theKitchenHelp

 I remember these as a Christmas treat my grandmother would make, and every year when my wife asks what kind of cookies I want, I say Lemon Squares. She usually says... you're supposed to make those in February and they are called 'Lemon Love Notes'. Its a good thing I'm flexible and happy to eat them in February too. The recipe for these can be found in The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook by Deb Perelman . Her recipes are reliable and she takes better pictures. Check out her book for the details.

A few weeks ago a Food & Wine article on how to poach eggs  inspired me to cook eggs for day one of #cook90. My goals were something quick, easy and tasty breakfast in the new year. My solution was poached eggs with blanched escarole. Prep and cook time 12 minutes... the results are below.  

To go along with a cookie free January and start the year off right, we're joining the #cook90 challenge. Check out the details on epicurious  or copy/paste the URL http://www.epicurious.com/expert-advice/cook90-starter-guide-2017-article

After a long hiatus (and I could give more than a few excuses), I am getting back to the weekly meal planning. The problem is STRESS. It is stressful to pick-up the young Master of the house, get dinner ready, clean-up the kitchen, do story/playtime without a little planning. Sure, it's easy to go to the pizza place or Crisp and Juicy (my California friends should think el pollo loco) but eating out is a very expensive habit. And, if you're going to eat out, go someplace that makes a meal you can't easily make better at home. Besides cooking is fun and a healthier option for the family with a little planning. This week we're planning on the following: Curried Salmon, Kidney Bean Curry with Rice (but not the Brown Jasmine rice that Jen doesn't like) Greens/Spinach pasta with Mushrooms and Peas (See Pasta p.222- Paglia e Fieno) Curried Lentil Soup (See Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking...) Grilled Pork Chops, Sweet Potato Mash and Greens Homemade Ricotta (See S

Right before Thanksgiving and Christmas is probably not the best time to start a remodel on your kitchen, but we did. We'd been saving money for what seems like forever. Jen had been considering various design options again for what seemed like forever. We joined Angie's list to find a contractor but ended up going with a contractor who has been working our neighborhood for the last few years. ( I have to check with him before posting his company name. ) Our kitchen was cold, didn't have enough  storage, didn't flow very well, and was ugly! We wanted to update the look, fix some of the obvious design flaws (dead space in the corner, a misplaced dishwasher), and make the space more usable. Before Remodel After Remodel (though still incomplete) The cabinets, short 30 inchers topped with a soffit, were circa 1980. The particle board shelves were warped and broken on some, and  the laminate was pealing in places. Not in obvious places perhaps, but when you know wh

Key Lime Pie To market, to market to buy... how does the nursery rhyme go? I think of this rhyme often when I head to Wegman's for my weekly shopping trip. Almost always I shop with a list to stay within our grocery budget. This week as I walked through the fruit and vegetable stacks, I saw packages of key limes. I can't remember ever eating key lime pie and I had never made a key lime pie, but there they were right in front of me!  An opportunity waiting to be zested, juiced, and made into something (hopefully) delicious! Upon arriving home, I looked up several recipes ( epicurious and Gourmet ). Some topped with meringue, some with whipped cream.. but they didn't ring true with what I imagined key lime pie to be. So, I checked with my neighbors who spent their vacations on tropical islands and talked of key lime pie with knowing appreciation. They indicated that meringue or any other type of topping had no place on a key lime pie. I decided on the almond graham