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Musings & Recipes From My Kitchen

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Archives for August 2012

Mixed Greens with Apples, Dates and Gorgonzola: OXO Salad Dressing Shaker Review

August 31, 2012 By Laura 39 Comments

I cannot remember the last time I was so excited over a relatively small, uni-tasking kitchen gadget. OXO contacted me all the way back in the spring about receiving one of their new Salad Dressing Shakers,  to review and give away as part of their Blogger Outreach Program, but there was a snafu somewhere in… 

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Filed Under: apples, balsamic, cooks' tools, dried fruit, fruit, reviews, Salad Dressing, salads, Tools Tagged With: apples, dates, gorgonzola, leafy greens, Medjool dates, OXO Salad Dressing Shaker, recipe, review, salad, salad dressing, while balsamic vinegar

Alex Takes on Double Chocolate Chip Muffins

August 24, 2012 By Laura 2 Comments

My daughter studies a muffin recipe before beginning to bake.

Some of you may have thought, after witnessing the cocoa powder mess from the brownies, that I would not be brave enough to let Alex back into the kitchen. Then it occurred to me that if I taught her to make muffins I could get her making her own savory muffins for her lunch box… 

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Filed Under: chocolate, cooks' tools, kids cooking, muffins Tagged With: chocolate, chocolate chips, kids baking, muffins

Summer Chutney 2 Ways: Tomato Chutney; Date, Onion and Tart Apple Chutney

August 21, 2012 By Laura Leave a Comment

Date, Onion and Tart Apple Chutney on Indian Curry

Chutneys are one of those incredibly useful condiments that I would urge every home cook to start making. Endlessly useful and easily made in bulk and then canned or frozen, they are simple, satisfying and delicious. They are a fantastic way to preserve your spring, summer or autumn bounty. They are delicious on almost all… 

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Filed Under: apples, chutneys, dried fruit, fruit, Indian recipes, tomatoes, vegetarian Tagged With: apples, baking apples, chutneys, dates, dried fruit, onions, seasonal, tomatoes

Aloo Chana Saag Chicken Curry

August 17, 2012 By Laura 4 Comments

Roasting whole spices and onions in Le Creuset enameled cast iron for Indian curry

Indian curries are rapidly becoming my favorite go-to meal. In addition to their ease of preparation (as a one pot meal), healthiness, and general tastiness, they are also endlessly flexible and adaptable to the season. They can be lighter or heartier. They can be luscious with braised meat or vegetarian or even vegan (or anywhere… 

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Filed Under: chicken, chickpeas, curry, easily made vegetarian, greens, Indian recipes, potatoes, spinach, tomatoes, yogurt, zucchini Tagged With: chicken, chickpeas, curry, garbanzos, greens, Indian, Indian curry, potatoes, spinach, tomatoes, yogurt, zucchini

Boca Negra Cake: #CookForJulia

August 12, 2012 By Laura 16 Comments

When I was first contacted about cooking a Julia Child recipe and posting about it for PBS’s #CookForJulia celebration of Julia Child in honor of what would have been her upcoming 100th birthday, I was extremely ambivalent. On the one hand, it was PBS and that is exciting! And honoring Julia Child is certainly a… 

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Filed Under: blog events, Boozy Desserts, cakes, chocolate Tagged With: boca negra, bourbon, cake, chocolate, chocolate cake, flourless chocolate cake, Julia Child, white chocolate

Vinho Verde Pound Cake: “Come into my parlor, said the spider to the fly…”

August 9, 2012 By Laura 3 Comments

Every now and then I get a little crazy enthusiastic about the joys and benefits of living somewhere that nature comes right up to my backdoor. Well tonight I mean that literally, as I went a little giddy snapping photos (with my iPhone, handheld in the dark, so pardon the quality) of this little scene… 

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Filed Under: Boozy Desserts, bundt cakes, cakes, misc Tagged With: bundt cake, cake, nature, pound cake, sparkling wine, spiders, vinho verde

Tomato & Chickpea Salad with Basil and Yogurt Dressing

August 6, 2012 By Laura 7 Comments

Skamp had the big Snip Snip done last week. I am not sure he cares much about his missing testicles, but he is definitely not thrilled by his cone of shame (shame because we tried to go without, but that dog would not stop licking!).

Filed Under: chickpeas, salads, tomatoes, vegetarian, yogurt Tagged With: basil, cherry tomatoes, chickpeas, garbanzo beans, salads, seasonal, seasonal cooking, sungold tomatoes, tomatoes, yogurt

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Sandwich Cookies: The Cookie Dough Lover’s Cookbook

August 2, 2012 By Laura 5 Comments

I don’t think of myself as a particularly spacey. Yet the older I get, the spacier I get. Just this week I showed up at the wrong time for my daughter’s hair cut. Apparently I had it confused it with my hair appointment 2 days later. Sigh. Can I blame being a mom?

Filed Under: chocolate, chocolate chip cookies, cookbooks, cookies, reviews Tagged With: chocolate, chocolate chip cookies, chocolate chips, cookbook review, cookie, cookie dough, egg-free dough

Hi! I’m Laura and I am a recovering history major who has re-channeled all of my passion for learning about the history of different countries to learning about their food culture. That doesn’t mean every dish on here is strictly authentic, but it does mean that even my adaptations are not undertaken lightly. My goal is to show you–by doing–that these dishes are possible in your kitchen. Including desserts because I have quite the sweet tooth! Read More…

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