Make your own bread guys for St. Nicholas Day!
Bread Guys a.k.a. Weckmänner or Stutenkerle ©Laurel Decher, 2021 In Germany, you can buy these in every bakery at this time of year: Weckmänner or Stutenkerle or “bread guys” (as they are called at our house). In the Rhineland part of Germany, people eat these for St. Martin’s day. At our house, we have bread […]
A Seven Kingdoms #BookBirthday Celebration!
#BookBirthday Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting It’s pumpkin time again and that means it’s the perfect time to listen to a book and bake some pumpkin bars with the gang! The recipe follows below and there’s a zany book suggestion that the whole family will enjoy. It’s for ages 9 to 12, but the […]
Veggie of the Week Challenge: French Lentils meet Indian Spices
The Veggie Challenge started because writing can be TOO absorbing. If the family writer is also the family cook, mutiny threatens! The goal is to keep the family healthy while I draft the second Seven Kingdoms Fairy Tale. A brief word from our sponsor: Trouble With Parsnips is part of a special Buy 3 Get […]
Veggie of the Week Challenge: 3 Ways to Fight a Dinner-Isn’t-Ready-Crisis
I’ve missed a few posts, so I thought I’d write about three panicky dinners and the tricks I used to get something half-way healthy with vegetables on the table in a hurry. The good news: my family has noticed that I’m remembering to cook for them every once in a while. Even though I’m working […]
Another Veggie of the Week Challenge: Romanesco to the Rescue!
After years of studying chronic disease epidemiology, I’m convinced that vegetables are hugely important (And delicious.) But. . . .when I’m writing a story, I forget how much I like healthy food. Soooooooo. . . . Each week, I’ve been celebrating a vegetable in a Half-way Healthy supper. ***************************************************** The Veggie of the Week Challenge […]
Veggie of the Week Challenge: The Colors of Italy Pizza
Red pepper, zucchini pizza. © Jan Decher, 2018. The summer the first Seven Kingdoms Fairy tale came out, my brand-new middle grade book, TROUBLE WITH PARSNIPS, took up the vegetable portion of my brain (I heard that) so dinner was often shoot-your-own-sandwich. We interrupt our veggie challenge for a moment to bring you a word […]
Veggie of the Week: Tendersweet Cabbage + Sausage Stir Fry
Germany is the land of cabbage! Here’s a half-way healthy stir fry to warm up the cold, rainy evenings. © Jan Decher. The Veggie of the Week Challenge In short, cooking went on the back, back burner, while I published my first book, TROUBLE WITH PARSNIPS, so dinner was unimaginative for a few months. By […]
The Veggie of the Week Challenge is Back: Ruby Chard
***************************************************** The Veggie of the Week Challenge ***************************************************** And we’re back! In case you missed last week, this’ll catch you up: My family endured, uh, . . . minimalist cooking during the publishing of my first book, TROUBLE WITH PARSNIPS. But they need vitamins and writers can’t run on chocolate forever. Hence the Challenge: —No […]
“Veggie of the Week Challenge” in honor of the upcoming holidays and my new children’s book
My first book for 9-12 year olds, TROUBLE WITH PARSNIPS, made for some extremely casual (be kind, people!) meals at my house. Winter is coming, as they say, and the attention span for cooking vegetables is getting shorter. The garden is closing down and the holiday shopping list is ramping up! So, I have a […]
Want to read a brand-new children’s book? Spoiler: It’s mine. :)
My first children’s book is coming out today in paperback!!! And ebook!! and Kindle!! YAY! *dances from living room to kitchen and back* WARNING: There are root vegetables involved. And princesses. And a dessert sluice with cream puffs. But the nameless princess of Cochem has it, um, under control. Because I’m shy and retiring, you […]
Dark and Light: Defense Against the Dark Hot Cocoa
Light leaves in a dark forest. Kottenforst, Germany. ©Laurel Decher, 2015. Defense Against the Dark Hot Cocoa This morning the day felt heavy for the first time this summer. The clouds are low and gray and the day looks dim. But I went for a walk in the forest just now. There the light is […]