“Chili Cheese Fries” Potato Soup
Do you like chili cheese fries? You know, french fries topped with chili, shredded cheese and sometimes chopped onions. In my wanton youth, they…
A Budget Friendly Valentine’s Day Dinner
Valentine's Day is here. Have you gotten something for a loved one? Is it the same old thing you always get your loved one? Why not try something…
Are you Ready for Easter?
It is Spring! Once again I am wondering where the time went? Wasn't it just Christmas? Oh well, spring is my favorite season, because the flowers…
Avocado and Potato Salad with Hatch Chile Vinaigrette
That bowl pictured above holds so much I hold dear to my heart. Potatoes and avocados. Two of my favorite foods, now joined in a…
Avocado Love
Summertime is Avocado Love time! Avocado season is in full swing here in California, where the BEST avocados in the world are grown. I may be a…
Avocado, Mandarin Orange and Jicama Salad with Key Lime Dressing
Cooling. Creamy. Crunchy. Those three words perfectly describe this refreshing Avocado, Mandarin Orange and Jicama Salad…
Bacon Smashed Potatoes
Welcome 2012! A lot of blogs, morning television shows, and other random people are talking about keeping resolutions, New Year-New You…
Beautiful French Breakfast Radishes
French breakfast radishes are such gorgeous vegetables! Too bad I don't like to eat them. But my mother loves radishes, so I bought some from the…
Braised Lamb Shanks with Kabocha Squash
This goes into the "Big Bowl of Comfort" category. Braised Lamb Shanks with Kabocha Squash melts in your mouth, warms your belly and fills…
Breakfast Potato Skins
They're called Breakfast Potato Skins, but I could eat these anytime. Buttery baked potato with crumbled bacon mixed in, topped with an egg with a…
Chicken-Apple Sausage and Red Chard Frittata
I have a confession. A few people already know of my secret shame, but I feel I must now lift the heavy burden that is on my chest. (no I am not…
Chinese Scallion Pancakes
This post was published last year, but in honor of the Chinese New Year I am posting it again. If you have never tried to make scallion pancakes,…
Cilantro Pesto Sauce
Basil does not have a lock on pesto. Pesto can be made with any number of herbs, nuts and green vegetables. In this case, cilantro and…
Comfort Food Recipe: Hearty Vegetarian Chili
Recently I started preparing meals for a new vegetarian client of my personal chef business. One of my sisters has been a vegetarian so long I…
Creamed Corn with Maple-Pepper Bacon
Thanksgiving is just around the corner, which means it is time to start collecting your recipes for the big feast. We all have favorites that we…
Cucumber, Chickpea, Tomato and Feta Salad
A refreshing salad is always a great meal choice when the heat is on outside. This salad is protein rich from the chickpeas and feta cheese, so it…
Curried Salmon Filets with Organic Pea Shoot Salad
I wish I could tell you I eat fresh vegetables all the time, but I would be lying. There are many times I pull a bag of frozen (insert name here)…
Fennel and Onion Baked Chicken
As I get older I realize how much I like simple things. Sure, I can appreciate an over the top elaborate 10 course meal. But you just won't find me…
Flavorful Slow Roasted Tomatoes
Tomatoes are a wonderful and versatile fruit that we enjoy year round. But should we enjoy them year round, as they are so much better when they…
Fresh Spring Salads
Spring time is here! Some of my favorite fresh vegetables and herbs are showing up in the farmer's markets and grocery stores…
Goat’s Milk Asparagus-Tarragon Quiche
This year for the first time in many years, I did not have to make Easter Dinner for my family. All I had to do was make a quiche. But not just any…
Green and Purple Fresh Pea Salad with Yuzu Dressing
This Green and Purple Fresh Pea Salad with Yuzu Dressing is an incredibly fresh, crunchy salad that is sweet, sour and oh so good. I had…
Grilled Baby Artichokes
Artichokes are one of my favorite vegetables, running neck and neck with asparagus. When baby artichokes start appearing in stores in the spring, I…
Hatch Chile-Lime Salsa
Hatch Chile season is here! That makes me a very happy woman. The flavor of a roasted Hatch chile is one I adore. Chile peppers are…
Healthy Salads to Start 2015 Off Right
What was your New Year's resolution this year? To stop drinking, to lose weight or maybe to remember to fill the bird feeder. My resolution is the…
Kale or Swiss Chard Fries
Kale what? Kale fries. Yes, I battered and fried up some kale stems, and they were delicious. So yes, Kale Fries! I usually…
Last Minute 4th of July Recipe Ideas
Sometimes it takes a long time to get organized for a holiday weekend. A holiday weekend which is meant to be about relaxation and enjoyment, and is…
Lentil and Chevre Salad with Thyme Roasted Tomatoes
When it is hot out, there is nothing more satisfying than a cool salad. No one wants to be slaving in front of a hot stove when it feels like a hot…
Lentils and Crunchy Greens with Sour Cream-Tarragon Dressing
The name of this salad does not exactly roll off your tongue, but I gaurantee that you will want to keep putting forkfuls onto your tongue! I like…
Mango Ginger Green Smoothie
Mother's Day has just passed here in America. It was my first without my mother, and the void she left was felt. But it was also the first…
New Year’s Resolution Smoothie
Are you one of those people who makes a resolution every year to eat healthier, drink less, be kinder, etc.? With the exception of being kinder, I am…
Organic Fresh San Marzano Tomato Sauce
Tomatoes are everywhere! Summer's abundance of fresh, locally grown, heirloom and supermarket tomatoes always amazes me. I remember the days of only…
Organic Persimmon, Red Bartlett Pear and Pomegranate Salad
I never thought a salad would be THE HIT of my Thanksgiving table. Never. It's just a bunch a lettuce for goodness sake! This salad had my guests…
Organic Spring Salad and A Giveaway
Spring is here. The flowers are blooming, the squirrels are chasing each other around, and I am sneezing like crazy! Spring is indeed here. Now that…
Organic Summer Tomato Sauce
This was originally posted last summer. I wanted to repost it now because I see tomatoes growing in gardens everywhere. Soon, the growers will have…
Orzo Salad with Fava Beans, Artichoke Hearts and Tomatoes
Everybody needs an easy pasta salad in their recipe repertoire. A salad that can be thrown together at the last minute using pantry staples that you…
Pesto Tortelonni with Pancetta and Greens
Some days all you want to cook is something simple and easy. Something that tastes good, but only takes you a few minutes to throw…
PFB #2 – Classic Chinese Scallion Pancakes
And then there were 400. My first entry on Project Food Blog was judged good enough to advance to the next challenge, The Classics. If…
PFB #3 – The “Only Slightly Fancy” Family Dinner Party
Much to my surprise, I find myself in round 3 of Project Food Blog - The Luxury Dinner Party. Only thing is, I don't do luxury. I can…
Pickled Shishito Peppers
Pickled peppers are eaten across the world. Preserving foods in vinegar is an ancient practice. What is new is the sharing of so many…
Potato Leek Soup
Let face it, when you have a classic recipe like Potato Leek soup, there really is nothing you need to say about it that hasn't been said. The soup…
Potato, Patata
Is your mouth watering? If its not, you must have just eaten a huge meal. Seriously. These Cuban papas rellenas are little…
Power Greens Pizza with Pine Nuts
Power Greens Pizza with Pine Nuts. Say that three times fast! I love this recipe because it is an easy weeknight meal, made with some…
Purple and White Baked Sweet Potatoes
Now that Thanksgiving is over it is time to start planning your Christmas menu! Well not really, but it doesn't hurt to save ideas when…
Quick and Easy Pasta with Slow Roasted Tomatoes
Sometimes making a meal can be a real pain. You're tired, the kids are screaming and you don't feel like cooking. But fast food is not an option…
Ribeye Steak with Morel Mushroom Red Wine Sauce
Are you drooling yet? I love a good ribeye steak. Juicy, tender, marbled with a nice amount of fat so the meat stays moist. An all around, awesome…
Roasted Kabocha Squash Soup with Kale
Kabocha squash, also known as Japanese pumpkin, is my favorite winter squash. Ever since they became readily available in local…
Roasted Kabocha Squash with Pine Nuts and Pomegranate Molasses
Sometimes I think I have planned ahead, but really haven't. Or maybe I have planned it all out in my head, but forgot to tell my body to actually…
Roasted Mushroom-Pepper Tacos
Superfood. Have you heard that term before? Superfoods are foods low in calories and high in nutrients, with a variety of health benefits when…
Roasted Vegetable Salad
Winter means root vegetables...carrots, potatoes, squashes of all kinds, turnips, and parsnips. Roasting root vegetables brings out their…
Shades of Summer Sweet Corn, Tomato and Basil Salad Recipe
Summer produce is such a wonderful thing. As you may have read in my last post, my neighbors gave me a bounty of fresh tomatoes from their organic…
Shaved Purple Asparagus Salad with Kumquat Dressing
This is a salad made from a stolen opportunity. Well, maybe not a stolen opportunity so much as just stolen. My neighbor's little kumquat tree is…
Simple Salsa Verde
Salsa verde = green sauce. The name is as simple as this recipe. The name may be simple but the complexity of the flavor is not. Roast. Puree.…
Slow Cooker Chicken and Artichokes
I will make my confession now. . . I didn't take a picture of the finished dish. The picture above is a raw chicken and raw…
Slow Roasted Organic Tomato Bisque Recipe
Some of the best things about summer are stone fruits, melons, and freshly picked tomatoes. I won't even eat tomatoes in the winter, because they…
Snow Pea Shoot Salad with Asian Vinaigrette
Ever get tired of eating the same old green salad all the time? You try and jazz it up with some avocado or croutons, but admit it. It's still the…
Spiced Chestnut Soup
Fall is here and certain flavors are starting to be used in everything from coffee to dish soap. Yes, I am speaking about the…
Spiced Roasted Winter Vegetables
The holidays are fast approaching, and I am gathering my recipes for the Thanksgiving and Christmas feasts. Thanksgiving is my holiday in…
Spicy Avocado Goddess Dressing
Green Goddess salad dressing. If you are of a certain age, you remember it well. As all foods do, it fell out of fashion for…
Spicy Carrot-Sweet Potato Soup
Ever have those days where you look in the refrigerator and try to figure out what to make for dinner? You rustle through the veggie drawer. . . oh…
Spring is Here!|Simple Roasted Asparagus Recipe
I love spring because it means asparagus growing season. Asparagus is my favorite vegetable. I love it simply steamed with a squeeze of fresh…
Stir Fried Udon Noodles with Shiitake Mushrooms and Bok Choy
There are times when you need an easy to put together but really enjoyable meal, and noodles always fit that category. Whether Italian pasta,…
Summer Grilling
Summertime. And the grilling is easy. While looking through some old posts, I decided to do a small compilation of grilling recipes. Summer…
Summer Heirloom Tomato and Cucumber Salad with Tangerine Hatch Chile Vinaigrette
This has got to be one of my favorite times of the year. Why? Its certainly not because of the triple digit heat or the annual brush fires burning…
Summer/Fall Melange:Corn and Sweet Potato Chowder Recipe
Summer has come and gone, and fall is upon us. I love fall, when the weather gets cool and crisp. Well, since I am back in Southern California,…
Superfood Rustic Mushroom Soup
Warm, comforting and healthy too? This Rustic Mushroom Soup is all that and more. Vegan, nutrient dense and low calorie, this…
Sweet Corn, Tomato and Basil Salad
This recipe was originally posted on my blog over three years ago, when my only readers were either related to me or had gone to school…
The BCLT – Bacon Cheese, Lettuce and Roasted Tomatoes
Here I go again, making up new names for the recipes I develop. The BCLT. Wait, what? Bacon cheese (YES! Cheese.With.Bacon!) lettuce and…
The Black Girl’s Top 10 Recipes of 2013
Looking back at this tumultuous year I have had, I was not surprised that I honestly could not remember a lot of the recipes I developed and…
To-ma-to, To-Mah-To. . .
I thought I didn't really like tomatoes, unless they were in a cooked form, such as marinara sauce. But it turns out I just don't like mealy, off-…
Tri-Color Potatoes, Japanese Eggplant and Fennel in Wine Sauce
Sometimes vegetables get the short end of the stick. They are an after thought, if even thought of at all. Many vegetables are not familiar to…
Tri-Color Quinoa Salad
Have you tried quinoa yet? If you haven't, this is the recipe for you. Quinoa (pronounced "keen-wa") is an ancient grain from the Peruvian Andes…
Warm Caprese Salad
"Summertime, and the living is easy." Well I'm sure whoever wrote those lyrics meant to evoke a certain imagery, but they were not describing…
Warm Potato Salad with Bacon and Fennel
A few months ago I entered this potato salad recipe in the weekly contest on Food52. While this salad did not win, it did become an Editor's pick,…
White Bean and Kale Stew
When its cold outside there is nothing I love more than a big bowl of chili or stew or soup. Something that warms me from the inside out, and sticks…
Winter Vegetable Garden Photography Series, Part 1
Yes, I am at it again. After a small (very small) success with my first ever summer garden, I have planted a lovely, little winter…
