Hello, healthyish! Zucchini Banana Bread with Chocolate Chips

Fresh zucchini brings impressive health benefits to this decadently satisfying bread. Recipe below.

I’M NOT GOING TO GO INTO HOW WE HAPPENED TO COME INTO POSSESSION OF A GIGANTIC ZUCCHINI. A big, fat, smug zucchini the size of a healthy, lively newborn. (A healthy, lively newborn happened to be on hand for comparison.) I just want to say that, when you and your friends are planning your personal gardens next spring, you should collectively agree that only one of you—just one—should be the designated zucchini grower. That will still mean dozens of zucchinis in your culinary future, but at least you won’t end up with more zucchinis than all of you, along with everyone else in your neighborhood, could possibly consume. One delicious way to consume at least some of the zucchini overload is this Zucchini Banana Bread with Chocolate Chips. Continue reading “Hello, healthyish! Zucchini Banana Bread with Chocolate Chips” →

Yummy, healthy Oat Fruit Bars

Healthy oats and a mix of fresh fruits make a delicious breakfast treat or snack. Recipe below.

Oat Fruit Bars with Peaches and Strawberries

OAT FRUIT BARS ARE SWEET, SURPRISINGLY HEALTHY breakfast treats or snacks. Made with an oat crust and your favorite mix of fresh fruits, this easy recipe takes advantage of the beautiful fruits that are so readily available at this time of year. Continue reading “Yummy, healthy Oat Fruit Bars” →

Pan-Asian Noodles with Ground Chicken

A mix of globetrotting Asian ingredients creates a delicious, weeknight-simple meal. Recipe below.

PAN-ASIAN IS KIND OF A CATCH-ALL COOKING TERM. Chefs sometimes use it to refer to an intentional mixing of cuisines and cultures to create something new. But many Asian ingredients are in fact pan-Asian, maybe originating in one country, but crossing borders to be used in kitchens throughout Asia. Pan-Asian Noodles with Ground Chicken falls in the latter camp, using ingredients from China, India, East Asia and Southeast Asia to create a dish that is not distinctly any one cuisine, but is distinctly delicious. Continue reading “Pan-Asian Noodles with Ground Chicken” →

Roasted Eggplant with Butter Beans

Mediterranean-inspired Roasted Eggplant with Butter Beans is a healthy, delicious vegetarian-friendly meal. Recipe below.

EGGPLANT (OR AUBERGINE, DEPENDING ON WHERE YOU CALL HOME) is one of those “actually, it’s a fruit” foods generally treated as a vegetable. If it’s treated at all. Other than as the venerable Eggplant Parmesan, it doesn’t see a lot of action in many home kitchens, and that’s a shame. It’s deliciously creamy, mild and meaty. And it’s chock full of health benefits. Our easy-to-make, easy-to-reheat Roasted Eggplant with Butter Beans ticks all those boxes. Continue reading “Roasted Eggplant with Butter Beans” →

Simple, delicious Glazed Strawberry Bread

Glazed Strawberry Bread comes together easily to create an impressively delicious dessert. Recipe below.

DON’T YOU LOVE IT when a recipe is way easier to make than it tastes? This simple Glazed Strawberry Bread is exactly that. Continue reading “Simple, delicious Glazed Strawberry Bread” →

Ramen? No. Pho? Not that either—comforting, easy Asian Style Soup

Not really a ramen or pho hack, but a flavorful, satisfying, easy-to-make soup. Recipe below.

RECIPES ARE RIFE WITH HACKS AND CHEATS THESE DAYS, especially online and on social media. We recently succumbed to exploring “ramen cheats” because we love ramen. Was the soup we ended up making ramen? No. Was it a faux pho? Again, no. But what it was was a delicious, comforting, easy Asian Style Soup. Continue reading “Ramen? No. Pho? Not that either—comforting, easy Asian Style Soup” →

Small in size, big on taste—Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

Modestly sized Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls with a maple cinnamon cream cheese icing pack big flavor. Recipe below.

WHEN IT COMES TO BAKING, MY VERY FAVORITE BLOG IS SALLY’S BAKING, a great site for bakers at every skill level. Want to make mille-feuille, or baked Alaska, or a checkerboard cake? Sally’s got you. Want to make cornbread, or dinner rolls, or pizza dough? She’s got you. She’s also got you if you are completely inexperienced and baking-curious. She and her team explain everything with a friendly clarity and precision and her site, in operation since 2011, is chock full of excellent recipes. I never fail to learn a lot, and all her recipes taste just great. Case in point? These Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls. Continue reading “Small in size, big on taste—Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls” →

Carrot Cake with Dulce de Leche/Cream Cheese Frosting

This easy-to-make carrot cake is topped with equally easy-to-make dulce de leche/cream cheese frosting—and the results are so delicious. Recipe below.

I AM A CARROT CAKE LOVER, but my sole previous foray into baking one was, to be honest, a mess. I’m still not sure what I did wrong, probably every possible thing, and the whole fiasco put me off trying to bake carrot cake for quite a few years. Up until the other day when I stumbled on a recipe that nudged me into giving it another shot. Continue reading “Carrot Cake with Dulce de Leche/Cream Cheese Frosting” →

Neapolitan Style Soup with Beans and Dandelion Greens, quick and easy

This hearty traditional Italian soup with bitter greens and white beans comes together quickly. Recipe below.

WE HAD A BIG DAY THE OTHER DAY, full of traipsing and talking and seeing people we love and getting home after dark all worn out. After all of that, all we wanted was something simple and comforting. As so often when we feel like that, the answer was: soup. Continue reading “Neapolitan Style Soup with Beans and Dandelion Greens, quick and easy” →

Pecan Tassies (think teeny tiny shortbread pecan pies)

Pecan Tassies are buttery, rich pecan pies made bite-sized with shortbread crusts. Recipe below.

AS IT HAPPENED, THIS YEAR, FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MORE THAN 20 YEARS, we did not host Thanksgiving. One of our daughters got married in the spring, and we now find ourselves part of a big new family of the nicest, kindest, most fun people walking the earth. We spent Thanksgiving out of town with them, in Milwaukee (which admittedly is not that far out of town for us). I committed to bring a number of dishes, and among them were pies. Continue reading “Pecan Tassies (think teeny tiny shortbread pecan pies)” →