Mexican pasta salad
food

Mexican Pasta Salad by Matt Wendel

Thursdays at the White House are known as Tex-Mex Thursdays, and there were (and still are) several good Tex-Mex specials on the menu on those days.  I thought it would be fun to have a little #TBT to the Tex-Mex Thursdays, and my friend Matthew Wendel has graciously agreed to supply a monthly recipe for these scrumptious occasions.  Today, his recipe for Mexican pasta salad is simple and so delicious! Here’s what he said: This pasta salad was a favorite […]

Strawberry Tomato Salad
food

Strawberry Tomato Salad

This is a “where have you been all my life?” recipe. I’d never thought of putting two acidic fruits, such as tomatoes and strawberries together (yes, tomatoes are technically a fruit,) and my first reaction was “Eww.” It sounded like one of those recipes that we food bloggers do when we’re trying to create something original, and it doesn’t quite work. Well, this works. When you add raspberry vinaigrette mixed with sugar as the dressing, and some fresh mint to […]

food

Yellow Tomato Gazpacho

They had beautiful golden yellow tomatoes at the farmer’s market yesterday and I went a little crazy. There’s nothing like the smell of a real, grown-in-the-earth tomato. It brings back childhood memories of going out to the garden to pick tomatoes for supper, standing barefoot in the rough ground, and brushing the dirt off a sun-warmed tomato to breathe in that pungent tomato smell. The scent of a tomato is unique – it reminds me of geraniums, or maybe rosemary, […]

Everyone loves s’mores, and there are as many versions of this beloved American outdoor classic as the dessert-minded can imagine.
summer

Turtle S’mores

Everyone loves s’mores, and there are as many versions of this beloved American outdoor classic as the dessert-minded can imagine. This one combines two of my favorite things – a chocolate pecan turtle and a s’more – into a chewy, gooey, mouthwateringly delicious campfire treat. The warmth of the freshly-toasted marshmallow melts the caramels in a way that is irresistible. Need I say more? Turtle S’mores

You’ve seen the healthy campout dessert, and the s’mores recipe, but this one belongs somewhere in between.
summer

Berries With Toasted Marshmallow Fluff

You’ve seen the healthy campout dessert, and the s’mores recipe, but this one belongs somewhere in between. Fresh strawberries and blackberries are easy to thread on to the end of a sharp stick, dip into a jar of marshmallow fluff, and toast to your heart’s delight. It just takes a little patience to keep it toasting slowly, so that the fruit begins to soften and cook while the marshmallow browns. Heaven! If you want to keep things more healthy, you can […]