As Yet Untitled

Quinoa bowls have been my jam lately. And by that I mean that I have become totally obsessed with them, not least because one-skillet meals are so damn easy to make, and the clean up is minimal. They are like crack. For real. I want to eat them all the time. I want to eat one now. And again, I really can't stress enough how little mess this meal makes.  It's okay, because I hate them back. I was originally turned on to this by my friend, Sheridan, who sent me this recipe . But of course, since I only had like three of the ingredients on the list, I just made things up as I went along, and while the original recipe was meant to be a breakfast item, I love it for dinner. It’s hearty and filling, and it feels like comfort food but is still pretty freaking good for you. And it is very easy to customize. Like, so easy. Like, you could make it every day and always be eating something different.   So, first, start with a very large pan. I use my 12” nonstick...

This morning I awakened to bright, golden sunlight and crisp, sweet smelling air. It just felt  like fall outside. So it seemed like the perfect time to make a hot, delicious fall breakfast, which was a welcome respite from the cold yogurt and chia pudding that we have been consuming all summer. So what could be more reminiscent of fall that waffles with apples, cinnamon, and brown sugar? Nothing, that's what. So here are my easy-peasy Apple Pie Waffles: First, core and slice two medium apples. Or one big one. Whatever you happen to have in your fridge. I can't even tell you what kind of apples I am using here because I just have a big miscellaneous apple pile in my crisper drawer. I use one of those corer/slicer tools to cut up the apple, and then peel and dice like this:  Use a paring knife to cut the skin from each slice. Put the slice core side down on the cutting board and cut it in half lengthwise. Turn the now two slices on their flat side and slice in h...

This weekend I hosted a wine tasting at my house. The rules were simple: everyone brought a bottle of wine that could be purchased for under $20. The unofficial rule with my particular group of friends involves choosing wines with interesting labels. Serendipitously, the wines with the interesting labels turned out to be some of the most delicious and affordable wines--which was, of course, the goal. We ended up trying two white wines and five reds. Yes, we tried seven different wines. Then ended up talking late into the night while we polished off a wheel of brie. We've come a long way since the heady days of beer pong and bottles of Boone's Farm with giant straws sticking out of the top. The Whites The first white wine we tried was Apothic White . It is a blend of chardonnay, moscato, and riesling. For those of you not in the know, this is a fairly sweet blend. However, despite not being white wine drinkers, everyone at the table admitted to enjoying this wine. The tr...

Sorry about the blur. Normally I don't go in for oddly flavored sodas. I love the colors and creative labels of the Jones soda empire, but in general, we are a Coca-Cola Classic household. But when I saw this Chai Cola at Sprouts Farmer's Market in Tulsa, I impulsively purchased it out of curiosity. It always starts out so great...  An initial taste of the chilled soda revealed a perfectly portioned chai flavor. It was spicy and sweet and aromatic in a way that a soda has no business being. This is fine in itself, but wasn't quite enough. What ultimately threw it off for me was the carbonation, and I found myself thinking, "This would be fantastic with ice cream." I think, ultimately, what I was still really craving was that creamy complement to the spicy chai that is found in chai lattes, and something to tone down the bite of the carbonation. See that foam? That's what I don't like. Yum! So I got out my trusty blender and some B...

My husband and I love English muffins. This is a deep and abiding love. A love that borders on obsession. A lot of times, on days when I am not at home, my male counterpart will consume nearly an entire package of muffins. They are delicious. The sourness of the dough. The crunch of the toastiness. The way the little nooks and crannies catch whatever spread is placed upon it. They are frequently used to make homemade Egg McMuffins. In fact, I plan on devoting a post to those homemade Egg McMuffins quite soon. They are that good. But usually, the English muffins are topped with nothing but plain ol' butter. But there isn't anything plain about this butter. It's Land O'Lakes * Whipped Butter. Salted of course. To my mind, there is no point to butter unless it is salted. If you use unsalted butter, you are cheating yourself out of real butter flavor. Land O'Lakes understands this, and they provide glorious, whipped, salted butter in a convenient...

This past weekend was very momentous for me. It was my first visit of the summer to the local farmer's market! I love the Edmond farmer's market. The squash! The peaches! The berries! My goodness. It is the latter which concerns me most today. Or rather, last weekend.  I got some gorgeous blueberries from the farmer's market. And for a bargain! And I thought there could be no better use for them than to use them to make breakfast. So I set out to make lemon blueberry pancakes. Much to my later chagrin, I did not elect to make them from scratch using the Pioneer Woman recipe. I took the easy way out, and started with the basic Bisquik pancake batter, making up the rest on a whim.  Sometimes I do weird things. You can see one here. When I crack open eggs, I put the shells back in the carton. I don't really know why I started doing this, but I can tell you that it came in handy when I planted my garden this spring. I put seeds in eggshells...