Potato Pancakes Go Purple
How do you celebrate Oktoberfest, a pile of purple spuds, and an amazing 7-0 TCU Horned Frogs football season? You make potato pancakes, and you make them purple. We held a tame (lame?) Oktoberfest celebration in our living room last night: no meat, one can of beer, and a Coen Brothers flick. I mashed up a pile of purple spuds from our CSA to make a dense & hearty pancake, a slight departure from the traditional grated, crispy variety. Below are some photos of the cakes and all the accoutrement–caramelized onions, strained yogurt and applesauce–along with a super easy recipe. Oh, and Go Frogs!

Kids Don’t Stop Learning During Lunch
Kids are like sponges, am I right? So they don’t stop absorbing their environment when they leave the classroom for the cafeteria. Unfortunately, the message that children must be sopping up in cafeterias across the U.S. is that time, convenience–and money–are more highly valued than health. So, yet another obstacle in feeding kids healthy food: there are no kitchens in the schools. Over the last few decades, as parents gradually replaced hot meals at home with Hot Pockets, so did school systems. Check out Kim Severson’s piece in today’s NY Times Dining & Wine section:

Happy Birthday Dear Autumn…and Matthew
September 22 marked the first day of Autumn and my sweet husband’s birthday. As far as birthday cakes go, Matthew will ask for carrot over chocolate or vanilla any day; so, I thought this Fuji Apple Spice from October’s Bon Appet

Brooklyn’s Little Russia by the Sea
Potato-Mushroom Vareniki with Crispy Onion Cabbage Vareniki Although the crispy fall air has already settled on Brooklyn, I’m honoring the final day of summer with photos from

Alive and Cookin’
Eggplant Parm "One-pan Parm"