I hope you had a festive and fun Fourth! You might have noticed I am on a Hawaiian kick this summer, exploring the many foods of Hawaii. It’s fun to take a virtual vacation through my kitchen! I stayed with that theme for the Fourth of July. To celebrate America’s birthday, I barbequed some huli […]
The weather is warming up, and that gets me into the mood for something tropical! I decided to cook a traditional Hawaiian dish called lau lau, which means “leaf leaf” in Hawaiian since it uses two different kinds of leaves. I recently learned how to make the classic dish from a native Hawaiian lady, and […]
I recently picked up a few bags of crunchy roasted chickpeas at the grocery store, and I discovered a delightful snack! I wondered if I could make them in my own kitchen with canned chickpeas, since the canned variety is much easier for me to find at my local store. Happily the answer is yes! Now […]
Today is May Day, which is also Lei Day in Hawaii! After the chilly and wet winter we’ve had in Seattle this year, I can appreciate a day that celebrates the arrival of springtime and the warm tropical state of Hawaii. (This holiday also gave me an excuse to bake more cake. 😉 ) I celebrated the […]
The Easter bunny came to our house today! 😉 I found this bunny roll idea in several places online, and I couldn’t resist making a batch of my own. They are simple and quite adorable. I made these rolls with my basic whole-wheat dinner roll recipe. I didn’t use dill this time around, but I […]
Happy Easter! My mom makes pickled eggs with beets for Easter, just the way my grandma used to make. I think it’s an old Pennsylvania Dutch tradition that made its way into our family. I decided to expand on our tradition this year by dying my eggs pink…and yellow, orange, blue, and purple, and I […]
Happy Easter! To celebrate the holiday this year I made hummingbird cakes, which are a Southern classic with a tropical twist. They are filled with banana, pineapple, pecans, and sometimes coconut. That combination leads me to dream about warmer weather and palm trees! 😉 Plus the name of the dessert just sounds like springtime to […]
What’s even more Irish than chocolate Guinness cupcakes? Chocolate Guinness cupcakes topped with Irish whiskey frosting! I wanted to make one more round of cupcakes for the day. 🙂 These cupcakes celebrate two of the most famous flavors of Ireland – stout and whiskey. I love how versatile the frosting I made in the last blog […]
Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Even though I am not even a wee bit Irish, I still love this festive holiday. 🙂 I wore green all day, enjoyed an Irish cozy mystery, and made these chocolate Guinness cupcakes to celebrate! For the cupcakes, I was inspired by a recipe from Nigella Lawson, and a recipe by […]
There was one nice restaurant in the town where I grew up called Boder’s on the River. It was the place to go for any special occasion or event. I think the last time I was there was for my high school graduation dinner! They had a long history starting in 1929 until they closed […]
I just finished a wonderful cozy mystery set in the midst of a frigid New England winter called Iced Under. It is part of a delightful Maine Clambake series from Barbara Ross. I think this latest installment was my favorite of them all! I love how it combines a family mystery with some real New […]
We paired our lobster Newburg canapés with lobster thermidor tartlets. And we paired them both with a little wine of course! It was Valentine’s Day after all. 😉 You can buy premade tartlet shells or make your own with store-bought phyllo dough. I made my own, but only because my local stores didn’t have the […]
This year, rather than an elaborate Valentine dinner, I focused on hors d’oeuvres I could enjoy with my hubby later in the evening. 🙂 I made lobster Newburg canapés and lobster thermidor tartlets, two classic lobster dishes converted into small bites. I have to say, both went quite nicely with a glass of wine by […]
I made something sweet for my sweet to celebrate Valentine’s Day. 🙂 These crisp meringue cookies are tinted a lovely shade of pink with the simple addition of a little beet juice. For those of you without a juicer (like me!), I processed a couple of roasted red beets in a food processor. Then I […]
Australia isn’t the only country Down Under with a holiday this season. (See my last Australia Day post.) New Zealand also has a national holiday today called Waitangi Day! The occasion inspired me to learn more about the beautiful country of New Zealand, and to celebrate New Zealand’s culture in my own small way. As […]
Every January, the good people Down Under celebrate Australia Day! It is summertime in the Southern Hemisphere, so much like we celebrate the Fourth of July, Australians enjoy barbeques, concerts, and fireworks on this summery holiday. Those of us in the middle of winter in the Northern Hemisphere could use a little summer right about […]
Happy New Year!! I hope this year is filled with many good things for you. 🙂 I made these little appetizers to help ring in 2017. They are fresh and flavorful with the unique addition of finger limes. The little vesicles of the finger limes pop in your mouth with a burst of freshness. It is […]
I couldn’t resist making one more batch of Christmas cookies before the holiday. 🙂 I altered my sugar cookie recipe to make them eggnog sugar cookies! I added a good amount of nutmeg to the batter, and replaced a little of the butter in the original recipe with eggnog. Then I made a simple eggnog […]
It’s Christmastime again! I hope you are enjoying all of the things this season has to offer…the lights, the decorations, the music…and of course, the cookies. 🙂 I made these festive little Mexican hot cocoa cookies this year. They are sweet and tender bites with a little spicy heat from cayenne pepper. I also love […]
To celebrate my hubby’s birthday, I surprised him with this hidden squirrel cake. He was certainly not expecting a cake quite like this, but he loved it. 🙂 Since we enjoy watching the active little squirrel community in our backyard so much, I chose this design. But you could make this cake with whatever shape suits […]