recipes

recipes

Vegetarians at Thanksgiving: How to Keep Them Happy and Nourished

I see you over there in the freezer section, eyeing the Tofurkey and looking confused. I know you mean well. Perhaps you have vegetarian guests coming to your turkey dinner, and you want them to feel included. Or maybe this is your first Thanksgiving as a vegetarian, and you’re not sure what to do. The first thing…

November 20, 2014

Unconventional Turkey Ideas & One Local’s Outrageous Recipe

Tired of the same tired dry turkey year after year? You are not alone. Much to the chagrin of family members, I feel no sentimentality towards a plain old roasted turkey. This year, with a slew of houseguests, I have decided to push the envelope and have gone in search of unconventional recipes to blow…

November 18, 2014

A Fall Squash Cheat Sheet

The bounty of summer is long gone but fall brings its own special harvest to the table. Squash is in full-force right now at grocery stores and farmers markets. These nutritional power-houses are packed with vitamins and fiber. They can be used to lighten-up recipes by replacing starches such as pasta and potatoes. They can also be the…

October 29, 2014

Clams, Oysters & Mussels are Now in Season!

It’s bivalve season! Huh? you ask. Months that end in an ‘r’ are commonly believed to be the best months for oysters, mussels and clams. Cooler waters have less of an occurrence of algae blooms which can lead to high levels of toxicity in bivalves. These shellfish also spawn during warmers months and don’t taste as…

October 20, 2014

Candy Apples: The Ultimate Fall Treat

Candy apples and fall go together like summer & watermelon, like winter & hot cocoa, like spring &… spring onions. You get my drift. This weekend, we found ourselves with an abundance of apples from a recent apple picking adventure but no desire to bake or mash them. Even though we love them plain (I’m looking at you, Honeycrisp),…

October 14, 2014

Butterscotch Frosted Pumpkin Cookies

These cookies are an October tradition for my family, and I look forward to them at least as much as Christmas cookies. The world needs more fall cookies! These pumpkin treats are absolutely delicious, with a soft, fluffy texture and decadent butterscotch frosting. I got this recipe years ago from my sister-in-law, who got it from her mother,…

October 9, 2014

At The Reston Farmers Market: Cherry Glen Goat Cheese

The Farmers Market returns to Lake Anne tomorrow after a brief hiatus due to the Reston Multicultural Festival. As wonderful as that was, we missed our weekly cheese fix from the Cherry Glen Goat Cheese booth. Cherry Glen is a 58-acre farm in Boyds, Maryland that raises goats and makes a wide variety of award-winning, soft-ripened…

October 3, 2014

A Reston Resident’s Lavish End-of-Summer Feast

It’s September but I refuse to believe that summer is over. The produce at the Reston Farmers Market is still in full force. There is a bounty of ripe tomatoes, peaches, peppers and eggplant at the height of their season. These gorgeous fruits and vegetables are begging to be eaten NOW before they disappear to make room for squash…

September 16, 2014

At the Reston Farmers Market: Baby Ginger

When we asked Reston Farmers Market mainstay The Farm at Sunnyside what they recommend we buy now, they enthusiastically told us about their crop of baby ginger. Baby ginger is regular ginger only harvested early from September – November. It’s quite different from the ginger we are used to seeing in grocery stores. Mature ginger has a tough husk and is…

September 9, 2014

Decadent Adult Milkshakes à la Ted’s Bulletin

Cupcakes are old news. Haven’t you heard? Since Ted’s Bulletin arrived on the scene in Reston Town Center the buzz has been about spiked milkshakes—creamy, chilled confections with a mighty kick. Taking a cue from their menu, we decided to give it a-go at home and create our own milkshakes inspired by our favorite cocktails. We promise you’ll…

September 7, 2014