Isn’t strawberry season wonderful?  In fact, berry season in general is intoxicating.  If you are interested in picking your own berries, you can head to the Pick Your Own website and find local farms providing such an experience.  In fact, the berries you see above were handpicked by moi at a farm about 50 minutes north of our home in Seattle.  With its red barn and picturesque setting, it was a dreamy way to spend a Saturday morning with the family.

That evening, as I stared at my 17 pounds of freshly-picked strawberries, I mentally sifted through all the possible things I could make with some that night.  Strawberry scones?  Strawberry shakes?  Strawberry topping for ice cream?  Strawberries with brown sugar and crème fraiche?  Aaaah…but my hankering for good old-fashioned strawberry shortcake took over and it was pure heaven.  I used this recipe and loved it…I will definitely make it again!  I didn’t sugar my strawberries at all, but added some lightly sweetened whipped cream (1.5 cups heavy cream, 1 TB sugar, 1 tsp. pure vanilla).  Be sure to be generous with those berries…I’m always surprised how quickly they are consumed.

image by Stephanie Brubaker / stephmodo

image by Stephanie Brubaker / stephmodo

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In the past I’ve allowed myself to be sucked into the kitchen-gadget-trap–you know, the one that makes you believe you need every little gidget and gadget in order to enjoy the process of cooking. But oddly enough, a more simple approach to cooking seems to improve one’s skills–an approach that involves good knives and a few other things! Here are my favorite little kitchen helpers, things I use often because of their usefulness, versatility, and affordability.  Perhaps you could use one or two in your kitchen drawers…

Continue reading “My Favorite Kitchen Gadgets” »

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We have been spending alot of time away from home this first week of summer playing in the sunshine and warm temperatures so our meals and snacks have been fresh, fast and easy peasy. I have made sure to keep snacks with me as often as I can when we’re out and about, simple trail mixes and snacks that I can prep and store days before, and when consumed don’t make too much of a mess. And because it’s so warm (and because I don’t like finding melted messes in the bottom of my toddler’s carseat) I make trail mixes with things that can stand the heat, at least until naptime. Continue reading “recipe: quick and easy trailmix + other snacks” »

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Purple basil is a stunning herb that is so unique in color and taste. It is a cultivar of common basil, and in cuisine it is used the same way you would use common basil, although its flavor has a hint of spice compared to it’s sweeter counterpart. You can use it as a garnish, to add a brightness and life to your dish, in pesto (how gorgeous would that be?), sauces, atop sandwiches, the list goes on. Continue reading “fyi: purple basil” »

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Pure Vanilla adds such a great aromatic flavor to recipes.  It is the most common ingredient in pastries, confections, and other desserts.  I really could not imagine making desserts without it.

Did you know that vanilla comes from the fruit of a green orchid vine that grows wild in the Mexican tropical forests?  Pure Vanilla is really the only way to go, imitation vanilla extract is just not the same.  If you want your recipe to taste it’s best, always use pure vanilla vs. the imitation variety.  It is pricier, but well worth every penny.

Continue reading “fyi: vanilla” »

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I recently came across a highly-detailed post on making macarons–the dainty French cookie that is slowly surpassing the cupcake in popularity–and I couldn’t help but share.  This post is excellent for anyone wanting to make these beautiful sweets (me!), but isn’t a professional in any sense of the word.  I appreciate the incredible detail and the visuals as well.  After reading it I feel empowered to finally take the plunge and make a macaron or two.

Here are the top 5 recipes on my list:

Continue reading “Les Macarons 101” »

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If you have walked down the baking isle in a supermarket recently, you’ve see the huge variety of cooking oils; olive oil, canola oil, grape seed oil, vegetable oil, truffle oil.  But, how do you know which cooking oil to use?

It can often be confusing.  Some oils have a lower smoke point than others, meaning some you can use at a higher temperature than others.  For me, my go-to oil for cooking is olive oil.  I use it for many things, but you have to be careful, because olive oil can have a distinct flavor, so you probably don’t want to be using it in every recipe.

Here are a few tips on how to choose the right oil.

Continue reading “fyi: cooking oils” »

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While I don’t have hard proof, I am fairly certain that most of us enjoy making breakfast for dinner every now and again.  I’m not sure what it is about this tradition that is so alluring, but for whatever reason, a heckuva lot of us are hooked.  After all, what’s not to love about “easy” and “delicious”!

Continue reading “Pannekoeken” »

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After compiling what I thought were my top 5 store-bought ingredients to instantly update one’s cooking, I realized that there are actually about 10 ingredients that I have to share.  I just can’t leave it at 5 as I would be omitting some very important things…namely chocolate!

Here are the five new additions to my Things You Can Buy to Instantly Upgrade Your Pantry list.  You can view Part 1 here.

Continue reading “5 Things You Can Buy to Instantly Upgrade Your Pantry {Part 2}” »

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Many things have changed over the years in our household thanks to multiple moves–we’ve had different kitchen tables, different kitchen chairs and of course different kitchens.  However, the one thing that’s stayed the same are our kitchen dishes.  I finally figured out that white dishes are something I never tire of and they match just about every living space and style of furniture.  So, if I want to change out the furniture, no big deal; and if I want to repaint the kitchen, no big deal.  Plus, food never looks bad on white dishes!

Here are my picks for sourcing out white dinnerware:

Continue reading “White in the Kitchen” »

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