Hey everyone, it’s summer berry season, so I’m off to the farmer’s market this week to make my annual batch of preserves.  This is a repost from last summer, but I just had to share it again ! 

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Every summer, I go to the farmer’s market to buy enough summer berries to make my mixed berry preserves.  I was given a recipe by Mr. CG’s grandmother years ago for refrigerator preserves.  I tweaked her recipe by adding my own special ingredient, and then learned how to can it four years ago.  Now we enjoy mixed berry summer preserves even on the coldest wintery day.   

I start with the freshest fruit.  I use strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and blackberries.  After they’re rinsed, they look just like this.   

 This recipe does involve the canning process, but don’t be intimidated if you’ve never canned anything before!    All you really need is a very large pot and you can make these preserves quite easily.   

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I love lemon.  I love lavender.  What better way to indulge my affections than to combine the flavors and bake a cake.  So I did.  And it’s absolutely scrumptious if I do say so myself.   This family of five devoured it in less than 24 hours – we couldn’t help ourselves.   

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Since I harvested some of my French lavender last weekend, one of my first inclinations was to use it in the kitchen.   Lavender has been used in cooking for centuries – you’ll often find it in the ‘Herbes de Provence’ seasoning blend or lately in lavender sugar blends available at specialty stores.  You have to be careful with lavender.  Just like truffles, all you need is a tiny bit, you definitely don’t want to overdo it.  But what a fantastic culinary flavor it brings to the table !

The addition of lemon pudding in this recipe was my mom’s idea.  She’s been adding it to her lemon cake for years, so I stole that idea from her. 

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Yo.  It’s grilling season.  And I like to fire up the grill.  A lot.  

Yep, I cook up most suppers out on the grill all summer long.  To me, it’s so easy to roast up the meats and veges on the BBQ outside.   Barbequed food is always so tasty, and it is one of my favorite things about summer.

Now that June is here, and the Q is officially fired up about four to five times a week, I thought I’d share the creative concoction that I turn to time and again.  It has my basic requirements:  simple, fast, and tasty. 

I don’t do a lot of recipes around here, but I do consider myself a foodie, meaning I just love food in all forms, but especially the savory stuff.  So today, I’m here to share my most favorite marinade for poultry.  But you don’t need a BBQ to enjoy – you can use this same marinade recipe to enhance your poultry in a pan.

It’s simple.  It’s tasty.  Try it, you’ll really like it. 

The marinade is made from five simple ingredients – easy to store in your fridge and/or pantry.

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I’m a sincere lover of Mexican food – I crave it at least twice a month.  When I was in college, I would indulge at the local taquería in muy grande burritos and never gain a single ounce.  These days, if I so much as look at a burrito sideways, I gain five pounds.

Two years ago, Mr. CG and I were dining at our favorite local Mexican food restaurant.  He ordered the chicken tortilla soup.  I tried it for the first time, and fell in love.  All the flavor of a delicious taco, in a bowl, but healthier and lower in calories ?  Sign me up, señor.  Since the restaurant was reluctant to share their recipe, I spent over a year trying to capture the same flavor by tweaking my own recipe for sopa de tortilla de pollo.

On a cold winter day, there’s nothing I want more than a hot bowl of soup  And a nap.  But the latter is not happening.  Here’s my recipe for ‘taco in a bowl’.  It’s yummy yummy to your tummy.  Muy bueno.  Enjoy.

Homemade Chicken Tortilla Soup

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