How to Roast Beets in 5 Easy Steps

My appreciation for the mighty beet grew around the time they started to appear in my winter CSA box. Before I found them awkwardly interesting and, frankly, annoying at the same time. They are a pain to clean, they stained my hands several shades of magenta and would take hours to transform into anything edible. [...]

Arugula Salad with Blue Cheese & Apples

Living on potato chips and Red Bull for the past two weeks was a real challenge. Balanced between my usual hectic holiday activities, I worked hard, and well into the late night hours, to finish projects for three graduate classes this semester. Now that everything is completed and grades are officially posted, preparing real food [...]

Harvest Broccoli Salad

An entire bookshelf in my tiny home office is filled with spiral-bound cookbooks. These aren’t just any kind of cookbooks. They were assembled by local community organizations in the hopes of raising funds for an assorted list of causes. Two books in particular were produced as fundraisers for the local senior center in my hometown [...]

Friendsgiving Blessings

Off I go…over the river and through the woods with a picnic basket in tow. With our families scattered throughout the country, a small group of friends decided to host our own Friendsgiving festivities this year. The menu reads like a who’s who list of traditional Thanksgiving fare with each friend contributing a dish or [...]

Steamed Mussels in White Wine Sauce

There will always be a special place in my heart for a steaming bowl of fresh mussels with crusty bread for dipping. While living in Chicago, mussels at HopLeaf became a perfect excuse for impromptu gatherings with friends. Even in my current city of Pittsburgh, there are times when my cravings for curry and coconut [...]

Tomato Salad with Farmer’s Cheese

Riding high on my new farmer’s cheese making abilities, I decided to toss together an easy salad for a small gathering of friends. This simple treasure is not only lovely to eat, but wonderfully beautiful at the same time. Be sure to take advantage of all the tasty tomato varieties at the farmers market. Before [...]

Grill Roasted Fingerling Potatoes

There’s something wonderfully satisfying about discovering new things in familiar areas. I found myself visiting my family in northern Michigan this week. It is an area I know all too well as it was where I spent all of my childhood. I decided to make a quick stop at a local bakery for a piece [...]

Grilled Steak House Pizza with Chunky Blue Cheese Dressing

Two things I was craving for dinner the other day were steak and a salad. Rather than choosing between the two or having both separately, I decided to give them try in the form of a grilled pizza. I figured the extra chunky blue cheese dressing I had in the fridge would be a perfect [...]

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 [...]

6 Tips to Always Be “Party Ready”

Life is pretty busy these days with graduate classes, leading food tours and participating in a community garden program…to name a few. But that hasn’t stopped me from wanting to enjoy the summer entertaining season with friends. I’ve developed a few techniques on how to always be “party ready,” no matter when the mood might [...]

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