A truly great burger deserves a quality hamburger bun - and nothing beats a homemade hamburger bun! It's sizzlin' burger season! I'm not sure anything can beat the smell of a barbecue wafting through the air. The combination of charcoal and chargrilled meat is … Continue reading →
Rum Raisin Nut Chocolate Bars
Replicate your favorite rum raisin nut chocolate bars, it's super easy and SO delicious! Growing up in Stuttgart, Germany I lived close to the headquarters of Ritter Sport, one of the best chocolate manufacturers in the world. The other day I was craving one of … Continue reading →
Shichimi Togarashi and Nanami Togarashi (Japanese 7 Spice Blend)
Make Shichimi Togarashi or Nanami Togarashi right at home! It's easy to make and is cheaper, fresher, and with a more vibrant flavor than store-bought! This popular Japanese spice blend dates back to at least the 17th century and has been used since as a favorite way … Continue reading →
Misir Wat (Ethiopian Spiced Red Lentils)
One of Ethiopia's most popular vegetarian dishes, this Misir Wat recipe showcases lentils in a way that's unlike any you've had before. The flavor is simply out of this world! Vegetarian-friendly and so delicious that even devout carnivores won't miss the meat! I've … Continue reading →
Authentic Niter Kibbeh (Ethiopian Spiced Clarified Butter)
If you love Ethiopian food and just can't quite figure out how to replicate that flavor at home, you may be missing the ultimate secret ingredient:Â Niter Kibbeh! What is Niter Kibbeh? Niter Kibbeh (Nit'ir Qibe)Â is an ingredient integral to Ethiopian cuisine and is … Continue reading →
Chilled Asparagus with Lemon-Dijon Vinaigrette
Cool and crisp asparagus spears and tossed in a delicious lemon-dijon vinaigrette for a simple, elegant and delicious asparagus side dish! We planted asparagus in our garden 2 years ago. It's going to be at least another year before we can reap our first harvest and … Continue reading →
Easy White Chocolate Mousse
If you're looking for an easy but elegant dessert to serve for a fun, festive or special occasion, give this Easy White Chocolate Mousse a try! Delightfully rich and creamy, you can prepare it to fit any occasion by piping it into martini glasses, dessert bowls or pastry … Continue reading →
Gluten Free Oat Waffles
I love experimenting with a variety of grains in my baking, not only in an effort to focus on nutrition but also to keep things interesting. These oat waffles are one example and they've become a favorite in our home. We all agree that the oats contribute more flavor and … Continue reading →
Authentic Chinese Plum Sauce
Chinese plum sauce is a smooth sweet and tart sauce infused with traditional Chinese spices and boasts a deliciously complex flavor profile that will mesmerize your taste buds! It's wonderfully versatile as a dipping sauce, stir-fry sauce, basting sauce or glaze as well as … Continue reading →
Honey Peach Cardamom Sauce
Peaches are in season here in Washington State and I picked up a bulk load of 75 pounds of them last week! Â I've been busy chopping and freezing them for smoothies, canning them, making fruit leather, peach cobbler and peach crisp, and thought I'd try something new - this … Continue reading →
Southern Sorghum & Black-Eyed Pea Salad
Sorghum is an interesting grain with a rich heritage and unique flavor. Â Plus it's something of a superhero crop because it's one of the most efficient crops in conversion of solar energy, is environmentally friendly, requires less water than other grain crops and is … Continue reading →
Dilly Beans (Pickled Green Beans)
Dilly Beans (pickled green beans) have been a beloved classic for generations. And for good reason: They're absolutely delicious! Plus they're super easy to make and keep for a long time! If you've never tried Dilly Beans you don't know what you've been missing! … Continue reading →
Blue Cheese Butter
Compound blue cheese butter is super easy to make and the result is irresistibly delicious! Wonderful versatile, whether you're enjoying it on a grilled steak, steamed veggies, corn on the cob, or mashed potatoes, this is one condiment you'll want to keep in your fridge to … Continue reading →
How To Can Diced Tomatoes
There are several reasons it's a great idea to can your own tomatoes. The first reason is this: Â BPA's. Â Nearly everyone's heard of this chemical because of the health risks associated with it. Â Sadly it continues to be used in so many of our food products. Â In the case … Continue reading →
German Cucumber Salad (Gurkensalat)
A classic German Cucumber Salad recipe, like the kind you'll find in every German restaurant. Easy to make, healthy, delicious, and wonderfully refreshing! Eating this cool and crunchy cucumber salad always reminds me of Germany.  It's commonly included as part of … Continue reading →
Pickled Asparagus
Pickled Asparagus is easy to make, keeps for many months, and tastes absolutely FABULOUS! Asparagus is something I look forward to every year. Â Steamed and served with a Hollandaise sauce, sauteed with butter, added to stir-fries, made into a creamy soup, roasted or … Continue reading →
Authentic Injera (Ethiopian Flatbread)
An authentic Injera recipe, the famous Ethiopian flatbread that makes the perfect accompaniment to a whole host of Ethiopian dishes, including Doro Wat, Sega Wat, Misir Wat, and Gomen! If you've ever been to an Ethiopian restaurant - certainly if you've ever set foot … Continue reading →
Slow Cooker Creamy Tortellini Soup
This wonderfully creamy and flavor-packed tortellini soup is super easy to make and is sure to become a family favorite! It's been a crazy week and I'm ready for the weekend, how about you? Â I've been nursing a case of strep throat with accompanying fever while still … Continue reading →
Slow Cooker Chinese Fried Rice
Fuss-free, hands-off, one-pot, now you can enjoy a Chinese take-out favorite and let your slow cooker do everything for you - try our Slow Cooker "Fried" Rice recipe! Chinese fried rice has always been a favorite of mine, but it's a long process to get it right, to … Continue reading →
Mozzarella-Stuffed Crispy Portobello Burgers (“One to Five” Cookbook Review + Giveaway!)
I received a copy of Chef Ryan's cookbook for review and all opinions are entirely my own. If you like easy, quick, affordable, and crowd-pleasing dishes (I do!) then you should check out this new cookbook from Chef Ryan Scott which has been endorsed by celebrated chefs … Continue reading →
Cranberry Ginger Mustard Sauce
Cranberry sauce. Â Whether you love it or hate it, Thanksgiving and Christmas simply aren't the same without it. As a kid and teenager I used to avoid the stuff. Â You know, that thick gelatinous stuff that retains the shape of the can after it's unceremoniously dumped onto … Continue reading →
Bavarian Sweet Mustard (Bayerischer Süßer Senf)
A thoroughly authentic sweet German mustard recipe, this Bavarian sweet mustard is the kind served at the Munich Oktoberfest! Delicious and easy to make! My mom is from Bavaria from a small town south of Munich on the Austrian border, and though I grew up in … Continue reading →
Caramel Pear Butter
If you're an apple butter fan you've got to try this with pears. Â A fuss-free recipe utilizing the slow cooker, simply dump in the ingredients and let the slow cooker work its magic. Â The result is a wonderfully deep, caramelized flavor that comes from slow cooking the pears … Continue reading →
Kitchen Basics: How To Roast Red Peppers
Instead of paying a premium for store-bought, learn how to roast red peppers yourself! It's easy and there are SO many delicious ways to use your roasted peppers! Jarred roasted red peppers are one of those things I often don't have on hand when I need them.  Can you … Continue reading →
Pickled Turnips
Pickling is a method of preservation that dates back to Neolithic times around 7000 BC. Â During this anaerobic fermentation process strange and wonderful things happen that transform the original product into something quite different. Â And very healthy with all those … Continue reading →
Burmese Yellow Split Pea Fritters (Baya Kyaw)
If yellow split peas aren't something you use very often, get ready for a fabulous way to put them to use! Crispy, spicy and flavorful, these Burmese yellow split pea fritters can be served as appetizers or the main course with your favorite dipping sauce. Â They can also … Continue reading →
Käsespätzle (German Cheese Spaetzle)
One of the most beloved of all Swabian dishes, Kasespatzle (German Cheese Spaetzle) is everything great comfort food should be! Chewy homemade Spätzle baked with gooey Swiss cheese and topped with caramelized onions, it's on my most favorite dishes! What is … Continue reading →
Roasted Sweet Potato Fettuccine Alfredo
Even though the holidays are long over, our consumption of sweet potatoes doesn't have to be - nor should it be! Find out more about the U.S.history of sweet potato consumption and why you should be eating them throughout the year in my post on Curried Sweet Potato Soup … Continue reading →
Curried Roasted Sweet Potato Soup with Tarragon
I love creamy soups.  Their creamy texture and vibrant flavors all spell "comfort" to me. This deliciously rich and seductively silky soup showcases the sweet potato.  An ancient tuber, sweet potatoes have been radiocarbon-dated in the Cook Islands to 1000 AD and are thought … Continue reading →
French Entertaining Part II: Nouvelle Cuisine (+ Alexian/Le Creuset Giveaway!)
I've teamed up with Alexian to bring you this post. Welcome back to Part II of French Entertaining! In our last post French guest cook Sandrine Vannson enlightened us on French entertaining "country style" with Duck Rillette and Pheasant & Rosemary … Continue reading →
Fettuccine Alfredo
Creamy, buttery, and irresistibly delicious, this Fettuccine Alfredo recipe is the ultimate comfort food!  Quick and easy to prepare, it's equally perfect for a busy weeknight or for a romantic night in! Thank you to Bon Appetit for sponsoring this post! The best … Continue reading →
Lemon Lime Zucchini Cake with Lemon Lime Cream Cheese Frosting
Our garden yielded a ton of squash this Summer. Â A ton. Â And we've just harvested what is hopefully the last bunch. Â Fingers crossed. That said, this overabundance of squash enabled/forced me to get creative in finding news ways of using it. Â So as I dragged in the … Continue reading →
White Bean & Sun-dried Tomato Pesto Dip
I looooove a good dip.  Growing up I always had my staple favorites:  French onion, sour cream & onion, a variety of cheese dips, and bean dip.  In recent years I've really enjoyed experimenting with a variety of flavors and mediums.  Here is one we really enjoyed and … Continue reading →
Blueberry Lemon Apricot Jam
What says comfort like a slice of freshly baked bread slathered with butter and homemade jam? I've been experimenting with a few jams this Summer and this one has become a family favorite.  The combination of blueberries-nectarines-lemons works beautifully and I'm sure … Continue reading →
10-Minute Margherita Flatbread Pizzas
Thank you to La Brea Bakery for sponsoring this post! Pizza is pure bliss, don't you think? Â There's just something about that crispy-chewy bread crust topped with sauce, oozing cheese and any variety of toppings that speaks universal comfort. I enjoy all kinds of … Continue reading →
Creamy Rice Pudding with Yogurt (Dairy-free, Gluten-free, Vegan)
Thank you to Silk for sponsoring this post! Aren't those rice puddings pretty? Â This recipe for Creamy Rice Pudding is super easy and adds an element of fun and variety by stirring in your yogurt of choice. Â The yogurt not only makes the rice pudding even creamier, it … Continue reading →
Peter Piper’s Pickled Peppers
 Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked. If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, Where's the peck of pickled peppers that Peter Piper picked?  (*scratching my head*)  Have you ever stopped to really think … Continue reading →
French Connection Sandwich (Two Ways)
Partnering with Castello for a Summer of Blue Cheese has a way of reconnecting me to my original home of Europe. Â Every time I sample some European cheese my mind is taken back to the lands and regions I spent my childhood through young … Continue reading →
Homemade Lemon Lime Marmalade
Lemon lime marmalade is fabulous but it's difficult to find in stores. Â And when you do it's generally a little pricey. Â So why not make your own? Â It's not only cheaper, it's tastes a lot better too! The question on your lips may be, "And why would I even want to make … Continue reading →
How To Make Candied Ginger
Make your own homemade candied ginger! The flavor is WAY better than store-bought, much fresher and more vibrant. It will bring your baked goods to life, plus they're fabulous just to snack on!  PLUS there's the additional bonus of an amazing ginger simple syrup you'll … Continue reading →