Naptime Simple Tips: Fun & Essential Tips for Your Kitchen

If there ever was a soup winter this is it. It is barely above 10 degrees F most days here. When we were in Cooperstown last weekend is what rarely above 0 and that is not an exaggeration! To stay warm and happy I’ve been making lots and lots of soup. I even plan to have another new soup recipe for you next week.

Last week was the perfect time to receive my latest box from Blue Apron. As you might remember, I get a fun box of meals from Blue Apron from time to time. It is a great way to jolt me out of my cooking comfort zone and get the family excited for news. The box comes with all the farm-fresh ingredients for three delicious family meals measured out and ready to be cooked. Not only are the recipes they send inventive and interesting, it also means no trip to the grocery store and no throwing out unused food. Perfect!

Last year I was gifted some pretty copper pots by various family members. I love cooking with copper and could never afford to buy a set myself so it was a real treat! The pots themselves are heavier than my favorite stainless steel workhorses, but they conduct heat more evenly and are perfect for warming soups and stews. They even make my kitchen look a little fancier, like a French kitchen! Someday I hope to have a little copper collection that I can hang from the ceiling or on a pegboard like Julia Child. In the mean time, though, I need to the care for the pots I have to make sure they last a lifetime. So! Here is what I’ve learned so far about caring for copper:

In the winter I freeze my herbs from the garden and bring whatever plants I can inside for the winter. This year my Meyer Lemon tree is wintering in our dining room along with this beautiful rosemary plant. Not all herbs tolerate being dragged from inside to outside for season after season, but rosemary is one of the few that can withstand the change. I love that it is so easy to care for and makes the whole house smell incredible whenever I pinch a few leaves. It also means we’ve got beautiful fragrant rosemary to cook with year-round! Here are a few tips for caring for your rosemary plant indoors:

Happy New Year! I am excited to be back up and running for 2015. We have a BIG year ahead. The next book has an official publishing date: March 31, 2015! On that day all the copies of The Family Calendar: From Birthdays to Bake Sales, Good Food to Carry You Through the Year, will be available for purchase (you can pre-order it now!!!). Stay tuned for book tour information.

I am over and done with rich food this winter. Christmas season was an ongoing feast of eggnog french toast, short ribs over potatoes, and much, much more. For January I’m dialing it down, pushing aside sugar, and focusing on small easy snacks into of large gluttonous meals. Here are a few things we’ve enjoyed so far:

Since we just wrapped homemade gift week I wanted to share a few tips for things you can pick up just in case you don’t have time to get in the kitchen. There are days when even the most organized of us are busy and need an ace-in-the-hole to fall back on. When this happens to me I pick up a few sweets at Whole Foods. All of these delicious items can be found at Whole Foods Markets and they won’t break the budget. Here are some of my favorites:

In case you missed them, here are my 2014 gift guides. I’ve also included a few more gift guides I love from around the web: Gift Guide #1: For Your Best Pal Gift Guide #2: For Your Husband Gift Guide #3: For Your Kids Gift Guide #4: For Your Mom Gift Guide #5: For Your […]

Hostess Gifts for the Holidays

December is a busy party season. Whether it is a casual football party, a festive holiday cocktail party, or a formal dinner party, invitations abound. For attendees, it is important to have a slam dunk cache of host gifts at the ready — items you can pull together attractively and quickly, which will more than adequately thank your host for their generosity.

Last month I had the pleasure of trying out some great products from Zwilling J.A. Henckels. I’ve always loved their knives, but their cookware and roasting pan lines were completely new to me. Right from the start I love the sturdy stainless steel Aurora line. It has a shiny finish, is oven safe, and handles heat like a dream.

A quick PSA for tea drinkers around the globe: it is now Celestial Seasonings Nutcracker Sweet season. There has never been a tea I’ve loved more than this and now I order it by the case. This means I won’t have to buy out whole displays at my supermarket and anger the rest the tea drinkers in our town! Here is how I take it:

Try as I might, I am never completely ready for the holidays, no matter how much I plan. There is always something I overlook or, more likely, don’t anticipate. Like that time our friends stopped over to chat and we ended up having an informal dinner party. Or the time our neighbors’ furnace broke and we took them in for the better part of an evening. It is always fun when people come by, but it is important to be prepared so you don’t greet them with an empty kitchen and a glass of tap water. In order to help you be properly prepared this holiday season, I’ve assembled some easy tips to ensure you’re ready to entertain at the ding of the doorbell.