A Nourished May 2026 Wrap-Up

May has felt very full. In every sense of the word. There was excitement, exhaustion, inspiration, grief, and small reminders of what a nourished life looks like in this season of life.

Here is a recap of what we cooked, what we are growing, what life has looked like lately, and what made me feel nourished.

Food that Nourished Us

May is always an exciting month here in Kentucky. Farmers markets start kicking back up, CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) season begins again, and you can finally move your plants outside without worrying about frost.

After taking a year off from our CSA, I was thrilled for it to start back up again. Plus, having a toddler exploring foods just adds another layer of excitement. So what did we make?

1. Avocado BLT with Pea Shoots

   Pea shoots were part of the first CSA box. I had never had them before, so while looking for ways to use them, I found people putting them on BLTs. It sounded too good not to try!

   

2. Caldo Verde Inspired Soup

   Also in the first CSA box, we got radishes and dinosaur kale. One of my favorite soups to make is Caldo Verde from Kenji Lopez-Alt on Serious Eats (Click here for his recipe). To use some radishes, I replaced some of the potatoes with radishes and it worked so well! My 1 year old ate it up!

   

3. Asian Inspired Salmon Bowls with Bok Choy

   When I get bok choy, I usually use it in ramen or in an Asian bowl with rice and either chicken or salmon. I didn’t get a good photo of this one. I was rushing to get food on the table before bedtime!

4. Shrimp Tacos with Kohlrabi Slaw

   Every year, I get so excited about kohlrabi. Tacos are always a must.

   

5. Lots of Salad

   As always, May means an abundance of greens, which means a lot of salad in our household--usually with homemade ranch and croutons.

   

6. Animal Crackers

   Clearly not something we would get from the CSA, but I made homemade animal crackers for Zoey! My Mom brought animal crackers to the zoo last month and Zoey became obsessed with them, so I made our own! This is going to be so fun to make with her in the future. The cookie cutters I used are here (this is an Amazon Associate’s link so I may earn commission if you purchase through it at no cost to you). They have some really cute options!

   

7. Sourdough

   I am pretty shocked. My husband has gotten into sourdough! He has made bread, pancakes, and waffles...although the waffles stuck so bad to the waffle iron. They were still good!

   

In the Garden

This year, with a 1 year old, I am slowly getting back into gardening. So far, I have flowers for the pollinators and hummingbirds—salvia, shrimp plants, million bells, and foxgloves. I also picked up begonias, lysimachia, and spreading lobelia.

I planned on directly sowing things like squash and borage, but life got in the way. The garden beds still need to be cleaned up and refreshed!

Golden Shrimp Plant

Assortment of Flowers

Black and Bloom Salvia

Life Lately in Our Little Corner

May had some ups and downs. Being a mom to a now 1 year old has been amazing. We unlocked a whole new level of cuddling—she can now crawl up and mostly get into the position she wants! She is also incredibly close to being able to stand on her own.

She has shown a lot of interest in helping me with the flowers. Hopefully this keeps up because I dream of her following me around and stealing strawberries and tomatoes off the plant.

On the sad side, our oldest cat suddenly got very sick and we lost him. It is strange losing a pet with Zoey at her age, because she definitely can tell something has happened, but how do you explain it to a one year old? Just tonight, she saw photos of Bisbee come up on our digital frame and she pointed and kept making noises. It made me wonder if she was trying to ask where he was. You can read my blog post about Bisbee here.

What Felt Nourishing?

Before having my daughter, I had gotten really into romantasy books--analyzing them and making inspired cocktails to pair with them. Having a baby who constantly wanted my attention made reading incredibly difficult. The only time I was really reading was when I was rocking her to sleep—when I had the mental capacity to do so.

Well, she has started sleeping better, so I've been reading more before bed and getting back into the Maasverse to prepare for the releases in October and January. I am currently on the third Crescent City book, House of Flame and Shadow and oh my goodness, it is so good! The connections and reveals so far have had me constantly dropping my jaw!

It is amazing how fantasy books can help heal you and teach you more about yourself.

I've also started getting back into creating and using this platform again. I love making content and sharing my knowledge and just things about life. After Zoey turned one, I started reflecting on my first year of motherhood. I plan on sharing it in pieces (it became much longer than I expected), but it will take me some time to go through my thoughts, feelings, and experiences and get them organized.

Creating again has felt deeply nourishing in this season of life. I’m excited to keep sharing recipes, reflections, gardening adventures, and motherhood moments here — even if it all unfolds a little messier and slower than before.