{from scratch holidays} DIY Natural Food Coloring

As the Holidays are upon us, cookie-making season is in full swing. My kids have a list of cookies they want to make {or rather, eat}, I have my own recipe list of goodies to try, and then of course there are the edible gifts.  At my house, there will be lots of cookie baking…

{edible gift} Homemade Irish Cream

Every winter, I crave an icy glass of Bailey’s Irish Cream. Something about it is filling and comforting when the cold weather rolls in.  This year I decided heck, I can make my own butter, I want to try this!  A mason jar filled with this delicious concoction is sure to please almost anyone this…

{edible gift} Fudge

Fudge is one of those treats that I usually reserve for the holidays. I’m not sure why, because it really is incredibly easy to make and SO delicious. Served alongside traditional holiday cookies, fudge is a welcome treat in my family. Wrapped in a box (check craft stores for a great assortment this time of year) with…

{edible gifts} DIY Coffee Creamer

Every few months or so the topic of flavored creamer comes around in my circle of friends. Many of them are curious as to how to make their own for various reasons, usually it is because they are concerned about the chemicals in store bought flavored creamers,  they are allergic to milk, or because of…

{recipe link love} Cookies Cookies Cookies!

{Albany Food Swap: Lavender cookies by Swapper Nicole} To celebrate our December Food Swaps, which will be traditional cookie & recipe swaps, I am doing a little recipe link love to some absolutely fabulous cookie recipes I’m seeing all over the interwebs these days! +++ First up, Our friend Kate Payne has a Gluten-Free Sugar…

{FREE EBOOK} from scratch holidays

Coined ‘from scratch holidays‘, we wanted to dedicate most of November & December’s content to various seasonal recipes for your holiday table, edible gifts and reflections on the holiday season as a whole. We have more to come, including radish toasts, DIY coffee creamer, beef jerky, dark chocolate covered candied orange peels, Kahlua marshmallows &…

{i am not a foodie} A Pledge to Simplicity, Part Deux

A month ago, I took a pledge to cut our grocery bills down to $70 a week for four weeks and give the extra $50 a week that I normally spend to charity and/or interesting causes. I thought it would be hard to spend so little on food, but in fact it wasn’t difficult at…

{from scratch holidays} Sweet Potato Casserole

The first holiday dinner I had with my husband he made his mom’s sweet potato casserole for me. To be honest, I was nervous I’d hate it, even though he swore up and down that I’d love it. Up until this point I’d really hated the sweet potatoes that would grace our table on the…

{from scratch holidays} GF & DF Roasted Pumpkin Pasta

My kids can still remember “real” mac n’ cheese, as they have only been dairy-free for a year. Every so often they beg for a pile of the cheesy good stuff they fondly remember. While I wont make them traditional macaroni and cheese anymore,  I will make this: Creamy Roasted Pumpkin Pasta Roasted pumpkin takes…

{FSC SWAPPERS} food swappery w/ cookie dough hummus

Editor’s Note: In October, we had ‘newbie’ Swapper Jess share with us a play-by-play of her first FSC Food Swap. In November, we had Leah & her case of the ‘swap fever’. This month, we have ‘veteran’ Swapper Corrie, of the blog,  Corrina, Darling!, with not only a peek inside a food swap for the…

{from scratch holidays} Roasted Root Vegetables

After a great harvest I’m always looking for a way to use up my root vegetables. It’s so easy to incorporate these little gems into your Thanksgiving festivities this week. Root vegetables are so flavorful and also oh so good for you. Back in September, I snuck out to my dad’s house for a whole…

{from scratch holidays} whats in your bread basket?

Thanksgiving in my family is a big deal. Usually anywhere from 35-50 people, mostly related (my mom is one of nine… two generations later and there are a lot of cousins to go around), gathered together in one home. Several turkeys, Pop’s special stuffing, potatoes, veggies, tons of pies, you get the idea. I’d like…

{from scratch holidays} Sweet Potato & Kale Casserole

I don’t think I’d ever made a casserole before.  I wasn’t even sure I had a casserole dish.  My venture in to this new territory was made even more exciting for me because I didn’t strictly follow a recipe.  I found a Martha Stewart recipe that resembled something I imagined was both healthy and tasty…