Recipes

November is a great month.  I mainly love this month because my favorite holiday, Thanksgiving, falls at the end of it.  But November is also my birthday month, as well as the birthday month for several good friends.  The older I get, the less I seem to like my birthday.  As they say, kids spend […]

This is my mother-in-law’s pumpkin curry soup, and it is fantastic. The first time I had this was at Thanksgiving dinner when my husband and I were merely dating. I loved it from the first sip.  It is a simple blended soup, but the sweet curried onions elevate this soup to a whole new level. […]

Meringues are delicious and Marion’s, although you may not know her, are top-notch.  Marion is a dear family friend.  I have known Marion a very long time–since I was eleven, to be exact–and I adore her. My mother-in-law first met Marion in 1975 through their sons, who entered kindergarten together at The Calhoun School, where […]

My maternal grandmother was a fantastic baker.  She was a nurse by trade, but during her free time, she often could be found baking something delicious. There were many things my grandmother made that I loved, but she hands down made the best zucchini bread. Zucchini bread is considered a quick bread, which means any […]

This carnitas-style slow cooker brisket is divine.  I think brisket is always delicious and there are many ways to make it, but this is special.  I have a bunch of recipes for brisket that I love and use often, but this time I wanted to try something a bit different, and boy, did I find […]

Does anyone feel tired today?  I call this a superfood smoothie and it may be just what you need.  Some believe the term “superfood” is just a marketing gimmick.  Others claim that superfoods are unusually healthful and may even help with some medical conditions.  I believe in moderation of almost everything.  Even if a given fruit […]

To me, Halloween and cupcakes just go together.  Maybe that’s because I’m a mom, maybe that’s because cupcakes are easy, or maybe that’s because these individual cakes fill the need for a small(ish) sweet treat when you’re the parent responsible for snacks at the school class party. Whatever the case, I like cupcakes and I […]

Sometimes you need to make a change.  A twist on the classic margarita, this pomegranate-lime margarita is divine. I am a margarita lover, so this post should come as no surprise to my friends.  A classic margarita is delicious, made with fresh lime juice, a good tequila, and nothing artificial added.  But there is lots […]

Cauliflower has become one of my favorite vegetables.  With its “riced” form, readily available almost anywhere, it has become even easier to cook.  Because of its mild flavor, there are virtually unlimited options to keep this cruciferous vegetable interesting. As I have gotten older, I have had to modify how and what I eat.  Sadly, […]

Baked ziti (ziti al forno) is a true comfort food to me.  A warm, baked, cheesy pasta dish bubbling from the oven is true comfort food.  Baked pasta dishes such as this have been around since the Middle Ages when nobles served such dishes at banquets. Once popular all over Italy, these days it is […]

[Updated Recipe] These are halvah cookies. Halvah, also known as “halwa,” “halva,” “halava,” and “helva,” is a broad term used to describe a dense, sweet confection made with a base of flour or nut butter, sometimes vegetables (typically carrots), but most commonly with sesame tahini. Halvah is eaten in many countries: all across the Middle East, […]

This is what happens when I read Esquire Magazine; my husband is to blame for that!  Dark N’ Stormy seems like the perfect cocktail right about now, given the political climate and the fact that Halloween is just around the corner.  Dark & Stormy is a rum-based drink and the official drink of Bermuda, where it was […]

Do you love soup?  I sure do.  More than most other foods, I think that soup often has memories attached to it: like being nursed back to health with some homemade chicken and dumpling soup prepared by my mom.  My mom’s soup somehow always did the trick. I’m not sure the soup healed me, but […]

Fruit platters are a common go-to option for any gathering.  Like crudités platters, I make them often when I entertain.  Fruit is a great healthy option for guests, especially during holiday time, plus it helps add a splash of color to any table.  People tend to shy away from fruit arrangements a bit more in the […]

I came up with this blueberry-banana walnut smoothie with my older son in mind.  He, like me, avoids the super sweet smoothies, favoring ones like this instead. This smoothie recipe has some power to it, loaded with protein, fiber, and antioxidant power.  The three key ingredients here are blueberries, banana, and walnuts–the perfect trifecta in […]