Every now and then I challenge myself to improve on a just-okay recipe. In this case, it was my grandmother’s peanut butter buns (she called them ‘josh’, which means ‘snack’ in Armenian). While they were a big hit with her five children and my husband, I felt they were a little dry. I decided the ..read more

Grandma Pizza is a thin, crispy, rectangular pizza that, traditionally, is topped with Mozzarella, followed by marinara and basil. But, just to shake things up (because that’s how I roll!), I decided to change the toppings to pesto, Feta, and Kalamata olives. This has become our family’s current pizza of choice. The garlicky pesto topped ..read more

While looking through my manilla file folder of recipes (yes, I still have one from days of yore), I came across a magazine clipping for lemon quick bread. Through the years I’d been tempted to try it but, as a fierce chocoholic, I’d always set it aside in favor of….well, chocolate. Now that we live ..read more

They’re coming – home gardeners who planted more zucchini than they need, arms laden with these beauties who just yesterday were 7″, today the size of props in a sci-fi film. Never one to turn down free food, I thank them and start planning. Of course, there’s zucchini bread, zucchini stir-fry, and spiralizing zucchini. Then it hit me: ZUCCHINI SOUP! It can be a meal in itself or as a starter. Bonus: it freezes well!!! ZUCCHINI SOUP Note: Don’t worry about the chopped veggie sizes – everything will be blended 28g / 2 T butter 115g / 1 cup onions, chopped 2-3 garlic cloves, minced 1/4 tsp dr ..read more

This recipe is not only delicious, but cooks in 5 minutes! You just toss all ingredients in a pot and boil for 5 minutes. Done! (Don’t be daunted by the number of ingredients – half of them are spices.) Before making a larger batch of this barbecue sauce, I recommend trying it first to be sure you like it. Then, if it pleases you, you can increase the amount. Since I don’t use barbecue sauce all that often, I quadruple the recipe and freeze it in portions. BARBECUE SAUCE 188g (1/2 cup + 2T) ketchup 89g (1/2 cup, packed) dark brown sugar 30g (2T) molasses – I use Grandma’s, unsulphured 25g (2 ..read more

I’d never heard of Orzo Watermelon Salad until it was mentioned often in a novel I was reading recently. It sounded interesting, so I Googled it. Lo and behold, it was a real thing! I got the gist of what goes in it, then honed the recipe to my liking – the tangy dressing with a slight kick of red pepper flakes was the key. This salad is very fast and easy to make but, as with most salads, they’re best mixed close to serving time. That being said, it’s still tasty the next day. ORZO WATERMELON SALAD – makes about 5-6 cups 18g / 2 T Balsamic vinegar 10g / 1 T granulated sugar 68g / about 2 sh ..read more

I’m a big fan of the savory pie. While I do love a good hand pie (such as the pasty), the single pie is not only faster to prepare, but offers more filling to crust ratio. Butternut-Spinach Pie is a lovely blend of honey roasted butternut squash, a kicky bleu cheese (such as Gorgonzola), a bit of crunch from the pecans, and sweetness plus color from the dried cranberries. The spinach, of course, adds a vegetable to the mix, which is great for veggie-phobic kids. TIP: As self-proclaimed Queen Of Freeze, I would be remiss in my duties if I didn’t suggest (nag) you to freeze the leftover egg was ..read more

When I heard about a risotto dish featuring Gorgonzola, pears, and walnuts, I was intrigued. Salty, sweet, and crunch combined in a creamy risotto? Whoa! Four worlds colliding! (Seinfeld fans will understand my reference.) I set to work to create the recipe which, surprisingly, only took 2 tries. Delizioso!!!! NOTE: While any type of pear will do for flavor, I suggest using a deep red pear to add color to the dish. RISOTTO WITH GORGONZOLA-PEARS-WALNUTS – makes about 3 cups 1T (14g) butter 31g (1/3 cup) shallots, sliced into strips 1/4 tsp salt 1/8 ground black pepper 1/2 tsp dried rosemary 1 ..read more

If I’m going to have dessert – and, I AM going to have dessert – it has to be worth the calories. What’s the point in exercising off a dessert I didn’t absolutely love?! So, while I like cheesecake, I rarely eat it since there are so many other choices that I prefer. That changed recently when I watched an America’s Test Kitchen episode where they featured a lemon cheesecake. It looked so good, I decided I had to make it. And so began the evolution of my Lemon Cheesecake. As I watched the episode, I copied down the recipe (or so I thought). One of the first steps was to combine 1/4 cup sugar ..read more

Calzoni are a favorite hand-pie in our house. They’re not difficult, but they do take some time because of the rise time of the dough (1-1.5 hours), so plan accordingly. The actual hands-on work isn’t all that much, especially if you knead the dough in a food processor (it’s not cheating!) Leakage is always a worry with hand-pies. Try not to roll them too thinly, especially in the center (which is a weak point). 6.5″ (17cm) is about as big a circle as you should roll out. Try to use low-moisture mozzarella. This will help discourage leakage. TIP: Rather than buying bread flour, I make my own ..read more