This coconut macaroon recipe is spiced with bourbon and nutmeg for an eggnog cookie treat just right for the holiday season. It starts just as the sun is tucking itself away, the snow falling as the light dims and turns grey. Then darkness settles in, soaking the color from the once vibrant landscape. The heavy flakes rest on sidewalks, their white contrasting against the black of night, catching in your hair and eyelashes causing you to blink heavily. By morning the grass is gone, covered in a... more

Velvety pumpkin butter with pumpkin pie spices is baked between layers of oats and flour and topped with toasty pecans in this quick and simple bar dessert recipe. After much hemming and hawing, I finally made pumpkin butter. I’m not sure what I was expecting to find at the end of a long simmer, but I was pleasantly surprised when then the “butter,” which contains no actual butter, turned out rich and velvety and was reminiscent of both apple butter and pumpkin pie. It effectively... more

Velvety peaches in a bourbon-spiked caramel-like sauce fill a crisp pie crust and get topped with a smokey bacon crumble in this recipe for homemade summer pie. I have mentioned before that August is where I would live forever if we could stop time and continue repeating just one month of the calendar year. The produce in my neck of the woods is at its peak. Raspberry season arrives at the beginning of the month, melons are finally ready to be released from their vines, and the peaches have made... more

Silky smooth peach sorbet bobs lightly in their bubbly bath in this frozen take on bellini. Serve this easy recipe with a spicy ginger ale or sparkling juice for a virgin take on this classic cocktail. Peaches announce their presence with sweet scented air, enticing you with their velvety soft surface that promises bright juicy flesh beneath it. They need little encouragement to be captivating. The allure of the perfect peach: a combination of firm but supple interior and the distinct tang of the... more

A refreshing ice pop recipe that combines your favorite berries (these were strawberry) and green iced tea to form a quintessential summer treat. 10 Quick and Dirty Summer Facts Every spring I plant my garden with the greatest of intentions. I plan and plot, and I care for each plant as if they were a small baby. By mid-July I’m tired. I hate having to water the plants, and I often skip days – multiple – in between watering, even when it’s 98º F and 86% humidity *because* it’s... more

Classic hummingbird cake made with whole wheat flour and sweetened with honey is a quick and easy dessert to whip up for last-minute entertaining this summer. Friday started out slowly with sunshine streaming in through the curtains. Morning light has this effervescent quality and slight bluish undertones that can make everything seem peaceful. It rests on surfaces, illuminates the glassware as you set out the breakfast dishes. Butter and eggs sizzle softer in the early a.m. hours. Before long,... more

Lemon and thyme shortbread gets an Earl Grey glaze for a tea and cookies treat that is really more cookies with a touch of tea (but also divine with a cup on the side). My kitchen has been taken over by cookies. They dot the surface of the counter, are tucked into boxes and bags that line the dining room table, have made themselves comfortable on the wire shelves in my small refrigerator, completely blocking the access to any food you might consider eating for dinner or lunch or breakfast or anything... more