Check out this video from RealMeals.TV
link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid271575303/bctid647738222
Sounds yummy.
Month: July 2007
Categories
Recipe Sites: Good Resources for Recipes
Need a recipe quickly? Don’t have time to turn page after page of all those beautiful cookbooks you’ve collected? Then recipe sites are your friend. Recipe sites are great for two reasons:
- They help you find that specific recipe you’re looking for more quickly than thumbing through your cookbooks.
- They are great resources for researching the development of your own recipes.
Below you’ll find links to recipe sites I’ve found useful.
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[three_fourth_last] www.taste.com.au
I’ve found a lot of delicious pumpkin recipes on this website from Down Under. The site is nicely designed with clean graphics, professional photography, and bright colors. In addition to recipes, it has news, health information, how-to instructions, and more. [/three_fourth_last]
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[three_fourth_last] allrecipes.com
I’m not a fan of the user interface of this site, but they do have a lot of recipes and I’ve used them quite often when research recipes. [/three_fourth_last]
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[three_fourth_last] foodnetwork.com/recipes
If you like what the Food Network has to offer, then you’ll love their recipe site. This is another great resource for recipe research. [/three_fourth_last]
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[three_fourth_last] epicurious.com
If you’re looking for fancier recipes, Epicurious has your back. They are relatively easy to navagate and provide a wealth of recipes that you’d be proud to serve company. [/three_fourth_last]
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[three_fourth_last] bettycrocker.com
Sometimes you don’t want to make something from scratch. Betty Crocker provides recipes that include Betty Crock products. They are usually simple and easy to make, as well. [/three_fourth_last]
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[three_fourth_last] food.com
This site has a lot of advertising, but it also has a lot of recipes, as well as round-up recipe posts that can be fun to peruse. [/three_fourth_last]
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[three_fourth_last] eatingwell.com
This recipe site is dedicated to healthy recipes that taste great. I often look here when I want to see how to create a recipe that is a healthy alternative to a traditional recipe. [/three_fourth_last]
There are plenty more recipe sites to be found, but these are my go-to resources. I hope you find them useful, as well.
And, of course, you can always peruse my growing database of recipes!
Categories
Remembrances of Roscos
One year, I ate so many, sneaking out of my bed at night to grab just a few more, that I earned the nickname “bottomless stomach.” I remember countless nights sitting at her kitchen table sharing holiday thoughts, a cup of tea with sugar and real cream and a couple of roscos before bed. Each flaky morsel, dunked into the tea and quickly removed, melted in my mouth like snowflakes in a California valley.
Today, whenever I take out the cookie sheets or baking pans and create my own warm smells of home, I can’t help but feel like I’m channeling Abuela’s spirit.
NOTE: This short essay was first published in the October 2004 edition of The Nature of Writing News, an online newsletter.
Categories
Pumpkin Seeds: Healthy Snack
Pumpkin seeds make a healthy snack, in moderation, of course. Keep in mind that a tablespoon of pumpkin seeds is 240 calories. However, pumpkins seeds contain cucurbitacins, a nutrient that has been linked to the prevention of prostate enlargement, and they are a good source of zinc, magnesium, and manganese.
If you suffer from arthritis, you might consider adding pumpkin seeds to your diet. Research suggests that pumpkin seeds might have anti-inflammatory properties, making them useful in reducing the symptoms of arthritis.
So, sprinkle some pumpkin seeds on your salad, on your sundae, or even on your morning cereal. Its good for you!
Hot Fudge Associations
I’m not sure why, but I’ve always associated ice cream with the movies. After exiting a movie theater, I feel compelled to migrate to the nearest ice cream shop to indulge in a two-scoop sundae. Maybe it’s because there was an ice cream shop near every movie theater in my hometown.
I remember, every time my parents took my sister and me to the movies, we would go for ice cream afterward. I was partial to Jamocha Almond Fudge and Chocolate ice cream, slathered in hot fudge and adorned with whipped cream, chopped almonds, and a maraschino cherry. And, if we were lucky, a tasty, flaky cookie would jut out of the side of the whipped cream dollop on top, hinting at the cone we were missing out on. This is a signature of Swenson’s, which is no longer around my hometown (but might be around yours).
Forming Hot Fudge Habits
When I was growing up, the after-movie jaunt to the ice cream parlor was as much a part of the movie-going experience as the family-sized bucket of hot buttered popcorn. It was such an unconscious, intertwined part of the whole affair that when I went to the movies for the first time with someone outside of my family, I was shocked to discover that other people did not feel the same way!
However, the lure of discussing the intricacies of film over a tall glass of ice cream made many a convert to my family’s tradition.
New Habits … but Memories Live On
Nowadays I don’t go to the theater — I wait for movies to come out on DVD and watch them on my surround sound system. This way I don’t have to deal with gum at the bottom of my shoes, people discussing the movie while it’s playing or the rising costs of movie tickets.
But the tradition lives on. When my husband and I sit down to a movie, we pop a bag of popcorn in the microwave. And, after the movie is complete, we go to the freezer, take out a couple of pints of Ben & Jerry’s and dish about the intricacies of the film at our dining table.
Categories
Exotic Pesto Pasta
Do you like pesto? Try this twist on one of my favorite dishes. It’s a great way to use those pumpkin seeds you get from the innards of your jack-o-lantern.
Pumpkin Seed Pesto with Spinach and Feta
12 oz Fusilli Spiral Pasta
1 cup raw pumpkin seeds
3 loosely packed cups fresh basil, stems removed
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 to 3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
10 oz pkg frozen spinach
8 oz. feta cheese, crumbled
Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the package and set aside.
Cook spinach according to the instructions on the package. Toss into the pasta.
Place pumpkin seeds in a small skillet. Toast over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the seeds are lightly browned and puffed up, about 2 to 3 minutes.
In a food processor, combine toasted seeds, basil, cheese, lemon juice and pepper. Pulse until all ingredients are finely ground. Then drizzle in olive oil while processor is still running. Continue adding oil until desired consistency is reached.
Add pesto to the pasta and spinach, tossing well to coat.
Sprinkle in feta cheese and toss lightly.
Serve immediately, before the cheese melts.
Makes 4 servings.
Categories
The Aroma of Coffee
- I wrote this one for a CoffeeBeanShop.com competition on “Love and Coffee”:
“Aroma of Coffee”
Alas, CoffeeBeanShop.com no longer exists, so I moved the story to my fiction and poetry webiste.