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​Thank you to both my current and new newsletter subscribers. I had suspended my newsletter due to lack of time. If you are not aware of it, I’m a one woman show. I research the recipes, purchase the ingredients, prepare the dish, take the photos and post to social media and the blog. You'll also notice that I do not have any ads. I do my food blog for my own personal enjoyment and as my mission statement says, "Inspiring people to create every day recipes."
 

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I  don’t know where the month went. My husband and I have been shopping for a second-floor bath renovation,  did an overnight getaway and had some neighbors over one afternoon to celebrate the holidays.
 
During the winter, I prepare a lot of soups. Pea soup is a favorite as well as butternut squash apple soup. However, there’s one I recently craved and that’s creamy mushroom soup. Many, many years ago, “Bon Appétit Magazine” published a mushroom soup from Wolfgang Puck’s that was rich and creamy. I held onto that magazine just for the recipe, but after Super Storm Sandy, my collection of old “Bon Appétit” and “Gourmet” magazines were tossed. I was able to locate a copy of the recipe online. What I loved about the soup was its richness and how the addition of thyme imparted such a wonderful flavor. I had a similar soup at the now defunct Manor Restaurant in West Orange, NJ.
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With New Year’s Eve fast approaching, you may want to prepare some festive holiday desserts. One that was a hit with my granddaughters was turning Biscoff cookies into candy Christmas trees. My son-in-law spotted this on Instagram and thought it would be a fun activity for my youngest granddaughter and I to do. You can purchase the cookies at your local food store. You’ll also need a bag of chocolate chips. I purchased a package of Ghirardelli 60% cacao bittersweet chocolate chips.
 
The Biscoff cookies are placed on a parchment or silicone pad lined cookie sheet. Using a piping bag, or plastic food bag with the corner snipped, the chocolate is piped to form a triangle tree shape over part of the cookie.​
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Now that Santa has come and gone, what do you do to entertain young ones until winter recess is over. I know my granddaughters have seen Moana 2 twice, but perhaps, you’ll just have a movie day at home. If so, the kids are likely going to need some snacks during the movie. I recently made two with my granddaughters. The first one was Piggy Bricks and the other Chili Cheese Popcorn. My oldest granddaughter found the recipes in “Better Homes and Gardens New Junior Cook Book” in her school’s library.
 
Piggy Bricks is a twist on Rice Krispies treats with the addition of peanut butter for a bit of protein. For the bricks you’ll need a bag of either large or mini marshmallows, creamy peanut butter, butter, cereal (toasted oat, puffed riced, puffed corn or chocolate flavored puffed corn cereal), candy coated chocolate pieces (such as M&M’s) and chopped peanuts.
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In one of our last CSA boxes, I had a small head of cabbage. I came across an interesting recipe on the “Smitten Kitchen” website for Roasted Cabbage with Walnuts and Parmesan.
For the recipe you’ll need a medium-large or two small heads of savoy cabbage, extra virgin olive oil, kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, walnut halves and pieces, fresh garlic, a large lemon, red pepper flakes (Aleppo, if you have) and grated Parmesan cheese.
 
The cabbage is cut into wedges and laid on a rimmed baking sheet that has been coated with olive oil. Additional oil is brushed on the wedges. The cabbage roasts in a 475° oven until charred, about 8 to 10 minutes); then flipped. In the interim, place nuts on a baking dish and roast alongside the cabbage for 4 to 5 minutes. When done, coarsely chop and add extra virgin olive oil, salt and red pepper flakes. Let flavors meld together before adding a squeeze of lemon; adjust seasonings to taste. ​
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I’m a bit behind on Thanksgiving food ideas, but these suggestions are doable on short notice.
 
As I had a bag of cranberries from our last Dreyer Farms CSA box, I opted for something different. Earlier this month the weekend edition of The Wall Street Journal published a recipe for Cranberry Agrodolce. In Italian, “agro” means sour and “dolce” means sweet.  My husband’s initial response was tepid, but I pressed on. While not our holiday condiment, I thought it would be tasty on a leftover turkey sandwich. For the recipe you’ll need olive oil, a red onion, 16 ounces of fresh (or frozen) cranberries, light brown sugar, red wine or balsamic vinegar, kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
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Recently I had dinner with several friends and inevitably we talk about the cost of dining out. I began to mention various local restaurants that offer special dining options at affordable prices. My one friend said I should blog about it, so here it is. The places I’m mentioning is where my husband and I have eaten. I’ll also mention other local restaurants with special menus, however, we have not eaten there recently or not at all.
 
If you’re looking for a simple meal out with great food you should try Black Swan Public House in Asbury Park, NJ. On Wednesday evenings they offer 2 for 1 burger. You get a burger topped with muenster cheese, onion, lettuce, pickles, Marie Rose sauce on a sesame seed bun along with steak fries ($25). If you’re like my husband and I, get there before 6 PM and enjoy 50% off all alcohol (except bottles of wine). Dinner for two including alcohol beverages (I love an old-fashioned with Buffalo Trace bourbon) costs us about $60 before tax and tip.  On Thursday night they offer several pasta dishes for $25 with a wine special. We haven’t try this yet. ​
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Next week marks the end of the 2024 CSA season from Dreyer Farms. It has been a truly wonderful experience trying the variety of produce that our box holds each week. I’ve tried not to repeat recipes, but to find new ways to prepare the old standards sprinkled with exciting flavors.
 
Such was the case with the apples that came in our last few boxes. Unfortunately, I couldn’t tell what variety they gave us and after eating one or two, I realized they would be better baked. My husband enjoys breakfast baked oatmeal casseroles that I’ve been preparing. I came across one recently on “The Southern Living Magazine” website for Baked Oatmeal with Apples, Cranberries and Pecans. For the recipe you’ll need eggs, whole milk, vanilla extract, apple pie spice, kosher salt, light brown sugar, melted butter, an apple, uncooked old-fashion rolled oats, pecans (I substituted walnuts as that’s what I had) and dried cranberries.
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​I started this post by making sure I had remembered all the items I prepared last week,  but I got sidetracked by looking through my Instagram feed. Sometimes, I need to bury my phone so I can focus on the task at hand.
 
Many years ago, when I was an aide for a first-grade teacher, a young girl gifted me some delicious sugar cookies. They were so good, I asked for the recipe. Now you would think I would have made them immediately, but 27 years later, I finally made them. I’ve made Neapolitan Cookies from “The Vanilla Bean” blog, however, my cookies were coming out too flat. After several tries, I pulled out my former student’s recipe to adapt to a Neapolitan cookie.
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Our 2024 CSA box from Dreyer Farms is coming to an end soon, but there is still some produce coming from the farms such as apples, carrots and the last of the tomatoes.
 
Although I felt like making an apple galette with the apples I accrued from the CSA box, I opted for something healthier. On the website, “Smitten Kitchen,” Deb Perelman created Breakfast Apple Crisp Granola . Ms. Perelman likes to eat this cold with yogurt. I had a bunch of apples that needed to be used and I thought this vaguely sounded similar to the baked oatmeal I make for my husband. Upon my explanation of ingredients, he said he was game to try it.


​meet donna

A former teacher, shop-a-holic, empty-nester redefining quick, family approved dinners.

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