There's Ellie posing with some of the last fresh herbs from my garden: parsley, sage and rosemary.
I’m determined to keep the promise I made to myself to cook healthy and delicious things in between the parties, holiday foods and gift making. Here’s a comforting recipe that falls along those lines and has lots of flavor from the use of garlic and plenty of fresh herbs in the form of parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme. (The song is stuck in your head now, isn’t it?) Continue reading
The proof was in the pudding...and now it's in my tummy!
I’m not making one thing for Thanksgiving Dinner today. We are home for the holiday and plan to dine out late this afternoon. I’m saving myself and looking forward to cooking Christmas dinner with my mom next month, but meanwhile, I did want to honor this holiday with something special for breakfast. I tore this recipe out of Gourmet Magazine 12 years ago, then made it so often that I mangled the tear sheet and had to transfer it, handwritten, into my personal recipe book (this was before the time of recipes on the internet), and now some parts are almost illegible from plain ‘ole custard spattering and use. This is my go-to holiday brunch dish, and I do believe this is the best savory bread pudding I’ve ever put in my mouth! Continue reading
Dinner is served.
We’re on the final approach to the big T-day, and after that, a rapid succession of holiday festivities through the end of the year. At this juncture, our thoughts have turned to our waistlines and how to minimize the damage while enjoying all the fun, food and drink of the season. Simplicity in the form of all-veggie meals and stir-frying come to mind first, along with some tasty lean proteins and roasted roots. Continue reading
The four amigos, all sealed up and ready for the cure.
It’s that time of year again…time to start the gift making in earnest, and for the past 2 years I’ve made batches of homemade liqueurs for friends and family, namely Cranberry and Orangecello. Decoratively bottled, handmade liqueurs make wonderful gifts, will keep at least a year (if not used up well before that) and are really fun to make. Continue reading
Fresh ingredients on hand inspired a terrific tasting soup!
A busy Monday work day and no time to get groceries for dinner…so what is for dinner?
Gotta pull out whatever I have and make up something good, but simple. Okay, I have butternut squash, onions, apples…sounds like a seasonal soup. What’s in the pantry? One carton of chicken stock, some light coconut milk…hey, now we’re talking. What else? Some Chinese Five Spice, some cayenne…some fresh ginger. Hmmm, an Asian-Inspired Butternut Squash Soup, that’s the ticket! Continue reading
Vanilla bean and coffee ice creams slathered in chocolate sauce. Stop me before I eat it all!
Everyone is so busy this time of year in the midst of the holiday season. So much to do, so much to bake, so much to make, so little time.
Over the years I’ve done my share of stressing over the holidays, and although I enjoy them a whole lot, as I get older I do feel at times that the thought of all I MUST do, keeps me from doing some of the things I WANT to do, namely spend more time with friends and family. That’s why I always like to keep a little dessert trick in my back pocket so that when I’m entertaining I can pull something out for a “homemade” show-stopping dessert involving very little of my time. This is an easy chocolate sauce that I like to call by the very original name of: The Best Chocolate Sauce. Continue reading
Up until a few short years ago, nothing could have convinced me that greens would ever become something that I loved. I’m not speaking of lettuce or spinach, but winter greens like chard, kale and collards. Then one day I decided to be bold and try some kale that had come in our CSA box and I combined it in a saute with other ingredients I knew I liked. Imagine my surprise when the end result was a savory and satisfying dish that brought out the natural sweetness of the kale. Then I tried it with chard and it worked equally well. “Hmmm, maybe I’m on to something here,” I said to myself. The next time I made some greens this way, I had extra and added them to some pasta with roasted tomatoes and sausage, and hence my Penne with Kale, Sausage and Roasted Tomatoes recipe was born and you can see that post here. Now I’ve come to love them so much I grow two kinds of kale in my garden and it’s one of my favorite side dishes to make while winter greens are in season. Fortunately it’s a nice long season where we live! Continue reading
An autumn colored stew for an autumn colored day. Mmm. Is there anything chicken stew can't do?
Sunset filtering through the trees in our back yard...the last of autumn's color.
It’s the end of another cool, clear and gorgeous fall day—a perfect time for some homemade soup or stew! This one’s a perennial fave at our house, a flavorful and delicious dish that freezes really well, too.
There are so many things to love about this stew that I can’t stop singing it’s praises.
It’s easy.
It makes it’s own broth so it’s kind of thrifty.
It uses lots of veggies and it’s good for you.
It’s practically a meal in a bowl and it smells so terrific cooking you just know it’s going to taste even better!
I believe it may even prevent colds and has more curative mojo in it than your average chicken soup. Even if I’m wrong about that, it sure makes your tummy feel good.
The Halloween trick-or-treaters have now come and gone. Kids will awake tomorrow in a sugar coma, and the adults won’t be much better. On a few occasions, we’ve ended up with not enough candy for the big night and had to run out for more.
The “not enough” is a scary thing, but the “too much” may be even scarier. I’m normally not a big candy eater, and yet each year I find myself eating my share of Halloween candy while we wait on the treat-sters, whether or not I really want it, and the next day…I never want to see a candy bar again! Sound familiar?
Here’s a little list I’ve compiled of some creative things to do with all that leftover candy. Of course you can always just donate it, or eat it yourself…after all, Halloween only comes once a year! Continue reading
I have to apologize to my fellow bloggers. I’m still trying to catch up with all of your lovely posts from when I was on vacation, but am enjoying reading them and replying as I get to them. Lots of great posts out there!
Halloween is fast upon us and this weekend I was feeling a bit zombie-like, since the moment I returned from vacation I put in about a 50-hour work week between Monday and Thursday to catch up. Whew.
Oh wait, maybe I meant those other kind of zombies…but I like these better! Ah, the life of the self-employed…but I’m truly fortunate to be busy! Continue reading
bits and breadcrumbs 