Let’s face it:  a milkshake is just a way to eat double the amount of ice cream in half the time.  And I’m okay with that.  Now that it’s summer (also known as the time of year I try to avoid using my propane oven as much as possible—life in the country ain’t so grand), we [Click to Continue Reading...]

No, I did not name this recipe.  It’s an old Southern recipe that consists of moist yellow cake soaked in pineapple syrup, topped with whipped cream and coconut.  I updated the recipe to include rum, and I used coconut oil because I think the extra coconut flavor makes this better than better than sex cake.  If you’re [Click to Continue Reading...]

Y’all will never believe it, but I made a healthy dessert…and it serves more than two people.  Scandalous, I know!  I created this healthy biscotti recipe using quinoa flour, oat flour, whole wheat pastry flour, wheat germ and cornmeal for my lovely friend Natalie of Perry’s Plate.  Head on over to her gorgeous site for [Click to Continue Reading...]

I want to share a quick variation of my French macarons. My parents are visiting for a long weekend, so we’re out gallivanting around doing things that Texans love to do when they come to California:  wine tasting, harvesting food from the garden, marveling at the sight of water in rivers, enjoying the fact that [Click to Continue Reading...]

It seems that certain nuts are getting all the attention these days:  walnuts and almonds, I’m lookin’ at you.  Even pistachios have their own commercials with famous people and cartoon characters!  Don’t get me wrong, I love all nuts.  There are great walnut, almond and pistachio growers in my county and I buy local nuts [Click to Continue Reading...]

There are some days when you just need a triple chocolate cupcake. You know you are in need of a triple chocolate cupcake when a cold front in mid-May kills all the peppers and melons in the field.  Or, when a 2-minute hail storm pelts holes into your tender collard greens, swiss chard and zucchini [Click to Continue Reading...]

I come from a long line of hard-working farmers.  My mom’s side of the family grew cotton in the Alma and Telico areas of Texas, while my dad’s family grew tobacco in North Carolina.  If you don’t know anything else about the South, know that cotton and tobacco put us on the map.  Cotton and [Click to Continue Reading...]

I bet this Texas girl would have never had the chance to taste a French macaron unless she moved to California.  Trends seem to take their time creeping down South, sometimes never making it at all.  There’s nothing wrong with that, but after taking one bite of a macaron, I don’t think I could have [Click to Continue Reading...]