The Left Over Queen

RSS Feed Homepage

Articles: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

New Year, New Home, New Kitchen, New Beginnings?
2008-01-08 17:12:00
I can?t believe it is almost a week since we rang in 2008. Father Time must have put on his jogging shoes this week. I am so delighted and feeling so blessed and I really think that 2008 is going to be the best year yet! Why is that? Because I am determined to make it so. Roberto and I have just moved to a town we both fell in love with when we moved to Florida a year ago, January 2007. We have moved to a wonderful little place in St. Augustine, the oldest city in the United States, founded in 1565, ?discovered? (because as we know there were already Native people living here) by Ponce de Leon about 40 years earlier, just 20 years after Christopher Columbus ?sailed the ocean blue?. Coming from New England we loved walking alongside history in our daily lives, there is just something so grounding about it. Roberto grew up in Rome, and I am a self-described history buff, so when we moved to Florida, a relatively new place in the grand scheme, it felt a little stale. We loved the weat...
More About: New Year , Kitchen , Home , Musings , Year

Royal Foodie Joust Winner - January 2008
2008-01-07 17:14:00
This is our first Royal Foodie Joust of the year! We had a very special list of required ingredients - perfect for the holiday season: Pomegranate, Mint and Pistachios. Not only are the colors beautiful in a dish, but the ingredients seasonal in much of the world at this time. These ingredients were chosen by Emiline at Sugar Plum, last month’s winner. Every month it seems the ingredients for The Joust get more an more challenging and I am always impressed with how many are up for he challenge. Due to this, 2 months ago I decided that the winner of each month will win a personalized apron as first prize! So please do not miss your chance this month to participate, flex your foodie muscles and win yourself a very cool apron. To learn more about how to participate in the monthly Royal Foodie Joust, please visit the Leftover Queen Forum. Now for this month’s winner - to start of the new year. Drum roll please……… Dharm from Dad~Baker & Chef with his d...
More About: Awards , Blogging , January , Winner

Happy New Year everyone?and a Happy (belated) Birthday?to me!
2008-01-04 15:56:00
Every year, right around the holidays, I turn a year older (don’t I look so much older and wiser here snapping this poor green bean?!). Since most of my family has migrated to Florida over the past 10 years, we now make a point to celebrate birthdays together. Since my birthday is in December, right around the holidays, I usually save my family party for a time when most of my relatives are here ? from Florida and from out of state. So in between Christmas and New Year s and MOVING, we put this shindig on - nothing is getting in the way of a party with good food. So this year we celebrated my birthday on January 1st ? New Year’s Day. Per tradition, the birthday person, (in this case, me) gets to choose the menu. The weather has turned a bit cold here in The Sunshine State and so I was after more hearty fare. I chose an Armenian Vegetable Stew, called Kharn Panchareghen, out of one of my favorite cookbooks called Secrets of Cooking: Armenian/Lebanese/Persian which is an ...
More About: Holidays , Recipes , Vegetables , Meat

Antipasto e Panino: Holiday Goodies
2007-12-29 22:25:00
Antipasto is always a special treat for us, especially during the holidays season - Italian coldcuts like salami, capocollo and soppressata are typical meats. For cheeses - a good parmesan, some mozzarella and for us goat cheese are often featured. Throw in some olives and grape tomatoes and some good bread and it is a delicious feast for the eyes and the stomach. It is a great spread to have around for the holidays when you have unexpected (or expected) visitors, or it is just great with a glass of wine to enjoy with good friends or family. Perfect for a New Year’s Eve celebration! If you have leftovers, try making a panino. This one has the coldcuts, mozzarella, pesto and greens! Buon Appetito! *On a personal note, I will be taking a short hiatus from the blogosphere. Roberto and I are moving on Jan 2 into our new fabulous condo in St. Augustine, so I will be very tied up with all of that. I wish everyone a happy and healthy and SAFE New Years celebration!*
More About: Holidays , Holiday , Meat , Wine , Cheese

Royal Foodie Joust: Pistachio-Pomegranate Chicken
2007-12-27 17:30:00
December is drawing to a close, which means we are almost at Royal Foodie Joust time! Be sure to get your entry in by January 1, 2008! This month our ingredients were chosen by Emiline of Sugar Plum, who was the winner of last month’s joust. She picked these ingredients Pomegranate , Pistachios and Mint, to showcase the colors of the season. I love the flavors that all of these components bring as they are all featured heavily in the foods of the Mediterranean. I created this dish to celebrate Yule, or Winter Solstice which was on December 21st. You too can create your own pomegranate, pistachio and mint recipe for your chance to WIN A PERSONALIZED APRON! For details - check out The LeftoverQueen Forum. Also, I have been featured on GlamNest and wrote an article about how to use those holiday leftovers! So please check out this article too! Best wishes to everyone for a healthy and food-filled New Year! INGREDIENTS: 2 TBS olive oil 2 organic, free range chicken breasts 1 fr...
More About: Recipes , Meat , Fruit , Dinner

Happy Holidays!
2007-12-25 08:11:00
Peace On Earth… Happy Holidays to all my blogging buddies out there in the blogosphere. This has been quite a wonderful year! I am so happy to have met all of you and to have been inspired by all of you. Best wishes to everyone for the happiest New Year of all! She is off to eat all the mice from the last post…so much for peace on earth!
More About: Happy Holidays

Christmas Cookie Series: Night Before Christmas Mice
2007-12-24 16:59:00
?Twas the night before Christmas , not a creature was stirring except for a huge pile of shortbread mice! My cat doesn?t know what to do and they are too cute for me to eat! It appears that I am compelled to make sweet creatures for every holiday. There are Bunny Breads at Easter, Spiders and Kitties at Halloween and now Mice for Christmas. I must admit baking all these family Christmas cookies got me thinking. What do I want the generations after me to remember about holiday traditions? Immediately I knew it had to be whimsical and cute confections and creations ? something that really brings that *magical* element to the holidays ? something that speaks to the child in all of us who still remembers how wonderful it is to be a kid during the Holidays . I saw these adorable cookies in a holiday baking book and I knew I had to try them out this year. If they were a success then I would make them every winter holiday season to bring joy and smiles to the faces of the people I love. Ho...
More About: Baking , Recipes , Dessert

Daring Baker?s Challenge: Yule Log
2007-12-22 11:00:00
Happy Yule Everyone! Yule is a celebration of the Winter Solstice. It marks the longest night of the year and celebrates the re-birth of the sun and longer days to come after the darkness of winter. Christmas was transplanted onto winter solstice some 1,600 years ago, centuries before the English language emerged from its Germanic roots. The tradition of burning a Yule log is to celebrate light itself and the lightening of the days thereafter. Personal faults, mistakes and bad choices are burned in the flame so everyone’s New Year can start with a clean slate. You never burn the entire log, you save a piece for next year to start the next Yule Log. Traditionally on the eve of the Winter Solstice, at midnight, you turn off all your lights or candle lights and everyone takes a moment to sit in the dark and reflect on the darkness, then at 12:01 everyone lights their own candles, turns on all the lights and gives thanks to the sun and its life sustaining power. I kinda got gui...
More About: Holidays , Baking , Recipes , Dessert , Blogging

Christmas Cookie Series: Cuccidata, Sicilian Fig Cookies
2007-12-21 04:59:00
These were the cookies growing up that really set our family Christmas cookies apart from the cookies you saw on other families? tables. These are the cookies that my Nana made every year for my Pap who came here from Sicily when he was 3 years old because they were his absolute favorite. His most clear memory of his life in Sicily was sitting on the porch of his Nana, waiting for cookies. Perhaps the cookie he was waiting for was a Cuccidata, perhaps not. But I like to think it was. Sicilians are known for their love affair with sweets and make some of the best in the world. The fig is so under-rated here in America. People just really don?t know what to do with figs. I am a huge lover of this sensual fruit. I have shown my adoration of it on pizza, on salad and even as a jam. It can be sweet, savory or in between. There are endless ways to use this beautiful fruit, but one of the best ways is in these cookies. Dried figs are mixed with raisins, a ground whole orange (peel and al...
More About: Holidays , Baking , Recipes , Eggs

Christmas Cookie Series: Pizzelle
2007-12-18 13:18:00
These cookies are a special treat for me. Every year at Christmas my two Aunts would make them. They were also featured at every family wedding I have gone to, although in the recent future, I see them less and less because the old tradition of the older generation baking the cookies for the couple happens less and less as most people have jobs these days and can?t afford all that time in the kitchen! It is sad that these traditions are being lost. So I have decided it is high time I get to making these traditional recipes with my mom, that make celebrations so special and memorable. Anyway, back to the cookie. They are a delicious wafer cookie that is cooked on a special pizzelle iron and can be flavored in all sorts of ways. Traditionally in my family, they would be anise flavored. This year, we did anise, orange and vanilla all together and then we also added a bit of cinnamon to the last half of the batter. They are good! This is the fun of them ? add your own flavor combinatio...
More About: Holidays , Baking , Recipes , Eggs

Holiday Treats From Faraway Places
2007-12-16 16:42:00
I recieved this lovely little package from my friend Cris at From Our Home To Yours. Cris blogs from Brazil and she knows how much I love coffee, so one day she told me that she’d send me some coffee from Brazil someday. Well it arrived here the day before my birthday! Which was perfect! Not only did it include the delicious coffee, but also a beautiful kitchen towel that her mom made and a beautiful ornament made by the Native people of Brazil. This little gift was so thoughtful and really touched my heart! Not only do Cris and I share the love of food, but we are also both former AFSers. We were both exchange students through the same program years ago. She went to Maryland, in the US (My home state) and I went to Norway. The internet sure can be a small world! Feliz Natal to you Cris and all your family! Thank you for being so sweet.
More About: Holidays , Holiday , Blogging , Places , Treats

The Leftover Queen?s ?Favorite Things?: Holiday Gifts For Foodies
2007-12-14 17:32:00
Have you all experienced what I have lately? Family members and friends who are asking for your ?list?. Items that you would like to have as a holiday gift. If you are like me, and you love food, cooking and all things kitchen related, I may have just done your work for you. Following in the footsteps of PB&Julie, Pixie and Emiline, and I am sure others, I have put together a list of my favorite kitchen related items from this year, a la Oprah Winfrey. There is a variety of items and prices. These are things that I have and love, as well as a few things from my own wish list, that I may not have had the pleasure of using yet. Lisabeeen Coffee I have spoken quite often about Lisa and her amazing beans. She hand-roasts them lovingly at home in a coffee roaster she made by converting an electric grill. To see how she does it, click here. She has a small cottage industry going on from her home in beautiful Bennington VT. Try some today! Kalamata Gold Greek Organic Extra Virgin O...
More About: Holidays , Holiday , Gifts , General , Queen

Bennington, Vermont: Big Monuments, Poets & Bad Wine
2007-12-11 13:18:00
Here is the final installment of our vacation to New England that Roberto and I took in October. Amazing how time flies! One of our other stops during our New England trip was in Bennington Vermont , visiting our friends Nicki and Lisa (you will remember them from our Ft. Lauderdale trip although we all had slightly different hair at that point?.). When in Bennington you must go to The Bennington Battle Monument. The monument was built in the 1880?s at the same location in 1777 during the war of independence, that the American colonists maintained a store of weapons and food, which the British knew was critical to capture in order to restock their own troops. Besides the history the Bennington Monument is a great place to look out over Bennington and see the landscape which at this time of year which included many beautifully colored trees. You get to the top of the monument by going up in an elevator. It is cold up there so be sure to bring a jacket. Another must see outdoor mon...
More About: Wine , Poets , Monuments , Mont

Dolce Italiano Part II: Vanilla Bean and Bay Leaf Custards
2007-12-07 10:30:00
I am so pleased to be able to end this fabulous event we have been doing for the last 2 weeks! Thank you so much to Gina for writing this amazing cookbook, to Shelley for organizing the event and to Sara, Ilva and Michelle for participating and putting your culinary genius to work! This has just been so much fun and I am so happy I was able to participate! Now on to the final recipe. Fresh bay leaf also known as laurel, has a long history in the cuisine and culture of the Mediterranean. Crowns of bay leaves were used by the ancient Romans to award heroes in battle and the winners of sporting contests. It is used so much in Mediterranean cuisine and adapted so well to the Mediterranean climate that many think it is native to that land although it originates in Asia. I am very interested in the history of food and especially how culinary influences from other cultures can change the cuisine of another country through the trade and communication between the two places. Food is an amaz...
More About: Recipes , Eggs , Dessert , Blogging , Milk

Royal Foodie Joust ? December- Winner!
2007-12-06 15:09:00
This month?s Royal Foodie Joust was really a challenge of tastes, using one of my most favorite combinations: Chocolate and Chilies. There is just something so warming and sensual about this mingling of flavors that when Ley of Cilantro & Lime, the winner of last month?s joust, chose these ingredients, along with a grain of any kind, I knew we were going to get some imaginative entries this month and that we most certainly did! If you have not had a chance to check them out, you really should click here , as I am sure many of you would enjoy the recipes. If you are not familiar with The Royal Foodie Joust, it is a monthly event where you have three ingredients you must use to create a recipe. The winner picks the three ingredients for the next month. I cannot tell you how impressed I am with the culinary ingenuity that comes with each month?s competition. The competitors just always push their skill to the next level and I am impressed each month. It has become quite an event a...
More About: Awards , Blogging , Winner , December

Dolce Italiano: Six Degrees of Separation and Chocolate Salami
2007-11-30 11:00:00
This has been a lucky year full of wonderful surprises and accomplishments. I stepped out of my comfort zone to pursue my dream of working in food, turning my passion for Mediterranean cooking and leftovers into a job description I made up for myself: Professional Foodie. I am still not exactly sure what path lies ahead of me, but I am sure I am at least going the right way as it seems I have been rewarded each step of the way. I have met so many lovely foodies online from all over the world and have gotten little signs everywhere confirming that I am on the right path. One of these signs is a great honor I have been given. I am so excited about it that I can hardly contain my enthusiasm. I have been asked to participate in a very special food blogging event. Shelley from At Home in Rome lives in Rome (Obviously), which just so happens to be Roberto?s hometown. She also just so happens to know Gina DePalma, the pastry chef for Mario Batali?s Babbo Restaurant in New York City. Gina...
More About: Baking , Recipes , Dessert , Blogging , Musings

Happy Thanksgiving! (part II)
2007-11-28 13:20:00
I adore Thanksgiving . It is my absolute favorite holiday of the year. For me it really is all about the holiday - the celebration of the harvest, the coming together of family that creates the warmest of feelings of home and comfort. Taking stock of what you are grateful for in your life - your priorities. The food, which draws to the table all the stars of the bounty of the season - squashes, hearty herbs and tubers. There is always such an array of color at the Thanksgiving table and putting together a feast like this gives me a great amount of joy and pleasure. I was so happy to be able to host Thanksgiving this year at my mom’s house. She and I and Roberto spent a lot of time in the kitchen as a team - cutting, chopping, stirring. It was great! So with no futher ado - The rest of Thanksgiving Menu: Butternut Squash & Parmesan Soup w/ Fried Sage Leaves Maple Glazed Turkey Sausage Stuffing Fig & Chestnut Stuffing Roasted Garlic & Thyme Mashed Potatoes Pe...
More About: Holidays , Musings , Happy , Part

Happy Thanksgiving and Another Daring Bakers Challenge! (part 1)
2007-11-26 12:00:00
If you thought I hadn?t enough to post about this week, step in Daring Bakers Challenge! This month the Daring Bakers Challenge had good company at my Thanksgiving table. I figured, while I was in the kitchen slaving away at the Thanksgiving meal, what was one more thing to make? Plus I figured my family would really enjoy this month?s challenge: Tender Potato Bread. I ?unleashed the Daring Baker within? as encouraged by this month’s hostess: Tanna by adding roasted garlic and rosemary to my dough and forming the bread into rolls ? which turned out to be the size of mini loaves. I also had enough leftover dough to make a small foccaccia. So it makes a lot of dough! The recipe was very straightforward and easy to follow. It just takes a long time to proof at various stages, like most other yeast breads. The addition of mashed potatoes gave the dough a bit more body and a lot of softness ? this dough is VERY soft. I have mentioned before my aversion to kneading bread and this ...
More About: Holidays , Baking , Recipes , Blogging

Two Amazing Foodie Contests: Royal Foodie Joust and Dolce Italiano!
2007-11-25 16:52:00
This is a busy busy week on the internet. Sometimes there does?t seem like enough to pst about, but this week, I have too many posts that are time sensitive. So grab yourself a cup of coffee and enjoy! On Saturday we begin the voting for The Royal Foodie Joust . This month?s ingredients are: Chocolate (any kind but white),Chilis/Chili Powder (any type),Grains (like wheat, rice, oats, etc., in any form). So please remember to post your entry before December 1 to be considered for the voting. The prize for each month is your own RJF apron with the name of your blog on it! There is another exciting event beginning tomorrow. The Dolce Italiano Contest of which I have been asked to play a pretty big role in. This is a very exciting event for all those lovers of Italian pastries and sweets. Shelley from At Home in Rome, the mastermind behind this event explains it in her words: ?So?! What the heck is the Dolce Italiano contest, anyways, you ask? Have you ever heard of Mario Batali? Wha...
More About: Baking , Awards , Contests , Amazing

Recipe: Clarence?s Throw Down Teriyaki Chicken
2007-11-24 22:04:00
Roberto and I have a good friend Clarence who lives in Toronto, Canada. You can read all about Clarence and what a wonderful host he was when Roberto and I went to Toronto about a year and a half ago here. Clarence enjoys cooking and eating and he sent me a recipe for his Thrown Down Teriyaki Chicken. I think you all will appreciate this fast and quick but delicious meal. Perhaps you could even substitute leftover Thanksgiving turkey for the chicken? Oh and don’t forget - only a week to get your entry in for this month’s Royal Foodie joust! So take it away Clarence! (Stay tuned ? Clarence should be sending me a foodie tour of his trip to Hong Kong). Clarence’s Throw-Down Dinner: Teriyaki Chicken Your boyfriend or girlfriend telling you to eat healthier? Your husband or wife wishing you would stop eating minute noodles? Well here’s a throw-down dinner that is SO DANG EASY that I could do it in my sleep! —Ingredients—Vegetable Oil Teriyaki Sauce...
More About: Vegetables , Meat , Recipe , Rice , Sauces

A Fall Feast: Roasted Root Vegetables and Cider Cheese Fondue
2007-11-19 15:08:00
Everyone always knows when it is Autumn in my house because I always commemorate it by making my Roasted Roots. I like a combination of Sweet Potatoes , Turnips, Carrots, Red Onion and Garlic. I toss them all in fruity extra virgin olive oil, sprinkle them with salt pepper and sprigs of fresh rosemary (dried works good too) and I roast them on cookie sheets in the oven at 450 for about 1 hour, stirring the vegetables once about halfway through. I decided to pair this dish up with a cheese fondue with a hint of apple cider. Served with chunks of French bread and the roasted veggies it was a fall meal of total satisfaction! For the Cider Fondue: INGREDIENTS: ¾ cup apple cider 8 oz. shredded cheddar cheese 4 oz. shredded swiss cheese 1 TBS cornstarch fresh cracked pepper METHOD: In a large saucepan, bring cider to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Toss in the cheeses with cornstarch and pepper and stir into the cider. Cook and stir for 3-4 minutes or until cheese is melted. Transfer ...
More About: Recipes , Vegetables , Cheese , Bread

New England Foodies
2007-11-14 03:40:00
There is just something about the food in New England that is just inspiring. Maybe it is all the fresh, local produce and the focus on organic raw ingredients that makes everything taste so refined. Maybe it is the crisp air that clears your palate and helps you to taste the flavors or perhaps it is just the ingenuity and creativity that foodies in New England bring to the plate. Whatever it is, I love it. Pretty much anywhere you go in New England you can find a good cup of coffee and delicious and healthy treat, or some inventive mixture of ingredients that makes it impossible for you not to try it. During our trip to Massachesetts and Vermont in October we really enjoyed the food New England has to offer. One of the things I love about New England cuisine is the intent behind using seasonal and local produce, hence the copious amounts of maple in so many things from sausages to lattes to salad dressings (this one was at Madison?s a brewery in Bennington, Vermont). There is als...
More About: Musings

Chocolate Volcano Birthday Cake: An Ode to My Mom
2007-11-09 13:12:00
This past weekend we celebrated my mom?s birthday and I wanted to share with everyone the cake I baked to commemorate this special day and tell the story of my mom and I and our love of food. I have been thinking for a while how best to participate in Jeni and Inge?s blogging event Apples & Thyme which is dedicated to all the women relatives in our lives that helped influence the way we cook and eat. I have discussed often the influence my family has had on my cooking here, I have shared some of my Nana’s signature recipes here and here. I have also posted other family recipes like my Aunt Theresa?s Zucchini Cake and my Aunt Sylvia?s Easter Bunny Breads. But this time I wanted to talk about my mom, the person who taught me how to really experience and LOVE food and who I have shared a great passion for food with all my life. I grew up near Washington DC and that in itself greatly influenced my food philosophy. My mom and I always tried different restaurants of various cu...
More About: Holidays , Baking , Recipes , Fruit , Dessert

WINNER of The November Royal Foodie Joust!!!
2007-11-07 04:05:00
It is time to announce this month?s Royal Foodie Joust winner. She is a first time participant and came up with a wonderful, creative, hearty and perfect autumn weather dish. I want some right now! Congrats go out to ? Ley from Cilantro & Lime with her entry of Mushroom Paneer. Second place this month goes to Holler of Tinned Tomatoes with her festive and beautiful creation, Pumpkin Fondue housed in a fresh pumpkin. How cool does that look? Third place is a tie this month between Tri-Mushroom Masala with Screwpine Leaf Rice by Dharm from Dad ~ Baker & Chef And Wild Mushroom Spread by Judy of No Fear Entertaining (Sorry, No Picture) Thanks again to all of the participants this month for their wonderful job! This month we had double the entries we had any other month. So special thanks to Brittany aka The Pie Lady for her fabulous choice of ingredients. I think her lead is a good one ? she picked three widely available and commonly used items for the joust which made...
More About: Awards , Blogging , Winner , November

Recipe: Steak Pizzaiola
2007-11-04 16:43:00
Steak Pizzaiola is an Italian American classic. Although the dish originates in Naples, home of Pizza, it has passed into the homes of Italian cooks in America, as a staple recipe, as a large majority of immigrants from Italy in America are of Southern Italian decent. As Naples is the home of Pizza, this dish is created using a tomato sauce as well. It is a hearty dish, best enjoyed with mashed garlic potatoes. Can you say YUM? INGEDIENTS: 1 lb beef steaks, thinly sliced 3 TBS flour, for dredging 3 TBS olive oil 3 cloves of garlic peeled and crushed 1 14 oz. can of Italian plum tomatoes with their juices, hand crushed 2 TBS fresh chopped basil salt & pepper to taste METHOD: Trim excess fat from the steaks and notch the edges slightly with a sharp knife to keep steaks from curling while cooking. Pat the meat dry and dredge lightly in the flour. Throw away any flour that is not used. In a large heavy skillet heat 2 TBS of oil with garlic over medium heat. As soon as the cloves a...
More About: Recipes , Meat , Recipe , Dinner , Sauces

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!
2007-10-31 03:43:00
This year I really wanted to make some special Halloween treats! I love love love Halloween, it is one of my favorite holidays (after Thanksgiving, which is my all time favorite). This year I have been all about challenging myself in the kitchen and I had never made confections or really done much cake decorating. So when my cousin Michelle aka ? The Evil Tooth Fairy? and her partner Luke invited us to a Halloween party this past weekend I knew it was the moment to challenge myself in this way. Trick or Treat! PS - Don’t forget November 1st is the last day to post your entry for the Royal Foodie Joust! Don’t forget to participate this month!!! Roberto and I (aka Aries and Aphrodite) Spindly Spiders: I thought I would make these guys using black licorice gumdrops and black shoestring licorice. However, according to the manger at the Publix grocery store we went to, black licorice is not popular in Florida, therefore they do not carry it, even at holiday time. Bah! So...
More About: Holidays , Baking , Recipes , Dessert , Happy

Something Is Missing?.
2007-10-30 12:15:00
My Daring Bakers Challenge post this month….I am so sad that I was not able to participate this month. Too much going on to spend much time in my own kitchen! Next month I am back on track! Great job to all the DBS who did participate this month!
More About: Blogging , Missing , Some , Missi

Boston?s Little Italy Article!
2007-10-29 01:48:00
I just posted an article about our trip to Boston ’s North End (Little Italy ) on my Travelcloseup Blog! Check it out!
More About: General , Article

Royal Foodie Joust
2007-10-26 12:49:00
It is hard to believe that the month of October is drawing to an end. My favorite month of the year. What this means though is that yet another Royal Foodie Joust competition is underway and you can join! Please post your recipe using Mushrooms, Cheese and Herbs of your choice on the Leftover Queen Forum. This month’s ingredients were chosen by last month’s winner, Brittany aka The Pie Lady. This is a very fun foodie event and the registration for entries closes on November 1st. So please join us today. I will make an announcement when you can begin voting for your favorite entry! You will most likely recognize my entry from an earlier post: Mushroom and Yogurt Tart. I hate to post recipes twice, but this month has been so busy - with our trip to New England and now all the catch up that comes after a great vacation. I will be up to my normal posting activity soon with lots more on our New England adventure! So please stay tuned!
More About: Recipes , Vegetables , Blogging

Coffee Love: A New England Art
2007-10-22 23:56:00
Everyone who reads my blogs knows that my passion for coffee is deep and strong. I just love the complexity of different beans and blends. I love the originality of coffees from all different regions of the world. They are all so unique. Some are rich and smooth and chocolately; others taste of berries or citrus; some are earthy giving off flavors like tobacco, bitter, earthy and verdant. Coffee is like wine in a sense. There are rituals involved in the making of, the preparation of and the aging of. There are connoisseurs who spend years perfecting blends and roasting methods or traveling the world in search of the perfect bean. It is all so fascinating. Coffee may not grow in New England climates, but I believe the soul of coffee is in New England. People in New England know what to do with their coffee, to bring it to the next level. Everywhere you go in New England you can find excellent coffee. Even gas stations serve up Green Mountain Coffee and McDonalds has Newman?s Own Orga...
More About: Love , Drinks , Musings