This isn’t scientific, but I think orzo might be the most fun pasta to eat. I’ll hav to ask my pasta-loving 4 year old who doesn’t understand when we say pasta isn’t for every meal. But with this orzo pesto salad, we’ll all be wanting pasta more often this summer. Orzo Pesto Salad I didn’t like pesto growing up. I don’t know what it was – maybe we just didn’t have it enough, but now my husband and I (and, yes, the pasta-loving kiddo) adore pesto. It’s why we have 4 basil plants in our raised cedar beds in the garden – so I can make and freeze it for fall and winter when the veggie options fee ..read more

It’s warming up and while chicken is a mainstay year round in our house, I’m all about the BBQing of it outside this time of year. While my husband and I have figured out the marinade and grilling techniques (see below), the side dishes for grilled chicken are always varied, so here are a bunch of our favorites… Side Dishes for Grilled Chicken When it isn’t brutally hot outdoors, I don’t mind doing some of the cooking inside – just having my husband handle the BBQing outside gives me one less thing to worry about while cooking – it’s much more relaxed. And I will cease turning on the oven for ..read more

It’s margarita season. Ok. That’s tricky because limes are actually a winter fruit, but warm weather is when I want a margarita. So we’re in a transition phase out of true lime season, when raspberries are fresh. So let’s start enjoying a raspberry margarita, shall we? Raspberry Margarita Generally speaking, a margarita has 3 ingredients – tequila, lime juice, and orange liqueur (cointreau or triple sec). Often simple syrup is added to taste. Interestingly, my husband learned to use orange juice in place of simple syrup to maintain that citrus flavor and add some natural sweetness. We tend to ..read more

My mom makes delicious pies. Her daughter is scared to make pies. I can’t tell you why. A fear of not living up to the greatness? Maybe. Luckily, however, galettes exist – faster, easier, an entirely more forgiving. This cherry galette is just the latest of my many obsessions. Cherry Galette So what’s a galette? Basically it’s a pie crust with a fruit filling. You fold the sides up and over the fruit, bake it, and enjoy the heck out of it. The major difference, to me at least, is that there isn’t as much filling as a pie, so the crust is more of a factor in the dessert than a pie. Is that a p ..read more

When I saw mini chocolate chip cookies featured in n issue of Food & Wine magazine a while ago, I knew I had to make them as soon as possible. I mean – the recipe is a familiar one – just a slightly different take on the recipe. I’m not usually a fan of mini desserts (oh, except mini s’mores too), but I am a major fan of anything that has to do with homemade chocolate chip cookies, so I’m bending my rules! Mini cookies require a bit more flour, so they aren’t too sticky to work with. And it took me a few batches before I realized how little batter each cookie needed, but when I got it, I ..read more

Spring is definitely here. The trees are blooming and dropping petals – and the sunshine is a bit warmer. Spring is a yummy time to focus on eating more of what’s in season and local, so to get you ready, here are seasonal spring foods for everyone! Make sure to check out my post on seasonal winter eating if you want to read more about why seasonal eating is so good for you and the earth as well as why the problem of food waste is so big. Also, be sure to check out when to throw away food & leftovers. If you don’t have my spring & summer recipe cookbook, this is the perfect season to ..read more

The inspiration for this vegan pea soup (a yummy recipe without ham) came from a long travel day years ago, but the recipe is so beautiful, delicious, and healthy, it was completely worth it (and worth updating the photos for). A cancelled flight from Los Angeles to northern California resulted in a memorable lunch of pea soup and potato chips that hit the spot so much, I wanted to remake it (the soup at least) the following week. Vegan Pea Soup There are plenty of recipes for pea soup without ham, but they are full of butter and cream. I’m sure they’re tasty, but they just aren’t what I wa ..read more

I don’t tend to like sweet or sugary cocktails. I’ve found the cocktails made with gin or whiskey, however, tend not to be so sweet. This whiskey and orange juice cocktail, made next level with rosemary simple syrup, is just right too (and perfect with other sweet citrus too)!. When we lived in Los Angeles, friends not far away moved into a home with a prolific orange tree (leading to my creating thes orange muffins as well as these orange biscotti). In our Sacramento Bungalow home, our neighbors prolific orange hangs over onto our property and the owners are more than happy to share! Since ..read more

My husband and I are pretty straightforward coffee and espresso drinkers. We don’t do much beyond simple syrup and just old-fashioned milk or half and half, but I’ve seen so many Nespresso recipes – for original and vertuo pods, that I’m planning to start doing more experimenting! Nespresso Recipes Like any delectable coffee concoction at a cafe, these homemade Nespresso recipes add various flavors and ingredients to your brewed espresso. The simpler recipes merely use aerated milk in varying quantities. The more elaborate ones use flavored syrups – see some yummy homemade ones below – as w ..read more

I never knew the magic of ginger beer (not ginger ale – similar but better) until I started making sangrias for my wedding in 2015. I realized how delicious ginger beer was in mixed drinks. Since then I’ve been adding it too all kinds of juices and cocktails, but this ginger beer mocktail made with mint simple syrup and cucumbers is the best yet! Ginger Beer Mocktail On the topic of late discoveries, it wasn’t until my pregnancy that I learned to appreciate and LOVE interesting lemonades and mocktails, so why not combine both. A few things to know about ginger beer, so you can begin to unde ..read more