It’s funny where you might stumble upon a recipe. Sure, there are sites that are dedicated to recipes, such as Epicurious and blogs like this one. There’s the back of a package – like the Nestle Toll House chocolate chips and their famous cookie. One place I hadn’t anticipated, though, was when I went to Cypress Grove’s website to read up on their newest addition to their cheese line up, Truffle Tremor.

When I was putting together a cheese course of local cheeses, and I picked up Truffle Tremor in part because I love Cypress Grove’s Humboldt Fog, so I thought I’d try the newest cheese on the block. The Tremor was so good, so creamy, that I decided to pop over to the website to find out more about it. That’s where I stumbled upon recipes. (more…)

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Comfort food, Gourmet, Lunch, Quick and Easy, Vegetarian by Courtney

Today I awoke to gray skies. While the temperature wasn’t too cold, there’s something about a gray day that makes you want to snuggle back under the covers and hibernate, watching old movies and keeping warm. So that’s basically what I did, only the covers were on the couch, so I could enjoy all of the Christmas decorations around the house.

I decided it would be the perfect day to feed the craving I’d been having for a vegetable soup in Lidia Bastianich’s book, Lidia Cooks from the Heart of Italy. I had made the recipe last year, and it was so full of flavor and so easy that it has stuck out in my mind as a “must make as soon as the weather turns cold” meal. (more…)

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Comfort food, Dairy free, Dinner, Gluten free, Italian, Lunch, Soups, Vegan, Vegetarian by Courtney

One of my favorite parts of going home again is not only the traditional Southern cuisine, such as country ham and biscuits and gravy, but having my family cook some of my favorites, such as Spaghetti and Meatballs. Having spaghetti and meatballs at Dad’s house means perfectly portioned meatballs by Dad, and yummy cheesy bread by his wife Mary (who also makes the spaghetti sauce and spaghetti for the Spaghetti and Meatballs).

The bread is, in one word, addictive. It’s a sandwich roll, buttered, garlicked (garlic powder), and a liberal amount of mozzarella cheese is added between the slices. They’re baked until the cheese and butter is melted, and the bread is a bit crunchy on the edges. The result is something that is in no way, shape, or form good for you, but you don’t care, because it is so damn tasty. And it’s a splurge that I get once or twice a year, so there’s no way I’m giving it up anytime soon.

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Comfort food, miscellany, Vegetarian by Courtney

Tonight for dinner, instead of ending with a sweet note, I decided to put together a cheese plate of local cheeses to round out our meal. At the cheese counter, I picked up a favorite, the Humboldt Fog from Cypress Grove. As I was perusing the other selections, I noticed a new offering from Cypress Grove – Truffle Tremor. I added that to my basket, and randomly selected a Cowgirl Creamery to round out my offerings (because I always like an odd number of cheeses). The Cowgirl was Red Hawk, and man, was it stinky! Very tasty, but so stinky you almost needed to hold your nose around this cheese. (more…)

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Appetizers, Dessert, Dinner by Courtney

One of the things I discovered in Japan was my love of boiled tofu for breakfast. What once sounded slimy, bland, and rather disgusting is now a craving that must be fed. So on a recent trip to the Japanese grocery, I picked up a few items to make this morning meal part of my routine.

First and foremost, there’s the tofu itself. I picked up some soft tofu blocks, as my local grocery often will only have firm or extra firm. Then there are the toppings. Some toasted seaweed and bonito flakes were unique items I needed from the Japanese grocery, because ginger, scallions, and soy sauce are kept on hand at my house already. (more…)

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Breakfast, Dairy free, Gluten free, Japanese, Vegan, Vegetarian, World traveller by Courtney