coconut cream pie

I seem to be on a sweets trend lately. I just realized that the last several recipes I’ve posted have all been desserts. Hmmm… I wonder if that says anything about me?? Well, I’m going to continue to feed your sweet tooth through the month of July, with a different pie each week, beginning with my all-time favorite. Warning: [...]

keep em’ separated - part two

So, what do you do when you have leftover egg yolks? Make Creme Brulee, of course! Actually, I would never have thought of trying to make Creme Brulee at home if my brother hadn’t given me one of those handy kitchen blowtorches for my birthday. As it turns out, it is deceptively simple…

keep ‘em separated - part one

I don’t really like eggs, as a rule. I don’t like them scrambled at all. I really don’t care for omelets. I tolerate them fried or hard boiled. But a whole world of possiblities opens up when you separate eggs into their parts - whites and yolks.

a birthday cake and chocolate frosting

My good friend Lauren had a birthday this week and I had the privilege of making her a cake. My goal was to create a feminine chocolate cake. It turned out to be one of my favorite cakes so far.

I’d also like to share the recipe I used for the frosting. In the past I’ve [...]

back from…um…vacation?

We spent the last 4 days camping in the beautiful North Georgia mountains. I do really love to camp, thanks to a hot shower at the campground and an air mattress, but two days of packing and loading beforehand, 4 days of “roughing it” and 2 days of laundry afterward is not exactly a vacation. We really did have a [...]

shrimp and grits

One of my passions is definitely cooking, so the first phase of my blog revitalization project is to post a new recipe each week. I have added a new page for easy access to all my recipes, entitled from my kitchen. Here, the recipes will be organized more like a cookbook.
And now, I will start with this [...]

red, white, and black beans and rice

My version of another Louisiana favorite. You could, of course, use any variety of beans you like.

1 lb. smoked sausage
2 cans red beans
2 cans white beans (great northern, navy, cannellini)
1 can black beans
1 onion, diced
1 green pepper, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 c. water or chicken stock
2 bay leaves
cajun seasoning to taste

 
Slice sausage into 1/4 inch [...]

real pancakes

As promised, I am following up on my “real food” article with more recipes to replace the processed foods we all rely on so often.
Everybody loves pancakes, but not everyone loves the work and mess involved in making them from scratch. So, here is an alternative to the ever-popular pancake mix in a box. Make the mix [...]

what happened to real food?

When you walk through the grocery store, which aisles are the most crowded?  Hands down, #1 is the freezer section. #2 is the junk food aisle. Sadly, for the sake of time and convenience, we are filling our families’ bellies with junk. The next time you pull out that frozen pot pie, take a look at the label. [...]

flowery cake

My mom’s birthday is today, and so I used this opportunity to practice a few cake-decorating skills. This one is a spice cake with cream cheese icing. Recipe follows…

Light and Fluffy Cream Cheese Icing

1 1/2 cups heavy cream, whipped
1 pkg. cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 c. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Beat cream cheese and butter until [...]