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
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
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
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
Seedless Tangerines are ‘Mandarinas’ in Spain
The vitamin C in tangerine-mandarinas will help you stay well and their amazingly sweet flavor will keep them on your grocery list, week-after-week. If you're searching for the rockstars of the citrus world then tangerine-mandarinas are it. For a decade or longer, the demand for a kid-sized, seedless, tangy and sweet fruit has grown and grown. While living in Salamanca, Spain this fall, I've already started to buy seedless tangerine-mandarinas from grocery stores, the Central Market, and small shops that specialize in selling fresh fruits and vegetables. They are in nearly every shopper's bag … [Read more...] about Seedless Tangerines are ‘Mandarinas’ in Spain