Leek Latkes

Passover (or as my friend Natalie says in Hebrew, 'Pesach') was this week, which means I heard the collective groan of my Jewish friends around the world as they refrained from eating leavened bread for 8 days. Many non-Jews in America don't really know much about Passover, (including myself!) other than it starts with a Seder in which matzo balls are involved. The Gospels of Mark, Matthew and Luke tout that the Seder that marked the start of Passover was also the Last Supper, which is pretty darn cool if it's true.

Easter Ranger Cookies

Lately my definition of insanity has been having piles upon piles of recipes, lists of lists of things I want to make, and suddenly walking into the kitchen and thinking, "I don't know what to cook next!"

Uhhh, say what now? Clearly, I have problems.

Rosa Parks' Featherlite Pancakes

How do you feel about breakfast in bed? Are you a person who hates a couple of crumbs in the sheets or would it be your ideal way to wake up? I can’t decide whether I think it’d be the best way to wake up for Valentine’s Day or a stress-fest since I prefer to be in control in the kitchen and would be involuntarily critiquing anything my incredible husband brought in for me. It also doesn’t help that I’m an extremely light sleeper and wouldn’t be able to keep myself in bed while he was in the kitchen cooking.

Pasta with Roasted Cauliflower and Brussels Sprouts

Hi, guys. I'm back! Did you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving and Christmas? I hope so! I gotta say, it honestly wasn't my original intent to take this much time off from blogging--nearly 2 months!!-- but life just wedged its fat butt right in my way and prevented me from enjoying any of my hobbies for most of November and all of December. Sad, isn't it?

Frog Eye Salad

Happy Halloween!! My treat for you is that you get TWO posts from me in one day! I posted earlier for the Foodie Pen Pal reveal, in which I told you about the awesome fall package I got from Natalie, who blogs over at Free Range Human. Great fun! While I enjoy pumpkin flavored things over here, I would like for you to enjoy some of this food irony... Frog Eye Salad!

Apple Pie French Toast

Today is Travis' birthday (as I post this, it's Aug 4 in Japan), so for a special birthday breakfast, I decided to make his all time favorite: stuffed french toast. My beloved husband would probably eat stuffed french toast every day of the week if I decided to make it for him. Each time he sees it on a menu in a restaurant, it's automatically the order of the day. Strawberry filling seems to be the usual favorite, however I think I prefer this homemade version with apples. To me, the strawberry filling never tastes right- it seems fake somehow, because it probably isn't lovingly homemade with fresh berries.

Hamburger Buns

So it seems like everyone is making homemade hamburger patties for Memorial Day. I've decided to make something that's a little less common... Buns! In my opinion, they take the hamburgers to a completely new level. Soft, fresh, with loads of flavor- these babies are wonderful!

Easter Ham Rosemary Glaze

Isn't she a beaut? For a non-ham lover to say this tells you how impressed I was with my own on-the-fly glaze. I've learned the hard way that packaged glazes and gravies are not very tasty, so I usually set aside extra time to make my own.

Easter Hot Cross Buns

Happy Easter! How was your Easter Mass this morning? This year Travis and I decided not to go- last year I was working, and our experience on Okinawa is that services on the big holidays- really just Christmas and Easter- are absolutely insanely packed. Why, hello sardines, nice to smell you. Having to get there an hour early for parking and an actual seat in the pews takes some of the divine magic out of the service for me. My nuns from college would probably slap my wrists with a ruler if they knew I skip the major holiday masses- sorry, Sister. Having been forced to work many holidays over the past few years, I have come to learn that sometimes a walk outside on a beautiful day can bring as much revelation as a well written homily. And I'm ok with that. God did make the world, after all, and why not honor the resurrection by being outside on a beautiful day like today!