I am posting today in keeping with my promise to share both triumphs and failures in the kitchen. While I hope the balance remains heavily on the triumphs side of the scale, today’s post might best be classified as a failure. But, as is often the case with baking disasters, something quite delicious and unexpected can often come from a botched attempt at something else. Herein lies the story of these Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Truffles with Pecans. While at … Read More
Southern Comfort
Think about the foods that make you feel like you’re home. What are they? Cookies, lasagna, a favorite pie, or maybe a soup. A few things come to mind when I think about home-cooking. My mom’s meatballs, beef stew with biscuits, and a fresh garden salad with poppyseed-balsamic dressing. But really, for me, it’s all about the Southern cooking. We’re talking grits, pinto beans with ham, cornbread with butter, and rice. My dad’s side of the family comes from the … Read More
Outstanding Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Allow yourself a couple extra minutes to read this post. Settle in, kick up your feet, and take a trip to The Hamptons withme, East Hampton to be precise. We would drive up a long gravel driveway and pull up to a rather large house, which wouldn’t be all that unusual considering the neighborhood we are in. In fact, it would look much like every other house if not for an unusual structure across the yard from the main building. … Read More
Turkey Burgers with Broccoli Tomato Salad
Tired. The word of the day, week, and maybe even the month! It’s not so much the kind of tired that you feel when you had one night of bad rest, but rather, the kind of exhaustion you feel when that one night of bad rest becomes multiple nights and tasks and responsibilities pile up. I don’t have kids or a family, but I think I’m beginning to understand why so many moms resort to the help of take-out when … Read More
Chocolate Chip Pecan Scones
This morning I woke up rather groggy, wishing coffee had the power to make you look as awake as it made you feel. I had every intention of being well-rested today, going to bed early so I could catch up on a bit of much needed sleep. All was well until around midnight, when I woke up hungry. Staring at the ceiling, thinking about my midnight cravings and trying not to give in to any of them, the scones I … Read More
Pearberry Sorbet
You may have thought that after the extensive talk of the Valley Junction Farmer’s Market, I would have exhausted everything there was to say about a three-block stretch of vendors selling produce. That is, in part, correct. But while waiting for the stands to open, we ducked into a little shop on Main Street with the words COFFEE + ICE CREAM boldly emblazoned across the storefront. Coffee and ice cream…how could we not? Turns out, this little shop sold more … Read More
Zucchini Parmesan
Yesterday, I made a trip to the farmer’s market in Valley Junction. There’s something about wandering through a bustling farmer’s market that I find therapeutic. Typically I avoid large crowds like the plague. But living in Iowa, I have learned how very important it is to savor the last few weeks of warm weather before mother nature’s mood turns frosty. Weaving through the stands and trucks lining Valley Junction’s Main Street, I had the sudden urge to eat vegetables, and … Read More
Cupcakes a la Madeline
To me, the cupcake is a thing of wonder. When done correctly, it resonates of all that is right about desserts. Easier to master than an intricate layer cake, these individual cakes are more forgiving than most cakes ever dreamed of being. And if you mess one up, your entire bunch hasn’t gone to waste. Cupcakes represent the way I think cooking and entertaining ought to be. Simple, almost childish food served in a special way that makes it fit … Read More
Monday Is For Coffee
I had no intention of leaving my blog unattended for this many days, but as is typical, life sometimes goes by much too fast! Now that I am back to the weekday routine, I decided that a perfect post for Monday was one about my all-time favorite drink. I have been remiss in posting about that which this very blog derives its name… espresso of course! While reading my daily dose of news and searching the internet this morning, I … Read More
Steel Cut Oats
This post, due to a crazy schedule, will be a bit shorter than most, but I wanted to take time to pay tribute to my mom’s favorite breakfast food. While not a blogger herself, she did seem to think she should have input into the editorial content of THIS blog. Photo credits on this post even go to her, because in her enthusiasm for me to post about her beloved steel cut oatmeal, she took photos of her own breakfast. … Read More
Whole Wheat Pear and Plum Crostada
More often than not, when fall finally rolls around I am more than ready. The relief of crisp, cool air is much needed after three months of heat and humidity. But not this year. An unusually mild, and dare I say cool, summer has left me in a bit of a difficult spot. I am a devoted lover of all things fall, yet without a blistering hot summer, I find myself stuck between clinging to summer and welcoming in my … Read More
Cinnamon Spiced Oatmeal Pancakes
More often than not, the best recipe ideas come to me when I am laying in bed, waiting to fall asleep. The longer it takes, the more developed the recipes become. Sometimes the excitement over my new idea, usually a breakfast item because of its proximity to waking up, becomes so great that falling asleep becomes a challenge. Of course this leaves me too tired the next day to get much done, let alone have the motivation to cook something … Read More
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