Chicken, Castelvetranos, and Capers

The week after Easter is always about the ham leftovers and the ham bone, and believe you me, SB and I have had our fair share of ham on Sunday and Monday. It's Tuesday now and we have need of a change on the plate! We departed the leftover menu and headed to Italy for a change of pace.

French Canadian Tourtière with Gravy

This weather in the Northeast has been a rollercoaster, to say the least! Between ultra low temps, blinding snow, and the latest cruel twist (a rapid melt off and torrential rains), we Yankees don't know whether to dig out the seed catalogues and get happy or roll ourselves up in our blankets and hibernate for the next two months !

Crisped Cauliflower Salad with Citrus and Aromatics

Happy New Year, folks ! More veggies and less meat is what I say for 2018! Here's my first platter of salad. A warm salad of crisped cauliflower slices, shallots, rosemary, garlic, red pepper flakes, orange zest, flat leaf parsley, toasted hazelnuts, and a drizzle of olive oil and orange juice over top to finish it.

Mjuk Pepparkaka - Swedish Spice Cake

Imagine my surprise, to do a little search on my little food diary blog and find all sorts of data about it through Google and some other blog research sites ... hmmm. I don't know how I feel about someone doing analytics on my little food diary.

Oh well, I suppose one should get used to being scrutinized if one puts oneself  'out there into the ether'. I guess I won't worry excessively. If people come occasionally to my little bit of Internet space and find some good food or commentary worth reading, so be it. On to other things !

Merry Christmas ! I thought I'd post a lovely little Swedish recipe for a spice cake that is worthy of a tea time treat or a light dessert after a special meal. My family shared it after our Christmas dinner last evening.

Shortbreads and Scones

Book club this month discussed Romantic Outlaws - The Extraordinary Lives of Mary Wollstonecraft and Mary Shelley , a worthy read about two of the finest minds of the Romantic Age. Our book club always has a nice little luncheon to celebrate our reads and whet the appetite for discussion of all manner of things. The books we read are sometimes superseded by what's going on in our lives and the world - talk being a spontaneous process. That being said, the food is always pretty darn good. Yesterday's lunch included chicken pot pie, light and airy cornbread, a spinach and almond salad, and cranberry sauce.

Hedy's German Potato Salad

Simple flavors combine to make a warm and tart take on potatoes, onions, ham, and parsley ... German Potato Salad. SB and I are just back from a visit with German friends and I'm feeling the nostalgia for all that German brauhaus food that we enjoyed while touring. Every small village has its little pub/restaurant that serves the local specialties and potato salads come a few different ways.

Spiced Zucchini Coconut Cake

Well, hello! It's been a while since my last food share ... and this is a nice way to return.  Our zucchini is doing what all zucchini does at this time of year. I'll bet your zucchini is taking way too much space on your counter tops also! My response was to make this wonderful spice cake. SB and I had it for dessert last evening and for breakfast this morning ... not that we're decadent or anything.

Greens and Pasta Salad

Yes, this salad has pasta in it, but the stars of the dish are the peas, asparagus, and arugula that really turn it into something much healthier and more complex than the typical summer pasta salad! The recipe comes from the a Food & Wine magazine that was kicking around the house. I'm so glad I browsed it one last time before passing it on! Not only did I get a great new pasta dish for summer picnics, but the dressing used would be terrific on mixed greens or used as a dipping sauce for crab or salmon cakes.