Memorial Day weekend is usually Crazy Town in our household - usually falling right in the middle of two special birthdays. Combine those ...
Sweet and Smokey Baby Back Pork Ribs
Let’s talk about barbecue for a moment… I am not a huge meat eater. We eat mostly chicken and fish, as well as the occasional pork products- bacon, ...
Crispy Pork Carnitas Tacos
I’m not sure where my love of Mexican cuisine began, but it is no doubt my favorite cuisine. “Authentic,” not authentic, Tex Mex, Cal-Mex, it’s ...
Ben’s Tropical Smoothie
Not bright orange like Jamba's Mango-a-go-go, but with added flax meal, healthier and just as tasty! Years before Jamba Juice was a thing, my ...
Crispy Chicken Sandwich
As a typical kid who grew up in the 80s, we ate our fair share of fast food- namely Taco Bell and Burger King. A popular item at the King was a ...
Berry Banana Smoothie
I cannot count how many smoothies we’ve made over the years, but I can safely say it’s in the thousands. My husband and I made them almost daily when ...
Potato Salad
I don’t know about you, but I crave (and plan!) food based on the weather. The cooler weather and hunkering down in March and early April likely had ...
Tex Mex Breakfast Burrito
Healthy and delicious meal anytime of the day It is no secret in my family that I could eat mexican food for breakfast, lunch and dinner. One way ...
Smoky Black Bean Dip
I’m a sucker for a good bean dip, but then again, who isn’t? Good old fashioned 7-layer Tex Mex bean dip is one of my all-time favorites. ...
Freshly Baked Muffins, Anyone?
Refrigerator Bran Muffins- fresh out of the oven As we continue our 5th week of Shelter in Place here in the Bay Area, a bit of the panic has worn ...
10 Minute Hummus
Homemade hummus is too easy not to make at home and far superior to what you can typically find in the grocery store. Brands seem to vary widely ...
Eric’s Sipper (House Manhattan)
I’m not sure if we are the only ones, but the older my husband and I get, the more the old saying, “less is more” seems to apply to our lives. ...
Mezcal Con Pepino
A few years ago my husband and I were celebrating our anniversary in Cabo San Lucas at the beautiful Resort at Pedregal. Our vacation was at the ...
Anytime Frittata
Frittatas are a perfect way to use up veggies that may be past their peak freshness, small chunks of random cheeses in your fridge drawer, or leftover ...
5 Day Post-Vacay Reset- “The Meal Plan”
Here is the meal plan for a 5 day reset. Any of the dishes with an * will be a recipe on the blog in the coming days. Any dishes with ** already ...
Post-vacay 5 day reset- the “rules”
Lost Lake- Whistler, Canada A few weeks ago my family and I enjoyed a fantastic family trip to Vancouver and Whistler. Canada is one special ...
House Granola
Homemade granola is such a staple in our house, I often forget what the store bought version tastes like, but I vaguely recall it resembling overly ...
Summer Tomato Pie
Tomato Pie- the best kind of pie there is! It’s late July and the local farmer’s markets in the Bay Area are overflowing with summer’s ...
Summer Sipper
Back in my early twenties, when my friends and I wanted a drink, liquor cabinet foraging was a pretty regular occurrence. I was legal, working ...
Marinated Beans with Garlic and Herbs
One way to enjoy a summer evening at home is to have an easy, stress-free seasonal meal planned. Even better if it’s a hit with the whole ...
It’s Raining in May- Keep Calm and Roast a Chicken!
It's supposed to be sunny and warm outside- it's mid-May in California after all. The sun is coming, we just have to wait several more ...
Simple Make-Ahead Spring Menu
Spring has definitely sprung in Northern California! The temperatures in the Bay area have my kids barefoot and jumping in the chilly pool after ...
Everything Muffin
Last week I made these little muffins when I should have been packing for a big family vacation. I knew we had an early morning flight and the ...
Meal Planning WHILE on vacation!
We've been home from a Hawaiian vacation for less than 24 hrs and the relaxation is already a distant memory! Sound familiar? So much fun, sun, sand, ...
SFCS: Externship and Beyond
The ultimate goal of Restaurant Week, beyond showcasing our new skills and amazing food, was to get us ready for our externships and working in a ...
Cooking School: Weeks 14-16
With just days to go before we had to begin preparing for our big Restaurant Week finale, we enjoyed a few super fun days at school. Early December ...
Cooking School: Weeks 11-14
Weeks 11-14 of cooking school have come and gone, as they took place in November. Any parent knows that once the first holiday of the season hits- ...
Cooking School, Weeks 9 & 10
It’s no surprise, but weeks 9 and 10 were full of many fun experiences and tasty dishes. There were at least two days that I declared, “this is my ...
Weeks 7 & 8- Workshop Days!
Happy weekend, friends and family! I hope you all had a great week! I am so glad it’s the weekend because I’m not sure I had another 6-hr cooking ...
Cooking School- week 6
Hi Friends and Family! I hope you all had a good week. Aren’t Fridays the best? Leaving San Francisco this afternoon under the bright blue sky and ...
Cooking School: Weeks 4 & 5
Happy Sunday, friends and family! I have never appreciated my weekends more… getting some rest and relaxation is not just wanted, but absolutely ...
Cooking School- Week 3
Is it the weekend yet?!? I want to make brunch! Last week was Egg Week and I’m dying to put these new egg skills to good use. We had a full week of ...
A Delicious Week 2
Last week at cooking school was a blast! We started the week with a super fun Taste Workshop by the fabulous Barb Stuckey. I read her book Taste What ...
Cooking school, one week down!
Happy Labor Day, Friends and Family! I cannot think of a better placed 3-day weekend on the calendar than this one. Kids are back in school, weather ...
Melon Salad with Feta, Jalapeno and Mint
Happy Friday, friends! I hope you all had a great week. If it's 5 o'clock where you are, congrats! If you're still a few hours away like we are, ...
Zucchini-Olive Oil with Lemon Icing
August marks an important month for me. Exactly a year ago I began looking online for classes for home cooks. My plan was to give myself a ...
Food helps soothe the soul
Beautiful Santa Barbara coastline with charred hills just above Montecito For my close friends and family, you know the past few weeks have brought ...
Happy 2018!
Happy 2018 to you all! I truly hope you had a great holiday season filled with family and friends. We sure did! Apparently, I failed to take a closer ...
Christmas Cookies: It’s the Yummiest Time of the Year
Festive San Francisco City Hall with a Full Moon Happy December, everyone! We are in full holiday swing around here, although we have heavy hearts ...
One holiday down…
Happy Sunday! I hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving. Whether it was a large group or small, you had turkey or tofu, and were at home or ...
Chocolate Chip Toffee Cookies with Browned Butter and Sea Salt
Cookies and I go way back. Anyone remember going to the mall with your friends and getting a bag of Mrs. Field’s mini cookies? I sure do! In fact, I ...
A year later… and still meal planning
Happy Fall everyone! It's been just over a year since my last blog post. Anyone remember my last post about us suddenly buying a new home and putting ...
Big changes around here!
Happy October!! Just when I thought fall couldn’t get any busier, we bought a new house and put our current home on the market- all in the past 2 ...
Easy weeknight meals anyone?
Anyone worried my family didn’t eat this past week due to a lack of post? I’m not going to lie, it was just one of those weeks. A busy holiday ...
When you know better you do better
Let me first say that I truly appreciate all the feedback since I’ve started this little blog. I have really appreciate our texts, emails, ...
Plans change, so use pencil!
Meal planning always begins with the best intentions- a nice balanced week of food, a mix of simple and more involved recipes and different types of ...
The Countdown…
Where did summer go?? The first day of school is just around the corner for most of us and fall sports schedules are slowly trickling in. To parents ...
Back from vacation and back on the wagon
First, thank you for all the kind words and feedback on the first WORDY post! I promise to never write such a long post. It was no surprise that from ...
Once a planner, always a planner!
This is the “I don’t have time/talent/energy to write a food blog” blog. With that said, here it goes! Many years ago, before I had kids, I was an ...