Sugar Coated Cashews

While typically reserved for holidays and special occasions, sugar coated cashews are the perfect everyday treat. This recipe serves two purposes in my life. The first is it offers a tasty sweet snack with a crunch that can go on for hours. Second, the house smells amazing afterward. Think of all the money I’m saving [...]

Blue Cheese Ranch Dip with Fresh Vegetables

The keys to potluck success I’ve learned over the years are to keep the food simple for transportation purposes and serve familiar favorites with my own twist to add interest. I reviewed my calendar recently and realized I had 6 potluck parties to attend in December! That’s a lot of Crockpot fare in my very [...]

Baked Kale Chips

I had the opportunity to attend an interesting lecture by Chef Ann Cooper in a high school gymnasium filled with parents recently. Known as the “Renegade Lunch Lady,” Chef Cooper discussed the current state of school lunch programs and how we should improve them. The information outlined in her presentation was thought-provoking and insightful. In [...]

Prosciutto Wrapped Cantaloupe with Blackberries

Summer is supposed to be a time for rest, relaxation and reflection. None of those items are in my deck of cards these days. Life has been busier than ever with interesting projects coming out of the woodwork in all directions. Whether it’s writing for class, leading walking tours, digging in my front yard or [...]

Super Easy Bulgur Wheat & Fresh Herb Salad

I recently realized my slowly expanding waistline was an unfortunate side effect of writing a food blog. Dieting had been proven unsuccessful in the past. Especially for someone like me who is working on a graduate degree in food studies. This would only lead to focusing my attention on becoming more physically active. However, I [...]

Roasted Herb Shrimp Skewers

There’s something wonderfully elegant about serving meat on a stick. In this case, plump and juicy shrimp are the stars of the show. My preferred method for perfectly cooked shrimp every time is by tossing them in a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper. A quick roast in the oven helps to bring out [...]

Roasted Red Peppers with Goat Cheese & Fresh Basil

I’m notorious for walking into my kitchen with a recipe in mind and prepare something completely different. This was the case when I had the idea of making roasted red pepper bruschetta as an early evening snack. In the end, the cutting board of ingredients was so beautiful; I never reached the “bruschetta” part. I [...]

Sautéed Swiss Chard

After my dismal first attempt at growing a tray of Swiss Chard for my Sustainable Agriculture class, I’ve been paying much closer attention to the second round of plantings. It’s been fascinating to watch the little sprouts emerge from the nutrient rich soil. They really start to look like miniature versions of the prehistoric-like leaves [...]

Black Bean & Corn Salsa

It’s been really hard to break-away from the mountains of reading and writing that is required for my graduate classes. When I’m able to focus on an ounce of something different, I immediately start thinking about the number of chapters I could be finishing within that same time period. I mentioned this challenge to one [...]

Classic Deviled Eggs

I attended a fancy fundraiser dinner a couple of years ago for a local charity I support. It was the type of event where I was required to slip into my pinstriped suit and perfect tie that complemented my chocolate brown eyes. Somewhere between the silent auction and Bohemian dance troupe, white-gloved servers passed trays [...]

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