Art of Natural Living

Enjoying the Green Life

Homemade Pumpkin Bagels with Cranberries

By Inger Sep 4, 2025 Breads & Muffins 21 Comments

Homemade Pumpkin Bagels with Cranberries is a fun fall treat, made a little healthier with whole grain. Enjoy with pumpkin cream cheese!

Nothing shouts fall quite as loudly as pumpkin. Yes, foods like pumpkin chai lattes and pumpkin cookies are everywhere and they’re all truly fun. But if you want to take your pumpkin a little healthier, why not go with pumpkin bagels!

Yes, I know. You’re thinking that bagels sound difficult. But if you’ve made yeast bread before, bagels are only slightly harder. They take just two extra steps–one to form into bagels (instead of a loaf) and the other to boil for a couple minutes before baking.

Once you’ve done it a first time, you’ll be a pro. Read more

Brown Butter Green Beans with Pecans

By Inger Sep 2, 2025 Cooking & Recipes, Fruits & Vegetables 6 Comments

Enjoy the rich flavor of browned butter and pecans with this super simple, 3-ingredient recipe for Green Beans with Pecans.

Growing up, my mother used to make Green Beans Almondine on a pretty regular basis. That’s because it was one of the few vegetables her picky oldest daughter (that would be me, ahem) would eat.

But recently I looked up some official recipes, and I realized that other people were doing a lot more work than she did. And using a lot more ingredients.

Yes, Mom’s green beans, coated in browned butter toasted almonds, had a mere three ingredients. And they were still amazing—way to go, Mom!

Now I actually took Mom’s recipe one step easier (and dare I say tastier?), by using pecans instead of almonds. Pecans are such a versatile nut, I always keep them handy. And that means no trip to the store either!

Savory Zucchini Galette

By Inger Aug 31, 2025 Cooking & Recipes, Side Dish 13 Comments

Savory Galettes are just as easy and fun as their fruity cousins! This Zucchini Galette with an herb cheese base makes a simple and tasty appetizer or side.

I love galettes. After all, how many recipes are super easy and still manage to be impressive!

Today’s Creamy Zucchini Galette was Inspired by my Cucumber Tea Sandwiches, which is how it got a creamy cheese and herb base. It’s both cute and tasty and would be perfect for a dinner or brunch side!

Now if you’re not familiar with the galette, it is a kind of a free-form single-crust pie, where the crust edges are folded in and pleated. They are typically filled with fruit, like this Blueberry Galette, but can also be savory, like this Goat Cheese and Roasted Vegetable Galette.

Of course, right now, with zucchini everywhere, it’s also nice to have one more zucchini recipe! Who knows, you might even be happy to be the victim of zucchini ding, dong, ditch! Read more

Spiced Pear Bread

By Inger Aug 23, 2025 Breads & Muffins 15 Comments

Spiced Pear Bread is a delicious and easy quick bread. It works with fresh, canned or frozen pears for a treat that is budget-friendly, even in winter!

Spiced Pear Bread is a recipe I created a few years back during my family’s Year of Eating Locally. It was part of a year-long experiment, where we lived almost entirely on food sourced within 100 miles.

This bread, made with local honey and home canned pears, was a perfect locavore treat!

Of course, you don’t need to be eating local to enjoy a lovely pear quick bread. That’s because pears, with their sweet juicy flesh are a perfect accent for rich honey, light warm spices and healthy whole wheat flour. Who could use a healthier eating option that’s loaded with flavor?

Now that first loaf of Spiced Pear Bread was served the week between Christmas and New Years, a time when the house is always full and snacking rampant. I noted that half the loaf disappeared before it cooled down!

Of course, with today’s rising concerns about food costs (especially fresh produce), I figured the time was right to revisit it. Yes, the idea economical home cooking is a bonus for cost-conscious baking all year round! Read more

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