Shrimp. Toast. Bacon.
Yes, it’s ridiculously delicious.
Chinese New Year is just around the corner and it’s the year of the Dragon! Apparently dragons love shrimp toast, bacon-wrapped shrimp toast to be exact.
…. or maybe I just made that up.
 
I made these in my toaster oven.
What???
I know, awesome right?
Even better, I utilized an old bag of hamburger buns I had laying around and cut out little circles using cookie cutters.
See? Eco-friendly AND scrumptious. Life is good.
 
Feel free to ...

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“ The nuns taught us there were two ways through life – the way of nature and the way of grace. You have to choose which one you’ll follow. Grace doesn’t try to please itself. Accepts being slighted, forgotten, disliked. Accepts insults and injuries. Nature only wants to please itself. Get others to please it too. Like to lord it over them. To have its own way. It finds reasons to be unhappy when all ...

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As this New Year begins, I reflect on the goals I hope to accomplish this year. The certain milestones I should aim for. And improvements and lessons learned from wrong turns and experiences.
I plan on renewing my imagination.
Develop a stronger focus.
Reveal a better me, a stronger me, a wiser me.
 
I want to make cooking easier.
Less daunting.
Fun.
Because being connected to our food, makes us feel alive.
It allows us to take some time out of ...

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I’ve eyed Food52 for awhile now – drooling over their recipes, fawning over their contests, so this week I figured what the hell, I’m going to go for it!
 
So this week the contest was Your Best Walnuts & Sage recipe. “Holidays behind us, we’re ready to return to the pure, clean flavors of winter. We want recipes highlighting the earthiness and muted hues of walnuts and sage – bonus points for thinking beyond pestos.”
 
Okay. I ...

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During the holidays, one of my favorite things to do is baking.  It’s this beautiful meditation as baking takes a patient heart, a careful eye and most certainly a sweet tooth.  When the weather is cold outside, the kitchen becomes my favorite place of solace — as it’s always been my most sacred spot to relax.  I always believe that homemade gifts are the ones people remember, so what better way to spread the love ...

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When it comes to alcohol, I’d be what people would call a “weenie”.  I almost wince at the sharpness of most liquors, sometimes to the point of tears.  But let’s quit the dramatics and get down to business.  I love this drink.  I love Angus Winchester.  And for those of you who don’t know who he is, he’s pretty much one of the big honchos in the world of bartending.
 
This drink actually came off ...

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It’s hard to believe we’re already in December.  Where did this year go?  As the days quickly approach towards the Holiday season, we’re filled with urges to celebrate — Ugly Christmas Sweater Party! White Elephant! Holiday Potlucks! Whatever your reason may be this year to celebrate, what’s a party without the booze?
For the next few weeks I’ll be posting some holiday cocktails for you guys to try this season — this week I’m featuring ...

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Did everyone have a wonderful and fulfilling Thanksgiving this year?  Full of turkey, corn bread, casseroles, pies, and stuffing galore? With our fridges packed with leftovers, there are endless possibilities to producing that perfect creation of Thanksgiving wonder.
After gorging down two Thanksgiving feasts in the past couple of weeks, I figured it’d be a good idea to slow down a bit before the Christmas holidays really tackled my butt.  I cut some fresh lettuce greens ...

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 My favorite holiday of the year is hands down, Thanksgiving.  Growing up, my family didn’t have many Thanksgiving traditions – it was a foreign holiday that we never really embraced.  But I’d always dream about what kind of Thanksgivings I’d have when I grew up: the perfectly browned turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet potato casserole with those nicely melted marshmallows on top, green bean casserole topped with crispy fried onions…the glory!
Once I headed off to college and pretty much had to ...

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As I inch towards my late twenties, I find myself struggling with the idea of aging, growing up, whatever you want to call it.  I have all these questions, ones that no one really knows the answers to.  But I guess that’s what life is about: finding those answers.
 
My mother came to visit recently; it’s been a year since I’ve last seen her.  I still always cry whenever she arrives and when she leaves, ...

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Where do I even begin?  3 years ago I was in a scary place.  After graduating college, everything was uncertain; I had no intention of pursuing my major and ultimately went after something I’ve always loved: cooking.  At one point my mother was trying to convince me to become a candle-maker.  Don’t ask, it’ll just make this more awkward.  The point is, no matter how busy or difficult things became in life, I always made ...

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Before I make your bellies grumble with a Tim Byre’s inspired recipe from Smoke, I’d like to take a moment to share with all of you a very exciting project that I’ve been working on with friends for the past 2 years.  I introduce to you: 1-2 Simple Cooking, a cooking show designed for singles and couples where I teach you the secrets of becoming an efficient home chef.  Our goal is to encourage people ...

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