When I stepped away from my career to dazzle the world with my mothering prowess, just ask the kids how that’s working out for me, I looked for a thought-provoking tightrope that would suspend my brain between kid übering and spectator marathons of Little League games. UCLA sat 6 blocks from my front door.

Dreaming of being a less quirky (and less talented) David Sedaris, I enrolled in a creative writing class or two. It’s okay if you judge my writing ability at this moment and then hope I didn’t pay too much for tuition. I did. Those skills landed me assignments at this publication whose pay scale made minimum wage seem like one-percenter income.

My interest morphed into screenwriting. You know, when in Rome. read more

Tastes like chicken right? Themost common food search term is “chicken recipe.” And I thought it was minted pea puree. So, I owe you a chicken meal post. Five mentions of chicken in first paragraph and my SEO will be through the roof. chicken.

If you are a food-fast person and by being here, I imagine you are, Cooking Light is just about the best resource for getting the good stuff on the table in a reasonable amount of time. I’ve made chicken verde enchiladas a few times (I mean how can I get a natural sunlight photo when serving at dinnertime) and it’s a winner, winner chicken dinner. Not your soppy enchilada style either, because the filling has intense seasoning flavor provided by small amounts of salsa verde and spices.

You’ll use a few more ingredients here than I know you prefer, but make it in big batches and freeze it (without avocado and sour cream, please). Your family will rally and you will have a go-to in a pinch. read more

Hey kids, we’re having peas. Come on mom, we had vegetables this week.

I pulverized them into baby food. gross and gross.

Yeah, and I added mint too. What? peas aren’t candy.

Best part. We don’t have to eat it?

No, it’s cold. Omg, give me anything but your cold pea soup.

Experts predict this hot weather we’re experiencing is just the tip of the melting iceberg for summer – global weirding they call it.

Although chilled soup is hardly al-gore-ing it, this simple go-green doesn’t take much irrigation or effort and delivers a satisfying summertime starter or ender. You’ll impress yourself, I promise – a handful of ingredients, refrigerator ready, and a good veggie fix that the kids will object to at first and then eat up.

I was inspired, no compelled, to recreate this porridge served at a small cafe within a set of fancy shops – sunglasses indoors required. The farm fresh food is humble here to make room for the big LA scene. Our waitress was kind enough to rake the recipe out of the chef for us twice because it seemed too simple to be this good. Really – peas, mint, veg stock & salt. That’s all.

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Do you all watch cooking shows? I obsess over them, but just one at a time, like binge eating. Some only have a few episodes that are recycled into oblivion – honestly I’ve watched Erin make English muffins three times, like I don’t know how it’s going to end …deliciously. There are few stalwarts, like this pioneerwho’s baby girl voice makes using two sticks of butter seem so innocent.I’m lured in by her lifestyle and her homeschooling the kids and her kind of old fashioned everything except for super white teeth and her camera ease and then all the butter again. The kids rustle cattle and work farm equipment and then get a collective lesson in history despite their 10 year age range. My new fave isHeartland Table with Amy Theilen. She’s pedigreed in world class cuisine and yet moved back to her little Minnesota home in the woods to cook for her family. Her pots and pans are caked with yesterday’s meals and I swear there’s an air of bitterness in her attitude perhaps from the winters , but her recipes are clever and approachable. Is it wrong that I keep expecting to see a woodchipper in her back yard? I have made this easy, easy marinated cherry tomato salad from Heartland Table at least twenty times. The secret flavor in the marinade is a hint of sweetness to bring out tomatoes’ natural flavors. read more

I have this vision that someday, when we’re not tethered to jobs or schools, we’ll go on a worldwide, forever vacation by way of house swapping. Why retire here when you can retire there, right? Just add airfare, housekeeping, translation books and stir.

Over spring break, we dabbled. We stayed at a home herewhile my amazing MIL, Nancy, and her friends stayed in our house. Not only did these wonderful guests leave the place better than how we left it – sorry about that dirty hamster cage – but they filled the refrigerator with cooked foods and sauces that we ate for days and then thanked us with wonderful handwritten stories, a sumptuous bottle of wine and this splendid book.

The headliner was this whole grain rice salad for which Nancy shared the recipe and I had to share with you here. read more