apple rhubarb crisp
This recipe may have fit better into the autumn months when the garden rhubarb was waning, apples were in season, and the smell of spiced baked goods wafting from the kitchen is nothing short of what dreams are made of. But lets face it, springtime in Montana equates to intermittent days of glorious sunshine among days of rain, snow, and what can only be described as a wintry mix. Those days, much like yesterday, are the days to bust out the crock pots for slow cooked roasts and and turn on the oven for fruit crisps. Besides being another outlet for my still-going-strong ginger obsession, inspiration for this dish came from dessert a friend made a while back. Her deliciously spicy plum cobbler needed to be replicated (thanks, Marge!). And, of course, it never hurts to use up some frozen produce from last summer! 
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herbal green smoothie
Smoothies have quickly become my favorite breakfast food over the past few months. I jumped aboard this bandwagon when my mom made me a smoothie from her special blender and I saw just how easy it was to turn fruit and even vegetables into delicious blended breakfasts. I’ve always been a salad lover, but I never would have thought that I could blend up a handful of kale — for breakfast — and thoroughly enjoy it. But I do and I bet you will too! Also with this smoothie kick has come a new obsession with ginger. I now want ginger in everything I eat. Its warm spiciness, paired with other herbs, is perfect on a cold winter morning (and right now its -30° Fahrenheit). Continue Reading →
it was the best stuffing in the world
In the spirit of the season, I would like to share with you all a few things for which I am grateful. I am thankful for friends and family in my life who continue to help me to grow into the person I want to be. I am thankful for my health, which allows me to do the physical activities that I love. I am thankful that I have jobs — that I like! — where I make enough money to support the lifestyle that I live. I am thankful for my puppy, who, through her crazy antics, provides countless hours of entertainment. I am thankful for the house in which I live, complete with a gas stove top to cook yummy-yums to share. And I am thankful for my skis, because they are awesome and I hope to use them a lot very soon. 
Last night I watched a Ted Talk about gratitude being the key behind happiness. It wasn’t my favorite or the best one that I’d seen, but it did make me think about the idea, and that’s what these talks are designed to do, right? Gratefulness helps us to look at the positive even when life just shit in our cereal. Oh yeah, and I forgot this earlier: I am thankful for good old-fashioned candied yams with marshmallows on top. And for spicy sausage in my cornbread stuffing. Continue Reading →
spiced pumpkin pecan muffins
Making this latest batch of muffins left me with a burning question. What is the difference between a muffin and a cupcake? Here is what I came up with on my own: a cupcake has frosting, while a muffin does not and a muffin is a perfectly acceptable breakfast food while a cupcake is usually reserved for dessert (although that never stopped me). Also, apparently this is a much debated topic in the realm of the interweb.
Upon further research, I found that, basically, a cupcake is a cake (first you cream the fat and sugar and add the rest of the ingredients from there — a one bowl wonder), while a muffin is a quick bread (first the wet and dry ingredients are mixed separately, then mixed together — two bowls required). The best (aka most entertaining) answers came from cupcakeproject.com. With a blog devoted solely to cupcakes, I figure this girl must know what’s going on. Read the comments for my favorite info.
Do you like my piggy oven mitts? They’ve been with me for a long time, and taken many a tasty dish out of the oven. I thought they deserved a little credit. Continue Reading →
colombian chicken and potato soup
You know how when you eat sushi rolls and the pieces that are cut from the ends are always flipped cut-side down and always have little matchsticks of carrots, cucumbers, and strips of fish towering above the rest of the uniform plate? Everything on the plate seems so perfect and then you see these end pieces — in all of their natural imperfect-ness. You know what I’m talking about. Everyone has a different name for these pieces. We call them the “garden” here, and they are highly coveted, my favorite pieces on a plate of sushi. That is what this soup reminds me of. The garden. The goods are piled high in a bowl of delicious broth. I saw this recipe about a year ago in a magazine, knew I would love it, and never got around to making it until yesterday. I can’t believe I waited so long! The recipe did not disappoint (I especially love the unexpected addition of capers). It is just right for a crisp autumn day, and I will be making this again soon.
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