Tales from the Trenches: Recipes & Stories from Family and Friends

Today I invited my friend’s Brooke Parkhurst and James Briscione, the charming duo behind Just Married & Cooking, to share some of their tips for setting the Valentine’s mood while a toddler roams the house. I first met James when we were both recipe winners on Food52, and then met them again last year at the debut of the OXO Tot line. Since then their awesome cookbook, Just Married & Cooking, has been published they’ve been popping up all around town. I am so thrilled they are here today to share some fabulous tips and positively delicious recipes. With this post they can easily restore all the faith of all parents that a romantic home cooked Valentine’s Day meal IS indeed possible!

Today I am chatting with my friend Georgia Pellegrini about her new book, Girl Hunter: Revolutionizing the Way We Eat, One Hunt at a Time. I read this book in two days flat and loved every second of it. It is all about Georgia’s personal journey to learn about the origins of her food and ultimately solve her own ominvore’s dilemma. This message resonated with me because where I grew up in Cooperstown, New York many of the families I knew hunted in the fall to feed their families all winter. It was not about sport and recklessness, it was about feeding a family responsibly and inexpensively, as well as respecting the wildlife in the area. Families depended, and still do, on hunting to put food on the table. Instead of . They could not afford, and didn’t really like, factory farmed meat in the grocery store I am so excited that Georgia is here today to share her story. To win a copy of her book see below!

When it comes to holiday presents, I am a big fan of giving (and receiving!) those that are homemade. I preserve lots of jams and fruit butters throughout the summer and fall, and I save them in my pantry to give to family and friends during the holiday season. I also make big batches of granola which I package up to give away.

Around this time last year, as our Thanksgiving fullness waned and our tummies grumbled in anticipation of holiday food, we had the opportunity to attend not one but two cookie swaps.

Full admission: we’re not sure we’d ever been to a cookie swap before those two invitations landed in our inbox, but the idea is pretty genius, and of course we caught right on. If it’s not obvious (it wasn’t to us!), here’s how it works: everyone in attendance makes enough cookies for everyone else in attendance to take at least one of each variety home.

Thanksgiving is probably my favorite holiday, but like many of you, the stress of the preparation can be overwhelming. Several years back, my in-laws and my parents decided to have a joint Thanksgiving meal with us, an easy solution for bringing both families together for the holiday. Now, bringing in-laws together for several hours and for such a major meal could be have been overwhelming and scary, on multiple levels, but it was not at all. It turns out that it was probably one of the best decisions we’ve made – and it’s turned into an annual tradition.

As a kid, I wasn’t a fan of pumpkin. It too closely resembled its winter squash family members, which I despised. I’ve since grown into both – rich and nutrient-dense, pure pumpkin puree is one of my favourite additions to muffins, loaves and cakes. A pumpkin spice cake baking is the best possible potpourri, especially in the fall, when the days turn cold and the house needs warming. (I could still take or leave pumpkin pie – most often it’s left.)

Today I am chatting with Laurie David, the author of The Family Dinner Cookbook: Great Ways to Connect With Your Kids, One Meal at a Time and well-known environmental advocate. I had the great fortune of meeting Laurie at the BlogHer Food Conference in Atlanta last May where we made an instant connection. Both of us strongly believe in the power of families eating together as a way of connecting with our children and strengthening family bonds. As you know, I often cook during naptime or when my daughter is at school so that I can enjoy cooking and our dinner is ready with minimal fuss in the evening. This is my way of getting a joyful dinner on the table for us to converse over. Sure, there are nights when my husband travels or I am out for work, but, like Laurie, I strive to make our meals meaningful and memorable as often as possible.

Last winter my husband declared, out of the blue, his love of cabbage split pea soup. This startling discovery prompted me to run to the store, gather the ingredients and spend a lovely evening making the soup with my husband. The following day, the kids came home from school early thanks to another weekly snow storm.

This is the latest installment of my Tales from the Trenches Series. An ongoing series where friends and readers share their stories and recipes about the great food they fit into family life. We all have tips and tricks to share with each other: when we cook, what we cook and how we cook the […]

This is the latest installment of my Tales from the Trenches Series. An ongoing series where friends and readers share their stories and recipes about the great food they fit into family life. We all have tips and tricks to share with each other: when we cook, what we cook and how we cook the […]

This is the latest installment of my Tales from the Trenches Series. An ongoing series where friends and readers share their stories and recipes about the great food they fit into family life. We all have tips and tricks to share with each other: when we cook, what we cook and how we cook the […]

This is the latest installment of my Tales from the Trenches Series. An ongoing series where friends and readers share their stories and recipes about the great food they fit into family life. We all have tips and tricks to share with each other: when we cook, what we cook and how we cook the […]