Busy Day Dessert

It’s hard to believe local strawberries have ripened in all the lousy weather we’ve had this Spring.  But they did and from now until Father’s Day, I will serve them as often as possible.  My friend Laurie says strawberries harbor pesticides so she buys organic.  I know of several locally managed fields from Santa Rosa to American… Read more »

Italian Style Stuffed Red Peppers

Utter the words red peppers and automatically, kids snicker and whine, convinced their mouths will be set on fire at the dinner table. Most stuffed pepper recipes don’t have enough ingredients my kids really like so I decided to invent one myself.  My son loves Orzo.  Red peppers were on sale recently and they are… Read more »

Customer Service/Inside Sales Southern Solano County

Our client is looking for someone to follow the customer portfolio and sales activity of their outside sales force.  You’ll need at least two years in the wine and food glass packaging industry as well as two years customer service experience. You must be able to successfully manage relationships with customers and the outside staff.… Read more »

Texas Chili Meets Idaho Spud At The Bar

These states have more in common that their rouge majorities.  I make Texas Chili with an Idaho Baked Potato for dinner all the time.  My mom always made chili with beans, and used ground burger, not chuck steak.  Her recipe is similar but leans South of the border.  This recipe works best when you have 45 minutes… Read more »

Nachos For Dinner

• Mission tortilla chips (he worked for Mission Foods) • Black beans • Refried beans • Cheese sauce in a jar (heated) • Hamburger seasoned with salt, paprika, chili powder and cayenne • Chopped tomatoes, olives, iceburg lettuce • Dollops of sour cream • Salsa This is my husband’s secret recipe that has satisfied many… Read more »

A Family Favorite

There are a couple pages in a little cookbook we have for Louisiana Jambalaya that are spotted with stains from the many times we’ve prepared this delicious dish.  It can be spicy for little ones depending on the type of sausage and amount of cayenne used.  There is something for everyone in this meal –… Read more »

To Blanch or Not To Blanch….

“What is blanch?”  my daughter asked as I began this blog.  Add an “e” at the end and it’s French for white, but in cooking, it means to boil about 30 seconds and I like blanching certain vegetables, like carrots, broccoli and cauliflower, before adding them to my winter salads.  It takes the edge off… Read more »

A Wine Pairing Worth Noting

Our wine tasting group reunited this weekend.  For a decade plus 8, we’ve been blind tasting wines, rating and ranking them, discussing their attributes and testing our ability to guess varietal, vintage and more.   This time we tasted zins from Dry Creek.  Living in the bulls-eye of California wine country, in Sonoma, we have more… Read more »

Pea Soup Anyone?

At less than $2 per person, I’m beating the cost of a Happy Meal.

Go Asian!

My family members appreciate when I do a twist on the salad dressing.  I first learned this recipe when I worked at two of Lisa Hemenway’s Santa Rosa restaurants while I was attending Sonoma State.  It’ll instantly add an Asian flare to any vegetables or salad. 2 parts unseasoned rice vinegar 4 parts oil (you can use part sesame… Read more »