Rosemary Apples On Horseback

Everyone loves to nibble.  Be it savory popcorn or sweet miniature chocolates, tidbits satisfy in their own special (little) way.  What better holiday is there than New Year's to nosh around a room, sipping something bubbly and eating food off of toothpicks?  I absolutely love counting down the hours with hors d'oeuvres, board games a few close friends.  And this year's appetizer is sure to knock their slippers off!

Sausage & Sweet Potato Biscuit Breakfast Sandwich

This breakfast is brought to you by crazy delicious biscuits.  Fricking awesome biscuits that were so good at Thanksgiving, they made a second appearance at Christmas dinner and have booked a spot at New Year's, too.  Biscuits so good that they could not be confined to the dinner table, transitioning to breakfast with the simple additions of egg, turkey sausage and cheese.  Oh yes....I love me a breakfast sandwich, but especially when made with these delicious sweet potato rosemary biscuits.

Roast Vegetable Gravy - a.k.a. The Last Gravy Recipe You'll Ever Need

For better or for worse, everyone has a signature dish for which they are known.  Gourmands may be recognized for something spectacular such as tartare, artisan bread or decadent chocolates.  Others are known for frozen pizza, refrigerated crescent rolls or the ever popular blue box mac & cheese.  Be they on the high or low end of the spectrum, the hubs and I enjoy all of these food items on occasion.  As for me....well, I'm not exactly sure of where I fall on this spectrum for I am known for a holiday condiment.

Nutella Hazelnut Thumbprint Cookies

There is a theme to my baking this year...non-traditionalizing the traditional.  All the childhood classics are still rolling out, but with a few minor modifications to keep things jazzy and fun.  Perhaps it's the anticipation of spring and the hubs residency match, but this year I am itching for change, even with Christmas cookies.  Why not add a little spice or swap in an ingredient or two?  Just keep that milk coming and I'll keep the cookies rolling.  And though this may not be the most festive creation of the season, it has without a doubt been the most popular on the cookie party platter.

Rosemary Roasted Sweet Potato & Kale Salad w/ Blackberry Jam Chicken Tenders

For a foodie, there is nothing more fun than a new culinary creation.  Be it one of your own or from another creative food-fan (see list to right!), new food is fun food.  But sometimes I can get a bit sick of fun.  Special attention must be paid when creating shopping lists, throwing ingredients into a pot or testing the viscosity of....let's just stop there.  New dishes are great, but there's nothing like returning to one of your ol' reliables for a night of simple, familiar and good eating.  And while this may not be one of your standby dishes, this is a pair we fall back on frequently - Rosemary Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Blackberry Jam Chicken Tenders.

Pistachio Nanaimo Bars

On the sixth day of Christmas the airlines gave to me a husband stuck in Philly and a winter storm advisory.  Not my favorite carol.  For some reason unbeknownst to myself, the hubs and the rest of his 4th year med class, residency interviews are from November to January...a terrifically terrible time of year to be flying all over the Northeast.  It was no shocker when the hubs got stuck in an airport overnight.  Fortunately he was able to get home the next day, and I decided to make a little treat for my favorite Canadian as a welcome home surprise.  With a foodie twist, of course.

Roasted Broccoli, Mushroom & Shallot Panini

Today I had to scrape the car twice before 8am.  I think that makes me an official Midwesterner.  Time to celebrate with something yummy.  As the inches of snow accumulate, so does the need for warm and cozy food stuffs, like grilled cheese sandwiches.  Killer with soup, excellent with roast turkey or perfect flying solo, it is the time of year for toasty bread and cheese.  As of late, I cannot get past this amazing little creation that is both healthy and hearty.  Roasted veggies, shallots and sharp cheddar?  Yes please!

Chili Chocolate Crinkles

Ahhh, the first cookies of the year!  With all the festive scents of the holidays, freshly baked sweets is without a doubt my favorite.  Pine trees and cinnamon apples have nothing on the sultry combination that is flour, butter and sugar.  Especially when combined with chocolate like the hubs favorite cookie.  Known to him as Dynamite Cookies and me as Chocolate Crinkles, these always start off the holiday season.  Experience has taught me that starting with my favorite chocolate delight will only lead to him asking when the Crinkles are coming, so I like to nip that banter in the bud and start with his favorite.  Only this year, I added a little kick to his crinkle....

Cranberry Almond Crunch Greek Yogurt Pancakes

Today is the day after Thanksgiving, known to the majority of the world as Black Friday but to my mother and I as Christmas Decoration Day.  I know many of you have been listening to carols, decorating your homes and strategizing plans of attack for mall sales for quite some time now.  But my mother instilled in me a great appreciation of Thanksgiving - quality family time, wonderful food and lots of laughter - and the importance of not letting the impending season of gift-giving and religious festivities overshadow this wonderful day.  Meaning that the morning after Thanksgiving, I'm absolutely chomping at the bit to cover every inch of the house in holly, jingle bells and penguins wearing snuggly knit hats (an ironic choice of attire, when you think about it).  And to start off Decoration Day, an equally festive breakfast is essential.

Perfect Pumpkin Pie with Hazelnut Crust

Pumpkin pie is a quintessential Thanksgiving day dessert.  It never matters how much turkey you've tasted, stuffing you've stuffed or cranberries you've crammed...the meal isn't over until you've had a bit of that deep orange delight.  Fragrant, creamy and so very festive, we all request "just a sliver" to round out the meal.  Unfortunately, pumpkin pie is not a light dessert.  It is often dense and heavy, the tipping point from a little over-satisfied to painfully over-stuffed.  That was why I was so incredibly delighted to find this amazing recipe a few years ago.  This light, fluffy pie is the absolute perfect way to end a family feast without putting yourself into a food coma.

Papa's Little Pigs

Nothing sticks with you quite like a childhood favorite.  Perhaps that's why I've alluded to this recipe so many, many times before.  To me, there is nothing in the world quite like this breakfast.  As soon as that first bite passes my lips, I'm immediately transported back to a breakfast table containing the 5 year-old version of myself in feety pajamas, sitting across from my braces-clad brothers with my volleyball popple at my side.  And of course, my dad at the head of the table.  Because this was his signature breakfast - Little Pigs.  Aptly named, considering the squeals of delight that erupted from us kids whenever he donned an apron in the morning.

Lamb & Barley Stew w/ White Beans & Feta

Last week, we had our first snow of the year.  Sure, it was a measly dusting that only lasted two days, but the hubs and I still made the most of it.  Flames danced in the fireplace, the pups built snuggly dens in blankets on the couch and the scent of hot apple cider filled our entire apartment.  When the weather gets cold, it's time to get cozy.  And nothing says "cozy" like a hearty stew.  Particularly if your stew is a rich, decadent concoction of lamb, goat cheese and rosemary.  I mean, come on now.

Single Serving Coffee Cake

I have a pretty big crush on coffee cake.  A warm, tender pastry topped with sweet, cinnamon-y streusel is pretty tough to refuse straight out of bed, particularly when served along side a piping hot mug of coffee (Thanksgiving blend, a-hem!).  Keep your donuts, your fritters and your bavarian cremes...just give me a nice chunk of cake, please and thank you.  But the key word in that sentence is "piece", as in just enough for one, maybe two servings.  Which is why this single serving recipe is so darn perfect.

Grilled Cheese Sticks w/ Apple Butter Dipping Sauce

There is nothing quite like a toasty grilled cheese sandwich on a crisp autumn afternoon.  It is one of those classic fall meals that transcends all generations.  My mormor always served hers with a side of ketchup, my mom with homemade tomato basil soup.  And chances are you have your own favorite variation in your household.  Man those two make quite a pair.  But along with a love of tomatoes, my mother passed down another favorite pairing with sharp cheddar...apples.  Be it raw granny smiths or hot apple pie, there is nothing quite like the sweet and salty combo of cheddar and apples.

Pumpkin Butter French Toast w/ Pecans & Vermont Maple Syrup

If you've visited the hubs and I here for breakfast before, you know that I am not a maple syrup gal.  Morning after morning, I have adamantly opposed maple syrup, always opting for honey or agave nectar on top of my bready morning delights.  But thanks to the hubs, the state of Vermont and the residency program in Burlington for their delicious souvenirs, I get to sing a different tune today!  I'm embracing maple for the first time ever...and on one of my absolute favorite seasonal breakfasts in Pumpkin Butter French Toast.

Hazelnut & Brown Sugar Roasted Hens w/ Butternut, Grape & Sage Stuffing

After the spending an abundance of summer days in front of the barbecue, there is nothing that the hubs and I enjoy quite like a roast bird.  Not only does it make an excellent and super fancy-shmancy dinner, but the oven also helps heat the house.  Cooking absolutely has its perks.  Warm home, delicious dinner...that's a win-win combo.

Spinach Dip Stuffed Turkey Meatloaf

There are many things I love about my husband.  He considers rollerblading aerobic exercise, has read the entire Harry Potter series and sings 80's hits to our pup, substituting her name into the lyrics.  But perhaps the best part of all is the fact that he can cook.  The man makes an amazing pork roast, perfect pad thai and his lava cakes are to die for.  However, we have very different opinions when it comes to meatloaf.  Having grown up eating my mom's to-die for recipe, I have insatiable winter craving for this dish while the hubs, a natural-born Canadian, never at it growing up.  Perhaps that's why I was so giddy when he offered to make Spinach Dip Stuffed Turkey Meatloaf for me last week.  Oh joy!

Baked Tilapia with Kale & Mushrooms

Do you ever get fed up with doing the dishes?  What am I saying...of course you do, because dishes are the least fun part of cooking.  I have yet to meet an individual who can't wait to throw on their rubber gloves and bust out the liquid soap after a good meal, particularly if they've been cooking all day (all day = even more dishes = boo).  Perhaps that's why I'm so terribly fond of one-dish meals, the recipes that require a single dish, a cutting board and a knife to prepare.  They're so darn considerate after a day of excessive cookery.  Or on a day when the dishwasher is studying full.  Or a day that you really don't feel like cleaning.  Come to think of it, they're always great.

Adobo Double-Cornbread

Soup, stew and chili are all wonderful in their own right, but they're not complete until they have a big, bready accoutrement to accompany them down the hatch.  Crackers are lovely for their crunch, baguettes for their chewy texture and breadsticks for their dunk-ability.  But perhaps my favorite of all carbs to serve alongside a big bowl of *insert soup here* is cornbread.  There is something about that crumby, grainy, subtly-sweet and corny bread that feeds my soul in a way no other can.  And this little adobo cornbread is without a doubt my new favorite.  Move over, ciabatta....momma's got a brand new bread (recipe).

Pumpkin Macadamia Muffins

Nothing says good morning quite like a freshly baked muffin.  They're just so perky and cheerful, the perfect companion to a steaming mug of coffee on a cool fall morning.  Or around 10:30.  Or maybe 2:45.  Let's just say good morning all day long to this muffin, because it's so darn tasty you'll be eating it around the clock.  I speak from personal experience, folks.  

Yellow Coconut Curry w/ Bok Choy & Shiitakes

I have an unhealthy obsession with coconut oil.  At any given time, we have several containers floating around the house.  There's a jar in the kitchen devoted to baking and frying while another resides in the bathroom for face washing, hair conditioning and moisturizing.  Thankfully, it's a heart-healthy ingredient and a happy obsession.  But as I eyed the five cans of various coconut milks and creams in my pantry last week, it became evident that I was sliding the dangerous slope and becoming a coco-hoarder.  That meant one thing - it was time to get cooking with coconut.

Grilled Salmon Cream Cheese Sandwich

Grilled cheese is one of the meals that would appear on just about everyone's top 10 comfort foods list.  Warm, toasty bread and melty, chewy cheese delights foodies from two to ninety-two.  Growing up, Tillamook cheddar was my mom's grilling cheese of choice.  I still love those strings of orange goodness stretching between two triangles of golden brown bread...yum.  Yes, melting cheeses are the traditional favorite when it comes to a grilled sammy or panini.  But....I have a confession to make.  I have not remained loyal to my mother and her good friend cheddar, having become absolutely obsessed with soft cheeses in grilled sandwiches.  Cream cheese and boursin are where it's at.  Feel free to call me crazy at this point, because that just means you've never tried either and have earned my pity.  But you are sooooo needing to try grilled cream cheeses...starting with this sandwich.

Cranberry Brie Burgers

Dried fruit has always been one of my absolute favorite snacks.  Sweet, chewy and shrink-packed with flavor, these little tidbits cannot be beat.  Cranberries and prunes (yes, you read right) are two favorites that we always have on hand.  A few of these as an after dinner snack always hits that sweet spot oh-so-well (plus they're a great warm up for dessert).  Since I typically nosh on these post-supper, these burgers are like a two-for-one special in the evening.  The snack and the meal are combined into one delectable dish.  So efficient.

Pumpkin Shortbread Bars with Candied Pecans

You know it's fall when pumpkin hits the market.  Be it carving, cooking or canned, pumpkin is the symbol of the season.  There's nothing like a piping hot bowl of creamy pumpkin oatmeal to start your day, tender roasted pumpkin meat tossed with pasta and goat cheese or a freshly brewed pumpkin latte from your favorite mer-coffee-maker.  And of course, there's the all time rockstar of pumpkin - the pie.  Problem is...I have a teensy problem when it comes to eating pumpkin pie on pre-holidays.  Post-holidays or the fête du jour itself, no sweat.  But before the holiday....I don't think so.  The hubs does not share my opinion and his sweet tooth would be hard pressed to wait until the end of November for a pumpkin dessert.  Luckily these delightful Pumpkin Shortbread Bars are the perfect tide-us-through dessert until the turkey hits the table.

Puyallup Fair Scones

September is the month where harvest festivals, hay rides and state fairs abound.  As temperatures relax and cool evenings sneak up on us, you throw an extra blanket on your bed and are finally able to wear all your cute coats into work again.  Thank goodness.  I love the crispness of fall - the apples, the weather, the crunchy orange leaves - all of these things make it my very favorite season.  Growing up, the September event I looked forward to more than anything was the Puyallup Fair, now the Washington State Fair.  (Everyone stop and try to pronounce "Puyallup"....very good!)  My grandparents lived about two blocks from the fairgrounds, and every year we were there like freckles on a red-head (I'm allowed to say that cuz I'm a ginger).  Three things were required every year:  a thorough perusal of Hobby Hall, at least an hour in the stables staring longingly at all the horses, and Fisher's Scones.  Ahhhh....the scones.

Almond Crunch Apple Pie

For the last three years, my college cohorts and I have gotten together once annually for a weekend of reminiscent debauchery.  In the past, weddings in the Pacific Northwest we our justification for the cost of bi-costal plane tickets.  This year, we changed things up by going East for a fabulous Labor Day weekend in NYC.  Think of the video from "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" over the Napoleon Dynamite soundtrack.  Heck yeah!  Since there were no weddings this year, we decided to gather for the first of our group's big three-oh's.  The unexpected fun of a pregnancy announcement and surprise engagement was cause for even more celebration.  It was all fabulous - the ladies, the weekend, the city.  The only part of the Big Apple that I missed was a slice of pie.  Which for some reason, I took a little too close to heart.  After all, it's just pie, right?  Wrong.  So when my bossy pregnant friend demanded a post inspired by our weekend together, it was pretty obvious what I'd have to make.  Bust our your pairing knife, because it's time for some apple pie.

Caramelized Onion & Mushroom Quinoa Patties

Call me Doug, because I'm in love with patties.  It's cool, because the hubs shares the mad Patty love.  I mean, delicious flavors squished together, then pan fried to toasty perfection...what foodie could possibly resist?  We pride ourselves on being equal opportunity eaters and will sample any patty that comes out way, but there is a special little corner of our hearts devoted to quinoa patties.  That delightful little grain has a way of turning out extra delicious and toasty.  So when I had a mad craving for caramelized onions a few weeks ago, I thought I'd give them a go in patty form.  Little did I know I was happening upon the ultimate steak side.  Beef or tofu, this is a winner dinner with paired with your favorite grilled protein.

Grilled Pepper & Corn Salad

Ahh, the joys of corn on the cob.  Juicy yellow kernels of sweet perfection bursting in your mouth as you munch.  The ears are so good, it totally makes up for the butter facial and slightly singed fingertips from trying to put the corn holders into the ends waaaaay before its cool enough to handle.  Grilled corn is divine, the epitome of summer eats.  But sometimes, it's nice to nix the cob and keep your dignity at the dinner table.  That's when a grilled corn salad like this one comes in super handy.

Fresh Tomato Salami Pizza

Pizza pizza.  Call me Little Caesar, cuz I love a good pie.  So surprise, I have yet another one to share with you.  Not too fancy shmancy, but darn good and extra sneaky.  Yes, a sneaky little pizza.  Why, might you ask?  Because of all the veggie goodness hiding inside.  Et tu, Brute?  Yes my friends, always and forever, for vegetables belong on pizza.  Especially zucchini, which is practically sprouting out of my ears at this point.  Remember that veggie box from a few weeks back? Welp, here is another meal inspired by the bounty inside.

Chocolate Chip Oven Pancakes with Mixed Berry Compote

If pancakes have a downside, it is definitely that they ostracize the chef.  So unfair.  The cook spends their time flipping and flap-jacking while the family sits around the table chattering away like happy chipmunks.  Sure, you can hear the conversation but it's a few rounds of batter in the pan before you can join the bunch.  You can attempt valiant effort of making all the pancakes in advance, but this always leaves someone with the sad, droopy pancakes at the bottom of the pile, steamed to death by their doughy counterparts.  This is why oven pancakes are fabulous.  Baked up at once, served at once and eaten all at once.  It's the pancake of lonely chefs.

Grilled Polenta Watermelon Squares with Goat Cheese & Salsa Verde

Have you seen the melon at the market lately?!  I mean woah.  It's enough to make a foodie loose her melon mind.  We've been plowing through our share of this year's crop  with frothy lassis, cold soups and wedges cut as wide as a six year-old's smile.  But when we have a tapas night, I always go to for these little bites.  A little quirky, super tasty and darn cute on a plate, these Grilled Polenta Watermelon squares are a wonderfully refreshing amuse-bouche for a summer evening.

Zucchini Cake with Lemony Cream Cheese Glaze

Apologies are in order for the super sporadic nature of my posts over the past two months.  Between road trips to Chicago, family reunions in Gatlinburg, and last-minute weekends in New Orleans, it's been tricky to find a block of time for typing on a laptop.  The good news is that things have settled back down to our typical level of pleasant hum-drum lunacy, I have a whole smorgasbord of recipes to share.  Today I start with the most recent interruption - my birthday, and it's amazing cake.  If you like carrot cake, zucchini bread or banana muffins, this is the cake is right down your fruit-and-veggie alley.

Farmers Market Breakfast Skillet

Nothing is quite as glorious as a farmer's market in summer.  Fragrant tomatoes, sweet peaches and oodles of zucchini as far as the eye can see...it's practically foodie heaven.  As good fortune and the Midwest would have it, the hubs and I are sitting smack dab in the middle of no fewer than four Saturday markets.  Whichever way we turn, we are practically tripping over honeycomb and bushels of corn.  First world problems, right?  One of our friends even has a share in a local farm and receives a box of their fresh vegetables every week...such a cool thing.  And since she just happened to be out of town this week, she bequeathed this weeks produce to us.  The last time I was that excited about opening a box, it held an engagement ring.

Spicy Pomegranate Salmon

Sometimes there are things in life that just seem to good to be true.  A front row parking space any sporting event, an unexpected register discount at a blowout sale and double yolk eggs are just a few things that set my heart a flutter in ways that I cannot begin to express.  But for Northwestern natives, nothing beats an amazing deal on fresh salmon.  This week our local market is having a preposterously gargantuan sale on Sockeye.  Two days into the week, we've already gone through one pound and are going back for a second.  With so many ways to prepare this delicious fish, I am perfectly content to continue eating it until we have both grown gills.  Grilled, broiled, baked or breaded....any way you fix it, this fish is amazing.  But have you ever tried it in a spicy pomegranate sauce?  Oh, be still my heart.

Chocolate Hazelnut Misto

The best part of waking up is coffee in your cup.  You may have heard that tune with some alternative lyrics, but to this Western Washingtonian there one coffee that reigns supreme over all the others, and of it I will forever sing.  Nothing beats sipping a steaming beverage out of a mermaid cup while walking on the water's edge...unless it's a lazy Saturday morning in your pajamas.  We sometimes will truck down to our local shop in our sweats and roll back with coffee in hand, but more often I like to make this tasty little homemade concoction.  That way I avoid the "compliments" on my piggy pajamas and odd stares at bed head.  

Artichoke Avocado Pesto Mini-Pizza

With all the beautiful summer produce available, you'd never think that a foodie like me would be distracted by the pantry.  But alas, this is indeed the case.  I have been absolutely obsessing over canned artichoke hearts lately.  Munching them here, there and everywhere is my new favorite past time.  And it seems I'm not alone in this obsession.  Ever since I saw this delicious recipe for couscous where artichokes stood in for the typical cucumber, I have happily joined the subbing bandwagon.  But out of all the dishes I've tried and created, the best by far is this slamming Artichoke Avocado Pesto Pizza.  Beautiful to look at and even better to eat, this little pizza is green goddess perfection.

Ginger Peach Galette

Everybody loves peach pie.  Bright, juicy peaches baked to tender perfection in a sweet sugar syrup of their own making, all wrapped within a tender and flaky crust.  What's not to love?  For me, it's all that sugary syrup.  Call me names if you will, but I do not like the traditional peach pie.  For me, all of that sugar completely knocks out the delicious tartness that I so love about the fresh fruit.  Now the hubs happens to love peach pie, so I decided to come up with a recipe that satisfied both our appetites.

Grilled Chicken Cornbread with Peaches & Pepper Jack

So the hubs was out of town last week, which meant I really got to play in the kitchen.  Perhaps it's the fact that we're still pretty-newlyweds, but I usually try to stick with dishes that he will enjoy throughout the week.  Granted, he gives me a pretty wide berth with things like Watermelon Habanero Gazpacho and Pesto Pomegranate Pasta.  But when he goes out of town, I tend to get even wackier.  Why not have an artichoke white wine sauce with my turkey meatballs?  Sure I'll try a goat cheese, strawberry and asparagus breakfast burrito.  (For the record, both of those were delicious.)  But one of my little creations absolutely took the cake last week!  Or should I say cornbread?  This will be recreated for the hubs without a doubt.

Cookies & Coffee Ice Cream Pie

I am fortunate to have some terrific in-laws.  Not everyone can easily say that.  Think about it - you have all your growing-up years to get use to the odd little quirks of your own family while developing a few of your own.  It can be a challenge to find another family who's eccentricities mesh well with yours.  But I struck the jackpot with a wise-cracking, card-sending, ski-sloping group of intellectuals who love to drink wine and eat.  Score! 

BLAT! Burgers

BLAT!  That's what my husband yelled right after I told him we here having bacon, lettuce, avocado and tomato burgers for dinner one evening.  No, we do not live in a Batman comic strip...this is just a typical evening conversation in our kitchen (be lucky he didn't rap it for this would be a very different post).  Needless to say, the name was catchy and stuck - POW! - to this recipe.  BLAT! Burgers are now the handy sidekick in our most daring, death-defying and debauched action movie nights.

Brie Stuffed Mushrooms & Joe's Barbecue Corn

The hubs and I have been working on emptying out the freezer for a while.  He also had quite the hankering for ribs a month ago.  In an ingenious negotiations tactic, I promised him that once we ate through the last of the pot stickers, pulled pork and sweet potato fries that I would make a rack of ribs.  I could kick myself for not trying this stratagem sooner.  Ribs are the perfect man-motivator for just about anything under the summer sun.  Before I knew it, he was attacking all leftovers, remnants and rainy day reserves with the same enthusiasm the pups reserves for her hickory-scented rawhide.  Within two weeks, I was carting home a full rack and the fixins for some superb sides.  But not just any ol' sides....some manly grillin' sides.

Red, Lime & Blue Galette

Get your stars and stripes out, because the Fourth of July is almost upon us!  For the record, I'm really excited about this year's celebrations.  Last year we drove right by Independence Day twice without stopping - first Canada's on our way to visit family in Toronto and then America's on the way back. Though the fireworks were splendid from our view in the car, the lack of food and cornhole was quite disheartening.  This year we're staying put to celebrate both the 4th and the hubs completing of his third year of medical school.  That's right folks, as of 4:30 on July 3rd we're only 12 months away from being a two income household.  Needless to say, there's ample reasons to celebrate this week.

Peachy Hazelnut Crusted Chicken

What's the first thing you crave when you see fresh peaches at the market?  You probably imagine sinking your teeth into that fuzzy exterior, the scent of freshly baked peach pie and crumbly dutch cobblers.  Thoughts of sweet and tender fruit dance like sugar plum fairies around in your head. Odds are you are not being swept away by thoughts of sriracha and a gas grill...unless you're me.  As soon as these pop up in the produce section, I pounce thinking of one thing:  barbecue sauce.  It's time to pull out the chicken and hazelnuts to make my all-time favorite chicken recipe - Peachy Hazelnut Crusted Chicken.  Oh yeah.

Portuguese Pork with Bell Peppers & Broccoli

As the name of this blog aptly covers, the hubs and I are foodies.  If we're not eating, we're thinking about our next meal.  However, we are also known around town for our moonlighting as wine-o's.  That saying about the way to the heart being through the stomach definitely applies.  With all this food and wine, we're almost super duper classy....almost being the key word.  Sure, we love red wine and yes, the wine store recognizes my number on their caller ID.  But then we take notes on our fancy schmancy wines while playing Wii ping pong.  You see, almost...but not quite.

Watermelon Habanero Gazpacho

For some unbeknownst reason, I've been churning out an inordinate amount of soup lately.  Not one, not two but three within the past week.  That's a new June record for this foodie.  All three are delicious recipes that I've been meaning to post for some time.  The two previous posts have been hot soups, but this dish is a nice cold summer soup.  I've been waiting for this year's watermelon crop to hit the markets to share this refreshing Watermelon Habanero Gazpacho.  Perfect for an outdoor picnic or served poolside on a hot day, this spicy and refreshing recipe is fabulous for summer weather.

Roasted Mexican Soup

It seems that every year, some crop is absolutely gorgeous.  Right now, I'm totally stuck on the glorious ears of  corn that are cropping up left and right (pun intended!).  These gorgeous ears can't make it to my mouth fast enough.  We've been grilling them up left and right, using our special family recipe and other fabulous creations.  But what I've been making more than anything is Roasted Mexican Soup.  I absolutely love this stuff in the summer.

Eggy in a Pesto Hole

Eggy in the Basket.  Toad in the Hole.  Egg Toast.  Call it what you will, this little egg and bread combo is a breakfast classic.  It instantly whisks me back to childhood memories of sitting on on my knees at a tall kitchen stool, peeping over the kitchen counter and helping punch holes into slices of bread.  Care Bears pajamas included.  Well, here the kiddy classic grows up a little bit into a slightly more debonaire delight.

Ham & White Bean Soup with Pesto

June is without a doubt one of the best months of the year.  The weather warms up, the barbecues come out, the days are longer and you can sleep with the windows open.  Fresh produce predominates the market and silly things like frozen foods are nearly forgotten.  That is, until I get a whim to clean out my freezer one weekend and stumble across a bag of leftover ham from Easter.  "Good grief," thought I, looking at this forgotten little package of protein, "weren't you suppose to be soup?"  And not just any soup, but my all time favorite ham soup.  So yes, it's June and yes, I'm posting a soup recipe.  But it's still cold in Alaska, right?

Chewy Lemon & Dark Chocolate Oat Bites

I love oats.  Oats, oats, oats.  Down to my belly for breakfast, dinner or dessert.  My favorite varieties are without a doubt old fashioned and steel-cut.  I really prefer their hearty texture for breakfast in Honey Baked Oatmeal or Banana Oat Pancakes as opposed to the smoother, creamier consistency of instant oats.  However, there are certain recipes were the texture of quick-cooking is absolutely essential.  And these Chewy Lemon Chocolate Oat Bites are the without a doubt one of those recipes.

Spring Vegetable Spring Rolls

I have been going ga-ga over all the delicious spring vegetable dishes cropping up on my favorite food blogs.  I mean, who doesn't love fresh asparagus and peas in an easy skillet lasagna or hiding within a tender dumpling?  I love trying these sweet spring greens in every sort of recipe I can find.  All of these delicious dishes inspired me to create these Spring Vegetable Spring Rolls.  Double the spring, double the yum.