Vegetarian

Thumbnail image for Blood Orange Cream Graham Cracker Snack Recipe

Blood Orange Cream Graham Cracker Snack Recipe

April 20, 2012

Want to wake up your inner child? Who doesn’t remember that wonderful after school snack of graham crackers dunked in milk? As children, my sister and I would help ourselves [...]

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Thumbnail image for Spicy Grilled Cheese with Pepper Jelly & Portabella Mushroom Recipe

Spicy Grilled Cheese with Pepper Jelly & Portabella Mushroom Recipe

April 9, 2012

It’s National Grilled Cheese day this Thursday. With this grand weather, why not pull out your grill and whip up this tasty sandwich over the flame! This grilled cheese recipe [...]

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Thumbnail image for Asian Slaw Recipe with Cabbage, Carrot and Cilantro

Asian Slaw Recipe with Cabbage, Carrot and Cilantro

February 21, 2012

I’m a fan of foods that go “crunch.” Such veggies are easy to find in winter, especially cabbage and carrots. In this Asian slaw, I combine the two with cilantro, [...]

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Thumbnail image for Locavore Love Potion Cocktail Recipe

Locavore Love Potion Cocktail Recipe

February 10, 2012

This Valentine’s Day, mix up a little love potion for your sweetheart. The secret ingredients sure to make your honey swoon?—everything but the vodka is locally grown. Sweet, juicy citrus [...]

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Thumbnail image for Farmers Market Carrot and Raisin Citrus Salad Recipe

Farmers Market Carrot and Raisin Citrus Salad Recipe

February 8, 2012

Hello, color! Want to put some spark on your plate? Ignite some passion with this refreshing and simple dish. I grew up eating this salad. As a picky child, I [...]

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Thumbnail image for Huevos Rancheros Recipe

Huevos Rancheros Recipe

February 2, 2012

If you really love someone, you’ll feed them Huevos Rancheros for breakfast. It’s one of those simple dishes that provide so much joy: eggs over easy resting on a bed [...]

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Thumbnail image for Chilaquiles Casserole Recipe

Chilaquiles Casserole Recipe

January 30, 2012

Chilaquiles: in my opinion, a food from the gods. This is such a simple dish with great pleasing power. I first discovered chilaquiles from local Mexican food expert, and my [...]

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Thumbnail image for The South American Table Cookbook Review & Hot Chocolate with Coconut Milk Recipe

The South American Table Cookbook Review & Hot Chocolate with Coconut Milk Recipe

January 21, 2012

Here’s a cookbook that will transport you to the rich, culinary Southern hemisphere: without a passport. If you’ve ever eaten hearty potato soup in Ecuador, or drunk a pisco sour [...]

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Thumbnail image for Flowering Kale Caesar Salad Recipe

Flowering Kale Caesar Salad Recipe

January 19, 2012

Introducing: the world’s prettiest vegetable! Flowering kale. Traditionally used as an ornamental landscaping plant, this lovely lady is fit for your kitchen table, too. Flowering kale packs the same healthy [...]

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Thumbnail image for Red Walnut Cookie Recipe & Red Walnut Facts

Red Walnut Cookie Recipe & Red Walnut Facts

January 16, 2012

Red walnuts. Ever heard of them? This rare blood-red California crop grows on only five contiguous acres in the state, and is hard to find. I’m a big nut fan—I [...]

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Thumbnail image for Potato & Roasted Garlic Soup with Rosemary Pesto Recipe

Potato & Roasted Garlic Soup with Rosemary Pesto Recipe

January 9, 2012

The winter farmers’ markets in Sacramento are bursting with flavor! I’m a firm believer in taking full advantage of the local bounty. I’m a locavore. I have no excuse to [...]

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Thumbnail image for Easy Persimmon Cornmeal Pudding Recipe

Easy Persimmon Cornmeal Pudding Recipe

December 27, 2011

Heavens to Betsy! This pudding ranks as one of my all-time favorite food experiences. The process of baking it lights up your kitchen with a show of vibrant colors. The [...]

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Thumbnail image for Grandma’s Lefse Recipe: A Scandinavian Holiday Tradition

Grandma’s Lefse Recipe: A Scandinavian Holiday Tradition

December 20, 2011

I’m a proud Scandinavian. Eating lefse, a potato-based flatbread, for the holidays is one of my favorite traditions. This week, I finally had time to sit down with my grandma [...]

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Thumbnail image for Party Popcorn with Southwestern Spice Recipe

Party Popcorn with Southwestern Spice Recipe

September 20, 2011

Looking for a last-minute dish to serve at your party—something fast and easy? This party popcorn is sure to please! Or, if you’re like me, this could be dinner. Growing [...]

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Thumbnail image for Coconut Cornmeal Pancakes with Homemade Pluot Syrup Recipe

Coconut Cornmeal Pancakes with Homemade Pluot Syrup Recipe

August 28, 2011

What’s a pluot?—you ask. Only the finest fruit on earth—I say! This mad genius combination of the apricot and plum creates a fruit that’s sweet, chin-dripping juicy, and with the [...]

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Thumbnail image for Tomato Bread Salad Panzanella Recipe

Tomato Bread Salad Panzanella Recipe

August 7, 2011

  There’s nothing more delicious than a fresh garden tomato in the peak of summer. Why bury the flavors behind spices or sauce? Let the bright, juicy tang spring through [...]

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Thumbnail image for Burritos!: Zucchini & Bean Burrito with Garden Salsa & Tillamook Colby Jack Cheese Recipe

Burritos!: Zucchini & Bean Burrito with Garden Salsa & Tillamook Colby Jack Cheese Recipe

July 28, 2011

If I could choose one food to eat every day for the rest of my life I would definitely choose burritos. They are perfect, especially this time of year when [...]

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Thumbnail image for Eggplant in Marinara with Roasted Green Tomatoes: Seasonal Recipe

Eggplant in Marinara with Roasted Green Tomatoes: Seasonal Recipe

July 18, 2011

Who’s the executive chef at my house? My garden! I allow her to dictate my meals. Today, she gave me eggplant—lots of gorgeous, deep purple, glowing chubby eggplants. And she [...]

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Thumbnail image for Soft Boiled Eggs: Tastes from Grandma’s Kitchen

Soft Boiled Eggs: Tastes from Grandma’s Kitchen

July 13, 2011

It is with much fondness that I remember morning breakfasts at my Grandma’s house. My sister and I would tumble down the stairs in our floor-length pajama gowns with ruffles [...]

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Thumbnail image for Gram Burde’s Fresh Apple Glazed Cookie Recipe

Gram Burde’s Fresh Apple Glazed Cookie Recipe

April 28, 2011

Love for baking and for homegrown food runs in my family. I inherited my passion from a line of women: Mom, Grandma, Great Aunt, and Great Grandma. All of these [...]

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Thumbnail image for Orange Ginger Scones Recipe

Orange Ginger Scones Recipe

April 7, 2011

I feel so lucky to have my very own orange tree that grows happy, colorful fruit all winter. In the dreariest part of the year, in the midst of a [...]

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Thumbnail image for St. Patrick’s Day Recipes & Kerrygold Prize Winner

St. Patrick’s Day Recipes & Kerrygold Prize Winner

March 16, 2011

A few weeks ago, I presented a challenge: create a vegetarian-inspired Irish recipe using Kerrygold butter or Dubliner cheese to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. The brave rose to the challenge. [...]

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Thumbnail image for Pumpkin Waffles with Vanilla Whipped Cream

Pumpkin Waffles with Vanilla Whipped Cream

March 23, 2010

Welcome to my favorite breakfast. I love waffles. I love how they fill the whole house with their unmistakable aroma. I love how pretty they look stacked on a plate. [...]

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Thumbnail image for Quail Egg Appetizer on Blini with Grapefruit Zest and Dill Sauce

Quail Egg Appetizer on Blini with Grapefruit Zest and Dill Sauce

March 4, 2010

Want an easy way to impress your party guests? Try these! They’re tiny, cute, and tasty to boot. You can find fresh quail eggs for a mere $1 at the [...]

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Purple Potato Wedges with Apple, Gorgonzola & an Amber Ale Marinade

February 26, 2010

Baked potato for dinner? Sounds perfect to me! Unfortunately, my husband doesn’t always agree. My latest solution: add blue cheese and beer. Instant success! If you like bold, knock-you-in-the-mouth flavors, [...]

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Chocolate Stout Cupcakes

February 23, 2010

Oh boy! These little treats combine my favorites: cupcakes and beer. Rarely does the occasion present itself where the two meet gracefully… until now. Enter the Chocolate Stout Cupcake. These [...]

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Complete Farmers’ Market Meal: Double Jack Quesadillas with Honey & Seasonal Fruit Salsa

February 16, 2010

Utter delight awaits with this flavor-packed, blissfully fresh meal. Intensely delicious, bursting passionately with wet, bright aromas, this dish will have you licking your fingers and mumbling sweet nothings under [...]

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Chocolate Waffles with Chunky Strawberry Sauce & Whipped Cream

February 14, 2010

Strawberries and chocolate are almost mandatory ingredients to help celebrate Valentine’s Day. Chocolate has an historical reputation as an aphrodisiac. Because it contains small amounts of caffeine and plenty of [...]

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The Most Important Meal of the Day: Saving Money & My Husband’s Cholesterol with Oatmeal

January 20, 2010

Nothing feels more satisfying than waking up on a cold morning and wrapping your hands around a steaming bowl of oatmeal. As your fingers warm, your tummy does, too. It’s [...]

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Thumbnail image for Grandma’s Aebleskivers

Grandma’s Aebleskivers

December 30, 2009

Christmas eating is best when steeped in tradition! That’s why I woke up Christmas morning and decided to do what I had fond memories of experiencing as a youngin’: eating [...]

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Fast & Fancy Spaghetti

November 7, 2009

Don’t you just love restaurant spaghetti?—the way the thick, rich sauce clings tightly to each noodle, covering it in a moist, flavor-packed sauce. And even though the dish appears to [...]

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Pumpkin Cornbread Muffins

October 29, 2009

Open up and say, “Ahhhh!” It’s pumpkin season, and that means bliss upon your palette. I never met a pumpkin recipe I didn’t like, and I have never failed in [...]

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Farmers’ Market Supper: Veggie-Smothered Cheese Enchiladas

October 14, 2009

Fast suppers don’t have to skimp on freshness. This meal was prepared almost entirely with farmers’ market ingredients. The extra groceries came directly from those I usually keep on stock [...]

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Farmers’ Market Brunch

September 24, 2009

Today’s menu: light, fluffy scrambled eggs hidden under a thin layer of gooey cheese and a fire-alarm salsa. Salsa made of tangy, crisp cactus, rich heirloom tomatoes, blazing red and [...]

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Thumbnail image for Basil Guacamole

Basil Guacamole

July 15, 2009

  Sacramento summers are too hot for cilantro. Mine grows beautifully all winter long, but past spring, it wilts and fizzles in our heat. Basil, the wonderful, spicy herb that [...]

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Thumbnail image for Whole Grain French Toast with Fresh Berries

Whole Grain French Toast with Fresh Berries

July 9, 2009

  I love to start my morning with whole grain goodness! That nutty, chewy, crunchy experience makes my mouth happy. It fills my belly and keeps it full clear till [...]

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Mexican Pizza with Summer’s First Veggies

July 1, 2009

It’s official: Summer is here! On the first day of the season, I was greeted by two ripe zucchini and a yellow squash in my garden.  When the garden is [...]

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Making Fudge for Festa di Vino

April 24, 2009

Tomorrow, I will make fudge with a homeless woman. Patricia is a graduate of a job-readiness program for homeless women where I work. Over the last two months, I have [...]

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The Great Indian Buffet

March 15, 2009

Cardamom, cumin, and curry combined this weekend as the hubby and I hosted an Indian buffet for nine dinner guests. Read on to learn how you can host your own [...]

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Tomato & Avocado Salad

August 10, 2008

Who doesn’t like avocado? How about vine-ripened tomatoes? This simple dish celebrates the best flavors of summer. Throw it on top of chopped lettuce, and you’ve got a big, satisfying [...]

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Thumbnail image for My Main Squeeze: Making My Own Orange Juice

My Main Squeeze: Making My Own Orange Juice

August 5, 2008

Most folks jump-start their mornings with a jolt of liquid caffeine. I was once among the coffee addicts of the world. When I quit, cold turkey, it was orange juice [...]

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