The weather has yet to turn cold (in fact, we just had a week-long heatwave!) but I’m already thinking about colder weather foods. One of my favorite comfort foods is traditional Irish Vegetable Soup.
Unlike a chunky vegetable soup commonly found in the US, Irish Vegetable Soup is a blended soup made of potatoes, leeks, carrots, and onions that feels creamy and comforting without any cream!
The absolute best way to enjoy an Irish Vegetable Soup is with some Irish Brown Bread, but because that’s somewhat difficult to come across in the US, I substituted in a loaf of Italian bread to sop up all that vegetable goodness.
Note: I was given a box of produce from Penn Farm and used some of the produce in order to make this Cantaloupe Tomato Panzanella Salad recipe. Opinions are mine alone.
One of my favorite things about this blog is the opportunity to spotlight amazing restaurants, ingredients, and food organizations when I come across them. So when I heard about this CSA, I knew I had to share their amazing story ASAP, even if it is toward the end of the CSA season (note: bookmark this post so you have all the info you need to sign up for this CSA next year!) I also have an awesome recipe for Cantaloupe Tomato Panzanella Salad that shows off the bounty of Penn Farm’s CSA, so be sure to check that out at the end of the post!
William Penn High School is a public high school in New Castle, Delaware, where students enrolled in the school’s Agriculture classes help maintain a farm nearby the school. Historic Penn Farm has been a tenant farm since its inception in the late 1700s, and the 100-acre farm is the last surviving farm of the original tenant farms. William Penn High School, through a partnership with the Trustees of the New York Commons, continues the legacy of Historic Penn Farm while educating students on agriculture and also supporting the local community.
William Penn High School’s “Farm-to-School” program gives students the opportunity to learn how to grow produce from seeds, maintain the farm throughout the growing season, and help to harvest everything at the end of the season.
Some of the produce is utilized in other programs within William Penn High School; agriculture students work directly with the school’s culinary students, nutrition services, and science students. Local produce from Penn Farm becomes delicious meals enjoyed by the rest of the student body. In addition to vegetables, other animal products such as eggs are also produced and used in school nutritional programs throughout the district.
All produce on Penn Farm is grown from non-GMO seeds and is grown following organic practices. The farm harvests A LOT of produce, so Penn Farm also offers a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) each year. The 10-week CSA at Penn Farm lasts from late June through August, where those who buy a share receive a fresh produce box each week. Each box is chock full of vegetables, enough to feed a family of four for a week! Sign-ups each season open in the spring. I received the following in my box this week (note: the cantaloupe had to go it its own photo because it was bigger than my head!):
The CSA offering is a great way for Penn Farm, William Penn High School, and Colonial School District to provide a valuable service to the local community. In return, purchasing a CSA share serves as a method of monetary support for Penn Farm and the Agriculture Programs at William Penn High School.
To show off some of this beautiful produce, I knew I had to go for a summer classic: Panzanella Salad! This Cantaloupe Tomato Panzanella Salad highlights the cantaloupe, tomatoes, and cucumbers from my Pann Farm CSA Share, plus helped me use up some leftover Italian bread I had!
Ingredients:
Salad:
6 slices Italian bread, cut into bite sized pieces
I’m sure you’re thinking to yourself, “Avocado Ice Cream? Really??”
Me making a Homemade Avocado Ice Cream is actually a long time coming. I have a coworker who absolutely loves avocados. And years ago, I mentioned that (the now shuttered and very much missed) Capogiro Gelato in Philadelphia had an avocado ice cream, and that I’d buy her a pint the next time I saw it. Well. Capogiro sadly closed at the end of 2018 without me ever bringing her a pint. So, now that I am feeling more comfortable making my own homemade ice cream, it was time to finally deliver on my promise!
This recipe might be my easiest ice cream recipe to date. It has just 4 ingredients, does not require heating the cream mixture, and doesn’t even need to refrigerate overnight!
Ingredients (makes about 3/4 quarts, or 1 1/2 pints):
When I first realized how surprisingly easy it is to make homemade ice cream, Homemade Ube Ice Cream was at the top of my list. I’ve been doing my best to space out my ice cream recipes so you don’t think this has completely changed into just an ice cream blog, but this one is too good to keep to myself much longer!
If you haven’t had ube before, ube is a sweet purple yam with a slightly nutty and vanilla flavor which lends itself perfectly for desserts. To add ube flavor, this recipe uses both Ube Halaya and Ube Flavor. Ube Halaya is mashed purple yam combined with condensed milk. Ube Flavor, or extract, obviously adds more ube flavor, but it also contains purple dye in it to amp up that beautiful purple color. Both ube halaya and ube flavor can be found at most Asian grocery stores.
When I first started this blog, I was living in Old City and working in Center City Philadelphia, which meant I got to stop at Reading Terminal on my way home and get inspiration for my meals based on what looked the best that day. I stopped by the Historic Lewes Farmers Market recently looking for some inspiration while at the Delaware Beaches. While I was there, I was able to catch a demonstration by SoDel Concepts’ Pastry Chef Dru Tevis and Bennett Orchards’ Henry Bennett. I picked up some White Peaches from Bennett Orchards while I was there, which inspired me to make this perfectly summery White Peach Strawberry Salad!
This salad is very simple to make, and has less than 10 ingredients, but delivers a balanced mix of sweet, toasty, earthy, and acidic flavors, making for a truly memorable bite!
Ingredients:
Salad:
1/3 cup sliced almonds, toasted
1 (5 oz) bag spring mix
2 sliced white peaches or nectarines
1 cup sliced strawberries
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese (if you don’t like blue cheese, you can substitute in feta)
Note: I was sent bottles of Fresh Vine Wine Rosé in order to make this post. Opinions are mine alone.
It is absolutely rosé season! And what is better than a refreshing, cold glass of rosé? An ice-cold glass of Strawberry Frose, of course!
This recipe is a simple way to upgrade your normal glass of rosé, making it perfect for warm summer nights spent with friends.
For this recipe, I am using Fresh Vine Wine Rosé. Produced and bottled in Napa, California, Fresh Vine Wine’s are premium, great tasting wines with careful attention to lower calorie, carb, and sugar content.
The Fresh Vine Wine Rosé is a blend of Pinot Grigio and Pinot Noir pressed then fermented and aged in stainless steel, with notes of nectarine, stone fruit, and melon with a bit of acidity, which will work perfectly with the balanced sweetness of strawberries!
Well, I’m sure this comes as no surprise but now that I know how easy it is to make homemade ice cream, I’m trying out more and more flavors. This recipe for Homemade Nutella Ice Cream was one of my husband’s first requests.
(He’s a HUGE Nutella fan, which is why I have quite a few Nutella-filled recipes on my blog.)
This recipe is actually even easier than the pistachio one, so I was happy to make this for him. It does not have any egg yolks in the recipe, and you don’t even have to heat the cream mixture! With just five ingredients, it comes together in no time as well!
You will still need some equipment to help make this recipe (paid links):
Note: I was sent bottles of OCEAN SPRAY CRAN•TROPICAL™ CRANBERRY TROPICAL JUICE DRINK in order to make this post. Opinions are mine alone.
Outdoor summer events call for fun cocktails, don’t you think? And this oh so pretty (and tasty) Tropical Margarita from Ocean Spray is sure to become one of your favorites outdoor sips!
It’s no secret how much I love ice cream, but I haven’t really tried to make much at home. With the beautiful weather we have been having, I figured it was time to try! I happened to have some shelled pistachios on hand, so why not make some Homemade Pistachio Ice Cream?
Pistachio ice cream is one of my absolute favorite flavors, and I had no clue how easy it was to make my own homemade version!
I am in full preparation mode for my sister’s upcoming baby shower. We are doing a honeybee theme, I’ve been working on a beehive cake, honeycomb decorations, and honey-filled beverages, including this Bees Knees Batch Cocktail.
The Bee’s Knees is a Prohibition-era cocktail made with gin, lemon juice, and honey simple syrup. This batch cocktail version adds lemon seltzer to make it more of a sip-able day cocktail with a little bit of fizziness.
Ingredients (makes 20 servings; multiply/divide as needed):
A friend reached out to me with a food challenge: how to make baked ziti that will be hot and ready when they come back from a christening. A Slow Cooker Baked Ziti recipe seemed like the perfect solution!
Naturally, I had to do some experimenting so that I could give her a recipe to use that I know will work for her needs.
This recipe for Slow Cooker Baked Ziti involves layering ingredients in your slow cooker (paid link). letting it cook for 2 1/2 hours, and then adding some mozzarella cheese on top for ultimate cheesiness!
This recipe for Rosemary White Beans with Onions and Tomatoes has quickly become a staple in my house this winter.
It is quick to prepare, I tend to have most of these ingredients already on hand, and it is so darn comforting! It is also a one pot meal so there are less dishes to clean up when you’re done cooking and enjoying your meal!
I hope you’ll allow me one more festive holiday recipe. Honestly, these Holiday Spiced Nuts are so tasty, they can (and should!) be enjoyed all year!
Around Thanksgiving, I was in Lancaster, PA and popped into Lancaster Central Market. While there, I stumbled upon Totally Nutz, which sells various cinnamon glazed nuts. They were so addicting, I wanted to try my own at home!
This recipe includes a bit more of the “holiday” spices than just cinnamon and includes four different types of nuts: pecans, walnuts, almonds, and cashews for a tasty sweet and spiced mixture!
