We love to cook for a holiday, especially Christmas and Thanksgiving. For great holiday desserts, check out our recipes for soft sugar cookies, vegan five layer bars, and Kahlua Fudge Brownies. If you are looking for savory, the recipes for wasabi mashed potatoes, Grandma's Mac and Cheese and the Paleo chicken wings are always a hit.
The holidays are a time to celebrate and that doesn't have to include alcohol. This is one of my favorite fall mocktail recipes. I realize that since it is only September 8th--the holidays are still a ways off. But, it doesn't really feel like that to me. The grocery stores are filled with great fall...
'Tis pumpkin season, I suppose. A great time to add a new pumpkin recipe to your repertoire. How about a perfectly crumbed pumpkin coffeecake with a sweet and crunchy top? Even in our modern world, we are still loosely tied to our farming past. At least in the United States, Halloween and Thanksgiving, October and...
Looking for a great recipe to take to your office party? Your friends baby shower? For any occasion at all, I turn to these brownies. Everyone loves a great brownie and these are no fail. Hi Friends! Missed me? I haven't been posting as much as I would have liked. I have been cooking though--recipe...
Chocolate fig banana bread is a decadent way to use up leftover bananas for an elevated quick bread recipe. I bought dried figs to serve on our cheese platter for the holidays and then just forgot about them. During some digging through our too deep cabinets, I found them and decided they must be used...
Looking for a sweet treat for your Valentine? These Kahlua Fudge brownies will do the trick. I actually made these at Christmas time and going back through old photos, I realized I never posted the recipe. I had to get on here to do this today because you want to make these brownies! It seems...
The Super Bowl is coming and I am still going to be doing the Whole 30! Instead of being bothered by it, I decided to experiment with some slightly healthier chicken wings for game day. These are made paleo and Whole 30 compliant if you 1) make your own Sriracha sauce or 2) buy this...
This recipe comes from my favorite vegan cookbook, Veganomicon but I revised it a bit to be Whole 30 and Paleo compliant. Eggplant Moussaka or Vegan Lasagna (as I call it around here) has been in rotation in our home since the recipe crossed my path, many years ago. I made it for a dinner...
It's 2018---time to take care of ourselves! These raw brownies are a great way to start. They are vegan, gluten free, and refined sugar free! Are you just here for the recipes? Well, this is a good one. But before we get to it....... Happy New Year! Hope you had a great time celebrating with...
If you are tempted by the soft sugar cookies at the grocery store, try this recipe instead. This copy-cat recipe of the Lofthouse Sugar Cookies tastes even better than the ones at the store. I hardly ever buy pre-made sweets at the store but I get tempted every holiday season when the stores start rolling...
Trying to redeem my earlier blogging skills with these mini Momofuku Crack Pies---oatmeal and buttery goodness in a bite sized dessert. Seven years ago, I attempted to make the famous Momofuku Crack Pie. I was so proud of my creation that I wanted to share it with the world. I delivered some to neighbors, wrote...
Plain old pinhead oatmeal cookies don't get the credit they deserve. They are passed over for their better looking cousin, chocolate chip and their brother, oatmeal raisin gets all the attention. I think this needs to change. Why don't we look past all the glitter and glitz that these other cookies possess and look at...
Every year, just after Thanksgiving, we look forward to cranberry bliss bars showing up at Starbucks. They are one of Aaron's favorites, loaded with cranberries, white chocolate, candied ginger, and cream cheese frosting. When I first started my previous blog (in 2009), I tried to make these as one of my first recipes. I encourage...
These giant oatmeal chocolate chip cookies are a great way to get your holiday baking started. I bake them year-round but make extra batches during the holidays. Happy National Cookie Day! Maybe it should be National Cookie Month---it seems that is all we are making, eating and thinking about over here. These giant oatmeal chocolate chip...
Every year, I make the kids a pretty elaborate advent calendar which includes all kinds of holiday treats and activities. A few years ago, I started making a special advent calendar for Aaron---a beer advent calendar. Starting on December 1, he gets to open one beer, per day, specially picked out and labeled for that...
One of my favorite restaurants, The True Food Kitchen, has an amazing bowl on their menu that is filled with miso-glazed sweet potatoes among other goodness. I knew I had to re-create these at home because the restaurant is over two hours from my house. I have tested this recipe now four times and have...
You may have noticed that other food blogs have been all about Thanksgiving for a month or more and over here I haven't posted very many Thanksgiving related dishes ( I did post Grandma's Macaroni and Cheese , wasabi mashed potatoes, and instant pot apple cider . Plus, I have a good sweet potato recipe coming up). ...
Wasabi mashed potatoes are on our Thanksgiving table every year. I find that regular mashed potatoes are just slightly boring (especially without gravy) and I really like the extra spice and depth of flavor that comes from adding a bit of wasabi. I once brought these to an office party and they were thoroughly enjoyed...
This recipe is hearty comfort food at its finest. Grandma Jennie makes this for us every time we visit her in Vermont or when they come to visit us. We know if we are seeing the grandparents, we will be eating this mac and cheese. We were in Vermont a few months ago, during the...
I had such high hopes for this Halloween. I was planning to make multiple festive cookies, a savory dish, and a few fun cocktails. I had big decorations planned and a great and easy costume. But, I am not sure what happened and now Halloween is tomorrow and the only fun treat I made was...
I am obsessed with cashew butter and have been using it in lots of recipes lately. Did you see my granola with cashew butter and chocolate? It is so good! I made a big batch of cashew butter to make the granola but then had cashew butter leftover. I thought since the holidays are fast...
I am not currently a full time vegan but tend to make lots of vegan recipes. I like every recipe that I test and put on this site but these five layer cookie bars, I LOVE. I have been so excited to share this recipe with you because these are AMAZING. I mean, just...
It is really hard for me to say if I prefer this version of chocolate chip pumpkin bread or the other version I made last week. I made both on the same day and one loaf was finished off a lot faster than the other. Any guesses which one that might be? I used the...
It is definitely not cold enough around here for maple apple cider. If you have an Instant Pot, this maple apple cider can be made in 30 minutes without heating up your house and still making it smell amazing. In the recipe, I give notes to make it in a slow cooker as well. If...
For those of you in more Northern climates, this time of year likely means big, comfy sweaters, boots, soups, and sitting by the fire. In Florida, this time of year still means slippers (flip-flops), shorts and beach days. Right now, we are celebrating because the temperature didn't get much above 80 degrees yesterday. We can...
Happy Fall! I am so excited to jump into fall with all of the holidays and baking. I am still trying to stay healthy though and not go overboard with lots of treats. I think everyone has their favorite Starbucks item that they wait patiently for each year. Aaron loves the cranberry bliss bars that...
It has been raining all weekend. Not just little Seattle sprinkles but full on downpour--our yard is flooded, the dogs don't want to go outside, and neither do I. I just want to sit inside and eat toast---specifically toast smeared with herbed goat cheese and topped with fresh tomatoes. I was actually really sad...
I'm not normally a margarita fan. I don't like frozen drinks, fancy glasses or sugary sweet cocktails. I also have developed a bit of strong feelings against tequila while working as a bartender and cocktail waitress for many years. I remembered delivering trays full of Cuervo shots, with lime and salt and watching in...
Usually at this time of year, we are sitting with the in-laws in their log cabin in snowy Vermont. Not this year. Instead we decided to stay back and run the business. Lots of people come to Sarasota in the winter for sunny weather and time out on the water and they all want...
This past week, we decided to bail out of an East coast surf contest that Sawyer was supposed to compete in to just stay home and get some house projects crossed off our list. Sawyer wasn't too bummed because there actually ended up being a little surf on our coast so he did get a...
I really do love soup but I realized that I don't really make it very often. It could have something to do with living in Florida and having beautiful weather most of the time. Soup season is just so short. While those of you up north are pulling out your winter coats and scarves and...
This recipe for chess squares is super easy Southern dessert that everyone loves. The ingredients are common and the prep is simple. Make these to impress your friends and family. Years ago, I made these Chess Squares on my old site (FortyCakes.com) after finding the recipe on Kevin and Amanda.com. The original recipe may come from...