Holidays

We would like to wish you a happy holidays from all of us here at Food for My Family.

Playbill-style font abuse and prose: Shaina

Daguerreotype-style image: Shaina

Serious faces: (from left) Magnus, Kiera, Lene, Kjell

Moral Support: Ole

Lemon Thyme Shortbread with Earl Grey Glaze: Tea and Cookies

Lemon and thyme shortbread gets an Earl Grey glaze for a tea and cookies treat that is really more cookies with a touch of tea (but also divine with a cup on the side).




My kitchen has been taken over by cookies. They dot the surface of the counter, are tucked into boxes and bags that line the dining room table, have made themselves comfortable on the wire shelves in my small refrigerator, completely blocking the access to any food you might consider eating for dinner or lunch or breakfast or a...

Molten Orange Chocolate Lava Cake in a Jar {Desserts in Jars}

This recipe for molten dark chocolate lava cakes with a creamy chocolate center is seasoned with the zest of a Christmas orange and a bit of Christmas spirit(s) for a divine dessert in a jar.






Let’s discuss what makes a good holiday meal. It begins with an email from the host. Subject line: It’s Time to Prepare the Feast.


The night starts with appetizers and bloody marys, shrimp dips and weenies on toothpicks, baked brie, and an assortment of canapés. Dinner comes next. There are few things I di...

A HisXHers Holiday Block Party Giveaway ($500 Shopping Spree!!)

Watch HisXHers get their Caramel Corn on and enter their Holiday Block Party for a chance to win a $500 Visa Gift Card Shopping Spree or one of 15 Good Cook Bakeware sets.





It’s a Holiday Block Party, and you’re just 24 hours away from winning a last-minute $500 Holiday Shopping Spree from Good Cook! My friend Brooke from Cheeky Kitchen has been brewing up some crazy fun videos with her best friend, Eldon Kartcher of Daddy Evolving over at HisXHers.com. Through their passion for food, design, a...

Sautéed Bacon and Blue Brussels Sprouts with Pomegranate

A simple yet elegant side dish of Brussels spouts sautéed with bacon and shallots, and tossed with blue cheese and pomegranate. A recipe worthy of your holiday meal.




Occasionally I fall into a rut. Ruts can be a varied and sordid affair, ranging from general self-loathing to avoidance behaviors of all things requiring me to scrub. Conversely, they aren’t necessarily all bad. For example, there are instances where a dinner rut can taste very, very good.


It was in such a rut that I found myself r...

Eat Well and Spend Less on Edible Homemade Gifts for the Holidays

Ideas for edible homemade gifts for the holidays from baking mixes to cupcakes to ingredients for everyone on your list.




There are certain times of the year where I start to feel as though we are bleeding money. The beginning of the school year is a great time for this feeling, with new backpacks, school clothes and shoes, supplies, fall sports payments, field trip forms, and everything else that comes along with having four kids. Then right after we’ve recovered from that, Christmas hits. Th...