Summer is finally here and berries are plentiful!

I could eat berries by the handful, and do so practically everyday.  I love to eat them on top of my morning oatmeal, on angel food cake, or my all time favorite is on crêpes!

Berries, crêpes, maybe a little ice cream or fresh whipped cream and hot fudge on top.  Sounds like a perfect way to end a nice summer evening.  Or, begin it, right?

Take advantage of the amazing prices of berries at your local farmers market, or grocery store and eat a handful with all your favorites.

Read more for a delicious crêpe recipe!

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Summer is my favorite time because we love to break out our grill nearly every night.

One of my favorite summer desserts is grilled pineapple.  Grilling it brings out the sweetness, and there is just something about eating a warm pineapple with vanilla frozen yogurt melting on top!

Grilled pineapple is simple to make, just throw them on the grill when you are doing your hamburgers, and you have dinner and dessert in no time.

Check out the recipe below.

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To many, risotto is often though of as restaurant food because it is thought to be a difficult dish to make.  But, after making risotto at home you will quickly realize that it’s is a lot easier than most cookbooks make you think.

Risotto originated from Northern Italy where rice paddies are abundant.  The word risotto actually means, “little rice,” so buying the right rice is crucial to a successful dish.

Here are a few in’s and out’s you’ll want to know while making risotto.

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Here in the Western world, we commonly use sugar made from sugar cane.  But, did you know that in some parts of the world the most common form of sugar is made from beets?

Today, there are so many types of sugar readily available, unlike back in the day when it was so rare that is was referred to as “white gold.”

Sugar is most commonly thought of as a sweetening agent, but it is much more than that.  When looked at closer, it plays many roles.

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I love to cook food with lots of interesting spices and flavors.

This dish combines the taste of lemons, cinnamon, paprika, and ginger, just to name a few.  It tastes amazing with rice or couscous, if you are going for the full Moroccan feel.  I will warn you, this recipe is for lemon lovers only.

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There is something about a good homemade spaghetti sauce.  Homemade sauce is by far superior to store bought sauce from a jar, and it can be really easy to make.

This sauce in particular is easy because it mostly slow cooks in a crockpot, so you can forget about it all day and have a nice home-cooked meal at the end of the day.

I also love the Italian sausage.  It is a perfect addition to the sauce and the spices in the meat add a nice flavor.

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As you can tell, I love to make soup.  With the weather still deciding if it is spring or not, this soup has been keeping me warm on some cold spring days.

It is not only healthy, but it also is a quick to throw together when you are wondering what is for dinner last minute.  That is why I love this quick and easy chicken and wild rice soup.  You just have to throw all of the ingredients in a pot and simmer away and it’s done in no time.  And, it’s even faster for dinner if you chop all the ingredients the night before.

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There a few dishes that I like to repeat over and over in our household.

This Sweet and Sour Meatball dish is one of them.  It’s perfectly sweet and perfectly sour.  And, it goes well with rice, which is a staple at our house.

You can make your own meatballs, which I prefer, but if you are in a crunch for time, you can cook up this dish in no time with some frozen ones as well.

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Happy Earth Day!

I don’t know about you, but I just love this Earth!  I mean, really where would we be without it?

There are so many things we can do to help this planet of ours, so it is nice to have a whole day to remind us about all of the great proactive ways we can keep our Earth happy.

For us “foodies” there are many food re-lated ways we can help our Mother Earth:

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With recent natural disasters all over the world, the topic of stockpiling or storing food has probably come up in conversations.   I know that I am trying to be more aware of being self sufficient if an event were to arise, and we needed to rely on our own resources.   After reading accounts of individuals not receiving food or clean water for days in Haiti, or going to the grocery store during the snow storms in Washington DC only to find bottle water and many essentials cleaned out from the shelves; I am trying to be more aware of fulfilling the needs of my family if we found ourselves in such a crisis.

But where do you start? It is very overwhelming, and many people lack the storage space or resources to begin.

While trying to prepare my little food storage room [pictured above] over the past little bit, I have found the best place to start is to buy a little here and there.

Here are a few tips that helped me build a small supply of food:

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