• Appetizer,  Gluten Free,  Kids,  Vegetarian

    Delicious Salads For Summer

    It’s getting warm outside, (finally)! In Washington state where I live, we have already reached 80 degrees a few times this year. It’s an exciting time of year full of delicious seasonal foods. Time to show off your salads, friends! Here are some that really hit the spot for me.  When you’re looking for a tasty, simple and filling dish that is still on the lighter side, this variety of summer goodness will hit the spot. Memorial Day is right around the corner so time to get planning! Summer Melon Salad This is an incredibly cute salad full of sweetness. It is a trio of melons with some crunchy red…

  • Appetizer,  Gluten Free,  Kids,  Recipes,  Vegetarian

    Fried Green Tomatoes

    I was meandering through a Farmers Market last weekend and I was seriously on the hunt for something different. Something I’ve not had in awhile or something truly new to me. I came across a few things but honestly one that caught my eye was just simply a basket of under ripe green tomatoes.  In the south eastern part of the United States, fried green tomatoes are a very popular food.  Now I don’t have a deep fryer at my boyfriends house which is where I was going to be cooking, but I thought I would really like to try a tomato like this. I am a fan of any…

  • Appetizer,  Dessert,  Gluten Free,  Kids

    Fruit Pizza

    I really enjoy sharing my ideas and skills in cooking with others and that is one of the reasons I started this food blog. To me, cooking makes sense but to the people who can be intimidated, or those that are just brain blocked on what to make or create next, this post is for you. Hello to all the parents reading this post this week.  I heard a news story last week that American Parents spend on average $500 on their kids over the summer to fill their time with activities and toys to keep their children busy.  If you have that extra money, that’s so great and I’m…

  • Appetizer,  Gluten Free,  Kids,  Vegetarian

    Herbed Watermelon Lemonade

    This drink was created after I once made a watermelon vinaigrette. I liked the ingredients so much that I made a few adjustments and now I have both the vinaigrette and the lemonade. In this drink, with the natural water in the fruit, ice and with the lemon juice, I didn’t feel like I needed to add any water.  I do sometimes however, add a little bit of white wine and it really tastes great. Sparkling wine would be great too. As the news reports keep telling me, its very hot outside around the country right now. Seattle could get into the 80’s this weekend which is pretty normal for…

  • Appetizer,  Gluten Free,  Kids

    Asian Pear Salad

    Apples are abundant in the state of Washington.  We are fortunate and can have a sense of pride here because apples are such a nutritional powerhouse.  They are so versatile too. You can enjoy apples a million different ways and they always hit the spot, don’t they?  I love how many different kinds of apples there are. Today though, I want to mention a fruit that resembles an apple in flavor (the guts, not the skin) that is now grown in the United States and is just as nutritional. It’s called an Asian pear. Plantings on the west coast exist in Yakima and Wenatchee, Washington, and in Hood River and…

  • Appetizer,  Kids,  Vegetarian

    Spring Soba Noodle And Edamame Salad

    One of the trickiest allergies that I, as a chef work with on a daily basis is an allergy to soy and products that contain soy lecithin.  I would like to take a brief moment to speak on why soy is so widely used in The United States starting with the fact that it is inexpensive and plentiful here and in many countries globally. Because soy is so versatile, it is commonly grown. You can notice the versatility of soy just by understanding how many thousands of products use soy. Isolated soy proteins are used to bring together oil, fats and water creating a longer moistness and stability in products keeping…

  • Appetizer,  Gluten Free,  Kids,  Vegetarian

    Coconut And Broccoli Salad

    Oh Broccoli! You’re one of a kind.  Broccoli is such a dramatic food. It’s versatile too. You can see broccoli as a main ingredient like the recipe today or broccoli can take a backseat to be just a component in your meal. Either way, it’s a very delicious choice because of all of its amazing properties. I love to introduce fresh broccoli to toddlers by steaming it to get them used to the flavor. It has so many good vitamins. I often like to serve broccoli almost raw because the texture and smell tends to be more favorable. However, I find roasted broccoli delicious. Not everyone does though. I think it’s great to try…