I just realized that in a way this dessert is very similar to the banana cream pie that I made for the first episode of True Blood this season (these pies were consumed during the second episode). Chocolate and bananas are the star of the show in both desserts. But in a way, these desserts also feel very different. The banana cream pie had a...

Frito Pie is basically another version of chili cheese fries in Texas. It's meaty, cheesy, and crunchy all in one. Now imagine that on top of of a beef patty sitting upon a brioche bun. That's what our unhealthy dinner of the week was last week. We've been trying to stick to only one unhealthy meal per week. We're sometime successful, but it...

The other day Dustin was complaining that there was no more snickerdoodle ice cream left and that I should have made more. I completely surprised him when I opened the freezer and said, "I don't have snickerdoodle ice cream, but I do have maple syrup ice cream complete with maple creme cookies." He was pretty floored that I happened to have made...

After his mom made him something similar back in Texas, Dustin told me we should make salmon with our favorite Indian spices. When we saw the first of the Copper River salmon hit the grocery store, we bought it, squeezed on a little lemon juice and spiced it with garam masala, and extra cumin and cardamom before grilling alongside some...

One of my favorite lunchbox treats growing up were Little Debbie's Cosmic Brownies. I loved the fudgy texture and the colorful sprinkles on top. Even once I got to college, Cosmic Brownies would be one of my frequent snack purchases on my trips to Target. Dustin and I used to eat them together in the dorms when we first started dating, in what...

I really enjoyed these black bean and sweet potato tacos on freshly made corn tortillas with queso fresco, sour cream, and pico de gallo. Dustin says they were good, but not as good as any taco with meat and claims he could never be a vegetarian. I would definitely opt for these tacos over many of the meat tacos I've had, so I guess this is one...

Last weekend was a busy one for us. Saturday morning we got up early, packed up the puppy and went on an 8.5 mile hike up to Poo Poo Point in Issaquah. We've been saying we wanted to go hiking before we leave Washington, so we finally got off of our butts and went out. We had great views of Lake Sammamish, and if we had been later in the day...

Soon after we moved out here, I tried some candied ginger oatcakes for brunch at one of our favorite spots in Redmond. I never realized how much I like crystallized or candied ginger. I guess it shouldn't come as a surprise given my love for gingerbread. I bought a big bag of crystallized ginger last time we were at Penzey's. I used a good chunk...

So this isn't legit jerk chicken, but it is still really damn delicious and pretty darn similar. Jerk chicken that you'd get in Jamaica uses Scotch bonnet peppers, which are similar in heat to a habanero pepper, so that is what is often substituted here in the states. We decided to forgo the habanero pepper and just use a jalapeño, so maybe this...

Finally having made homemade English muffins, I wanted to make Eggs Benedict of sorts. But instead of hollandaise sauce I wanted to use queso and use a bunch of different Tex-Mex flavors, inspired by this recipe I've been saving in my back pocket until the English muffins made it to the table. I would have thought a visit down to Texas would...