I’ve struggled over the years with the definition of coffeecake. Generally speaking, it’s cake that is meant to be enjoyed with coffee and doesn’t actually contain any. But then I run into a recipe like I made for this week, which is a coffee cake—a cake that includes coffee. We hosted an event at the …
Continue reading “Every night is date night with this great coffee cake”
Joey and I have a shared joke when we go out to eat about which one of us “won” dinner, especially when we’re trying someplace new. A few weeks ago, Joey definitely won. He ordered a special that included fish (which I was not all that interested in) on top of an absolutely amazing mushroom …
Continue reading “Prepare to be mesme‘riced’ by creamy risotto”
Several years ago, my parents gifted me with a gorgeous, red braising pot. It’s a ceramic-coated cast iron pot, and I always feel like whatever I put in it should be really extraordinary. This week’s recipe really fit the bill for using my special pot, since I was getting ready to embark on a dinner …
Continue reading “Don’t skip this week’s a‘braising’ recipe”
Throughout the winter months, Joey and I make a lot of soups, chowders and chilis, which I still firmly believe are perfectly great recipes to pull out of the box any time of the year. But sometimes I find myself in the mood for a casserole—something with a ton of flavorful ingredients, all nestled beneath …
Continue reading “Put some pep(per) in your step with a tasty, cheesy casserole”
I’ve been going through a strange Brussels sprouts obsession lately. I’m sure there’s something in my Pinterest algorithm that is driving that obsession, but honestly, I’m not mad at it. Unfortunately, while it might be adding a few extra vitamins to my system, the overall effect of the recipe I chose to try this week …
Continue reading “Mac and cheese a ‘grate’ way to eat your veggies”
With plans to have company over recently, I was on the lookout for something easy to share for our snack table. After perusing several websites, I landed on one of my favorite ways to make a quick sweet without working all that hard for it: a cake mix transformation. The recipe I tried promised to …
Continue reading “Turn to easy lemon cake when you’re squeezed for time”
Just when I think I have explored every part of the produce section, I find something new to try. This time, it was bok choy. Bok choy, according to the Food Literacy Center website, is considered the oldest green in China, harkening back to the fifth century. It is sometimes referred to as “Chinese cabbage,” …
Continue reading “Easy potsticker soup will have you shouting for ‘choy’”
I love acts of subtle service. You know, acts that are seemingly so ordinary that, to someone who has never struggled with that particular essential, it’s almost an invisible need in their day-to-day lives. One subtle act that I really like is an event that takes place every Thursday in Newton, Kansas, called “Laundry Love.” …
Continue reading “‘Nut’ing compares to eating dessert for a good cause”
Joey puts up with a lot of weird stuff when it comes to this column. The poor guy watches me put random ingredients in our shopping cart all the time and never knows what I’m going to come up with next. With that said, he’s a terrific sport. He tries all my experiments and gives …
Continue reading “‘Orange’ you glad these weird cookies made an appearance?”
One of my unofficial New Year’s resolutions each year is to try to use up the random ingredients hiding in my pantry. In this case, one of the culprits was a large can of pumpkin pie filling that I bought by mistake, thinking I found a great deal on plain canned pumpkin. It’s been staring …
Continue reading “Combo recipe is piece of cake and easy as pie”
