food blog

Crispy Fried Zucchini with Tzatziki Sauce

| Heidi

Crispy Fried Zucchini with Tzatziki Sauce
One of my favorite summer vegetables is zucchini. Don’t be surprised if you see several zucchini dishes from me over the next few weeks. I have 5 zucchini plants producing right now and boy are they producing. This is one of my favorite dishes with zucchini. I served it as an appetizer on this occasion because it is so good. The tzatziki sauce with the fried zucchini creates an excellent flavor profile and is great for a meatless meal too… Continue reading →

Raspberry Preserve French Toast Fingers

| Heidi

Raspberry Preserve French Toast Fingers 2
French toast fingers are something I used to make on special occasions while my kids were growing up. I always tried to make every holiday a magical event. One year on Valentine’s Day my kiddo’s woke up to 50 red, pink and white helium balloons in the dining room. Then they were served peanut butter & jelly filled french toast fingers on china and champagne glasses filled with orange and sparkling juice. Well, my hubby and I are not big on peanut butter and jelly, but we do love raspberry preserves. I used a really good loaf of sourdough from my favorite artisan bakery, Carter’s to give these french toast fingers a little twist… Continue reading →

Grilled Creole Chicken

| Linda


We enjoy Creole and Cajun food. Unfortunately it’s been hard to find really good restaurants that cater to New Orleans style cuisine in our area. We can recommend a few in nearby Philadelphia – Catahoula Restaurant and Beck’s Cajun Cafe, but there’s still nothing like home-cooked! The first thing to any good Creole cuisine is the seasoning. These grilled chicken leg quarters are marinated in a Creole Rub that hits just the right spot! Give ’em a try and you’ll taste what I’m talking about… Continue reading →

En Papillote Salmon with Lemon, Tomatoes & Sparkling Wine

| Heidi

En Papillote simply means cooked and served in a paper wrapper. Foil and parchment paper are the best ways to accomplish this poaching technique. I prefer parchment because the end result is a little more dramatic. This is a great way to serve and impress company while keeping cleanup to a minimum. While the entire dish is cooking, you can be enjoying cocktails with your guests! You can make the pouches individually for each guest to receive their own little pouch, or make the entire dish in one large pouch to serve everyone. They can be assembled in advance and refrigerated while you get ready for your guests. When your guests arrive, just pop in the oven… Simple and divine! Continue reading →

Broccoli Cheddar Chowder

| Heidi

Broccoli Cheddar Chowder

Today is MEATLESS MONDAY! We have 25 beautiful broccoli plants in the garden. After they make the initial broccoli head like the one in the grocery store, the plant starts producing little broccoli shoots. Well, I have many, many little broccoli shoots. Since my husband and I love soup, I decided to make a Broccoli Cheddar Chowder for lunch. I like to top mine with a little hot pepper oil from the best hot peppers I have ever had, Pap’s Peppers from Altoona, Pa, (Oh, So Good)! My son was visiting and he and my husband said it was the best broccoli soup they ever had. What a wonderful compliment… Continue reading →