These gingered clementine and pomegranate shrimp make fantastic appetizers or even a quick lunch. They come together quickly, cook even quicker, and then you’re left with tasty little shrimp covered in a sweet and spicy glaze. What’s not to love? Last winter I was involved in this fantastic project that was the brainchild of one of my favorite people, Julie of Dinner with Julie. She had gathered a group of food bloggers together to make a cookbook that would benefit Haiti and Blog... more

Food is a passion. I’m not sure that it necessarily comes out all the time as I tell you about the mess my kids and I made, how I have taken to making my own fruit snacks or that I’m making ice cream in the fall, but I hope it does. I hope that you can see my relationship with food is one that I’ve fought for and continue to fight for daily. It’s important to me, and it’s important for me to share it, this time with an apple pie cheesecake topped with a salted caramel... more

The pumpkin love continues. I’ve still got a brioche idea packed away, but in the meantime, I’ve been creating new uses for the pumpkin purée that we made. This time we’re going for homemade pumpkin pie fruit roll-ups. My kids like fruit snacks. There. I said it. I mean, really, what kid doesn’t? I, however, don’t like buying them. We do purchase a few select varieties and kinds of fruit snacks, my personal favorite being Clif Kid Organic Twisted Fruit, but... more

We are talking turkey today of the mustard-crusted variety. It may not be as traditional as your favorite roasted one, but it’s juicy and delicious, and it fits in with all the traditional Thanksgiving fare perfectly, livening up your table and giving those relatives something to talk about. One of my favorite movies of all time is Jodie Foster’s Home for the Holidays. Maybe it’s the dysfunction that it portrays that makes me feel at home. (Snicker) Still, it’s the feeling... more

I’ve been enjoying having two of my children sent out the door every morning, waiting to catch a big yellow school bus at the end of the driveway with backpacks and school lunches packed neatly in bento boxes and thermal containers. The day begins for the younger two then, as they run and play together, and I watch my youngest girl turn into a dotting big sister, showing her brother exactly how to play with Littlest Pet Shops and build princess-style forts from blankets in her bedroom. As... more

I have a confession. I don’t remember ever buying pumpkin in a can. Ever. I know my mom did when I was younger a few times, but generally, our pumpkin came from, well, a pumpkin. For years in high school I avoided pumpkin pie with it’s brown, creamy texture. Then I realized it was because I’d always had my pumpkin fresh. Fresh as in orange. When I started cooking with pumpkin on my own, I naturally went for the fresh pumpkin, but the grocery stores sell by the pound, and... more

One of the things we strive for when planning our menus is making everything fit together into one nice, neat little package. We look to use ingredients in different ways throughout the week so that we’re benefiting from the ability of do-aheads and being able to buy in bulk. We also benefit from a well-stocked pantry. I have to tell you that I’m not feeling much like menu planning. We had a mock Thanksgiving dinner over the weekend, and after a marathon day of cooking and testing... more