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Most Popular Recipes 2014
It’s hard to believe we’re beginning 2015. Already?! More than any other year, 2014 seemed to race by, each new month whipping by faster than the last. Ours was a predominately positive year, filled with tremendous amounts of change. Good change. That said, in 2015 I hope to find a little more balance, a lot of calm, and more opportunity. (I also plan to publish my first eBook, so stay tuned!) Most Popular Recipes 2014 I thought it’d be fun to take a peek at my most popular recipes from 2014. So many good recipes made the list, including vegetarian recipes, guest posts, slow cooker favorites, muffins and Italian yummy-ness. Simply click on each photo…
Vegetarian Sausage Stuffing
This warm and comforting vegetarian sausage stuffing will please a crowd! We do two different Thanksgivings and Christmases every year. It’s a result of having both sets of parents close-by in Maryland, and also other family members that now live out of town. I’ve grown up celebrating this way, so in a way it’s nostalgic to spread the holidays out instead of being laser-focused on one specific date. It can also be wonderfully exhausting. My sister and brother-in-law are both vegetarians, and our huge holiday spreads include plenty of dishes for both meat eaters and not. It helps that even those of us who do enjoy a roast turkey, also love…
Growing Organic Potatoes
I don’t have a green thumb, but thankfully when it comes to things like growing organic potatoes and tons of other produce, my mother, sister and brother-in-law do. Two weekends ago it was time to start digging up the potatoes in the big garden on the homestead. My mom’s a seed-saver, which means she carefully keeps seeds from the produce she’s grown (mostly heirloom and all organic) to use for planting the next season’s crops. In this case, all the potatoes in these rows are from just a few russet, white and red potatoes she kept and planted. There are various machines you can use to unearth the potatoes (which…
Easy Cornbread Recipe
Cornbread is a dinner accompaniment that everyone seems to forget about. And, I have to wonder…why? Here’s what’s funny. Cornbread’s REALLY easy to make and I bet you already have the list of ingredients sitting right in your pantry and fridge. The exception, one might argue, could be buttermilk. Good news – that’s an easy fix! Buttermilk is essentially dairy with a little acidity, so if you don’t have a carton of real buttermilk in your fridge it’s simple to make an effective substitute. BUTTERMILK SUBSTITUTE MIX one scant cup of milk and one tablespoon lemon juice or white vinegar. LET the mixture set for 10 minutes until it’s curdled and slightly thickened. USE the…
Roasted Brussels Sprouts With Bacon
These melt-in-your-mouth roasted brussels sprouts with bacon are TO DIE FOR. Brussels sprouts are like the hipster vegetable. They’re cool because they’ve always been so UNcool. It’s ironic. Although hipsters are technically conformists within their own subculture, in comparison to the much larger mainstream mass, they are pioneers and leaders of the latest cultural trends and ideals. -Urban Dictionary Except in recent years, brussels sprouts have become a thing. Last year, I kept trying to think about what would take off as the new “cupcake.” You know, the forgotten or under-appreciated food that would suddenly show up at all the restaurants. I mean, you couldn’t blink in 2012 or 2013 without seeing a cupcake…
Whipped Parsnips and Potatoes
Whipped parsnips and potatoes is no exact match for classic mashed potatoes, but they were creamy and delicious nevertheless AND ready in twenty minutes. Our CSA bag this week included parsnips and a variety of other goodies like kiwi, apples, potatoes, rainbow carrots and zucchini. I joked that this week’s theme was “long and lean” after lining up a few of the veggies and Instagramming the shot! Love it. Right? So, back to those parsnips. I’m a fan, having had them in various restaurant purées over the years. They’re kind of sweet like a carrot, but without tasting like carrots. And they cook and mash up like a potato, but…
Perfect Baked Potatoes
Cooking perfect baked potatoes as simple as a slathering of olive oil, a generous sprinkle of sea salt, and a hot oven. Seriously. No need to coat the potatoes with a bunch of butter (although…yum!) or wrap each separately in foil. Who needs the extra fuss? Just slather in olive oil, give a sprinkle of sea salt and then bake on a cookie sheet until they’re done. Honestly, the hardest part of cooking perfect baked potatoes in the oven is waiting the fifty minutes for them to be done. And you know they’re done when the outsides are crispy, but the insides give with a gentle squeeze. Mmmm… Let’s not forget…
Vegetarian Kale Salad
Kale. It’s a leafy green whose preparation seems to stump so many people! And yet, it’s so freakin’ versatile. My sister uses kale regularly, and she offered to share her very favorite vegetarian kale salad with me. Yay! We’ve received kale in our last two small bag deliveries from Hometown Harvest, so I’m in need of some great go-to recipes myself. This one fits the bill. Before we get into recipe specifics, let’s take a look at some notes Josie sent me with the recipe: We make this salad at least once a week in our house. It’s the best because it’s good right after you make it and really…
