On our recent trip to the Dominican Republic, several of the restaurant buffets at our resort served up massive 4 foot wide pans overflowing with seafood paella. The paellas were beautiful to look it, but the flavors were a little underwhelming and the seafood was a bit overdone. I wanted to recreate a paella dish when we returned home and use our paella pan that … Continue reading Seafood Paella
Flavored salts are a great way to punch up the flavor of a dish. I mostly use them as a finishing salt, but will also use them in a dish as well, particularly sprinkled on veggies or meat before roasting. Kosher salt works well for these recipes because the cost is economical and the salt is flaky and course, but you can also use fleur … Continue reading Flavored Salts
Making your own chicken stock is one of the easiest things you can do in the kitchen, resulting in a versatile, high-reward product. Some recipes suggest boiling a whole chicken or using chicken meat to make the stock, but that seems wasteful to me. So, I always use chicken carcasses or bones for my stock, and with the addition of vegetables, my stock is always … Continue reading Roasted Chicken Stock
Another Harvest Party is down in the books! I always love putting this party together, but this year was special as we had our awesome family, neighbors and friends over to celebrate the start of this blog, and the beginning of this new adventure for me. It was a lot of work, but I’m thrilled that the food I selected turned out so well! Below … Continue reading Menu Planning: Harvest Party 2015
Several months after Toby and I started dating, we took a trip to visit his extended family in Hong Kong and spend some time on our own in Beijing. It was a great trip to visit his family and see lots of sites, and importantly, eat lots of delicious food! And what else does one do in Beijing but eat Peking duck? Over the course … Continue reading Duck Tarts with Asian Plum Sauce
In the spring of 2014, I was eager to get back to canning after the long winter and birth of my son. There wasn’t much in the way of spring fruits at the market at that point yet, but I wanted to find something to get me back in the preserving spirit. I came across a recipe by the fabulous Cathy Barrow for Pickled Spring … Continue reading Pickled Spring Onion Deviled Eggs
Whew! What a night! We had almost 50 people here to celebrate the official kick off of this blog and partake in lots of homemade treats and cocktails. It was a great night to see good friends and celebrate the work I’ve put in to the blog over these past few months to get it up and running with new content each week. Each year, … Continue reading Half Pint Garden Kickoff Harvest Party
A few years ago, The Washington Post posted a recipe for 12-Hour Tomatoes. I tried the recipe once and was hooked. They develop such a deep, rich flavor after spending all those long hours roasting at a low heat. These are so versatile and can be used in so many ways. I’ve used them as a topping to a baguette smeared with fresh ricotta, mixed … Continue reading Slow Roasted Tomatoes
Every year around this time, I get a little burned out on making sweet, fruity jams and start to focus on putting up tomatoes for the winter months. Because my tomato plants don’t yield a huge amount, I turn to bulk buying tomatoes at the farmers markets. Each week the vendors lay out all their colorful varieties of heirloom tomatoes, but I end up bypassing … Continue reading Big Batch Tomato Meat Sauce
Our good friend, Sarah, just recently gave birth to a beautiful baby boy, her second child. Having two kids under two is quite an adjustment so I put together a welcome home bag to last them a couple meals and added an easy dinner they could use in the future. I baked a batch of scones and added a jar of sour cherry jam for … Continue reading Moroccan Chicken Stew
