Author of the Hope Trilogy and Food & Books: a blog for readers that really cooks. Coming Soon! Eat My Balls: a Cookbook
Recipes, tips, tricks, reviews, and more.
I found a recipe online several years back for beef stroganoff that sounded easy, so I gave it a shot. It was okay, but it needed more flavor, richness, and tang. Thus began my fucking with it, like I do. I added this and that, found other similar recipes, and incorporated parts of them. It's taken a dozen different versions, but I've finally settled on what I believe is a great recipe for beef stroganoff.
Read MoreI just got back from going to see The Man play a concert and now I'm staying up to write about what I went through there. I'd not seen him perform live in a dozen years due to my crushing student loan debt. Last time, I met him. The Man made it memorable by being a weirdo with a riding crop. It was fantastic. Tonight was also fantastic. Amazing. Spectacular. And many other things. The arena was not packed, which surprised me. Then again, it's fucking Columbia, so who the fuck wants to drive there? Um, this chick does.
Read MoreIf you've become a regular follower of my blog, I'm sure you've asked yourself, "I thought this was Food & BOOKS. Where are all the fucking book reviews?" Easy...they're in my blog archive. You see, I was writing blogs about books I've read long before I started writing about food every week. I STILL have more book reviews than food entries and I'm trying to catch up.
Read MoreI've made these brownies for years. My husband loves them. My whole family loves them. They are so popular that people at my work have come to expect them anytime we have a food day. (Super Bowl, Fourth of July, Christmas Eve, etc.) People who used to work with me years ago will seek me out and pay me to make my brownies for them. Today, I'm going to teach you my secrets for these brownies that never have leftovers..
Read MoreThat's not what it's called, but what else should I call it? Kufta? Khufta? Kofta? I don't even know how to spell it in English, but I guess no one else does, either, because I've seen all of these spellings while trying to figure out how to make it. Anyway...my husband has wanted me to make this for four years. For four freaking years, he's grumbled that he wanted me to make him his favorite dish that his mother used to make. Are you fucking kidding me? How daunting is that? To try to replicate her recipe without having it? Without having her show me how to make it I was terrified of it being a disaster. Yeah, he loves my steaks and ginger chicken and fish, but how could I ever meet his expectations for his favorite food?
I put it off for as long as I could, begging for patience, explaining my fear of wasting food. His patience was not infinite. He could not wait for us to be able to afford to either visit his parents or bring them here. Last year, he found a video on YouTube that he wanted me to try to use to make it. Eleven months later, I finally did.
Read MoreBestill your racing hearts, folks. I'm really going to do it. Today, I'm going to teach you my secret recipe that I've perfected over the years. It is a nice balance between throwing together pre-made stuff and making it full-on from scratch. People who know me go crazy over this dip, especially my husband. But, it is really cheesy and I don't want his heart to explode, so I only mix up a batch a few times a year. It's better than anything you've ever gotten at a restaurant, grocery store, or deli. Fair warning, though--it's going to take a while, so settle in, strap on, and get ready for one hell of a ride.
Read MoreThis week, I'm making a bit of a departure from my "normal" blogs to talk about what happened today--on this fantastic, wondrous day of April 20th, 2018. Today, Eat the Elephant, A Perfect Circle's first new studio album in 14 years, has hit the shelves.
If you've ever met me, you know how much I love music.
Read MoreSince my overnight oats recipe only makes breakfast for six days, I need something to make on the seventh day, right? I've been making my breakfast bake for years. Before I got married, I used to make it with ham. Now, I make it with turkey or chicken. The cheese remains the same, though. It will always be a creamy, delicious, smoked gruyere.
Read MoreSo many people skip breakfast. Too many, in fact. We've all heard it a million times--breakfast is the most important meal of the day. But mornings are so hard! Especially if you're like me and you are a night owl. I'm not at all a morning person. I am grumpy, surly, and I'm always running late because it is so hard for me to wake up to an alarm. I barely have time to make coffee, let alone breakfast! That's where my overnight oats come into play.
Read MoreEvery year since I was a debut author, I go to NYC for ThrillerFest. This summer will be my third time. It will also be my first time going entirely alone. Since my husband and I are trying really hard to save money so we can go to Palestine and visit his parents, I've made the difficult choice to go alone. I decided to start planning my trip in the cheapest way possible and figuring out where I'd be eating while on my trip. Last year, my niece and I found this awesome pizza place that had two slices and a can of soda for $6. I couldn't remember the name of it, though.
Enter--Google Maps.
We all want to eat healthier, right? But fried foods are just so damned delicious! No one wants to give them up entirely. But what can we do? Technology to the rescue! I'm a night owl, so I'm frequently subjected to infomercials. While under the fog of decision fatigue, hour-long commercials ply their wares to unsuspecting insomniacs across the country. "Look at how fantastic and perfect and easy it all is! Check out this versatility! Recipes! Payment plans! Money back guarantee!"
Damn it. They got me.
Read MoreA person can't live on red meat alone. There must be balance in all things. When we don't find balance, we fall. When it comes to food, we can fall into a rut, cycles of bad health, bad habits, etc etc. So, for a bit of variety, we're going to talk about chicken this week. Tender, juicy, organic, free-range, Butcher Box chicken.
Read MoreRemember Kid 'N Play? Did you know Kid is a comedian now? I saw him on that Byron Allen show, Comics Unleashed. He told this joke about how his girlfriend calls herself steak and lobster. She said that when you go to the grocery store, you see Hamburger Helper, Tuna Helper, Chicken Helper, but you don't see any Steak Helper or Lobster Helper. Because steak and lobster "don't need no help!" I'm making sirloin steaks this week. Juicy, succulent, beautifully marbled, Butcher Box steaks!
Read MoreIt’s time for week two of my Butcher Box adventures!
Who doesn’t love a big, juicy steak? I don’t know…Vegans, I guess. And don’t get me wrong, veggie people—I love a good salad as much as you do. But, I get anemic and need some red meat from time to time. So, yeah. Not ever gonna be a vegan. You keep being you, though. Because for us meat-loving people, there are things like Butcher Box. After much anticipation and trouble, I have finally gotten a box of beef and chicken that I can cook!
Read MoreWhat food blog would be complete without meat? I figured if I’m going to do this cooking blog thing right, I need to get some meat. Big, delicious, juicy, mouth-watering meat. This adventure in culinary delights started back in November when I saw a big Cyber Monday sale for Butcher Box. I hopped on board and bought a huge box of steaks and chicken. It’s organic, grass-fed, humanely raised, and all that good stuff. I know happy meat tastes better, so I was eager as hell to try this meat.
Read MoreIn my meal delivery adventures, I decided to give Home Chef a shot as my second one. Again, I got it at a discounted rate, but then, don’t all of them seem to offer half off for the first week? I got Home Chef deliveries for two weeks this time instead of three. In some ways, it was better than Hello Fresh, but in other ways, it was worse.
Read MoreSalt is salt. It doesn’t matter what you use to cook, as long as you use it sparingly, right? No, no, no. Wrong. If you have the right salt, the right pepper, and the right oil, you don’t really need much else to season your foods. And let me tell you folks, I found the right salt! Falksalt!
Read MoreHello Fresh is a meal delivery service that sends you a box full of ingredients with recipes and you cook fresh, healthy meals that are supposed to take less than an hour. They have a handful of recipes you can choose from each week, or you can let them surprise you and they just send the most popular meals.
Read MoreI know I've said this before, but I may have found a focus for my blog. It's been so obvious. It's always been right there in front of me. Food. I'm super into food. I cook several times a week. I bake for the holidays. And I'm nothing if not meticulous when it comes to preparing food. So, from here on out, that will be the primary focus of my blog. Food and all that it encompasses. I might write about cooking, ingredients, gardening, restaurants, meal delivery services, or even mail-order specialty food products.
Read MoreIt's almost Thanksgiving so I figured I should, at least, post a blog with some cooking tips. I mean, I did graduate from culinary school before I started this whole author thing. Might as well spread the love, right? Need help with your turkey? Gravy? Can't ever seem to get smooth mashed potatoes? Deviled eggs a bit bland? Blasse rolls? Read on!
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