Donut Dates and Weekend Treats

It's the weekend, well amost!

And when I was a kid that meant something really special.

It meant that it was almost Saturday morning, the morning that (if it was my turn) was my donut date with my dad.

Many Saturdays of my sisters and my childhood were filled with rotating donut dates, one Saturday per month for each of us.

Burma Part 2: Hospitality

This post begins part two of photos and food stories from my recent trip to Burma. Click here to read Part 1.

One of the reasons that I really fell in love with the spirit of the Burmese people was their hospitality, humility and laughter.

We experienced so much grace and were so welcomed by the people.

They gladly had us in their homes and fed us their best food. There is widespread poverty in the nation, but you would not know it when you're feasting at someone's table as a guest.

Simple Saturday: Breakfast

It's time to talk about breakfast.

Now, this meal should not just be a weekend, Simple Saturday thing, although isn't a big, special breakfast on a weekend morning just the best?!

Anyway, breakfast is a meal that is often forgotten, left to the last minute and sometimes even ignored! How dare us?

This meal can help us start out our day right and can be a simple way to make the rest of the day go smoothly.

Here are some simple breakfast ideas to get the wheels of your breakfast brain turning:

Scones for Downton Abbey

What do you do when Downton Abbey is coming on, your apartment looks like a tornado has blown threw it (a tornado of moving boxes and tubs and messes) and you haven't baked in weeks?

Make scones.

You bake some classically delicious scones made with yes, heavy cream, and sprinkle in some chocolate chips and walnuts for that extra warmth and delectable flavor.

Burma Part 1: The Market

About a month ago, after about two days hopping from various airplanes, I returned to the U.S. from a 2-week trip to Burma with my mom.

If you don't know where Burma is, it's in Southeast Asia and borders Thailand.

Here's the back story on my trip.

For about the past year I have been the social media/website manager for my parent's mission organization Firefall International. All of my life, my parents have been invested in spreading the gospel across the world, taking many trip to many different nations since I was very young. I think one of the reasons that I became a writer was because I learned to love listening to the stories my parents would bring back from across the world and the tales the missionaries that would visit us would tell.

So, I have always had a passion for seeing people in other nations come to know the Lord. And it has been so neat to use my passion for social media and writing to help further that cause.

And a month and a half ago I got to experience firsthand the wonderful harvest that is happening in Burma and the wonderful people who are a part of it. (You can read more about my trip here.)

Simple Saturday: Sweet Potato Soup

I'm just going to cut to the chase.

Do you like soup?

Do you like healthy things that still feel indulgent?

Do you like meals that stay good for days and are great to take to work?

If you answered yes to all of these (or even if you didn't), then you need to make this sweet potato soup.

25th Birthday in Style

This past weekend, I turned 25!

Wahoo!

I decided that I wanted to have a family birthday as my main shindig, so I invited my sister and brother-in-law from Oklahoma City and my parents to join Jason and I for a party in Tulsa.

Both of my sisters went to college in Tulsa and there are so many fun things to do and places to eat there, so many of my memories of celebrations have been in this town. It's also fairly easy for all of us (except for my sister and brother-in-law in North Carolina) to get to.

Anyway, we have our usual brunch spots and coffee shops, but this past weekend we tried out a few new places that I can highly recommend.

First Fruitful Cocktail

For our New Year's gathering, my sister and I decided that we needed a signature cocktail or fun drink for the evening.

It is the new year, after all.

So, I began searching for a delicious drink that contained Champagne.

And I stumbled upon the French 75.

Food Resolutions 2013

Hello again, folks!

I hope everyone's new year is starting out fantastically.

I wanted to take this time at the beginning of the year to look at my food resolutions from 2012 and make some new ones for 2013.

Here were my resolutions from last year, only one of which was left unaccomplished. I hosted a few dinner parties this year, I made bread (Rosemary Cheese Buttermilk Biscuits), I have cooked a lot more real meals and Jason and I cook together most weeknights!

Simple Saturday: Garlic Croutons

This Simple Saturday recipe really couldn't get any easier.

You take some old crusty bread, like baguette or ciabatta, cut it into cubes, pour some olive oil over it, add some crushed garlic and salt and bake until crisp. (I baked mine at 375 for 5-10 minutes, until browned.)

Top 5 of 2012

Happy almost New Year!

2012 has been a fantastic year for me and for the Fruitful blog.

This year, Fruitful turned one and I feel like it's come such a long way since the beginning. This year, I had one of my recipes featured on foodgawker. And this year, I came up with my own digital recipe cards to make cooking my recipes even easier for you (click here to see all of the recipe cards).

I am so thankful for all of you readers out there and I hope I can continue to provide you with more fun food stuff in 2013.

Simple Saturday: Popovers

It's good to be back.

Back to my little apartment after 3 weeks away. Back to my kitchen where I love to be. Back to my husband who I was away from for 2 weeks.

The past three weeks have been chock full of new adventures, sights, foods and celebrations.

In that time I've been to Burma and back (and on 9 planes, a few motorbikes and dozens of taxis) and celebrated Christmas with two families.

Craving Cookies?

A few weeks ago when we were decorating our little apartment with lights and garlands and getting in the Christmas spirit, I got a craving for a delicious cookie.

And I didn't turn to the usual chocolate chip or rich, fudgy brownie that I usual depend on.

I was specifically craving an oatey, coconuty, crispy cookie.

And this recipe for Coconut Oatmeal Chewies from Mel's Kitchen Cafe absolutely hit the spot.

Soup with a Spice

It's hard to believe that today I'm putting up a curry recipe and tomorrow I'll be on a plane headed to Thailand. (More on the trip when I get back...I can't wait to show you all of the fun things I'll be eating.)

My husband and I love curry.

My husband is more of a curry lover than maybe even I am.

So, we really enjoyed this fun twist on butternut squash soup with the addition of curry powder and coconut milk.

Simple Saturday: Spaghetti Squash

Happy Simple Saturday!

Sorry that it's been awhile since I've been able to do one of these.

I've been a busy little lady, and I'm getting ready to go on a two-week trip to Burma next week!

Today, I am featuring a vegetable that I hadn't tried until this year.

The lovely spaghetti squash.

And it's all thanks to my good friend Annie, who brought me one of these squashes from her garden.