Heart shaped chocolate ganache cake

As I am writing this I am getting increasingly excited to see the BIG wedding tomorrow. My 13-year-old daughter and I have decided to get up before the crack of dawn to see history in the making. It is also my 17th wedding anniversary on the 29th, so it is a special day for me regardless of Royal weddings. I hope William and Kate's journey through life together turns out as wonderful as Robert's and mine has been, and continuous to be. Best wishes to them and many more for us too!

Wheat berry salad with apples, walnuts, dried cranberries and Gouda

As I walked to my computer to write this post, I caught a glimpse of my 4-year-old daughter dancing and singing along to the Doodlebpops. I had never heard of these guys until we found this DVD at our local library. They are three rock star/clown-looking people, singing and dancing some pretty catchy tunes. My 13- year- old thinks they are sooooo creepy looking, but my little one is completely captivated. It will be hard to bring this DVD back to the library, but I wouldn't mind a break from the same tunes over and over and over. Now, on to today's recipe which captivated me. A Wheat berry salad with some of my favorite ingredients: nuts, cheese, fruit, red onion -yum! And that is exactly what I said when I took the first bite. This salad is fantastic! I love everything about it, the flavors, the texture and the fact that it is so healthy.

Chicken and rice casserole with squash

Another Easter is over and once again the Easter bunny was very generous with his (or her) sweet gifts. I think my kids must have consumed 5 lbs of bad chocolate and other candy's made from ingredients a human should never ingest. It just makes me cringe! Well, a new week is ahead and I am looking forward to celebrating my 17th wedding anniversary to my wonderful Robert on April 29. Oh, isn't there something else happening that day? A royal wedding or something? Notice the sarcasm in my ignorance? I actually think it is kind of fun that we will from now on share our anniversary with Prince William and Kate. I will have to get up at 4 in the morning to see it all live, so I haven't quite committed to that yet. I am sure there will be plenty of replays, though live is always best. I am also thinking about new dinners to make for my family, but today I want to share a recipe that I made at the end of last week; Chicken and Rice casserole with squash.

Kids favorite dessert, Strawberry-banana pudding

I find it very interesting that my most popular postings are mostly treats and desserts (just saying!). Nothing finishes off a good meal like something sweet. Oh, and did you know stressed spelled backwards is desserts? Just thought I would  share that amusing little factoid.

Whole Wheat Garlic Herb And Cheese Bread

There are several reasons I am excited to share this bread recipe with you. You see, it is from the first cookbook I ever owned. It is in Norwegian by a beloved Norwegian chef named Ingrid Espelid Hovig, titled Everything You Need To Know To Make Good Food, Bake Good Cakes And Good Bread. She was the first TV chef in Norway, when we only had one state channel that came on after 5 o'clock in the evening (we are talking mid-seventies to mid-eighties here). Ingrid is sort of like the Norwegian Julia Child, although she wasn't quite as funny as Julia (I am actually not sure if Ingrid has passed away?). Anyhow, I have this tattered cookbook that has been my companion since I moved away from home. Most classic Norwegian recipes are in here.

Beef stroganoff

Jack Frost came back for a last blast (hopefully!) this weekend, shattering our enthusiasm for warmer days spent outside. While I am looking forward to all the spring and summer dishes I will be making soon, I went back to an old family classic yesterday, the always tasty beef stroganoff.

Zucchini Fritters

When we had our Twice baked potato dinner recently, I decided to fry up a little sidekick. I saw these in Cooks Illustrated Magazine, and was very curious. They contain two of my favorites, Zucchini, and Feta cheese. How can you go wrong with that?

Caesar Salad with homemade oregano -parmesan croutons

The Caesar salad is the most common salad here in the US. Every restaurant has their own version of one. It

is a very basic salad consisting of Romaine lettuce and croutons, and topped with a variety of Caesar dressings, Parmesan cheese and cracked pepper. Some recipes have Anchoves in the salad or chopped up in the dressing, for a strong fishy taste, but I leave this out. I like a plain non-fishy Caesar salad. When Ingrid requested Caesar salad with the Twice-baked potatoes, I decided I would make my own croutons.

Twice-baked potatoes

Before the weekend my second youngest daughter Ingrid (age 9) came to me with a dinner request: She wanted me to make twice-baked potatoes and Caesar salad  ( Recipe to come). I thought that was a great idea! I just love it when my kids tell me what to make. Then I know they will actually eat it, and I don't have to try to come up with something, which is a constant challenge.

Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake with pecans

Spring has finally sprung here in Saint Paul, Minnesota! I spent the weekend doing some spring cleaning and putting away all our winter clothing and gear. The sleds have now given way to bikes and scooters and sidewalk chalk. Ahh- at last! Another sure sign of spring is my dependable chive plant in the back garden, which every year is the first greenery to make its appearance. It smells wonderful! It will grow into a tall beautiful bush by mid summer. I already had some on my cream cheese bagel for lunch today, and I will surely put it to good use in the months ahead.

Rustic fruit salad with walnuts

As promised this is the recipe for my rustic fruit salad. I looked up the definition of rustic and a few adjectives describing something rustic are: unsophisticated, lacking refinement, elegance and polish. That pretty much sums it up! This salad is very simple, made with very simple everyday fruits and nuts. But man, it is so good!

Make-your- own sandwich buffet



When you cook for a relatively large family every day of the week like I do, you have to be creative. I don't always feel like cooking up a storm, but I still want us to have a nice meal together. Last nights dinner is a great example. I had a busy day and since it was our first real spring day, I didn't feel like spending all afternoon in my kitchen (I also had just cleaned it up so nicely, and I just wanted to savour the cleanliness for just a little while.). So, I decided on something simple that required very little preparation, a make-your-own-sandwich buffet.

Vegetarian night, baked Ziti

Nothing says  family meal like Baked Ziti. But when you think of vegetarian food, it is probably not the first dish that comes to mind. I tend to think of vegetarian as some obscure vegetable dish with tofu in it! When I first introduced my family to the idea of having at least one vegetarian meal a week, my son put his head down and cried: " I am going to die!". Well, it has been several weeks now and he is still with us, happy and healthy (he really is a great teenager!). But I do try to make dishes that are familiar and tasty and don't suffer much from the exclusion of the meaty ingredient.

Herb and lemon Orzo

This wonderful side dish paired perfectly with my Greek meatballs. If you are not quite familiar with Orzo it is a rice shaped pasta that lends itself really well to salads and soups.

Greek meatballs with herb and lemon orzo

At the end of last week a regular cool spring weeknight turned into Greek night at our house. I love Greek food! I have been hooked since my first trip to Rhodes in my early teens (in the 80s). We ate Souvlaki (Kebobs) and Gyros every day for two weeks. I could eat Tzatziki sauce on just about anything. And Feta cheese - don't get me started! So when I found this recipe in Americas Test kitchen's 30-minute suppers (spring 2011), I immediately cried out: "I am making that!"

Noodle cake with scallions

Instead of the usual rice that I normally make with stir-fries I loved the idea of this Noodle cake. I actually saw something like this on a cooking show years ago, and always wanted to try it. It was perfect with the peanut-chicken stir-fry. It is a lot easier than I thought too. And even though I am not a fan of using a non-stick pan, this is one instance where one is very useful since the noodle cake has to be turned and browned on both sides. I made 2 of these to feed the six of us.

Noodle cake with scallions

1/2 tablespoon salt

1 (9 ounce) package fresh Chinese noodles

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

2 scallions, sliced thin

Bring 3 quarts water to a boil in a large pot

Add salt and noodles and cook until just tender, about 3 minutes

Drain and toss with scallions

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat.

Add noodles to skillet and press with spatula into an even layer. Cook until crisp, 3-5 minutes.

Place back of a baking sheet over the skillet and invert noodle cake onto sheet. Add a little more oil to skillet and slide noodle cake back in. Cook until browned, about 2-3 minutes. Place noodle cake on a serving platter. Tent with foil until ready to serve.

Recipe from  America's Test Kitchen, 30-minute Suppers, Spring 2011