The Flowers are Blooming, Asparagus are on Sale, and a Spring Pasta Dish!

Today was the epitome of Spring in San Diego. Not a cloud in the sky. And flowers blooming like crazy! So I grabbed my camera and went on a *flower-walk* this afternoon. Here are some flowers that I spied on my walk...

Many people don't think of San Diego as desert, but you can tell by the photos that we do have some desert flowers that are native to our fair city.

Now- on to FOOD. Eager to make a Spring-like dinner, I scurried off to the store in search of asparagus for my chosen dish: Angel Hair Pasta with Spring Vegetables & Red Pepper- Tomato Sauce. Bargain in the produce department... Asparagus were only a buck ninety nine a pound! Yay!!

A great, fresh pasta that had *spring* written all over it. My son picked around all of the veggies, but he didn't seem to notice that I snuck veggies into the Red Pepper- Tomato Sauce. Hee hee hee.

We served it up with a good sprinkle of freshly grated Parmesan and a good shake and grind of salt & pepper. It was a perfectly light dish for such a beautiful Spring day.

And to those of you who are still experience a bit of snowfall, may I send a little warm weather your way?

This recipe can be found HERE.

Red Pepper- Tomato Sauce

Ahhhh... it's Spring in San Diego. The flowers are blooming away. The days are warm enough for short sleeves. The frogs are croaking in the canyon at night, prompting begging from my 6 year old to go frog hunting in the evenings. The neighbors are beginning to put their yappy little dog outside so it can bark to no end. The vegetable garden has been planted and has already been eaten some by some sort of mysterious creature. And a nice selection of veggies (at good prices) have been making their debut at Farmer's Markets and grocery stores.

This puts me in the mood for VEGGIES! The mission: to make a nice, light, fresh pasta sauce for dinner. Bored with marinara, I searched my cookbooks for a recipe. Dianne Rossen Worthington is a cookbook author whose style I've found that I enjoy immensely. I have her cookbook, The Cuisine of California- in which I have discovered some real recipe keepers. I just picked up another one of hers called American Bistro. Again... looks like a good one. I found what I needed within this cookbook: Red Pepper- Tomato Sauce.

A very simple sauce, a bit of chopping and then plunging tomatoes into boiling water so that I could easily peel and seed them, and I was on my way.

This sauce has just a small amount of chopped chiles in adobo sauce (found canned in the Latin area of your market.) This gives it just a little bit of umph of smoky, spice flavor. I honestly couldn't detect it much in the half chile that I put in. I would try a whole chile next time. Speaking of those canned adobos, it took me a while to realize that you could throw the extra chiles in little zips and freeze them for later use. This is super convenient when you only need one!

After simmering away on its own for a while, the mixture is ready for the food processor.

A quick whir, and the sauce is ready for pasta!


I added a good dose of kosher salt and some fresh ground pepper.

I'm off to find pasta and other veggies to accompany this delicious, fresh sauce.... And you can bet I'll be back with a pasta dish for my next post!

This recipe can be found HERE.

My Daring Baker Debut

I joined a little group called The Daring Bakers this month... perhaps you've heard of them?

After being accepted into the DB group back in February, I had to bide my time and worry what sort of challenge would arise for my March debut. Would I have to make some sort of yeast creation for which I have zero talent? Might it be an exotic pastry for which I have no knowledge in preparing? Or would I find that I had to bake one of those desserts that look like they belong in the window of a Parisian bakery? Though I was frightened at the thought of being handed any one of those tasks, I also found myself hoping that I'd get one of them. See, there's something about being daring that makes this an intriguing group. If it were easy, or if I already had confidence in baking the darn thing- what's the point? I find myself cheering... Bring it on Daring Bakers! I can do it! I can bake anything! Or at least I'll try...!

This month's challenge was selected by Morven at Food, Art and Random Thoughts. She chose the Perfect Party Cake from Dorie Greenspan's must-have cookbook: Baking From My Home to Yours."Wonderful!" I thought. I can bake a cake- no problem! The challenge was going to be following the directions to a T, and deciding how to decorate the cake. Since I was hosting Easter brunch, this would be the dessert.

The cakes turned out perfectly. I chose to make mine in 8-inch pans rather than 9 as I prefer a taller layer cake. They baked up just right, lemon-scented and all, and were very easy to turn out onto the racks. They were firm enough to be handled easily but delicate enough for a nice, light cake. I found myself scraping the crumbs off of the parchment paper to attempt to get a hint of what my creation would taste like.

The layers sliced apart nice and evenly without too much effort at all. I spread my layers with raspberry jam, Dorie's buttercream and halved raspberries.

So let's talk about Dorie's buttercream recipe. Maybe I don't care too much for buttercream...It was good, but I did feel that it was far too rich for a layer cake. I had planned to frost the cake with it, but after spreading it on several layers, I decided to go with whipped cream to frost the rest of the cake.

I really feel like this was the best way to go. Buttercream all the way around might have been a bit too much after a heavy Easter brunch.

Not being a cake decorator in any sense of the word, I had no avenue to go *exotic* with this cake.

Easter screamed *raspberries!* to me, so I went the safe route with a classic raspberry decor.

Pretty ok job for a non cake-decorator, eh? My 6 year old was impressed and that's all that matters to me :)

The cake was devoured by all of my Easter guests, and I was right... the whipped cream frosting was the way to go. The buttercream provided all of the richness that was needed within the cake. The actual cake base I thought was very, very good. I would repeat the cake base recipe any time. The buttercream... I might look for something that suits me a little better. I think a lemon curd might work nicely too.

So worry for naught, this challenge has been had. Dare issued: I baked, I decorated, I served, I ate and best of all... I conquered my first Daring Baker challenge. Bring on April!

This recipe can be found HERE (or in Dorie's book, of course!)

And you can see all of the Daring Baker's HERE.

Nigella's Pear and Ginger Muffins

I'm *officially* up and around again after my hospital stay, and I'm feeling much, much better (thanks so much for all of the well wishes sent my way.)

I've definitely been in need of a little comfort around here, and nothing says comfort like a good, warm, homemade muffin. Not having quite the energy yet to cook much, I needed an easy recipe. Nigella Lawson's newest cookbook- Nigella Express- had such a recipe: Pear and Ginger Muffins. And it served another purpose too: using up that never-ending bag of pears from Costco.

Simple= whisk the dry, whisk the wet, combine, add pears and scoop into tins. There's a sprinkle of brown sugar on top. I made 6 giant muffins with this recipe, so it would typically make 12 regular-sized muffins.

They rose nicely and were super moist. With 1 teaspoon of ginger within, they definitely had a ginger flavor. Fresh pears were the way to go- they were just so delicious, especially when eaten while warm and oozing with the juicy fruit. The brown sugar gave it a crispy crust of sweetness on top.

This comforting muffin recipe can be found HERE.

And now for a THANK YOU... a couple of weeks ago, Cookie Baker Lynn sent the E for Excellence Award my way. Lynn and her blog are truly a source of inspiration for me. She has wonderful photography, delightful stories, and well-chosen recipes. Thank you Lynn for recognizing me!

This award is passed along to all of the other inspirational, excellent blogs out there. If I've ever commented on your blog, consider yourself a winner! If I've not yet commented on your blog, then comment on mine so I can have the opportunity to discover yours! My google reader is bursting with wonderful food blog talent these days!!

A Little Hospital Trip Side- Step!

Hello Blogging World,

I've been on a little hospital adventure the past few days. Seems I came down with a major gallstone attack on Easter evening that refused to subside. After a middle-of-the-night trip to the ER, they removed my gallbladder (full of gallstones!) and after a few days in the hospital, I'm finally home.

I'm a little slow on the mend, and I miss my blogger friends, but I'll be up and cooking again soon.

I suppose it would be appropriate to post some sort of recipe for Stone Soup here, but I'll choose instead to enjoy reading about your cooking adventures while I'm recuperating!

Will be blogging again soon...

Lori

Bunny Cupcakes

Hoppy Easter!

When I saw these Easter Bunny Cupcakes on Betty Crocker, I was quite certain I could jazz them up a bit to make a delicious Easter treat that would appeal to adults as well as children. Betty uses a box mix and canned frosting (which you could certainly do.) I made Basic White Cupcakes (a doctored up cake mix recipe) and my own Vanilla Buttercream Frosting. Here are the little goodies you'll need:

The "eyes" are from a cake decorating shop. If you have trouble finding those, you can sub anything small and round- snip off the end of a blue jellybean, etc. The noses and whiskers I was able to find in my market's bulk candy aisle- the pink noses are those little chocolate chip-shaped dream mints (again, use whatever works for you.) The black whiskers are skinny black licorice, which was still a tad too thick so I cut them in half to make them thinner. You could also use brown or black sprinkles. The marshmallows are cut in half, then cut almost in half again to make the ears- you dip them in pink sugar to create the inner-ear color.

And there you have it... little bunny cupcakes that kids go nuts over! The adults liked them too :) The cupcake tastes a bit like angel food cake, and the frosting is a yummy cream cheesy buttercream.

Perhaps these are the little creatures that have been munching on my garden already? Humph.

This recipe can be found HERE.

Easter Dessert Recipes: Malted Mousse Cake

At age 14 I secured a job in a teeny tiny family-owned fast food restaurant called The Penguin in my home town. It was the kind of place you might stop to grab a burger and a chocolate-dipped cone while on vacation. My starting wage was $2.85 an hour. Yikes! I was happy to be employed, and we were able to eat as much food as we wanted. When the managers left us to close up the place at night, we feasted on our own burger creations, dipped thick steak fries in thousand island dressing, and devoured soft serve ice cream with every flavor syrup you can imagine. Heaven for teenagers, for sure! My absolute favorite was to make a vanilla malt- with extra malt powder. Twenty something years later, I still have that affection for malt.

Whenever Easter rolls around, I become quite addicted to these malted milk eggs!

My Easter dessert choice to bake this week: Malted Mousse Cake.

This cake is almost a cheesecake. It's a bit lighter in texture, and I'd say it's more like a cross between a mousse and a cheesecake. The malt flavor comes through- not heavily. Just enough to give you a taste for it, and the malted eggs add a nice complement (as well as cute decor!)

The crust is made out of shortbread cookies, almonds and butter. I used the girl scout shortbread cookies "trefoils." You may also opt to use amaretti cookies.


It firms up after refrigeration and slices nicely. Isn't it a cute choice for an Easter dessert?

This recipe can be found HERE.

The Penguin, sadly, no longer exists in my home town. But I sure am enjoying those malt memories!

Buckwheat Blinis with Smoked Salmon and Creme Fraiche

Friends of ours hosted our gourmet group's dinner party recently on their rather large and really cool boat- The Whiskey Tango. Usually a breathtaking setting motoring through the harbor and under the Coronado Bridge, it was unfortunately an overcast evening.

It was still an amazing setting... just grey. Fun friends and some good wine made it better.

We brightened up the evening with good gourmet grub. My contribution: Buckwheat Blinis with Smoked Salmon and Creme Fraiche.

I started the blinis at home. The batter is whisked together and then given time to rise. Then the blinis are fried up... just like mini pancakes. I wrapped them in foil to keep them warm and transported them to the boat.

I assembled the rest of the appetizer on the boat- just a slice of salmon, a dollop of creme fraiche and a sprig of fresh dill. The blinis have a slightly sweet flavor that pairs nicely with the rest of the ingredients. You can certainly sub sour cream for the creme fraiche. These were a fresh, unique appetizer that all enjoyed.

The next day, I played around with the leftovers. When I made the blinis, I had kind of a tough time creating nice and perfect little pancakes. I wanted them to be perfect and they just weren't! So I used a scalloped-edge cutter to cut into the cooked pancakes. I think they look cuter, and would plate them up this way if I served them again.


Perfect for a heavy-appetizers party, they were delicious eaten cold. Warm blinis aren't really necessary. This recipe was originally published in Bon Appetit by Dorie Greenspan, and I made a few slight modifications to her recipe.

This recipe can be found HERE.

Pea- Sized Hail and a Good Comfort Food Dish!

If you have a chilly day, you must eat comfort food. It really and truly is a must. Agreed?

Hopefully my new nutritionist isn't reading this post. He might be a bit disappointed seeing as how we just met to discuss my nutritional plan last week. Since he hasn't officially given me his designed plan yet, I gave myself the go-ahead to make this comforting dinner over the weekend: Baked Penne with Italian Sausage.

This recipe comes from Cook's Illustrated's cookbook The Best Make Ahead Recipe. I really have come to trust recipes that are generated by Cook's Illustrated. They know their stuff, and since they test the heck out of their recipes- they never disappoint.

This dish incorporates both sweet and hot Italian sausage, and all other basic lasagna ingredients- ricotta, Parmesan, mozzarella, marinara, & basil. I lightened it up a bit by using low fat ricotta. I also halved the recipe for my little family (and still had a ton.) Make ahead instructions are included... and you may wish to eat half and freeze half for later. It's a perfect recipe to take to a new mom or someone else in need. In this case, we were in need... of good comfort food.

And it WAS good! Comforting too. And it made great leftovers.

This recipe can be found HERE.

You may have read my post last weekend, where I was bragging about our terrifically sunny weather here in San Diego. Well, this past weekend, winter returned (temperature in the 50's) and we got some pea-sized hail. Hail is super unusual for San Diego, and the pea-sized hail was quite a surprise! We were hanging out watching TV (big time fun for old people on a Saturday night) and started to hear clinking noises outside.

Here's the accumulation on our patio furniture of the closest thing we'll ever get to snow. Very exciting for us since we don't get much variety in terms of weather!

Not to worry... we were back to sunny weather today, and I was able to go for a morning jog in shorts and a tank top. Ok, maybe if my nutritionist read that part about the jogging then I'll be forgiven for eating that good comfort food!

Parsnip Soup with Corned Beef and Cabbage

We celebrated St. Patty's Day a wee early this year. And while I'm not a master at making corned beef from scratch, I do have to say that our corned beef turned out to be amazing this year- moist, fall-apart-in-your-mouth and super delicious. I purchased what looked like a good slab of corned beef (not too much fat on it), placed it in a slow cooker, covered it with water, added the spice packet that was included in the package and threw in a bottle of Guinness. I let it simmer for a good 8 hours and it couldn't have been better.

So what do you do with leftover corned beef? If it stays moist, it's great to have the next day. Ours was still perfectly moist, but we had so much left over that I had to search for a good way to utilize it. My choice: Parsnip Soup with Corned Beef and Cabbage.

This quick and easy soup is simply parsnips, onions, and bay leaves simmered in chicken broth. A whir in the blender plus the addition of a splash of whipping cream makes it creamy. Truth be told, I forgot to add the cream and I enjoyed the soup without. I added it later, and it gave the soup a sweeter and slightly richer flavor.

The corned beef and cabbage are sliced up thinly and lightly sauteed before piling into the middle of each bowl of soup... just enough to get a good mouthful of beef & cabbage in every bite. If you don't have any freshly made corned beef, this recipe works perfectly fine with just a few slices of corned beef from the deli.


This soup was filling enough to make a main dish for two. I also made salad to accompany this after St. Patty's Day dinner. We agreed that this soup is a "keeper!"

This recipe can be found HERE.

Chocolate Guinness Stout Cake

It's time for a celebratory dessert worthy of representing St. Patrick's Day: Chocolate Guinness Stout Cake. The guinness is cooked within the cake, and it's also incorporated into a "sauce" that you drizzle into the cake before you top it with ganache.

This recipe comes from Kell's Restaurant and Pub in Portland, Oregon (rated the number 1 Irish restaurant and pub in the nation.) And you know those Irish pub guys know how to make some tasty bar grub... this cake was rich, flavorful and delicious!

The cake is baked in a 9 or 8-inch cake pan (I used 8), and the ganache is simply poured over the top and sides.

The recipe makes enough ganache so that you can put the remaining chocolate goodstuff in a plastic baggie, refrigerate it until it's a little firmer and then snip of the bag end and make decor out of ganache on top of your cake. I thought about trying to draw a big shamrock with my ganache, but I'm not much of an artist so I opted for some squiggly lines.

It turned out to be a very moist cake. The guinness just gives it a slight malty taste- not liquory or anything. As you can see, the extra ganache provides for a good deal more sweetness on top. I'm a frosting-girl so that worked for me!

I'm submitting this to Emiline at the fabulous blog Sugar Plum for her blog event: St. Paddy's Day Pub Crawl.


Have a Happy St. Patrick's Day!

This recipe can be found HERE.

Irish Soda Bread Muffins

I have a love-hate relationship with Irish soda bread. It can be dry. It can be underwhelming. And what do you do with the leftovers? I'm a fan of good Irish soda bread. But I've definitely tried my share of duds. I find that it makes for a good breakfast treat.... and my 6 year old often requests it. So I found this recipe for Irish Soda Bread Muffins- definitely perfect for breakfast and easy to throw in the freezer to have on a moment's notice.

I chose to make these in my giant muffin tins- the recipe turns out 5 giant muffins. The recipe includes instructions for making regular-sized muffins too.

Three easy steps: The dry ingredients are cut with butter. Eggs and buttermilk are added. Currants and caraway seeds are added last. We left out the caraway seeds because my son thought they looked "icky." And I personally think they're kind of icky too!

They rise up nicely, and they're definitely most delicious directly out of the oven!

We loved these muffins... super moist and great for breakfast. Just add a smidge of butter, and my little one recommends a squiggle of honey on them too.

This recipe can be found HERE.

Molten Chocolate Cakes with Irish Cream

We've got St. Patrick's Day on the brain around here in the RecipeGirl house these days. I had been wanting to make these Molten Chocolate Cakes with Irish Cream for a long time now. Glad I did... yummy little treats.

I halved the recipe to make a quick and easy dessert at lunchtime for hubby and me. Very simple to whip up... the chocolate melts in the microwave with a little butter, then add a couple more ingredients and beat with an electric mixer, and pour into two little ramekins.

They puff up like little souffles. The Irish cream is simply a drizzle of Irish Cream liqueur. A great pairing!

You want to eat this just out of the oven to get the most out of the ooey-gooey, warm and decadent chocolate part hidden inside.

A quick and easy dessert for St. Paddy's Day!

This recipe can be found HERE.

St. Patrick's Day Recipes

Looking ahead to the big Irish day... I can't officially call it a tradition in my house as I'm of Swedish/Portuguese ancestry and not Irish. But my husband is just about as Irish- Catholic as they come (and he enjoys his beer) so that gives us reason to celebrate St. Patrick's Day.

Here are a few faves from our big St. Patrick's Day bash last year:

One of the traditional side dishes, Colcannon, is basically mashed potatoes with pancetta, green onions, and shredded cooked cabbage mixed in. We love this stuff, and it's a great recipe.

This is absolutely the best Irish Soda Bread recipe I've tried: Irish Soda Bread with Raisins and Caraway (I leave out the caraway.) Baked in a cast-iron skillet, it's as moist as can be. Great sliced up for breakfast too!

Ironically, I'm lacking a to-die-for corned beef recipe. I usually just let the pre-seasoned stuff simmer in a slow cooker all day and it turns out just fine. But this recipe for Grilled Reuben Sandwiches is a delicious way to use up that leftover corned beef (if you have any!)

I LOOOOOOOOVE this recipe for Irish Bread Pudding with Caramel Whiskey Sauce. Totally amazing. Everyone at our dinner party raved about this one.


This Irish Cream Bundt Cake is pretty darn good too!

Feeling inspired to plan a St. Patrick's Day dinner?

All of the above recipes can be found by clicking on the recipe titles.

A Slice of Life in Sunny San Diego

Ah... there is nothing like a beautiful perfect weekend in Southern California! While the rest of the world may be in the midst of end-of-winter storms or blah rainy days, the sun is shining brightly upon us. So I invite you to see what most days look like in San Diego, and what one family of San Diegans might do on such a breathtaking day...

After spending the afternoon planting herbs and washing the cars, the RecipeGirl family hopped into the weekend convertible and headed to the beach to search for... Mexican food! Lately this has been starting to sound like a Mexican food blog! Not to worry... we do love our share of tacos and burritos, but I will get back to blogging about other foods eventually! Sunny day in San Diego = perfect time to grab Mexican food.

Our favorite place is nothing fancy- Roberto's in Del Mar. My husband has been coming to this place for the last 24 years. It must be good if it's been in business that long, no? Don't you love how the sign says Very Mexican Food? I'm not quite sure what that means, but they have the good stuff. We ordered shrimp burritos, chips and guac and a quesadilla for the kiddo. And a trip to Roberto's would not be complete without an order of rolled tacos with guacamole. This is pretty much a weekly staple in every San Diegan's diet (or at least a once-in-while chow- down treat.) I know it doesn't look like much, but trust me... YUM!

Our view from the deck of the Mexican food shack...

A Mexican meal just doesn't seem complete without a margarita, but at a little place like this, there aren't any adult beverages to be found.

So we went home and made our own: Old Town Margaritas.

And that recipe can be found HERE.

A perfect ending to a perfect day :)

Hasta Manana!

Chocolate Oatmeal Carmelitas

Here's an outstanding, make-ahead dessert that we chose to top off our Mexican-themed dinner: Food and Wine's Chocolate- Oatmeal Carmelitas.

These were published in their March '07 issue as a featured recipe from chef Louis Lambert. Louis first made these decadent treats for Lady Bird Johnson, and they have become one of his most popular recipes. The only thing "Mexican" about these bars is that they incorporate the Latin caramel sauce- dulce de leche... the closest thing to heaven I've ever tasted. You can certainly make homemade dulce de leche, but have you ever seen this stuff in a can?

Caramel is just about my most favorite dessert condiment in the whole world, and I had never discovered this can of caramelly goodness. Found in my market's Latin aisle, this is a pretty darn good substitute for homemade dulce de leche. I was tempted to eat it by the spoonful, but I managed to hold back and put it on the dessert instead! Well... ok, I took a teeny tiny taste...

Made the night before, this is a great choice as a make-ahead dessert. We ate a couple of these as after our Mexican dinner, but I split the rest up and brought them to two different events. They were a major hit at both events. I had people calling and emailing to ask me where the heck they could get their hands on the recipe for these amazing, decadent bars! I really can't recommend them highly enough. They have to be among the most delicious bars I've made in YEARS. Thank you to chef Louis for this fab recipe!

As Christian Siriano, the latest Project Runway winner, would proclaim, "These bars are FIERCE!"

This recipe can be found HERE.

Pan- Seared Shrimp with Chipotle- Lime Glaze

Looking for a light Mexican-style dinner, this recipe in my ever growing to-try pile caught my eye: Pan-Seared Shrimp with Chipotle-Lime Glaze.

Easy, fresh, and super-quick. Not spicy. The "glaze" is a simple mixture of chipotle chiles in adobo + some of the sauce, brown sugar, lime juice and cilantro. The whole recipe requires minimal prep and cooking time (especially if you buy the shrimp already peeled and deveined.)

This was a terrific main entree to our Pomegranite Mojitos and Black Bean Quesadillas with Corn Salsa. The quesadillas also incorporated lime juice and cilantro so they paired well together.

Where is dessert, you ask? Well, that would be in my next post!

The shrimp recipe can be found HERE.

More shrimp recipes can be found HERE.

More Mexican main-dish recipes can be found HERE.

Black Bean Quesadillas with Corn Salsa

The Mexican quesadilla! Around San Diego, you will see appetizers on the menu at Mexican restaurants- usually quesadillas of some variety, guacamole w/ chips, and even nachos (though that's more of a "bar food" around here.) But I'd have to say that I don't think apps are ordered much. At Mexican restaurants in San Diego, a big bowl of chips and salsa arrives at your table the moment you sit down, and you munch so terrifically on those that you're rarely hungry enough to finish your entree let alone order food to start the meal. On occasion, I might order a fancy quesadilla stuffed with seafood or grilled chicken and use it as my main dish. If you're at one of those dive Mexican food shacks that we love to frequent, they'll throw a half-pound of cheddar in a giant tortilla, melt it, wrap it up and hand it over to you. Now... can you just imagine having one of those before you've even eaten your meal??

This quesadilla - Black Bean Quesadillas with Corn Salsa - was perfect as a side for our Mexican meal. If you're anything like me, I'm always clamoring for new side dish ideas for Mexican food. The options can sometimes be so filling and fattening. This one was a good choice. It would also make a great light dinner served with a green salad.

A recipe from Cooking Light, the filling is simply black beans, tomatoes, cilantro & garlic- with a sprinkle of blended cheeses. These are all placed on a cookie sheet, folded over and given a quick 3 minutes under the broiler. Divided into 3 pieces with a pizza cutter, you may also choose to serve these up as appetizers. The salsa is a quick mix of corn, cilantro, lime juice, garlic and red bell pepper- a WONDERFUL super-easy topping for this quesadilla!

To lighten this up a little more... use whole wheat fat-free flour tortillas and low fat cheese. I would have been perfectly happy to have had this for my entire dinner, but hubby would have wondered what the main dish was supposed to be- so I whipped up a main entree too... and I'll share that in the next post!

This recipe can be found HERE.

Pomegranate Mojitos

When it's a beautiful, sunny day in San Diego, there are three things I long to do for dinner:

1. Hit happy hour at a beachside restaurant and order up some seafood apps and chilled white wine.
2. Organize an impromptu barbecue with other neighborhood families.
3. Eat Mexican food.

Today was one of those gorgeous, spring-like, no-jacket-needed days. So we chose Mexican food. San Diego is all about Mexican food. There are wonderful moderately-priced restaurants in an area of San Diego called Old Town. But some of the best Mexican food you can find is cheap, and it's found in little hole-in-the-wall shacks that are scattered about all over the county. Our favorites are fish tacos, carne asada burritos, carnitas, and rolled tacos with guacamole. Seriously great Mexican food!

I opted to prepare a Mexican feast at home for us tonight. And we started the meal with a perfect summery warm weather drink: Pomegranate Mojitos.


I'm definitely not a martini person, but I enjoy sipping drinky drinks out of martini glasses! These went down smoothly, sitting outside in the warm weather and dreaming of the approaching summer.


The Pomegranate Mojito is a rum based drink with a little sugar, lime juice, fresh mint leaves, and Pom juice. Pom juice can be expensive, but you only need a small bottle for these (unless you plow through a whole bunch of drinks!!) Pom juice can be found in the fresh juice section of your market.

More about our Mexican dinner will be posted tomorrow!

This recipe can be found HERE.

King Arthur Flour's Superdoodles !

Need another good cookie recipe? These are for snickerdoodle fans. Superdoodles are basically snickerdoodles with a little extra somethin'...

The extra somethin' is cinnamon chips. You can find these (sometimes) at your local grocery store in the baking aisle. They're made by Hershey's, so if your store doesn't carry them, ASK THEM TO ORDER THEM!! They're worth trying. And grocery store managers are usually willing to accommodate their customers. If you absolutely can't find them on your own, King Arthur Flour's website sells cinnamon baking chips too.

These cookies are shaped into balls (no need to chill the dough), rolled in cinnamon-sugar and flattened with a glass bottom.

They also get a very slight sprinkle of cinnamon after baking, and if you shake it on while they're still hot, it sinks in to the warm cookie and won't brush off.

So if you're a fan of regular snickerdoodles, you may want to consider giving these a try. Those cinnamon chips just add another blast of cinnamony flavor that puts them into the "Wow, these are good cookies!" category.

The Superdoodles recipe can be found HERE.

Buttermilk Brown Sugar Waffles

Happy Weekends begin with comforting breakfasts!

When I was little I remember begging my mother, along with my siblings, to go to Winchell's Donuts for a special treat on the weekends. Once in a while we talked our way into that one. More often though, Mom made special weekend breakfasts... usually waffles, pancakes or French toast. My favorite was waffles- the round kind from the older-style waffle irons. I try to do the same as Mom... an occasional fun breakfast on the weekends for my family.

By special request today from my 6 year old... "Waffles Mommy! Please???" Dang it! Those cute, little dimples get me every time. So waffles it was: Buttermilk- Brown Sugar Waffles. Since we received our Belgian waffle iron as a wedding gift well over ten years ago, I think I can count on my hand the number of times it's been put to use. Today... it was put to good use!

We ate our waffles with a smidge of butter, real maple syrup and a dusting of powdered sugar. There really is a distinct difference between- shall we say- box waffles and homemade. It took me a whole 3 minutes more to put this recipe together than it would have if I had taken out a box. Really people... make homemade waffles! Delicious praise was given for preparing this breakfast creation.... These are the best waffles ever! You're the best Mom in the world! These are restaurant quality! You sure can't beat the feeling you get when your child delivers such accolades.

Sometimes the simplest things can create the warmest memories!

This recipe can be found HERE.