This soup is the perfect use for the leftover créme fraîche from the mussels in cider. I'm a big fan of edamame, but it is typically one of those things I only eat if it comes gratis with the sushi we've ordered (as much as I enjoy edamame, I don't think I could ever convince Dustin to order it in favor of fresh fish). Incorporating edamame into...

We've been eating crazy amounts of spinach lately. For the last few weeks, most mornings for breakfast, we've been drinking green smoothies for breakfast. Dustin was skeptical about the potential deliciousness of putting spinach in a smoothie, but has since perfected a version with bananas, honey, raspberries, mangoes, fresh orange juice, and...

This is a pumpkin soup that even Dustin can get behind. When I told him pumpkin soup was on the menu, he was less than pleased. But once he tasted the mildly pumpkin soup, I think he quite enjoyed his meal. The amaretto in the soup is really quite subtle, but adds a little extra depth to the soup. I actually intended to deglaze the pan in which...

It's been awhile since I've experimented with unique pestos, so in order to create a super easy dinner, we made a feta-pistachio with mint and spinach pesto to serve over pasta with a blend of green and black olives. I didn't keep exact ratios of what we put in, but instead just kept throwing in handfuls of this and that until I thought it...

My coworkers and I went out for lunch at a random restaurant we stumbled upon in downtown El Segundo. Second City Bistro offered a grilled cheese and tomato soup lunch special that I ordered. But they had a wonderful twist on their tomato soup— gorgonzola. We recreated the grilled cheese and gorgonzola tomato soup for dinner one night. I made an...

I recently read an article about things you will experience within the first year of moving to Southern California. One thing I  found to be true was the statement that you will feel guilty when you purchase produce from some place other than the farmer's market. The vegetables used in here are from the grocery store, and I indeed felt a lot of...

Caprese salads are definitely my meal of choice for the summer. An upgraded peach version has been on the middle of my summer to-do list for awhile. However, this dish jumped to the top of the list when I saw this recipe for a caprese salad with caramelized peaches. We didn't have smoked salt, but I was still sold. Caramelizing the peaches hides...

This meal is by far one of the easiest and most recent dinner favorites. It's really not as much of a recipe, but a great and simple idea you are sure to enjoy. I'm not sure why I never thought of using hummus as a pasta sauce sooner, but it is really amazingly good. Just toss some cooked and drained linguine or spaghetti with your favorite...

Caprese quesadillas are seriously one of the most simple dishes you can make for dinner. Even on one of those nights you really don't feel like cooking, these aren't really any more difficult to make than whatever else you make have been considering. You heat a griddle, assemble some quesadillas, and grill. It's as easy as that. Dustin was...

Last spring when we went on our visit to wine country in Eastern Washington, we came back with a nice bottle of sherry. We finally decided to crack it open for cooking and for sipping after dinner. We wanted a good recipe to showcase the sherry, and since these chanterelle mushrooms we picked up at the farmer's market are supposed to soak up the...