For the Love of Food

The cognac gives the onions sweet overtones, so if you are looking for a sweet onion flavor and not the even sweeter flavor of cognac on top of that, just leave it out. Continue Reading »

Last Spring my son was accepted to one of the preschools in historic downtown.  We have a few friends from our garden who also send their children there.  One of theme was a regular at the preschools “workshop” where parents get together and can jellies and make jewelry to be sold at the local Christmas market to raise money for different activities the children do in preschool.

Now, i haven’t had a chance to be part of a club or group that does things for fun (like crafts) since I was in high school.  So, I jumped at the opportunity to join the workshop.  We meet once a month around 8pm, crack open a bottle of wine, bring some snacks, and work on different crafts and talk.  It’s really so much fun and a great way to meet other moms/women – especially when you don’t know many people.

So…when I heard about their need for jellies, I got really excited and ran home in search of a unique recipe.  I came across a recipe on MyRecipes.com for a watermelon jelly, tweaked it, and ended up with something everyone was talking about!

The mom who is in charge of the organization for the jelly/jam/preserves/chutney sales gave my jelly the name “Toskanischer Sommer” (Tuscan Summer – in German).  I went by the market everyday with my camera to get a picture of it with the other jellies, but it was never out.  Then, the only day I show up without a camera, they are selling it..so these are pictures I took with my cell phone.

Much to my delight, all of my jelly was sold out in 2 days!!! Continue Reading »

Welcome to Taste&Create hosted by me, Nicole, from For the Love of Food.

I would like to welcome any of you who are knew to the event and am happy to see all of you who return each month for more!

This month, as usual, is different from the rest of the year. Because of the many holidays that take place around this time of the year, December and January Taste&Creates are combined into one. That means that you have 2 months to take care of making your dish and posting your blog entry.

Just a reminder:
-the rules can be found here.
-please do not email me your submission, go to the Taste&Create website, register/sign-in and submit your entry there by the 24th of January, 2010.

The next Taste&Create you can sign-up for is February and sign-ups will end on February 8th, 2010 for that event.

Here is this month’s partner list:
vanillastrawberryspringfields & The Singing Chef
Seduce your tastebuds & NO REASON NEEDED
Sweet and Savory Says it All & Dil Se..
The Bad Girl’s Kitchen & Bombay Foodie
Cupcake Project & A Bolder Table
One little Corner of the World & The Creative Pot

Well, it looks like we will be moving sometime in February. We have been on the look-out for a nice apartment in our town for the past few months, and, finally, we have found one that fits all our needs. Most importantly, it is on the ground floor (no more going up 5 stories holding two small children) and it has enough room for my husband to have his own office so he doesn’t have to work in our bedroom the whole day.

While the apartment is actually very beautiful as is, we have to have it renovated because it used to be a tax attorney’s office and there are no bathrooms..among other things. We will be knocking down some walls, adding a balcony, and adding 2 bathroom, etc. I just thought I’d share a few pictures of the future apartment with you, it’s a bit over 100 years old. The top left picture is of a old door handle to our future master bathroom. The top right photo is the entrance to the future master bathroom and the window to the right of that will be turned into a glass door to our future balcony. The bottom right photo is of the hallway/entry way. And, the bottom left picture is one of the main reasons I fell in love with the apartment – this is the kitchen…and that window is 9 feet wide!! We will be knocking out the wall to the left and making a large living/dining/kitchen, and under this huge window will be part of the kitchen and my sink as well as a desk for me in the kitchen. I will be adding lots of tall planters with tall plants on the outdoor windowsills so that we have some more privacy.

Oh, and it’s right off of the pedestrian zone in the heart of downtown.  Which means that I have to only walk 3 minutes to the closest grocery store and less than 60 seconds to the nearest pharmacy!  Granted, now I live a 10 minute walk away, but closer is always better and more comfortable.

So, when you are wondering where I am when I’m not blogging or taking care of my 2 little ones or baking Christmas cookies…I’m picking out new kitchen flooring, kitchen cabinets, and bathroom fixtures.

It is exciting, but I can’t wait until it’s finally over…it’s very stressful!

So, once you have made a delicious bowl of vegan refried black beans you need a way to use them. Tostadas are a great way to use refried beans in general and they’re quick and easy once the beans are made up. Continue Reading »