making life delicious blog
This year started off with a bang and hasn’t stopped yet. I had surgery in February and spent several weeks recovering with assistance from many. Friends made meals and helped with the kids, and our parents stayed with us for a few weeks helping with food, cleaning, and laundry. When times were tough, the love [...]
Polish krupnik staropolski is a traditional honey-spiced liqueur typically served during Wigilia, the Christmas Eve meal. Small glasses are passed around with hot, peppery krupnik, which will warm you up quickly. Family recipes may be passed down through the generations and vary widely, with up to 50 different spices.
I don’t know what Christmas morning is like at your house, but ours is pretty much chaos. The boys are up early, sometimes way too early, and breakfast doesn’t happen until all the stockings and presents have been opened and unwrapped. By then everyone is hungry and ready to eat, so tackling a major breakfast [...]
Have you ever wished you could customize a cookware set for the way you love to cook? Well now you can, with Your Set by Calphalon. I was lucky enough to receive two incredibly versatile pieces, and I used them for some of my favorite dishes. See how I used the AccuCore Stainless Steel 3-quart [...]
Nutella Day isn’t until February, but it’s never too early or late to celebrate. We reserve Nutella as a special treat once a month because, frankly, it’s too hard to resist. We’ll open a jar and before you know it there are deep canals in it from spoons and Monkey Boy’s fingers, though we do [...]
When I make pie I hear a song in my head, that song from Waitress. Baby don’t you cry, gonna make a pie, gonna make a pie with a heart in the middle. Baby don’t be blue, gonna make for you, gonna make a pie with a heart in the middle. Gonna make a pie [...]
Yesterday the sun came out after Hurricane Sandy roared through. Some of our windows had steady leaks during the height of the storm, and some of our outdoor stuff got blown about, but otherwise we were very fortunate. Before the storm I went on a baking spree, something I always do so we will have [...]
Peanut soup is something I’ve always wanted to try, so when we visited my parents in South Carolina, I picked up two bags of raw peanuts in the shells and had a fun afternoon shelling with the boys. I set out a half-sheet baking pan and gave each of the boys a pie pan, and [...]
There’s something about cool air and the color of autumn leaves that causes me to start craving comfort foods. I start adding soups and roasted vegetables to our weekly menu, which will often include grits and polenta. I like my grits both savory and sweet, and this simple bowl of homey grits and mushrooms hits [...]
Autumn is here. The nights are cooler, the days shorter, the summer garden is starting to wither, and autumn fruits and vegetables are filling produce stands. I’ve gone from craving tomatoes, berries, and zucchini to craving grapes, apples, pears, and butternut squash.
It's spring in the U.S. and the following foods may be in season in your area:
artichokes, fennel, fiddleheads, radishes, broccoli, rhubarb, kale, cresses, spinach, spring lettuces, chard, cabbages, chives, cilantro, collards, tatsoi, mustard greens, spring onions, asparagus, rosemary, wild garlic, ramps, strawberries, blueberries, cherries
Eat fresh seasonal produce to stay healthy and help your food budget.Learn more about seasonal and sustainable cooking at Sustainable Table - In the Kitchen.
