If you have ever met my daughter Anna, you would know that she is a mini me in every aspect. She looks exactly like me, has the same ‘tude, and absolutely loves to bake. Sometimes I question if I made her all on my own, no father chromosome involved. For Christmas this year she asked…
Random
30 Minute Yellow Chicken Curry
I mentioned in my last post that I was able to get away on Saturday and have some me time away from the kids. I was lucky enough to have been invited to a Mini Taste of Downtown that day. Along with a few other bloggers and a few gals from McFarlane Productions, we hit…
Beer Battered Fish Tacos with Chipotle Tartar Sauce
 I get this extreme sense of gratification and pride when I create a meal that was home grown or in this case, freshly caught. Now I shouldn’t feel this way about these tacos because I was not the one who caught the Halibut, my little brother was. However I did create a pretty damn good…
Asparagus Tart
When I think of spring, the first things that comes to mind are tulips and asparagus, two of my favorite things! Considering that asparagus is one of the healthiest foods, I tend to make it a lot while it is in season. Which means I have to get creative with recipes so that my family…
Dole Taste of Spain Party
This past weekend we hosted a Taste of Spain party featuring Dole Salads. I had been wanting to have a Spanish themed for the last year, so I jumped to the occasion. I eagerly prepared a huge batch of this Strawberry Arugula Sangria and blasted the Flamenco. We served Tapas with marinated hatch chili and…
Walnut Kale Basil Pesto
A few weeks ago, the California Farm Water Coalition contacted me to see if I wanted to create a recipe with walnuts for Walnut Day. I immediately knew what I wanted to make… Pesto is one of my favorite items in the fridge. It can go on anything from eggs in the morning to a…
Spring Giveaway!
Wow, you guys really like Le Creuset! Looks like I will have to try and get my hands on more to host more giveaways!! Keep checking back…we have a few more giveaways coming this way! Now, onto the winner. Winner was chosen using random.org and has 72 hours to respond to [email protected] with name and…
Dinner Dilemma
This weekend I am off to The Traveling Potluck! I will be reposting some of my older posts, as many of you probably have not seen them due to my incredibly unorganized categories. Btw, organizing that is on my list of things to do 🙂 Have a great weekend!! It is quite difficult at dinner…
How To Make Homemade Almond Paste
Avoid spending way too much money on store-bought Almond Paste when you can make it in about 5 minutes for half the cost! Newly updated photos, this post has proven to be my #1 post during the holidays! Making homemade Almond Paste is the easiest most cost-efficient way! This post includes affiliate links to my…
An Exciting New Giveaway!
At the end of February something big happened here. I cannot even begin to tell you how much my culinary adventures and my finances have changed. The former-being pushed to new levels, and the latter-slowly trickling away, but for good reason of course (at least that is what I tell my husband ;). What has…
How To Make Homemade Gyro Sandwiches
I know what your thinking…another savory recipe. I promise we will be back to butter and sugar on Sunday. But first I had to share with your one of our favorite family meals. Everywhere you look in Europe there are Turkish Kabob Shops, seriously a dime a dozen. Turkish Kabobs are very similar to Greek…
California Farmer Giveaway Announced!
Two winners were picked by random for the Date and Avocado Giveaway! Winners please email me within 72 hours and provide me with your shipping address. We have LOTS more giveaways coming up so please keep checking back! Winner #1- California Dates: Cecile J. | March 4, 2013 at 1:12 pm | Reply | Edit That’s a very unfair question….
Break Away From Rum and Coke…Unusual Cocktails
I just recently finished a Mad Men binge. It was a bit tough to get into, but once Season Two started, I was hooked. Hooked, as in getting NOTHING done and staying up to ridiculous hours of the night just to finish the show. Has this ever happened to you? This happens to me every…
A Love Story and Berry Black Forest Cake
First of all, Happy New Year friends! I have my fair share of resolutions that I *may* share later today (because if I actually publish them they are for real, so I am not sure if I am ready for that!), but I would love to know what your resolutions are! So, this post was…
Pizza Balls and Garlic Parmesan Crescents
I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday! I have spent the last 2 weeks spending quality time with my family and friends, and fighting a cold. The tree has been taken down, the decorations have been put away and now it is time  to relax…SIKE. Unfortunately, Christmas break is still for another week, so relaxing…
Packing and Shipping Your Holiday Goodies
I still have a hard time grasping that Christmas is around the corner. Seriously, where did it come from this year?!? Like my Christmas card? Picmonkey.com, a free photo editing site, has just released their Christmas designs! You can even turn someone into a snowman! This time of year can be extremely stressful, if you…
Pumpkin Spice Granola
After countless malasadas from the famous Leonard’s Bakery in Hawaii, (photo source here because my brilliant husband erased mine!) and ridiculously sweet, but delicious doughnuts from Voodoo Donuts in Portland, result in my utter need to go on a diet. All of this combined with this weekend in Sin City where I can guarantee that…
Hawaii Days 3-7- Our Favorite Things
Sorry for the lack of posts on this trip. We have been leaving at 7 am and not coming home until around 8pm and immediately crashing. I can’t wait to go home and make some of the things we have tasted over here!!! Hanauma Bay- So cool!!!! Â Â Macadamia Nut Custard Pie- unbelievable, and…
Hawaii Day 1-In Pictures
Today was our first full day in Hawaii. My grandfather took us around the entire island. Lots to see and do! We had a wonderful time! Best shrimp scampi ever! After lunch we sat on the beach, and was soon joined by these guys…pretty cool! I think he had just eaten a huge plate of…
Tomato Baby
My family and I decided to take a walk to the Farmer’s Market this afternoon right before closing. Although we have a pretty large garden, there are some things that do not do well so we avoid planting them all together. One of those things are heirloom tomatoes. I have no problem growing…