Stewed Frozen Strawberries with Bay Leaf for Yogurt Bowls
Shake off the winter doldrums with this bright breakfast recipe featuring frozen strawberries flavored with earthy bay leaves. Perfect when spooned over yogurt, cake or ice cream!
Escarole, White Bean Soup & Sausage, Mushrooms and Hazelnuts
This white bean and escarole soup is hearty, and not too heavy. Perfect for colder winter months and filled with pantry staples, like dehydrated, earthy mushrooms and canned white beans. Escarole leaves are torn and add a touch of bitterness to the soup. The savory flavor of sweet Italian sausage combines beautifully with toasted, crunchy…
A Simple Valentine’s Day Dinner at Home
Valentine’s Day doesn’t have to mean crowded restaurants or prix-fixe menus.
This year, I put together a simple Valentine’s dinner at home — a cozy menu for two that feels special without being stressful. It includes a rose cardamom cocktail, a simple beet stem appetizer, lobster ravioli with shrimp sauce, and pistachio cookies for dessert.
Everything can be made ahead or finished quickly, so you can actually enjoy the evening together.
If you’re planning a relaxed, romantic night in, you can find the full menu here:
Chamomile Madeleines with Honey
These chamomile madeleines are light, tender, and softly floral, sweetened with honey for a warm, rounded finish. Chamomile flowers are infused into the batter, giving the cakes a gentle aroma rather than a strong herbal flavor. They’re simple, unfussy, and meant to be enjoyed slowly — ideally with tea, in the afternoon, or as a…
Pistachio Cookies Dipped in Dark Chocolate
These pistachio heart cookies are buttery, softly nutty, and finished with a dark chocolate dip that adds just the right amount of richness. Finely ground pistachios give the dough a natural green hue and a tender crumb, while the heart shape makes them feel thoughtful and special. They’re the kind of cookie you’d happily bake…
Cara Cara Olive Oil Cake with Yogurt and Citrus Glaze
This Cara Cara olive oil cake is light, moist, and gently citrusy, made with yogurt for tenderness and finished with a simple citrus glaze. The olive oil keeps the crumb soft and fragrant, while Cara Cara oranges add a subtle sweetness and blush-toned citrus flavor. It’s the kind of cake that works just as well…
Roasted Beet Stems with Lemon Zest, Pink Peppercorns, and White Beans
Don’t throw away beet stalks. This zero waste recipe uses the tops of the beet root plant. When roasted, they turn tender on the inside and lightly crisp on the edges, with a flavor similar to chard stems or celery root. This simple recipe pairs roasted beet stalks with a smooth white bean purée, bright…
Cara Cara Gin Cocktail with Rosemary Simple Syrup
Cara cara gin cocktail with rosemary simple syrup is a refreshing, bright combination for a cocktail. Cara cara oranges are less acidic than similarly hued blood oranges and a little sweeter. This citrus and rosemary laced beverage is perfect for lifting the winter blues, gin has natural herbal undertones, that work well with the rosemary…
Nut Based Drinks and Orgeat Syrups
This site is filled with nut based drinks. They show up quietly, the same way they do in baking or cooking — for body, softness, and depth. Pistachios are a colorful replacement for almonds when mixed into a tropical ginger drink. Roasted chestnuts are swirled into melty chocolate and served hot. Homemade orgeat syrups are…
Holiday Pistachio Eggnog with Real Ingredients
There’s something so calming about slow December evenings — the soft winter light, the quietness of the kitchen, and the comfort of familiar and cozy spices warming on the stove. This pistachio eggnog fits right into that feeling. It’s creamy and gently sweet, with a natural nutty flavor from real pistachios and just enough spice…
How to Make Sugared Cranberries (with a modern twist!)
Deliciously sugared, spectacularly sparkling cranberries. Make this simple recipe for candy coated popping cranberries! This recipe differs from traditional sugared cranberries with the modern twist of an inclusion of powdered sugar; this provides a crunchable candy coating to sugar simple syrup soaked cranberry fruit, encasing each cranberry in a festive sweet coating. Cranberries usually have…
Gingerbread Scones A Simple, Spiced Winter Bake
This gingerbread scone recipe is the perfect winter bake. These ginger laced pastries are full of cozy spices and perfect for dunking into a steaming cup of tea, hot cocoa or eggnog. This festive bakery treat is perfect for Christmas celebrations and a soothing warm up for winter afternoons. This recipe is full of all…
Quick Crispy Chinese Eggplant with Sticky Garlic Sauce
This vegetable recipe is a spiced and savory way to prepare Chinese Eggplant. Crispy Chinese Eggplant with Sticky garlic Sauce is crunchy on the outside and tender on the inside. Serve this recipe hot and drizzled with a ginger garlic sauce, before garnishing with sesame seeds and sliced green onions. This crispy eggplant recipe has…
Roasted Chestnut Hot Chocolate Recipe
This homemade hot chocolate recipe for 2 is filled with swirls of chocolate laced creamy milk and a roasted chestnuts. Whip up a batch of this piping hot, nutty beverage for happy (marshmallow mustached!) mouths all around. This homemade roasted chestnut hot chocolate recipe is made with milk, and simmers up quickly; filling mugs with…
5 Ingredient Asian Spiced Red Cabbage with Plums Side Dish
Most recipes come about in my kitchen as a beautiful necessity late on a Tuesday night and later find themselves in constant rotation on my dinner table; this 5 ingredient Asian spiced red cabbage with plums side dish is one of them. Perfectly spiced, this baked purple cabbage dish studded with black plums pairs perfectly…
How to Make Sundried Tomatoes at Home
Have an abundance of tomatoes on hand? Make these easy, dehydrator preserved sundried tomatoes at home using this simple recipe. I recently received heaping basket of plump Roma tomatoes from Domino Farms, Located in Accord, NY. These delectable little fruits were picked fresh off the field vines and ready for recipe making! With such a…
Savory Pickled Red Onions Recipe
Pickled onions are the perfect condiment adding vinegary flavor to sandwiches, salads and a colorful topping for tacos. This pickled onion recipe is simple, no boil and sugar-free. Fridge pickles slowly infuse and no hot bath canning is needed. Simply mix the short-list ingredients below and indulge in this savory pickled onion condiment. Pickled red…
Fall Salad with Kale, Apple and Blue Cheese Crumbles
Fall salad is really one of the best isn’t it? Full of apples, hearty kale, crumbled blue cheese and sugar coated nuts, nothing says slow down and enjoy the moment like this culinary concoction. Some restaurants add pepitas or dried cranberries, but I find a simple dressing of fig vinaigrette is the perfect topping for…
Garden Herb Marinated Boneless Chicken Thigh Recipe
This recipe is for anyone with an abundance of fresh garden herbs. Basil, cilantro and mint are mixed into a combination of spices and citrus to create this marinating paste. Slather over boneless chicken thighs and let time do the work, infusing the chicken thighs with this bright, fresh herbaceous marinade. Summer is full of…
Fried Squash Blossoms Stuffed with Honey Mascarpone
My significant other recently brought home a pint of fresh squash blossoms from the YMCA farm stand (Kingston, NY). I had never used squash blossoms in a recipe before, but with a short shelf life and ideas flowing I created this dessert recipe with slightly sweetened mascarpone cheese and a crisp fried rice flour coating…