dessert

Visions of Sugarplums

Do you believe? In sugarplums that is? Sugarplums are the things of fairy names and sweetened childrens’ dreams on Christmas Eve. An old-fashioned confection made with a potpourri of holiday spices, dried fruits and nuts, held together with molasses, honey and powdered sugar–sugarplums are very real. In these sweet hours before Christmas I’m going to give you a sugarplum [...]

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Green Tomato Mince: What Is It and How to Make It

This is the spice season…is it not? While Spice Sherpa has some cool stuff on tap for you in the coming month, (A giveaway! A spice freebies section! Spicy gift guides!), today’s post spotlights a simpler, more wholesome, and frugal time. And it all starts with the cold weather. Quick 10 second diversion: if you were anticipating [...]

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Basil: 5 Things You’ve Never Heard Of

So you know that part in Alice in Wonderland when Alice sees what appears to be a common rabbit hole? She peers in, then falls and discovers a deep world filled with amazing, wondrous, unpredictable surprises? Basil is like the rabbit hole. Yes, basil. It’s green, pungeant, fragrant and anchors the 8,000 equally delicious variations of [...]

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A Summertime Quickie: How to Make a Honey Spiced Ice-Cream Sandwich

We spend all winter dreaming of those long, lazy summer days. June arrives and…kapow! Swimming, biking, soccer, riding, BBQ, end of school-year activities, summer camps, festivals…it’s crazy! Yet, it’s all fun and somehow, those relaxed, lazy moments do weave themselves throughout the day. So here’s the situation: in order to enjoy more of those long, [...]

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5 Spices for Cinco de Mayo

Here’s the deal. Today is Cinco de Mayo. Having grown up in California and raised on avocados and Baja cuisine I’m compelled to celebrate our Southern neighbor. Ah, but now I live on the other side of the country. And while today is Cinco de Mayo it’s also Thursday. So my bright idea was to [...]

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10 Uses for Pumpkin Pie Spice Blend

Wouldn’t you say that pumpkins are the poster child for autumn? The cheerful pumpkin is just so agreeable. Oh, those warm autumn spices: cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, allspice, ginger, chili peppers. Pumpkins love ‘em all. The grande finalé comes near the end of November when a pumpkin pie punctuates the end of nearly every Thanksgiving dinner. Which brings me [...]

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Candy Corn Cookies With Natural Coloring

About a week ago Food News Journal posted a link to the most adorable cookie recipe on the blog by Baked Bree. I knew immediately that I’d be making the recipe. But as I scrolled through the comments, one in particular caught my attention. We don’t do artificial colors in our house because they have a [...]

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Creme Brulee Martini with Vanilla Vodka Infusion

Guest Post by Jason Phelps of Ancient Fire Wines, The Infusion Making your own vanilla vodka is amazingly simple. Cut one vanilla bean lengthwise and place it in a clean jar with 8 oz of 100 proof vodka for 24 days. Shake it every day to ensure you get a strong infusion. After 24 days [...]

Homemade Vanilla Extract

Vanilla is a such a staple of our spice cupboards we hardly give it a second thought. It’s time to change that. The best tasting desserts use top quality ingredients. When it comes to vanilla that’s an expensive statement. Did you realize that you can make your own vanilla extract? It’s beyond simple. You need a [...]

Basic Mexican Chocolate Ice-Cream

Aaaah, ice-cream. There are as many ice-cream flavors as there are personalities: sophisticated, playful, artistic, extravagant, creative, simple, humble, diva, flamboyant…you get the idea! Here’s one that’s loyal but playful. It starts with basic chocolate ice-cream. It’s good. Really good. But it lacks pizzazz. I wanted something capable of teasing out a surprised grin and an [...]