When North Iowa blogger Val of Corn, Bean, Pigs & Kids asked me if I wanted to team-up and compete in the Franklin County “Cake Wars” decorating contest, of course I had to say yes. I warned her that my cake decorating abilities were very limited. In culinary school in Moorhead, MN, Mrs. Kraft patiently […]
I’m Smitten With Smitten With Squash: Layered Greek Tzatziki Dip
I’m smitten with Smitten With Squash, Amanda Paa’s new cookbook. She’s a Twin Cities resident who also blogs beautiful recipes at Heartbeet Kitchen. Just as the book’s description says, Smitten With Squash is truly a celebration of this diverse and under-appreciated vegetable. It seems that Midwesterners get inundated with zucchini and yellow squash in the summer and winter squash ranging from acorn […]
I Got Chickens: Meet Twisted River Farm
Every day that we live in Iowa, I learn how much I don’t know about farming. Jake’s still a city kid at heart, and I thought I was, too. But since our move to North Dakota, I have become very taken with the rolling prairie and big skies. I was driving back home to Mason […]
What Details Make A Dining Experience Extra Special Or Extra Annoying?
Des Moines author, columnist and blogger Wini Moranville recently wrote about “What to Look for Before You Splurge in a Restaurant,” which gave me some food for thought. After I read her piece, I’ve pondered the little things that make a dining experience extra special or extra annoying. Of course, I notice different details depending on the restaurant’s price range, but here’s what’s […]
Creamy Chopped Eggplant Dip
I have a long-held fascination with eggplant. It all started with food television. Growing up, I watched in awe as chefs prepared this strange, spongy vegetable. Sometimes they roasted it and sometimes they fried it. Either way, I just knew that someday I would love eggplant and I was right. Eggplant just wasn’t a vegetable that appeared […]
Taste Test: Shelf-Stable, Prepackaged Indian Foods
Indian food is one of my favorite comfort foods. It’s not a cuisine that Jake and I grew up eating, but one we’ve sought as adults. Our mothers’ casseroles and wild rice and chicken soups will always taste like comfort food, but we also seek solace in spicy Indian foods like saag with paneer and vegetable korma. When you […]