Sometimes I like to switch up my breakfast routine. I often eat eggs, usually scrambled, sometimes oatmeal with a banana, maybe an opened grilled cheese sandwich, along with whatever yogurt, plain, vanilla, or with fruit, is available. My childhood was mostly eggs, bacon, and sugary cereals, which I haven’t eaten in decades. But lately, I…
Category: spice
Delicious Delicata-squash soup
Throughout much of 2021, I was dealing with extensive dental work including implants and extractions. Therefore, I needed to eat soft and mostly smooth foods. If I didn’t follow these simple directions and exerted effort to chew harder foods, like sandwiches, steaks, carrots, nuts and the like, even chips or crunchy foods, I would need…
Buttery Snickerdoodles – Surprise!
I always thought snickerdoodles were dull, rather hard cookies, not tasty at all, and could easily be bypassed for something more desirable, like a thumbprint lemon filled cookie or a brownie bar. I often imagined people bought snickerdoodles because of their cute name, or maybe they liked a bit of crunch and their sugary pop….
Bun Cha -Vietnamese Meatballs
I had never heard of Vietnamese meatballs, until I was hired to make a light lunch for several ladies. It was a birthday luncheon and the special lady being honored, hailed from Vietnam. The casual event, a brunch, would be served in the backroom of their salon. All the ladies were hairdressers, and when business…
Streusel and Chocolate Chip-Stuffed Banana Bread
Even though my loving father died shortly past my tenth birthday, and that Dad was barely home – working tirelessly at his bakeries – in spite of this–his smiles and baking endeavors have resonate in me for decades. All aspects of baking flash before me, daily; they hound me to bake something, anything. I love…
Stuffed Jumbo Shells, 4 Cheeses, Layered with a Meaty Marinara Sauce, Baked
Pasta for lunch, usually curly kinds or other elbow shaped varieties were common in my childhood. That’s what our live-in maid/housekeeper cooked for us, ( my 3 younger siblings and I) often with butter swirled in, plus a smattering of American cheese scattered from above. As an adult I’m still fond of that meal, but…
Shepard’s pie with fresh Mediterranean flavor
My husband and I ate the pie so fast, I forgot to take a photo! But since we loved it so much, I’m surely going to repeat it. Then I’ll take a picture, and in particular, get a good shot of the meaty bottom, which is where most of the good flavor reside. (I finally…
Marilyn Raff 