Today’s post gets a bit personal — it touches on parts of my life I rarely write about. To lighten things up, later in the post I share a simple, airy popover recipe.
Balance is important, right?
I used to hate writing when I was in school. It always felt like it demanded too much of me — time, focus, and quiet. I was one of those kids who talked through class no matter where I sat. Even in college, writing didn’t come easily. My husband and I met in college English class. I worked hard; he hardly tried. He even napped under the table during class. Guess who earned the better grades?
Him.
It frustrated me.
I didn’t fully appreciate the power of my own words until 2006.
While pregnant with my fourth child, I suddenly felt compelled to start a journal. I’d never been a diary person before, but I began writing down what I felt, the dreams I had, my hopes — and even what I ate. Our son Hugo was born with severe, unexpected heart defects. For two months I sat by his bedside with that journal, recording the details of hospital life and the tiny moments we shared. Those weeks were the first time I was separated from my husband and other children and the first time I’d truly been on my own as an adult: surrounded by people yet profoundly alone.
Our son passed away after his third open-heart surgery; he was just shy of two months old. The journal I kept is now an invaluable gift. It’s the closest thing I have to a window back to those weeks — a vivid record of who I was then and the life I shared with him. It preserves memories of him as a baby kicking in my belly as well as the fragile, machine-connected infant I held in the hospital.
That journal is a true blessing.
So was he.
Have you ever kept a journal? If not, try it for a month and see what it reveals. Writing can be a quiet way to make sense of hard moments and to preserve ordinary ones you might otherwise forget.
I had different pregnancy cravings with each of my five babies, but one craving recurred every time: blue cheese. Today I’m sharing my blue cheese popover recipe. Popovers are a delightful, often overlooked alternative to rolls, biscuits, or plain bread.
They’re easy and quick to make, and they’re close cousins to Yorkshire pudding. Blue cheese tends to split opinions — people usually love it or hate it — but these popovers are a gentle introduction. Light, airy, and full of flavor, they pair wonderfully with soups or stews, and they complement red meat and a glass of red wine. Try them and see if they don’t win you over.
Blue Cheese Popovers
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon butter
- 2 large eggs
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1/4 cup blue cheese dressing
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Pinch cayenne pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon dill weed
- 1 Tablespoon blue cheese crumbles (optional)
Instructions
- Grease a 12-cup muffin pan with butter.
- Whisk together the eggs, milk, and blue cheese dressing until combined. Add the flour, salt, cayenne, and dill, whisking until smooth and lump-free.
- Pour batter into the muffin pan, filling each cup about two-thirds full. Sprinkle blue cheese crumbles on top if desired.
- Place the pan in a cold oven, set the oven to 450°F (230°C), and bake until the popovers are puffy and golden brown, about 25–30 minutes.
Nutrition