We have a new addition to our family this week! A little grandson named Hunter! Mom and baby boy are doing great! Now I get to do what I do best. Serve up a bunch of love in the form of food! Every mother knows when she has done the hard work of bringing the precious little bundle of joy into the world, the last thing she wants to think about is how to feed the family. No worries, help is on the way! Continue reading
In every job that must be done there is an element of fun. You find the fun and Snap! the jobs a game. Mary Poppins had it right and so we look for the fun in our weekend chores. As we head out into the hoards of people doing their weekend chores, we have the pleasure of knowing there is a reward at the end of the trip. My husband and I have a favorite little Asian “fast food” place we pop into when we are running the gauntlet of stores that constitute the weekly food shopping trip. Continue reading
This chili is perfect for Meatless Monday, especially when you make it on Sunday! Chili, like pasta sauce, just gets better with time. The flavors have time to meld together and get real friendly with each other. When dinner time rolls around Monday evening, whip up some cornbread muffins while the chili is reheating, toss together a salad and dinner is on the table before your gang of starving whippersnappers can ask “What’s for dinner?” Continue reading
I don’t know if it’s a California thing or not. But having lived my whole life, thus far, in California I expect to find and eat most fruits and vegetables year round. Brussels sprout recipes tend to pop up in the Fall but they don’t seem like a one season food to me. In fact, I think they look like little baby spring cabbages. I love them raw, shaved thin with lemon and parmesan cheese but I also adore them when they are crispy and caramelized. And I never miss an opportunity to add a spicy element to food any chance I get! Continue reading
Oh, oh, oh it’s magic! One of my favorite things about fine dining in a restaurant is getting a meal that I would not usually tackle at home. Tackle is the operative word. The complexity and labor intensiveness of the recipe, special ingredients and the multitude of components involved in the plating of a beautiful dish can make it a daunting task. A little of this, a drizzle of that is just what the dish calls for but the recipe is for a much larger amount than a few plates need. The home cook typically is not running a restaurant or catering business out of their kitchen and the little touches that make a delicious meal amazing go to waste in our kitchens. When I can create a meal that looks and tastes like a restaurant chef was in my kitchen but it was just little ol’ me, I feel like a super star! The satisfied sounds and compliments coming from my husband and friends are the best part. That’s the kind of recipe I have for you today. Make a super star reputation for yourself without being dragged through the flaming knothole just to get it on the table! Continue reading
What’s for dinner…the other white meat! Pork tenderloin is so versatile and it is much more affordable than beef tenderloin. Guess you could call it the “friendly meat”. Many years ago I thought I didn’t like pork tenderloin and I can’t imagine why. Pork tenderloin is such an agreeable cut of meat. As I reflect back on that decision I can’t for the life of me remember why I had such a crazy notion. What’s not to like? It’s tender, succulent, can be marinated or rubbed with a myriad of seasonings, and it is so fast and easy to make. In fact, it cooks so fast, it’s ideal for a week night dinner. It is the perfect canvas on which to build a masterpiece! Continue reading
This little piggy is a Super Star! Around our house we have the 80/20 Rule. 80% of the time we eat very healthy, tasty foods consisting of mostly vegetables and chicken or fish with lots of flavor! Not boring little piles of things you are supposed to eat. Oh, but when that 20% of the time rolls around we are very naughty! OK….for us very naughty is tacos, french fries, pizza, ice cream/sweets of any kind and real BACON! Pork fat rules on these days!
When I was growing up there was always a subtle undercurrent of knowing that we had Irish in our blood. It wasn’t something we discussed a great deal. It was just something we knew and were proud of. If I was asked what my family ancestry was, I’d immediately reply, Irish. But it wasn’t until my mother started to trace our family history did some of the pieces began to fall into place and it became more real. Now, I had a yearning to visit the family roots and feel my full Irish. Continue reading
As we wrap up the International Cooking Tour, we head into the land of my people, the British Isles. They are known for many contributions to civilization but cooking is not at the top of the list. At least it has not been for more years than one can count. One thing you can always bank on is change and that is what is happening in the culinary world, especially in Ireland. But let’s go back in time to trace how this all came to be. Continue reading
Let them eat quiche! We think of quiche as a classic dish of French cuisine, but quiche actually originated in Germany, in the medieval kingdom of Lothringen, under German rule, which the French later renamed Lorraine. The word‘quiche’ is from the German word ‘Kuchen’, meaning cake. Continue reading
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Life of the Party Always (LOTPA) is about socializing and making every occasion with friends and family a festive one .
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