Winter in California is when our citrus trees are bursting with fruit. One of my favorites is my small Meyer lemon tree that, despite it’s size, graces me with plenty of lemons for myself, family, and friends! In the past I’ve shared my lemon ricotta lasagne recipe, but this time I’m sharing a recipe for a lemon drop cocktail…something (until recently) I hadn’t had in about 10 years! It was an Instagram friend who gave me the idea and the…
Full disclosure, the correct name is Mary Ann’s fruitcake. I’m attempting to change the bad reputation that the poor Christmas fruitcake has garnered over the years…you know what I’m talking about. That brick-like chunk with the scary colored jelly-like pieces of “fruit” in them. I promise you this is nothing like that! Every year, for as long as I can remember, my mom makes this and even after I moved away, she still sends me one every year. It just…
Recently, Coastal Living did a photo shoot of our home. The stylist wanted to use lemons for one particular shot…a whole lot of lemons. Luckily, my little Meyer lemon tree had a bumper crop this year! After the shoot, I gave some away but was still left with a bowlful. I decided to make Meyer Lemonade. Meyer lemons are smaller and rounder than regular lemons. They have a smooth thin skin that is deep yellow to orange. But the best part is they are…
If you’ve been following me here or on Instagram , you may have figured out that I like food…a lot. I also love easy recipes and this one couldn’t be much simpler. It never fails to impress when I serve it at parties or bring it to someone’s potluck spread. The only problem is that when asked for the recipe, it’s almost embarrassing to admit how little time or ingredients go into creating something so tasty!…
As a kid, I didn’t like blueberries. Come to think of it, I didn’t like much of anything when it came to food! But every summer my mom would pick fresh blueberries from our bushes and make something called a blueberry cougan. I have no idea where that name came from, but it’s what we always called it. Just the smell emanating from the kitchen while it was baking was enough to let me know that this would be something…
If you follow me on Instagram, you saw that I made a dish called “Pasta Risotto” on an unusually cool and wet weekend here in Santa Barbara. It was the perfect kind of weather to be in the kitchen cooking. Like so many of the recipes I make, this was one given to me by my mom. She had cut it out of something and copied it, so I don’t know the source. If anyone does, please chime in! All I know for sure is…
Entertaining should be an enjoyable experience. I don’t want to be in the kitchen slaving over a hot stove while my guests are enjoying conversation and cocktails. I want to be a part of the party too. This is my favorite go-to recipe for a casual dinner with friends or family. It can be made ahead, it tastes amazing (even kids love it!) and best of all, it’s not difficult to make. You can enjoy spending time with your guests and then…
Let me start off by saying that I’ve never been a fan of granola. It was always too crunchy or dry and I just didn’t see the point of it. That changed when I was visiting my parents in Vermont and walked into a kitchen that smelled like cinnamon and maple syrup. It was the most delicious scent! My mom was making granola. And yes, it tasted just as heavenly as it smelled. While it is called Maine Granola, in our…
What the heck is Wassail or Wassailing you might ask. It’s a version of hot mulled cider. The word “wassail” comes from an Anglo-Saxon phrase which means “good health”. Wassailing was traditionally done on New Year’s Eve and Twelfth Night, but some people drank Wassail on all the twelve days of Christmas! I guess they wanted to be really healthy. Here in my household we start right after Thanksgiving. It’s THAT good.…