Snow is in the forecast here in Wisconsin, which means it's Soup Season!

I love soups and stews, so I prepare large batches that I divide into smaller servings that I freeze to have on hand all Winter long. French Cabbage Soup is one of my absolute favorite comfort foods. Even people who insist they do not like cabbage, love this soup.

Below is the recipe exactly as I make it, but you can modify it to lower it's fat content by substituting EVOO or coconut oil for some of the butter, smoked turkey sausage instead of pork keilbasa, and omit the bacon.  However, I can not vouch for the flavor if you do this since it's the fat and smokiness that makes this soup so delicious.

French Cabbage Soup

Ingredients:

8 Tbsp. butter, divided
1 slice of thick-cut hickory smoked bacon, cut into...

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One of my favorite things about Fall is gathering around the firepit with friends, sipping spiced spiked cider, on a chilly October night.

Bonus: Your entire house will smell divine while simmering this delicious brew.

Boozy Hot Honey-Apple Cider
Serves 10

4 cups apple cider
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup honey
2 cinnamon sticks
6 whole cloves
4 whole allspice
750 ml bottle of dry white wine
Optional: brandy

Place the apple cider, lemon juice, honey, wine, and spices in a 4 quart dutch oven and bring to a simmer (do not boil).

Reduce heat and low simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes. Remove the spices, or leave them in the pot. 

Ladle into mugs and add a splash of brandy.

Make it extra awesome: burn a Cider House Soy Candle and infuse your whole house with the delicious aroma of boozy spiced cider.

Enjoy!

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This is my favorite recipe for "Refrigerator Pickles", a sweet "bread and butter" pickle, and a family favorite. They're so simple to make and are delicious on a sandwich or enjoyed straight out of the jar.

I make this recipe when I have a surplus of cucumbers that I grow in my garden, but you can head to your farmers market and buy cucumbers, they're in season right now here in Wisconsin. 

Lisa's Bread and Butter Pickles
Makes 4 pint-size jars

3 pounds of pickling cucumbers, sliced 1/4 inch thick on a mandolin (or knife)
3 Tbsp. kosher salt
1 large sweet onion (red onion or vidalia), sliced paper thin on a mandolin
2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 cups white vinegar
1 cup apple cider vinegar
3 tsp. mustard seeds
1/2 tsp. celery seed
1/4 tsp. tumeric

Combine the cucumber slices and...

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This is not a water bath ("canning") recipe, this is a super simple, counter-top fermentation process. You'll need a one quart Mason jar (or Ball brand) and a Ball brand "Fermentation Lid and Spring". If you like fermented foods, you're going to get hooked on homemade Kimchi.

Ingredients:

2 large heads of Napa cabbage
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 Tbsp. fresh ginger, grated
1 large carrot, grated
1 bunch of scallions, whites and part of the greens, sliced
1 Tbsp. Korean chili pepper flakes (add more or less, to your taste)
1 tsp. sugar

Prepare:

Slice the cabbage into quarters, rinse well under cold water. Remove the core and slice into 2 inch ribbons. Place in a large bowl with 2 Tbsp. of Kosher salt. Massage the salt into the cabbage, squeezing to release the liquid. Pound with...

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"Good Food, Fast: Outstanding Recipes For Busy People, Pantry To Plate In A Half-Hour" is my latest passion project. This collection of recipes are my own creations, complied from 10+ years of making delicious meals, in a hurry.

This is the second cookbook I've written and will be the third book I publish.

If you'd like to pre-order a copy, shoot me a message. I anticipate it being in print by Holiday 2020.

Here's a sample recipe from the cookbook:

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Creating Sacred Space and Rituals for Transformation
(includes excerpts from Daily Om)

The mind can be a tsunami of routines, activities, conditioned behaviors, commitments, intentions, and desires. Couple this with the unknown, unplanned, and unexpected uncertainties that unfold with every text, email, phone call and conversation and before you know it... you've been carried away on a tidal wave of reactivity and lost track of the dream you set out to manifest.  How do you find clarity in the midst of chaos?

All the ancient wisdom traditions teach us that the key to living a life of deep fulfillment comes with a daily ritual that calms our mind, connects us to our inner wisdom, opens our heart, brings us peace, and helps us make good decisions as we move throughout the day.

The key to cultivating this ritual is to...

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I make this bread whenever I have over-ripe bananas. The bananas should be mushy, which is key to a moist bread that needs very little added sugar. You will not miss the gluten, I promise. This bread is not dry or crumbly like many gluten free breads and muffins are. This recipe is also dairy free, if that's your thing.

Ingredients:

• 2 cup Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free 1:1 Baking Flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. sea salt
• 4 eggs
• 2 cups mashed banana  (4-5 bananas)
• 3/4 cup honey  (substitute 1/2 cup coconut sugar OR 1 cup cane sugar)
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1/3 cup extra light olive oil  (substitute canola or any veggie oil)
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Optional: add 1/2 cup chopped nuts and/or 1/2 cup chocolate...

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You attract into your life whatever it is you focus on. Whatever you give your energy and attention to will come back to you. Focus on the good and postive, and that's what you will manifest in your life. Focus on the negative, and that's what will manifest in your life.
.

Science or Woo? I suppose that depends upon what you believe

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But what about the big things? The things that we don't give much of our attention to and we tend to take for granted. What happens when we are blindsided and required to face something that can break...

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The poem at the bottom of this post magically appeared in my in-box the night I returned home from moving my son into his dorm at UW-Madison to embark upon his freshman year of college. Move-in day was a day I had both dreaded and looked forward to for years. I returned home that night with my butt completely kicked from the emotional hemorrhage that went down. My heart was both heavy with grief, and bursting with pride. It was a difficult year, leading up to his leaving. The saving grace was knowing that my son was at his dream school, thriving and happier than he's ever been.

Like so many other life circumstance, I thought we were "ready" last August. I now know that I was prepared, but I was not ready. I didn't fully...

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