Blueberry Vanilla Jam

Blueberries. Buckets and buckets of blueberries. Sounds like heaven, right?

I eagerly anticipate pick-your-own blueberry season each summer, and when I saw the announcement that the season was starting over at Scott's Yankee Farmer, I got there as fast as I could and between my sister and three nephews, picked about ten pounds of blueberries. I told you - BUCKETS!

Aside from eating them by the handful, freezing them for smoothies, and blueberry muffins, what in the world do you do with that many berries? Make jam of course!

Pappardelle Pasta with Garden Vegetables and Garlic Scape Pesto

Oh, summer, how I love you. Longer days, warmer nights, lazy afternoons spent sipping iced coffee, days at the beach, amazingly fresh vegetables from my garden and the farmers market. This Friday, I came home from my bed at the community garden with several yellow squash and a great big handful of snap peas, and on Saturday I stopped by the farmers market and picked up some beautiful garlic scapes from Hunts Brook Farm, my favorite local farm - I get most of my vegetable seedlings from them each year (including the yellow squash and peas this year) and they have the most amazing produce.

Cauliflower "Chicken" & Buttermilk-Herb Waffles

Who says vegetarian food can’t be totally drool worthy? 

This weekend, my sister came over bragging about the amazing chicken and waffles she made for dinner the night before, complete with cognac maple syrup. So all day I was thinking about chicken and waffles and finally, it hit me - I could make CAULIFLOWER “chicken” and have some too!

Birch Bark Wedding Cake

I had the honor of being the "Best Lady" in the wedding of my two very best friends this month. Jon and Melissa got married on their 12th anniversary, at the place they met - Uconn's Avery Point campus in nearby Groton, CT. It was an absolutely beautiful wedding, accented with gorgeous birch bark decor, and since I offered to make their wedding cake, I thought that it might be very cool to create a cake that matched!

Recipe Redux: Samoa Popcorn

I often use some of the recipes I've shared on my blog as the jumping of point for something new, and last night, inspired by a jar of unsweetened flaked coconut I spotted in the cabinet (and the Girl Scouts who were selling cookies outside of my local Stop & Shop this weekend), I decided to make Samoa Popcorn. SAMOA. You know, everyone's favorite gooey, chocolatey, coconut-y treats that you happily (desperately) wait year round for until it's Girl Scout Cookie season.

Chocolate Chip Cup-Cookies

Valentine's Day. The perfect day to give someone you love something sweet. And even better if it's something homemade.

I usually make gifts for my neices and nephews, and I knew just what I could make for my oldest niece, Nadya, as a Valentine's Day treat.

This past fall, during a vacation to Hilton Head Island in South Carolina, we picked up some cupcakes from Sweet Carolina Cupcakes, which was right across the street from where we stayed, and Nadya chose a "Cup-Cookie" - basically a cookie baked into cupcake form and filled with the most delicious chocolate frosting ever. Nadya has been talking about that Cup-Cookie ever since, so I knew I had to try and replicate it for her.