Eric and I love carrots.  This is a good thing since they’re a much cheaper vegetable than some of our other favorites like asparagus and bell peppers.  This year I wanted to come up with a few more affordable Thanksgiving side dishes.  I’ve been doing a lot with the food bank and talking to their clients about using special ingredients in small amounts to turn ordinary foods into fancy dishes.  These Maple Orange Carrots with Sage are a great example, and go amazingly with roast turkey or chicken! Read more

After my first experience with fennel a couple years ago, I’ve become a bit obsessed.  Fennel is in season year round (check out what food is in season when!) but I seem to always use it as a transition vegetable.  I love to work it into recipes when the season is changing.  For this one, I use some of summer’s zucchini roasted with fresh picked fennel, onion and garlic. Read more

Summer seems to really be over, and I’m realizing I have yet to post any recipes from our anniversary camping trip.  Every year we spend several nights camping and hiking at Mr. Rainier for our wedding anniversary.  Mt. Rainier is my favorite place on earth and hiking is our favorite date.  In fact, the summer we dated we did over 30 hikes!  But I don’t just look forward to the outdoor activities, I also love planning our meals.  It’s so much fun to make up new recipes for the campfire and grill, and these stuffed mushrooms are one of our favorites. Read more

If you haven’t yet noticed my obsession with edible flowers, this post will make it completely apparent.  One of my favorite summer lunches is lightly fried zucchini blossoms.  I simply stuff them with a small spoonful of goat cheese and then dip them in a gluten free batter before pan frying them.  These are so simple to make and absolutely beautiful, but it was only two years ago that I even learned about eating squash blossoms. Read more