I ate the WHOLE thing...


Filed Under: Appetizers & Starters, Basics & Staples, Cooking in the Fast Lane, Gluten Free, Side, Summer, Vegan, Vegetarian

Fridge Pickle!

I love pickling.   Notice I said pickling and not canning. It’s not that I have anything against canning—I’ve done it quite happily—but sometimes it’s too finicky for me. Too much can go wrong, too many standards and requirements, too much technicality. One wrong move, one little adjustment to the recipe, a few degrees off in the water and the whole thing goes bad. So it’s this impatience and my gravitation to not following the rules of anything that make me lean a bit more towards ... continue reading...


Filed Under: 4th of July, Feasts to Feed an Army, Get Your Drink On, Summer

Peach Sangria

There's nothing quite like a peach in the summer. In more recent years I've been toying with peaches a bit—caramels, bourbon, spices. My favorite has easily been the roasted peach shortcakes I made last summer where, in addition to being served with a bourbon whipped cream, the shortcakes themselves are made with ground amaretti cookies in place of some of the flour. Their taste is out of this world. I went back and forth over what exactly I should do with the peaches I brought home not ... continue reading...


Filed Under: 4th of July, Any Season, Comfort Food, Dessert, Get Your Drink On, Summer

Lemon Cheesecake

The last few months have been a little crazy. In addition to the routine insanity (yes, my insanity is routine) I’ve been spending every weekend for last month or so doing yard work. It was—the yard and garden—a major source of stress for me as of late. There’s a tremendous amount of hedges to trim and keep tidy, and trees to prune back. I’ve got a herb garden that was overrun with weeds for a time and now that it’s cleared and herbs and veg have their own space it desperately needs mulching ... continue reading...


Filed Under: 4th of July, Feasts to Feed an Army, Get Your Drink On, Summer

watermelon + vodka

I'm sorry to do it, but I'm phoning this one in as far as the writing goes. The weekend (okay, okay, the last two weeks) totally got away from me and after some truly masterful avoidance of completing anything of remote importance over the last few days I'm down to the wire here. If some of this doesn't make sense or you find some grammatical errors I'm sorry. Don't hold it against me. I'm not proof reading. Doing nothing really tires you out, ya know? The 4th of July is coming up (as in, ... continue reading...


Filed Under: Breakfast, Fall, Spring, Summer

Rhubarb-Ginger Scones

It’s no secret… I love rhubarb. I feel a little ashamed to post yet another breakfast rhubarb recipe so soon after my Rhubarb-Cheese Danish—thankfully the shame doesn’t last long so I can share this with you.   Rhubarb is the single spring offering that I wait for with the most anxious anticipation. I’m sure I’ve said it before, but you won’t find me fighting over the ramps, fiddleheads, and morrels at farmers markets—I go straight for the rhubarb. That’s not to say I don’t like ... continue reading...


Filed Under: Cooking in the Fast Lane, Dinner, Single Not Starving

Lamb with Tzatziki & Hummus-Flavored Garbanzos

When we spent New Years in Niagara Falls a few years back we found ourselves on the terrace of a small restaurant not far from the Falls. It was a little touristy, but after a few drinks and some laughs with the other patrons it didn’t matter much (sidebar: It was here that I tried a Zombie cocktail, made with crème de menthe, for the first time… It was awful. Not all mint is created equally). Anyway, for the festivities they spit-roasted whole legs of lamb, slicing them to order. The meat ... continue reading...