White Chocolate Chip Cookies with Cherries and Macadamia Nuts - Make A Bid!

I collect cookie jars and I bake cookies. There is usually a new batch made every weekend. It's one of the routines in my little grey cottage here in New Hampshire. As the seasons change, the cookie jars rotate their way from the collection shelf to the kitchen island and I fall in love all over again with my kitschy treasures.  I love each and every one that I've found over the years, but I am willing to hand one off to a friend or loved one, when it's just the right time.  And today ... November 25th is the right day. 

But first, a few words about this week's batch of cookies!

Roasted Cauliflower, Sage, and Almond Risotto - IHCC

Do you ever fold the corner down on a page when you just have to remember where you left off ? I try really hard not to, but I'll admit that sometimes I will dog-ear a page ...

On-Line Bake Sale for Typhoon Haiyan Relief Aid

Hi everyone! One of the best things about blogging is the ability to reach out to so many people on-line.
After this latest horrific cataclysm in Southeast Asia, I hoped that someone with tech savvy would organize a food blogger's response project ... and I was rewarded this AM when I looked in my email box to find a message from Tina Flores-De Guzman. Tina writes a blog down Texas way and concentrates on the foods of her Filipino heritage. She has been inspired to recruit as many bloggers as she can to bake for an on-line bake sale with all funds going to Sagip Kapamilya.

I am happy to help in any way, so I'm passing this information on to you. I'm hoping you'll consider doing your part by sharing this post, perhaps joining the bake sale bakers by registering at Tina's blog and preparing your best baked good that ships well, or going to the bake sale on November 25th and bidding on your favorite item!

Read Tina's post! It introduces the particulars of the bake sale and how you can register to participate. It's right here ... click the link ... Pinay in Texas

The power of the web network is an awesome thing and our use of it for projects like this makes it all the more powerful! Please share Tina's badge on your FB page and consider doing a promotional post on your blog too! OH ... and join us to help send aid to our neighbors in the Philippines!

Thanks!

Donna Hay's Pizza Pie - IHCC

 This week, the members of the I Heart Cooking Club are exploring Donna Hay's take on pies and tarts ... and since I've been making a lot of traditional pies of late, I thought I'd stretch the idea of pies a bit .... and go for a pizza pie with a combination of luxe toppers. I used Donna's dough recipe, which is not my traditional whole wheat and wheat germ enriched version, but a simple white crust.

Soup and Bread --- Simple Sustenance

Today was a day for baking bread. There were off and on snow squalls ... didn't amount to anything other than making us feel like we brushed up against the edge of winter. The woodstove in the kitchen has kept the place cozy enough to coax the bread dough up up up to the top of the loaf pans. And while the bread baked, I puttered at a small painting project.

I also wanted to try out a recipe for a creamy coconut carrot soup that I'm thinking would make a nice start to our Thanksgiving feast.  This month's Bon Appetit magazine has what looks to be a winning take on carrot soup so I've made it up and am simmering it, as we speak.

I Heart Cooking Club - Donna Hay In Season

This week, the I Heart Cooking Club is concentrating on ingredients that are 'in season' where ever we are in the world. Well, here in New England the potato crop is mounded up in cool storage for the winter. It's getting colder by the day and we are settling in for warm 'stick to your ribs' suppers. Potatoes will be getting full treatment in the weeks and months ahead.

               Last night, sweet potatoes got the royal treatment in a beautiful Italian supper.

One classic dish that makes its way into my kitchen at this time of year is risotto. With little cubes of sweet potato and some jazzy bits of pancetta and crispy sage leaves, Donna Hay has tempted me to make her version of this Italian classic. It fits beautifully with this week's theme, as my pantry drawer is filled with both sweet and white potatoes and I have a sage bush out the back door that must have its branches snipped before the hard frosts finally 'do it in' for the season.

Virtual Supper Club's - Under 300 Calories Challenge

The holidays are, indeed, coming and all around the food blog world folks are pulling together the recipes that they want to highlight for holiday dinners, party buffets, and easy meals. This month's Virtual Supper Club members are trying to help busy cooks keep a grip on holiday dinner preparations, while not overextending the caloric load TOO much. The challenge was to form a menu with dishes that are below 300 calories per serving.

Golden Onion Pie ... and a Story

This is a seriously yummy onion pie. It's not a quiche. It's a pie stuffed with the sweetest onions I could find ... those huge white onions that caramelize in the blink of an eye because of their super sugar content. Yes, there are a couple eggs in this pie, but there's also flour mixed with those eggs and that's very un-quiche-like. No, this is a pie reminiscent of some farm wife's bounty of onions and her wish to make an easy supper that  surprises her husband and satisfies her kids.

Pumpkin Pie Spice Bread with Pecan and Brown Sugar Streusel - Twelve Loaves Share

Last year, I always looked forward to posting bread recipes to Heather's monthly BYOB - Bake Your Own Bread recipe share. It was such an awesome place to visit when you wanted to find good breads all in one spot, but then things changed. Heather handed the baton of BYOB to someone new and I lost contact with the bread baking ladies ... sigh.

The other day, however, I happened onto Heather's blog, Girlichef and found another of her stellar bread posts. Lo and behold! She was sharing the post with a recipe share called Twelve Loaves! Hurray! So, I have found another group of bread baking enthusiasts! Sharing and inspiration up ahead! I'm soo happy to have found this group!