November 13, 2013

Chocolate Espresso Shortbread Cookies

November 13, 2013/ Mary McDonald

Last week I came across some cookies made by McTavish Shortbread that were incredibly good, I usually don’t go for shortbread cookies, they tend to be a bit dry, but I gave them a shot. And wow did I love them! I wanted to see if I could make something similar.

November 11, 2013

Butternut Squash Crumble

November 11, 2013/ Mary McDonald

This is my first savory crumble and will no doubt go down as a favorite side dish. I haven’t explored much in this territory outside of the sweet berry crumbles but I’m thinking to try more of these.

November 06, 2013

Cranberry Orange Cobbler

November 06, 2013/ Mary McDonald

I’m a big fan of cranberries and was glad to see them make an appearance at the farmers market recently. They’re grown here in Oregon by Eagle Organic Cranberries, they had a small booth set up with these little brown bags filled with freshly picked cranberries.

October 31, 2013

Tomato Orange Soup

October 31, 2013/ Mary McDonald

Tomato and Orange Soup? Yep. Sounds weird but it’s really really tasty. I had a similar soup from Zupan, a local market here in Portland, and I’ve been itching to try and make it ever since. It was the first time I’ve ever heard of this combination of flavors.

October 29, 2013

Apple + Kale Salad

October 29, 2013/ Mary McDonald

This is a great fall salad, a combination of fresh crisp apples, kale, goat cheese and bacon, topped with a cinnamon-balsamic vinaigrette.

October 23, 2013

Apple Loaf Cake

October 23, 2013/ Mary McDonald

Apple season is on! Last weekend we set out to see some of the countryside here around Portland and it was really a spectacular day. Of course it involved getting orchard fresh apples along the way which is always such a treat.

October 21, 2013

Fig + Prosciutto Pizza

October 21, 2013/ Mary McDonald

I've been on a hunt for a good pizza dough recipe recently, specifically a thin crust dough. My last attempt at a pizza dough came out good, but it was fairly thick, almost like a focaccia bread.

October 15, 2013

Winter Squash Soup with Gruyere Croutons

October 15, 2013/ Mary McDonald

I'm really enjoying this autumn season, the leaves are changing colors, the air is chilled, so over the weekend one thing I didn't want to miss was the Japanese Garden here in Portland, I had read it's best viewed in the fall and it is a magnificent garden.

October 08, 2013

Apple + Maple Bread Pudding

October 08, 2013/ Mary McDonald

I'm feeling the autumn vibe these days here in Portland so I thought to try out this Apple and Maple Bread Pudding recipe. I'm starting to realize that it's really hard to mess up bread pudding. This stuff just warms your belly and is incredibly satisfying.

October 05, 2013

Pumpkin Ice Cream

October 05, 2013/ Mary McDonald

This is the first weekend it feels like fall, something I haven't experienced for a couple of years. As much as I loved San Francisco and Northern California, I really did miss having a fall season.