English Muffin Cheese Toasties

One of the most addicting and delicious lunches on the face of the Earth is a grilled cheese sandwich, but these little toasts make a grilled cheese a bit fancier. I thought of them when I went to the market and saw a 'buy one-get two free' promotion for Thomas's English Muffins.

Pimento Cheese and a Good Book !

Nothing smacks of Down South snackin' like a bowl of pimento cheese and a sleeve of crackers !
I thought I had posted this basic recipe in the past on The Spice Garden, but when I went looking for the recipe today in the labels, it was nowhere to be found. Hmmmmm.

Bastelles a la Courge - Squash Handpies

The squash is getting ripe in the gardens. I guess this means Fall is at the corner! I spent the morning slicing and dicing butternut squash, onions, and garlic and rolling out a spelt flour handpie crust. It's always fun to start making those first few recipes that hale a change of season, isn't it?

Canning Season !!!

Yesterday was a cool, breezy, 'preview of autumn' day! The tomatoes were mounded on the kitchen island and the makings for salsa were waiting in the fridge ... all I needed to do was get into 'slice and dice' mode.

Morning Snack ... Winter Supply

I made apple jelly at the crack of dawn ... and by 9 AM I was snacking on sharp Cheddar, dollops of apple jelly and super crisp wheat crackers.

Sundried Tomato and Garlic Hummus

I remember sitting in a small restaurant in Concord, New Hampshire a while back, blythly knoshing on bread sticks and hummus and thinking that it was the perfect snack. I was having the hummus as a starter with a glass of wine, waiting for my lunch entree to arrive at the table. Thinking back now, I think I'd have been able to make another glass of wine and a side salad a meal with a few more bread sticks and a slightly larger bowl of that gorgeous snack my entire lunch! I got thinking about that hummus yesterday, as I was making the breadsticks for our soupy supper.

So, today, I decided to make my own jazzier version of that hummus recipe and have it for lunch ... voila!

Garlic-Chive Semolina Bread Sticks

Boy, what a busy day ... Easter's leftover ham and the bone have been transformed into a huge pot of Pasta Fagioli and I have spent the day cleaning the back porch and washing my pottery. Spring cleaning is beginning a little at a time. I stress a little at a time, as I need frequent breaks from the boredom of household drudgery. So ... I moseyed outside to throw the Frisbee and stick for the dogs, discovered the first spears of daffodils poking up by the front of the house, did some more cleaning on the back porch, and I made breadsticks to have with the simmering soup.

Another Beautiful Cake ... and Ham Salad!

I'm going to a party this weekend and I'm taking a big bowl of this ham salad and a beautiful little cake!

Palmiers ... Two Ways

SB and I went to a holiday dinner party recently. It was our task to bring some nibbles for having with before dinner drinks.

I was on a mission to use up all the bits of ingredients that we've had in the fridge during the Christmas season, so out came the Parmesan and pesto. Sooo easy. In fact, I am recommending that you always keep a packet of puff pastry sheets in your freezer for those occasions when you need a nice appetizer or a bit of something to nibble with a glass of wine if you get spur-of-the-moment guests. These can be made FAST.

Orange Muffins with Candied Ginger

Random Bakes of Kindness

When I want to 'treat' someone, I usually bake them muffins or cookies. They're easy to transport, can be 'increased' easily if I need big batch offerings, and they are the recipes at which I excel - brag, brag, I know, but it's true.

Anyway, I'm always on the hunt for good recipes to add to the arsenal and this one is a new find. I was digging around on a site dedicated to muffin recipes ... wahoo! The recipe originally had chopped figs, but I liked the sound of candied ginger with all that citrus. I also like the idea of an orangey citrus glaze drizzled over the tops of the cool muffins. I've never been one for dietary discretion. What can I say? Besides, this sweet treat is for one of the sweetest folks I've met of late.

... a baker's dozen muffins ... some for a sweet girl and some for me

Dutch Cocoa ... Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookies

My friend Lizzy from LizzyGoesDutch sent me a wonderful box of cooking and eating treats from Holland last week. One of her surprises was the prettiest box of Dutch cocoa that I have ever seen! Just look!

She reminds me of  'The Flying Nun'  TV series from the 60's ... oops, just dated myself big time!

In honor of this magnificent box of cocoa, I am making a chocolate peanut butter chip cookie recipe today ... SB has put up with my bread baking and soup making so he deserves to have his cookie jar filled with a few dozen cookies.

Another Day, Another Muffin ... Maple Walnut Seasonal Mix

I was cruisin' the supermarket the other morning and happened upon the beer/wine aisle ... can't think how that happened, but it did. Good old Sam Adams and about a kazillion other micros were touting their seasonal brews. Boy, it was a tough decision! I picked up the latest mid-sized box of Noble Pils from Sam Adams' brewhouse and moved on to get the makings for my 'muffin de jour', or should I say my 'seasonal muffin' ?

French Roast and Beignets ...

Is there anything more delicious than coffee and donuts? Apparently not, because there have been multiple coffee shops and donut franchises that have capitalized on just that combination. Today, though, it's Mardi Gras and the French beignet gets center stage at coffee break.

Baked Maple, Pecan and Croissant Pudding

Another in the continuing saga of maple syrup-based recipes that come out at the grey cottage during 'Sugar Season'... I can get away with making this rich dessert, as we are jumping into the car to make a quick junket to Brooklyn to deliver 'apartment warming' presents to daughter Kate and give ourselves a bit of a respite from 'cabin fever'. Just look at the back yard view! It's March 1st, for crying out loud! Wouldn't you have 'cabin fever' too ?!?

Stromboli - A Warm Sammich!

It's not a pizza, but it has pepperoni!  It's not a grilled cheese, but cheeses are in there! It's not a Monte Cristo, but it's brushed with plenty of egg! It's not a Calzone, but it's got some folding goin' on. It's a Stromboli and it's a lovely, long, hot pocket of ham and red peppers and herbs and cheese and pepperoni and garlic and black olives and whatever else YOU think might be a good addition!

Christmas Sweets Day #1 - Coconut Date Balls

The grey cottage is going to be 'Baking Central' this week! I'm making the last minute treats that will grace a platter of sweets on the Christmas dessert table, sit beside the cups of coffee and tea that guests will be served, and  make their way onto Christmas plates that we'll drop off to our neighbors on Christmas Eve.

Tomato Salsa - Spicy Hot!

The bumper crop of tomatoes is upon us here in New Hampshire ... and we're not complaining! We have had BLT sandwiches, grilled tomato and cheese sandwiches, Tomato Caprese salads, tacos with pico de gallo, sliced tomatoes with balsamic vinegar and sugar ... you are getting it, right? Still, there are a few tomato recipes that I am still excited about preparing!

Moosewood's Muffin Madness ...

It must be summer, because I have pulled Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home off my cook book shelf. Summertime, that wonderful season when you just don't know what to do with all the stuff coming in from the garden, brings with it the Drosophila melanogaster. Yup ... fruit flies have been seen in the Lindquist kitchen ... hovering around some bananas that have seen yellower days. Time to make muffins! After that, the cook book will stay out for most of the summer, as I refer to some of the best vegetarian recipes for our garden's produce. Stay tuned there!

Dinner Party Fun ... Salmon Mousse on Cucumber Slices

I love little canapes and tiny single bite treats. I love it when you have a pretty little napkin in one hand, a lovely glass of wine in the other, and a perfect little bite of flavor in your mouth. Yum! Insert some laughter, chatter of conversation, some good music in the background ... wonderful ingredients for a wonderful party.

It's a good thing that all those ingredients were present last night at a 'Friday at Fenway' party that Silent Bob and I attended ... because the Red Sox/Yankees game that was muted in the background had nothing good to offer.

Good Morning, Sunshine!

Yup, it's time to get up earlier than normal and go out to the gardens to see what's popping up and what needs attention. Time to set in some new flowers, start putting together hanging planters and set in new herbs, trim back established ones, and start cutting some of the first greens for salads and savory sauces...