Savvy Eats

With this new parsnips recipe, it appears as though I am wasting no time on the “2013 Savvy Food Bucket List.”   To be completely fair though, I have to admit that the concept of this recipe has been brewing in my head (and my recipe journal) for awhile now.  Parsnips cut into coins and [...]

This year, instead of being sad that we can’t be at Mike and Courtney’s for New Year’s, we’re hosting our first New Year’s Eve party.  It will involve a lot of games, a lot of food, and a lot of drinks. When it comes to the drinks, I want to be sure that we have [...]

I may have overdone it on the homemade food gifts front this year.  Even after the popcorn seasonings, hot cocoa, maple cream and cranberry mustard, I couldn’t resist making one more thing.  I wanted something else canned, something my giftees could hang on to and open when the sweet cookies-crazed month of December was over. [...]

If you’re going to make maple cream, don’t do what I did: do not take a Pilates class that is heavy on the upper-body work mere hours before you make this confection.  And if you do, opt for the electric mixer method, rather than attempting to hand-stir.  Your arms and shoulders will thank you. I [...]

This year, I’m all about the food gifts, interspersed with small handmade or store-bought gifts. Simple little gifts that I am fairly certain they will all love. One family member (I’m not telling who!) is getting a box of cookies and a 2013 calendar from their favorite artist.  Another will receive a box of popcorn seasonings and a [...]

Sometimes, unexpected results in the kitchen end up creating the greatest foods.  An attempt at making chocolate cookies in the 1930s led to the first batch of chocolate chip cookies. A temperamental chef tries to get back at a picky customer and creates potato chips. A forgetful child accidentally makes the first Popsicle. I tried to keep these [...]

Candy-making is a tricky thing to master.  Every time I attempt to make some sort of caramel or fruit jellies, something goes wrong: I stir when I’m not supposed to, or I get nervous that it is taking too long and decide my thermometer must be broken, so I pull it off the heat before [...]

The day before Thanksgiving, our holiday guests had to cancel on us.  Dan and I really didn’t want to have our huge feast, complete with a 19-pound turkey from Autumn’s Harvest and way too much food for four people, let alone two, alone, so we changed up our plans. Though we have some awesome local friends [...]