Our overwintered kale has already bolted, leaving us with flowers and buds on every single plant. This is what happens when it’s so rainy and cold we aren’t harvesting and giving away a ton! While bolting can cause leaves to be less tender and more bitter, the good news is that the kale flowers, buds and stems are actually really tasty – very similar to a broccoli raab! It’s also been such a delayed spring here in New England that the kale leaves are still tender. So by luck, we’ve got the best of both worlds … here are three ways the kale stems and buds are great to eat …

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Currently I’m working on the floor plan for our kids’ bathroom. Personally, I’m not into tubs. Give me a walk-in shower any day – or even better, a steam shower! However, given that this bathroom is just outside the rooms that I think any homeowner will use for kids’ bedrooms (we do), a bathtub seems like it will be a necessary evil. To that end, I’m trying to see if we can manage a ‘wet room’ where the tub sits inside a shower enclosure, like the inspiration shot above. I would LOVE advice from anyone who has used a small-ish tub regarding comfort, or anyone who has an acrylic standalone tub – not sure if there are any drawbacks!

This is two recipes in one: Mexican slaw or Asian slaw. Same ingredients, but different seasonings make it the perfect topper for Mexican dishes or Asian dishes! For example, I made this batch “Mexican style” last night to top off tacos, and it was amazing. It’s such a nice, fresh way to lighten up Mexican food, which can tend toward the heavy. It also works really well on top of spicy grilled fish or fish tacos. Then last week, I made this exact same slaw to top off Japanese rice! Asian style, this crisps up pretty much any dish you can think of. I adore it as a side to Thai-style whole grilled fish, and have even used it on Chinese noodle dishes, ramen and stir fry.

So what I’m saying is that this is some flexible, delicious stuff. And as someone who cannot stand your classic cole slaw, that’s saying something coming from me. The big trick with this? No mayo, all freshness …

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Okay, okay, admittedly this could also be headlined “trends I hate and don’t want to see anymore,” and that would probably be more honest. As someone who often claims I don’t discriminate on the basis of style (since I generally think almost anything can shine in the right place), this all may seem a bit out of left field. Maybe it’s because I had two toddlers screaming at me all morning and their grouchiness is contagious? I don’t know, but what I do know is that even when I’m in a good mood, these trends make me angry and/or sad.

We’ve been planting the seedlings we started last month any time the sun shines here in Massachusetts … which means that during our two days of sun in the last month, we’ve been very, very busy! Here’s how it’s coming together.

I was looking for a something special to make for my husband’s birthday that was still vegetarian (after a weekend going to my high school reunion where we totally indulged in bacon, beef, etc. that they served), and I came up with this. Halloumi isn’t cheap, but you don’t need much to make an amazing meal, and for this I added seasonal ingredients (ramps and fiddleheads) that I love, but you can certainly modify it and use fresh arugula or other greens. Halloumi grills beautifully which makes it seem extra special!

So, I missed posting on Friday. Why? Because my kitchen was getting torn up searching for the source of the leak in our kitchen that we’ve had such a hard time finding.  You can see the damage up there, dripping away on our beam and messing up our ceiling … But I’m happy to say that we found the culprit!

At long, long last, I got the spool chairs we bought with the house reupholstered! My favorite parts, though, are the throw pillows. I’ve been in love with this fabric forever, and finally have the perfect room to use it in…

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This weekend I came across homebuilders Border Oak, located in the UK, and was incredibly impressed at how they design and construct new build homes that look like they’ve been around forever.

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I came across this great little tool on the New York Times today. Basically, you select the items most similar to what you ate the day before, and it tells you how much climate change impact your meal that day had relative to other Americans.