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Posts Tagged ‘recipes’

Popovers and pine needle tea

Posted in Baked goods, Breakfast, Travel, tagged , , , , , , on September 3, 2012| 4 Comments »

With the return of cooler, foggy mornings heating up the oven brings a feeling of comfort. The air was crisp at 7 a.m. when we made our way down to the kettle pond for an early morning dip. The water was warm and as the sun rose it pierced across the surface making the far shore difficult to see.

September is the month when people say, “I can feel the change, can you?” They mean that although the sun still burns off the dew by midday, a chill fills the air requiring a sweater first thing. It’s the perfect kind of moment for a mug of hot tea in one hand and a warm, buttery popover in the other.

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Tijuana coconut treat

Posted in Travel, tagged , , , , on July 29, 2012| 12 Comments »

“You are going where?”

This was the response I got when I told various friends and family that my boyfriend Thomas and I were going to take a one-day adventure from San Diego to Tijuana, Mexico. I admit that with the Mexican drug war at full bloom and lots of news stories about headless corpses turning up in various places I had some trepidation about crossing the border – even if it was just a short drive from downtown San Diego.

But we were going on a Monday morning in May. Besides, the main purpose of our trip was to pay a visit to the “little fishing village” of Popotla, located right next door to Fox Studios where “Titanic” was filmed. How bad could it be?

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Red, white, and blueberry trifle

Posted in Dessert, Holiday dishes, tagged , , , , , , on July 1, 2012| Leave a Comment »

My Grandma Ruth’s birthday fell on the Fourth of July and hardly a year went by that she wasn’t presented with a sheet cake made to look like a flag with a blueberry-studded square in the upper left corner and rows of slivered strawberries marching across white frosting. Sometimes the sugary Old Glory was topped with sparklers.

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Strawberry mango salsa

Posted in Eating in season, Sauces, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , on May 29, 2012| 1 Comment »

The best thing about spring is the arrival of fresh fruit. And while I enjoy a tomato-based salsa I find that fruit salsa is a little more versatile. Now that mangoes and strawberries are both in season, it’s the perfect time to combine them into a topping for chicken or serve them with tortilla chips at a backyard barbeque.

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Ricotta cheese delight

Posted in Breakfast, Dessert, tagged , , , on May 25, 2012| 4 Comments »

Earlier this spring, I rediscovered ricotta cheese as a simple dessert. Similar to cottage cheese, ricotta can serve as a substantial filling for both sweet (cannolis) and savory (lasagna) dishes. But it can also stand on its own as a low-fat, high protein dish. A recent brunch order in a New York City restaurant delivered a plate full of ricotta as the main course. And it totally worked.

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Kentucky Derby bars for Cinco de Mayo

Posted in Baked goods, Dessert, Holiday dishes, tagged , , , , , on May 1, 2012| 8 Comments »

The Kentucky Derby in Louisville, Ky., falls on May 4-5, 2012. I’m not really swept up in the culture around the Derby, even though my mom lived in Lexington for nearly two decades. In my most cynical moments, I can’t understand the big to-do around a 2 minute race.

But I admit, I cried through “Seabiscuit,” “Secretariat,” and “War Horse.” There is something about these majestic, beautiful, intelligent creatures in motion that stirs the human spirit, no matter how intellectual one becomes about the trappings and heartbreak of betting on a horse.

What I do love without question is a Kentucky Pie That Shall Not Be Named – gooey pecans and chocolate over a buttery crust and smothered in a dollop of fresh whipped cream. With the Derby falling on Cinco de Mayo this year, I got to thinking about the perfect marriage: Mexican chocolate and buttery pecans.

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Quick beef stir fry

Posted in Main dish, tagged , , , , on April 30, 2012| 2 Comments »

Two nights a week I don’t get home until 9 p.m. after swim practice and I am ravenous! Sometimes I have leftovers on hand so I can eat right away. But most nights I need to make something substantial – and fast.

Beef stir fry with green peppers and onions is a perfect answer. It’s quick, hearty, and has both good veggies and protein for a post-workout meal. You’ll be eating a hot meal within 15 minutes after hanging up your workout clothes to dry.

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Cookbook review: Make the Bread, Buy the Butter

Posted in Cookbook reviews, tagged , , , , , on April 24, 2012| 4 Comments »

I’ve been meaning to tell you about this cookbook for awhile. For all those of you out there who are raising chickens, pickling, and making your own crackers, you’ll find good wit and wisdom in “Make the Bread, Buy the Butter” by Jennifer Reese (Free Press, October 2011, $24).

Having chickens cluck in the yard and filling your pantry with preserves that you picked and canned yourself is rewarding – but is it worth all the time battling persistent bugs and rodents just to say, “I made this sauce with heirloom tomatoes I grew myself”?

Reese, who blogs at www.tipsybaker.com, took on an ambitious project when she applied her journalistic skills to figure out what is worth making at home (croutons), what is worth attempting for the experience (Camembert cheese), and what is an accomplishment but a true pain in the rear (prosciutto).

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Chocolate Easter Baskets

Posted in Dessert, Holiday dishes, tagged , , , , , on April 7, 2012| 1 Comment »

Forget plastic green grass. Go au naturel with these delightful and easy-to-make Chocolate Easter Baskets. You will need exactly three ingredients: a bag of pretzel sticks, a bag of semi sweet chocolate chips (or your favorite chocolate), a bag of mini candy-shelled Cadbury Eggs.

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Traditional Irish soda bread

Posted in Baked goods, Holiday dishes, tagged , , , , on March 11, 2012| 2 Comments »

You might call this a pre St. Patrick’s Day post, except here in Boston I’m a little bit late. St. Patrick’s Day celebrations start the weekend before March 17 because there just simply isn’t enough time to get in all the Irish-related festivities in just a day or two. We may not dye our river green the way Chicago does, but this is still the home of the Boston Celtics. Plus, we are geographically closer to Ireland than Chicago, so I think this qualifies us as more authentically Irish-American than our Midwestern cousins. Somehow. (more…)

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