Morning Glory Breakfast Cookies

The perfect make-ahead grab-n-go breakfast for busy people.

The perfect make-ahead grab-n-go breakfast for busy people.

These breakfast cookies, similar to a muffin-top, are the perfect make-ahead grab-n-go breakfast for busy people. I like to use shredded coconut in the cookie batter and a mixture of about ½-cup shredded coconut and 1-1/2 cups of the larger coconut chips mixed together for the coating mixture.

MORNING GLORY BREAKFAST COOKIES

Yield: about 18-20 cookies

INGREDIENTS
½-cup whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
1 large carrot (about 4 oz.), peeled, shredded (about ¾ cup)
1 large egg
¾ cup chopped walnuts
½ cup old-fashioned oats
½ cup plain greek yogurt
½ cup virgin coconut oil, melted, cooled if solid
1/3 cup pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
¼ cup dried cherries, chopped
¼ cup dried apricots, chopped
2 tablespoons flaxseed
¼ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
2 cups unsweetened coconut flakes

1. Preheat oven to 375o. Whisk flour, cinnamon, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in a medium bowl.

2. Mix carrots, egg, walnuts, oats, yogurt, oil, pepitas, maple syrup, flax seeds, and ¼ cup shredded coconut flakes in a large bowl. Add the dry ingredients and mix well to combine. Let sit 10 minutes at room temperature to thicken slightly. Add the dried cherries and apricots and stir well to combine. Transfer the remaining 2 cups of coconut flakes to a medium bowl.

3. Scoop scant ¼-cupfuls, roll into a ball with your palms, and drop directly into bowl of coconut flakes and toss gently to coat (dough will be sticky). Arrange coconut-coated dough on 2 large, parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing 2” apart. Flatten each ball slightly.

Rolling breakfast cookies

4. Bake cookies until coconut is golden and tops spring back when touched, 17-20 minutes. Let cool.

morning glory breakfast cookies rack

Do Ahead: Cookies can be made 4 days ahead. Store in an airtight container at room temperature. Or freeze for longer storage.

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The Best Blender Salsa

Easy Blender Salsa
• 1-14 oz. can diced tomatoes
• 1-10 oz. can original Rotel (if you can find the new fire roasted Rotel I like to use that)
• 1/2 small onion, roughly chopped
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and smashed
• 1/2-1 jalapeno, seeded or not depending on how spicy you like it
• 1 tsp. honey
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. ground cumin
• 1 – 2 handfuls of washed cilantro, roughly chopped
• juice of 1 lime

Put all the ingredients in the food processor or blender. Pulse to combine for 30 seconds or until all the ingredients are finely chopped and salsa is desired consistency. Taste for seasoning and adjust to taste. Serve with chips or favorite dishes.This salsa gets better when it can sit in the refrigerator overnight or even a day or two. It gets better with age.

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Sand Hill Cranes

As Evan and I were driving back into Jackson from dropping my girls off at camp we came across these beautiful Sand Hill Cranes in the Elk Refuge. I have come across them before on trail rides, and they are quite large and make the most unusual noise. They are spectacular creatures.

Creek in Kelly, Wyoming

The colors in and on the banks of this creek just outside of Kelly were extraordinary. I’m not sure if that green stuff on the sides is a good thing, but it sure was pretty.

Corrugated Tabletop Planter Box

I’ve seen these really cool plants around at a few places this summer. They were so interesting looking that I bought 4 of them and knew exactly the kind of planter I wanted to make for them. I don’t know what the plant is called so I can’t help you out there.

I made the planter completely with recycled materials for a cost of $0 except for the nails and screws. I did pay for the plants and the sand/stone stuff I used to cover up the dirt. I made the box of the planter with wood from a wooden palette that I got for free. These are easy to find around and most places are happy to get rid of them, but do ask before you take. The rusty corrugated metal I salvaged from an abandoned barn on the Southern Road Trip I took with my sister in December.

The sides of the planter were made from wood recycled from a wooden palette. The bottom I made from a scrap piece of plywood.

I cut out some rusty corrugated metal using a metal-cutting blade and my jigsaw. That worked fine, but I do think there’s a better tool for cutting metal than that. It made one heck of a racket and jumped around a lot. I cut a pilot hole with a large drill bit to cut out the center hole with the jigsaw.

I screwed the corrugated metal to the wooden box base, sanded off any sharp spots on the corrugated metal, and then I was ready to plant. First I filled the box of the planter with high-quality potting soil.

I planted the 4 plants evenly in the planter so that the soil came to just a little below the corrugated metal, pressing it down slightly to compress the soil.

I added some tan colored large-grained sand (or tiny stones — I’m not sure exactly what they were) on top of the soil so it would highlight the tan color of the plants interesting flowers.

That was all there was to it to make a really cool looking planter that I thought worked perfectly with these unusual plants.

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Bison

This sweet bison was part of a large herd this evening in Teton National Park as we were on our way home from picking my son up at camp.

Wood Door at Mormon Row

Mormon Row outside of Kelly, Wyoming is a beautiful place that I visit every time I come here. Sometimes, however, there are so many bison milling around it isn’t safe to get out of your car. Today when I was there with India and Maia there were only 3 bison visible pretty far off in the distance, which allowed me the luxury of walking to some far-reaching buildings that I had never been to before. We kept a close eye on those bison — that were slowly wandering our way — and kept calculating in my head if we could reach the car before they reached us should they decide to charge. Since I’m writing this, thankfully I never had to test my calculations.

I have photographed this door before at Mormon Row in Kelly, Wyoming, but the beauty of the wood and simplicity of the chain draws me back every year to photograph it again.

The Art of the Roll

I’m in Wyoming now, having arrived late on Saturday afternoon. Tomorrow we pick up my son from camp. He’s been gone for a month and I absolutely cannot wait to see him. On Saturday we will drop my two youngest girls off at the same camp for their month of fun.

Today I took the afternoon off from camp packing to drive to some of my favorite places: Lunch at Dornan’s in Moose, Mormon Row, Kelly and Teton National Park.

There is something so joyous about watching a horse take a good roll. I thought I’d share it with you.











Roll Complete. Oh geesh, they were watching…

Promote the Goat

I stopped by to visit The Butterfield Farm Company in East Granby, CT last week. I found them through a bumper sticker I saw on a truck a few months ago: “Promote the Goat” was all it said. Of course I went home and Googled it and stumbled across their farm, who uses that catchy phrase in their promotions. They had some really beautiful Nubian goats.

Fodor Farm Community Garden

There is a community garden in the next town over from where I live that for as long as I can remember was an abandoned house and overgrown yard. It was purchased by the town a few years ago and now holds 220 4′ x 12′ garden beds plots that resident families can rent for a mere $5 a season, which is kept low by an obesity prevention grant under the Connecticut Department of Health.

I drive by this garden frequently, but a few weeks ago I happened to have my camera in the car and the evening light was just beautiful. When my girls said they didn’t mind, I stopped in for a quick photo session. Although there were only two people working in their gardens when we arrived, there were probably as many as 20 people working away when we left.

So here you go – a little porn for the gardener

The cabbages I’ve seen around this year have looked pretty awful; probably due to the crazy weather we’ve had. The cabbages here however were beautiful.




A blossom of a butterfly bush


A bee gathers pollen from a coneflower


The lovely colors of Swiss chard



This zinnia has so many textures and colors when looked at this closely.


I just love allium flowers



Onion blossoms


Sweet Peas


Sweet Peas


Lettuce


More lettuce


This was no dumb bunny. He clearly knew where to find the best fruits and vegetables around.