Today is my birthday and my husband, who has never baked a cake on his own, baked me a carrot cake completely from scratch! Continue reading →

I am so happy to be participating in my second Daring Bakers challenge. I have to tell you that I had my doubts about pulling this one off. It’s been such a hectic month for me and even though I swore I wouldn’t put another challenge off to the last minute, the end of the month crept up faster than I realized. But this month’s recipe featured my all-time favorite dessert ingredient…CARAMEL! So I just couldn’t bring myself to skip it. Continue reading →

This morning my Aunt Kathy and I woke up early to make lemon shortbread. I’ve never made shortbread before, but it’s always been one of my favorite cookies. And I loved the idea of adding lemon zest to my aunt’s standard shortbread recipe. Continue reading →

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful day full of food, fun, and family. I’m in central California and spent Thanksgiving at my grandparents house with my husband, dad, sister, aunts, uncles, tons of cousins, and of course my grandma and grandpa. We had a full house and a huge meal (two turkeys!) and I’m just now escaping my turkey coma. Today will be the one day this month that you’re not going to get a recipe or photo out of me, but I’ll be back tomorrow! Now it’s time to go sneak one more slice of pie. Good night!

I made this on a whim late last night and it was still cooling when I went to bed. Since the recipe was completely improvised, I had no idea if it was successful until I woke up this morning. So when I rolled out of bed (way too early), the first thing I did was cut into the cake! Continue reading →

This is one of my favorite salads ever.  It combines all of my favorite things: broccoli, bacon, raisins, and cashews!  How can you go wrong with that combination?  I even had a hard time taking the photo because I  just can’t stop eating this salad once it’s put together. Continue reading →

It’s been quite a while since I’ve shared any recipes from Sicily, hasn’t it?  I learned this Zucca Gialla in Agrodolce, or Pumpkin in Sweet and Sour Sauce, in a cooking class I took from my friends Alberto and Liliana in Catania.  In the version I learned, the pumpkin slices were sauteed in olive oil rather than grilled, but I decided to put my own twist on it today! Continue reading →

Today is my friend Ruby’s birthday and since she doesn’t live close enough for me to cook her a birthday meal, I told her she could pick today’s recipe for Pinch My Salt.  She chose a curry rice salad with artichokes that she says my mom used to make.  I have a vague recollection of the salad, but I think it must have had some ingredients I don’t like because I don’t remember eating much of it.  But, since it’s Ruby’s birthday, I decided I could create a curry rice salad that we would both enjoy! Continue reading →