Food

I’m SO excited that after lovin’ on our blackberry plant for 2 years, we are going to have HUNDREDS of blackberries this year!! What should I make?  

Monkey bread is a funny sort of food. When I am thinking about making it, I have an internal battle. I know if I make it, I will eat it all. Yeah, yeah. That’s been said before, but seriously… it’s true. This stuff is crazy good and is better than a cinnamon roll any day ...

When you need to make monkey bread and you are out of cinnamon, you have no choice but to tear apart your pantry for solutions.  My solution came in the form of grinding cinnamon sticks until the looked like the above.  I had some extra sticks from Christmas projects that I wasn’t using so it ...

Like many families, we love to make pizza on Fridays.  We’ve been making it from scratch almost every week since we first got married almost 8 years ago (wow!).  Personally, I prefer white pizza (like above) because it allows for a really great garlic flavor that is not being attacked by tomato sauce.  Don’t get ...

The secret to awesome mashed potatoes lies in this post… I love garlic.  I really do. First: Find a willing helper for the tedious ask of unwrapping garlic.  Yes, I have various devices that can help me do this, but none work as well as the gentle smash of chef’s knife and the small fingers of a ...

My kids as sandwiches…including freckles. My husband called these “Easter Island” sandwich heads. Here is one way to ensure lunch is gobbled up.  I’ve seen so many wonderful photos of  Japanese lunches lately.  Their food is made with such care it’s so contagious!  I don’t know if a Japanese mom makes them that way every day, ...

Look at those little cuties.  I love that they are not perfect because that means the kids were do them by themselves and making it their own sweet little way. I have to admit I was excited to finally get to use my hippo cookie cutter (eek!).   The possibilities extend as far as your cookie cutter ...

It rarely gets cold here in San Diego, but when it does we like to break out our cold weather kitchen tricks. We knew we wanted cocoa, but needed a dash of  awesomeness. Sea Salt Hot Chocolate 2 c. milk (I used whole for an extra creamy flavor) 3 T. cocoa powder 3 T. granulated sugar dash of vanilla extract ...

Around our house, the kiddos some of us have a hard time waiting to pick the fruit when the time is right.  Seriously, who wouldn’t want to pick a bright yellow lemon or a deep red strawberry?  They almost beg a kid to pick them with their flamboyant garden attire. So, these lemons got picked ...

I have wanted to make vanilla extract ever since my Grandma told me about how she used to get the “real deal”  from Mexico, as opposed to the imitation extract which I don’t think I have ever used knowingly in my own home.  Call me a vanilla snob…I can take it!  .  It even would ...