Author: karen

One of the things I learned to make growing up with spanakopita. My maternal grandfather is Greek and this dish was a staple at family get togethers. Particularly in the summer time when there was more spinach than anyone knew what to do with. In the winter we’d shell out and make it with bags […]

My grandmother was a baked good goddess and luckily she shared all her recipes with me before she passed away. As a result, I can make all of the favorites which she made for family events. Some are regulars at my house like baklava and apple pie. However, others I don’t often make because I’m […]

[singlepic id=208 w=320 h=240 float=left] It is that time of the year again. The time when my pear tree produces an insane number of pears. Last year the crop was small, about 80 pears. Unfortunately, this year the tree produced more than double that number. 170 pears in total. So I need a way to […]

This week’s CSA box contained watermelon kale cucumbers bell peppers tomatoes peaches arugula Many of the tomatoes that came in this week’s box were in serious need of help. So I’m thinking that I should peel and crush them to make a tomato sauce from scratch. That means boiling water and dunking the tomatoes then […]

[singlepic id=206 w=320 h=240 float=right] I’ve gotten an insane number of jalapenos in my CSA box over the course of the last couple weeks. Nearly a dozen and a half. I used some for salsa but I needed a more effective way to use them up. So I decide to make Jalapeno poppers based on […]

[singlepic id=205 w=320 h=240 float=right] Another staple of the CSA box has been peaches and we’ve accumulated more than a few to eat or use. I need to reduce the number I have on hand so I thought about making a peach crisp but didn’t have the time. Instead my spouse decided to make a […]

Three weekends ago my spouse and I decided to go pick blueberries. Because it is beastly hot here, we got up as early and possible and drove to Moorhead’s Blueberry Farm in Conroe, TX. We each got a medium size bucket and over the course of two hours picked 12 pounds of blueberries. Most of […]

[singlepic id=200 w=320 h=240 float=left] What do you do when your non-Italian varieties of basil take off like crazy? (This picture is post trimming!) Particularly super fragrant Asian varieties? My front herb bed is out of control with basil. This past weekend we go so much rain that it toppled everything over and into the […]

Because 4th of July is this week my CSA box showed up on Tuesday instead of Thursday. It is pretty much a repeat of last week and included: Slicer tomatoes Cucumbers’ Cantaloupe Peaches Eggplant Green Beans New Potatoes Bell peppers Jalapeno peppers (hot) Banana peppers Sweet Corn The banana peppers and eggplant will surely get […]

Earlier in the spring I whined about having more beets that I knew what to do with. To use some of them up I made Red Velvet Chocolate Beet Cupcakes, which were a total hit with my co-workers for their moist texture and deep dark chocolate flavor. Another batch of the beets got pureed and […]