Holiday Pizzelle with Earl Grey.
Snowflakes sitting on the plate. These ones aren’t cold. They aren’t even white. On the small round table in Grandma’s kitchen next to her cup of coffee they wait. Earlier, I had watched her retrieve them from high atop the dark cherry china hutch that inhabited her dining room . So carefully she had reached up to retrieve the dress shirt box whose lid was slightly ajar. A curiosity in my mind; Grandma never left anything ajar. -Read More>
Backyard Margarita with Lime Wedge & Fresh Mint Garnish
Neighborhood lawnmowers have grown quiet but the clean, crisp smell of a cul-de-sac’s worth of freshly cut grass remains. The last soothing calls of robins fill the air as the lightening bugs make their debut. Amidst their intermittent flashes that my boys so enjoy, dusk falls upon the suburbia that I call home. On such a perfect summer evening it is difficult not to be aware of the beauty that surrounds me. My mind begins to wander.
I take notice of the imposing Mulberry Tree that is in the parkway of our backyard. Its sturdy frame must have graced that spot of land for the better part of 150 years. Its knotted and gnarled branches have likely provided refuge to generations of Great Horned Owls whose most recent descendents we’ve been fortunate enough to witness stalking their prey. Suddenly, it occurs to me that I have been looking at that formidable tree everyday for over a decade while sipping my morning coffee from the view out my kitchen window. Wow, how can that be? A decade has passed in the blink of an eye. Not one, but two children now have completed their first years of elementary school and my youngest son will start preschool in the fall. They are growing like weeds. -Continue>
La Bamba Casserole with Sides of Brown Rice & Organic Spring Scallions
I knew sending my child to Kindergarten would be an exciting adventure for him. I anticipated that he would learn lots of new things, meet many new faces and more importantly begin to navigate his way in the world without me. But the big surprise for me, I do have to admit, is that I entirely underestimated all the new things that I would learn and experience his first year of school. Not only about being a mom, but about letting go.
During the hustle and bustle of trying to get him to school before the bell rang those first few weeks with a newborn and three-year old in tow, I found myself feeling very frazzled. What an accomplishment it was just to get out the door each day. Actually getting there was an entirely different and monumental task to hurdle. I swear on the short walks to school that year, I spent more time chasing my three-year old than I care to remember. For some reason he had acquired a fascination for following random birds with no regard for where I was, or where I needed to be. Let’s just say that getting his older brother to school on time was not high on his priority list. He’d been like that since day one, always following the beat of his own drum, and I would not have him be any other way; except maybe when we had somewhere we needed to be ; ). -Continue>
Merle’s Chinese Chicken Salad in Red Cabbage Leaf Bowl served Garden Party Style.
Ramen Noodles: those super long noodles I first discovered in college. The affordable, yet tasty meal in a colorful package. My go-to dinner in a hot pot when the spending money that needed to last all month had dwindled far too low. Some might consider them a salty lesson in budgeting, but for the foodie they were an inspiration. This 10-cent find, with a little imagination, was transformed into a secret ingredient hidden in the next Chopped champion’s wicker basket. Quietly awaiting successful incorporation into a winning appetizer, entrée or dessert.
When deciding which recipe to post next, it occurred to me those very same noodles had a front row seat at some very joyful events in my life. That’s because they can be found broken in a salad that has become a family food tradition when women in my family shower a Bride-to-Be or a new Mom-in-Waiting with joyful, new beginning wishes. For me, this blog is in part about sharing JOY. So posting this recipe is a joyful must. Plus it is a recipe that my sister, on more than one occasion, specifically requested for her “keeper box”. So in here, it will be. Read the rest of this entry »
Doug’s White Chicken Chili with Fresh Cilantro and Jalapeno Garnishes
My next recipe was given to me by my sister, yes the very same sister who doesn’t really cook. The one to whom I have dedicated this blog, Lori Anne. You might wonder how it came to be that she gave me a recipe, a recipe so good and well-received that it has ended up in my keeper box filed under the letter “C”, for “Chili”. Well, this is not your average chili. It is spectacular. There is always a story, right? Well here it is.
My little sister invited my husband, son and I over for a quick dinner before trick-or-treating with our kids. Lori’s favorite holiday is Halloween. She always goes all out. That year she told me she’d found a recipe she wanted to try. She saw it in a cookbook that she had picked up while on vacation. She was going to make it for dinner. Hmmm, Lori was going to make us something for dinner. I have to admit, I was intrigued the moment she said “I found a recipe in a cookbook”. It is not that Lori can’t cook. Rather, it isn’t her thing. She’d prefer to have someone else do the cooking while she kept them company. She just isn’t the type to peruse cookbooks, much less do it for leisure while on vacation. Or, so I thought.
Pumpkin Crunch Cake served on Grandmother’s Theodore Haviland Rose-covered Porcelain Dessert Plate.
With great awe, I would watch my mom pack the Buick as we prepared for our traditional Thanksgiving Day trek. I knew to stay out of her way when she was shoving things here and there. She never said it aloud. Rather, it was her face that said it all. Her mind focused with determination. Her eyes fixed on the task at hand. Strongly flexed, her brow provided the needed “Oomph” to get things where she wanted them. Yep, I knew not to go anywhere near her or that car. I just sat back and took it all in. My dad also seemed instinctively aware it was not a time to offer unsolicited advice. Nor question her placement of a packed item, lest a piece of uncooperative luggage come flying his way.
Amazing to recall how many people, pieces of luggage, lovely desserts, and on more than one occasion, an oversized dog, a lone woman could cram into the family vehicle. Especially when I remind myself she did it years before the invention of the now common mini-van. Nope–she did it seventies-style. No car seats or seat belts to hinder her ingenuity. Sometimes I wonder how we survived those early road trips smashed tight with all our belongings. But we did. We survived. Doing it in grand style. Bickering, singing, and complaining all the way. With everything loaded and all passengers in place, we’d depart. Destination: Gramma & Papa’s house.
Swiss Chicken Casserole with Green Garden Peas
The year I was born my aunt was nine. My mom, her sister, was twenty-one and still wearing braces. How unaware we all were that day of the unusual, yet needed tie, that would be formed between the three of us in the years to come. Sometimes someone else’s tragedy is your unknown blessing, even if not fully realized until many years later. Sadly and suddenly, I had received a precious and beautiful gift sent straight from God, albeit unexpected and unsolicited. I received an older sister, overnight. Read More>
It is amazing how, even today, the sight of blackberries can always make me smile. I smile when I spot them in the produce section at the grocery store. I grin when I find them collected in wooden baskets displayed in neat rows on narrow folding tables at the local farmers’ market. And, I am delighted when I spy a new use for them tucked away within the pages of Wednesday’s food section in our suburban paper. Read More>
Christine's Mile High Chicken Pot Pie
Traditional. “Old School”, my husband might say. These adjectives are some of those that might be chosen to describe me, by family and friends. Maybe they know how much I relish preserving the past, when it is the right thing to do. Perhaps they understand my desire to save things that are well-made, but are at risk of getting discarded or lost, simply because they are not new. Or could it be my deep respect of history? Not so much history in the textbook sense, but rather looking back at the evolution of things over time. Specifically, noting when we got things exactly right or when things just got off course. I guess you might say, I’m more of a “Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme” kind-of-gal. Read More>
Tomatillo-braised Pork with Red Potatoes
For my second post, I decided to go with a fresh find, a new recipe. A recipe that although only recently discovered, quickly found itself inside my keeper box and its results on my table almost once a week. It awakened the sleepy little chef inside of me and brought enthusiasm back into my cooking. It is one of those recipes which can make you feel like an authentic Top Chef contender, if only in your head or for your family, neighbors and friends. Although out of your comfort zone, it turns out mouth-wateringly, magnificent every time. I love it. It was one of those that made me want to run out and share it with everyone I knew. Believe me, I did.
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