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Summer comes 'round again.

As the evenings get warmer and the crickets song helps even the busiest of brains lull off to dreamland, I realize that it's summer, again. We barely had a winter here on the mountain and spring was about two full weeks, maybe.  Gardens are taking hold and my zuch plants are soon to overtake everything else in a matter of days. Summer to me means grilling pretty much everything, every day to keep the heat out of the kitchen. Working in the shop kitchen for hours on end this time of year is not just exhausting but dehydrating! What are some of your favorite things to grill?  Do you prefer marinates or dry rubs?  Do you wrap your baked potatoes in foil on the grill or just plop them directly on the grill (well olive oiled of course)? Then there are the summer desserts... fresh berries, stone fruit, homemade ice cream.  One of my go to sweet treats is this peach and citrus sour cream cake.  (recipe at the end of this entry). Of course the star of easy summertime fo...
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The Winter Blues

There's that weird period of time between January 1st and Valentine's Day I will classify as "The Winter Blues".  You're still recovering from the holiday rush and have that "I've forgotten something" feeling in the back of your mind, daily, since you aren't going somewhere for a party, preparing for a party or cleaning up after a party. The reality is, you have no deadlines and no one is dropping by at 7AM to pick up that Chocolate Peppermint Torte for their New Year's Eve celebration.  It's quiet.   Rainy (and or snow depending on where you live). The vibrant colors of the holidays, the reds, the golds, the greens have all faded to a light greyish-blue. How do I beat the Winter Blues you might be asking yourself?  I cook things that make ME happy (potato tacos).  This is the time of year I do most of my recipe testing for upcoming cooking demonstrations or private classes I teach.  Most will show up in the next co...
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You Should Be Grilling Everything!

I was listening to a very wise man at work today, telling me his trials and tribulations of smoking ribs over the weekend.   He loves to cook and appreciates everything that I bring in for work-folks to enjoy.  After our conversation I realized I should have asked him for his beans and BBQ Sauce recipe... (putting that on the list for tomorrow).  I adore men who cook...and not just grill but  really cook.    They get into the science of it.  I, first and foremost, am a baker and that in it's simplest form is chemistry.  From day one really.   I remember my first summer job, a bake shop in Wasaga Beach (long gone now)... no A/C, Central Ontario Canada summer's with humidity that would choke a goat.  My job was to make Rum Balls.  From 7:15am to 5pm, make...rum...balls.   To this day, I can't look at a rum ball.  The added bonus to this "summer job" (where I was paid $2.1...
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A Celebration with "Heart".

Valentine's Day is always observed on February 14. Esther Howland of Worcester, Mass., published the first American Valentine in 1849. Hallmark first offered Valentine's Day cards in 1913 and began mass producing them in 1916. February hasn't been the same since. Mind you, the very first Valentine Day was celebrated wayyyyyy back when Romans celebrated the feast of Lupercalia. Flash forward to the 3rd century A.D. when Emperor Claudius II executed two men — both named Valentine — on Feb. 14. Their martyrdom was honored by the Catholic Church with the celebration of St. Valentine's Day.  Later Pope Gelasius I, muddled things in the 5th century by combining St. Valentine's Day with Lupercalia to expel the pagan rituals. It always comes back to the shenanigans of us Pagans... geez louise. That all said, I personally prefer to celebrate my special someone (if and when I eventually have a special someone again that is...), all year long and ...
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