I am always amazed at how good onion and garlic sautéing in a little butter smell.  Not only is this the start to almost every incredible recipe, but its enticing aroma permeates the whole house and makes people wonder just what delicious magic you’re brewing up.

Continue reading "Creamy Potato Onion Soup"…

Ever notice subtle seasonal changes in your eating habits?  I don’t just mean the gravitation towards soups in the winter and salads in the summer…these days it seems like I crave something warm and comforting all day long.

Case in point, every day around 3 o’clock in the afternoon I like to make a cup of tea…it keeps me warm on these chilly January days.  And of course a little treat along with tea never hurts, right?

Continue reading "Honey-Nut Banana Muffins {Gluten-Free; Naturally Sweetened}"…

Tofu is always a treat in my house since I don’t make it very often.  One of my favorite things about tofu is that it’s kind-of like the vegan version of chicken breast, in that it’s a completely blank canvas for whatever you want to season it with.

Continue reading "Sesame-Crusted Tofu"…

For Christmas Eve dessert my brother asked for something called Christmas Custard Pie.  No one else in the family had ever heard of it before (including me) and he had no explanation for it other than the obvious (custard and pie, lol!).  When asked where he heard of it, he was strangely cryptic and didn’t really say; in an effort to find out more about it, I looked it up online and even though I found a few different recipes, nothing really stuck out as a must-try.  But by that point I was definitely in the mood for custard so I decided to go with a custard-y “pie” of a different kind:  Boston Cream Pie!

Continue reading "Individual Boston Cream Pies {In a Jar}"…

Bhajis (or pakoras, depending on where in India you are or who you’re talking to) in general, and onion bhajis in particular, are one of my favorite appetizers.  A friend taught me how to make them a few years ago and I’ve been making them ever since; I would have shared sooner, except that I thought I already had!  I just recently realized that I didn’t have them on my site so now I’m righting this horrible wrong.  ;)

Continue reading "Onion Bhajis & Tamarind Chutney"…

If you didn’t grow up eating this soup, it might not be one of your favorites.  I know it’s not the prettiest soup (its green color alone can be somewhat off-putting), but it sure is delicious!  I use turkey bacon not only for smokiness in this dish, but I also like to use it for a crispy garnish; if you want to make this vegetarian (actually vegan), you can omit the turkey bacon and make sure the bouillon or stock you’re using is vegetarian or vegan.

Continue reading "Split Pea Soup"…

I had a couple of beautiful portobellos in my fridge and I was going to make them into giant stuffed mushrooms…but, there are a million recipes out there for stuffed mushrooms and you probably don’t need another.  (Plus I was in the mood for something a little different!)  I thought the mushrooms would also make the perfect base for individual gratins so I decided to do that instead.

Continue reading "Spinach, Ricotta, & Portobello Gratins"…

I remember my mom having her friends over for ladies’ luncheons when I was a kid.  She’d make mint-flavored iced tea or lemonade to drink, fruit salad for dessert, and usually serve one of two things for lunch:  a pretty arranged salad on a bed of greens along with a couple of sides (one of which was always cottage cheese with chives – her favorite), or tuna salad sandwiches.

Continue reading "Quick Chicken Salad & An Announcement"…

This is my new favorite mug…a gift from my very sweet mom!

The other day I was at Walmart with Mike who absolutely hates to shop.  Because of this I can only take him with me when I have a very short list…so this basically means I was running in (literally) for just a couple things and he was in the electronics department patiently waiting for me while I raced through the aisles at warp speed.  I happened to be sprinting through the baking aisle (surprisingly, they have a really extensive selection of Bob’s Red Mill products at Walmart) when I spotted a new (to me) extract:  caramel!  Of course, being the junkie I am for new products, I bought a bottle.

Continue reading "Skinny Caramel Hot Cocoa"…

It turns out that if you want a foolproof way to introduce more buckwheat into your diet (or if you’re like me and have a large bag of it in your pantry that you’re wondering how on earth you’re going to use up), crêpes are the way to go.

Continue reading "Buckwheat Crêpes"…