I’ve been a devoted Method laundry detergent user for more than three years. Prior to that, I used All Free and Clear for years because it was free of fragrances and dyes that make me itch and give me hives. I changed detergents because Method was more natural and more environmentally friendly. The variety I chose is also free of dyes and fragrances. Plus, it was available at a reasonable price.

Fast forward to today. My children and I went to purchase more detergent and I made a shocking discovery: Method’s price had gone up $2. This isn’t the first increase either. The price of my Method detergent has increased from under $10 a few years ago to $14.99 at Target today. That price point puts it on par with other eco-friendly detergents like Seventh Generation. Although I was intrigued by the other options before, I never seriously considered trying them since Method remained the most cost-effective.

That has changed. Read the rest of this entry…

To see other Wordless Wednesday participants, click here.

It’s been a good summer. A summer filled with time spent with our families, birthdays, beach days, laughs and love. And it’s been a summer of good change — like my decision to pursue full time freelance writing. As a result, we’ve been able to spend much time outdoors, enjoying sand and surf.

The other day, my brother and I pushed off from shore in twin Walden kayaks (if you haven’t heard of Walden Sports, they are a great company that uses recycled plastic to make the kayaks). Our oars cut and dug through the water until we reached a point far off from shore and stopped to rest and relax. The boats rocked gently in the choppy waves as jetskis and motorboats sped farther out. It was pure bliss. Read the rest of this entry…

When Sweetnicks posted about this list, which originated at Very Good Taste in the UK, I was intrigued by the responses.

K, so although this has been floating around the blogosphere, I still wanted to share it here … it’s really interesting to see how the numbers are varying. How do you stack up? Me? I’m a 47.

Check out the list and hit comment to share your number. Read the rest of this entry…

I love beets.

They are one of those vegetables that you can toss with a glaze or chop into a salad. But they don’t require special preparations to be great. They can also shine alone with just a sprinkle of sea salt. When steamed or boiled just right, where they still have a bit of give when you bite into them and they spring back with a trickle of sweetness, they are spectacular.

But beets aren’t just tasty, they are incredibly healthy too. They contain high amounts of folate, potassium, vitamin C and iron. The nutrients are known to help guard against birth defects and heart disease, as well as fight inflammation.

Best of all? Beets are at their freshest right now. When you eat in-season produce fresh from the farm, like these were, the taste is far superior to off-season produce that has been flown thousands of miles and picked before its peak of perfection.

Do you like beets? How do you eat them?

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I just wanted to say a big hello to everyone who is just discovering my site. A very nice person submitted my post on parmesan rosemary sweet potato fries to StumbledUpon, and I have had a number of new visitors since. Thank you all for visiting! And welcome to the Shell Avenue crew and Michigan family too!

Be sure to check out my recipes section for more tasty dishes like zuppa toscana, bacon cheddar barbecue chicken rollatini, and sinfully good salted triple chocolate brownie cookies.

Also, I wanted to give a special thanks to Maddie of Better in Pink!, my site’s host, who has worked hard to ensure that I had enough bandwidth to stay up and running with all of my great new visitors. Thanks Maddie!

When I first saw the heirloom tomato with blue cheese dressing recipe in Barefoot Contessa at Home by Ina Garten (great cookbook, by the way), I wasn’t enthused. I despise mayonnaise and the dressing includes a hearty dose. Instead I made a tangy, tasty vinaigrette to serve over my heirlooms. It was very tasty and I’ve made it again and again since.

But the longer I blog, the more open minded I get. Seriously. It’s amazing how many new foods I’ve given a chance in the past two — nearly three — years. Fiddlehead greens, kale, and several varieties of squash were all new to new. Forget about buffalo meat (though I haven’t cooked that one myself … yet). And along the way, I have stopped being deterred by ingredients like mustard — which isn’t so bad when mixed with out things for a vinaigrette.

So when I discovered an heirloom tomato in my CSA box this week, I knew — I just knew — I had to make this salad as Ina intended. What a concept, right? Actually following a recipe?

Now I don’t know why I waited so long to give this a fair try. Read the rest of this entry…

See all the Wordless Wednesday participants here.

I was absolutely blown away by my overflowing CSA box this week. So much great stuff to use!

The heirloom tomato, grape tomatoes and a red tomato went into a tomato and blue cheese salad (more on that later this week). Another tomato went into a summertime favorite for the kids and I: lemony tomato pasta . . . again, more later this week. I have big plans for pestos — a basil one and a kale one that I am experimenting with.

Now, off to roast radishes, beets and more. As for the corn? It has a date with the grill … mmmm.

Any suggestions for summer turnips? I’ve never had them before. Read the rest of this entry…

As far as summer salads go, coleslaw is a classic. It’s great with everything from hamburgers and hot dogs to fried chicken. But as classics go, there are millions of variations with differing ingredients lists and must-haves. Some are more saucy, some are less. Some have the traditional creamy dressing and others have oil and vinegar or sweet and sour versions . . . talk about classic confusion.

For this recipe, I adapted Robert Irvine’s version from Dinner: Impossible. But the recipe makes so much dressing that I added additional cabbage to soak it up. I also used an herb vinegar instead of the white wine he suggests, and added some blue cheese to the dressing.

The result is a very creamy coleslaw with just the right amount of sweetness.

When I served this with dinner, I fully expected to be the only one eating. Shawn isn’t a cabbage–or coleslaw–fan and I just didn’t think Will would be interested. It’s not the most inspiring looking dish, after all. But boy, was I wrong. When I asked Will if he wanted some, more out of politeness than an honest belief that he’d want it, he said yes. And then, he asked for seconds.

Yay! My boy likes his mama’s cooking! Read the rest of this entry…

Oh, what a mess. A huge, giant mess.

It seemed like such a great idea: Go get ice creams, stroll home, collapse on the lawn and finish them. Except Will’s ice cream had other ideas. It melted like instantly.

Did I get upset? Nah. Why worry? THe stroller can be cleaned. So can Will.

Instead, I laughed. We laughed. I never imagined that the ice cream would melt so quickly and I suspect it came as a surprise to Will as well. I may still be picking bits of dried up ice cream from the stroller belt, but it doesn’t matter. The stroller is just an object. No harm, no foul.

See, that’s the thing about parenting. Sometimes you just have to remember: it’s okay just to laugh. And baby, I am still laughing.