Feta Couscous Cakes with Tomato Olive Salad

What a busy week this has been!  I feel like I've hardly had time to eat!  Lucky for me I got to have dinner at my parents house this weekend where my mom and I made these Feta Couscous Cakes with Tomato Olive Salad.  It was probably the first real meal I've had all week.  This recipe makes 8 cakes.

Spiced Applesauce

Happy First Day of Fall!!!  Today is very exciting as it is the start of all good things; sweaters, blankets, crunchy leaves, crisp air, hot cocoa, and everything apples!  I went apple picking with my fiance yesterday and came home with dozens of apples.  Macoun, empire, suncrisp, honeycrisp, and red delicious, to name a few.  I'm feeling there might be an Apple Week in the mist.

Today I decided to make a delicious Spiced Applesauce which filled my home with the smell of autumn.  It is a cinch to make and tastes incredibly better than store bought applesauce.  You can use whichever apple variety you'd like, though I think the sweeter apples work better.  Apple varieties can also be blended to make the sauce extra special.  I used two red delicious, two macouns, one empire, and one suncrisp.  This recipe can easily be doubled.

Shredded Cabbage Soup

Today has been a perfect day.  I have been lounging around in sweatpants and slippers, wrapped in a blanket and enjoying this windy, stormy afternoon.  What better dish to enjoy on a rainy day than a warm cup of soup with late season garden vegetables. This is my mom's recipe and is definitely a family favorite.

Lulu's Horribly Good Cookies

Several years ago I was visiting family in Salem, MA, a beautiful city full of history and culture.  Better yet, Salem is home to one of the best bakeries I have ever come across.  Unfortunately, I do not even know the name of it.  I was probably 10 years old, my family and I were walking down a sidewalk near the ocean that was lined with cute little shops.  We came across some packaged goodies for sale on a table in front of a bakery and took a quick look to see what they had.  We found these huge chocolate chip cookies called Horribly Good Cookies.  This sparked our interest and we entered the store to ask the woman why they are called "Horribly Good."  Her reply was that they are so incredibly chocolatey that either people think they are just horrible, or people think they are wicked good!  Being lovers of chocolate we decided to buy several cookies.  Upon opening the bag and sinking my teeth into what I assumed was just a chocolate chip cookie was the biggest surprise a 10 year old could have.  The cookie was actually stuffed with a brownie!  I decided that my mission in life was to try to figure out how to replicate that Horribly Good Cookie from the bakery in Salem.  I think I have finally created a replica that will suit my desire for these cookies, though nothing will beat the surprise of that first bite I had on the beach with my family all those years ago.

Crockpot Honey Asian Chicken

One of my most used kitchen appliances is my Crockpot.  In my opinion, it is one of the greatest culinary inventions ever created.  Dumping ingredients in a bowl, turning it on, and coming back 3 hours later to a delicious meal is my kind of cooking.  This Honey Asian Chicken is definitely a "go-to" recipe in my house.

Handmade Pasta

Now that I am getting back into the swing of school I am having less time to cook dinner.  Lately I have been eating sandwiches or Ramen (eek!) because I have zero time to prepare a nice meal.  So today I set out to make a bunch of batches of handmade pasta to freeze for those days when I want a nice meal with no time to make it.  Handmade pasta is incredibly easy to make no matter how scary it sounds!  You can use a rolling pin if you don't have a pasta machine, just be sure to roll it very thin.  I have included many, many pictures to demonstrate each step.

This recipe makes about 1/2 pound of pasta.

  

Rainy Day Popovers

I am loving the weather today.  All morning it has been cool with strong winds and the smell of rain to come.  This afternoon the skies opened up and buckets of rain have been pouring down, accompanied by clashes of thunder and flashes of lightening.  I have been standing at my sliding glass door with it wide open, as I always do when it rains, breathing in the fresh rainy air and watching the waves of rain beat over the ground.  I love it. 

I especially love warm baked breads on rainy days like today.  Popovers are light, hollow rolls that can be sweetened with jams or whipped cream, or made savory with meats and cheese.  I enjoy mine plain, with an occasional slathering of raspberry jam, should the mood strike.  They are often made in a popover tin, but as I do not have one a regular muffin tin works just the same.

Sage Brown Butter Sauce

The other day my mom was asking what to do with all the sage she is growing in her garden.  I suggested a mouth-watering Sage Brown Butter Sauce to go with a heavy pasta, such as gnocchi, ravioli, or tortellini.  It only has three ingredients that can come together in less than 15 minutes for a quick and easy mid-week meal.  Don't forget the crusty bread to sop up the sauce!

Iced Green Tea with Jasmine, Apple, and Honey

Every summer since high school my friends and I go to Hampton Beach, NH.  It started as an exciting adventure to leave NY when we first got our licenses, but has become so much more.  It has provided a reason for us to get back together after moving away to college and getting jobs in far away places.  Yesterday we made a day trip out; 7 hours on Hampton Beach is completely worth the 8 hour drive.  On the long drive home we listened to some excellent music by our favorite bands from high school, some of which include: Meat Loaf, Queen, Don McClean, Blink 182, Shakira, and of course, songs from Rent and Disney.  Apparently singing my heart out did a number on my vocal cords and I woke up without a voice.  I knew I had to make something to soothe my throat.  This Iced Green Tea with Jasmine, Apple, and Honey has done just that.