Rest, Relaxation and Recovery

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In the last few posts we hinted that we were busy with an adventure or two. Well, we returned home today. We’re well rested, relaxed and in need of a post-vacation recovery. You know how those go…we ate too much, we packed a lot into a span of a few days and well, we traveled with two kids. It was a blast, it was memorable, it was full of laughs and smiles, and it was down-right exhausting.

Not to worry though, we’ll be back soon with that overly caloric, but fantastically delicious birthday/date night recipe we enjoyed a few weeks ago as well as some new Cuban cuisine. Until then, we thought we’d revisit a healthy and seasonal recipe from last year because quite frankly we need some healthy food this week. 😉 So enjoy, and feel free to take a guess where we were (Shhhh…if you already know!).  Continue reading →

King of Sour

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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 →

Pardon the Interruption

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I really was planning to bring you Mr. N’s state fair recipe today. It’s been made, photographed and eaten. It’s been patiently waiting in the wings…and it’s going to have to keep waiting. You see tonight we made our first Cuban recipe and well, it just can’t wait. Or, maybe, I just couldn’t wait.

I have to confess I was rooting for Cuba all along. I’ve wanted a Cuban sandwich for years. Why I haven’t had one yet, I don’t really know. But since you all voted for Cuba, I now have no more excuses. So we’ll postpone our state fair dessert for one more post while we share what is probably our most anticipated recipe yet (by Mike and I anyway), The Cuban. Continue reading →

A Special Treat

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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!  Continue reading →

Blue Ribbons

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Before we delve into today’s post, it’s time to reveal the results of our poll. The votes are tallied and it was a CLOSE race. We had two clear leading contenders for our next cooking destination taking about 60% of the votes. And the winner is…Cuba! Cuba took Argentina by just one vote! Thank you to everyone that participated. We’re looking forward to our Cuban cooking adventure.

However, before we get to Cuba we have a few posts to share first. Today is a taste of our adventures from the State Fair.  Continue reading →

The FTC – Gettin’ Figgy with It

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We were at the farmer’s market a few weeks ago and got some wonderfully ripe peaches and black figs. I had never seen figs at our farmer’s market before, so I snatched them right up. Believe it or not, those little gems are hard to come by. In fact, one time, Miss A and I hit five, yes five, different grocery stores to try to find them. It was an epic journey that included a down pour, stopped freight trains and a grumpy woman that literally blocked us from the figs with her cart and took every last one of the pints (and there were at least 10!). Now it’s become a running joke that we need to grab the figs before “figgy lady” finds them. (Miss A was certain she emptied out the first three stores too!)

So on our way home from the market I started thinking that the figs and peaches might be pretty good together. Then I remembered that I had clipped a bit of my mom’s sage the day before…my wheels were spinning. A quick internet search and I saw a recipe for seared figs and peaches with balsamic vinegar. Then it hit me – French toast! Continue reading →