I love summer, not only for the nice weather, but also for the abundance of fresh produce available. I love to eat fresh salads, and this salad encompasses many summer veggies.
For this particular salad, I basically threw in just about every vegetable I had in my fridge. That is the beauty of a nice summer vegetable salad, there really are no limitations.
I was at the grocery store yesterday buying my weekly groceries, and as the checker was ringing everything up, she stopped on the leeks I had and pulled out her little cheat sheet. I figured that she just didn’t know the code, but then as she was typing in the code, she asked me “this is bok choy, right?” Right then and there I decided that a post on leeks would be a great idea!!
Now that summer is here, many of us our dusting off our barbecues and getting ready to do some heavy-duty grilling the next few months. I love to cook on our barbecue! Some good barbecue really is the essence of those long summer nights.
I recently starting cooking my pork ribs with a rub, and I have fallen in love with the great flavor it gives to the ribs. A spice rub can consist of a combination of any spices you like. There are many who claim that their rub is the best, but when it comes down to it, it is all about personal preference. Read more for my favorite spice rub recipe.
A couple weeks ago I shared a recipe for a strawberry, orange and maple salad. When I serve oranges or grapefruit in salads, I cut them a certain way so there are no skins. It’s actually very easy, although it may seem difficult your first time trying it. But once you have practiced it a few times, you will have beautiful citrus slices to serve in salads, atop cakes, or any other place you want to show them off.
Here’s a step by step tutorial.
Slice off the top and bottom ends of the orange.
With the orange sitting on one of the newly sliced ends, cut off the peel, exposing the citrus flesh.
While holding the orange in your hand, cut along the edge of the skin, on both sides of the wedge. The citrus wedge should easily come out, leaving the skin and peel.
Not every orange is symmetrical, so don’t worry if you can’t cut perfectly uniform wedges.
You can squeeze the remaining skins and peel for the juice.
I am a pickle addict. Pickles are not just a pregnant thing for me. In fact, it’s not an uncommon sight to see me sitting down with a jar of giardiniera as a snack.
As we are approaching Easter weekend, for many of us, ham is sure to be on the menu. There are so many ways to prepare a ham, with all the different glazes, sauces, and methods. So, if you are at a loss on how to prepare your Easter ham, look no further. I have worked to perfect this recipe over the years, and I am even willing to share with you my secret ingredient, Coca Cola.
I am not a big soda drinker, but I purposely keep a little stash of Cola in my pantry for this purpose. The cola adds a nice sweetness to the ham, as well as a nice deep flavor.
The worst part about my little girl having a dairy allergy is when we attend parties and celebrations and she is left out. There is nothing more heart wrenching than seeing her confusion as every kid around her is given a cupcake to enjoy, but she doesn’t get one. For the most part, family and friends are more than accommodating, although I hate thinking that they are going out of their way and comfort zone when it comes to making special preparations for us, but it is incredibly appreciated. (seriously. thank you!)
Here are a few other things I do to make sure she still enjoys herself. Continue reading “how to: party dairy free” »
In our home, we really try to make good decisions regarding the food we choose to eat.
It has become even more important to me to make good food decisions since I have had my children. I feel responsible to feed and nourish my children with the healthiest options possible.
One method I use to help our family choose healthier options is by reading the nutrition labels on any food that has packaging. Ideally, we try to eat as many foods as possible that do not have labels, like fruits and vegetables, but when we do eat packaged foods, I try look very carefully at the label.
Did you know that you could make microwave popcorn in a brown paper bag?
Well, I didn’t either until just recently. I was thrilled to discover this as an option to make some quick and easy microwave popcorn! The store bought microwave popcorn isn’t always the healthiest choice, plus there is now talk if microwave popcorn releasing harmful chemicals from the packaging. Yikes, right?
I couldn’t believe how simple it was to make your own microwave popcorn!
Continue reading “how to: microwave popcorn in a brown paper bag” »
Caramelizing onions is easily done, it just takes a bit of time and being able to leave the onions long enough so they can brown. Chez Panisse owner, Alice Waters, said her mom’s advice for caramelizing onions was to turn your back on them, some good advice. You can prepare other parts of your meal while they caramelize, read a book, or take care of your kids in intervals. I like to caramelize a good amount of onions, then either freeze or store the extras in the refrigerator, using the refrigerated onions over the next few days. Continue reading “how to caramelize onions” »
