I found a recipe for a really good cilantro salad dressing and I couldn’t wait to use it. But it needed a simple salad. I went with mixed greens and crispy chickpeas.
Crispy chickpeas are really good on salads, alone as a snack or even as a crunchy topping on soup.
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I love, love, LOVE cheese! Have I mentioned that before? On any given day I can live on cheese and bread, and Diet Coke of course. Baked Brie is probably one of my favorite cold-weather renditions of cheese. There are just so many ways you can make it. I’ve toyed around with savory baked brie topped with a spicy cilantro walnut blend. My all-time favorite, however, is this sweet Puff Pastry Baked Brie.
Every time I’ve served my Puff Pastry Baked Brie, people have fallen in love with it. It’s really easy to throw together for a small gathering, a snack for game night, or even a fun starter before dinner. I’ve never made a Puff Pastry Baked Brie that didn’t vanish by the end of the night. That’s how good it is. (more…)
I’m generally not a picky eater. Really, I’ll eat just about everything, but there are a few things I just can’t get myself to like. Melons (all variations except watermelons) and beets. I just never liked beets—well, unless they were pickled with turnips. I avoid beet salads, and beets in pretty much any other form. But I decided to give beets another chance. Truth be told, it’s because I had some beets left over from making pickled turnips that I fully intended to give to my mom {an avid beet-lover}, but never got around to, and I just didn’t have the heart to throw them out. I gave them a second life, in dip form. (more…)
I love dips. Love them. My only issue with restaurant dips and pre-packaged dips, is that I don’t know what they’re really putting in there. And also, why are they filled with so many calories? I got to thinking that there has got to be a better way to make my favorite dips with a lot less calories and without sacrificing taste. Let’s be honest here, sometimes when calories are reduced, flavors dull. I’m not about that life. I won’t eat something that doesn’t taste good just to cut calories. So I set out to make “skinny/healthy” Spinach Artichoke Dip. (more…)
I have this obsession with popcorn. This wasn’t always the case, but over the years, I’ve developed this serious obsession with light, crunchy, slightly salty (usually white cheddar flavored) popcorn. My mom used to make popcorn almost weekly. She’d mix some dry corn kernels with vegetable oil in a pot over the oven and I’d wait around the kitchen listening to the kernels popping against the sides of the pot. Sometimes, the popcorn would overflow onto the stove. She’d toss the popcorn with salt, and I’d run off to watch my favorite TV show with a bowl of mom’s simple stovetop popcorn. (more…)
Pickled Turnips, or Tayta’s Pink Pickled Turnips, as I like to call them, are a staple at our house. Usually, pickled turnips are served alongside olives and green pickles at the dinner table. They’re added to chicken and beef Shawarma sandwiches, falafel, and (like us) placed in a small dish at the table to be eaten with just about anything. If you haven’t had them, you are in for a serious treat!
After I took down rough notes of my Tayta’s recipe, I scoured the internet looking to see what other people have done. Some recipes call for garlic and bay leaves, another even suggested adding a chili pepper. But why change something that is so simple and so good? I may be a little biased, but my Tayta’s Pickled Turnips are the best pickled turnips. (more…)
