Are you a blueberry fan? Me, too, so here is a little background and then a yummy recipe for Blueberry Buckle which is a long-time family favorite! What's So Special About this Recipe? My recipe for Blueberry Buckle is super special because it came from my mother and years of picking blueberries in our yard out West with my sister and brother. In fact, growing up, a familiar summer chore was to go outside and pick blueberries. Even though we sometimes complained, our reward was that Mom would make us a pan of Buckle! In my yard in North Carolina, now, there are rows of mature and very … [Read more...] about Blueberry Buckle Recipe
7 Steps to a Successful Picnic
Picnic Month is a July celebration we can all enjoy. When you combine a picnic with good nutrition, it's a successful meal mixed with a lot of fun! Here are 7 steps to a successful July picnic: Invite a comfortable number to your picnic. For experienced hosts/hostesses, this might be 15 or 20; for the less experienced, this might be 3 or 4. Plan ahead to make the special treats. A few examples are deviled eggs, pinwheel sandwiches, blueberry crisp. Take time to include simple, healthy choices. These might include celery sticks filled with peanut butter, cucumber spears, popcorn, … [Read more...] about 7 Steps to a Successful Picnic
Cooking in a New Kitchen
It takes determination and desire to break-in a new kitchen and the results are definitely worth it. My Cooking Mistakes While living in northwest Spain this fall, I'm finding out that cooking in a new kitchen is not so easy. I've already made a ton of mistakes like these: Letting the rice boil over and make a mess Burning part of the eggplant I was trying to sauté Measuring the salt incorrectly, without a proper measuring spoon Running out of eggs when I wanted to make a Spanish Tortilla Omelet Missing the spices I needed to make a chickpea burger … [Read more...] about Cooking in a New Kitchen
Sweet Red Peppers and 3 Ways to Enjoy Them
I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the sweet red peppers of Spain! Then I started seeing these beauties in every vegetable market and grocery store I visited around Salamanca, where I'm living this fall. Sweet red peppers are called 'Pimientos' in Spanish and I'm learning that they are a very important ingredient in every Spanish kitchen, restaurant, and tapas bar. How to Use Sweet Red Peppers - 3 Ways The natural sweetness of Spanish pimientos - sweet red peppers - brings bright flavors to all kinds of things. Here are a few examples: Wash, cut into strips and dip into … [Read more...] about Sweet Red Peppers and 3 Ways to Enjoy Them
Spanish Tapas & 3 Easy Tapas Snack Ideas
Spanish Tapas are a food experience to love. While living in Salamanca, Spain - in the northwest part of the country, near Portugal - I am discovering a new world of food that I never knew before. It's called 'Tapas' which, in Spanish, is a small portion of food that's served as an accompaniment to a drink. The drink can be anything, like a glass of wine, beer, water, coffee, or tea. Tapas are traditional snacks full of color, flavor, and good nutrition. If you enjoy learning about food history then here's a story that describes the origin of the tapas tradition, from southern Spain in … [Read more...] about Spanish Tapas & 3 Easy Tapas Snack Ideas
10 Ways to Season Your Food with Extra Virgin Olive Oil
I find a bottle of extra virgin olive oil on nearly every cafe and restaurant table I visit in Spain - which is what I expected from the world's largest producer! What I didn't expect was that just about everything I eat these days, except for ice cream, tastes better when I season it with EVOO. It's a perfect time of year to get excited about using more EVOO because the 2019 harvest of olives and production of oil is about to begin in Mediterranean countries like Spain, Portugal, Greece, Italy, Turkey, and others. November, December, and January is the time to shake the olives down from … [Read more...] about 10 Ways to Season Your Food with Extra Virgin Olive Oil