Summer in a spoonful ~

  Here in good old San Antonio,  it is going to be a sultry 94 degrees today!  (Mind you, it is 18 March; not May, June, July, August; but, March)  Today definitely is NOT soup weather… so, as I drink my HOT coffee in my 83 degree house this morning, I am thinking lemons.  Anything…

Colors of the Rainbow ~ and my kitchen

The “canned food” section of my kitchen!  I have cans of Hatch Green Chile, Coconut Milk, Water Chestnuts and Muir Glen Fire Roasted Tomatoes in my pantry, but that is it.  For most meals, our plates look like a color bomb exploded!  Fresh this, fresh that ~ You can’t help feeling healthy with every bite!…

CHICKEN SOUP CURES ALL ~ READ ALL ABOUT IT!! Chicken soup may contain a number of substances with beneficial medicinal activity including an anti-inflammatory mechanism that could ease the symptoms of upper respiratory tract infections, according to a new study. (Science Daily) Although many foods are considered to be healthy due to their individual blends…

Go Nuts!!

        “I’ve seen a look in dogs’ eyes, a quickly vanishing look of amazed contempt, and I am convinced that basically dogs think humans are nuts.” ― John Steinbeck I love pistachio ~ I go through about 48 oz every four days… by myself! Hey! When I was in the hospital last month,…

hoppy, fluffy, marshmallow

If you have ever received a Christmas platter from me, you’ll have discovered my toasted coconut marshmallows nestled in with the fudge, thumb print cookies and sunflower-pumpkin seed brittle ~  but marshmallows for Easter?!?  I am so excited to give these lemon jewels a try!  I hope you enjoy these variations from Epicurious.com ~ and…

chocolate-peanut butter goodness

All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt. Charles M. Schulz In search of the perfect cake?  Looking to impress company?  Maybe you just want to treat your family to a chocolate-peanut buttery piece of culinary genius ~ this is it!  Look no further!  Since 2006 (when I picked…

Paradiso

Sicily is at the very heart of my family… we feel the beat of daily life, breathe the culture of the people, soak in the very essence of the place ~ Sicily is to Italy as the genteel southern US states are to the faster-paced northern states.  There is a sensual slow-down that occurs almost…

with love…from the kitchen

i love a hand that meets my own with a grasp that causes some sensation ~ s. osgood don’t you just love when you meet an old friend ~ you grab hold of each other’s hands, almost as if to melt away the time that has passed since the last moment you connected? you can…

Val’s Chocolate Cupcakes

I finished reading Wicked Appetite by Janet Evanovich yesterday, and was inspired to make cupcakes.  I have always used other people’s recipes for cakes, but yesterday, I created a chocolate cupcake that is possibly THE best, most tender and tasty cupcake EVER. The problem now?  Naming it: Val’s Chocolate Heaven in a Cupcake? Chocolate Chiffon Cupcakes? Divine…