eggs on sunday

One of the very first things I did when I began this blog back in January was to join the Daring Bakers — a group of talented bloggers who, every month, take on a different challenging baking recipe. The idea is to make the recipe as is, resisting the temptation so many of us have to fiddle with ingredients, and to go outside our comfort zones a bit: baking something that we might not normally choose. All the members post their results on the same day at the end of the month, and it’s always so much fun to see all the variations that arise when a large number of people take on the same baking task!

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I created this week’s Friday Night Pizza one week where I was craving something a bit different, and we didn’t have any mozzarella cheese in the fridge. We did, however, have some leftover spicy black bean dip, and some queso fresco from tacos earlier in the week. I started thinking about making a southwestern-style pizza, and this is what I ended up with; it was pretty darn tasty! (more…)

I LOVE purple carrots!

When I saw them in the grocery store last week, I almost yelped out loud with glee — they’re one of my very favorite vegetables. They don’t taste particularly different from the regular orange carrots, but they are a creation of pure and utter beauty in my mind:

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Somewhat unbelievably (to me, at least), last week was the first time in my life that I’d ever tried wine-poached pears. I’m not exactly sure why that is, other than I might have — unfairly — categorized them as “boring.”

Well, I’ll just count this as one culinary lesson learned. These pears are the exact opposite of boring: they’re wonderfully flavorful, brilliantly jewel-toned (gorgeous against a white plate), and a really special yet easy dessert to make when winter is still hanging on and your market isn’t yet carrying spring produce. (more…)

Have you ever made one recipe just as an excuse to try another?

Let me explain. I had been eyeing a red wine poached pear recipe for some time, and finally got around to making it last week. That post will be coming shortly. The part of the poached pear recipe that really caught my eye was that it suggested you crumble almond biscotti over the top…and though I like almond biscotti, I don’t usually keep any around (that honor goes to my favorite chocolate biscotti.) (more…)

Fleeting whispers of spring are starting to appear, here and there — the light seems different, birds are starting to sing their spring songs, and I’ve even seen some spring robins — and though these signs are still just hints of the full-blown spring to come in another month or two, I know what’s coming, and I’m waiting with open arms to welcome the new season!

And as much as I love winter food, I’m antsy to shed the warm, fluffy, cozy blanket of winter soups, stews and hot drinks for some fresh, light tastes. (more…)

If last week’s pizza was on the garlicky side, this pizza is garlic to the max — and I LOVE it. If you love garlic as I do, I think you’ll find it pretty tasty too.

I’m calling it the Green Garlic Monster (a) because it’s vibrantly green with spinach and lots of chopped parsley, and (b) because between the herb-garlic cheese and chopped garlic scattered across the top, you’ll really be a garlic monster after eating it. But a happy one!

Just don’t get too close to someone and ask them if they’d like a slice of green “gaaaaaaaaah - rlic” pizza… (more…)

Happy first day of spring! (for those of us in the northern hemisphere.)

…even if you live in a place like upstate New York, where it’s been flurrying all day.

Enjoy this picture of our cute little savoy cabbage seedlings, some of the ones that we’re nurturing along inside for the garden this year. They just started growing their first true leaves a few days ago. Here’s to the promise of all the lovely spring vegetables and fruits to come!

There was a period of time after I graduated from college when I was really enamored of one-dish meals. Maybe it was because it meant less dishes for me to do (now I’m lucky to have a husband who doesn’t mind dish-duty when I cook dinner, even when the kitchen is a complete disaster area!) Maybe it was because one-dish meals doubled easily as lunches for work the following days, or maybe it was because it seemed strange — when cooking for one — to make the “traditional” protein-with-veg on the side. (more…)

Though B and I don’t have much in the way of Irish ancestry, that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy a little holiday spirit on St. Patty’s Day. I’ve never been one for green beer or artificially green-colored food (bad memories from junior high when a friend brought a green bagel on a ski trip with the school ski club…ugh) — but I’m happy to enjoy chocolate guinness cake! (more…)