Watermelon Otai For A Crowd

Every summer get-together deserves a great party punch.  When my husband’s aunt and uncle invited us to their farm for a little family reunion yesterday, I asked if we could make Watermelon Otai.  Otai is something we usually seem to have at big family parties with my husband’s side of the family.  Everyone loves it, so of course it was a welcome addition to the party. Yesterday was also Pioneer Day in Utah.  And that’s […]

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Fruity Guacamole with Cinnamon and Sugar Tortilla Chips

As I mentioned last week, I was able to attend evo conference.  I was able to attend a fun dinner sponsored by the California Avocado Commission that included quite possibly the most delicious avocados I have ever eaten in my life.  (I brought some home with me.) Before a cooking demo by THE Too Hot Tamales, we all participated in a bit of good-natured competition in the form of an Iron Chef-like Guacamole Fest. Susan […]

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Honey-Balsamic Roasted Peach Sorbet

You guys.  Remember that awesome vinaigrette I made a few months ago?  And then there was the bottle of pickled strawberries?  It’s the white balsamic vinegar.  It’s my latest love affair.  I love white balsamic vinegar with fruit.  And I can’t help myself. We picked up a bushel of peaches on Saturday afternoon.  The first peaches of the season.  I made my husband drive by our favorite stand “just in case” they had some peaches.  […]

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Grandma’s Old-Fashioned Homemade Tutti Frutti Ice Cream Recipe

tutti frutti ice cream

Let’s talk family reunions and old-fashioned homemade ice cream for a minute.  In my mind, you can’t have one without the other.  And it is that time of year again for my family. My paternal grandmother grew up on the same block as her grandparents and all of her aunts, uncles, and cousins.  Many of their children still live on the same block in Salt Lake City.  I loved visiting there when I was a […]

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Photography: Finding Beauty In The World Around You

Last week I was fortunate to be able to attend Evo ’12, a fabulous blog conference founded by two of the best ladies I know, Jyl Pattee and Rachael Herrscher.  More on that in the days to come. One of my favorite parts of the conference was the hands-on photography workshop with Tracey Clark of ShutterSisters.com.  I’m trying so hard to rediscover my love of photography, but I’m always a little timid when I’m behind […]

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Julia Child’s Floating Islands Recipe

Julia Child's Floating Islands

Other kids would be playing outside during summer vacation, and I did that too, but mostly I would spend the afternoons watching cooking shows on PBS.  I paid attention and learned about new foods with names I’d never heard of.  I would experiment here and there with some basics I had learned, but it wasn’t until I was much older that I would attempt some of the more sophisticated recipes.  Like the other day when […]

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Buttermilk Ice Cream with Poached Cherries

Buttermilk ice cream. Cherries. You want this, I promise you–you do. The ice cream is creamy and tangy and marries perfectly with the sweet cherries. We have poached cherries before in a combination of wine, water and sugar with a vanilla bean.  But this time around I left out the wine and added almond extract.  Just as good, though I’ve included the wine in the recipe below because you might just want to try it. […]

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Roasted Pear Dessert with Raspberries and Ginger-Cardamom Ice Cream

Did you know July is National Ice Cream Month in the U.S.?  I didn’t!  Becky clued me in and I’m glad she did.  She and I share a love of making homemade ice cream as often as possible.  So…this week, I am posting a bunch of ice cream recipes that I’ve been wanting to share with you.  Saturday is National Ice Cream Day, so get your ice cream on! This recipe is a gem that […]

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Roasted Tomato Salsa

I love me some salsa. And I really love me some of this salsa. I’ve already made it twice in one week. The chips are optional, by the way. A spoonful (or ten) will hit the spot. I had some grocery store tomatoes ripening on my counter.  (I know, I know, I know.  Grocery store tomatoes…bleh.)  Like I’ve said before, if I can’t have fresh tomatoes from the garden, I don’t want them fresh.  I […]

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