la pomme de portland - Part 2

Sometimes It’s Not About the Plan

May 10, 2012 By Carrie 18 Comments

When I asked Molly O’Neill if I should rent a car for my trip to Santa Fe in April to attend her Food Writer’s Retreat, she replied, “Nah, we have plenty of cars.” When I asked how I should get from the Albuquerque airport to Santa Fe, Molly said, “You can ride in with my [...]

[Continue reading...]

Filed Under: personal Tagged With: goals, writing 18 Comments

Serendipity? Hard Work? Or a Little of Both?

May 3, 2012 By Carrie 66 Comments

About three years ago, at what felt like the exact moment the publishing world imploded, a new magazine showed up on shelves here in Oregon: 1859 Oregon’s Magazine. I was immediately smitten and have been a faithful reader ever since. I love that they cover our whole state. I’m inspired by their stories about [...]

[Continue reading...]

Filed Under: 1859 Oregon's Magazine, personal Tagged With: 1859 66 Comments

A Little Diddy to Say Thanks….

May 1, 2012 By Carrie 10 Comments

My guy after his Lacrosse game. He was so wiped he didn’t even make it past the couch before he was asleep. Shhh….those of you who know him, don’t tell him I put this pic up. I feel full of gratitude. Many of you emailed me or called me or sent “get well soon” [...]

[Continue reading...]

Filed Under: AM Northwest TV, parenting, personal 10 Comments

A Few Thoughts on Food Followed by Chicken Sausages with Tomatoes and Shallots

April 17, 2012 By Carrie 12 Comments

Sausages with tomatoes and shallots

I suppose the acronym FLOSS can be used to describe my thoughts on food. I suppose I could also be labeled as energetic and sleep-deprived, frazzled and bossy, presbyopic and middle-aged, but why…why must we label everything? I can’t think of a greater need as a human being than to eat. Okay, well, maybe drink. [...]

[Continue reading...]

Filed Under: Dinner, what's in season?, winter Tagged With: beans, chicken, garlic, shallots, thyme, tomatoes, winter 12 Comments

Seeking Sunlight

April 10, 2012 By Carrie 29 Comments

Sun streaming through cherry blossoms

My twelve-year-old, inherited it all – the allergies, the sensitive stomach, the asthma. And somehow, it just doesn’t seem fair. He’s my athlete. My sporty-guy. The one who will stand out in the rain shooting baskets for hours while the rest of us stay dry inside. The one who will use the twenty [...]

[Continue reading...]

Filed Under: parenting, personal, spring, winter 29 Comments

Am I Doing it Right???

March 6, 2012 By Carrie 12 Comments

Ribolllita

My sixth-grader is hard on himself. When I sit down to help him with his homework, the first thing out of his mouth is, “I don’t know if I did it right.” When I start to read aloud a rough-draft essay of his, he’ll cry out, “Oh, stop reading. It’s total crap.” A few days [...]

[Continue reading...]

Filed Under: Dinner, winter Tagged With: basil, beans, carrots, celery, cheese, garlic, kale, onions, pancetta, parmesan, soup, tomatoes, winter 12 Comments

A Peek Back Twenty Years Ago

February 24, 2012 By Carrie 36 Comments

Last week, February 15th to be exact, Dave and I celebrated our 20th Wedding Anniversary. I spent the afternoon watching our wedding video. I wanted to watch it before everyone got home so I would be able to better anticipate the parts I could fast forward through…the parts I thought the kids would lose interest [...]

[Continue reading...]

Filed Under: personal 36 Comments

Perhaps the Best Brownies I Have Ever Had

February 8, 2012 By Carrie 24 Comments

I go through phases. For months, I will dutifully write-out my weekly meal plan, go to the grocery store once a week, and proceed to make dinner according to the schedule. I will have flipped through my favorite cookbooks, blogs, and magazines and found new, inspiring recipes to create for my family. I will [...]

[Continue reading...]

Filed Under: baked goods, Dessert, snack Tagged With: chocolate 24 Comments

My Own Made-Up Mantra

January 31, 2012 By Carrie 22 Comments

For last year’s words belong to last year’s language. And next year’s words await another voice. And to make an end is to make a beginning. -T.S. Eliot I was recently in a discussion with a friend about a group of women she admires. She shared with me how they all have full-time jobs outside [...]

[Continue reading...]

Filed Under: personal Tagged With: goals 22 Comments

Comforting Yourself with Turkey and Bacon Meatballs

January 13, 2012 By Carrie 8 Comments

You had been told that this would happen. This ever-increasing independence. The wings starting to flap. You’d read about it in books. You’d been told, many, many times by all the people who came before you but still, for you, you weren’t quite ready. No, you’re still back in preschool when she’d cry and call [...]

[Continue reading...]

Filed Under: Dinner, parenting, winter Tagged With: bacon, eggs, garlic, onions, parmesan, pasta, turkey 8 Comments

A New Year. A New Word.

January 4, 2012 By Carrie 49 Comments

We gain strength, and courage, and confidence by each experience in which we really stop to look fear in the face…we must do that which we think we cannot. -Eleanor Roosevelt I always like fresh starts. New beginnings. The start of a new year. A brand new calendar without a single commitment written down [...]

[Continue reading...]

Filed Under: parenting, personal 49 Comments

A Little Tree Trimming, Hall Decking and Gift Wrapping from My House to Yours….

December 13, 2011 By Carrie 37 Comments

Hanging the lights

”Haul out the holly; Put up the tree before my spirit falls again, Fill up the stocking….” We Need A Little Christmas Hope the midst of the Holiday Season finds you well. I managed to deck the halls before we hit mid-month with all of my sparkly, silvery baubles. And, I actually mailed packages [...]

[Continue reading...]

Filed Under: decorating Tagged With: Christmas, decorating 37 Comments

The Boss Lady Wants to Know…

December 7, 2011 By Carrie 9 Comments

A few weeks ago, my 6-year-old reportedly said to his father, “Um, Dad, why is Mom the boss? I thought you were supposed to be the boss?” The Rooster ruffled his feathers and replied, “Well, I’m the boss too. We’re both the boss.” “Then why is Mom always bossing everyone around. She bosses me around. [...]

[Continue reading...]

Filed Under: meal planning, parenting 9 Comments

I’m Dreaming of an Auto-Pilot Button for Parenting

November 28, 2011 By Carrie 25 Comments

Can we have an honest little chat? A little one-on-one? Play a little game of “Truth Is”? If you don’t know about the game “Truth Is,” I’m happy to enlighten you since “Yahoo!!” I have a teenager and this a little game they like to play on Facebook whereby the writer posts an honest and [...]

[Continue reading...]

Filed Under: General 25 Comments

A Little Photography Session with Some Molasses Crinkle Cookies

November 22, 2011 By Carrie 13 Comments

Ginger Cookies

“I awoke this morning with devout Thanksgiving for my friends, the old and new.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson My dear friends, I hope you’ll indulge me a bit this week as I stray from my regularly scheduled program of story, photos and recipe. Over the course of the past year, I have received many kind emails [...]

[Continue reading...]

Filed Under: Dessert, fall, snack Tagged With: cinnamon, cloves, cookies, ginger, photography 13 Comments

Ham and White Bean Soup to Stop the Ticker-Tape of My Mind

November 4, 2011 By Carrie 12 Comments

White Bean and Ham Soup x1

Every night I go to bed hoping it won’t happen. I pull close the blackout shades. Cut the Rooster off of SportsCenter. Do some stretching. Some deep breathing. Slap on my eye mask. Occasionally, put in some ear plugs. All hoping it will help. Every dang morning (if you can call it morning), I am [...]

[Continue reading...]

Filed Under: Dinner, fall Tagged With: beans, carrots, celery, ham, onions, soup, thyme 12 Comments

Food for Thought: The Difference Between Men and Women

October 26, 2011 By Carrie 14 Comments

After 40 plus years of observation, I have come to my own non-scientific conclusion about the difference between men and women. Men are born with their egos fully intact and they spend their lives making sure it doesn’t get nicked, tarnished, bruised or crushed. Women on the other hand are born without an ego….in essence, [...]

[Continue reading...]

Filed Under: General 14 Comments

Why I Love 6-Year-Olds Who Love a Rustic Pear Galette

October 20, 2011 By Carrie 21 Comments

Why do I love 6-year-olds? Well, for one, they still skip. They hum. They hold your hand when they cross the street. They look like this on the first day of school. When they spy you on the hill, waiting for them after school, they run to you as if you are the [...]

[Continue reading...]

Filed Under: Breakfast, Dessert, fall, snack Tagged With: cinnamon, pears 21 Comments

Keepin’ It Real Menu Planning with Pulled Pork BBQ Sandwiches and Coleslaw

October 12, 2011 By Carrie 10 Comments

BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches

You may have noticed that I haven’t been publishing posts here on La Pomme as regularly as I have in the past. I have to be honest that I have been a wee bit overwhelmed lately. Overwhelmed by having three kids in three different schools. Overwhelmed by their activity schedules. Overwhelmed by my own writing [...]

[Continue reading...]

Filed Under: Dinner, fall, Lunch, Salad Tagged With: cabbage, carrots, onions, pork 10 Comments

Double Chocolate Mint Chip Cookies – When the Dark Chocolate Bar Won’t Do

September 20, 2011 By Carrie 20 Comments

Double Chocolate Mint Chip Cookies

I wanted chocolate. You know what I mean. I NEEDED chocolate. The dark chocolate 74% cacao bar I keep in the cupboard for these occasions sounded about appealing as lima beans. No, I wanted chocolate, warm and melted, wrapped in some buttery, white flour concoction. I couldn’t even make this up if I tried but [...]

[Continue reading...]

Filed Under: baked goods, Dessert, snack Tagged With: chocolate, cookies 20 Comments

Barbecuing up Garlic, Lime, Cilantro Flank Steak on a Much Needed Weekend Away

September 12, 2011 By Carrie 9 Comments

A Little Steak and Chicken Pocket Pie

“Ummm, Mrs. Minns, I don’t think our camp starts until 10:30 am,” my 12-year old’s buddy says to me as I’m minutes away from dropping the two of them off at cooking camp. “Oh no, darlin’, it starts at 10am. I’m sure of it. I have it in my calendar.” It was the first week [...]

[Continue reading...]

Filed Under: Dinner, summer Tagged With: beef, cheese, chicken, cilantro, garlic, lime, onion, red peppers 9 Comments

Blueberry Smoothies and the Lego Saga

August 29, 2011 By Carrie 8 Comments

Blueberry smoothie

I don’t do well with chaos. Not shopping malls. Not county fairs. Not kids pounding up and down stairs. Not legos strewn throughout my house. I’m definitely a “go outside and play!” type of Mom. I know I shared with you back in March that I was triumphant. After months of organizing and purging, I [...]

[Continue reading...]

Filed Under: beverages, Breakfast, snack, summer Tagged With: bananas, blueberries, cinnamon, honey 8 Comments

Blueberry Crumble Muffins, Need I Say More?

August 18, 2011 By Carrie 6 Comments

Blueberry Crumble Muffins

The Rooster stands in the shadows of the garage, waving and smiling, but giving us a look that says, “Here you guys go, leaving me again.” The kids and I wave, blow kisses and holler out the rolled-down windows, “Bye Sweetie! Bye Dad!! See you in a week! We love you!” And with that, we [...]

[Continue reading...]

Filed Under: baked goods, Dessert, snack, summer Tagged With: blueberries, lemon, oats 6 Comments

Tabbouleh Salad With a Twist to Share When Words Fail

August 3, 2011 By Carrie 11 Comments

A Twist on Tabbouleh Salad

It’s true. We all have our quirks. Our less appealing bits about ourselves. Our strengths and our weaknesses. And nowhere is this magnified more than within the walls of a family. We love each other. We drive each other crazy. Our families have known us for so long, it’s hard to hide our true personality [...]

[Continue reading...]

Filed Under: Dinner, Lunch, Salad Tagged With: cheese, cucumber, lettuce, parsley, Salad, tomatoes, vinaigrette 11 Comments

Won’t You Join Me in My Hiding Place?

July 31, 2011 By Carrie 6 Comments

My hiding place

Sometimes the whole process of writing a story, taking the photographs, editing the photographs, testing a recipe, writing a recipe, putting the whole thing together on the computer and then, hitting the publish button…can be, well, overwhelming. Today I wanted to keep it simple. A bank of fluffy gray clouds sit above my head here [...]

[Continue reading...]

Filed Under: beverages Tagged With: summer, tea 6 Comments