When my menus start feeling redundant and boring, I find inspiration in new dishes and ingredients I’ve never tried before from countries all around the world. Cooking an exotic dish adds adventure to my table and also gives me a virtual culinary trip to another land. I also learn new things, which gets me excited […]
Happy Easter! To celebrate the holiday this year, I made a batch of simnel cupcakes. 🙂 Simnel cake is a British confection eaten around Easter time. It is a type of fruit cake with some warm holiday spices mixed in, but I think the most interesting part about this dish is the decoration. These cakes are […]
17 years ago today, my hubby and I went on our first date together. To celebrate this little anniversary, I thought I would bake him some Hot Date Muffins! 😉 I wanted to try making a muffin that was 100% fruit sweetened, with no refined sugar. These are sweetened three ways, with dates, applesauce, and […]
What’s the perfect way to celebrate April Fool’s Day? With an English fool, of course! 😉 I couldn’t think of anything more fitting for the occasion. (Except perhaps this. 😉 Love it!) A fool is a blend of cooked and puréed fruit combined with a creamy base. It is typically made with whipped cream or […]
17 years ago, I met my hubby on this date. We like to celebrate the anniversary every year in some way. 🙂 This year I chose to make some healthy, vegan fudge to mark the occasion. The fudge is sweetened completely with dates. It is something to feel good about eating, and they are sweet […]
The flavors of this dish will transport you to the beautiful Tuscan countryside. You can almost see the rolling hills from your spot at the dinner table as you eat al fresco under the grape arbor. 😉 This sauce is perfect for a dinner party since it’s a crowd pleaser, and it doesn’t need a […]
St. Patrick’s Day is one of my favorite holidays, and I love to make Irish recipes every year to get into the spirit. Cottage pie is a classic Irish dish, likely dating back as far as 1791. If you change the ingredients slightly, it is a different dish altogether: Use lamb, and it is a […]
Mardi Gras came on the heels of Valentine’s Day this year, and since I was still in a British mood after our Downton Abbey themed Valentine dinner, I decided to celebrate this day as the British do…with pancakes! In England, what we call Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday is known as Shrove Tuesday or Pancake […]
For the grand finale of our Downton Abbey-inspired Valentine dinner, I made a Battenberg cake! It is a classic British checkerboard-style cake, held together with jam and a marzipan coating. The tale behind the cake is that it was created to celebrate the wedding of Princess Victoria (Queen Victoria’s granddaughter) to Prince Louis of Battenberg […]
My Valentine requested his favorite dish for our Downton Abbey themed dinner – Beef Wellington. I have made a full beef Wellington as well as a salmon version on previous occasions, both with delicious success! This time I decided to try mini Wellingtons with pâté, and I think my Valentine was happy with the result. […]
Happy Valentine’s Day! My hubby and I enjoyed another themed dinner at home for Valentine’s Day, which is the way we like to celebrate this holiday every year. 🙂 We love to try new things together in the kitchen, and we have had a lot of fun over the years making new and different recipes – Most recently, […]
Happy Valentine’s Day! I can’t think of anything that says Valentine’s Day more than chocolate truffles! Traditional truffle recipes are decidedly heavy, made from a combination of chocolate and cream, so I wanted to make something that I would feel better about eating and sharing. These little chocolate coconut truffles fit the order. 🙂 They […]
Happy Super Bowl Sunday! To celebrate the Super Bowl, I made a batch of nacho kale chips to have during the game. (Although, they are disappearing quickly, and I may need to make another batch before tomorrow!) Nachos are a popular Super Bowl snack, so I figured a healthier version might be appreciated amid the […]
Happy Australia Day! Every January 26th, Australia celebrates this national holiday. It falls in the middle of summer in the southern hemisphere, so much like the way we celebrate the Fourth of July, they celebrate with barbeques, fireworks and outdoor concerts. Twenty years ago this month, I had the good fortune to travel to Australia […]
This is a healthy, easy, and colorful salad to put together as a side dish to any meal. I love to make it at this time of the year, when citrus is in season. (Isn’t it cool that citrus fruit is at its peak in the middle of winter? It brightens up the darkest months. […]
I am fascinated with recipes that find creative ways of using and combining raw, plant-based ingredients. It’s a different way of thinking about food, and I think it’s really interesting and exciting! (Not to mention, exceptionally healthy, which is kind of the whole point of eating that way. 🙂 ) For example, this recipe uses raw ingredients […]
One of our first meals this year had not only one, but two lucky ingredients to eat in the New Year! Lentils and kale. If I had used pork sausage, it would have been three, but the healthier option won out, and I chose chicken sausage. This is a hearty and delicious soup for a […]
The Blissful Bee updated her New Year’s Eve wine bottle printables, so I started and ended my year with the festive labels. Cute! I recommend checking them out and adding them to your New Year celebration. 🙂 Happy New Year from Noon Cafe! May you have a happy and healthy 2015.
Instead of roasting chestnuts over on an open fire, I made a festive and creamy chestnut soup with truffle oil for Christmas this year. 🙂 It was a unique and delicious first course to our family dinner! The original recipe was from a cooking class at Sur La Table. I omitted the 1/2 cup of […]
Back in November, I made my hubby a beef Wellington for his birthday. Ever since, I have been interested in trying other versions of the dish with different savory fillings. When my birthday rolled around this month, I thought I would make a simple salmon Wellington to celebrate. 🙂 I was out all day, but […]