Menu Plan Monday!

In an effort to get my meal planning straight, I'm participating in Menu Plan Monday, hosted each week by I'm An Organizing Junkie. Check out the site - it's pretty informative and a great resource!Monday: Turkey Parmigiana LasagnaTuesday: Herbed Sauteed Salmon with Creamy Leeks & BaconWednesday: Dinner out after running errandsThursday: Herb Crusted Pork with Brown Rice & Sugar Snap PeasFriday: Turkey Tacos with Spicy Corn Relish & GuacamoleSaturday: Dinner out with friendsSunday: Roasted Lemon Chicken with Capers & Olives and Mashed Yukon Potatoes

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The 12 Days of Cookies - A Gourmet cookie extravaganza

This wonderful event is the brain child of Andrea of Andreas Recipes. How I got asked to be involved with this incredible group is beyond me but all the thanks goes to Kelly of Sass & Veracity. There are 8 of us that have decided to do The 12 Days of Cookies - A Gourmet cookie extravaganza. We will be choosing, baking, tasting, blogging and sharing with you a cookie a day for the next 12 days of December.These cookies are coming from Gourmet's Favorite Cookie Recipes: 1941-2008. They’ve published a lot of cookie recipes in their 68-year history, many of them around the winter holidays. This season they decided to choose the very best from each

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Tasty Tools: Baking sheets pans!

For December's Tasty Tools event, we're highlighting baking sheet pans to keep with the holiday cookie season. Aside from cookies, these baking sheet pans can be used for many other dishes. What do you use yours for?If you happen to use a baking sheet pan for any of your cooking and/or baking this month, submit a recipe you've made with a picture of it on a baking sheet pan to the event all throughout the month of December.1) Make a recipe using a baking sheet pan and create a blog post about it from now (the date of this post) until midnight, December 31st.2) Add a link back to my blog within your blog post, Joelen's Culinary Adventures3) Send an ema

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Cranberry Orange Sour Cream Muffins

Kelsey of Apple A Day gave me a wonderful cookbook recently (Sharing the Table at Garland's Lodge) and today I took advantage of some free time to try out a recipe! With some leftover cranberry orange relish, I made these muffins using the cookbook's recipe for Sour Cream Muffins:Cranberry Orange Sour Cream Muffinsrecipe adapted from Sharing a Table Cookbook, pg 29notes in red are from original recipeBase muffin recipe:2 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour (all purpose flour)1 tablespoon baking powder1/4 teaspoon salt1/4 cup sugar1 egg1/4 cup canola oil1 + 1/2 cups sour creamAdd ins:1 cup cranberry orange relish (dried cranberries, plumped in orange juic

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POST-ELECTION CONFESSIONS : It’s More Than Just About Food

Political Exile, Political RefugeI have to confess that the months, then weeks, then days, even hours leading up to the Presidential Election 2008 I did quite a lot of Nervous Baking. Cake, cookies, muffins, pies. Comfort baking. Comfort food. It kept me sane and focused. It kept me busy and kept me from running through the house pulling my hair and screaming from the sheer tension and angst.What was unusual for me was that for the first time since my discovery of the world of blogs, I tore myself away from my daily fill of favorite food sites to the wide, wild, passionate, sometimes heated universe of political blogs. Living so far away from the cent

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Devon's Desi Corridor... and Euro Surprises

It's been awhile since I had an event due to taking some personal time off for my husband's birthday and Thanksgiving. But I had to get my fix of some culinary intervention and today was a perfect day to do just that. I hosted a culinary tour of Chicago's Devon Avenue, also known as the Desi Corridor. It's a vibrant street rich in culture and diversity so with friends, we took in the sights, sounds and flavors Devon Ave. had to offer.If you ever want to see a diverse neighborhood of Chicago, Devon is a great place to start. Many folks who know about Devon often associate it with Indian & Pakistani culture. It's full of wonderful restaurants, vario

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GREEK SPINACH-FETA & MOROCCAN LAMB TRIANGLES

A LITTLE GEOMETRY - MY COOKING IS SHAPING UP A few weeks ago, our neighbor Manu came over for a glass of wine before dinner, accompanied by his delightful and mischievous 3-year-old daughter Rosalie. I pulled out all of the usual aperatif olives and store-bought crackers. But give me any reason at all to cook or bake and I will. It is yet another chance to try a new recipe on an unsuspecting guinea pig or elicit oohs and ahs from admiring crowds (well, just a little leeway for exaggeration please....).I have loved Spanikopita since my brother recreated Anna Thomas’ fabulous recipe from her amazing cookbook The Vegetarian Epicure. Well, as the old sayi

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Conor's Saturday Bridge Adventure

Saturday is usually a good day for some walking fun, adventure and a treat. Today Conor and Dad hit the trail, crossed the Westmorland Street Bridge and headed home. We made time on the other side of the river for a treat stop (including Dad's coffee) at the Second Cup in Kings Place where Conor, even when he gets a bit loud, has always been warmly received.autism var addthis_pub = 'AutismRealityNB';

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