I’ve mentioned before how much I enjoy True Food Kitchen. In fact I celebrated with two different birthday lunches there, the first with my dad and the second with my good friend, Karen (who was one of my bridesmaids, all those years ago).  When Dad and I were there, the two women at the table across from us were enjoying this huge bowl of vegetables. It is True Food’s gorgeous crudités bowl with tzatziki and black olive dips. The next week, when Karen and I went, I had to order it so that I could check it out more closely and recreate it at home. I think this is one of the prettiest ways to serve crudités that I’ve ever seen! That is True Food’s bowl above… and mine is below.

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Today I absolutely have to share this with you! Before you even see what I am sharing, I have to tell you… it’s already almost too late (November 6th deadline!) to order one of these beauties for Christmas. Already. Almost. Too. Late! But, hey, there are 364 other days in the year – which includes anniversaries, birthdays,  Valentines Day, and… well you get the point.  I am beyond tempted to get one of these for myself… Way To Cool! That being said, check this out!

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Weekly Tip #4

This week’s tip, actually tips, have to do with poaching fruit for seasonal desserts and how to keep those fruits from turning brown.  These are a couple of helpful methods, which one you use depends on what you have on hand.

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As far back as I can remember, our pre-trick-or-treating tradition has been to have everyone gather around the grill and make their own pizza. Our neighborhood is famous for a great Halloween. All the streets are cul-de-sacs and on many of those streets, the families all gather at the entrance and put out tables where the kids can just come up to table and pick candy from five bowls placed out (1 from each house). Meanwhile the adults socialize, eat, drink and just have a great time together.

There are already loads of kids in neighborhood, but it seems everyone invites all their friends to come here to trick-or-treat too.

Other houses set up elaborate haunted houses that attract not only the kids, but the adults, as well. Joannie, my neighbor from 2 doors down, dresses up as a witch each and every year and makes the kids do a trick before they get their treat, her house is a destination for the kids!

We go through 4 or 5 huge bags of Costco-sized candy each year. When my two kids were young, we’d have at least another dozen kids at our house (from outside the neighborhood) over to have pizza and then head out for their candy. [Read more →]

… from Mother Nature and Father Time!

Dave and I at our neighborhood Halloween Party on Saturday night.

It was always our Halloween tradition to make grilled pizzas before the kids went out to trick-or-treat. It didn’t matter if it was just the four of us, or if each of the kids had a dozen friends over, each person present made their own personal-size pizza. Dave and I and any of our friends who pop over will be making pizzas tonight out on the grill.  I’ll share the recipe and pictures with you tomorrow.

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Yesterday when I said that I hadn’t cooked for 11 days, I wasn’t including cooking classes into the mix – a girl’s gotta work! So, I not only assisted Barb with a class, but I also taught a private cooking class to a group of wonderful women. Thankfully I had the help of two of my generous friends both times. I could not yet drive when I was working at a class at Les Gourmettes, so my friend, Lori, drove me there and also helped serve and clear, keeping me from having to overwork my foot. Thanks Lori! xoxo

The private class was in one of the participants’ homes, so Peggy helped me schlep all the food, machines, pan, and other various supplies up to her 19th-floor penthouse and set up all the workstations. When the ladies arrived, Peggy worked right alongside me to help the pairs with their recipes, serve, and worst of all… clean it all up and schlep it back home.  The schlepping is, by far, the nastiest part of this job! So, thank you, Peggy! xoxo

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Last night was the first time I’ve cooked any sort of food for Dave and myself… in… let’s see… 11 days. Unbelievable! I think that is the longest stretch of “no-cook” time for me since back in 2008 when we were traveling through France and Italy with the kids. But, I’m back and the recipes will again be flowing, thanks for hanging in there with me through the trip to Sedona, the foot injury, and birthdays. 😀

On Wednesday, my dad took me to True Food Kitchen at Scottsdale Quarter for my birthday lunch. I usually order the light and luscious Edamame Dumplings, or their delicious Herb Hummus, or the fabulous Wild Ahi Sliders… but this time I decided to try the Mediterranean Chopped Salad. Good choice! Actually, I’ve never had anything I didn’t enjoy from the menu. The photo at the top is the True Food salad – taken with my new iPhone 4s, which I LOVE!  Once I got home, I just had to recreate it for Dave.  He, of course, loved it… and you will too.

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Before your tip of the week… a huge HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my “birthday sister”, Laura Dileen Galloway Heffron! Laura and I have been friends since high school when we discovered our birthdays were only one day apart. Laura was my maid-of-honor 26 years ago and is Marissa’s godmother. I was a bridesmaid at her wedding and I am godmother to 2 of her 3 sons. Happy Birthday, Laura! I love you!

This picture is of Laura and me visiting my Aunt Beverly in Del Mar, CA back in the summer of ’78 or ’79. Laura and I were just high school girls standing there all awkward – while Bev poses all sexy… too funny! Bev’s birthday is Sunday, so I’ll take this opportunity to say Happy Birthday, Aunt Bev, I love you too!

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It’s no secret, I love my birthday. Do you know that person who complains that they are another year older? Yeah, I am the complete opposite of that person. Birthdays are a gift unto themselves.

I love October. I love the 27th. I love that I was born in a year ending with zero. What can I say? I just love my birthday. In fact, when I schedule posts in advance on this very blog, I set them up to post at 10:27 AM. So there you go, now you know.

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Since standing on my feet in the kitchen for long periods of time is out of the mix at the present time, how about a holiday craft? Now, I already told you in the first installment of Crafts 101, I am not a crafty person… not by a long shot.  In fact, for this particular craft, I needed professional help. Recently, Peggy and I took a class from the very talented Cindy and Lin Sue of Sweet-Stops on how to make these luxurious fabric pumpkins, which are perfect from the first day of fall, all the way through Thanksgiving. Now that’s some bang for your buck! And when I say “buck” –  I literally mean about one dollar! Depending on the fabric you use, or if you use scraps you already have on hand, these beautiful pumpkins may cost no more than that. If you’ve seen them in boutiques, you already know they go for anywhere from $20 to $40 each! That’s just crazy talk!

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