When it comes to holiday cookies, I’m game for anything — thumbprints with yummy jam, spicy gingerbread, buttery shortbread, those little cookies with red or green cherries in the middle, cut out shapes covered in colored sugar — I love to bake ‘em AND eat ‘em. But there’s another cookie I especially love. Biscotti! These…
Maple-Cinnamon Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Everything comes to an end, which is just what happened in June when my 2016-2017 garden, from which I harvested arugula, beets, kale, tomatoes, peppers and squash, finally gave up the ghost. . . That’s when high temps and humidity moved in on us in southwest Florida so, sadly, I pulled out of my raised…
Field Trip Friday – Florida Native Plant Nursery
(Field Trip Fridays capture interesting, fun, food-related and/or fishing adventures that I like to share with you!) I’ve lived in southwest Florida for more than 25 years, and home gardening has eluded me most of that time. But recently I’ve started vegetable gardening and learning about the types of plants that thrive in our sometimes…
A Time of Thanks
It’s the time of year when we spend a little extra time telling people in our lives what they mean to us and, for me, that list includes not only my family and friends, but also, everyone who follows my blog 🙂 It’s also a time to identify the things for which we’re grateful, and…
Homemade Pumpkin Butter
Halloween has come and gone, and the two sugar pumpkins (a.k.a. pie pumpkins) I bought for decoration have been sitting in my kitchen since then. I like to buy the small pumpkins instead of the big ones (perfect for carving) because they’re decorative AND edible — their flesh is sweet and firm, not stringy like…
Field Trip Friday – Blue Community Conference
(Field Trip Fridays capture interesting, fun, food-related and/or fishing adventures that I like to share with you!). If you haven’t yet visited Pine Avenue on Anna Maria Island, please add it to your list of must-see spots in Florida. It’s a lovely business district with 2-story, historic-looking buildings designed to honor the area’s history, and…
Cranberry Nut Bread
Those who know me well know that I slog through the heat and humidity of Florida summers. . .but it’s all worth it when Fall hits and we enjoy cooler temps and low humidity levels! Ahhh. . .now is the time to turn off the A/C, open the windows, and embrace our beautiful, Spring-like weather….
Field Trip Friday – New England Cranberry Bog
(Field Trip Fridays capture interesting, fun, food-related and/or fishing adventures that I like to share with you!). On my recent visit to Massachusetts, I simply had to visit a cranberry bog because it’s annual harvest time, and it’s a quintessential event in New England. My long-time pal Heather and I took a trip to A.D….
Fall is in the Air!
I’m on a Field Trip in Massachusetts for my college’s homecoming and sorority reunion, while catching up with dear friends and family. Along the way I’ll be tasting my favorite pizza, licking something cold at my favorite ice cream spot, visiting a working cranberry bog, stopping into farmers markets and roadside stands filled with pumpkins…
Field Trip Friday – Mazzaro Italian Market
(Field Trip Fridays capture interesting, fun, food-related and/or fishing adventures that I like to share with you!). I grew up in the Boston area, with easy access to great Italian food, especially in that infamous place called the North End, Boston’s “Little Italy.” So when a friend asked me last year if I knew about…
Seafood Stew in Bread Bowl
So, when did folks start to put stews, chilis and dips in bowls of bread? I simply had to get the answer to this burning question. . . Based on my research, it seems that the practice dates back to Medieval times when folks used round, flat, bread to serve food, especially porridges and stews….
Hello, Halibut & Harissa!
I’ve had Harissa (pronounced “hu reece uh”) on my radar for a while. I first learned of it way back in 2012 on NPR’s show titled “Harissa: The Story Behind North Africa’s Favorite Hot Sauce;” spotted it in a 2014 article in Food & Wine Magazine, where it was described as “the new Sriracha;” and…