Sometimes the best times are those you stumble upon—those that aren’t planned—those that are spontaneous! That’s the way Ben and I love to travel—while we have an overall plan and agenda, we leave lots of room for impulse. And, this is just what happened today when Ben and I decided to turn off the winding Tuscan road to Radda when…
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I call these ‘Tuscan’ potatoes because I’m in Tuscany, in a small villa with a very limited kitchen and virtually no spices other than sea salt and pepper. Now outside the villa is a small garden, which, like Br’er Rabbit, I’ve gone into and raided! There’s gorgeous basil, rosemary, spring onions, Italian parsley, lettuces and more. These tender baby golds…
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Our days in Tuscany in the Chianti area have been marked with a huge meal in the middle of the day at a fabulous restaurant somewhere in one of the many medieval villages that are sprinkled only a few miles apart. When we return back to villa, we have yet another glass of wine, maybe some cheese and bread…after a couple of…
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My nomad Boho nature is the drive that fuels me to travel, explore & take risks~~there’s so much out there in our big enticingworld, and I want to experience as much of it while I can and while I’m still able to schlepp through airports, lug baggage, and not be upended by the unexpected. I’m always up to finding things…
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Chicken Breast Dinner Ideas Such simplicity in this grilled chicken and sun dried tomatoes. It’s a taste of Tuscany where I was when I first created this recipe! This is one of the best chicken breast dinner ideas out there. Just a few ingredients and one skillet. Quick and Easy Chicken Recipes Quick and easy chicken recipes make coming home…
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16 May 2013-18 May 2013 Sometimes inspiration for cooking contests means getting out of the kitchen, away from some things food for a while, and indulging in new venues, sights, smells, places, and people–here’s one of my nomadic adventures that has energized me and provided boutiful fodder for creative ideas and new thoughts about food! Finding family you never knew…
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15 May 2013 It goes without saying that no trip begins without drama…a ‘slight’ glitch that makes your heart flutter, but in this case, almost go into cardiac arrest! So Ben and I get to the new, fancy dancy Myrtle Beach International airport, really it’s first-class and styling all the way. Since the kiosk won’t take my FF number, we…
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14 May 2013 This is day one of my nomadic excursion! So what in the Sam Hill am I doing? Well, heading to Europe to cook, eat, drink, and be merry! And, most importantly, to discover my roots~~yep, I’m Croatian, and my grandparents were born and lived there before immigrating to America in the early 20th century. They were young….
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For me food in its most natural state is like works of art~~I mean even the stems of the green beans, the small parts of the vines on which they grew, the ends of the green beans which are usually snapped off~~after they’ve been washed and cleaned, I just leave them on! Yes, you can eat them~~your choice~~I see design…
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I spent a lot of time, money and energy on entering recipes into the first category, Doable Dinners, of the 2013 Pillsbury Bake-Off Contest…now I’m not whining sour grapes, but I was really surprised that not one of the six I entered made it to the semi-finals…such is the life of a contest junkie who spins wheels hoping to hit…
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Nuts for Health Roasted walnuts with seas salt and cinnamon! Perfect topping for salads, yogurt, cereal, a charcuterie and more. Take walnuts to a higher level of yum! Nuts for your health is well-documented. Basically any type of nut is going to be good for your health, well, unless you’re allergic to nuts then certainly stay away from the nuts. …
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Some dishes don’t need much explanation! This is one of those recipes~~with some leftover grilled chicken breasts, I decided to cut them into chunks, open a few cans of cannellini beans, then start tossing in good fresh tomatoes, diced poblanos and lotsa smoked paprika~~what I got was a deliciously rich and hearty shhhhoup that ate like a stew! Fixed a…
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You never know what’s around the next curve on the highway of life. When I lived in Boston and got into my acting and performing ‘career’ I auditioned for so many projects~~I had more than my share of not being cast. However, the movie, television or stage plays I was cast in brought me together with incredibly talented and…
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Healthy Brussels Sprouts Recipes Make your brussels sprouts memorable with this chili cumin roasted brussels sprouts recipe that’s so doggone easy! It’s gonna be a family favorite! Sometimes you might be thinking that all brussels sprouts recipes are basically healthy, but that can be misleading. The more healthy brussels sprouts recipes won’t have a lot of sugary glazes on them…
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What I’m finding about bread-making is that it’s not as hard as you think! Now, I do mine the ol’ fashioned way~~knead with my hands~~don’t even own a bread-making machine! There’s just something tactile and luscious about getting your hands into the sticky dough, flicking on more flour, pushing and folding, using the heels of your hands, and working the…
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This recipe artistry was entered into the 2012 Scharffen Chocolate Contest~~no win, but believe me, GOOD! I just couldn’t make up my mind as to whether I wanted waffle cookie sandwiches or round cake cookie sandwiches~~it’s like seeing two stunning LBDs (little black dresses)~~you buy both~ Well, I made both! While they had basically the same taste, the symphony on…
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This recipe is brought to you by DOLE Packaged Foods, however, all of the recipe development and creative food artistry, including the photography, is solely the work of Ally in her Kitchen. For more information CLICK~ Sweet and savory crispy thin crust, this ‘pizza’ is refreshing! When you have the tender sweet mandarin oranges burst on your palate as you take…
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I know volcanoes usually spew lava from the top, but these ‘Lava Double Nut Brownies’ spew chocolateee lava from the bottom! Being in the kitchen trying new things with tried and true desserts like brownies is like being in 5th grade and creating a science experiment! And, today when I made these brownies, yes, starting with a box base brownie…
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Food in India Madras curry shrimp will let you escape to the exotic cuisine of India without even going through TSA! If you love spicy and robust flavors, this is it! Food in India. I’ve never even ventured into that kind of ethnic cooking and now I’m getting my toes wet with trying this very first dish. Maybe it was…
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Cooking contests require a great deal of brain power and creativity, plus flat out hard work. Most of us foodie contest junkies basically work alone in our laboratories, our kitchens, as we go from our wheels turning in our heads to create a new recipe that fits the contest guidelines to actually designing and making the recipes—oftentimes, several times because…
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