And by we, I mean me.

I think that perhaps the whole ordeal of moving back to the United States from Sicily has finally caught up with me. Whatever it is, I just can’t manage to pull together a decent food blog post. I’ve been working hard, have taken plenty of photos and even created a couple of new recipes to share. But at the end of the day, I just haven’t been able to put them all together. My brain has decided to take a vacation and I’m going to let it. Continue reading →

The madness of Black Friday was just the beginning! Christmas music fills the air (and shopping malls), houses in San Diego are now ablaze with lights rather than flames (thank goodness!), and the Costco parking lots get fuller and fuller each day.

Oh yes, the holiday season is upon us! And I just can’t fight the feeling any longer!

It takes a while to load but if you really want to see my moves, you’ll wait. If the rest of you want to shake off some holiday stress and join in, Elf Yourself then leave a comment with the link to your own dance. I’m dying to see some others!

Who wants to play a game?

Thanks to Amanda at What We’re Eating, I am participating in Pay it Forward - The Blog Edition. Here’s how it works: I will send handmade gifts to the first three people who leave a comment and tell me they are interested in playing. In order to play, you must have your own blog (doesn’t have to be a food blog) and you must continue to ‘pay it forward’ by promising the same thing to your readers.

Now, as far as the handmade gifts go, I don’t know yet what they will be. I also don’t know when I’ll get them sent. You may not receive the gift tomorrow or next week, but I do promise that it will get to you within the next 365 days! Sound good? I think it sounds great!

Remember, I will be choosing the first three people who respond by leaving a comment on this blog post. The requirements are that you have your own blog and are willing to send out three of your own homemade gifts (whatever you want to make, no rules or limitations here).

I am willing to ship my gifts anywhere in the world, so everyone is eligible to participate regardless of what country you are blogging from! Just please make sure you leave a valid e-mail address so I can contact you for shipping information.

Can’t wait to hear from you!

I’m pretty much settled in to my sister’s house now but my dog Smack is still getting used to the fact that he’s sharing a house with a Bull Mastiff named Wilbur. Wilbur is still a puppy and, at 6 months and 70 pounds now, is not nearly finished growing. Continue reading →

I’ve been maintaining this sourdough starter at my house in Sicily for the last year and a half. I really didn’t want to throw it down the drain when we had to move but I was a little leery of packing it in my luggage and taking it on the plane. I don’t think I would have been allowed to carry it on board with me and I was worried about it being discovered in my checked luggage during a random search or at customs. Although it’s pretty much just flour and water, I was sure it would somehow cause a problem! Continue reading →

Aren’t these the cutest little tarts you’ve ever seen? Believe me, they tasted even better than they look! I ended up making three things this morning to take to Thanksgiving dinner: cranberry and goat cheese tartlets (pictured above), three cheese tartlets with bacon and fresh thyme (pictured below), and a butternut squash casserole (forgot to take photo). All three were terrific but my sister and I both agree that the flower-shaped cranberry tartlets were both the tastiest and prettiest of the three. Continue reading →

I’m asking you! Tell me what meals you make that just aren’t complete without some cornbread on the side.

This morning my sister informed me that she has a huge box of cornbread mix (probably from Costco) that has been sitting in the cupboard for a while. She requested I make some meals over the next few weeks that go well with cornbread so that we can use it up. I immediately thought about black-eyed peas because that’s one thing that I can’t imagine eating without cornbread. But of course, I like cornbread with all kinds of different bean recipes! And lots of soups, too. Continue reading →

Finally, the traveling is over! We arrived in San Diego this morning and are now getting settled in at my sister’s house. The best news? I have a fully stocked kitchen at my disposal and two more people who are willing to eat my experiments! New recipes coming soon!