Let me share my adventures and stories in hopes to inspire you.

Midwestern Caviar Growing up in South Dakota, I never had real caviar. For me, that was something that was told about in books from far away places. Maybe it would be served at very fancy parties in big cities. Midwesterners like their mustard. A large portion of the population can trace their roots back to […]

Roasting Cruciferous Vegetables There is something so lovely about roasting veggies like broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage and of course, cauliflower. I love roasting a whole head of cauliflower. A whole roasted head of cauliflower makes the meal feel extra special. When the TV show, The Chew, was still on ABC, Clinton Kelly prepared a beautiful […]

I can’t believe I did it Ok. I know this makes me sound old, but I am not a fan of TikTok or its “food trends”. Some things, like the fake coke, burn my biscuits. I feel like it makes cooking real food with real methods and ingredients irrelevant, but honestly a lot of it […]

A lot of people only think of salad as being veggies. Maybe throwing some cheese on top. The traditional panzanella salad from Italy uses stale bread combined with tomatoes and onions. While that is a lovely dish, this version is more of a meal. This salad was first introduced to me by my friend Jenna. […]

A Great Side Dish for a Potluck When I went to see my local farmer, Bradley from Hat & Heart Farm, he had some beautiful fennel available. I tend to think of fennel as a fall vegetable due to its anise like flavor. Why not try it in a more summer flavor forward salad? I […]

Farmer’s Market Find When I was at my local farmer’s market a few weeks ago, I was in search of eggs. My normal egg guy wasn’t there but I found someone else. I went right up to him, asked for 2 dozen and as I started to pick them up, I realized they were duck […]

I love the combo of sweet and heat There is something about mixing tequila with a little muddled fruit, lime juice and a jalapeno that makes for the perfect drink. When my friend Stephanie, known on Instagram as Contained_Creations, invited me to start a new live series with her, I jumped at the chance. We […]

The Perfect Summer Appetizer One of the first things you find at the farmers market every season are radishes. I love seeing them laying in bunches on the tables. Radishes have a variety of sizes and shapes, not to mention color and heat. I find the older a radish is the more the peppery flavor […]

Olive Oil is in My Top 5 Olive oil is probably one of my top 5 used products in my kitchen. I don’t have just one variety either. Currently, I have 5 out in my counter. I use it for cake, pizza dough, pasta dishes, finishing a steak, basically if I made it, there is […]

I like a good Bloody Mary. I adore a great Bloody Mary. One thing that makes it great is all of the fixins. Give me all of the salty things like olives and cornichons. The crunchy things like celery and dilly beans and finally a chilled shrimp. You can pickle them. Boil them or make […]