Tag Archives: easy

White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies

Posted on January 30, 2013 by Julie • 2 Comments

white chocolate cran cookies

Oh, man, I love white chocolate and cranberry together. The tartness of cranberry with the crazy over the top sweetness of white chocolate is one of my all time favorite combinations. I even love the look of the wintry red and white together. I had grand aspirations of making this cranberry white chocolate tart for Christmas dessert, but I didn’t think it would be enough. I still want to revisit it at some point, but when I reaaaalllly (like REALLY BADLY) wanted something cranberry/white chocolate last weekend, I only had an hour or so before leaving to pick a friend up from the airport – just enough time to slap some cookies together and set them out to cool. And over the last year, I’ve mostly solved my cookie problem, so I’m less nervous about baking fails when I stack some cookies up in the oven and walk away.

Speaking of fails, have you guys seen these Pinterest Food Fails? It’s a couple of months old now but still cracks me up – the “nailed it!” gets me every time. So funny, and I cannot even tell you how many times I’ve tried something I saw online and been left with a full trash can and an empty stomach, wondering what sort of weird Martha Stewart parallel universe these people were living in when they created this seemingly un-reproducible perfection. One thing I’ve learned is that the ability to laugh at oneself is key in these situations.

… [click for recipe and more]

Filed Under: Desserts, Quick & Easy

Broccoli-Cheddar Grilled Cheese

Posted on January 22, 2013 by Julie • 9 Comments

broccoli cheddar grilled cheese

When you live in or near Washington DC, it’s impossible to not become embroiled in politics. The local news here is also the national news, and at this point, I don’t know (nor would I have it) any other way. Most of us are firmly entrenched in our beliefs from early childhood, and can argue any number of legislative issues as (or more) coherently than some of our elected representatives.

My first inauguration was Bill Clinton’s first, in 1993. I was twelve years old, and I really don’t remember whether I was enthusiastic about going. What I remember is losing my friend Jamie in the massive crowd – I think she decided she wanted hot chocolate, and who could blame her? I’ll never understand why the Founding Fathers decided to throw out a freezing mid-January date and make it a constitutional requirement that the inauguration occur on that date. What’s wrong with May? Anyway, we spent most of the parade looking for her, and my parents have very different recollections of whether we found her or not. Either way, she survived and there was no harm done, but we didn’t take any family outings to inaugurations after that.

… [click for recipe and more]

Filed Under: Lunch, Main Dish, Quick & Easy

Spinach, Mushroom & Artichoke Quesadillas

Posted on December 15, 2012 by Julie • 0 Comments

I can’t believe it’s almost Christmas again. It was just Christmas like, last week, wasn’t it? Every year, the 364 days between the holiday somehow manage to condense themselves more and more. I’ve heard people say for years that as you get older, time passes more and more quickly, and I am definitely starting to catch on to that. This year especially seemed to fly past at breakneck speed. It was a good year in many ways, and a tough one in some others – but when you come out the other side relatively unscathed, the good part wins.

Something else that feels like it was just last week was the beginning of this blog. But it wasn’t last week – it was just over a year ago that I bought a domain and started puzzling through the mysteries of blogging. I wasn’t exactly sure what I wanted to get out of it. In all honesty, I’m still not sure. I’ve noticed the blog taking a backseat over the past few months as life has gotten more hectic, to the point where I sometimes feel guilty because I haven’t been able to get up a post in a week or longer. I know for sure that’s not what I want – the second this stops being a hobby and starts becoming a chore is the second I check out. If that means I occasionally have to space out new posts so I can find the right kind of time to cook, take pictures, and write, I think I’m okay with that.

… [click for recipe and more]

Filed Under: Appetizers, Main Dish, Quick & Easy

Apple Pie Fudge

Posted on December 1, 2012 by Julie • 3 Comments

It’s a little sad heading down to the farmer’s market on Saturday mornings of late, mostly because I feel quite strongly that I should still be in bed. Does this happen to any of you? You go to bed on Friday night with the best intentions of sleeping in until some shameful hour, or at least until all major fast food chains have stopped serving breakfast – and instead you jerk awake at WTF o’clock and then lie there waiting for the first light to trickle in the window while thinking about everything you have to do today until you finally surrender to wakefulness and get up. WORST. This happens to me once in a while – once in a while being every single Saturday morning. This is how I know I’m aging a little – the definition of “sleeping in” has slowly, insidiously crept back from the early afternoon hours and now resides at about 7:30. If I’m lucky.

But! The silver lining in the degradation of my internal alarm clock is that instead of rolling out of bed in late morning after the farmer’s market has already closed, I now get the pick of pretty much everything. This is awesome in the spring and summer, when produce is bountiful and the town square (yes, we have one of those!) is positively teeming with farmers, home canners, bakers, and jewelry makers. After Thanksgiving, though, the majority of the vendors drop off – the remaining ones have to-die-for selections of my favorite winter veggies – kale, broccoli, all kinds of gourd-geous squash (see what I did there?), but pickings are slim when it comes to fruit. Apples are pretty much the only game in town, and even those are starting to thin out. A few weeks ago one of the vendors was selling home-bottled apple cider along with the fresh apples, and this recipe for apple pie fudge immediately popped into my head. I’d seen it and bookmarked it the week before and remembered it called for apple cider – it seemed like it was meant to be.

… [click for recipe and more]

Filed Under: Desserts

Pumpkin Mousse

Posted on November 21, 2012 by Julie • 0 Comments

It happens to the best of us. You plan the perfect holiday dessert. You go to four different grocery stores to get the ingredients. Maybe you even order something online. You’re so excited to share your kitchen prowess with your family and friends, and then…something goes horribly wrong. The pie doesn’t set. The souffle falls as soon as the oven door opens. The cake doesn’t rise. And what are you left with? The dregs of all the ingredients you worked so hard to find, just enough to be completely useless if you want to remake your failed creation. Your own dashed hopes. Oh, and no dessert.

If you’re like me, and this happens to you often enough that you always, always have to have a backup plan, this is for you. This is your five-minute, failsafe, “look what I just whipped up!” backup dessert. This warmly spiced pumpkin mousse, made creamy with silken tofu and sweetened with maple syrup, can be served in individual ramekins, or spooned into miniature pie or pastry shells and topped with whipped cream for a makeshift pumpkin custard “pie.” It’s also on the lighter side, so it won’t contribute to the almost inevitable post-Thanksgiving dinner sweats.

… [click for recipe and more]

Filed Under: Desserts, Quick & Easy, Vegan