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 really had no intention of writing about muffins today. But thanks to jet lag I was awake at 2:30 a.m. again and by 6:00 I was fully caffeinated with lots of new recipes brewing in my head. It was nice and cool and foggy this morning, perfect weather for a warm and spicy batch of muffins. Continue reading →

Who says a pancake breakfast can’t be tasty and healthy? Whip up a batch of these Whole Wheat Pumpkin Pancakes and indulge your fall cravings for foods that are warm, spicy and sweet. Your house will smell like pumpkin pie, your taste buds will think you’re eating something sinful, and your body will thank you for filling it with a wholesome meal! Continue reading →

When I arrived here in California, my Nana and Grandpa were up at the family cabin in the Sierra Nevadas. When they came back a few days later, Nana had a present for me. She had found an old baking book tucked away in the kitchen and thought I might enjoy looking through it. Continue reading →

For this week’s WHB entry, I finally tried a recipe that I’ve had my eye on for weeks. Aloo Paratha from Veggie Cookbook. Aloo Paratha is an Indian flat bread that is stuffed with spiced mashed potatoes. Aloo=potato Paratha=a type of flatbread. I’ve never attempted any type of Indian bread. I’ve read about lots of different types of breads: roti, chapati, paratha, naan. I’ve even found and watched videos online of how some of them are made. I just hadn’t tried any on my own. Sometimes I feel a little intimidated trying something brand new, especially when I have never seen or tasted something similar. But the great thing about food blogs is that not only will you often find step-by-step photos to help you along, you can usually e-mail the author with any questions or concerns you have about the recipe. How many times have you been looking through a cookbook or magazine, seen a great recipe or photo but then realize that the instructions are somewhat confusing. Haven’t you ever wished that you could just call up the cookbook author and ask for clarification? Well, thanks to the internet, you can often do just that. Continue reading →

Hooray! It’s Weekend Herb Blogging time again and this week I’ll be talking about rosemary. And if you keep reading, you’ll even find my recipe for the super yummy rosemary pizza dough I made for lunch today. This week, WHB will be hosted by Kalyn at Kalyn’s Kitchen so don’t forget to head over to her site and see what other herbs are being discussed this week.

What? You still don’t know anything about Weekend Herb Blogging? Go read about it here.

Now, let’s get started!

Here in Sicily, you’ll find rosemary (rosmarino, in Italian) growing all over the place! You’ll see it in gardens growing as a culinary herb, but also in planters and lining sidewalks as decorative shrubs. It can even be trimmed into topiaries and bonsai. Rosemary is native to the Mediterranean region but is a popular culinary herb throughout the world. It pairs well with lamb, chicken, beans, and potatoes and can be added to breads such as focaccia and potato bread. Although some people (like me) can’t get enough of it, it’s important to remember that Rosemary has a very strong flavor and can become easily become overwhelming if you aren’t careful. Continue reading →

Looking for a quick and healthy snack that doesn’t taste quick or healthy? With just a few simple ingredients, you can whip up a restaurant-quality appetizer that you can eat without any guilt. Black beans, one of the world’s healthiest foods, are packed with heart-healthy fiber and cancer-fighting antioxidants. And the best part is that when combined with a whole grain, such as these whole wheat pita chips, beans provide a high quality protein. That’s right, filled with complex carbohydrates and protein, this is a snack that won’t let you down after an hour or two!

This is one of those recipes that I just threw together from ingredients I had on hand. This means, you can do the same. If you don’t have black beans, use whatever canned beans you have in your pantry! Same goes for the spices. Experiment with flavors you like, and if you come up with something great, don’t forget to leave a comment so the rest of us can try it too! Whole wheat pita bread should be pretty easy to find at most grocery stores these days. I like to buy a couple packages and keep it in the freezer. If you can’t find it at your local store, don’t worry! I’ll be posting a recipe for the homemade stuff soon!

On to the recipes! Continue reading →

Double Dark Chocolate Beet Muffins. Yes, you read that right. Beet. Sound good? Probably not. But you can’t say they don’t look good! And so far, nobody has been disappointed with the taste either. What prompted me to create such a bizarre flavor combination in this muffin? Well it’s kind of a long story…

To tell you the truth, I’ve never liked beets. I was forced to eat them as a kid, I thought they tasted like dirt, end of story. Fast forward 25 years and I decided it was time to give the strange-looking red root another chance. My aunt and uncle recently took me to the local farmer’s market and one of the many things we bought were beets.

My aunt boiled the beets, cut them in chunks, doused them with a healthy amount of vinegar, salt, and pepper and one of my least favorite vegetables was transformed into my favorite new Continue reading →