Somewhere in the world it will be bright and sunny. I don’t think that will be in our neck of the woods though. In fact the sun seems to be in hiding this month making for quite the dreary March. So we thought for our flashback this week, we’d bring you a little plate of sunshine. You know when life hands you lemons…well, we make lemon tarts! These particular lemon tarts were made in the summer of 2011 when we were cooking recipes from Ontario, Canada, and are easily another one of our favorites. For those of you that haven’t seen this one before, we hope you enjoy! Next week we will post a little bit about what we’ve been up to in our absence, and then we’ll be back, rested, and ready to go! “See” you all soon. Continue reading
Category Archives: Desserts
Blast from the Past
Hi all! While we’re on our little siesta, we thought we’d share a few of our older posts that some of you may not have seen or may have forgotten. I also thought it would be a good time to share with our new subscribers and readers what we’re all about here at Eat, Play, Love. Basically, our journey started out as a way to teach Mr. N and Miss A (our kiddos) about various cultures and traditions around the world while opening all of us up to new foods and cooking techniques. It’s always a whole family affair. We take turns picking a country our U.S. state and then we find traditional or popular local recipes to try. Often times the kids will be involved in the cooking which gives us a chance to share some facts about the particular country or culture, and have some fun along the way. 
We don’t claim to be experts either in culture or in cooking, but we do put forth our best efforts to make the recipes authentic and to review them honestly. You can read more about our spoon rating system here. You’ll notice as we go along that Miss A’s spoon ratings tend to be the most subjective ranging from 0 to 514 at times. We really don’t mind as long as she’s giving the different foods a chance, which is something both kids have been amazing at doing. From time to time, we’ll also share special occasion recipes, travel adventures and random recipes we just happen to love, but the majority of what you’ll see here is all about cooking around the world.
So here’s an old post from back in May 2011, shortly after we started the blog. This recipe just happens to be one of our favorites and has been made more than once. Enjoy! Continue reading
Just Desserts – The Dessert Basket
Today is the last post from our Chopped Challenge 2013. And what better way to celebrate and spread some cheer than with desserts. I hope you’ve enjoyed following along as much as we enjoyed the event. I have to say this last round was just as delicious as the rest and was by far the kids’ favorite. Our ingredients for the dessert basket came to us from Dawn at First Look, Then Cook – Mangoes, Pretzels, Bacon and Agave Nectar.
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Gratitude.
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and even though I try to be grateful throughout the year, I still find myself overwhelmed with thanks this time of year. So I’m postponing our Canadian vacation recipe for a special Thanksgiving treat. 
Even though, as I mentioned a few weeks ago, there have been many things this year that have snored the mango, there are so many more for which I am thankful. It goes without saying that I’m thankful for Mike, Mr. N and Miss A. I thank my lucky stars for their health and happiness every day. I’m also thankful for my wonderful friends, neighbors, mentors, co-workers and of course the many friends I have come to make through this blog. My life is richer with each passing day.
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King of Sour
When Mr. N was less than one year’s old, he tried his first taste of lemon. He put a lemon wedge up to his lips. His first reaction was much as you’d suspect. He cringed, shivered and sat wide-eyed staring at the little yellow wedge. Then, he put it right back up to his lips and went to town. From that day on, Mr. N has loved all things sour and even crowned himself “king of sour” when he was about three (and still sucking on lemons!).
Well, even though Mr. N is a far cry from three years old, he’s still our “king of sour.” That’s why it didn’t come as a huge surprise that he picked the Lemon, Lime and Orange Tart for his “blue ribbon” Illinois State Fair recipe. Continue reading
A Special Treat
Today we have a special treat for you. Our good friend Charles at Five Euro Food asked us to guest post on his delicious blog which has everything from roasted chickpeas (one of our favorites) to the Swedish Sockerkaka, and all for around five euros. The reason for the guest post? Charles is a proud new papa to one of the most adorable baby boys I have ever seen! And knowing how special these early moments are, we were more than happy to help.
Now most of you regulars know that I don’t eat chocolate. I’ve just never been a big fan. I was allergic as a child and even though the allergy disappeared, I just never grew to really like it. However…there is one, and only one, exception to this rule. No bake cookies!
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