This is a great soup to have in your back pocket, it’s a chameleon of a soup, honey.  Easily adaptable to whichever vegetables you have on hand.  As a template I always include onion, celery, carrot, tomato, zucchini, green beans, frozen peas.  Also beans, either canned like cannellini, or a similar dry bean that are… Continue reading

This Zucchini Lasagna is not unlike a lot of my kitchen endeavors. I had intended to make zucchini involtini, but ended up with a zucchini lasagna. After many attempts to cut long super thin slices of zucchini, first with my mandoline then a sharp knife, so that I could fill them and roll up, I… Continue reading

We picked up a few zucchini’s from the farmstand over the weekend, originally thinking of making a gratin-ish type zucchini dish, bubbly cheese, garlic etc. Instead, I whipped up a batch of yummy Zucchini Corn Muffins. That’s how versatile this vegetable is.  How many other vegetables can you think of that make a fabulous cheesy… Continue reading

My husband did something unusual yesterday, he went to work –  at his office.  After almost a year of working remotely I wasn’t ready.   Oh, I was ready for him to leave the house, I just didn’t have any breakfast type foods ready that he could easily grab and go!   I quickly whipped… Continue reading

If you are searching for a fabulous dessert that you can whip up and have in the oven in 10 minutes, is dinner party worthy, with only one bowl to wash up, and is made with basic pantry staples you may already have lurking in your pantry. Than this Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Glaze is… Continue reading

Honey this recipe for Pecan Squares is a keeper.  Good thing too because it’s perfect for school functions, holidays, share with friends and neighbors, all someday…… It makes a large sheet pan size, that’s up to 20-30 squares, depending on how big you cut them. There is an Ina Garten recipe out there for Pecan… Continue reading

Years ago, when my husband and I took our very first trip to Italy we learned a tip about shellfish and cheese.  We were staying in a little pensione on the Adriatic with a restaurant on the main floor that faced the ocean, so gorgeous it could have been a movie set. One night, we… Continue reading

It probably come as no surprise to everyone that we are having a much smaller gathering for Thanksgiving this year – just like most of the country.  We still want to make a fuss, cook way too much, and spend quality time with certain family members.  You too I bet. These circumstances happen to work… Continue reading

With so many years of putting together a Thanksgiving feast for friends and family, and double doses for this Canadian-American family. I finally feel I have a handle on how to get the meal on the table without too much chaos, and with some semblance of grace.   First tip: make as much as you… Continue reading

Have you heard about this famous Plum Torte originally published by Mariam Burros in 1983 for the New York Times? It was so popular that it was published every year from 1983 to 1989, by then the editors felt it had been featured enough.  Apparently not, according to all the backlash they received, after making… Continue reading

As the summer winds down, I usually do a mental inventory of all the seasonal foods we have cooked and enjoyed to make sure we haven’t missed out. With all the usual suspects all accounted for: tomatoes, corn, zucchini, leafy greens, and more tomatoes, I cast a larger net and discovered I had not made… Continue reading

You know when you see recipes that look so simple but contain gluten, so you don’t even attempt them because you assume it won’t work for us gluten free?  Well, honey this is not one of those recipes! This time luck is in our favor.  This flatbread recipe produces a wonderfully chewy, crispy, savory flatbread,… Continue reading

We have all become so bored of quarantine meals.  It was time to make something DIFFERENT for dinner today. We were feeling indifferent with the steady staple of 1) some protein from the freezer or tofu, 2) a vegetable that has been resting in our cold garage that hopefully is not moldy yet.  3) gnocchi/rice/potato… Continue reading

I know there are legions gnocchi fans out there, sadly though, I have never been one.  If given a choice for a Italian carbohydrate it would always be spaghetti for me.  With spicy tomato sauce, carbonara, aglio e olio peperoncino, or just butter and parmesan cheese, each one my favorite. However my daughter sent me… Continue reading

When my daughter was younger she just didn’t like pureed soups.  I could never figure out why?  As she grew older, and more articulate, she informed me that she didn’t like pureed soup because every spoonful feels and tastes the same. Huh, who knew.   To get around that dilemma, I  found a few ways… Continue reading

This last week we dusted off the BBQ, swept off the patio bricks, and set up all the seating with nice comfy cushions. We were all ready and eager for our first outdoor dining experience, of what we hope will be a long and warm season.  However, today it is a balmy 43 degrees with… Continue reading

For the last few years I have defaulted to three super easy desserts to serve at dinner parties.  If you entertain you know it’s more than enough work to come up with a menu, shop, cook a fabulous meal, and set a beautiful table.   Last year it was pears that I popped into the oven… Continue reading

On any given day if I ask my Husband what he wants for dinner most of the time the response will be “Chicken? Maybe fish?  Or we haven’t had a steak in a long time”.  Never does he lead with “how about eggplant? or broccoli?”.   Therefore I sometimes have to be sneaky when it comes… Continue reading

Last week one of my favorite food blogs, Smitten Kitchen, shared a vegan coconut cake.  Made with just 6 ingredients; one bowl, baked in a round cake pan for just 40 minutes.  Could it really be that simple? I admit, I was skeptical since I’ve had so many epic fails trying to conjure up baked… Continue reading

Today, I would like to give some credence to escarole.  It’s a New Year and I wanted to try something new, not just fall back on spinach or kale, my go-to’s in most recipes with leafy greens.  In the same category as endive and frisee; not really a lettuce, as it appears at first glance,… Continue reading

If there is one thing I can tell you about gluten free baking, it’s that if it works, keep doing it.  A mantra I have stood by through and through, and the reason why I have posted 8 slightly different variations of cheesecakes – so far. Baking gluten free is not always as simple as… Continue reading