These moist, nutty, carrot cake cupcakes are a family favorite, both for birthdays or for an everyday treat. This recipe makes 1 1/2 dozen cupcakes, for easy individual servings, but can also be made into a 2 layer cake. Made with coconut sugar, if you choose to eat them as muffins, without the cream cheese frosting, they make a tasty, low-glycemic addition to brunch.
A lot of people have a love/hate relationship with eggplant. Believe me, I get it. Unless eggplant is cooked properly, it can be a chewy, rubbery, unpleasant experience. Baked until tender, eggplant yields and absorbs the wonderful flavors of the vegetables, sauce, and spices that envelop it. And this is true of silky-smooth Baba Ghanoush, a very popular dip that originated in Lebanon (the Levant) and popular throughout Mediterranean and Middle-Eastern countries. While Baba Ghanoush is available in many markets, like so many things, homemade is often the best.
Actually, it’s difficult to have too many tomatoes. Zucchini, yes; tomatoes, not so much. However, too many overripe tomatoes at a time is an invitation to make gazpacho, the perfect soup for hot, humid afternoons and evening.
While there seems to be some debate regarding the origin of their name, which you can read more about here, there is no debate that Lamingtons are a favorite treat among Australians – So much so that they have a full day dedicated to them – July 21st! We found them to be such a clever way to repurpose left over pound cake or sponge cake that you no longer have to go down under to enjoy this adorable little treat. Enjoy these tasty morsels of chocolate and coconut dipped confection in July or any other time of the year. Tiny bite sized cakes, they’re perfect for tea or an after supper sweet.
Food history is always fascinating. It’s like an archeology dig that you can then eat. My mother made Chicken Tetrazzini for dinner when I was growing up and it was a favorite of mine because it was the right kind of cozy on a cold, wet winter night. It’s an ideal recipe to use up leftover roasted or rotisserie chicken (or turkey), which was precisely why I just made it again for the first time in ages. It is also an incredibly wet, dreary February so it served as a useful way to warm my body and spirit as well as warming my kitchen and office thanks to the oven.
It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change. Attributed to Charles Darwin
If you’ve traveled to Costa Rica, you’ve experienced its beauty and the many ways to enjoy all it offers. A small, narrow country angled between Nicaragua and Panama, it is bordered on the east by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west, the Pacific. It has a high literacy rate, no military, is politically stable and welcomes tourists to enjoy its warm, tropical weather, outdoor activities and eco-tourism.
This time of year it’s impossible to miss all the cute Girl Scouts selling their cookies on every corner, and no cookie sells better than the traditional Thin Mints. While the Girl Scouts are starting to offer gluten free options, not all of the girls carry them and they’re not yet available in every variety of cookie. We think these Gluten Free Chocolate Peppermint Crisps, are a good runner up to this American classic, and when you make them at home you can enjoy them year ’round!
