Strawberry Shortcake
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Strawberry Shortcake

Summer = Strawberry Shortcake. I have fond childhood memories of picking strawberries at Malerba’s Farm in Norwich, Connecticut.  Unfortunately, this time of year, there are NO places to pick strawberries in Phoenix.  It is too hot.  However, the local grocery stores have California-grown berries that actually taste like strawberries. I researched a good recipe on…

Cooking with the Sous Vide method
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Cooking with the Sous Vide method

High-end restaurants have been using sous vide cooking for years to cook food to the exact level of doneness desired, every time. The technique recently became popular for home cooks with the availability of affordable and easy-to-use sous vide precision cooking equipment like the Anova Sous Vide Precision Cooker. The “sous vide” part of sous vide…

Lemon Blueberry Bread~gluten, dairy and grain free
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Lemon Blueberry Bread~gluten, dairy and grain free

My husband and I have been doing the Whole30 eating plan (no sugar, bread, alcohol, dairy, beans, peanuts, soy for 30 days) since the end of February.  We both said, “how hard can it be?” Surprisingly, we felt great on the Whole30.  For a quick summary of this reset plan, click here. As a result, I…

Easy Appetizer
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Scrumptious and Easy Appetizer

I am salivating as I write this because I’ve just discovered the easiest, most delicious appetizer!  One of the benefits of cleaning out my pantry (see post here) was the chance to organize piles of recipes I’ve collected….and finally making a few. Inspired by the huge cherry tomato crop we are now harvesting, these 4 simple…

Valentine Dinner Party
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Valentine Dinner Party

Typically we are a bit casual when entertaining.  However, once a year we do a formal sit down dinner party for Valentine’s Day. This year we are having a Valentine dinner party for 5 couples. Generally we use the dining room, but the weather has been so glorious lately, we decided to have it outside…