I made this about a two weeks ago. We had had our first cold snap and a good wine stew called to me. This is a bit of a variation on a wine stew I have made for years. It came out quite well. I also made a whole wheat loaf with balsamic and parmesan and it was great with the stew.¾-1 lb beef (I happened to use filet, typically would not, but I got the whole tenderloin so it was less that most other cuts of beef)¼ c seasoned flour (salt, pepper, red pepper, whatever you like)1tbs oil2 lar... Read Full Story

Okay I am a bit late in telling you guys about the saga of the wine. Part of being a featured publisher with food buzz means that I get to try cool products from time to time. So I let no moss grow under my feet when they offered up free wine. Yep you heard me, free wine. Free. Wine.This offer was months ago and thanks to the joys of living in the fine state of Virginia and ABC laws aimed at…. Oh hold up… that is another blog all together. Lets just say getting the wine to me, because of ... Read Full Story

Hey, for all of you in Richmond...If you are on Twitter go find Bistro 27 and follow them, you will get 50% off an entree. If you are not on twitter...might want to get on there. Offer ends on October 15th. http://twitter.com/Bistro27 Read Full Story

Okay, we are down here in Rodanthe, NC. I can go to a place where I , literally, buy the fish off the boat. That said, there is nothing recipe inducing about super fresh fish. The best thing, I think, is not to mess with it too much. So I thought, while here, I would share some picts instead.....Rough times getting Daddy to paint your toes....can you say wrapped around his little finger????Loving our loveyReady for the beach...One awesome sunsetAnd at the end of the day what it is all abo... Read Full Story

As most of you know, we have a place up in West Virginia. We co-own that place with my parents. My parents have made friends with a couple Brian and Ocea and besides supplying us with free range eggs, raspberries, squash and other goods, they apparently had a bumper crop of Shiitake mushrooms that they generously shared. This was a hard decision for me. What to do with them.?? I also had a terrible time deciding on a picture. I never realized quite how lovely these little guys were before. So... Read Full Story

Okay, I have fallen off the blog wagon. However, October I should be back on. Tristan will be in preschool and that will free up 2 hours a day for me. Also, it will be getting cooler which means more cooking. We planted a fairly big garden this year, which meant a lot of fresh veggies… and not a lot of cooking. That said, let me get to the point of this post. I have said it before and I will say it again….Bistro 27 is one of my favorite restaurants in Richmond. We went there last nigh... Read Full Story

We grew Pattypan this year (among other things). The little bush squash seriously produce. I had three plants (one was small and to date has still only surrendered 2 squash) and they produced about 3-4 large pattypan a week. We have stuffed them various ways, because they are great stuffing squash, but this was my favorite. In this recipe I did not use the inside of the squash ( I cooked it up for the kids) but you could, just reduce the other ingredients or expect extra filling.2 pattyp... Read Full Story

I will say that the measurements in this are approximate. I didn’t measure. I will also say this is one of my favorite dishes of late. Plus it is fast and easy. Score!½ lb penne¼ c. olive oil2 cloves garlic grated¼ toasted pine nuts½ c. grated parmesanSalt and pepper1/3 c. ribboned or torn basilStart pasta.Grate the garlic in a skillet (I use my handy dandy micro-plane, you want it to be a paste for maximum garlic goodness, if you don’t have a micro-plane use more garlic). Put oil in s... Read Full Story

Yard sale is done! Why I continue to torture myself doing these, I am not certain. Life willing, I will get back on track here shortly. However, I could not keep a very recent discovery of mine away from you. I love a BLT. I mean…LOVE. Like the love of 1,000 sailors after a 6 month cruise. Love. Especially, especially when I have my own tomatoes from my own little garden. What could be better….right??Well, by god I will tell you. Take that same lovely sandwich, ditch the lettuce, ... Read Full Story

Okay I feel like I am in blog black hole! My current dilemma preventing me from blogging is an ever looming yard sale. The yard sales was necessitated when finally my attic reached maximum capacity and threatened to bring the ceiling down on us! I am still cooking (of course) but I just haven’t had time to document it at all. Woe to me! I will eventually get back on track…eventually. So for now the results of the poll. Clearly everyone is looking for simple and fast, because the 5 ingr... Read Full Story