And also, I am home and could not be happier! Not that I did not like Oregon this year, because I did. The weather was incredible the whole forty-two days my family and I were there. Well, I guess there were two days in the middle with tons and tons of low clouds, fog and pure misery. Technically, I guess forty day were gorgeous out of the forty-two. Even though it is like me to complain, I can’t....
It’s a commonly held belief that black eyed peas bring good luck and prosperity in a new year. Every year on January 1st, I make slow cooker black eyed peas or this Hoppin’ John, and I always serve sides of honey cornbread and collard greens. Hoppin’ John Ingredients To make Hoppin’ John you will need butter, onion, celery, bell pepper, garlic, a bay leaf, dried thyme, Cajun seasoning, a ham hock or diced ham, black eyed peas, chicken broth, parsley, salt and black pepper....
Every Sunday night on Instagram, I put out an “ask me anything” sticker tag on my Instagram stories. I love doing these Q&A’s so much. I find they’re a really fun way for me to answer questions about things I might not be thinking to talk about, or that you’re all just generally curious about. Most of the questions that come in are in regard to my lifestyle, beauty, fashion, travel, and of course, food....
Oh how I love this tea. You see, I’m not normally a tea drinker. Tea has just never been my thing, especially warm tea. I want to love it, but I just don’t. Or well, I didn’t…until I started making iced tea and adding in lots of lemon. Once I started drinking my tea cold, I really began to love it. Traditionally, Moroccan tea is served warm, but I decided to make an iced version, with a hint of lemon and topped off with just a little sparkling water for some fizzy action....
When I need dinner on the table without a lot of fuss, I turn to family favorites such as sesame noodles, chicken tetrazzini and this simple yet delicious pressure cooker pulled pork. Pulled pork is a classic dish for good reason – it has minimal ingredients, plenty of rich flavor, and can be used in so many different ways. This Instant Pot pulled pork cooks in a fraction of the time when compared to slow cooker or smoker pulled pork, yet still tastes totally amazing!...
Recently my friend from work introduced me to this really simple yet very delicious Instant Raw Mango Onion Pickle, called as Kanda Kairi. Kanda means onion and Kairi is Mango in Marathi and this is just a simple raw mango onion relish, special from Maharashtra. I got her mother-in-law’s recipe and was blown away by how simple it was. I mentioned this to Amma and for someone who has seen so many varieties of pickles, this seemed like a welcome change....
Thanks to all you lovely people who enquired on my health, I am feeling much better now. Time and again, I realize how therapeutic cooking and blogging is for me – especially having such nice people around me. Another interesting thing to happen over the last two days is winning the rare recipe contest at Lina’s blog! I hardly thought mine stood a chance amidst such wonderful recipes – especially since I couldn’t find much history on the Lymmonyk recipe....
It’s a post that once I though of, I became so excited. Sometimes that happens with ideas and when it does it is my very favorite thing. See, when an idea forms I begin to build this whole picture in my head. In my head it obviously looks amazing and from there I begin to plot. Some ideas are easier to execute than others, and some are, well… a little more challenging....
Some of you may not even know what a kombucha is, BUT I’m here to tell you all about them, and I am so pumped! I’ve been slightly obsessed with kombuchas ever since Christmas when Caitlin, my brother Malachi’s girlfriend, introduced me to them. I will not lie, when she told me what a kombucha was, I wasn’t all that into trying it, but then I took and a sip and was instantly hooked....
Wow, it’s already Thursday? And next week is the 4th of July? This week is flying by. I returned home from NYC on Tuesday and have been playing a serious game of work and life “catch up”. I love vacation and traveling for work, but what I hate most are the days following being away. Especially after being away for multiple weeks. Point is, I’ve been spending a lot of time catching up on things and running around, so this week has gone by like a blur....
Like clockwork, every single January, I seem to share banana bread. It’s not something I do intentionally, it’s more so that my family just loves a classic banana bread. And personally, I love making it. Banana bread was a recipe my mom and I would make when I was a kid. We’d do a lot of baking together on the bitter-cold winter days when we lived in Cleveland. Most of the time, it was her chocolate chip cookies, her oatmeal cookies, a chocolate cake, buckeyes, or her special K-bars....
At my house, soup is often on the dinner menu. My family always requests cheeseburger soup, chicken noodle soup and this delightful minestrone soup. When I’m stuck on what to make for dinner I often turn to soup. I always keep containers of chicken broth, pasta and canned beans in the pantry; when you combine those ingredients along with whatever vegetables you’ve got in the fridge you end up with a healthy and easy dinner....
My very first post on this blog had been of Biriyani, Mushroom Biriyani. There was just a simple reason to it – Mushroom Biriyani is one of our favorites. Though the preparation is almost the same, I should say I have come a long way in posting recipes or clicking pictures, that’s why this recipe is featuring for the second time. Choose either of the recipes – I am sure you would have a lovely Biriyani in the making....
This is my favorite, no fail, all butter, buttermilk pie crust. I use it for pretty much every pie I make, including this pretty cherry pie, this yummy pecan pie, this gooey chocolate chip cookie pie, and this sweet blueberry pie. I’ve had a ton of requests from you guys to post my go-to pie crust. I thought that with pie season being in full swing, that now would be the perfect time to share!...
Things like summer cookouts with family and friends, bowls of fresh-cut fruit and um… S’mores. Because a S’more will always be the perfect way to end a summer night. Mmmm, a warm summer night, a beach, a bonfire and these S’mores, what could be better? Well, at least that’s what I’m dreaming of. In all seriousness though, these cookie S’mores where a huge hit. They are nothing fancy, but Asher has been eating them like crazy....
I hope we’re all feeling refreshed as we enter into this last week of August. Hard to believe Sunday is September 1st, but as we all know so well, time flies, especially in the summertime. I hope you all have plans to soak up this last week of August before September’s craziness sets in. Around here we’re prepping for a big photoshoot…so much to do, so I am a tad stressed....
For a dinner that is so simple to throw together, this really has so much flavor! I think we all know by now that a skillet chicken and orzo dinner is a staple around here. Most of the time I’ll just use lemon and herbs, the classic recipe really. But then I’ll come up with a new variation that I swear I love even more than the last! This was probably Creighton’s favorite dish of the week....
If there was ever a way to kick off the weekend, it’s with these waffles. These are honestly just so delicious. Light, fluffy, a little sweet, topped with whipped (MEYER!) lemon cream, and all the early spring strawberries (OMG these are early, but so good). Oh, and then real maple syrup too because you cannot have a stack of waffles without some good maple syrup to drizzle all over top....
Palak Paratha, a delicious but also a vibrant green Indian flat bread is made with whole wheat flour, spinach puree and other Indian spice powders. It is a simple recipe that can be made with standard Indian kitchen staples, not very different from rotis or chapati. With its bright and beautiful green color, not only it is eye-catchy but also healthy, and it is easier to feed any age group, especially kids....
Parwal is a peak summer vegetable in India, however I found some amazing parwal at our indian grocery store over the weekend and I made this delicous sabji. I am sharing one of the easiest punjabi style recipe of making parwal at home. The combination of the tender parwal and potatoes with flavors of the spices is truly delectable whenever you are craving simple and soothing home style food. All summer long, this sabji was prepared on a regular basis in my grandmother’s home....
