Fall/Winter/ Mains/ Pineapple Sage/ Recipes/ Soup, Stew, and Chowder

Red Lentil and Brown Rice Soup

Red Lentil Brown Rice Soup

“Fall is my time. I am most radiant and full of energy when the leaves are falling and there is a ghost of change in the air.”

While going through my “I Love Fall” board on Pinterest the quote above from picturequotes.com caught my eye. This morning I couldn’t have honestly said it fit my feelings but this afternoon, as I look out the window at the mellow sunlight dancing through the yellow and green leaves on the trees outside, it most definitely describes how I feel.

The smell of the Red Lentil and Brown Rice Soup cooking on the stove certainly helps too. Continue Reading…

October 11, 2018
Fall/Winter/ Mains/ Recipes/ Soup, Stew, and Chowder/ Thyme

Vegetarian 15 Bean Soup Recipe

15 Bean Soup

The leaves are changing colors, it’s been raining off and on all day, and I made my Vegetarian 15 Bean Soup for supper… it must be FALL!

Fall is my favorite season and it has been for more years than I can remember. I love curling up with a book and a hot beverage while listening to the rain outside. I love taking a walk through the crunchy, multicolored leaves. And I love making (and eating) homemade soup!

I’m planning to share a number of my favorite soup recipes in the next month since I’ll be making them anyway and this gives me a chance to record how I actually make them. (Instead of trying to remember from the previous year the tweaks I’ve made to whatever the original recipe was.)

This recipe is based on the Hurst’s HamBeens Brand 15 Bean Soup recipe and I usually start with a package of their 15 Bean Soup mix Continue Reading…

October 7, 2018
Basil/ Oregano/ Parsley/ Pasta/ Recipes

Vegetarian, Gluten-free, Non-dairy Lasagna

Vegetarian, Gluten-free, Non-dairy Lasagna

This lasagna recipe has been many years in the making. I got the original recipe out of my first cook book (Betty Crocker’s Cookbook: Everything You Need to Know to Cook Today… which is actually still available on Amazon) and I made it pretty much how the recipe stated with the exception of leaving the sugar out. Then my husband was diagnosed with celiac disease so I learned how to make it gluten-free. A few years after that we stopped eating meat so then I modified it to gluten-free and vegetarian. This last fall I noticed dairy was making me feel lousy… so I modified the recipe once again.

Hopefully that’s the last set of modifications I’m going to have to make. I’m not sure what Betty would think of how her recipe has been tweaked but I’m happy to say we still get to enjoy some homemade lasagna! Continue Reading…

October 3, 2018
Basil/ Fall/Winter/ Harvesting/Preserving

Drying Basil – In the Microwave

Fall is here which means we have to say good to our annual herbs… like basil. Normally I mourn the loss of my favorite herb and that’s that but this year I decided to try drying some basil for the winter.

There are several different ways to dry basil and I’m going to do as many as I have time for but I’m starting with using the microwave because, to be honest, I’m skeptical. I use the microwave for cooking. And if I really need to I’ll even use it for defrosting. But that’s pretty much it. Drying food in the microwave is not something I’ve even considered.

But I’m trying it because I really want to know if it works. Continue Reading…

September 22, 2018
Pineapple Sage/ Recipes/ Sauces, Dips, and Spreads/ Spring/Summer

Cannellini Bean Dip with Pineapple Sage

Cannellini Bean Dip with Pineapple Sage

Happy 4th of July!!

This is my first year growing pineapple sage and, not having much experience with sage in general, let alone this variety, I wasn’t sure quite what to do with it after trimming my plant back.

Thankfully there are a lot of great ideas on the internet. Pineapple sage is commonly used in chicken, salsa, bean dip, and pasta recipes and in a variety of ways I wasn’t expecting such as beverages (hot and cold), fruit salads, and smoothies. Since this is my first time using this herb I thought I’d start with something savory. Continue Reading…

July 4, 2018
Basil/ Pasta/ Recipes/ Spring/Summer

One Pot Basil Orzo for One

Basil Orzo for One

This is one of the first recipes I make each spring… as soon as I can trim a few basil leaves off my baby plants. It’s a super flexible recipe and easy to tweak depending on what you have on hand or personal preferences.

Since I came up with this recipe myself and usually just throw things in as I go the steps aren’t super specific but I’ve outlined them as best as I can so you can make this simple, tasty dish yourself. Enjoy! Continue Reading…

July 3, 2018
Gardening

The Journey Begins

Chocolate Basil Plant

One of my favorite things about summer is basil!

I really got into using fresh basil while living in California. We’d go to the farmer’s markets during the summer and buy bunches of basil which I’d bring home and make into delicious pesto and it was just the best. Continue Reading…

June 5, 2018