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Brandied Cranberry Sauce
When I think of decadent holiday cooking and cocktails, brandy always comes to mind. A generous amount transforms cranberry sauce into the most delicious accompaniment to turkey or your choice of roast. Holiday spices, cranberries, and dried fruit, which plumps while cooking, lend even more festive flavor. A touch of orange lends bright citrus that cranberries just seem to crave. Thanksgiving happens to be my favorite feast of the year, and I’m always looking for new ways to serve up something that will make loved ones feel joyful. Special ingredients and little touches always seem to do the trick. While you could omit the dried fruit, I recommend a combination…
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Chocolate Peanut Butter & Jelly Cups | Halloween Inspiration
Homemade peanut butter and jelly cups are year-round sweets, but it happens to be nearing Halloween as I write this. That means I’m also sharing a playlist of my favorite seasonal songs to get you in the spirit. If there is anything better than melting chocolate for a new recipe, it’s playing some good music while you do it. Whether you celebrate spooky season or tend toward the cuter side of the holiday, now is the time to think about festive dishes to enjoy on Halloween in between popping these chocolates. I personally love this pumpkin tomato soup served in a whole pumpkin. If you already have a main dish…
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Mindful Living | Autumn
Summer heated us from without, decking us in sunlight when it wasn’t shaking the leaves in our garden with rain. Possibly you were barefoot more than usual in sand and picnic grass. Everything was alive, and it invited us to bask in what called to us most. Now that autumn is here, we are asked to light that fire from within. As the felt heat dissipates, we return to our inner spark. When the seasons change, we take what we loved and transform it to suit the new reality, this being earlier nightfall and cooler days ahead. It means learning to find beauty in the dark and discovering what warms…
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Mindful Living | Summer
There is a fullness to summer with its fiery extremes and the sheer abundance of everything we planned during spring coming to fruition. Flowers overflow in the garden and make their way to our tables. Tomatoes ripen on the vine and taste better than any other time of year. Light and heat, long days to linger over beautiful meals, and the general sense of life giving us deep moments of exposure characterize this time for me. Harmony with the seasons inspires the meals we make together in our cooking classes and the recipes shared here. When summer rushes in, we feel that burst, and it energizes us. Now that we…
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Summer Fruit Salad
When the summer fruit is this good, treat yourself to an indulgent yet healthy dish that hits all the right sweet, slightly savory, and tangy notes. Champagne vinegar is my preferred way to brighten up a mix of stone fruit, buttery avocado and mango, and blackberries. With its delicate, crisp flavor, it lends just the right amount of acidity. Torn basil leaves add an herbaceous quality. Then I finish it with beautiful sea salt flakes. All the flavors benefit from that little touch. After all, summer is better with a reminder of the sea. Ingredients 2 large nectarines2 apricots⅓ pound cherries¾ cup blackberries1 mango1 avocadoHandful fresh basil leavesExtra-virgin olive oilChampagne…
cooking classes + wholesome recipes + mindful living
