Let's set the scene: it's 9:00 pm. The school bake sale is tomorrow, and you just found out over dinner that you were "volunteered" to bring two dozen cupcakes. You've finished helping with homework, overseeing baths, getting the kids into bed, AND baking the required cupcakes. You pull the beautiful, fragrant cupcakes out of the oven only to realize that you have no frosting and are all out of butter and icing sugar.
If you have young children, the thought of including them in your kitchen activities may seem overwhelming. Before I had children, I imagined us happily cutting out sugar cookies together, neatly, in a perfectly clean and sunshiny kitchen. The reality was much messier and featured me trying to figure out exactly how much flour would need to be re-added to the mixture to make up for the massive amount on the floor and countertops.
Did you know that most commercial tomato sauces and soups contain added sugar? Even ones touted as being healthy choices contain added sugar, either in the form of cane sugar or in glucose/ fructose form. I'm not anti-sugar, but I prefer it in my desserts - not my spaghetti.
March is a lovely month, isn't it? Even if it's blizzarding outside - which it is, right this minute - there is still the promise of spring. There's more daylight, the weather starts to become milder, and if you're very lucky there might even be greenery starting to poke out of the thawing ground.
I don't mean to make you jealous, but I married into a grape-growing family. This has many, many benefits: at our wedding, each guest was given their own bottle of Gewurztraminer with a personalized label, we get to spend our vacations hanging around a vineyard, and in the fall, we share in some of the harvest excitement. Although my in-laws are now retired and have sold most of their property, they still live on two acres of land with several rows of Concord grapes. And this is one of the greatest benefits of all - for a prairie girl like me: UNLIMITED CONCORD GRAPE CONSUMPTION.
I admit, I'm not the most with-it person sometimes. It often takes me a long time to realize that something is a "thing." For example: the sudden, disturbing resurgence of acid-wash jeans. I kept seeing girls wearing jeans similar to my 1987 favourites, and I had myself convinced that those girls were simply unique individuals, but after a while I realized: acid-wash jeans are a "thing" again. I know, I weep for humanity too.
Remember Eat-More candy bars? I have not eaten one for many years, but the old cowboy commercial with the skipping record has been burned into my brain since childhood. The slogan back in the Eighties was "A Good Chew - And Peanuts Too." I wasn't a huge fan of Eat-More bars back then, to be honest; if I received any for Halloween I probably would have traded them, and I certainly wouldn't spend my allowance on them during weekly after-school trips to the corner store.
We really never should judge by appearances, should we? And yet, this salad is so pretty, so esthetically pleasing, that I can't help admiring it. I'm one step away from singing to it: you are so beautiful to me, can't you see? A little while ago I was on the morning news, talking about New Year's resolutions and plant-based diets, and to illustrate different protein sources I took a variety of jarred salads into the studio.
In the words of an inspirational quote, sometimes what we are searching for is right in front of us. Sometimes, happiness is right there, and we just have to reach out and grab it.
And so it is with this recipe for chocolate covered strawberries - happiness is within your grasp. All you need are two ingredients and twenty minutes, and you too can achieve the kind of joy that can only be reached through delicious chocolate-covered fruit.
There is nothing quite so wonderful as a fragrant, buttery cookie, still warm from the oven. It's a thing of beauty, a delectable treat - unless you cannot have dairy. For the dairy-sensitive or allergic, butter is a contraband substance.
Cookies and other baked goods - such as squares or brownies - rely on fats that are solid at room temperature - like butter, or certain margarines - to obtain the proper taste and texture. For those who are unable to eat dairy, coconut oil is a perfect substitute for butter in baked goods.
It's winter. It's cold. When the wind is whistling outside and the snow is flying, we all crave comfort food; "stick-to-your-ribs" recipes that are warming and filling.
It's a bit cruel that January, the month of clean-eating-and-healthy-resolutions, is not particularly amenable to vegetable consumption. Don't get me wrong; I still love my salads and veggies, but it feels wrong to crunch through cold veggies when the snow is falling and my feet are numb from sub-zero school drop-offs.
The other day, I was reading an article about food trends while eating lunch. Ugh, the writer said, Enough with the quinoa and kale. No one cares. No one really even likes quinoa and kale!
It's that time of year again: time to put away the fudge and dig out the running shoes, especially for those of us who just spent the month of December consuming our weight in chocolate and wine. It was fun while it lasted, but now it's time to pay the piper, so to speak.
What is it with the weeks before the holidays? It seems like everyone needs to cram in four months of good cheer into two and a half weeks: concerts, parties, dinners, lunches, potlucks, recitals, caroling. If you have a child who is enrolled in an activity, you will be inundated with Special Holiday Activities; if you have more than one child in more than one activity, chances are you are probably feeling like you've been run over by a steamroller right now, or like you're treading water but the water is getting progressively deeper and you have weights on your ankles.
A little while back, my family and I were invited to dinner at a friend's house. A few days before the event, my friend - knowing my meatless milieu - called me to ask about preparing a special dish just for me, and I tell you this: I was extremely grateful but also embarrassed. I told her not to worry, she didn't need to go through any extra effort, but she insisted. Dinner that night was not only delicious, but it was also one of the most enjoyable experiences I have had.
Let's be honest: Most people practically live in their kitchen. Throughout the year, I spend a lot of time in there, but things get nuts during the holiday season and I wind up spending the majority of my day cooking, baking, and creating treats. My house is a small, mid-century bungalow and despite kitchen renovations, cupboard and counter space is still at a premium, as it is for many people. Chaos and clutter is overwhelming and difficult to work in, so keeping your kitchen organized is important for streamlining operations, and ultimately leads to more enjoyable time in there.
One of life's greatest comfort foods is a plateful of potatoes and gravy, but if you are vegetarian, traditional meat gravies are a no-go. Don't worry, you don't need to give up that warm, savoury side dish - mushroom gravy is a wonderful alternative. In my house, this gravy is enjoyed by my meat-loving family, especially when my husband cooks a roast or a turkey on the grill, which doesn't allow for traditional gravy-making. It's easy to make and so delicious!
Welcome to true confessions, wherein I admit to having a crush on Chris Noth and also to having holiday baking fatigue. I know! Me! Ms. Nicole-The-Elf, Ms. Santa's-Coming-OMG-Santa-I-Know-Him! But there, I said it. I have holiday baking fatigue.
Not A Fan Of Quinoa? Get Your Freek-eh On With This Salad
