Banana Bread for my Bambino

    We go through bananas like crazy in my house.  My sons and I live 40 minutes away from where they go to school and I teach, and the promise of a banana for breakfast gets my 4-year-old out of bed at 5:30 in the morning (he actually just asked for a banana as I write this post . . . too funny).   In spite of living with a potassium junkie, I occasionally have overripe bananas stinkin' up the joint.  I made this version of grandma's bread using candied pecans I had left over from my Thanksgiving baking.  With or without the pecans, this is a hearty bread and reaches it's maximum yumminess...

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I Made You No-Bake Cookies because I'm Super Cool like That . . .

Full disclosure:  I. Do. Not. Like. No-Bake. Cookies.  I don't know why that is, but I never have, never will.  I DO like my man, however, so when he asked for these during my Christmas-cookie-baking-frenzy I was happy to make them for him.  This is my grandmother's recipe with a few additions of my own.        1 stick butter (use Earth Balance to veganize recipe) 2 cups sugar 4 tablespoons cocoa ½ cup milk (non-dairy milk to veganize.  I wonder how this would taste using dark chocolate almond milk . . . next time I'm trying it!) 1 cup smooth peanut butter (use chocolate-peanut butter...

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Rice Pie to Die For (yeah, yeah, that's an exaggeration. It's pretty darn good, though!)

I love potluck parties.  I love the idea of them, anyway . . . everyone brings their best dish and guests happily gorge on plastic plates heaped with the craziest combinations of food.  In reality, it seems like everyone brings some variation of meatballs in Crock-pots followed by "cheesy potatoes" which are almost always prepared with ham.  For me, a potluck often leads to disappointment.  I rarely eat anything I haven't made myself since most everything has meat as a major or minor ingredient.  And very few of my family and friends are adventurous enough to eat a whole serving plate of my seitan-based offering. ...

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Snow Day Soup

      This first snow storm of this year came just after Christmas.  There are two big windows in my kitchen which overlook the back yard and I stood for a long time, marvelling at both the beauty of the falling snow and at my complete and utter laziness.  I had not put away any of the patio furniture or covered the sandboxes or even (it's true) emptied the little plastic play pool from this summer.  As I watched the snow blanket my eyesore of a back yard I smirked a little knowing that my slackitude would at least be hidden from view for a few days.    There is something about a snowfall...

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Betrothal Brownies

So, I don't want to exaggerate, but I believe that you can't say you really love someone until you've either a: made these brownies for him or her, or b: eaten these brownies prepared by him or her and then immediately proposed marriage.  And I'll not listen to the old "but the love of my life doesn't like chocolate  . . .  "  Seriously?  Then break up before it's too late.  There are few things more miserable than being saddled to a chocolate-hater for life.  Something is fundamentally broken inside.  These brownies are so good I need to warn you against making them for someone...

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Don's Parmesan Crepes Stuffed with Sheer Awesomeness

Lucky Girl . . . Last night I had the pleasure of hanging out with three of the most eligible bachelors I know: Don, Tyler and Ron.  Don is a good friend of mine who has been evolving into a real foodie.  He graciously invited me into his kitchen and let me teach him how to make one of my favorite recipes ever- Parmesan crepes (more accurately, I just showed up with bags of groceries and declared that I was teaching him how to cook something awesome).  The evening was filled with food, drinks, and lots of laughter.  I was lucky to be surrounded by three handsome young men who are loving the bachelor life. ...

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